Michael Stahl-David of 'My Generation'

Credit: ABC

[As I've already mentioned, and will continue to mention each and every one of these posts that I do: This is *not* a review. Pilots change. Sometimes a lot. Often for the better. Sometimes for the worse. But they change. Actual reviews will be coming in September and perhaps October (and maybe midseason in some cases). This is, however, a brief gut reaction to not-for-air pilots.]

Show: "My Generation," ABC
The Pitch: "Do you know the British '7 Up' series?" "No." "Ummm... Good. Cuz this isn't like that. It's like... ummm... 'The Real World: The Scripted Series.'" "Is this suddenly 2002? If so? SOLD!" [Honestly, I don't have a clue either how this one was ordered to series to ABC, or why ABC brass went to the upfronts in May determined to pimp "My Generation" as a network-defining breakthrough.]
Quick Response: Pretty Stepford 20-somethings natter on and on to the camera portentously about their life goals, romantic obstacles and difficulties finding happiness? Dear Lord. It's "E-Harmony Commercial: The Series." Yes. "My Generation" is just that smarmy and self-satisfied. It's unfortunate that with nine major characters introduced in 44 minutes, there wasn't a single character I liked or could relate to. And I found at least seven or eight of the characters actively annoying. And I'm only five years out of this show's wheelhouse, so I shouldn't be finding these people more affected and foreign to me than, say, the cast of "Spartacus." Part of the distancing effect is courtesy of the faux-documentary conceit, which proves more distracting than enlightening. If you're doing this format, you have to either embrace the particular limitations it puts on your storytelling, or else you have to ignore those limitations completely and run the risk of this viewer going, "Boy, this documentary crew seems to have a lot of roving cameras and some really sophisticated sound equipment." Or maybe the conceit and the show itself are an intentional goof? Maybe the reveal is going to be that the documentary-within-the-show is every bit as contrived and fake as something like "The Hills." That would be a pretty dizzying construct, if the very poorly scripted and acted show in the premiere turned out to be a ruse and subsequent episodes showed us the behind-the-scenes footage, in which suddenly the acting and writing all became appreciably better and we saw the reality behind the front these nine people are making for the camera? I doubt it. Anyway, the dramatic irony is obnoxious -- our first line of dialogue is one character, in 2000, glibly announcing "My name is Rolly Marks and I think that George W. Bush is going to be the best president this country's ever seen. Woo!" and fans of the show will laugh knowingly, as if this kind of winking and nudging were somehow clever -- and a lot of the "history" seems specious at best (one character is meant to be a brilliant innovator because he knows what an mp3 is in May 2000, long after the launch of Napster). Anyway, I've gotta save some ranting material for my actual review, but let's just say that every single second of "My Generation" rang false to me. 
Desire To Watch Again: I'm almost perversely curious to see another episode or two, just to see if I can get any indication of the show Steve McPherson thought he was introducing to advertisers back in May. As a huge fan of Noah Hawley's last ABC show, the quirky and distinctive "The Unusuals," this goes down as one of my biggest disappointments of the pilot-viewing season. [Some people are going to love "My Generation." They will mostly, I suspect, be women 18-34. That's the CW audience. So naturally, ABC has programmed "My Generation" against The CW's most popular show. Anywho...]

Previously...

Take Me to the Pilots '10: NBC's 'Outlaw'
Take Me to the Pilots '10: NBC's 'Chase'
Take Me to the Pilots '10: CBS' 'The Defenders'
Take Me to the Pilots '10: CBS' 'Blue Bloods'
Take Me to the Pilots '10: CBS' 'Mike & Molly'
Take Me to the Pilots '10: NBC's 'Outsourced'
Take Me to the Pilots '10: The CW's ' Hellcats '
Take Me to the Pilots '10: FOX's "Raising Hope"
Take Me to the Pilots '10: NBC's "The Event"
Take Me to the Pilots '10: FOX's "Running Wilde"
Take Me to the Pilots '10: FOX's "Lonestar"
Take Me to the Pilots '10: CBS' "Hawaii Five-0"
Take Me to the Pilots '10: NBC's 'Undercovers'
Take Me to the Pilots '10: ABC's "Better Together"
Take Me to the Pilots '10: CBS' "Feces My Dad Says"
Take Me to the Pilots '10: The CW's "Nikita"
Take Me to the Pilots '10: ABC's "No Ordinary Family"

Jimmy Smits of 'Outlaw'

Credit: NBC

[As I've already mentioned, and will continue to mention each and every one of these posts that I do: This is *not* a review. Pilots change. Sometimes a lot. Often for the better. Sometimes for the worse. But they change. Actual reviews will be coming in September and perhaps October (and maybe midseason in some cases). This is, however, a brief gut reaction to not-for-air pilots.]

