Lilith Luvs TV

A few days ago, a ton of buzz swept across the internet about USA’s Benched. I’m not a huge fan of the comedy genre as of late but since it was on USA I thought I’d give it a try as I really enjoyed their other comedy offerings they debuted over the summer which were Sirens and Playing House. So here are my 10 reasons as to why you should watch Benched.

To read more please be sure to follow the link and read the article in full over on Voice of TV.

It seems as though the USA network is going through a bit of its own mid-life crisis . Sure they still have quirky character driven shows like Suits and fun action packed dramas like Covert Affairs. But with Psych and Burn Notice in the can and White Collar being on the way out very shortly it feels like the dog days of USA’s ‘blue skies’ formula may be coming to a grinding halt. Not that that is necessarily a bad thing.

It started with last summer’s premiere of Graceland. It was definitely a darker and grittier show than anything this side of an SVU marathon that airs on the USA network and continues with a bold choice to get into the original scripted comedies game(if you haven’t watched Playing House do it now and thank me later). While Rush (Satisfaction’s lead-in) definitely still very much fits the mold of what USA is known for its very obvious that the network is trying to branch out while still trying to maintain a balance of what their viewers want (formulaic as it may be).

Satisfaction, or at least its pilot, is a curious case. At first blush this show seems a little bit like HBO’s Hung but instead of economic hard times being the mitigating factor in the male lead becoming a gigolo; it’s a mid-life crisis or perhaps a bout of depression or maybe even a bit of both. But dig a little deeper and you come to find out you don’t actually know what’s going on due to the endless parade of plot twists as well as a slew of moments you can live vicariously through (everything from the hero on plane that is stuck on the tarmac and actually getting off it, to telling your boss what you really think of him and your job).

In the pilot we meet Neil Truman (Matt Passmore). He seems to have the quintessential upper middle class life: a loving wife, a neglected daughter who is desperate for her parents’ attention, a great job and nice house in a nice neighborhood. But from the very first scene you can tell that this family is going through the motion. No one is happy and everyone just seems to eking out their niche in this mundane existence. But this family is full of surprises.

After years of soul crushing investment banking, Neil Truman has had just about enough. He knows that he spends way too much time at work but he doesn't know how to correct this problem until a series of events leads him to quit his job and sets him on a new path of “enlightenment” unfortunately that moment is cut short when he discovers his wife is having an affair. It seems as though his world is about to come crashing down all around him. Maybe the old Neil would have just left to go cry in a corner but not this new Neil. This Neil actually confronts his wife’s lover. He gets his ass handed to him in the confrontation but he does learn that this affair is more of a business arrangement.

Simon (Blair Redford), his wife’s lover is a male escort. For some reason this isn’t a deal breaker to Neil and he keeps his knowing about Grace’s cheating a secret. He goes about his life for a little while harboring the secret and being passive aggressive. Until he realizes that he has Simon’s phone. He answers it and goes out on a date (and has sex with) one of Simon’s new clients. The date is a revelation to Simon and gives him a little insight into just why his wife might have been seeing Simon. But it doesn’t stop at just one date he goes another as well and gets a job offer to boot.

Grace getting suspicious of Neil goes to his old workplace to discover he quit and is a rising YouTube star thanks to the stunt he pulled on the airplane. She manages to convince his boss to give him his job back and the family seems to be getting back on the right track. Heck they are even spending quality time together around their neglected pool.

Simon does manage to hunt Neil down to his place of employment and threatens him. Simon wants his phone back or at least access to his contacts online. But Neil hands it right back to him and in more adult manner by threatening to get the IRS to audit Simon and it isn’t clear if Neil is doing it out of spite or because he wants to stay in the gigolo game.

Right when it seems like things are going great and Neil and Grace are in a good place, Grace makes a call to Simon and Neil sees it (because he still has the phone) and the episode fades to black with a curious look on Neil’s face and everything up in the air.

Themes of hypocrisy, the meaning of life and the pursuit of happiness are the main themes presented in the pilot but it barely scratches the surface despite the premiere being quite long. I’ll wager a guess that the crux of what the show wants to explore is, what does happily ever mean and how is doesn’t have to look the same for everyone. Or maybe it’s a scathing satire on married life at the midpoint in life. Perhaps it’s morality play on the ethics of lying… I’m not quite sure what Satisfaction is striving to be but I know I like it. While the topic of bad marriages might feel done to death on TV Satisfaction feels more complex and gray.

The tagline for the show asks an interesting question: Would you risk your marriage to save it? From a marketing standpoint, I don’t know if the show is being properly explained or perhaps it’s that the network is not quite sure how it wants to proceed with the subject material. But from a casual viewer standpoint I’m intrigued and the way the pilot ends I definitely want to know more about these characters.

Satisfaction premieres tonight at 10 PM on USA.

“Celebrate Me Home”
Playing House was not on my radar until a few weeks ago when the call for someone to write a preview for the show was put out to the writers here at Spoiler TV. I haven't been on great terms with the USA network as of late but was pleasantly surprised to see that they were trying to get into the original scripted comedy game. The name alone invoked a vision of an up to date version of Full House (a childhood favorite of mine) and to tell you the truth, my estimation wasn't that far off the mark. At least from what I can gather from the first two episodes USA provided.

Playing House stars Lennon Parham as Maggie Caruso and Jessica St. Clair as Emma Crawford. I wasn’t familiar with these two leading ladies but apparently they've starred together in another show, Best Friends Forever back in 2012 on NBC (apparently if you blinked you missed that show and its run). I like shows that feature females, especially females who are good friends in a healthy adult relationship and not backstabbing hussies who are mentally stuck in high school and border on being frenemies. For years now, I have craved the female version of JD and Turk from Scrubs only to be bombarded with varying incarnations of Blair Waldorf and Serena van der Woodsen from Gossip Girl. Playing House seems well aware of this fact and might just be looking to fill that niche.

The premise of the show is a little predictable, I’ll give you that: Maggie who just happens to be pregnant ends her marriage upon discovering her husband's affair with a woman online, she turns to her best friend Emma for support. In order to help Maggie in her time of need, Emma gives up her successful business in China to return to their hometown of Pinebrook, and help her friend raise her unborn baby.

But what isn’t predictable is the writing style. Apparently, most of it is improvised and the best stuff transcribed and then made into script and acted out. I think that is what gives the show a natural, nay, conversational tone. It probably also helps that lead actresses are best friends in real life as well, so they play well off each other.

The pilot was cute and the setup fairly simple. Emma returns home for Maggie’s baby shower and through a very awkward revelation during the baby shower we discover Maggie’s husband has weird fetish and is essentially cheating on her via an odd online relationship. Meanwhile, Emma messes up an important meeting and is ordered to return to Shanghai to fix it. Emma opts not to and offers to stay and raise the baby with Maggie but Maggie is reluctant as Emma has bailed when things got tough on several occasions. But of course in the end Emma stays and she and Emma are about embark on journey with plenty of adventure and hijinks to come.

The second episode is all about Emma and Maggie having brunch with Mark's wife. While that’s going on Mark looks into the robbery of a garden gnome. We learn that Mark proposed to Emma and not only did she say no, she left town and got as far away as she possibly could. Ouch! Also back in high school Emma and Maggie use to make fun of Mark’s wife. They nicknamed her Bird Bones (which is mentioned in the pilot). Mark warns Emma and Maggie not push his “fragile” wife over the edge. Emma and Maggie definitely sell their friendship even harder in this episode as they trade inside jokes and mock people they know/don’t like from afar together.

All in all, these two episodes make me curious about the next eight episodes and I will definitely be checking in on the show from time to time.

BOLO (Be on the Lookout For): Jane Kaczmarek as Emma’s mom

Fun Fact: Playing House is only the second original comedy series for the USA Network

Tasty Tidbit: Both Parham and St. Claire were in the Upright Citizens Brigade.

