TV Review - The Odd Couple

As many of you (at least the Americans) know, CBS recently revived the 1970s TV show The Odd Couple. The show was based on the 1968 Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau movie, which was based on the 1965 stage play written by Neil Simon. It aired on ABC for five seasons and spurred two previous resurrections in the late 70s and early 80s. It's also used as the butt of nearly every "opposites attract" joke that's been made since 1965.

If you're unfamiliar with it, however, the show revolves around two main characters, Felix Unger (played by Thomas Lennon in the 2015 remake) and Oscar Madison (played by Matthew Perry). In the pilot episode, Felix--an obsessive neatnick who's on his way to getting a divorce--comes to live in Oscar's apartment, which--like the man himself--is a pig sty. Oscar is a playboy sports talk show host whose wife also left him. Together, the two unlikely friends try to learn to live without them... and with each other.

I have to admit that I never watched the original film, and if I say I've seen two episodes of the 70s show, I might be exaggerating. However, my parents were fans, and I've heard references to Felix and Oscar for most of my life, so I had a pretty good idea of what I was getting into when I sat down to watch the pilot a few weeks ago. But this does mean I won't be comparing it to the originals in this review.

I was surprised when I heard Matthew Perry was going to be cast as Oscar. To me, he makes more sense as a Felix. Chandler, his character from Friends, had some quirks that I could easily have seen allowing him to make the transition. However, when I found out that Thomas Lennon, whose most recent TV credit was Sean Hayes' boss on the short-lived Sean Saves the World, was going to be Felix, it suddenly all made sense. Lennon does a great job with the minute mannerisms necessary to make Felix obsessive but not obnoxiously so. There's so much he gets right in the little details. Sometimes I want to smack him, but most of the time I just want to hug him.

Perry does a better job in the role of Oscar than I expected. He yells a little much for my taste, but I'm told that's pretty typical of Oscar from Odd Couples past. But he straddles the line between abrasive and just easily frustrated pretty well, and there are some genuinely warm scenes between him and Lennon that really tie the show together.

The secondary characters--Oscar's friends, Roy and Teddy; his assistant, Dani; and his neighbors and romantic interests, Emily and Casey--have developed nicely over the three episodes that have aired so far. They enhance the show's chemistry, and I'm curious to find out more about them as the series airs, but they don't take away from the main focus.

So far the plot has been pretty focused on Oscar helping Felix get over his ex-wife. Since the series is so new, this is pretty appropriate, but I'm looking forward to a time when that's not quite so front-and-center. There's plenty of potential there.

All in all, I've been pleased with this show so far. I wouldn't yet list it as one of my favorite sitcoms, but I enjoy it when I'm watching it, and I look forward to seeing what happens next.

The Odd Couple airs at 8:30 on Thursdays on CBS.

TV Review - The Flash

I should begin by saying that I'm relatively apathetic toward superhero fiction. I've seen a few of the movies (The Avengers, Iron Man, X-Men) and I watch Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., but I've never read any of the comics, I don't remember watching the cartoons as a kid, and my entire knowledge of the mythos and backstories comes from listening with half an ear as friends talk about it.

And I love The Flash.

For those who are unfamiliar with the premise, it's about a man named Barry Allen who, after being struck by lightning when a particle accelerator explodes nearby, wakes up to find he has superspeed (among other powers). Together with a team of scientists from S.T.A.R. Labs (Harrison Wells, Caitlin Snow, and Cisco Ramon) and a detective/Barry's father figure (Joe West), they save the world from other people with powers, who they call metahumans.

This show hits all the right buttons for me. The episode plots are exciting, and they don't drive away those of us who were mostly unfamiliar with The Flash before this show. They're taking the time to explain the characters' histories and relationships. If there are little nudges and winks to those who already know the series, I don't feel like everyone's getting it but me, and I don't feel like I'm missing out because I don't understand them.

Normally I'm not a huge fan of big series conspiracy arcs (who killed Beckett's mother in Castle, who is Red John in The Mentalist, etc.), but there's really no getting around them with a superhero show. They all have a driving force, and this is no different. When Barry was a little kid, his mother was killed by a superfast man in a yellow suit, and his father went to jail for her murder. But even this has been handled pretty well so far. While it's a huge underlying part of the series and the impetus for most of Barry's actions, the audience hasn't been sledgehammered with it much. And the bits of information we've been given have only served to whet my appetite rather than fill me up.

The characters are fantastic, every one of them. The more reviews I do, the more you'll come to understand just how important that is to me. I'll forgive just about any other sin if I like the characters enough, and The Flash nails it with almost everybody. The only one I could really do without is Iris, Joe's daughter and Barry's love interest. Otherwise, every week I find a different character to be the most interesting person on the show. And the dynamic between them, especially the familial bond between Barry and Joe, is developing beautifully.

For someone who seesawed on whether I was actually going to watch this series, it's really become must-see TV for me each week. In fact, I'm already looking forward to the next episode.

The Flash airs at 8:00 on Tuesdays on the CW.

TV Review - Scorpion

This is a new blog series. Once a month, I'll be posting a review of a television series I watch (or have watched, since once in a while I'll endeavor to write a critical review of a show I don't watch anymore). I'm open to suggestions as well. I watch about 40 TV shows a week, so there's a fair chance that if you suggest something, I've at least watched an episode or two (if it's on American broadcast channels; I don't watch quite as much on cable nor much at all outside the U.S.).