Show: "Outlaw," NBC
The Pitch: "Take 'Shark' and replace Jimmy Woods with Jimmy Smits! It's a Latino 'Shark'! It's 'Tiburon'!"
Quick Response: A relatively young (Jimmy Smits pretending he's "pushing 50") and notoriously conservative Supreme Court justice decides to leave his lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land in order to become a crusading liberal defense attorney. Ummm... Sure. You betcha! "Outlaw" is hindered by an utterly ludicrous premise. He might as well leave the Supreme Court to become a punter for the Redskins, or to lead a mission to Mars or to undergo a sex change operation and run for Miss Universe. No amount of weepiness about his deceased father or not-so-subtle discussion of his demons (a gambling problem) is going to make the pilot of "Outlaw" seem even slightly plausible. And even once you leave the premise -- the script don't bother defending his motivations for very long -- aside, everything in the "Outlaw" pilot is equally ridiculous, including the legal machinations of the case-of-the-week and his interactions with his team of clerks, who suddenly decide that a clerkship with a nutso pro bono lawyer is every bit as good as a Supreme Court clerkship. And with such a goofy, ill-defined character to play, Smits just coasts on past mannerisms, going back on autopilot after his compelling and image-redefining work on "Dexter." But there's no reason why, with the stupid premise out of the way, "Outlaw" can't just settle into a familiar "eccentric defense attorney who knows how to play the system and isn't afraid to bend the rules" format. I guess "Shark" was the reverse, wasn't it? He was a soulless defense attorney and he becomes a crusading prosecutor who knows how to play the system and isn't afraid to break the rules? See? And you thought "Tiburon" was going to be formulaic! "Outlaw" is a bad pilot, but there was always talk that NBC might pick the show up and reconceive it entirely. That appears not to be the case, but there are pieces to work with -- Smits, Jesse Bradford, Carly Pope, David Ramsey, possibly Gina Gershon, if she hasn't been written out -- and "Outlaw" may end up becoming generic and serviceable if you just skip the pilot and pick the show up in Week Two. My fear is that Smits' character is going to keep playing the, "Don't tell me about that precedent... I WROTE THE RULING!" card every week, while mobsters and government thugs lurk in the background menacingly. I would forego rolling my eyes at that particular inanity in favor of catching "Tom Selleck's Crime-Fighting Mustache" on CBS at the same time. Then again, I would semi-happily watch a show based around Carly Pope's "Tiburon" character. She's hot and seems to be having more fun than anybody around her.
Desire To Watch Again: I don't ever want to watch *this* show again, but "Outlaw" is so demonstrably a show-in-transition that I'll definitely give it two more episodes to declare its intentions before bailing.

Previously...

Take Me to the Pilots '10: NBC's 'Chase'
Take Me to the Pilots '10: CBS' 'The Defenders'
Take Me to the Pilots '10: CBS' 'Blue Bloods'
Take Me to the Pilots '10: CBS' 'Mike & Molly'
Take Me to the Pilots '10: NBC's 'Outsourced'
Take Me to the Pilots '10: The CW's ' Hellcats '
Take Me to the Pilots '10: FOX's "Raising Hope"
Take Me to the Pilots '10: NBC's "The Event"
Take Me to the Pilots '10: FOX's "Running Wilde"
Take Me to the Pilots '10: FOX's "Lonestar"
Take Me to the Pilots '10: CBS' "Hawaii Five-0"
Take Me to the Pilots '10: NBC's 'Undercovers'
Take Me to the Pilots '10: ABC's "Better Together"
Take Me to the Pilots '10: CBS' "Feces My Dad Says"
Take Me to the Pilots '10: The CW's "Nikita"
Take Me to the Pilots '10: ABC's "No Ordinary Family"

Emmy trophies. They're shiny.

