The Stew

Every now and then, there’s a magic summer for movies. 1982 was like that: with “E.T.,” “Blade Runner” and “Star Trek II” all in theaters, it was a good time to be alive. Alas, the opposite is true as well — there is, every now and then, a summer of black holes, sucking the time and life out of us. 1998 was like that: with “Godzilla,” “Armageddon” and “Star Trek 10,” it was a good year to play outside instead.

So far this year, it’s been more magic on TV than black holes — not as magic as 1982 (nothing ever will be), but we’ve exited a trough and are on our way up. New shows just seem better than they have in the recent past. I’m willing to chalk some of that up to lowered expectations (Bionic Woman), but some shows are just plain good (Journeyman).

Let’s talk bionics, first. Bionic Woman (notice the lack of a “The,” which isn’t the only departure from the original) is a re-imagining of the 70s sci-fi TV series, from the same minds that brought us the re-imagining of another 70s sci-fi TV series, Battlestar Galactica. As with the other re-imagining, this one is darker and sexier than the original, though not necessarily smarter.

Let’s face it, this is a dumb show. The pilot is basically a series of scenes we’ve seen in other, better projects, ranging from “The Matrix” to “La Femme Nikita” (the movie, not the TV show) and about a dozen other sources. Michelle Ryan may be the hottest thing on TV right now, but that’s not enough to get people other than me to tune in. Well, maybe a few more people than me.

The thing is, this show had such a negative buzz going in, based on the leaked pilot episode (which I never watched), that I had absolutely zero expectations going in. And I was richly rewarded for that, because this reshot pilot is a lot better than I expected. Dumb, but okay. Maybe a little better than okay. Definitely good enough to keep watching, which is more than I can say for shows like Standoff from last season.

Journeyman, on the other hand, is genuinely good. Equal parts Quantum Leap and Life on Mars, it’s almost as derivative as Bionic Woman but it cribs from better material. It’s also better written and acted, which is a huge plus.

I like the complicated dynamics of the cast, and the way they were introduced. When lead character Dan Vassar has a conversation with his brother Jack in a police station, in the span of two sentences it becomes clear that Dan is now married to one of Jack’s old girlfriends and there’s some residual feelings about that. They managed to get this information across in a natural way, without stilted dialogue that explicitly spells out the relationships. Of course, a few scenes later, they explicitly spell out the relationships for people who weren’t paying attention.

Still, this is one of the most promising pilots I’ve seen since Lost. It’s also nice to see someone who was in “The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra” getting some regular work.

Next to check out: Reaper, which I’ve been led to believe is another example of how this TV season is shaping up to be a good one.

Meet Chuck. He’s got a new show on NBC this season.

It’s a comedy, sort of. It’s an actioner, sort of. It stradles a lot of lines, some of them better than others. (The stradling, not the lines.)

Chuck is an average geek, and this show revels in its geek cred. Look, he plays “Gears of War”! Look, he understands technology! Look, he looks at porn! The last one is actually an important plot point.

The show is generally breezy, but then gets all dark and heavy before getting back to breezy. It feels more “True Lies” than “Spies Like Us,” but that’s a good thing. The acting is mostly adequate to the task, with the exception of the extremely pretty and improbably named Yvonne Strzechowski – who, as female lead “Sarah Walker,” has all the physical presence of Jennifer Gardner’s Sydney Bristow with about half the acting ability. Here’s hoping that gets better.

Definitely worth checking out. If you missed the pilot, I’m sure it’s available online somewhere.

I used to think that blogs were like assholes — everyone has one. Now I realize that blogs are like sphincters — everyone has two.

Apparently, as an Xbox Live member (and, ipso facto, a Windows Live member), I’m entitled to free blog space. Well, “free” is as free as $60 a year can get.

Since I’m such a linear thinker, I’ll keep the politics and TV stuff here at The Stew and keep gaming stuff over at the Xbox Live blog. Maybe some smart Web 2.0 person will create a decent mashup application that can merge all my blogs together. That would be nice.

Welcome to the fall 2007 television lineup. I don’t have the time or inclination to watch everything new this season (I’m looking at you, Kate Walsh), but I’m more than willing to spout off about the programs that I do watch.

To that end, welcome the pilot for “Back to You.” The biggest problem with “Back to You,” besides the unnecessary and distracting laugh track, is that it’s so incredibly mediocre. I don’t mean that it’s bad, it’s just exceedingly average.

For a show with such an appealing cast and above-average pedigree, I expected more than I got. While there were a few laugh-out-loud moments, there were plenty of other moments that left one overwhelming impression: “That could have been a lot better.”

Take Ayda Field’s weathergirl character as an example. Field, fresh from playing an attractive and inteligent character on “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,” here plays a slutty and dumb cartoon character. For no good reason, since there are fewer laughs than cringes when she’s on the screen.

You could forgive some misteps in the minor characters — they will inevitably change, assuming the show has a shelf life — if Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton, no noobs when it comes to sitcoms, were trying just a little harder. I wasn’t looking for Frasier in Grammer’s character, but I found it anyway. He’s capable of much more, as Sideshow Bob has continually shown us.

Overall, it’s a solid “C” effort, but that won’t be enough to keep it programmed on my DVR. I’ll give it a few more chances to show me something better, but I’m not holding my breath.