Take Me To The Pilots ’12: CBS’ MADE IN JERSEY – by Daniel Fienberg
The Pitch: “My Cousin Vinnie,” if you got rid of Joe Pesci and it just turned out that Marisa Tomei was a talented lawyer, in addition to being a hilarious ethnic stereotype.
Quick Response: Janet Montgomery *is* a star. I agree with FOX, which brought her in in an unsuccessful attempt to goose ratings for “Human Target” and I agree with CBS, which cast Montgomery in a show called “Made in Jersey,” despite a natural accent that’s distinctly from the wrong side of The Pond. I don’t really know what to make of “Made in Jersey,” unfortunately. CBS has been running trailers which focus more on Fish Out of Water humor than the actual tone of the show, which is closer to a straight-forward character-driven legal procedural with hints of cartoony local color. Montgomery, whose Jersey accent is acceptable, if not flawless, is very good playing a woman who comes off as kinda a Sherlock Holmes for trashy, blue collar details. She’s sexy and straight-forward and Montgomery really isn’t mugging or over-relying on stereotypes. The same cannot be said of Donna Murphy and Erin Cummings as two members of the main character’s Big Stereotypical Italian Family, an element that the producers said at TCA press tour that they intend to play up. Ugh. Bad idea.
Month: September 2012
LB Loves When io9.Com Uses This Picture
That’s this one:
It’s from the old STAR TREK: THE ANIMATED SERIES episode I wrote called “The Magicks of Megas-Tu.” It reminds me of how much the show was loved and fills me with a nice, warm feeling for Gene and D.C. and the gang.
GOOD WIFE Creators Sell GIRLS WITH GUNS
THE GOOD WIFE isn’t our favorite show, but the Kings are two of our favorite writers, so let’s raise a glass for the sale of their new project, GIRLS WITH GUNS, to Showtime. According to various interweb sources, GIRLS WITH GUNS is a drama about two L.A. sisters whose family moves to “the one place in the world where women are drafted into the military – Israel.” We’re assuming that our two lissome heroines are:
- Drafted
- Lissome
…because otherwise there wouldn’t be any show. Congrats to the royal couple. (Um, their name is King, get it?) Happy creating, writing, producing, and money-making, Robert and Michelle!
DISCWORLD TV Show Coming to BBC
For hardcore Discworld and Terry Pratchett fans, this is HUGE. (For us, not so much. But we’re Philistines and we know it. Anyway:)
REPORTEDLY: DISCWORLD CITY WATCH SHOW MOVING RIGHT ALONG – by Susana Polo
Shows to Die For in 2012-13
Okay, we don’t want you to die, literally. But somebody who sometimes is right about some things having to do with TV thinks we all might enjoy some of the following:
Fall TV Preview: 15 Shows To Look Out For In The Coming Season – by Oliver Lyttelton