Preparation

By: Jason Davis
Date: Monday, June 12, 2006

In television, preparation is paramount. It's also Fox, Warner Brothers, Touchstone, etc. You have to be prepared. When I first came to LA for an internship on a major TV series, I walked in knowing that show backwards and forwards. I was prepared to work my ass off for that series and I was remembered for it (that's another story). When I pitched my first TV series, I was the fourth and final guy into a room where only one series was going to get the green light. I knew I was going last, but I was prepared. I found a way of getting my material to the powers that be ahead of time. I got them excited about my pitch so that they'd snap awake when I walked into the room. My show was the one they chose (again, another story). When a dear friend of mine found herself committed to writing a pilot in an insanely short time, she came to me for a hand andyou guessed itI was prepared to help and we got the thing done (it's not as good a story as the first too because the show never got madeluck is the only thing as important as preparation, it seems). So, when former TV Wasteland columnist David Michael Wharton called and said, "I'm leaving TV Wasteland. You want to take over?" My Hollywood-honed reflexes that make me automatically say "Yes" to any form of gainful employment activated without noticing a red flag being vigorously waved by the brain's preparation department.

What does all this have to do with a bowl of grits, you may ask. What are grits, you may further inquire if you're not up on Southern breakfast foods. Well, it comes down to the fact that although I was once on top of every cool series on the schedule (circa 1994-2000), I'd pretty much lost track of anything that wasn't on HBO (and three or four other shows I'd regularly been reviewing for Cinescape) when I said "yea" to Mr. Wharton. Since this event occurred roughly two months into the 2005-6 TV season, I had a bit of a problem. I was hideously behind on several key series (i.e. 24 and THE SHIELD), totally ignorant of several sophomore entries (i.e. MEDIUM, VERONICA MARS, and NUMB3RS), and unable to catch newer entries like SUPERNATURAL and INVASION due to my exorbitant work schedule. That was roughly eight months ago.


I'm pleased to say that, through the miracle of DVD, I am making phenomenal strides toward becoming acquainted with some of the aforementioned series. As I noted last week, I'm now only 22 episodes behind on VERONICA MARS. Once I find the elusive second season premiere in the VHS archive that is my kitchen, I'm ready to roll through season two. Similar stories come with THE SHIELD and 24, though I've got a little more work to do on those (four seasons each, I'm afraid). Why am I telling you all this? Well, it's because I've just spent two weeks racing through two shows that had appealed to me when they premiered, but eluded my busy schedule. Now, courtesy of shiny little silver discs, I can talk with you at length about a pair of shows I now adore.

The first is MEDIUM. I honestly wasn't sure what to expect with this one. Ideas in the entertainment industry seem to travel in twos (e.g. VOLCANO & DANTE'S PEAK, DEEP IMPACT & ARMAGEDDON, BIG LOVE & SEVENTH HEAVEN...OUCH! You hit mewhy did you hit me? Okay, maybe not the last ones, but you get my point). So, at mid-season last year, we got MEDIUM and the fall brought GHOST WHISPERER. I taped the first season of the former fully intending to give it a look over the summer when I theoretically had more time. I attended a premiere of the latter in a graveyard with Jennifer Love Hewitt in attendance. Let's just say that I found the graveyard and Hewitt more enticing than the seriessomehow, my disappointment with the one bled over into apathy toward the other. Big mistake.

Along comes June and I pop MEDIUM's pilot into the DVD player and am blown away by the skill with which the show's writers blend psychic Allison DuBois domestic life with her unorthodox job as a DA's consultant. Here's a woman, who is real if you weren't aware of the show's origins, and she's seeing these heinous crimes while she's taking her little kids to school. Her home life, with her aeronautical engineer husband plays as one of the most realistic domestic situations I've ever seen on TV while constantly being contrasted by what is essentially a dark and gritty police procedural. Whereas most shows would focus on the crimes Allison solves for the Phoenix DA's office, MEDIUM places the bulk of its dramatic weight on how Allison's gift and her deployment of said gift impacts her average American family. The show takes great pleasure in smashing ideas together to generate material. It's all well and good to have a psychic tell you where to find a murder victim's body, but then the cops and lawyers have to work out tangible links to recover the body or convict the killer. A paranormal nod to COLOMBO's howdunnit concept, the show takes pains to illustrate the inherent difficulties in having what basically amounts to a super power.