Credit: AP

Happy Friday, boys and girls. As promised, this is our second Firewall & Iceberg podcast of the week, this one dedicated 100% to Emmy nominations.

Yup. There's no point in even doing a breakdown, because from Minute Zero to Minute 44, this podcast is all about Emmys.

If you've clicked through my Emmy predictions and read Sepinwall's Drama and Comedy picks, this podcast may be a bit like an audio book form of things you've previously read, though perhaps with a bit more discussion and bickering...

As always, you can subscribe to The Firewall & Iceberg Podcast over at the iTunes Store, where you can also rate us and comment on us. [Or you can always follow our RSS Feed.]

Jon Hamm of 'Mad Men'

Credit: AMC

As you may have heard, the Emmy Awards will be presented on Sunday (Aug. 29) night, putting a blissful end to the last couple months of nomination previewing and prognosticating. 

James Gandolfini and Edie Falco of 'The Sopranos'

Credit: HBO

Happy Monday, boys and girls. Time for a very special edition of The Firewall & Iceberg Podcast.

Why is it very special?

Well, for the very first time, we welcome a special guest. "Parks and Recreation" mastermind Michael Schur dropped by for an epic conversation about "The Sopranos" and "The Wire," naturally. If you're a fan of both shows -- and really, who isn't? -- it's a great discussion.

As always, you can subscribe to The Firewall & Iceberg Podcast over at the iTunes Store, where you can also rate us and comment on us. [Or you can always follow our RSS Feed.]

The cast of NBC's 'Chase'

Credit: NBC

[As I've already mentioned, and will continue to mention each and every one of these posts that I do: This is *not* a review. Pilots change. Sometimes a lot. Often for the better. Sometimes for the worse. But they change. Actual reviews will be coming in September and perhaps October (and maybe midseason in some cases). This is, however, a brief gut reaction to not-for-air pilots.]

Show: "Chase," NBC
The Pitch: "You've seen US Marshal shows before, but none that were produced by Jerry Bruckheimer."
Quick Response: US Marshals are all the rage on the small screen and "In Plain Sight" and "Justified" have rather dedicated fanbases already in place, fanbases that may not instantly warm to the rather more generic "Chase." From their pilots, "Justified" and "In Plain Sight" were anchored by the performances by Timothy Olyphant and Mary McCormack, clear star turns that declared, "With leads like this, you know we're going to be more than just a 'chase-the-bad-guys' procedural." Instead, "Chase" seems to be declaring, "What's wrong with being just a chase-the-bad-guys procedural?" Although "Chase" features several actors -- Kelli Giddish and Cole Hauser in particular -- who have toplined shows before, no one character stands out in the bland pilot, nor does any one actor. Giddish is presented as the star, but she's hobbled by clumsy dialogue attempting to explain away her toughness. In person, Giddish has a defined attitude and swagger and the writers would be well-advised to follow her around for a few months and learn to mimic her speech patterns and mannerisms. In person, you understand why Kelli Giddish could still become a star, but on screen, she still falls short. None of the other actors make impressions and how could they? In lieu of a script, "Chase" is propelled solely by David Nutter's propulsive direction. But too much action and not enough character is a bad thing for a pilot of this type, because I couldn't figure out what any of the characters contributed to the team and thus couldn't find a reason to care about or understand their procedure. The pilot features "Tarzan" star Travis Fimmel dirtied up and pretty much playing the most evil fugitive in the whole world. The template, one can safely assume, is that "Chase" aims to go down the "Criminal Minds" route of letting otherwise clean-cut, recognizable actors drop by scuzz up their images as the villain-of-the-week. If the series is going to have any ongoing plotlines or character development, the pilot offers no indication. Don't get me wrong: There's room for fast-paced procedurals, but coming after the heavily serialized "Chuck" and "The Event" on Monday night makes "Chase" the outlier. [Not necessarily worth going into detail on for a preview like this, but "Chase" gets points for shooting in Texas, which gives the pilot some visual character.]
Desire To Watch Again: Minimal. Even if done well, this isn't the kind of show I have much interest in and this seems to be done as generically as possible. But I'll still give it a second episode...