Grade
1x01: Pilot - B-
1x02: Bird Bones – B+

Playing House premieres tonight at 10 pm EDT over on the USA network.

‘Let’s Make Some Lemonade’
Happy New Year Beasties! I missed you. Did you miss me?

We have one week to go until Beauty and the Beast comes roaring back on to our screens, Monday, January 13, 2014 at 9 PM/8 PM Central on The CW.

I know the hiatus was an unusually brutal one due to a press release about the mid-season scheduling which seems to leave BATB on an indefinite hiatus after March but I’ve been hearing good things about the rest of the season which should be occurring right around episode 13 or 14 and episode 10 sounds incredibly interesting.

Hmm, at this point you might be asking yourself why am I not towing the reviewer line and gushing about how Beasties will love episode 2x09 like everyone on Twitter and the other TV sites have been reporting. That’s because I’m a real fan, I don’t get paid to write about the show, these reviews are an endeavor of pure passion and genuine love for the show. I know what the majority of Beasties want and that’s VinCat. The writers have really handed us some lemons on that front but I decided to focus on the good of this episode and thus will be making the metaphorical lemonade for this teaser article.

Summary
Title: Don’t Die on Me |Written By: Eric Tuchman |Directed By: Mairzee Almas

Synopsis: CAT AND VINCENT’S RELATIONSHIP IS IN DIRE CONDITION — In order to prevent Vincent (Jay Ryan) from further injuries, Cat (Kristin Kreuk) helps protect Tori (guest star Amber Skye Noyes) when her life is threatened, revealing a new, unexpected mystery. Meanwhile, Vincent's stubborn attempt to intervene leads to life-changing consequences, which causes Gabe (Sendhil Ramamurthy) and Cat to grow closer

Initial Grade: D-

Final Grade: C+ (after live tweeting when the episode airs this might change, sometimes other Beasties point out things that I’ve missed and it allows for me to look at an episode with a fresh pair of eyes).

Reason: OK, for like the first time ever, the press release was DEAD on. That’s a bad sign when the powers that be feel the need to give it all away in a press release. They even put the emphasis on Cat and Gabe growing closer, which if they were even the tiniest bit self-aware of the fans reception of this idea, they would have cut that part because honestly, in this episode it was pretty much more of the same with Gabe just hanging out hoping Cat will finally notice him. It took me about 3 viewings to be able to become objective as oppose to subjective.

It was hard for me to swallow but they did give me something that I have been begging for, whether or not they mess that up is yet to be seen. This is a transition episode. It’s literally the setup for the rest of the season. While an intriguing premise presents itself toward the end, the rest of it was painful for me to watch.

There are good things about this episode but they are far and few between and the bad stuff in my opinion far outweighs them. But I have a feeling that the writers needed for the characters to hit rock bottom in order to build them up where they need to be to give us a new and improved VinCat that will last for the ages. All I can really say is keep the faith and trust Sherri and Jenny.

We Beasties need to stay positive and stick together,so I will say sorry that I didn't have more happier news to report. I just wanted you to be prepared.

The Good

1. We get some JT backstory and it’s a dozy and actually answers a burning question I think most of us have had since the show started. Seriously, it’s a jaw dropper, my mouth fell open.

2. It seems that JT and Vincent will indeed be spending some quality time together for this next half of the season.

3. We are getting a very cool mystery to unravel courtesy of the late Mr. Windsor.

4. The JTnT ship has wind for its sails, I think we’re leaving the harbor finally.

5. Gabe is still the same Gabe he’s been since the start of season 2.

6. We get to see one last glimpse of Agent Reynolds.

7. This episode is a GAME CHANGER! - The ending is truly amazing and something you might have never thought we’d see, or at least until the end of the series. Honestly, this is how I would have wanted the series to end. Intense!

The Bad

1. Yes, Tori is still there, but this episode literally picks up right where the mid-season finale ended. I happen to like Tori in this episode but I know how a lot Beasties feel about her.