The cast, led by the Emmy-winning Patricia Arquette, is an accomplished ensemble who ably convey the pressures of living with Allison's uncanny abilities while the writing staff, headed by MOONLIGHTING-creator Glenn Gordon Caron, explore every nuance of a unique scenario. Directors and guest cast are top notch and the first season finale has added considerably to the narrative weight left by VERONICA MARS' freshman finish. Of course, MEDIUM's second season opener is on the same missing tape as Veronica's!

I'll find it. I know I will. Then, I can just charge through the tapes and get on top of my game. But until then, I've got another show to catch up on...come back next week and I'll tell you all about it.


MONDAY, JUNE 12

Alas, the crickets continue...


TUESDAY, JUNE 13

VERONICA MARS (9 PM PST, UPN) "Blast from the Past" Still looking for the tapeit must be here somewhere...


WEDNESDAY, JUNE 14

LOST (9 PM PST, ABC) "Orientation" Catch Katey Sagal's wonderful performance in the first really interesting episode of LOST's second season. Sagal and O'Quinn truly rock together!


THURSDAY, JUNE 15

HEX (10 PM PST, BBC America) "Life Goes On" I fear deadlines have prevented me from catching the pilot and pontificating on this series, but it's top of tomorrow's to-do list and we'll talk about it later.


FRIDAY, JUNE 16

DOCTOR WHO (8 PM PST, Sci Fi Channel) "Aliens of London" through "The Long Game" SFC fills the night with WHO starting with flatulent invaders in Downing Street and finishing with gelatinous media-moguls on the ceiling. If you've only an hour to spare, pop in for "Dalek" at 10pm and treat yourself.


SATURDAY, JUNE 17

DOCTOR WHO (7 PM GMT, BBC1) "Love & Monsters" HUSTLE's Marc Warren guest stars as a man obsessed with the Doctor and Rose...a hobby that has unfortunate side effects (i.e. scary monsters).
DOCTOR WHO CONFIDENTIAL (8 PM GMT, BBC3) "New World of Who" More behind the scenes fun with the only DVD featurettes that are aired immediately after the program they examine...fantastic!


SUNDAY, JUNE 18

THE 4400 (9 PM PST, USA) "Being Tom Baldwin" This show is next on my list for rapid catch-up...I'll get back with you in a week or two...until then, enjoy!
DEADWOOD (9 PM PST, HBO) "I Am Not the Fine Man You Take Me For" Shamefully, I forgot to mention DEADWOOD's return last week for what appears to be its final season. Yes folks, the actors' options have lapsed and it looks like the western masterpiece will go to its grave before THE SOPRANOS hits the mat...it's a f^@&!*' shame.
THE DEAD ZONE (10 PM PST, USA) "Forbidden Fruit" USA's resident psychic returns for what we're going to call his fifth season even though it was filmed as part of the fourth season. Don't get me started on thisI'll go on for hours...there was a time when we knew what seasons were what andouch! Why'd you hit me? I was just... Okay, okay, okay...I'll let it go...geez.
ENTOURAGE (10 PM PST, HBO) "One Day in the Valley" Rolling blackouts threaten the opening of AQUAMAN. For those of you living in more civilized places, that's when they switch off our power in California while we're trying to earn a living.
HUFF (10 PM PST, Showtime) "Black Shadows" Well, after "Tapping the Squid" tonight, things can only get worse for the Huffstodts. It's some how marvelously satisfying to see a screwed-up shrink on TV...I wonder what that says about me...