John Byrne brings a round-up of all things telly this week.
Life in The Burbs
Reviewed: Suburgatory (Wednesday, RTÉ Two)
Writer Emily Kapnek, previously involved in shows such as Hung and the superb Parks and Recreation, moves a little more into the mainstream with this family comedy that’s about a New Yorker and his 16-year-old daughter who swap Manhattan for the suburbs and try their best to blend in with the natives. It stars Jeremy Sisto (who you might recall from shows such as Six Feet Under or Law & Order, or the great teen movie Clueless) as dad George, while Jane Levy plays daughter Tessa. Quite how much mileage they can get out of the concept before it fizzles out is one thing, but it sure looks as though it’s going to be fun finding out.
While it’s nowhere near as good as Modern Family, where Suburgatory might fall down is the fact that it’s a crowded marketplace. US family sitcoms are a dime a dozen, and rarely last too long. In terms of generating viewers here in Ireland, the 7pm on Wednesday scheduling might bypass a lot of people’s radar, which would be a pity, because it’s well worth a visit.
George enthusiastically gets involved locally with mixed results and in last week’s episode, for example, he joined and eventually took over the local PTA, and he became a source of male knowledge for all the mothers. Meanwhile, Tessa continued to feel like a complete outsider as she tried to come to terms with a teenage world dominated by malls, SUVs, and fake classmates. She decides to get involved with the (almost completely ignored) school newspaper and with some help from fellow outcast Malik (Maestro Harrell), turns it into a tabloid-style gossip sheet and a huge success.
What’s good about the show is that it doesn’t try to be smart-ass. There’s some really fine dialogue (and LOL text-speak), while Jane Levy is quite a find as Tessa - but the strongest aspect of the show is its superb cast. Levy and Sisto are joined by the likes of Cheryl Hines (Curb Your Enthusiasm) as Dallas Royce, mother of the most popular girl at school and someone with an eye for George; and Alan Tudyk (Firefly, Dollhouse) as Noah Werner, George's best friend and the local dentist.
Just remember to park your cynicism before watching Suburgatory, and you’ll find a fun sitcom that all bar the youngest of family members can enjoy.
Pick of the Week
Modern Family (Friday, Sky One)
Is there a better primetime comedy these days? Between the great cast, well-defined characters and some fine writing, this sitcom has it all. Tonight, in full Fizbo garb, Cameron (Eric Stonestreet) attends the funeral of (clown) Professor Ringmaster Al Lizielli and meets his estranged ex-clown partner. The excellent Ty Burrell’s Phil comes up against a hardnosed rival in a battle to land a very important dwelling. Meanwhile, Manny befriends the coolest kid at school. How can they cram so much into 22 minutes?
New this week
Titanic: A Commemoration in Music and Film (Saturday, BBC TWO)
Live from Belfast’s Waterfront Hall John Humphrys hosts this commemorative event to mark the centenary of the sinking of the Titanic. A unique blend of music and documentary the show features special performances from Bryan Ferry, Joss Stone, Nicola Benedetti, Alfie Boe, Charlie Siem, Maverick Sabre and the Ulster Orchestra. The performances wrap around a documentary which tells the story of the ill-fated ship, those who built her, the people who sailed on her and the enduring legacy of the tragedy.
2 Broke Girls (Wednesday, Channel 4)
During a season that saw few decent comedies cross the Atlantic, 2 Broke Girls is about the best of the bunch – so if you missed it when it first started on RTÉ Two on Thursdays, here’s a chance to catch up. Featuring the impressive pairing of Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs as a pair of waitresses from opposite backgrounds who become pals, it’s not exactly The Odd Couple, but it’s way better than Lavern and Shirley.
Ending this week
ICA Bootcamp (Thursday RTÉ Two)
The three final recruits go head-to-head as they battle it out to be crowned ICA Recruit of the Year. In this second season finale, the challenges include: The return of the flatpacks, where each recruit is given a flatpack for a hostess trolley; Farm Challenge with a Twist, where the recruits are given a chance to channel their inner stylist and give a girly-girl makeover to a sheep; Vegetable Arranging, where they pick, clean and arrange their own award-winning veg collection.
Documentary of the week
Return to Farmliegh (Tuesday, RTÉ One)
Shades of Downton Abbey here with this documentary about Farmleigh, the now State-owned Dublin mansion that once belonged to the Guinness family. At one time, being a Guinness was the closest thing to Irish Royalty and perhaps the most-glamorous Guinnesses of them all were Benjamin and Miranda Guinness.
