Midseason Premiere

SHOWBUZZDAILY SERIES PREMIERE REVIEW: “Taken”

Posted February 28, 2017 by Mitch Salem

  TAKEN:  Monday 10PM on NBC – If Nothing Else Is On… NBC’s television version of TAKEN doesn’t have much to do with the movie franchise that provided its title, other than fitting into the action genre and featuring a hero named Bryan Mills.  Although presented as a sort of prequel, it’s a modern-day origin […]

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Pilot Reports

SHOWBUZZDAILY Series Premiere Review: “Blood Drive”

Posted June 15, 2017 by Mitch Salem

  BLOOD DRIVE:  Wednesday 10PM on Syfy – If Nothing Else Is On… Syfy is in the midst of a rebranding, the focal point of which seems to be a new font for its logo.  Creatively, if the premiere of BLOOD DRIVE is to be taken as a guide, the network intends its model to […]

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Midseason Premiere

THE SKED Season Premiere Review: “Suburgatory”

Posted January 15, 2014 by Mitch Salem

  SUBURGATORY:  Wednesday 8:30PM on ABC For a comedy that seemed to have a strong sense of itself on its debut, SUBURGATORY suffered from a surprisingly rocky case of the Terrible Twos.  Creatively, the second season of Emily Kapnek’s series wobbled from its original tart satire of suburban mores to weakly serialized romances, dumbed-up silliness […]

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Articles

THE SKED SEASON PREMIERE REVIEW: “Breaking In”

Posted March 7, 2012 by Mitch Salem

> WHERE WE WERE:  Contra Security, a wacky high-tech firm run by the extravagantly enigmatic Oz (Christian Slater).  Contra tests the security measures of its clients by cracking them wide open, staging mock break-ins, robberies, and similar hijinks.  Its roster of idiosyncratic experts include hacker Cameron (Bret Harrison), gadget guy Cash (Alphonso McAuley) and, for […]

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Reviews

THE SKED Season Premiere Review: “Shameless”

Posted January 12, 2014 by Mitch Salem

  SHAMELESS:  Sunday 9PM on Showtime The Gallagher family is undergoing transitions as Season 4 of Showtime’s SHAMELESS begins, and the tone is considerably less rambunctious than in previous seasons.  That’s not to say that bad behavior doesn’t still abound, but it’s a less brazen and unfettered, and comes labored with thoughts about consequences. As […]

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Reviews

THE SKED SEASON PREMIERE REVIEW: “The Closer”

Posted July 9, 2012 by Mitch Salem

  THE CLOSER:  Monday 9PM on TNT   WHERE WE WERE:  The LAPD, where Atlanta emigre Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick), having triumphed over the initial prejudices of her all-male squad, has forged a well-earned reputation as the person a guilty suspect would least want to face in an interrogation room. WHERE WE […]

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Pilot Reports

SHOWBUZZDAILY Series Premiere Review: “Lethal Weapon”

Posted September 21, 2016 by Mitch Salem

  LETHAL WEAPON:  Wednesday 8PM on FOX – Change the Channel By the time the LETHAL WEAPON movie franchise reached its 4th installment, it was virtually a TV series anyway, so there’s no reason for moral outrage that it’s now been turned into one.  But FOX’s small-screen reboot fails in the most obvious way:  it […]

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Reviews

THE SKED’S SEASON PREMIERE REVIEW: “Private Practice”

Posted September 26, 2012 by Mitch Salem

  PRIVATE PRACTICE:  Tuesday 10PM on ABC WHERE WE WERE:  Absorbing a lot of drama.  Pete (Tim Daly) was arrested for his part in a mercy-killing.  Addison (Kate Walsh), having chosen to finally begin her romance with Jake (Benjamin Bratt), was surprised by a proposal from Sam (Taye Diggs).  Amelia (Caterina Scorsone), with the help […]

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