I'm kicking it off this month with one of my favorite new shows this season, Scorpion.

The show is loosely based on the real life of Walter O'Brien, a genius who founded Scorpion Computer Services. The Walter in the show is recruited--with a group of other geniuses--by Agent Cabe Gallo to consult with Homeland Security. The team is filled out by Sylvester, a "human calculator"; Toby, a world-class behaviorist; and Happy, a mechanical prodigy. And along the way, they pick up Paige, who, when we meet her, is a normal waitress with a genius son.

There are a lot of things I like about this show. I like watching them solve the problems. People who are smarter than I am have expressed some concern over the believability of their solutions, and they're probably right. They definitely stretch the limits of reality. But to be honest, I don't care. It's fun to watch.

I also like the pacing of the show. I was worried when I first saw trailers that it would be all blowing things up and crashing cars. And while there is a fair bit of that, there's substance to balance it out. There are slow periods of emotion and contemplation that really heighten the excitement of the action. There's quippy dialogue mixed with the brainy dialogue that's mixed with the action dialogue. (What exactly is action dialogue? You know, "Run!" "No!" "Look out!") And there's almost always a great, non-action ending that leaves me feeling warm and fuzzy.

Which brings me to the thing I like the most: the relationships between the characters. By themselves, the characters' quirks can be too much, especially Walter's emotional detachment and Sylvester's pile of phobias. But together, they balance. While Walter is the star of the show, Paige is the emotional center. And she brings out the best in the other characters. Suddenly it's not about an annoying trait, but how the character works through it. And it's about how they connect with the other characters, even though it's difficult for them to function socially. It almost always leads to me sniffling on the couch.

Are there negatives to it? Sure. It's got pretty standard procedural plotlines, with a problem-of-the-week that's solved in 45 minutes or less. As I mentioned before, it stretches reality in both the situations they find themselves in (they wind up in Bosnia in one episode) and the ways they solve them. But the negatives seem small compared to the positives, and it's worked its way up to one of my most highly anticipated shows each week.

Scorpion airs at 9:00 on Mondays on CBS.

Blindsided Review

Synopsis:

After a successful first soccer season in L.A, Jesse Shaw heads to London with his best buddy, Hunter, but his world is turned upside down when a dangerous prank threatens his career and his blossoming relationship with Hunter’s cousin, Isabelle.

Isabelle Mills lives in Notting Hill with her parents and her twin sister, Georgia. When she finds out her cousin is coming to stay, along with his famous soccer player friend, her first instinct is to hibernate until they’ve gone. However, once she meets Jesse, everything changes. He’s everything she ever wanted, but with so many obstacles in their path, can she really risk putting her heart on the line?

Review:

I'll be honest, when Kyra told me I could have an advance copy of Blindsided to review for her blog tour, I may have made some inappropriate squealing noises. Just a few, and they were very quiet. OK, sort of quiet. For all values of quiet that equal loud.

That's a colorful way of saying I was excited for this book. I liked Game On, but the real stars of it, for me, were the secondary characters: Freya, Bryce, Miguel… and Jesse. I liked Jesse a lot. Now, to be fair, I already knew Kyra was writing his story, but I don't think that would have changed my opinion of him at all. He's the sweet side of the team, the complete contrast to Radleigh McCoy's brash cockiness. He was endearing and showed a lot of potential in the first book, so I was really looking forward to getting his story.

And I wasn't disappointed. Jesse developed into a fantastic character in this book, the kind of guy everyone should have in their lives. Sure, he has some flaws--what 18-year-old doesn't?--but, when it counts, he's the guy you want to depend on. He's smart, he's kind, and when push comes to shove, he always has your back. But he's also got his priorities in pretty good shape. He knows that he needs to take care of himself because his career depends on it. He may get exasperated by his family, but he clearly loves them too. At times he may be a little too perfect, but the end result is an all-around good guy that you're going to root for no matter what.

Both Radleigh and Leah make appearances in this book. Leah's pretty much the same from Game On, and I liked seeing her relationship with Jesse expanded upon. She's sort of a big sister/second mother to him, and it suits her. Radleigh's a little different than the last book, and I think being in a committed relationship with Leah has really changed his character for the better. It's like the nicer parts of his character were magnified, and the more offensive parts were diminished. His relationship with Jesse is a little more complicated than Leah's, and it was nice to see Jesse waver between hero-worship, slight resentment, and ultimately true friendship.

As for the new characters, I loved them all (you know, except the ones you're really not supposed to love). The main one is Isabelle, who was really a wonderful match for Jesse. She was sweet, insecure, and relatable. I think everyone has some aspect of Isabelle in them. As soon as their romantic interest is established, I was rooting for them. And even when she made decisions I didn't necessarily agree with, I still liked her, which isn't always the case with some characters.

So short summary: If you liked Game On, go read Blindsided. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. I thought this book was even stronger than the first, and I can't wait to see where the series goes next. The only complaint I had was that it ended too soon.

Author Bio:

Kyra Lennon was born on the South coast of England, and to this day, still lives by the sea. After years spent working in retail, where she met enough versatile characters to write hundreds of books, she finally took the plunge and quit her day job. Kyra's debut novel, Game On, was released in July 2012. While fiction writing has always been her passion, she also has numerous articles on a variety of topics published on prolific websites. Check out her blog, Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads.

Buy Blindsided on Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk.