Wednesday, April 11, 2012

TRUST THE CRITICS OVER AT HITFIX: I believe tonight's premiere of Don't Trust The B--- In Apartment 23 marks the last regular season debut of the year, and courtesy of ABC making the first two episodes available on Hulu, we can already tell it's got some potential.  Yes, not every element works (the pervy neighbor across the street is too pervy and not funny, and they're going to have to find a way to make Liza Lapira's character be more than one joke), but the central pairing of Krysten Ritter (gothy manic pixie dream girl type from Gilmore Girls, Breaking Bad, and elsewhere) and Dreama Walker (naive blonde who's had arcs on Gossip Girl and Good Wife) has really good chemistry, and James van der Beek is doing some excellent self-parody, particularly in the second episode, where he attempts to teach an acting class at NYU in part because he hates James Franco so much.  I don't know if it'll last--it's much raunchier than Modern Family and lacks the heartwarming ending that show invariably builds to--but it's worth checking out and makes me a little less upset Happy Endings wrapped its season early.
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13 comments:

  1. Marsha11:46 AM

    I watched the first two eps on line and enjoyed them a great deal. (It helps that I'm a Krysten Ritter fan.) We'll see what this morphs into, but I so far it's kind of what I wanted 2 Broke Girls to be.

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  2. isaac_spaceman12:59 PM

    <span>I haven't watched, but I just wanted to say that you shouldn't be upset at all that Happy Endings ended early.  It got a full season, skipped the reruns, and (according to rumor, which must come from Dan or Alan because I don't know if anybody else has ever written about that show) appears set for a third-season pickup.  So save the drama for Wilmer Valderama!  (It's pronounced Wilver Valmerando.)</span>

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  3. Andrew1:13 PM

    I don't know if it's going to be a great show, but I definitely enjoyed the first episode. But the show is quick, Ritter and Walker work well together and van der Beek as "James van der Beek." 

    It doesn't count for the broadcast season, but there are at least two more spring shows, with Girls and Veep debuting on HBO in the next two weeks. Girls looks to be this year's critical darling, and the previews for Veep have been legit funny. 

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  4. Joseph J. Finn4:10 PM

    And with the network season winding down, it's not much longer until the return of The League, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Louis and Wilfred.  F/X, where we have a brand of weirdness for everyone's taste!  (Oh, and the other Paul Scheer show, NTSF:SD:SUV::, which I have a weird affection for.)

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  5. Alan Sepinwall6:01 PM

    There's at least one more network TV debut this season: NYC 22 on CBS this Sunday.

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  6. Matt6:31 PM

    Good point, Alan, though that seems to be just completely tossed on the air, as CBS tends to do with some random show at this point every year, though typically it's something a little more off-brand for them.  I think I saw more outdoor advertising in NYC for "Bent" (which actually got some) than for "NYC 22."

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  7. isaac_spaceman8:01 PM

    <span>Is NYC 22 a show or a UHF channel?  I've never heard of this thing</span>

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  8. Matt8:50 PM

    It's a cop procedural CBS is putting on after Good Wife--has a bunch of street cred--created by Richard Price, pilot written/developed/directed by James Mangold, DeNiro as a producer, cast includes Adam Goldberg and Leelee Sobieski.  Alan and Dan have both indicated that it is not what one might hope for given the pedigree.

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  9. bella wilfer8:53 PM

    Just adding to the love for Apt 23.  My favorite comedy of the year.  Can't wait to see where it goes after the 2 episodes I (and others here) have seen!  Go Team Beek!

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  10. Matt8:43 AM

    We actually did only get 21 episodes--the 22nd is going to air at some point this summer, they say.  (It's a stand-alone.) 

    And Wilmer Valderama is having an odd career renaissance between Awake, his sitcom roles, and his continuing and rather inexplicable ability to attract very attractive famous women.

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  11. Andrew4:38 PM

    I saw an electronic billboard on a subway entrance for NYC 22 the other day, while synchronstically listening to the Firewall & Iceberg segment on NYC 22.

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  12. Bobby7:59 PM

    Does anyone else think "James van der Beek" is a little too much like "NPH" from Harold and Kumar?

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