Is Lost Too Good? Could This Be the Emmy Year for The Wire? What's Ben Silverman Got Up His Sleeve? And More!
Evangeline Lilly, Lost
Question: Let me preface my question by saying I consider myself a fairly moderate
Lost fan. I watch each episode and talk about it with friends, but I don't scour the Internet for clues or anything like that. In these last few weeks before the writers' strike ended, tuning in has been pretty much the highlight of my week (at least televisually). And while I know that the show is doing well and starting to answer some of the unanswered questions, I can't help but wonder: Does every hour have to be so darned dramatic? The past few weeks I feel as though the episodes have ended with some big, huge,
important revelation that throws us for a big loop. Benry may have a spy on the boat. Gasp! Sayid and Benry end up working together in some capacity off the island. Shock! Kate has a son named Aaron who may or may not be the same Aaron who was birthed by Claire. Whoa! I know that these little snippets can color how we view the goings-on of the island, but as much as I love these castaways, I just don't feel like
every episode needs to end by sending the viewer into fits of confusion and speculation. Am I totally crazy here, or maybe only slightly crazy, or what? Thanks as always for your great columns; I look forward to them book-ending my week.
— Greg
Matt Roush: I thought I'd heard every complaint about Lost, but to fret that it's too good, too dramatic? Love it! It's true they're piling on the surprising revelations and twists this season, but what choice do they have? Every episode counts from right now till the end two years from this May, and we know how unforgiving the fans can be if they even sense the writers are treading water. My advice is just to strap in, brace yourself for the next shock and whatever you do, make sure your TV/DVR/whatever doesn't cut out at the last second. You're bound to miss something.
Question: Given the dearth of shows on the air due to the writers' strike, how possible is it that
The Wire will go unheralded by Emmy voters yet again this year? This has consistently been among the finest television shows out there the last five years, and in my opinion it is the best urban drama ever. The writing, the acting (especially from the young actors; the goodbye scene between Michael and Duquan was one of the most moving scenes I've ever seen between two young actors) and the casting are all superb. When combined with what the show says about the modern American city, I will be righteously annoyed if in this year of
American Gladiators and
Knight Rider redux, mediocre shows like
Grey's Anatomy and
Boston Legal are rewarded, and this American masterpiece is not. There is no better show on TV, much less on broadcast TV, and it has been the single finest vehicle for African-American actors that I can remember. Well, I suppose my opinion is clear. What's yours?
— Dan
Matt Roush: Couldn't agree more. The Wire is a towering achievement, and this season has been perhaps the most plot-driven and conventionally suspenseful yet — also by that measure, seemingly the most commercial, though it clearly will always be destined to live under the mass pop-culture radar. Will Marlo be brought down? Will McNulty's scam with the false serial killer be found out? Will Scotty Templeton's own journalistic crimes be exposed? These gripping questions, played out against a searing portrayal of a city's socio-political decline, make for incredible drama that I fear we in the media too often make sound like it's too-good-for-you to actually be good entertainment. The Wire is the best of all worlds, but will the Emmys finally take note? The best argument I can make in its favor is that without HBO's The Sopranos in the mix this year, The Wire may finally emerge from its shadow for this last hurrah. It would be delayed justice, but justice nonetheless. The writers and directors could also get some much-deserved attention this time, but it will undoubtedly be a more uphill climb for the actors, who are hardly household names.
Question: Considering all the useless television we are being bombarded with at this time, your silence on
The Wire has been frustrating. What gives? (
Spoiler alert)
We've seen two great characters fall recently in Proposition Joe and Omar. I figured you would have at least had a write-up on them. Both deaths really stung, but
man! The fact that Omar was taken out without being allowed a "blaze of glory shootout" makes it all the more effective. Coincidentally, he was taken out by Kenard, who we first saw in the Season 3 episode "Dead Soldiers" at a homicide scene, shouting while playing with his friends that it was his turn "to be Omar" (David Simon confirmed this). All you can say to that is wow. Write about it while you can, Matt. They won't make shows like this anymore. This avid reader is hoping you will, at least, let it all out in a long review when the finale airs.
— Brandon
Matt Roush: I promise I'll be filing a tribute to
The Wire between now and next Sunday's airing of the final episode, which I haven't yet had time to watch in advance. (And don't worry, there will be no spoilers.) Bruce Fretts beat me to the punch with his
Cheer the day after the (
Retroactive spoiler alert) Omar shooting. Too bad that happened the night of the Oscars. Talk about Oscar-worthy TV! The fact that the
Baltimore Sun altogether missed the news value of Omar's killing spoke ironic volumes, and the final moment in the morgue, in which his name was even attached to the wrong body, makes a pretty strong argument that you probably don't even want to
die in the Baltimore that's presented in
The Wire.
