TNA Wrestling’s hulking Samoa Joe throws down in the ring against his competitors, but off the clock, it’s all about locker-room pranks.
For years, Samoa Joe has dominated on the TNA Wrest ling stage, facing down some pretty formidable characters. But what he really enjoys is playing practical jokes on his teammates.
There’s been a long history [...]
K-Ville – FOX
The Backstory: In post-Katrina New Orleans, a specialized unit of cops takes back the streets—no easy feat, as the murder rate soars.
The Elevator Pitch: Hill Street Blues meets a more permissive FCC
The Good: Anthony Anderson kicked ass on The Shield. What’ll he do in the Big Easy?
The Bad: Real-life circumstances might make this [...]
Back to You – Fox
The Backstory: TV anchor on a career downturn (Kelsey Grammer) teams up with his former partner
(Patricia Heaton). The obvious question: Will they or won’t they?
The Elevator Pitch: Mary Tyler Moore plus sexual tension
The Good: These comedy vets are proven commodities for viewers of a certain age; costars like Fred Willard
The Bad: [...]
The Big Bang Theory – CBS
The Backstory: Two nerdy physicists learn about women from their ferociously sexy neighbor, Kaley Cuoco.
The Elevator Pitch: Beauty and the Geek mixed with Weird Science—in a chemistry beaker
The Good: Could echo the humor and tone of CBS hit How I Met Your Mother
The Bad: Could echo the humor and tone [...]
Aliens in America – CW
The Backstory: A devout Muslim exchange student moves in with a Midwestern Christian family, and wackiness ensues.
The Elevator Pitch: Perfect Strangers with South Park ’tude
The Good: Interfaith hijinks:a brave new frontier for half-hour sitcoms
The Bad: The culture-clash jokes will get old fast.
The Verdict: Not worth clogging the TiVo
CHUCK – NBC
The Backstory: A tech geek downloads a server’s worth of government secrets into his brain.
The Elevator Pitch: The Geek Squad hooks up with Jason Bourne.
The Good: Cool fights; hot chicks; a truly believable hero; has the makings of a big hit
Pushing Daisies – ABC
The Backstory: A baker named Ned somehow has the ability to bring murder victims back to life, so his PI partner knows whodunit.
The Elevator Pitch: Moonlighting meets The X-Files
The Good: Intriguing premise; excellent mix of romance, humor, and scifi-could be a breakout hit
The Bad: Something this gimmicky could work a few nerves [...]
Dirty Sexy Money – ABC
The Backstory: An idealistic lawyer gets in over his head. Commence gratuitous meaningful squinting.
The Elevator Pitch: Dynasty meets The Firm
The Good: Peter Krause; Donald Sutherland; Dirty. Sexy. Money.
The Bad: Despite that great title, it looks like a formulaic drama.
The Verdict: Guilty-of entertaining us.
Cavemen – CW
The Backstory: Three Geico ad Neanderthals take on the modern world.
The Elevator Pitch: Two and a Half Cavemen
The Good: Makes all of us non-cavemen seem that much more attractive
The Bad: The ad campaign is a thin conceit on which to hang an entire show.
The Verdict: We think we’re in hirsute heaven.
The blessed Mary-Louise and her flock(from left): Maulik Pancholy, Kirk, Nealon, Andy Milder, and Romany Malco
As the third season of Weeds fires up, Justin Kirk talks about getting the munchies, dropping trou on-screen, and why Mary-Louise Parker is so not innocent.
By Abigail AronofskyLast season on Weeds, Justin Kirk’s Andy Botwin—the good-natured ne’er-do-well brother-in-law of Mary-Louise [...]
Bionic Woman – NBCThe Backstory: A bartender suffers a horrendous car crash but—with cutting-edge technology—gets a superimproved lease on life and impressively feathered hair.
The Elevator Pitch:The Bionic Woman meets the twenty-first century—and crushes it.
The Good: Action; humor; a hot-as-Hades villain (Katee Sackhoff, below)
The Bad: Bionic or not, the hero should be just a tad more [...]
Cane – CBS
The Backstory: Jimmy Smits returns to prime time for this soapy family saga.
The Elevator Pitch: Dallas goes Latin, trading Ewing oil for the Vega family’s rum and sugar
concern (get it? Cane?).
The Good: Great cast brings needed diversity to broadcast TV
The Bad: Could be too lathered up for its own good
The Verdict: Was the [...]
