Family Tension & Intrepid Teamwork: New Television Shows: Fall 2010 - Part II - Review

Drama and comedy always provide the perspective paradox of any given situation. The trick in terms of overall selection is to moderate the ideas presented whether they be mired in ideas of family, morality, truth or even love. The actors must represent the intentions correctly but also allow their own personalities to respectively make themselves know. Whether it be Tom Selleck as a patriarch in "Blue Bloods", William Shatner as a pompous dad in "Shit My Dad Says"or Jerry O'Connell as a smooth talking Vegas lawyer in "The Defenders", everyone has their strengths and weaknesses versus the iconic perception at times of who they are.Blue Bloods Bringing Tom Selleck back into the fold as the patriarch of a powerful law enforcement family has its balances. With a series like this, the progression is hard-edged and very New York, which is dictated by the decision to shoot fully within its walls. This decision creates a distinct reality and separation especially when an episode can shoot a dramatization of a would-be terrorist attack (however small) on the edge of Washington Square Park. Granted the only drawback is that by putting a multi-tiered family within a series of high profile cases and situations might have the tendency to grade against the realistic. Donnie Wahlberg works well bringing his Boston game to NY edging his character with a bit of temper which would be enough to throw Selleck's patriarch off. Add to the mix, a star DA in the form of Bridget Monyahan finally returning to the fray after a prolonged personal acting absence. Like the character she portrayed in "The Recruit", she can play both sides of the equation which is essential to making the family dynamic work because otherwise the get-togethers that punctuate most of the episodes would become food fights. The fact of a missing mother to the clan who died before the inset of the series also dictates a strong dynamic which forces everyone in the family including wives and children of the main characters to change roles in a consistent fashion to adapt to situations.Shit My Dad Says Basing a show off a book based on a series of tweets can be harrowing. Initially each show was set to start with a theme dictated by said tweet. But now looking at the structure of the show, that would have proceeded the program into too niche of a territory. Essentially what the program angles towards is a slightly more politically correct Archie Bunker from "All In The Family" (or maybe a more accepting audience). The dad wants his breakfast when he wants it or as Shatner puts it: "sooner rather than later". The angle here interrelates into both the economy and the changing structure of family dynamics yet the similarity remain the same. Because it operates in a extremely classic structure, the comedy is both comfortable but also pushing the edge. When Shatner's character gets a gay DMV employee fired for bending the rules for him and then later gets him fired at his favorite waffle house, he then hires him as his housekeeper. He even goes so far as to invite the man's choir to sing when all of his old military buddies get together for a reunion. At the center of the narrative though is this man's relationship with his sons. These half brothers are a family unit but reflective of an increasingly unconventional one. One, who lives with his dad, is out-of-work and trying to get back on his feet while the other, married and running a real estate business, is a big lug (much like Brad Garrett on "Raymond") who just wants to be loved. The set-up is streamlined with no end to a texture of stories as long as the show finds it audience.Mike & Molly In creating most of his series, Chuck Lorre ("Two & Half Men" and "Big Bang Theory") works within the notion of "the outcast". With this new progression in "Molly" which, in small part, uses the notion of overweight leads as its ideal, the throwbacks to more 80s based sitcoms becomes more specific. With the help of Jim Burrows who is directing many of the episodes (as he did with his own "Cheers"), the self-deprecating and also ignorant elements of some of the characters works in favorable parts to its lovability. The fact that Mike's partner, who is goading him to get out there and date, is actually living at home with his grandma or that Molly's skanky sister is getting her heart broken because she always sleeps too quickly with married men, shows the inherent flaws in everyone which makes the situations work. The first date is undeniably poignant. Since Molly is sick, she doesn't want to miss a date but unwantingly mixes diet pills with cough syrup (the fault of her sister). After a period of bad feelings, Mike gives her a second chance. The strength of the characters is not based on a precipice of their failure but their stamina which is basically the anatomy of most relationships where people are not supermodels.Chase A fugutive-on-the-run series where Marshalls track down elusive and most wanted criminals near the Mexican border within the auspice of Texas offers a grand portrayal if the idea is used to its fullest potential. On the inset, chasing a perp through the streets filled with cows creates a dilemma of how much the series wants to encapsulate itself in the culture before becoming a regional perspective. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer for one of the first times shoots a series outside a major metropolitan area. This is also taking advantage of the extensive tax breaks that Texas (and more specifically Dallas) is offering to bring in respective series (as "The Good Guys" has shown). The story follows a team led by Annie who had a vicious childhood that drove her to this kind of work. She is instinctive, hard and very analytical, which is specific to Bruckheimer's very good but genre/formula based writing team. He knows what works but the only problem with the machine at one point will be oversaturation. The intuitiveness of knowing the situation backwards and forwards informs the work but the bravado of the locales and the characters still needs to be tested.The Defenders Creating freshness within the test is the big rub of this specific series. Embattling as partners with very different and yet similar ideas about how to run a law practice in Vegas, the pairing of Jerry O'Connell and Jim Belushi is a sly but calculated move. However as observed in the pilot, it comes glaringly close at times to the personification of a satire. Within this construct if one is approaching this idea in respect to the legal profession, it is very forward thinking (granted the banter works) and the progression (or at least the recognition) of ethics as evidence in an early sex scene with a hard edged female DA paints a picture of bending the rules. If the show can maintain these angles but still push the censor board without reeling into complete gonzo territory, the series might have legs. When you have Frank Sinatra Jr. closing the first episode, you have to give a little bit of props.