Q. You always highlight cable and streaming shows and ignore the regular network stuff. Have you even previewed any of the new network series? NETWORK NERD
A. Yes indeed, I have sampled some of the new shows — not the franchise extensions such as “NCIS: Hawai’i” and “FBI: International,” but the more original titles.
And I did like at least one of them so far, the new Monday Fox dramedy “The Big Leap.” It being a network show, my expectations were somewhat lowered going in. When I watch broadcast, I know I’m going to get a show that probably won’t challenge me, and will probably have an extra sprinkle of feel-good on top, as it strives to not offend advertisers.
But “The Big Leap” — about the Detroit wannabes who join the cast of a dance reality-TV show — made me think of the likable early episodes of “Glee,” before it became too polished, repetitive, and self-regarding. The ensemble is large, so it’s easy to find characters to enjoy. Sure, none of the characters requires more than a few words of description — they are types — but in time they may develop into more specific beings, especially Simone Recasner as the endearing single mom. And they’re not all kids; the theme of the show, and the show within the show, is second chances, so there is a 50-something former dancer (played by Teri Polo) and a former corporate exec who survived cancer (Piper Perabo). I like the variety.
“The Big Leap” doesn’t promise a layered look into the world of reality contests, but it does make fun of the genre through Scott Foley’s character, the producer who obsessively manipulates the dancers to create storylines (recalling the Lifetime series “UnREAL”). So even while the show has an earnest side, as it follows people trying to get their lives together, it also delivers plenty of cynical comedy. It has it both ways. The dance moves, too, are a big plus. The bowling alley dance scene in the premiere was a thrill.
I was looking forward to “Ordinary Joe,” the NBC Monday drama starring James Wolk. I like Wolk, and the “Sliding Doors”-esque concept is risky, an all too rare quality on the networks. The series opens at the college graduation of Wolk’s Joe, where he has to decide what to do with his life, professionally and romantically. We then follow him on three different paths. On one he is a Springsteen-like rock star, on another he is a hero cop, and on another he’s a nurse. In each life, his father died on 9/11 and he’s surrounded by the same actors playing slightly different roles. In one, for example, college girlfriend Jenny (Elizabeth Lail) is his wife; in another she is his ex.
The premiere was good, and I wanted more. But the second and third episodes I previewed were a letdown. The narrative jumps among the three stories so much that, at moments, I got confused about some of the peripheral characters. And each of the stories was beginning to get mired in soap operatics, by which I mean the melodrama was a bit too thick at times. Also: Wolk works as a nurse and as a cop, but not so much as a rock god.
But I plan to keep watching, hoping the writers will pull it all together. I also plan to keep an eye on the other network premieres, NETWORK NERD, especially for you.
Matthew Gilbert can be reached at matthew.gilbert@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewGilbert.
"network" - Google News
September 27, 2021 at 11:43PM
https://ift.tt/3D6utDJ
'The Big Leap' jumps ahead of other new network shows - The Boston Globe
"network" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2v9ojEM
https://ift.tt/2KVQLik
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "'The Big Leap' jumps ahead of other new network shows - The Boston Globe"
Post a Comment