I Heart TV

I love TV. You love TV. I love to read about TV. Hopefully, so do you.

9.28.2005

two words: um, ew.

Tonight I watched my favorite episode of every America's Next Top Model season: the makeover episode. It was very low on freakouts but still fun, and it most cases the makeovers GREATLY improved the models' appearances. (And here I am thinking of Coryn, who may not be a man now. Maaaybe. And Sarah, whose shorter hair shrunk her lips to half their normal size.) I totally sympathized with poor Cassandra, the girl who got all her hair cut off. I'm growing out a pixie cut and I would break down like that--or worse--if asked to cut it all off.

Last week, the best phrase of the episode was Ebony's catchphrase: Don't. Get It. Twisted. (complete with finger snaps.) Now that Ebony's gone, this week's best line goes to James St. James. I gasped when I saw him. James wrote Disco Bloodbath, the story of his time as the "first club kid" and best friend to murderer and night club fixture Michael Alig, and he is, to put it as Tyra might, fierce.

So tonight, when he saw Ebony's outfit at one of their challenges, he nearly predicted her demise by saying "Two words. Um, ew." What will next week's catchphrase be? I don't know if anything can beat "two words: um, ew," but Miss J in flippers, teaching the girls to walk, might provide something awesome.

9.22.2005

i can't even believe i'm keeping up with the new shows

I keep hearing that this is the year that will be the turnaround for sitcoms, that good shows have arrived to rescue us from crap. Having seen five new fall sitcoms now, I'm almost starting to believe it. Of the five I've seen, I've only thought one (The War at Home) was bad, and it wasn't even monstrously bad, just average bad. Everybody Hates Chris, How I Met Your Mother, Kitchen Confidential, and now My Name is Earl are all shows that I would recommend to a friend. I'd even be watching all four if not for multiple time conflicts.

Last night I watched the premiere of My Name is Earl (on tivo), and the first thing I thought was, damn, Ethan Suplee's lost a lot of weight. Suplee (Boy Meets World, The Butterfly Effect) was almost unrecognizable as the brother of Earl, played by Jason Lee. Still fat, but not as fat. Anyway, I laughed! (I love how sitcoms have become so bad that I feel the need to note it with an exclamation point whenever I laugh at a show.) Jason Lee is what made the show for me, as he still manages to be appealing even with that horrible moustache. And I like seeing characters on sitcoms who aren't rich or even middle class (I'm betting Earl is going to blow through that $100,000 he won mighty quickly.)

I also watched the premiere of America's Next Top Modellast night. I realize we're only starting the fifth season, but I like how ANTM never gets old, unlike, say, Real World. Maybe it's because there are challenges, and not much drinking/partying. The first model kicked out was Ashley, who seemed like a bitch and wouldn't help poor, lesbian Kim with her makeup. Kim's already one of my favorites, because I always like the smart one, but I don't think she'll win. At this very early stage, I'm tentatively picking Nik to win. I'll probably change my mind next week though.

9.21.2005

i continue to watch more new shows

I think I'll try and update every time I see three new shows.

My Fair Brady
I really wanted to like this show, which showcases Adrianne Curry of America's Next Top Model and Christopher Knight of the Brady Bunch as they explore the love they found on Surreal Life. I don't watch SL, but after recently watching the first season of ANTM on DVD I grew to love Adrianne, despite her heavy Chicago accent and her tendency to not open her mouth when she talks. Also despite her wearing a choker for most of the season. And when I read about her allegations that she never really received the promised prizeshere, I grew even more curious to see how she was dealing with life as a continuing reality show star.

Plus Peter was always my favorite Brady.

Unfortunately, My Fair Brady is not nearly as compelling as the model competitions (though slightly more compelling than the Brady Bunch. Except for that Hawaiian episode. Or the one where they all get the mumps.) Like many other couples, Chris and Adrianne fight about her dependence on him, living together, getting married, household chores, etc. Adrianne burps a lot, and sometimes she spanks Chris. She looks even more beautiful now, but it's still not enough to keep my interest. They're just too normal, which is good for them but bad for the show. I'd watch it at the gym though.

