Season 5 Episode 1: You can get there two way's
Well, it's been a long time, hasn't it? The last time I saw you must have been May, right?
Anyway, how are you? What have you been up to? Sorry that I just up and left you without a proper goodbye, and that is my fault. I left a message explaining where I was going to be and why I would be away for most of the summer, but it must have got lost in the internet ether.
But enough of that, it's the start of a new TV season and getting myself prepared for the next 24 plus weeks. I am looking forward to a more normal TV schedule this year, along with a few interesting new shows.
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News
Renewed - Cancelled - Ordered
Welcome to the News
And that was the news. it’s the beginning of a new TV season so the news is thin on the ground. If anything happens I will shout about it on social media and update everyone else on the forthcoming Sunday. so with that onto the main event and the reason you have visited this small website.
I Have Been Watching
The Big Leap - S1 E1 – I Want You Back
FOX – Comedy/Drama
Every year I make plans for the upcoming season, and I check out the trailers for the brand-new shows and see when they are premiering. I might be wrong this year, but there are fewer new shows than in previous years, but that doesn’t mean the shows are any less attractive.
Take The Big Leap, for instants. When I first saw the trailer, I got many “So You Think You Can Dance” vibes, people auditioning for a dance-based game show. Still, after doing a bit of digging, I discovered that it’s based on a UK documentary that followed average/ordinary people with no formal training come together to put on a production of Swan Lake. Once I found that out I saw this as a potential best new show of the season.
After watching the season opener, I was hooked. The introduction of all the major characters was done perfectly. Starting with Gabby, a former college dance scholarships student how had to put everything on hold after becoming a single mother, how now works in an office in a little cubical.
The other central cast each have their reason to try out for the show. One is a social media influencer and wants to show her followers that it’s never too late to follow a dream, one is trying to get back with his ex-girlfriend and believes getting to perform in Swan Lake with help with that, and one is an NFL footballer (Reggie Sadler) who needs to make people forget a recent drunken incident what may have damaged his football career.
What I also liked about this episode and I’m sure will continue into the season is the behind-the-scenes bit’s, from a budding romance between to the contestants as they perform a Fred Astaire style routine, that the producers quickly up into action and start filming that when turns into an argument with a former girlfriend, which shows the producers getting everyone not involved with the show to sign a contract so they can use it on the show. Another bit of behind-the-scenes I loved was when Gabby and the footballer worked together for both of them to make it into the show. Still, after Reggie got angry with a couple of guys and hit their car with a bin, Gabby was confident he would not turn up for the next round of auditions. Still, it was surprising when he did, and that’s when the producers decided they would be the focal point of the show, saying, “She’s going to fall in love”, “and he going to break her heart”.
As a casual fan of dance-based shows, I am looking forward to the next few episodes to see where this is going to go and how they could get another season out of it.
Ordinary Joe - S1 E1 – Way Leads On To Way
NBC - Drama
Another new show for this season that also has an exciting concept is Ordinary Joe. Joe Kimbreau is about to graduate college and is faced with a few paths to go down, and this is where the premise of the show begins as we get to see Joe in all three walks of life. Each one has a colour filter, so you know which Joe we are following. One of the Joe’s is a famous Singer-songwriter, and this has a red aesthetic to all the shots. Another Joe is in the medical profession and has a green colour pallet. The final Joe follows the family tradition by becoming a police officer, and this Joe’s colour is blue.
As the show progresses, we see where the three joe’s path’s overlap as during one of the scenes at a college reunion, Guitar Joe is asked to play a few songs that can then be heard in the background as one of the other Joes is catching up with an old friend from his college days.
I have only seen the first episode, but I’m not 100% sold on this show at the moment. Like all new shows, I always give it four episodes to make a fair judgment. That doesn’t mean I will stop watching. I always stay until the end of the season and then decided if I’m returning for the next season if that is an option
To give the show some credit, I can see what they are trying to do. They want to appeal to as many people as possible by picking two of the most used job types in TV, Medical and police. I am worried that the stories get too complicated, and I’m going to need a notepad to write now, which joe did/said what. Another worry is that if they get more seasons, they will split into different Joe storylines. By the end of the show, we follow six of seven other Joe’s and how their choses’ lead them to where they are.
Our kind of people - S1 E1 – Reparations
FOX - Drama
First, I have to say I'm not a big fan of soap operas, and I do not have a problem with them. In general, I do not find them interesting, But I am always willing to give a new show a chance, so I went into "Our Kind of People" with an open mind. The idea of the show sounded intriguing. A single mother with a small all-natural hair care product line decides to rick it all by moving her family back to where her late mother used to live and work after being given her mothers old hair salon. The only problem is that the area they are moving into is more upmarket than where they have come from.
We meet Angela Vaughn, the single mother trying to make a better life for her daughter, within the first episode. Still, after being introduced to the area's essential people, the people who can help her business grow, she soon discovers that it might be hard for her to get in with the right people. Like most shows of this style, there has to be a little back story. Angela soon discovers that her father, who wanted nothing to do with her from birth is within this community will have to find out how it is.
Also, within this episode, it's clear the teens of the area are also going to make it hard for Angela's daughter Nikki to fit in. he is no more evident than during a boat party she is invited to, where she is arrested for underage drinking when the police are called after one of the teens falls overboard. When she gives her statement about what she saw/heard, it's discovered she has a bottle of alcohol in her bag.
Another in this show, we get to see a well-off family how to run one of the most significant African American companies in the area. This adds another storyline into the show when the owner's daughter dislikes how her father is running the company and is planning to take over.
