Castle, Parks & Rec, and I’m a Celebrity….
The Poop: You know what? This isn’t bad. There is nothing in the pilot that you haven’t seen a hundred times before, but at least it’s handled reasonably well. I mean, we’ve seen sexual tension masked by bickering and rakish sarcasm ever since the invention of television. (True fact: The third television show ever broadcast nationwide was actually called Sexual Tension Masked by Bickering and Rakish Sarcasm. Your grandfather loved it. It was on right before Sassy Minorities.)
The leads are appealing, the banter is quick and at least mildly clever. However, I don’t remember anything at all about the plot. Seriously, I had to read a plot summary online to refresh my memory. I don’t even remember how they caught the killer, but I do remember that guest-stars Stephen J. Cannell and James Patterson (neither of whom can act even a little bit) gave Castle some ideas. That’s right, this series uses established mystery writers for special guests. (Bring on Elmore Leonard!)
While a show can coast on charisma for a long time, it’s unfortunate that they’re not giving their likeable leads more to do. I would like to see more clever cases – give us a reason why Castle’s presence provides any sort of benefit to the police. As it is, he’s mostly there to hit on Kate Beckett and provide witty asides. This is so close to being really good that it’s a shame the actual plots are so lazy.
The Prognosis: It’s likeable, but not essential. Sure, I’m going to keep watching it, but I’d watch just about anything for Stana Katic. Heck, I watched The Spirit, and that movie was so bad it’s been known to cause lupus.
Parks and Recreation
NBC, Thursday 8:30 PM
The Premise: An Office-style fake documentary about a low-level municipal employee with 
dreams and enthusiasm that far exceed her actual level of influence.
dreams and enthusiasm that far exceed her actual level of influence.The Personnel: Amy Poehler stars as Leslie Knope. Her co-stars include the always fantastic Aziz Ansari, former Office regular Rashida Jones, and Chris Pratt, who I am ashamed to recognize as Che from The O.C. The series was created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur. Daniels co-created King of the Hill and adapted The Office for American television, as well as writing for The Simpsons. He is a God. Schur is a writer/producer on The Office, and also plays Dwight’s Cousin Mose.
The Poop: This is the show that was originally going to be an Office spin-off, so clearly it took a turn. It’s certainly not the opposite of The Office, with a similar documentary style and a delight in awkwardness, but it’s very much its own show. It’s not as if you can match each character up with their Dunder Mifflin equivalent. Sure, Leslie and Michael Scott share a sense of humor and level of enthusiasm, but in very different directions. In Michael’s head, there’s a golden statue of him outside the building. In Leslie’s, there’s maybe a plaque commemorating her somewhere in the brand new park.
Interestingly, there’s a sort of meta-arc running throughout the first season. The running plot is about Leslie forming a subcommittee to turn a pit (the foundation for an abandoned housing project) into a park. This is a good idea, as it lets us see different aspects of her job every week, as the project progresses. Municipal planning isn’t inherently interesting in and of itself, so it’s nice that there’s a logical progression.
While the actual pilot still had some kinks to work out (and since I’m so far behind I can happily say that the series has improved with every episode), the cast is absolutely perfect. Amy Poehler, as you’d expect, nails the naïve enthusiasm. Rashida Jones as Ann is just as funny as she was on The Office, with nice, subtle delivery. I’m starting to think that Aziz Ansari is one of the funniest men in TV – he brings a hilarious creepiness to the table. Nick Offerman (as Leslie’s dead-inside boss) and Chris Pratt (as Ann’s injured boyfriend) are real standouts, running away with every one of their respective scenes. It’s a comedy dream cast.
The Prognosis: This one’s a “Record All”. The creative pedigree would have brought me on board no matter what, but Parks and Recreation started out likeable and funny, and got better with each subsequent episode. If you like The Office, you’ll enjoy Parks and Recreation. If you don’t like The Office, well, you’re no friend of mine.
I’m a Celebrity – Get Me Out of Here
NBC, Monday-Thursday 8 PM
The Premise: Semi-famous people participate in bizarre competitions while in the jungle to earn money for charity. Based on a British series.
The Personnel: Yikes. Participants include American Idol’s Sanjaya, Heidi and Spencer from The Hills, Janice Dickinson, Stephen “Flea” Baldwin, and a surprisingly buff Lou Diamond Phillips.The Poop: You know, this doesn’t have to be a bad show, but it’s pretty much derailed by inconsistency and douchiness. Let’s just get the elephant in the room out of the way – Spencer and Heidi are singularly awful people. They are vain, stupid, useless, and untalented, and they equate the fact that they are somehow famous with the notion that they are better than all people who are not. I’m completely unfamiliar with these people, and after one episode, I hate them so much. If I think about it, I actually get nauseous. I’m not going to dwell on why impoverished Third Worlders would be completely justified in killing and eating these two.
Instead, I’ll just note how badly they screwed up the first week of the show. Heidi and Spencer quit twice during the first episode, at one point calling NBC Entertainment President Ben Silverman and chewing him out. Meltdowns are always fun to watch, but diva behavior isn’t. And unfortunately, that squeezes out the rest of the cast. By the end of the first episode, we haven’t seen enough of anybody (except the Butthole Twins) to care about them. In fact, so much of the set-up was sacrificed to service Spencer’s tantrums that it’s not at all clear what the rules are or when and how people are eliminated. I shouldn’t be perplexed by a reality show, but I am. As near as I can tell, this might just be Calvinball, and they’re making the rules up as they go.
I don’t know that it would be completely clear even without the Pratts – NBC is notoriously bad at producing reality shows. Constantly shifting rules, poorly designed competitions, for some reason, NBC has a hard time with the genre. They’ve brought us inconsistent dating shows and badly executed cooking shows. Frankly, if something like The Bachelor, which is made of cynicism and incompetence, can still produce episodes with internal logic and a story, it can’t be that hard. Here we’ve got a mishmash of competitions without clear ramifications, and a shuffling of teams on the very first day.
It’s not a good show, not by any stretch. If it weren’t summer, I wouldn’t have watched any more than my contractually-obligated first episode. However, future episodes brought out some watchable weirdness from the other cast members. Stephen Baldwin is a strange dude – there’s no way around it. He and I have a history from the first season of Celebrity Apprentice, and there’s a certain pleasure in seeing him attacked by insects. There’s a certain pleasurable consistency in having guaranteed program throughout the summer, even if the show’s not actually good. I know, I’m sick.
The Prognosis: Meh. I’ll probably watch it until Big Brother returns, but it’s already become background noise while I do more interesting things. Although if Spencer sticks around, I might have to give up. No kidding, I can feel him giving me an ulcer.