Kitchen Confidential
I had high hopes for this one as well. KC is based on the life of chef Anthony Bourdain, who was something of a "bad boy." It stars Bradley Cooper, who is unbelievably hot and who used to be on Alias, as well as a lot of other people (Nicholas Brendon, John Francis Daley, Bonnie Somerville, Andrea Parker, Bitty Schram) who used to be on a lot of other shows (Buffy, Freaks and Geeks, NYPD Blue/The OC, The Pretender, Monk.) There were a few great parts (the end, when Jack asks Stephen if he's high, for example) but nothing clicked for me. It was definitely funny, but like I said in my short review of How I Met Your Mother (which is on against KC), I need some emotional connection for a sitcom to draw me in from week to week and earn a spot on the tivo. It was the first episode, though, and I will maybe check in again in a month or two, but How I Met Your Mother is what I'll be watching regularly.

Though, I should note that I watched this with my friend Dora, a veteran of many restaurant jobs and a fan of the book, and she really liked it and said it was dead-on accurate.

Bones
Way too much time is spent on this show with holographs in the lab. I enjoyed it while I was watching it, but at the same time I couldn't remember this morning if they had ever explained why the killer did what he did. I mean, they must have, but it can't be a good sign if I don't remember it. Emily Deschanel looks way better than she did in Boogeyman, though (to me she looked really old in that movie), and I liked David Boreanaz. I can't see myself watching it every week, but I think it could improve.

9.18.2005

how i met your mother: possibly good!

I just watched a preview DVD of How I Met Your Mother, the new show on CBS (Mondays at 8:30) starring Alyson Hannigan and Neil Patrick Harris, and it was actually good! It's been years since I liked a new sitcom, but this one made me laugh several times. Most shows that try to portray a group of friends in their 20s seem totally unrealistic (like, say, Friends), but HIMYM came pretty close. The show is told in flashbacks as the main character tells his children how he met their mother. Hannigan, Harris, and Jason Segel of Freaks & Geeks play his friends. Josh Radnor, who plays the main character, was totally sympathetic and lovable, and, thanks especially to a slight twist at the end, I really want to know what happens next. That, I think, is the key these days to a successful sitcom--having a somewhat serialized story.

So, I highly recommend it.

Today I also watched the season finale of Kill Reality, and was appalled. Totally appalled. Jonny Fairplay took a shit on Trish from the Bachelor's bed. How do you do that? What motivates you to do that? How do you take a shit on someone's bed WHILE THEY ARE SLEEPING IN IT? On television? Fucked up!

9.16.2005

shows i have seen so far and what i thought of them

I've already written about Prison Break, but I've watched some other new shows, too.

Reunion
You've probably heard about the premise of Reunion. One of a group of six friends has been murdered, and the season will review the events leading up to that crime, with each episode representing one year. 1986 was unimpressive. Yes, I'm dying to know who dies, who killed the victim, and why, but that doesn't mean I'm going to watch the show. Watching "1986" was excruciating. The costumes and sets were very "like, OMG! It's 1986!", and the characters were simple stereotypes: the rich kid, the poor kid, the pretty girl, the plain girl, the slutty girl, the nerdy guy. It felt very much like a bad teen novel. I have a feeling this show will be this year's Desperate Housewives for me (but not have any of the success that DH has had.) All year I would read recaplets of what was happening on DH and think, "hmm, maybe I was wrong. Maybe the show really is good." But then I would remember how much I hated the few episodes I watched, and I think Reunion will be the same way--compelling ideas but poor execution. I may watch one more episode, just to be 100% sure (I believe last night's what pre-empted for Bush's speech), but only if nothing else conflicts.

The War at Home
I once read something about a show (and it may have been this show, actually, but I can't remember) that described it as though it was a refugee from the Fox lineup of the early 90s. That line pretty accurately describes TWAH, a poor man's Married With Children. I hated Married With Children, by the way. The first few minutes weren't that bad, but the show quickly went downhill when it tried to make racism funny. I love when shows tackle taboo subjects, but it has to be with an awareness of the uncomfortability of laughing at something like that, and this show has no awareness of anything. I'm curious as to how it will do this year, sandwiched between The Simpsons and Family Guy, but I have a feeling it won't make it past 5 episodes.

Everybody Hates Chris
I obtained a preview DVD of this, and it was pretty good. Not hysterical, not the funniest show ever, but not bad. One problem that I think the show might run into is that (to me) the best parts of Chris Rock's routines are the more "adult" jokes, and he can't really lay those out here. If this weren't on against the O.C., I would probably watch it.


That's what I've watched so far, but I've got The Biggest Loser and Survivor Guatemala waiting for me at home.

friday tv preview

Friday!

