‘So-Called Life’ delights, ‘Hardball’ frights in new season
By Jennifer Richmond
Daily Bruin Staff
Along with a new school year comes another season of novel
television shows ranging from pure schlock to creative brilliance.
Here are the best and worst so far:
Excellent:
4. Right after "Coach," "Blue Skies," is bound to do well.
"Skies" follows two best buddies who open up a mail order catalog.
Their plan: to rip off L.L. Bean. When they discover their cousin
has stolen all their profits, the two decide to get a new
accountant. Enter the bubbly love interest. She’s brilliant with
job offers from the White House and a degree from Harvard. She’s
also gorgeous, creating a little tension between the guys. When the
pilot was first filmed the show was great. Now they’ve recast the
leading lady and she’s much weaker. With their time slot however,
odds are they’ll probably be around for at least a season.
3. "Friends" has no chance at failure. It’s funny, it’s got six
great actors that you’ll recognize from other sitcoms and it’s
sandwiched between NBC’s "Mad About You" and "Seinfeld." Talk about
perfect placement.
The show is sort of a funnier, shorter "Melrose Place." It
focuses on six twenty-somethings, their friendships, their
relationships and their work. Some of the familiar actors include
"Family Ties" Courtney Cox, "Growing Pains" Matthew Perry and Lisa
Kudrow of "Mad About You."
2. Michael Crichton’s "E.R." is another Thursday night
powerhouse. This one hour drama is up against CBS’s hospital drama
"Chicago Hope." But what makes "ER" better is its relationship to
college age students.
The drama focuses on five students who are working in the
emergency room (E.R.) to help prepare themselves for the time when
they will finally become doctors. While four of the five are
residents with promising futures and distinct personalities, the
fifth is most like a UCLA pre-med.
According to some, this series shows what it’s like to work in
the hectic surroundings of a hospital’s E.R.
1. "My So-Called Life" is amazing. With this show, all
pre-conceived notions about high school dramas will go out the
window.
Angela Chase (brilliantly played by Claire Danes) is a typical
high school sophomore. She, like most her age, is in need of some
sort of acceptance. After dropping her boring best friend, she
meets up with a new crowd and during her time with them she
experiences the pressures of school as most real people know them
 trying to fit in, fighting for your own beliefs and the
realities of being outside Beverly Hills.
Although the show has received rave reviews, it is in danger of
failing because it directly competes with NBC’s "Mad About You" and
FOX’s "Martin."
Cancellation-in-sight
4. FOX’s now defunct "Fortune Hunter." The series followed
"Dial, Carlton Dial" on his James Bondesque missions.
He’s a very poor take off on the sexy original. He’s got a
number, a gun that shoots tranquilizers, he goes all over the world
chasing rich bad guys, he’s got technological gadgets to help him
out of situations and he almost always gets the girl. Sound
familiar? It’s not just that the writing’s unrealistic, it’s that
the story is predictable. So, if you’ve ever seen a James Bond
film, you’ve practically seen every episode of "Fortune
Hunter."
3.The annoying Detective Ray Vecchio and Mountie Benton Fraser
fail in the cop show "Due South.". Not just your basic "good cop,
bad cop" scenario, the show’s "crabby-detective meets thick as a
brick good-boy" premise just doesn’t cut it.
Fraser has moved to Chicago from Canada to help the police
force. The good-natured and well dressed Fraser clashes with the
snide and pimp-like Vecchio.
Although the plots make for an interesting hour, their quibbling
becomes redundant and tiring. Fraser’s good-natured stupidity also
makes it very unlikely that he would have the intelligence to
discover the guilty party. If you want a good cop show, you’re
better off watching repeats of "Dragnet" or the new season of "NYPD
Blue."
2. Billed as the first Asian sitcom, ABC’s "All-American Girl"
hoped to create a winner by attaching itself to Margaret Cho’s
funny stand-up comedy. Boy did they have the wrong idea. Although
the comedy is unique because all the principal characters are
played by Asian actors, basically the sitcom itself merely rehashes
old ideas.
The script forces Cho, who is much better live and uncensored,
to go by the scripted corn that’s so frequent in today’s sitcoms.
The show doesn’t live up to the potential of a fresh idea.
1. Drumroll, please, for the worst of fall’s lineup, FOX’s
"Hardball." Dumb doesn’t even begin to describe this show.
Following a baseball team’s antics in the bullpen and on the field,
"Hardball" unfortunately doesn’t do anything new.
You’ve got the seasoned catcher, the rookie, several other
players who can’t win, the manager who’s convinced God is the
reason behind their losses, and a mascot with an attitude. The only
character who’s a bit out of the ordinary is the publicist who’s
trying to give the team a new persona. Although she’s fun and
unlike the rest of the boring crew, she still doesn’t have anything
interesting to say either.
There you are, this year’s best and dimmest. If you’re still
unsure of what to watch, this will help you decide what shows are
important enough to put studying on hold for an hour or so.