Big Fat Story
Dissociative identity disorder, meet Diablo Cody.
Steven Spielberg, Diablo Cody, Toni Collette—the only thing more winning than United States of Tara’s all-star producer-creator-lead actress team is the show itself. Colette plays Tara Gregson, a seemingly normal suburban housewife who also happens to have dissociative identity disorder, which means she routinely appears as one of three alternative personalities, or “alters,” as she, her husband Max (played touchingly by Sex and the City’s John Corbett), and her two teenage kids, Kate and Marshall, playfully call them. One of those alters, 15-year-old “T,” borrows Kate’s clothes and helps her buy morning-after pills. Beer-swilling (and male) Buck takes Marshall to the shooting range. Alice over-ices cakes and washes the kids’ mouths out with soap. Tara’s condition allows the show to approach with fresh eyes age-old themes like married sex (Max promises not to sleep with the alters, but that doesn’t stop them from desperately trying) and mother-daughter relationships (in one episode, Buck roughs up Kate’s boyfriend.) Rounding out the cast as Tara’s sister is up-and-comer Rosemarie DeWitt (Rachel Getting Married), who constantly reminds the family that their circumstances are far from normal. United States of Tara premieres Sunday, January 18 at 10 p.m. on Showtime. It is also streaming on the Showtime website, password: Tara.
Photo: Jordin Althaus/Showtime
Three star-studded, high-buzz shows—not all of which are worth watching.
Dollhouse, one of the season’s most hotly anticipated shows, marks Joss Whedon’s first major return to the small screen since cult-faves Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly. (He also created the online sensation Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog during the writers’ strike last year.) But the show, which follows an underground group of people who have had their personalities wiped clean and replaced with different ones, is slightly too edgy and will have trouble engaging the casual viewer. Never mind its fatal timeslot: Fridays at 9 p.m. (and it doesn’t debut until February 13). TNT’s Trust Me is an advertising dramedy that is at once an update and a startling contrast to Mad Men; starring Will & Grace’s Eric McCormack and Ed’s Tom Cavanagh as best friends and colleagues, it has the potential to be utterly hilarious—or cutesy and sickening. As for A&E’s The Beast, starring Patrick Swayze as an FBI veteran who mentors his rookie partner, despite a solid pilot (please, who doesn’t love the Swayze?) the show has yet to distinguish itself from every other cop drama on TV. But it has a good name.
Plus: Ashton Kutcher and Tyra Banks judge contestants’ “inner-beauty.”
First came ABC’s Dancing with the Stars. Then FOX’s So You Think You Can Dance. Joining them as of last night is NBC’s Superstars of Dance. Pitting professional dance groups from all over the world against each other, it’s hard to believe this reality competition is much more than shameless sequined coattail riding. (Each group performs dances native to their home country—Irish jig, anyone?) Still, with Lord of the Dance’s Michael Flatley hosting and American Idol’s Simon Cowell producing, it promises to be entertaining if nothing else. Meanwhile, True Beauty hosts Vanessa Minello (TRL), Cheryl Tiegs, and Nole Marin (America’s Next Top Model) explore the value of so-called inner-beauty. Created by the brain trust of reality sluts Ashton Kutcher and Tyra Banks, True Beauty follows six gorgeous women and four hot men as they face outer- and inner-beauty challenges, and are judged, unbeknownst to them, on the morality of their decisions. And speaking of (poor) decision-making, SOAPnet gives comedian and Sex and the City veteran Greg Behrendt a new venue to dispense his trashy dating advice on Thursdays’ Wake Up Call. We’ll schedule a nap.
Photo: Peter Kramer/AP
What to Watch in 2009
This winter, scripted television returns with a vengeance. From wacky new dramedies like United States of Tara and Trust Me, to the edutainment revival of The Electric Company, to the reprise of mega-hits Lost and 24, there’s nearly—but not quite—too much to watch. The Daily Beast previews the best—and warns of the worst. By Miriam Datskovsky.
Lost still mesmerizes, Big Love scores thrice, Scrubs wrangles another season, and 24… sucks?
The best thing about the two-hour Lost season premiere (January 21) is that it continues to demand mind-bending active engagement—or, at least, that Sawyer is shirtless for the entirety of the first episode. That’s more than we can say for its FOX counterpart, 24, whose two-night, four-hour premiere begins Sunday, January 11. The Senate hearing accusing Jack of torture feels dated and lacks nuance, and despite the return of dead agent Tony Almeida, the dismantling of the shadowy CTU robs the show of its sense of urgency. ABC wins bonus points this season by giving a home to the viewer-beloved, NBC-abused cult hit Scrubs, which, far from exploiting its silly, fantastical tendencies, returns to its original comedic and emotional center for an eighth and final season. And lest you need another excuse to throw down for HBO, Big Love returns January 18—juicier and more complicated (there’s a fourth wife, maybe) than ever.