Friday is a sad, dead night.

8:00 PM
Supernanny (ABC)
Ghost Whisperer (CBS)
Dateline NBC (NBC)
Bernie Mac/Malcolm in the Middle (FOX)
What I Like About You/Twins (WB)

Jennifer Love Hewitt in Ghost Whisperer? I can't watch a show with a star who (once?) preferred to go by "Love." But I'm secretly enticed by Twins, if only because it stars Sara Gilbert. She was so funny on Roseanne once that maybe she can make a show about feuding fraternal twins running a lingerie company whose parents are Melanie Griffith and Mark Linn-Baker interesting.

9:00 PM
Hope & Faith/Hot Properties (ABC)
Threshold (CBS)
Three Wishes (NBC)
Killer Instinct (FOX)
Reba/Living with Frank (WB)

I think Reba/Living with Fran might be the most annoying hour on television all week.

10:00 PM
20/20 (ABC)
Numb3rs (CBS)
Inconceivable (NBC)

Numb3rs isn't bad, as those shows go. But none of those shows really intrigue me.

And that's it for the week. Gone are the days when Saturday meant sleeping over at my grandma's house and watching Golden Girls, Empty Nest, and Nurses.

9.15.2005

thursday tv preview

Thursday!

8:00 PM
Alias (ABC)
Survivor: Guatemala (CBS)
Joey/Will & Grace (NBC)
The O.C. (FOX)
Smallville (WB)
Everybody Hates Chris/Eve (UPN)

Thursday is another somewhat tough night. Joey was always my least favorite friend (tied with Phoebe), and Will & Grace is another show on its way out, so that can be ruled out easily. Last year I tried giving the first season of Alias on DVD a try, and it lost my interest after about 10 minutes--I still don't get what everyone sees in this show. I think Chris Rock is hilarious, so I'd like to see Everybody Hates Chris, and I'd like to get back into Survivor (I haven't watched regularly since the first season), but my heart belongs to The O.C. Can it rebound from the suckiness of last season and go back to being the show I loved?

9:00 PM
Night Stalker (ABC)
CSI (CBS)
The Apprentice (NBC)
Reunion (FOX)
Everwood (WB)
Cuts/Love Inc. (UPN)

I saw Reunion this past week, and it was bad--not "so bad it's good" bad, but just plain bad. The gimmick is all it has. Everwood is probably the best quietly good show on TV, and my roommate loves it, so that's what I'll be watching.

10:00 PM
Primetime Live (ABC)
Without a Trace (CBS)
ER (NBC)

Remember when ER was good? Me too.

9.14.2005

wednesday tv preview

Wednesday!

8:00 PM
George Lopez/Freddie (ABC)
Still Standing/Yes, Dear (CBS)
The Apprentice: Martha Stewart (NBC)
That '70s Show/Stacked (FOX)
One Tree Hill (WB)
America's Next Top Model (UPN)

Freddie? Why can't we have more Sarah Michelle Gellar instead? I hate The Apprentice, and I hate Martha Stewart, so I won't be watching that even with all the buzz. I'm a little ashamed to admit that I kind of like Stacked, but That '70s Show is dying a long, slow death. I hear that the cast of this season's America's Next Top Model is the hottest ever, so that probably means they're the bitchiest, too. ANTM all the way.

9:00 PM
Lost (ABC)
Criminal Minds (CBS)
E-Ring (NBC)
Head Cases (FOX)
Related (WB)
Veronica Mars (UPN)

As if there was any doubt, I'll be watching Veronica Mars, THE BEST SHOW EVER. Every person I've introduced to this show loves it, too. But my roommate and I will tape Lost on the other television. I ended last season pretty dissatisfied, but I haven't totally given up. Depends on what's in the hatch.

10:00 PM
Invasion (ABC)
CSI:NY (CBS)
Law & Order (NBC)

Nah. Nothing fascinating here.

9.13.2005

tuesday

Tuesday!

8:00 PM
According to Jim/Rodney (ABC)
NCIS (CBS)
The Biggest Loser (NBC)
Bones (FOX)
Gilmore Girls (WB)
America's Next Top Model repeat (UPN)

I know a lot of people who love Gilmore Girls, and I've watched a few episodes, but I still can't get over my horror at Rory and Lorelai's relationship enough to enjoy the show. No one talks like that to her mother. I like David Boreanaz, and I've heard mixed reviews of Bones, so I may try to check it out at some point. But I'll be watching The Biggest Loser. I only hope that real people are as compelling as those on Celebrity Fit Club. Plus, watching weight-loss shows always makes me feel better about my own health habits.