2. There’s another faction out there that knows about Beasts.

3. There was a false alarm about something that would have put me over the moon, in regards to Cat and her job. If you listen to the podcast, you can probably guess what that is.

The Ugly

1. It looks very dire for VinCat. I honestly don’t know where the writers are going to go from here. I still trust the writers and have faith but man, I’m depressed.

2. The thing I thought I wanted most for Cat at this point in the show happens but it is terribly executed and left a sour taste in my mouth.

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I look forward to reading your comments which you can leave below.

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“Life is like a game of chess.
To win you have to make a move.
Knowing which move to make comes with IN-SIGHT
and knowledge, and by learning the lessons that are
accumulated along the way.
We become each and every piece within the game called life!”

- Allan Rufus, The Master's Sacred Knowledge

Title: Win Some, Lose Some
Written By: Amy B. Harris
Directed By: Andy Wolk

Synopsis: It’s the summer of 1985, and, for the first time, 17-year-old Carrie Bradshaw (AnnaSophia Robb) can call Manhattan home. After her boyfriend Sebastian (Austin Butler) and best friend Maggie (Katie Findlay) betrayed her, Carrie is happy to accept the offer to spend the summer living in the downtown loft apartment of her Interview magazine boss Larissa (Freema Agyeman). But as summer turns to fall and Carrie heads into her senior year, she and her friends and family discover that letting go of old loves and embracing new dreams comes with some tough new realities but also incredible new opportunities.

When it was announced that The Carrie Diaries would be getting a second season, I was happy. Maybe a tad bit flummoxed due to the ratings but happy nonetheless. It would have been a shame to leave fans wondering what happened next after a finale like the first season had. So when the opportunity presented itself to receive an advanced look at the season 2 opener, I jumped on it.

I should have probably prefaced this in the beginning but I’m a casual fan of the show. It lured me in because I loved the prequel book which the show is based on. Also I heart the lovely and talented AnnaSophia Robb to pieces. The Carrie Diaries is not one of the shows that I seek out spoilers for. I like to just sit back, be surprised and enjoy the ride. I couldn’t avoid the biggest spoiler of season 2 however which was the character introduction of Samantha Jones.
Samantha Jones is not my personal favorite character in ‘Sex and the City’ but she is a fan favorite in general. In the pictures the actress, Lindsey Gort, looks so much like a young Kim Cattrall it was a little uncanny. But I think something gets a little lost on the little screen unfortunately.

I find the show to be most delightful when it focuses on Carrie’s internship in New York, the adventures that ensue from her job and her relationships with Walt and Sebastian. Carrie’s other friends are not that interesting and her family time absolutely bores me to tears. I guess I wasn’t the only one because in the season 2 opener a few things have been retooled a bit and the main focus is on Carrie’s summer adventures in The City where she is loft sitting for Larissa.

So let me catch you up with where the characters are at the beginning of season 2…

Carrie

Carrie is still nursing her wounded heart and is avidly avoiding both Maggie and Sebastian by avoiding Castlebury as much as possible. She has thrown herself into her summer internship. Which has the perks of partying at all of the hot spots in mid-80’s Manhattan and a stylish loft provided by Larissa. She has a new ‘do and a seemingly new attitude. While Carrie does indeed lose something very near and dear to her in this episode she gains something that is much more needed at this particular time in her life.

Walt

Walt has a guy in his life that he can’t be with until he’s legal so he just going to look at all the hot guys his eyes can handle. He seems very worried about the whole town whispering about him and his sexuality. Much like Carrie, he too is hiding out in the city avoiding things. His friendship with Donna has grown leaps and bounds. Donna keeps him in abreast of what’s happening back in Castlebury and he in turn tries his best to not inform Carrie.

Sebastian

Sebastian has been avoiding the country club because Maggie is working there. Sebastian is really upset with himself for kissing Maggie. He is also quite remorseful for outing Walt. He is still holding out hope that he and Carrie might still have a chance of working things out. It seems as though he spent his whole summer pining for Carrie.