Previously...

Take Me to the Pilots '10: CBS' 'The Defenders'
Take Me to the Pilots '10: CBS' 'Blue Bloods'
Take Me to the Pilots '10: CBS' 'Mike & Molly'
Take Me to the Pilots '10: NBC's 'Outsourced'
Take Me to the Pilots '10: The CW's ' Hellcats '
Take Me to the Pilots '10: FOX's "Raising Hope"
Take Me to the Pilots '10: NBC's "The Event"
Take Me to the Pilots '10: FOX's "Running Wilde"
Take Me to the Pilots '10: FOX's "Lonestar"
Take Me to the Pilots '10: CBS' "Hawaii Five-0"
Take Me to the Pilots '10: NBC's 'Undercovers'
Take Me to the Pilots '10: ABC's "Better Together"
Take Me to the Pilots '10: CBS' "Feces My Dad Says"
Take Me to the Pilots '10: The CW's "Nikita"
Take Me to the Pilots '10: ABC's "No Ordinary Family"

Jim Belushi and Jerry O'Connell of 'The Defenders'

Credit: CBS

[As I've already mentioned, and will continue to mention each and every one of these posts that I do: This is *not* a review. Pilots change. Sometimes a lot. Often for the better. Sometimes for the worse. But they change. Actual reviews will be coming in September and perhaps October (and maybe midseason in some cases). This is, however, a brief gut reaction to not-for-air pilots.]

Show: "The Defenders," CBS
The Pitch: "It's 'dr. vegas' only with lawyers."
Quick Response: Never rule out the power of diminished expectations. Thanks to oddball leading men Jerry O'Connell and Jim Belushi, "The Defenders" stands a good chance of earning a number of "Well, it's better than I expected" reviews, reviews that ignore the number of likable performances scattered throughout the resumes of both stars. Premise-wise, "The Defenders" is an easy sell. If Las Vegas is home to a wacky and peculiar set of murders or medical maladies, it stands to reason that there will never be any shortage of gamblers, mobsters, strippers, porn stars and wannabe outlaws in needs of defense attorneys willing to do whatever it takes to keep them out of trouble. O'Connell is fine and Belushi is very good and they've been surrounded by some appealing talent, including Jurnee Smollett, playing one of those quintessential hotties who stripped to pay for law school. I don't know what the ongoing availability is for pilot guest stars Natalie Zea and Stephen Root, but there's little doubt that the show would benefit from keeping both around as much as humanly possible. For my money, the show already has a strike against it by opting not to film in Las Vegas, since the pilot benefits from Sin City "as another character" (a favorite cliche of mine), which it probably won't be with future episodes shot mostly in LA. "The Defenders" is almost never original, but the pilot is reasonably well grounded in character and a renewable premise and has potential to emerge as another piece of comfort entertainment for CBS, albeit in a genre the network hasn't cornered.
Desire To Watch Again: I doubt I'll be a regular viewer of "The Defenders," but I'm not opposed to watching it again, perhaps. The caution would be that if both stars have been likable in the past, they've also been really annoying, especially O'Connell (you may say "especially Belushi"), and just because the pilot tamped down those smarmier tendencies doesn't mean that the series will be able to.

Previously...

Take Me to the Pilots '10: CBS' 'Blue Bloods'
Take Me to the Pilots '10: CBS' 'Mike & Molly'
Take Me to the Pilots '10: NBC's 'Outsourced'
Take Me to the Pilots '10: The CW's ' Hellcats '
Take Me to the Pilots '10: FOX's "Raising Hope"
Take Me to the Pilots '10: NBC's "The Event"
Take Me to the Pilots '10: FOX's "Running Wilde"
Take Me to the Pilots '10: FOX's "Lonestar"
Take Me to the Pilots '10: CBS' "Hawaii Five-0"
Take Me to the Pilots '10: NBC's 'Undercovers'
Take Me to the Pilots '10: ABC's "Better Together"
Take Me to the Pilots '10: CBS' "Feces My Dad Says"
Take Me to the Pilots '10: The CW's "Nikita"
Take Me to the Pilots '10: ABC's "No Ordinary Family"