9:00 PM
Commander in Chief (ABC)
The Amazing Race (CBS)
My Name is Earl/The Office (NBC)
House (FOX)
Supernatural (WB)
Sex, Love & Secrets (UPN)

This is a tough hour. I can immediately rule out Sex, Love & Secrets (too cheesy) and Commander in Chief (too boring.) I love horror movies, so I'm intrigued by Supernatural, but it also has the potential to be cheesy/not scary. House has gotten so many good reviews, and I am curious, but something about it just can't lure me in. The real contest for me here is between My Name is Earl and the Amazing Race. I love Jason Lee, and people are saying this could be the sitcom that saves comedy. Plus, I do like comedies where the main character isn't totally sympathetic. But the winner for me here is Amazing Race. I've never been a regular watcher, but every time I catch an episode, I wish I was. Last season it was up against Veronica Mars, so there was no way in hell I was going to watch it, but I've been waiting all summer to start watching it this season.

10:00 PM
Boston Legal (ABC)
Close to Home (CBS)
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (NBC)

Nothing much here. I love SVU, but it's hard to make it appointment television when it's on 87 times a week on USA.

9.12.2005

monday tv preview

Monday!

8:00 PM
Wife Swap (ABC)
The King of Queens/How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
Surface (NBC)
Arrested Development/Kitchen Confidential (FOX)
7th Heaven (WB)
One on One/All of Us (UPN)

Did you know that 7th Heaven is starting its 10th season? I don't think the show even has any cheesy value anymore. Put it out of its misery, please, somebody. Then again, I don't watch it, haven't seen an episode in years, so maybe it is secretly awesome.

This is a tough time for me. 8:00-8:30 is reserved for Arrested Development as per my roommate Andy, as it's one of only 3 shows that he actually gives a shit about. But 8:30 is so troubling. I'm dying to watch How I Met Your Mother. Allyson Hannigan, Neil Patrick Harris? It has a lot of potential, and despite being intrigued by Kitchen Confidential, I thought I had made my decision to watch a show on CBS for the first time in years. But then I read an article about Kitchen Confidential, and I thought about how I don't think I can remember another show centered around high-pressure cooking. Plus, it has John Francis Daley of Freaks and Geeks in a supporting role, and I'm curious to see what Sam Weir is like all grown up. I'll have to watch both and then make a decision, and of course there's the possibility that I won't like either show and instead I'll read books during this hour.

9:00 PM
Monday Night Football (ABC)
Two and a Half Men/Out of Practice (CBS)
Las Vegas (NBC)
Prison Break (FOX)
Just Legal (WB)
Girlfriends/Half & Half (UPN)

I am ashamed to admit that for a moment I was weirdly enticed by Just Legal, starring Don Johnson and one of the guys from Undeclared. I probably won't watch it, but I might remain secretly curious for awhile until it gets cancelled and I forget it ever existed. This hour will be devoted to Prison Break and its potential toe-chopping, at least for now.

10:00 PM
CSI:Miami (CBS)
Medium (NBC)

I have to leave this time slot free for the eventual return of the Real World/Road Rules Challenge. Maybe this will be the season I finally win the online game! You know, one year i was 400th or so out of 80,000 people. Can I win a car by watching CSI:Miami? I think not.

9.11.2005

sunday tv preview

This is the first of my fall previews! Welcome. I'll be doing one per day. Today is Sunday. (I would also like to plug last week's Entertainment Weekly, which has a very nice fall preview that I savor a little bit each day on my lunch hour.)

Sunday!

8:00 PM
Extreme Makeover Home Edition (ABC)
Cold Case (CBS)
The West Wing (NBC)
The Simpsons/The War at Home (FOX)
Charmed (WB)

I've only heard terrible things about The War at Home, but I'm giving it a chance because I like Michael Rappaport. It seems like a typical family sitcom, and I tend to not like typical family sitcoms. I'm guessing I won't watch it past the first week. My new boss gave Cold Case a pretty glowing review, so I think I'll give it a shot even though I'm not that into procedurals. I'll watch The Simpsons if I happen to be sitting in front of the television, but 8 PM isn't a big time for me. Nothing will get the tivo. Extreme Makeover will undoubtedly win the time slot.