Donna

Donna may seem like that same old mean girl mold. But she just wants to have fun and being bitchy to people is her way of having fun. She does have a soft spot though she doesn’t like to let it show. She’s spent her summer at the country club on the lookout for scandals and juicy tidbits to gossip about. She’s really coming into her own as a young woman. I love that show she knows what she wants and how to get as well as not being afraid to speak her mind. She also doesn’t do apologies. She has great insight and I sense she dumbs herself down a bit. Hopefully, a little more time with her cousin Samantha will fix that.

Mouse

Mouse is having fun with her geek boyfriend. Her parents have taken to him like a fish to water. Her and West have decided to take SAT prep courses as well some high level math class to beef up their course loads. Yes, to Mouse that is fun. Mouse is also avoiding Maggie like the plague because of what she did to Carrie. Carrie convinces her to the 4th of July barbeque at the country club and to take West and have a good time.

Maggie

Maggie has had a rough summer and found out that if she wants to go to college she’s going to have to pay for it herself. Thus her mighty need for a job at a fancy place with fancy people who should tip well. Maggie needs to stop playing the victim though. Even with her implied neglectful parents, I’ve never felt sympathy towards the character at all. She’s way too needy, clingy and pouty. Time for this character to really grow up or move away.

Samantha Jones

When we meet her, she is the keeper of the cool aka a bouncer. She’s definitely into the 80’s music scene and the bar that she works at is THE place to be. We can see that oh so familiar sassy, independent and confident streak but there are a lot of hard life lessons to come that will ultimately shape Samantha into what she becomes later on. Right now, she seems very lost and drowning in the real world while desperately seeking to find her place in it. At least she’s found her anchor in Carrie so now she can settle down and begin to blossom.

The Rest of the Bradshaw Clan

Mr. Bradshaw was clueless as ever until Carrie let it slip that Dorrit had a guy in her life. Now he’s on a mission to keep close tabs on Dorrit and her boyfriend. He seems to like Miller.

Dorrit has been sneaking around with Miller and using her best friend as her cover to be alone with him. Now that her relationship with Miller is out in the open and Miller seems to like her Dad I have a feeling her rebellious streak is going to come rearing back, if one of the last scenes is any indicator.

Favorite Moments

• Carrie and Samantha walking down the street together looking very stylish.
• An awkward Bradshaw family brunch.
• Carrie’s opening dream sequence.
• Sebastian tucking in Carrie after a rough night.

Favorite Lines

• Maggie: It takes to tango.
Donna: Not when you’re involved. You just drag the poor soul along.
• Carrie (to Mouse): Well, apparently “in love” Dorrit is just as sullen with my dad as she ever was.
• Carrie: Sometimes you have to sacrifice something valuable in order to win.
• Carrie: I don’t have time for regrets, only fun.

Favorite Scenes

• The introduction of Sam(antha) Jones.
• Carrie and Samantha breaking into Larissa’s loft.
• The arrival of Donna at the loft with Sebastian in tow.
• Dorrit’s rebellious streak returns.
• Walt and Sebastian get to talk it out.

The Standout Character

While the beginning of last season had me all set to hate Donna LaDonna (Chloe Bridges) for life but by the end of the first season, I was on a hate to love her basis. During this episode, it became official I just flat out love her. She’s snarky, sassy and very pragmatic (I guess it runs in the family?). As well as stylish and not afraid to go after what she wants. Best of all she breaks the awkward silences and lightens the mood. Love to hate her or hate to love her you have got to admit Chloe Bridges is a scene stealer.

Best Old School NYC mentions: Limelight, Area and Danceteria

Most Out of Place Pop Culture Mention: Charlie’s Angels

Cool News – Though the actor has not been cast yet, word on the street is that the character of Standford Blatch will be introduced this season as well. I’m sure we here at Spoiler TV will keep you abreast of the situation.

Grade: B-


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Season 2 of The Carrie Diaries premieres Friday, October 25, 2013 on The CW at 8 PM/7 PM Central.

Feel free to sound off and/or ask me general questions about the episode in the comments below.