Posts Tagged ‘soap’
 

 

THE SKED SEASON FINALE REVIEW: “The Newsroom”

Here’s what Aaron Sorkin’s THE NEWSROOM is, for better and very often for worse:  a deadly serious, indeed doggedly self-righteous, primer on how news should be reported and, by extension, how America should be gov...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Series Premiere Review: “Notorious”

  NOTORIOUS:  Thursday 9PM on ABC – Change the Channel Any viewer apt to complain about the over-the-top melodrama of Scandal should be forced to watch the pilot for Notorious, a supposed “drama” so cons...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED FALL FINALE REVIEW: “Revenge”

  REVENGE, in its second season, demonstrates the perils of stretching a good thing too far.  (Also being stretched:  ABC’s concept of a “fall finale,” since unlike shows like Revolution and The Walking...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED SEASON FINALE REVIEW: “Bates Motel”

  The first season of BATES MOTEL pulled one of the season’s more interesting sleights of hand.  In theory a prequel to Psycho, more often than not it used the source material as pretext for a quite different kind o...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED’S PILOT + 2 REVIEW: “Magic City”

> A lot can happen between the creation of a TV pilot in the spring and production of episodes for the regular season:  a writing/producing team is hired, audience focus groups weigh in, networks and studios (which may hav...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED SEASON FINALE REVIEW: CW’s “90210”

  90210 has never been CW at its best.  The semi-network specializes almost exclusively in fantasies, either of the supernatural or soapy kind (or both), and some of its shows deliver those fantasies with wit and compelli...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED SEASON FINALE REVIEW: “Army Wives”

  Even though nothing particularly thrilling happened on this seventh season of ARMY WIVES, it was a crucial season for Lifetime’s veteran drama.  The show completed the reboot it had begun in Season 6, and assuming...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED Season Premiere Review: “Grey’s Anatomy”

  GREY’S ANATOMY:  Thursday 9PM on ABC In the miracle season of 2004-05, ABC launched three smash hits:  Desperate Housewives, Lost and GREY’S ANATOMY.  Ten seasons later, the only one still around is Grey&#...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED SEASON FINALE REVIEW: “Gossip Girl”

  It’s appropriate for GOSSIP GIRL, of all shows, that news about it be conveyed via online buzz.  That buzz says that the series’ upcoming 6th season will be shortened and final–and really, it’s t...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED Season Premiere Review: “Downton Abbey”

  DOWNTON ABBEY:  Sunday 9PM on PBS In its fourth season as the most successful regular series in PBS history, DOWNTON ABBEY operates as smoothly as a well-staffed ancestral estate.  Even though the larger subject of the...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED SEASON FINALE REVIEW: “Dallas”

  The Ewing family had to figure out how to muddle through this season after the loss of its most illustrious and colorful member, and so did the TV show that created them all.  DALLAS survived the death of Larry Hagman, ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED’S PILOT + 1 REVIEW: “Devious Maids”

  DEVIOUS MAIDS:  Sunday 10PM on Lifetime Previously… on DEVIOUS MAIDS:  A quintet of maids toil for the vapid, selfish, and sometimes downright evil well-to-do of Beverly Hills.  Carmen (Roselyn Sanchez) hopes co...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED SEASON FINALE REVIEW: “Grey’s Anatomy”

      Where were Jack and Sawyer?  Embracing the idea of “go big or go home,” the 8th season finale of GREY’S ANATOMY opened like the pilot for Lost, in the aftermath of the horrible crash of a...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED SEASON PREMIERE REVIEW: “Scandal”

  SCANDAL:  Thursday 10PM on ABC WHERE WE WERE:  Washington DC, where Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) is the best fixer around.  Not a lawyer (although she has a law degree), not a publicist (although she’s expert ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED SEASON FINALE REVIEW: “Revenge”

  Heroes probably still sets the bar for disastrous second seasons of initially enjoyable TV shows, but this year’s REVENGE came uncomfortably close.  ABC more or less acknowledged that fact when it (in a genteel, c...
by Mitch Salem