9:00 PM
Desperate Housewives (ABC)
CBS Sunday Movie (CBS)
Law & Order: Criminal Intent (NBC)
Family Guy/American Dad (FOX)
Blue Collar TV (WB)

I HATE DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES. I really gave it a try, but I find it boring. I hate shows that feature crazy things happening in suburbia and everyone being so shocked about it. Picket Fences did it a million years ago and did it way better than DH ever could. That being said, Alfre Woodard is becoming a regular this season as a woman living with her son who has a secret. I am going to bet right now that the secret is that she and her son are having sex. Mark my words. I'll be tivoing Family Guy, of course. Some episodes in the recent season fell flat, but some (like the one with Cleveland and Loretta's affair) have been even better than the old ones. I may also check in with Criminal Intent, but only on the weeks that Chris Noth is on, reprising his role as Mike Logan from the original Law & Order.

10:00 PM
Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
Crossing Jordan (NBC)

I watched Grey's once and didn't hate it, but I also wasn't very impressed. Nothing for me in this time slot.

So as you can see, Sunday isn't a big night for me. What will you guys be watching?

9.09.2005

special message to livejournal users

just a quick note: for anyone who's reading this over the livejournal rss feed, if you have any comments I would love it if you clicked through to the blog and left your comments here. Comments here get emailed to me, but comments on the LJ feed kind of disappear into nothingness. And I like to write back!

the o.c.: the aftermath

1. One thing I had forgotten that I like about this show is the fast pace. It feels great to get rid of Trey (for awhile, anyway) after one episode. Sure, real criminal cases might take longer to resolve, and real coma victims might take longer to recover, but that would be boring. We hate boring.

2. Seth and Summer were nothing but sidekicks in this episode. It was necessary this time, but will it be that way all season? Can they give S and S a storyline that doesn't involve them breaking up again?

3. Summer looked so pretty though. Even Marissa looked less skeletal. The boating scene made me really want to start wearing headbands again.

4. Julie Cooper! Her ponytail in this episode was kind of weird. Her trying to pay Trey off makes sense though, but you think she would be a little less confident about not getting caught after the whole porn scandal. Though maybe Caleb dying was the lucky break that made her into her old self. Sadly we might never hear about the porn again, since Marissa still doesn't know. I would have liked Marissa to have been able to throw that one in Julie's face. (Does Jimmy know? I can't remember.) They're laying it on a little thick with the will stuff, though. It's pretty obvious Caleb cut her out of the will--if she was ever even in it! I'm sure it all goes to Kirsten. It would be awesome if Caleb had put everyone--Kirsten, Hailey, Seth, Sandy, Marissa, and even Ryan--in the will except for Julie.

5. Speaking of laying it on thick, okay, we get it, Jeri Ryan is EEEEEvil. I know it's early, but I am calling it--she is this year's Oliver. My co-worker thinks that Jeri will try to steal Kirsten's life, and I think she might be right. I do like that they at least made Kirsten slightly skeptical of her--she didn't seem all that thrilled when Jeri asked her to get coffee sometime.

6. I think it's a mistake--both a writerly mistake and a mistake if it were in real life--to not tell Kirsten about the shooting. Especially now that everyone is okay and no one is going to jail.

7. I'm sad that Jimmy has ulterior motives. But it will be awesome when Julie finds out.


8. I thought the scene at the end with Ryan and his brother as the bus drove away was very poignant, and exactly what the show had been trying to do ever since Trey got there--to portray Ryan and Trey's relationship as both good and bad, and to show why it was so easy for Ryan to believe Trey would do horrible things but so hard for him to let go. I think the problem was always Logan Marshall-Green, the actor who plays Trey. It's not that he's a bad actor, but Ryan is such a silent character. For Trey they needed someone charismatic, someone who could draw everyone in--and I did not see that. They should have gone for charming fuckup instead of brooding half-wit.

9. All in all, a good episode that resolved what I wanted it to resolve. Except for the Jeri Ryan thing, I liked it very much.

9.08.2005

the O.C. premieres TONIGHT, people!

I started this blog for many reasons, but one of the major ones was that I had been "recapping" (I put that in quotes because I wrote jack shit about the plot itself but a whole lot about how I felt about it) the O.C. on my livejournal for most of a season and people actually seemed to like it, so it seemed like I needed a place for my O.C. ramblings that didn't also have work bitching and pictures of my friends at the beach.

