my Wednesdays - Fall 2007

South Park at 7pm (starting next week)
Bionic Woman at 8
Life at 9

- Bionic Woman -

you know, when i first heard they were doing a remake of an old 70s show i laughed. then three things happened. 1) i saw some of the previews, and they looked good. 2) i heard some of the people involved with it are also involved with the new Battlestar Galactica. 3) i realized there was nothing else to watch on Wednesdays.

so, i decided to give it a shot, even started getting a little excited to check it out. and i've got to say... i'm pleasantly surprised.

the show is a mix of Dark Angel and the new Battlestar i guess. i'd put it under the category of dramatic action, but it looks like next episode (when she starts to help people out), it might delve into light-hearted fun a bit - which is fine, as long as they keep up the drama and action.

some parts of the story were a bit cheesy, some of the pacing was off, and some of the acting was just ok... but they've weaved enough rich characters and backstory into it that i can see it going for years - which is like the opposite of Journeyman, which i'm worried will run out of stories to tell - and her awakening to her powers and dealing with it on a personal level looks to be another cool focus of the show as well.

verdict? it's doing more things right than wrong, so i'm on board. i mean come on - what else am i going to watch?

- Life -

if i was surprised by how much i liked Bionic Woman, i was SLAPPED IN THE FACE with how much i ended up liking Life.

low expectations for the win?

every new year brings a new show or two about quirky detectives. these shows are usually quickly canned because it's a tired formula that wraps up everything neat by the end of each episode and has a lack of supporting characters. the last show i attempted to watch like this was Raines last year (same network as Life), and, while i liked it, i know why it got canceled.

whereas every new quirky detective show gets it wrong, Life somehow managed to get it right.

the guy is quirky, yes, but it's more than that. he's hiding things to the point where we the audience don't even know 1) what exactly he's up to, 2) if he's really that good a guy anymore, and 3) if he's even sane (well, i'm pretty sure he is, but he sure skates the edge from time to time).

throw in a partner with an interesting history and a self-destructive nature that she keeps bottled up, a lawyer friend that wants to be more with the main character (again, seemed like there's a deep history there), an accountant that's living out of the guy's garage (he's the comedic sidekick), and a lieutenant that has something up her sleeve and you've got yourself a supporting cast!

i'm not saying the show doesn't have its flaws... the "quirky" nature of the main character isn't always that funny, or even necessary... and the main actor takes some warming up to... but damn if this didn't have good writing (i mean the scene with his partner and her lieutenant in her office talking about past things without having to spell it out to the audience - i.e. not writing to the lowest common denominator?!? awesome!), a great supporting cast with lots of history, HUMOR sprinkled in somehow, and overarching stories that don't need to be tied up nicely at the end of an episode (although it had a story that was self-contained, and it sorta sucked... but we'll let that slide for now).

like Bionic Woman, i was surprised by the quality of Life (haha). and, like Bionic Woman, it isn't without its flaws. however, the good outweighs the bad.

verdict? you don't have me for "life," but i'll stick around, see how things turn out. or until you're canceled (which i'm sure will happen first).

- kawitchate