'80s stars and ideas are back in new fall TV season
By Michael Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
So who died and made John Hughes a network TV programmer?
In addition to the usual fading-star vehicles ("Whoopi"), genetically defective cloning experiments ("The O.C.") and examples of outright cross-cultural piracy ("Coupling" — give our regards to BBC TV, Luv), the new fall TV schedule is loaded with appeals to reconsider the merits of aging Brat Packers and other things '80s.
In the new series "The Lyon's Den," Rob Lowe ("The Outsiders," "St. Elmo's Fire," and his own hidden-camera sex video with a minor) plays a humble, idealistic attorney forced to join his family's Heartless Big Guy law firm. Meanwhile, in the retooled, re-casted "The Practice," James Spader ("Pretty in Pink," "Less Than Zero") stars as a brash, morally questionable attorney forced to join the show's Noble Little Guy law practice.
Next month, another definitively '80s actor, Jason Bateman ("Silver Spoons," "Valerie,") returns to TV in the Fox comedy, "Arrested Development."
The well-received "Two and a Half Men" offers a two-for-one '80s special with Charlie Sheen ("Wall Street," "Young Guns") and Jon Cryer ("Pretty in Pink," "Hiding Out") as a pair of mismatched brothers in a show that feels suspiciously like "The Odd Couple" — but with a kid. And peripheral Brat Packer Jami Gertz ("Square Pegs") returns as Judy Miller on "Still Standing."
Los Angeles screenwriter Charles Gary, formerly of Honolulu, thinks the current influx of '80s actors goes along with the aging of their fan base.
"The people who grew up with Rob Lowe and Anthony Michael Hall are now in a demographic group that is very desirable to networks and advertisers," he says. "They have buying power and they're not too old to enjoy these slick, hip TV shows."
If fall shows aren't rehabbing the careers of not-so-old '80s actors, they're digging up ground that was tamped two decades ago.
"The O.C." is a bit better than the previews indicated, but it's story line about privileged Cali teens entangled in family and romantic intrigues carries plenty of "90210" baggage.
"Whoopi," featuring Whoopi Goldberg, is another decent show that, in its first few episodes at least, is weighed down by material that has grown moldy on the shelf. Goldberg's cross-cultural lampooning takes aim at politically correct sensibilities, but it misses by a couple of decades.
There's nothing in "Whoopi" that is any more original (or funny) than what we saw on "Barney Miller" and "Sanford and Son." Political correctness is not the problem here; it's timing. Still the show is a good vehicle for its freshest performer: Omid Djalili, who plays Iranian handyman Nasim to Goldberg's hotel owner Mavis Rae.
Of course, it's impossible to tell how good or bad any of these shows will be over the course of the season. Even successful shows like "Seinfeld" and "E.R." has some wobbly moments in their first seasons.
That said, here are a few more quick impressions we got from after the first week of Fall premieres.
"Two and a Half Men" (Mondays, CBS): Cryer may never live down his painfully awkward performance as Duckie Dale in "Pretty in Pink," but his fine turn as the funny and sympathetic Alan Harper bodes well for his career and this show. Sheen, as the libidinous jingle-writing slob brother, shows that his comedic timing hasn't improved since "Major League." Still, this is TV and Sheen isn't terrible. We're betting this show sticks around a while.
"Coupling" (Thursdays, NBC): No one said this new comedy would be anywhere near as entertaining as the original British show of the same name, but the premiere episode even fell short of the more achievable goal of being a sexier "Friends." All that contrived tittilation — sex in a bathroom, a "Girls Gone Wild" breast flashing — doesn't detract from the fact that the jokes aren't funny and the characters are flat as pennies.
"Joan of Arcadia" (Fridays, CBS): If "Touched by an Angel" taught CBS executives anything, it's that invoking the Almighty is a great ratings move. "Joan" is darker than "Touched" and not as silly as early promos made it out to be. Amber Tamblyn does the John Denver bit in this "Oh God" for moody teenagers.
"Las Vegas" (Mondays, NBC): This is a Vegas show for people who 1) can't get enough of Las Vegas, and 2) can't get enough of the very few ways Las Vegas has been presented in the popular media the last few years. If "Casino" was the big $5 buffet of Vegas-genre storytelling, "Las Vegas" is the nasty reflux you still taste eight hours later. The stylized slow-mo, the wiseguy wanna-be narration, the requisite sleeping with the boss' daughter — it's all stuff we've seen before. Even James Caan looks defeated.
"The Handler" (Fridays, CBS): Brilliant character actor Joe Pantoliano, last seen as a head in a bowling bag on "The Sopranos," finally gets a chance to carry a show of his own. The first episode establishes Pantoliano's Joe Renato as an FBI agent charged with training young agents to work undercover. He's tough, he's kind, he has an intriguing past that viewers will receive in nibbles throughout the first season. The quick edits draw attention unnecessarily, but the writing is solid and the acting top notch.
Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2461.
