As if we (Allyson and I) don't have enough hour long programs on our docket along comes another at a time where I want nothing more than to turn off the TV and read a book.
Take a step back and view that statement again. It isn't what it seems. I still love you TV but am having difficulty watching anything other than HD broadcasts. Adam warned me this would happen. I watched HD women's tennis yesterday for like an hour. My theory is "if it isn't HD, it isn't worth watching". Well, I found something in HD that isn't worth watching.
This brings us to the HD broadcast of What about Brian?. I will say I was initially curious about a show that is about 30-somethings being one myself. It's always interesting to see how Hollywood deciphers things that either myself or friends of mine has gone through. I like TV that way.
Brian started off well enough. The cast was a who's who of people that make you say "where have a I seem him/her before". That first ten minutes was spent trying to figure that out (Band of Brothers, Legally Blonde, 7th Heaven, Saved by the Bell: The New Class, Felicity, etc...).
Once that was all said and done I settled in to see if the "creators of Lost" could strike gold again. After all, they did Felicity which in my opinion was a fantastic show and of course Lost which even though I hate it keeps me coming back week after week.
It didn't take long for it to hit me. Felicity this is not. Lost this is not. The dialogue tries it's best to channel Gilmore Girls meets Felicity meets any Cameron Crowe film but what ends up happening is that the point gets lost through all the meaningless banter. Kinda like what happens on this Blog some times. Anyway, with the Gilmore Girls the banter is unrealistic (who talks that way!) but it's smart, witty, funny and often times arcane to the point where it hits you 10 minutes later. That's good writing! With this show it's annoying. (Will address "Car Girl" later, but "Trishing" is another beaut they came up with. Wont even get into that but every time they said "Trishing" I felt vomit creeping up my throat.)
Now to the plot. The "creators of Lost" (Ally thinks this creator is like the production assistant on Lost, not an actual creator) redefined how a story is told. They took the flashback approach here as well, though not sure it's going to be a frequent thing or just for the first episode. With Brian, early in the show we are treated to some scenes that bring us up to speed on why Brian is such a sad sack. Here's the short of it:
Brian is a good looking, smart person who makes video games for a living (cough*ME*cough) but unlike me he can't find a decent girl (I have a decent girl). He is forced to date a girl he rear ended (not that way) while checking out ANOTHER girl. This girl is dubbed "Car Girl". This is lame. Car Girl? Ugh. The problem with Car Girl is that even though he dumps her she takes up in his apartment and won't leave. LAME.
Speaking of LAME. The writers use answering machines on this show to move the story along. Aside from my mother (sorry Mom) who uses answering machines! On top of that the people who use them are tech savvy people who should have voice mail: 1 dude who drives a 5-series BMW and the other the owner of a video game company. Dudes, spend the extra $5 a month and get voice mail. Then of course the writers would lose this handy way to introduce conflict. I feel better getting that off my chest. It's very lame and very lazy. One more thing, Brian leaves a message on his buddies answering machine with sensitive information that his live-in fiancee (more on her later) shouldn't hear...look at that again and think about it for a second. Exactly.
Anyway, we soon find out Brian is in love with his best friend's girl and she didn't used to be his (get it?). Once we know he's in love with his best friend's girls, name of Marjorie, the show begins to slip away. Where do you go from here? It's the first episode and the cards are on the table. I have a prediction: this situation will continue to rear it's ugly head the entire first season until it's been beaten to death. I mean they can't get together or they would have to change the name of the show to "Brian's Scored His Best Friend's Girls, THAT'S Brian is about!"
There are other issues I won't get into such as filandering wives, Rosanna Arquette, some Italian dude, 3 kids and who can forget Brian's dull best friend. This dude is a stiff. I wouldn't be surprised if he was "Chuck Cunningham-med" off the show. Chuck of course was the brother who appeared in the first season of Happy Days and was never to be heard of again. Chuck was a reference you might have found on Brian. Totally lame.
Long story shortish. Even in HD this show sucks. The cast is pretty, the music is awesome (Tom Petty, U2, The Who, Snow Patrol, etc...) but this show can't be saved from it's self, limited story line, cliched dialogue and pretty but weak characters. Yes, it's only 1 episode, but how long can we go on with this dude who seemingly has everything but the love of a woman. Nay the love of ONE woman.
Oh and if I wasn't clear earlier the other characters aren't that interesting. I could go on about that too but it's not worth it.
I didn't like this show. Other reviews have compared it to Thirtysomething. I don't see that because Thirtysomething won awards. Profound? No, but it's my opinion and we all know I am never wrong.
Editors Note: The girl in the picture above wearing the green tank top isn't even on the show! It's another girl all together. Brilliant.
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