Photo: ABC/Courtesy Everett Collection
Jimmy Fallon and Whoopi Goldberg teach children to laugh and read in this glorious revival.
Step aside, Dora. 1970s gem The Electric Company—as in Rita Moreno, Bill Cosby, Morgan Freeman, “Hey, you guyyyyys!” and “The Last Word” light bulb—is back, courtesy of PBS and Sesame Workshop. The revival will run weekly, and feature guest stars Whoopi Goldberg, Jimmy Fallon, and 30 Rock’s Jack McBrayer. Tony Award-nominated playwright and lyricist Willie Reale heads up the writing team, while music for the series comes from three veterans of In The Heights, the rap-salsa-pop Broadway hit. Producers hope The Electric Company will help kids break through the typical fourth-grade reading wall, particularly those from low-income families.
Photo: PBS
East Bound & Down doesn’t premiere until February and Better Off Ted isn’t even scheduled yet—but take note now.
HBO’s East Bound & Down—created by, written by, and starring Danny McBride (Pineapple Express) and executive produced by Will Ferrell, who also makes an on-screen appearance—follows a Major League Baseball player who flames out and returns home to teach middle-school phys ed and generally wreak profane, small-town havoc. The show retains all the clever humor of Anchorman and Knocked Up without going over the top, a la Talladega Nights. ABC’s Better Off Ted, from My Name is Earl producer Victor Fresco, is a bright new ensemble comedy starring relative unknowns alongside Portia de Rossi. It’s a startlingly fresh and blunt satirical take on the nuances of office life and the ridiculous pursuits of corporate America—in the first episode, one of the employees is cryogenically frozen. Hints of office romance and single-parenting (the debonair Ted has a smart-mouthed daughter) suggest the show might fall into The Office stereotypes trap, but its characters are probably too clever for that.
Photo: Ron Tom / ABC
East Bound & Down doesn’t premiere until February and Better Off Ted isn’t even scheduled yet—but take note now.
HBO’s East Bound & Down—created by, written by, and starring Danny McBride (Pineapple Express) and executive produced by Will Ferrell, who also makes an on-screen appearance—follows a Major League Baseball player who flames out and returns home to teach middle-school phys ed and generally wreak profane, small-town havoc. The show retains all the clever humor of Anchorman and Knocked Up without going over the top, a la Talladega Nights. ABC’s Better Off Ted, from My Name is Earl producer Victor Fresco, is a bright new ensemble comedy starring relative unknowns alongside Portia de Rossi. It’s a startlingly fresh and blunt satirical take on the nuances of office life and the ridiculous pursuits of corporate America—in the first episode, one of the employees is cryogenically frozen. Hints of office romance and single-parenting (the debonair Ted has a smart-mouthed daughter) suggest the show might fall into The Office stereotypes trap, but its characters are probably too clever for that.
Photo: Ron Tom / ABC
Three star-studded, high-buzz shows—not all of which are worth watching.
Dollhouse, one of the season’s most hotly anticipated shows, marks Joss Whedon’s first major return to the small screen since cult-faves Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly. (He also created the online sensation Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog during the writers’ strike last year.) But the show, which follows an underground group of people who have had their personalities wiped clean and replaced with different ones, is slightly too edgy and will have trouble engaging the casual viewer. Never mind its fatal timeslot: Fridays at 9 p.m. (and it doesn’t debut until February 13). TNT’s Trust Me is an advertising dramedy that is at once an update and a startling contrast to Mad Men; starring Will & Grace’s Eric McCormack and Ed’s Tom Cavanagh as best friends and colleagues, it has the potential to be utterly hilarious—or cutesy and sickening. As for A&E’s The Beast, starring Patrick Swayze as an FBI veteran who mentors his rookie partner, despite a solid pilot (please, who doesn’t love the Swayze?) the show has yet to distinguish itself from every other cop drama on TV. But it has a good name.
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You know, I like the Daily Beast because of it's intelligent, thoughtful articles and commentary. Then, BAM! Tons of articles about 'hot' TV shows. Talk about dumb, how about we stick to the stuff that matters? Is that too hard to do?
I can't believe Mad Men did not make your list! It the must watch, scripted television program at my house. I found this review about as interesting (if not more) then the Obama children's first day of school (or puppy update). Beast - thanks for keeping the stories varied AND intelligent.
What about Flight of the Conchords second season opener? That's the funniest thing on TV today and there is nothing like anywhere.
How about Damages, The Closer, Saving Grace, The Tudors, Dexter and all the cable network shows that have saved TV from the destruction of the big three networks. Even the overly sanitized reruns of The Sopranos on A & E are better than what ABC, NBC and CBS have to offer. Thank god for Netflix until the really good shows return.
Thank you.
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