'Allen Gregory' - 'Pilot': Little big man
What did everybody think of FOX's new animated comedy?
Jonah Hill is "Allen Gregory."
I posted my review of FOX's "Allen Gregory" yesterday. Now it's your turn. For those of you who watched, what did you think? Was Jonah Hill funny as an obnoxious 7-year-old? Were you distracted by his dad's resemblance to "Community" Dean Pelton? And are you going to watch again?
Have at it.
Review: FOX's 'Allen Gregory' dragged down by irritating title character
Jonah Hill and company introduce the world's worst 7-year-old in a new animated comedy
- Critic's Rating D+
- Readers' Rating D
A few weeks ago, in reviewing HBO's "Enlightened," I suggested it hadn't cracked the tricky problem of how to generate comedy out of a character largely lacking in self-awareness. At the time, I wrote:
The trick to making a comedy with this kind of character work usually involves some combination of putting them in a position of power over the people they're inadvertently offending, making them so blissful in their idiocy that it barely matters how often they embarrass themselves, or making them jerks in need of comeuppance.
Since then, I watched "Allen Gregory," a new animated comedy that FOX will debut Sunday night at 8:30, and it follows that script to a T, giving us an oblivious central character who is able to bully and walk over everyone, who is extraordinarily pleased with himself and his cultured ways, and who is very much in need of comeuppance.
And in watching it, I realized that the game is much more complicated than I suggested earlier, because "Allen Gregory" is vastly more unpleasant to watch than "Enlightened" could hope to be.
'Boss' - 'Reflex': The wrath of Kane
Zajac gets his day on camera, and Tom faces his future
Zajac (Jeff Hephner) gives a speech on "Boss."
A quick review of tonight's "Boss" coming up just as soon as I know if you're a Mac or a PC...
'Grimm' - 'Pilot': Born to be blutbad
What did everybody think of NBC's new fairy tale drama?
David Giuntoli and Russell Hornsby in "Grimm."
Okay, I posted my review of NBC's "Grimm" this morning. Now it's your turn. For those of you who watched both it and "Once Upon a Time," was this better or worse than the ABC show? Did you like the scarier tone? How did you feel about David GIuntoli as the lead? Was Haywire enough to compensate? If you're a Whedon-ite (and I imagine that will be a good percentage of people who tune in tonight), will you be sticking around for a while just out of David Greenwalt loyalty? Or did people genuinely like it?
Have at it.
'Chuck' - 'Chuck vs. Zoom': The reverse flash
Carmichael Industries gets off to a bumpy start in the final season premiere
Chuck (Zachary Levi) briefs the team in the season 5 premiere.
"Chuck" has begun its fifth and final season. I offered a review of the first three episodes yesterday, and I have specific thoughts on the season premiere coming up just as soon as I get a house with a second bowling alley...
First look: 'Shameless' cast gets all wet for season 2
An early glimpse at key art for the Showtime dramedy's new season
In its first season, I found Showtime's "Shameless" to be a promising show that didn't quite know what it wanted to be when it grew up. The American remake of the popular British drama, often adapting scripts from the original, straddled a line between comedy and drama, but seemed to be much more successful being serious than funny. Or maybe it was just that I found the scenes without William H. Macy as Frank to work better, whether they were comic or dramatic. Either way, Emmy Rossum was fantastic as Fiona Gallagher, as were most of the young actors in the cast. (And recurring guest star Jane Levy is already doing very well for herself as the star of "Suburgatory.")
We'll see if the new season, which debuts on January 8 (aka Elvis' birthday), has a stronger handle on either tone or Frank Gallagher, but in the meantime, here's the key art for the new season, showing the Gallagher clan figuring out the cheapest way possible to cool off in a typically hot Chicago summer.
'Prime Suspect' - 'Regrets, I've Had a Few': I put a curse on you
The show has evolved into a strong workplace drama, but is anyone watching?
NBC didn't have episode-specific art of last night's "Prime Suspect," so enjoy the gang all posing together.
A review of last night's "Prime Suspect" - and how the show has evolved from its very shaky pilot - coming up just as soon as I call dibs on telling you that a tarp is not a reasonable expectation of privacy...
Review: Fairy tales (also) come to life in NBC's 'Grimm'
Humorless approach and stiff leading man hamper potentially scary take on fabled monsters
- Critic's Rating C
- Readers' Rating B-
Silas Weir Mitchell and David Giuntoli in "Grimm."
"This is no fairy tale," Portland cop Nick Burkhardt is told when one of his cases appears to involve a monster as the perp. "The stories are real."
Well, of course they're real. Did Nick - the hero of NBC's new thriller "Grimm" (tonight at 9) - not watch Sunday's premiere of "Once Upon a Time" on ABC, this season's other new drama about fairy tales come to life?
'Parks and Recreation' - 'Meet N Greet': Halloween headlock
Tom tries to hijack Leslie's party, while Ben and Andy wrestle at another one
Ben (Adam Scott) does not enjoy the party as much as April (Aubrey Plaza) and Andy (Chris Pratt) on "Parks and Recreation."
A review of tonight's "Parks and Recreation" coming up just as soon as I quote Mary Pickford(*)...
'Community' - 'Horror Fiction in Seven Spooky Steps!': Cabin fever
For the second episode in a row, we get seven stories in one episode
Abed (Danny Pudi) and Britta (Gillian Jacobs) in one of seven "Community" Halloween stories.
A review of tonight's "Community" coming up just as soon as I'm comforted by your shiny hair and facial symmetry...