When Benjamin, 3rd Earl of Iveagh, brought his new wife Miranda to Ireland in the early 1960s, they quickly became Dublin’s most famous social couple: he was the heir to the Guinness empire and one of Britain’s richest men while she was a well-known Scottish beauty
Miranda Guinness died aged 70 in December 2010, but earlier that year she was filmed recalling her first visit to the house, arriving on the front doorstep and being introduced to Mr Slater, who ran the family office, the butler Mr Pollard, and the rest of the house staff who lined up in the hall to welcome her.
As a naive 22-year-old she admits “I had no idea of the enormity of the importance of Guinness to Ireland . . . so coming here and finding what Guinness means to Ireland, I was absolutely blown away’. She grew to adore Ireland and it wasn’t long before they both became Irish citizens.
Repeat of the week
Human Target (Tuesday, TV3)
Saw this already on some satellite channel and it’s great, testosterone-filled fun. The series follows the life of San Francisco-based Christopher Chance (Mark Valley), a security expert hired to protect people whose lives are under threat. Chance is accompanied by his business partner Winston (Chi McBride) and hired gun Guerrero (Jackie Earle Haley) and the three of them make a great team. If you like guns, exploding cars and not too much thinking, this show is for you. Pity it’s on at 1am, though. Red button!
Guest stars of the week
The already mentioned Modern Family has a couple of interesting guests in Friday’s episode on Sky One. Ellen Barkin plays Mitzi Roth, a nasty realtor, while former Will & Grace star Bobby Cannavale pops up as Lewis, the estranged ex-clown partner of Cameron.
Legendary actor Ed Asner (Lou Grant, anyone?) makes an appearance in The Middle (Friday, Sky One) as a veterean newsman.
William Roache, who has played Coronation Street's Ken Barlow since the very first episode of the soap in December 1960, is the focus of Piers Morgan’s Life Stories (Saturday, UTV).
Casting Couch Corner
Who’s heading to what show
Dermot Mulroney’s back in a rich vein again. After landing a guest arc role on Zooey Deschanel's New Girl, he’s set to join the cast of Enlightened, the quirky HBO show starring Laura Dern. Mulroney is set to play Jeff Flender, an investigative journalist-turned-love interest for Dern’s character Amy, who wants help bring down her corrupt employer, Abaddonn Industries.
JJ Abrams and Mark Schwahn's CW pilot Shelter has found its two leads. Make It or Break It star Zachary Abel will play the former town baseball champ-turned-concierge at the Shelter Bay Inn, and The Vampire Diaries star Malese Jow will play the resort town's party girl.
Australian actor Cameron Daddo - who played the Vice President in Season 7 of 24 - is headed to stylish spy drama Nikita to play the President, who gets blackmailed by those nasty guys at Division.
British actress Charity Wakefield, best known for the BBC miniseries Sense and Sensibility, will star opposite Eddie Izzard's Grandpa in as the only ‘normal’ cousin in Mockingbird Lane, the Bryan (Pushing Daisies) Fuller reboot of The Munsters.
Sat Nav
Satellite Highlights
Community (Tuesday, Sony Entertainment Television)
This very funny show seems to have disappeared from the 3e schedule, but season two takes off here. Classes resume at Greendale Community College and the group enrol in a new class, Anthropology 101, which is taught by June Bauer (Betty White), an esteemed, but quirky anthropology professor. The great cast includes Joel McHale as Jeff, Gillian Jacobs as Britta, Alison Brie as Annie and Chevy Chase as Pierce.
Mad Men (Tuesday, Sky Atlantic)
We’re already up to episode four of the fifth season of the media’s most-loved TV show. Could the skeletons from Don’s former life be rearing their ugly heads once more when he runs into someone from his past? Meanwhile, Joan comes to a decision and Roger piles extra work on Peggy.
Game Change (Saturday, Sky Atlantic)
Julianne Moore stars as Sarah Palin in what promises to be a gripping retelling of the 2008 US presidential campaign. As the campaign of Democrat Barack Obama steamrollers toward the US presidency, Republican nominee John McCain needs to act if he is to prevent being left behind. In an audacious attempt to capture the imagination of America’s voters, he plucks for little-known Alaskan governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. But with the pressure of the national spotlight, negative press and months on the campaign trail ahead, is the relative political novice ready for such a role?
John Byrne