So far, this show has all the standard themes for a show like this, so I will have to work hard to keep my attention.
The Wonder - years S1 E1 – Pilot
ABC - Comedy/Drama/Family
Usually, I'm worried when I hear a network has ordered a remake of a show as I feel it's always going to be compared to the original but luckily or maybe unluckily, I have not seen the initial "Wonder Years", so I have nothing to base it on. This incarnation tells the story of a young boy growing up in the late '60s in Alabama. The idea of setting it within an African-American family at the end of the '60s was brilliant as there is a lot of history they can call upon, like in the season premiere.
Dean Williams plays for a local baseball team and wants to have his team play a game against his friend's team; the only problem is that white teams haven't played against a black team before. When he tries to convince his team's coach to allow them to compete against each other, he is hesitant until Dean's mother steps in and makes a convincing argument as to why it might help the team in the future. All was going to plan until Dean's father says Dean can't play in the game, but he stands his ground against his parents and gets his wish for the first time in his life.
Reluctantly, Dean's father attends the game only to argue with the team's coach as to how best to play. As the argument gets heated, a white couple from the other team mistakes their fighting for being upset and offer condolences, only to discover the coach and Dean's parents are unaware that Dr Martin Luther King Jr had been shown was a rally. This is one of the best scenes I have seen in any show in a long time because the very next scene is everyone gathered around a TV set waiting to hear if MLK is going to survive the shooting.
After the news breaks that MLK had died, Dean's father and coach hear a neighbour screaming. She decides to check on her, which is a perfect way to demonstrate togetherness—going from fighting on the baseball field to helping each other out.
Keeping with the theme of helping a friend's out, the final shots were of Dean not knowing quite how big a situation it was but defiantly knowing he show to go and check in with his friend's—knowing that in hard times his friend's always when back to their old school. He headed straight there only to find his best friend making out with a girl from school he had had a crush on for a long time.
On a packed Wednesday night for me, I will have to make for "The Wonder Years" as I can see it is hilarious and heartwarming and will fit in nicely with the Chicago trilogy.
Alter ego – S1 E1 – The Auditions Begin
FOX – Reality-TV
As a fan of singing competitions, I was surprised to see FOX was giving it another go. Their last attempt, "The Four: Battle for stardom", only lasted two seasons, I believe, mainly due to one of the judges getting "Cancelled". But being the network that gave the country "American Idol" and "The Masked Singer", they have decided to stick both shows into a blender and see what format would pour out.
Introducing "Alter Ego", a show for amateur singers who believe they need an Alter Ego to help them perform on stage. So, they are dressed in a leotard with small balls places around the body to help map where they are on stage and what their body is doing. They are also fitted with a phone cradle with a mobile phone facing them to capture their facial movements. The contestants get to customise their Alter Ego with different hair, eye and skin colour. They can even pick out an outfit and make parts of themselves animate (we get to see one make their tattoos move).
Five contestants perform one song backstage in each of the first-round episodes. Alter Ego is onstage for the crowd and the four judges, Will-I-Am, Alanis Morrissett, Grimes, and Nick Lachey. After each performance, the judges must pick if the singer was better and deserved a place on the diamond. After all five singers have performed, the one left on the diamond automatically moves on into the next round. The final four must wait for the studio crown to vote like most competition shows. The judges have to save one of the bottom two singers from elimination. The singer that is voted out sings one more time this coming out to perform with their Alter Ego. It's only then the judges get to see the person behind the Avatar.
I can see why this show was created, but it must have cost a lot to set this all up and get it looking and working so well, so I hope they can get people to watch be keep coming back. What is keeping me interested in this show is how ground-breaking it is. At some points during the two-night premiere, I completely forgot that the avatars were computer-generated. Their movements were so lifelike, even down to the shadows on the floor were perfect. Plus, any show using cutting edge technology and includes Will-I-Am is going to be a great laugh
The Goldbergs – S9 E1 – The Goldbergs' Excellent Adventure
ABC – Comedy
After the sad passing of George Segal, last year ABC and The Goldbergs quickly made a special edit of Pop's best bits at the end of the season, and I felt like that was going to be it. I was happy that they did in the short time they had to get it ready for the end of the season. So, when they said that the opening episode of the newest season would include the passing of Pop's, I was hesitant as I could have felt like they were cashing in on a situation. The other problem is that the season opener has recently become a homage to a classic 80's film. In previous years they have done "Aeroplane" and "National Lampoons Vacation", but this year they played the situation they had been dealt with perfectly. Not only was Pop's the centre of the episode but using the story of "Bill and Ted's excellent adventure" blended amazingly well.
With everyone still not over the passing of pop's Murry gets Bill to "find" a letter saying that pop's wanted to have his ashes scattered around the tree just outside the house. The plan did not go well as one believed the letter to be true and that it must be a treasure hunt to find the real special place Pop wanted his ashes to be scattered. This is where the Bill and Ted storey worked perfectly at each location that was important to Pops. They met people who knew Pop's closely and could tell them stories and lead them to another critical area. Slowly they amassed a small group of Pop's friends, and in the end, Adam remembered the perfect place to end their journey.
Not only did this episode keep its 1980 something feels from previous episodes, but it also helped move the show's stories along because, at the of the episode, Erica and Geoff finally agreed on where best to have their wedding.
Every year, I can't see how much longer this show can last before they have to reuse essential parts of the 80's again unless they plan to move the show into and '90s at some point. What every the do, I'm still going to keep watching, and I'm sure it's still going to be as funny as it is now.
And with that, another episode is in the bag. I hope my wittering on has made your day a little better.
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once again thank you and goodnight