So I'm a little excited that tonight is the season 3 premiere of my beloved (less beloved than it used to be, but still beloved) show. I'll be watching in complete silence with a group of friends while simultaneously tivo-ing, and I hope all of you will be, too. We've all admitted to ourselves that last season wasn't as good as season 1, but that leaves plenty of room for season 3 to be awesome. And besides, even if it's not, we can have fun wondering who will be this year's Oliver.

One thing that gave me hope was reading this great interview with O.C. creator Josh Schwartz at ESPN.com. The writer, Bill Simmons, is a huge fan of the O.C., as well as 90210 and Melrose Place, and it shows in his writing. Josh Schwartz also makes some astute comments on some of last year's biggest failures (REBECCA) and offers up some reasons why this season will be better while responding to a barrage of questions from Simmons. I think my favorite was when Bill asked why there were no black people on the O.C., and Schwartz replied by asking if Simmons had seen Laguna Beach and pointing out the sad reality of Orange County. (I just really thought about how the O.C. is directly responsible for Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, and couldn't decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Probably bad. I think.)

So go read it, and watch tonight, and check back in sometime in the next few days for my recap. Pretty please.

9.07.2005

kudos to kanye

Politics isn't one of my main interests, even when it intersects with television, but when I heard about Kanye West's recent comments on the NBC telethon for victims of Hurricane Katrina, I was instantly curious. West said, among other things, that President Bush doesn't care about black people. Popwatch linked to a video of Kanye's commentary, and it wasn't what I was expecting. To be frank, I thought it might be another blowhard speech, but instead I was moved by Kanye's obvious nervousness and heartfelt emotion. Usually when celebrities choose to enlighten us about their issues during awards shows and other events, it comes off as crude and out of place. Some people think Kanye's comments could be described the same way, but I think the opposite--it was EXACTLY the right time and place for him to say what he said.

Plus, it was fun to see the look of total shock on Mike Meyers' face.

This incident raises the question of how we view our celebrities. We tend to want the whole package. Not satisfied to merely enjoy someone's work, we want to know everything about them. To those saying that Kanye should have kept his mouth shut, I have to point out that Kanye's political views have inevitably informed his music, the very thing that made him famous, and we should appreciate his willingness to unleash what may be an unpopular opinion.

In a later post, Popwatch tells us that the Billboard sales for Kanye's latest album topped 900,000 copies sold this week, so perhaps a lot of people were thinking what only he was willing to say. Or maybe they just like his music. Either way, I'm glad his career didn't suffer for him taking that risk.

9.05.2005

first new show of the season!

I think the fall 2005 television season officially began last Monday with the premiere of Prison Break on Fox. It took me a week to watch the two-hour premiere, and it was worth it. Prison Break had been heavily hyped before the premiere; Kristin on E! has been going nuts over Wentworth Miller, the star (who is admittedly very hot.) While I don't know if it'll be the best new show of the season, it has earned its season pass. The basic premise of the show is that Michael, a structural engineer, robs a bank to purposely get sent to prison in order to break out his death-row-dwelling brother, who claims to be innocent and is probably the victim of a government conspiracy.

One thing I liked about the show was its quick pace. I felt like each scene raised more and more questions, and I like feeling like a show is one step ahead of me. Small things, like what was up with the screws that Michael was struggling to get, were resolved before the end of the two hours, and that made it easier to process the big, overarching scary conspiracy, and a little easier to have faith that it will eventually be revealed. I've also heard (I think it was in Kristin's column) that if the show sees a second season (and at this early stage it looks like it might--the ratings were decent), the characters will break out of the prison, and the show will follow their continuing struggles on the outside against the conspiracy.

One thing I absolutely hated, however, were the short sequences played before commercials, where the camera zooms in on something, like a vent or a screwhole, and zooms through the insides of the prison to show how these paths might lead to escape. It fits with the theme of the show, but I find it distracting and a little lame.

But it's a small quibble, and on the whole I would definitely recommend the show. The premise requires some suspension of disbelief (when asked what he would have done if he hadn't been sent to the same prison as his brother, Michael replies that he would have just served out his term), but once you accept that, the scenes inside the prison seem realistic enough to me. It's not for the squeamish (does Michael still have a toe? I guess anyone who watched tonight's episode knows the answer), but what prison show is? I hope he still has all his fingers and toes though.