Question: I see the latest report that a
Robinson Crusoe TV series is in the works at NBC after
Ben Silverman (grr) had a "brainstorming session" asking for the greatest stories of all time and now they've ordered
13 episodes. This is why NBC got rid of pilots? So Silverman can continue ripping off other people's ideas? And the trades are reporting that series versions of
David and Goliath and
Jekyll and Hyde are also under consideration at the network. So my question is: Does NBC have
any original programming coming up? Because the only shows I know of are the
Kath & Kim remake, the
Knight Rider remake, these retreads of the most overtold stories ever told and a second season of
American Gladiators. Now that Silverman has been around for almost a year, I have to wonder, how long can this go on?
— DJ
Matt Roush: Now now. I've done my share of NBC bashing in recent times, and a network that celebrates the hollow ratings victories of junk like Knight Rider and camp like American Gladiators tends to deserve it. But I draw the line at prejudging concepts before we see how they're executed. Plenty of people sneered at the idea of a plane-crash series until they saw the Lost pilot. Miracles do happen. It isn't beyond reason that a network, even NBC, could adapt a time-honored classic and find a fresh and possibly contemporary spin. But I understand the skepticism. There's no question the network's critical reputation is in shambles after the recent deluge of cheesy remakes and reality retreads.
Question: I agree wholeheartedly with the concluding statement in your Oscar
Dispatch that nothing from this year's show was worthy of being excerpted in the future. There were very few highlights. One for me was a reminder of how much I lus...
love Kristin Chenoweth. Her big production number from
Enchanted was scintillating. Also "enchanting" was Amy Adams' song from the movie. As for the winning song, I never even heard of the movie, let along the song. Several bloggers on your website have mentioned the humorous turn by Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill. I wondered who those two homely chubbies were, and now that I've heard their names, I still don't know who the hell they are. Much more amusing to me were Josh Brolin and James McEvoy as presenters. Also Steve Carell, as usual. On another, completely unrelated note, I see the announcement today that the lousy soap
Lipstick Jungle has had more new episodes ordered. Another BS move by BS (Ben Silverman), who lets
Friday Night Lights twist in the wind. (Not to mention canceling
Journeyman.) NBC sure has fallen a long, long way since the days of
Hill Street Blues,
L.A. Law,
The West Wing and
ER.
— Dave G.
Matt Roush: I take it you never saw Knocked Up or Superbad. It was kind of a big year for those "chubbies." As for the musical numbers, Enchanted might have been better served by its three numbers being turned into a medley, capped by Kristin Chenoweth's production number. (And they should have added visuals to Amy Adams' number so people could have figured out why that song was so funny on-screen.) Anyway, this Oscars show is now nicely tucked away in my bad-memory box. As will Lipstick Jungle be someday when NBC isn't this desperate. When you think of the shows that used to occupy that Thursday slot, it is just sad.
Question: After my initial reservation about watching
Eli Stone — most of the buzz I heard made it sound kind of like
Ally McBeal — I decided to sit down and watch it and have fallen in love! (I am guilty of not having read your
review, which I just did and agree with wholeheartedly.) Jonny Lee Miller leads a fabulous cast in this smart, funny and sometimes sobering show. Have you heard anything about its future? I understand that there are only two new episodes left, and I'm hoping you might have some good news about when we might see some more!
— Beth, New York
Matt Roush: First off, I'm pretty sure there are plenty more than two episodes left. According to my and ABC's current calendar, Eli Stone is scheduled to air on Thursdays up to the time Grey's Anatomy returns April 24, moving Lost into Eli's slot. I'm glad you're enjoying it and I hope more people discover its charms in the next month or so. But it's a little early just yet for ABC to be deciding its future. I'm sorry it won't get a chance to ride Grey's coattails for at least a while — following Lost has always been something of a mixed blessing — but its fate may be decided less on how it's doing now than on how it stacks up against any of ABC's development for next season.
Question: I need your two cents: I've been seeing commercials for Fox's
New Amsterdam,
which begins in the next week or so, and I think it'll either be really good or amazingly awful. I'm assuming you've already seen it, and I often agree with your TV tastes. So I'm just wondering: What is your opinion of
New Amsterdam?
— Ryan
Matt Roush: Neither a disaster nor a triumph at this point, I'm afraid. My
review is just out, but I'll elaborate a bit here. The first time I watched the pilot, back before the season began, it kind of bored me. When I looked at it again and screened the second episode as well — both are airing next week, on Tuesday and Thursday, before it settles in on Mondays starting March 10 — I was more intrigued, especially by the second episode.
