IR Television Review: Hidden Masks & Pushing Characters - New TV Shows - Spring 2012 - Part I

Continuing the mix with pushing animation and eccentric characters, using tried and true methods sometimes works with mixed results whether it be sketch comedy gurus attacking the tenants of high school or a succubus finding her way in a coven of vampire. The shows structured here explore the hidden masks between the ideas of identity and coming to terms with who people want or expect you to be.Unsupervised The only problem in being the second animated show at FX is that you have to be compared to "Archer". While the series functions as a modern day "Beavis & Butthead" with heart, it comes off less snarky and more white trash than its older brother. While this undeniably is the background of the show, its insistence feels too earnest. The overweight side friend is too cool for school and the home-bound desolation of the kids is almost depressing. One light within the circumference of the series is the pyromaniac special needs kid, who it seems is based on one of the creators' friend. He is snot nosed and hilarious. At one point in an episode which involves the lower echelon of students whose classroom is represented by a cargo container, his screams for help are both funny and slightly sad, so the connection is made. The balance of crash and temperament is a "touch-and-go" policy here so the line tends to manipulate the audience week to week.Napoleon Dynamite The animated continuation of the popular independent movie by comparison plays much more innocent but with a texture of knowing on network. The fact that it is the exact same cast from the movie definitely distinctifies it. The difference is the kind of weird stuff Napoleon talks about in his head which before were only spoken daydreams are now adventures he can actually have whether it be a full-blown wrestling match or leading an army into battle. The texture seems to play with the right sense of tongue-in-cheek angle and the banter is every bit as witty though like the film, Kip steals the show because he is the most unlikely hero that has the cahones to start trouble even if it causes him pain. It always makes his "Hey!" and "Owww" even funnier.The Finder Creating another private eye in Miami but one without the same charm or social interaction as say Michael Weston in "Burn Notice" or the lead investigator on "The Glades" pushes a little bit of credibility within this yarn depending on his level of clearance. Headquartered in a bar off the edge of the Everglades with a chaperone and omen like Michael Clarke Duncan wearing his best tropical shirt can brighten any day especially when cocktails are added into the mix. Like "Unforgettable", this investigator uses a sixth sense to permeate his clues which distinctly don't work in the aspect of modern forensic crime fighting because guilt must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. The ladies within the cast give some gusto from a Federal Agent who finds the investigator irresistible (if not a little weird) to a female juvenile delinquent the crew takes under their wing because she has something to offer. The narratives which include girls in trouble at local clubs mixed with NASA scientists and long-festering betrayals have their moments but the building of attachment to characters which continues as a plot ploy when the FBI sends a psychologist to gauge the importance of what the lead protagonist does seems more to engage the audience than the character itself.Lost Girl Mirroring notions of "Being Human" whereas monsters exist in the real world as roommates just trying to get by, here the lead character is a Succubus set out on her own trying to survive until people begin to take notice of her special talents. The humor reflects more to a show like "Warehouse 13" in the aspect of an eventual sidekick/roommate who is not part of the clan but can offer a viewpoint of this world where throats are slit but the people don't die. Our succubus keeps below the radar for the most part but brokers her deals as she can. At times, it seems all too domestic which makes sense if the series is trying to connect with alienated younger viewers. The forbidden love of sorts between a vampire and our lead character is one of mutual lust and energy. Only at full potential can a succubus fully work her magic. While there is not an overwhelming tension that creates an unbending mythology, the series does deliver on its seeming underworld, lurking just below the surface where, like in the real world, people are just trying to carve out (literally) their own slice of life.