New Amsterdam is about a 400-year-old hero, currently working as a New York detective, who's cursed with immortality until the day he finds his soul mate. The modern-day procedural element strikes me as ponderously moody and gloomy, and kind of drab. But the flashbacks to his former life (and not just the origin stuff involving a Native American shaman) is what could set this show apart. In Episode 2, we see the handsome hero back in the 1940s, and who he was then impacts some of what's going on in the here-and-now. The fact that the show can play with four centuries of American and New York history makes it more interesting than just another yarn about a supernatural hero. But the show has its work cut out for it. No real stars, a murky concept, a tough night — and it's being paired with midseason newbie
Canterbury's Law, which means the lead-in isn't established, either.
Question: I was just wondering why no
Maya Rudolph on the return episode of
Saturday Night Live. I believe there was some question about her returning when the season started last year, but I thought she'd re-upped. She does a great Oprah.
— Karen H.
Matt Roush: The way it's explained to me is that the door is always open for her to return, but she lives in Los Angeles (with Paul Thomas Anderson, the gifted director of
There Will Be Blood) and is not currently under contract. I
enjoyed the first new episode quite a bit — Tina Fey rocked, and "Bitch is the new black" is suddenly one of my favorite catch-phrases — but
SNL is always better when Maya shows up to play.
Question: Thanks for posting Ashley's
letter about her affection for the characters of
Friday Night Lights and her vision of their future. I'm not ashamed to say it brought a tear to my eye. I also liked your suggestion of Lyla and Tim getting their act together in the years to come. It's funny you should compare Tim to Coach, since I think Tim would actually be a great teacher, and he's shown an aptitude for it several times on the show (coaching powder-puff football, helping Santiago get on the team, etc.). I have to say that I thought the penultimate episode of
FNL was actually far more powerful than the last, although I'm glad the series won't end with Smash so devastated. I just wish Ben Silverman could find it in his heart to green-light even just one more episode, so the show could do a proper finale. The writers, actors and fans all deserve it. What's your take on the rumors regarding the show being shopped to the CW, TNT or even Direct TV? I know this kind of save — insert obligatory Hail Mary reference here — for a show is very, very rare, but I can't help but hold out hope. At the end of the day, I just want a proper finale for the denizens of Dillon, whom I've grown to truly love.
— Keira
Matt Roush: I'm not one to encourage false hope, but from what I can tell in all of this behind-the-scenes wrangling, NBC/Universal and Imagine TV appear to be looking for a partner that could possibly share a broadcast window with the show, which is different from the network dropping the show and someone else acquiring it (a less likely scenario). This could still be a long shot, but the news gladdened my spirits to think that the studio is so aggressively trying to figure out a way to keep this wonderful show alive.
Question: Although I am a fan of
Prison Break, I am an even bigger fan of
Friday Night Lights, and I didn't appreciate your
comment that people who enjoy a show like
Prison Break are the reason why a quality show like
Friday Night Lights can't find enough of an audience to stay on the air. What is wrong with liking both of them? You like
Heroes, which you freely admit is an escapist pleasure that is uneven in its execution, while still enjoying top-quality shows like
Lost and
Friday Night Lights. I would never dream of comparing the quality of these shows, and I would gladly sacrifice ever seeing another episode of
Prison Break if it would keep a wonderful show like
Lights on the air, but unfortunately, the TV industry doesn't work that way. I have thoroughly enjoyed this shortened season of
Prison Break, which I agree was much more tightly written and paced than the previous 22-episode seasons, and although I agree that Dr. Sara's head in the box was egregiously over the top, you learn to just get past things like that for the sake of the overall enjoyable story. I also didn't like Susan B. in the beginning of the season, but she grew on me, and I legitimately enjoyed her big showdown with Michael in the season finale. And with actors like Robert Knepper, William Fichtner and Robert Wisdom, the talent on this show can sell otherwise unbelievable plots (or at least sell them enough that I'm willing to go along with them).
Friday Night Lights is on a completely different plane, and I am as sad as any fan that this wonderful show may not be back, but my disappointment in that shouldn't translate into feeling guilty about also enjoying a lesser-quality show. Shame on you for trying to make generalizations about anyone who does enjoy a show like
Prison Break! Next you'll be saying only people without college degrees could enjoy a show like that, or some other kind of nonsense!
— Sarah A., Richmond, Virginia
Matt Roush: Mea culpa for that clumsy response, which generated a fair amount of indignant mail. Of course I wasn't suggesting that people couldn't or shouldn't enjoy
Friday Night Lights and
Prison Break for entirely separate reasons. And the intention wasn't to generalize about the
Prison Break audience at all. That path leads to ruin. The point I was trying to make was that Christine's letter about only wanting to be "entertained" and choosing to avoid anything that offers a "glimpse of reality" is an expression of the mindset that can doom a show as real and wrenching as
Friday Night Lights from getting a fair chance. That has nothing to do with the relative merits (or lack of) regarding
Prison Break. And for the record, my
review of the
Prison finale also singled out Knepper, Fichtner and Wisdom for praise. An example of finding gems among trash.
