Selleck & Co. will paint the town Blue

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This article was published 24/09/2010 (5828 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SCHOOL PRIDE

NBC/7 p.m./Oct. 15

Featuring: Tom Stroup, Susie Castillo, Kym Whitley, Jacob Soboroff.

Premise: An inspirational reality series that follows a team of experts who visit a different American community each week and help the locals renovate and reinvigorate their aging and damaged public schools.

Lowdown: Basically, it’s Extreme Makeover: School Edition — an aspirational reality show in which a team of experts helps local communities across the U.S. to renovate and reinvigorate their crumbling public schools. The Pride motivational squad includes an interior designer, a political reporter, a SWAT team commander and a standup comic. Originally scheduled to debut tonight, but its premiere has been pushed back to mid-October.

Quotable: “I’m a mom, and I have a daughter in school. Don’t ask me why, but I was inspired to reach out to schools. My first thought was to reach out to schools with other countries that are in need; my friend said, ‘What about our country? What about our schools?’ And I foolishly said, ‘I think we’re OK.’ And he said, ‘No, we’re not OK.'” — actress Cheryl Hines (Curb Your Enthusiasm), recalling the conversation that led to her becoming an executive producer on School Pride.

Bottom line: Feel-good stories in a setting that everyone recognizes and can relate to — if this doesn’t get a passing grade, there’s something wrong with the system.

 

BODY OF PROOF

ABC/8 p.m./DATE TBA

Starring: Dana Delany, Jeri Ryan, Geoffrey Arend, John Carroll Lynch, Windell Middlebrooks, Nic Bishop, Sonja Sohn.

Premise: A brilliant neurosurgeon is forced from her job after injuries from a car accident impair her surgical skills; reluctantly, she takes on the role of medical examiner and quickly gains a reputation for clashing with police investigators over what — and who — causes victims’ deaths.

Lowdown: It doesn’t take a brain surgeon — or a forensics expert, for that matter — to figure out that when a show’s on the fall schedule but the network won’t give it a firm premiere date, there’s a problem. It’s hard to figure, though, just what the holdup is, because the pilot episode is fairly strong and the cast, led by the ever-appealing Delany in a role that allows her to play to her strengths, is quite effective. Maybe ABC will offer up a few clues in the next week or two.

Quotable: “It’s funny — I’ve always been more drawn to doctors than lawyers in terms of my acting. I think in another life, I was a doctor. My grandfather was a doctor. I do love the medical stuff, and… I went to see an autopsy. I encourage everyone to see an autopsy; it’s fantastic. It will make you really want to take care of your body, and have even more awe for what we’ve all been given.” — series star Dana Delany, explaining what motivated her to take on this role.

Bottom line: A promising pilot, but the evidence doesn’t lie — something’s definitely amiss.

 

BLUE BLOODS

CBS/CTV, tonight at 9

Starring: Tom Selleck, Donnie Wahlberg, Len Cariou, Bridget Moynahan, Will Estes, Dylan Moore.

Premise: A multi-layered cops-and-crime drama that focuses on a multi-generational family of law-enforcements types, with the patriarch serving as New York’s police chief, two sons working on the job and a daughter in the D.A.’s office.

Lowdown: Simply put, the pilot of this family-driven drama looks and feels like a cop show should. Richly detailed, filled with interesting characters and relationships, set against the backdrop of the richest and most familiar police-drama city on TV. Selleck and Wahlberg stand out, and Winnipeg native Cariou seems destined to become the conscience of a deeply divided clan. The pilot-episode storyline feels a bit shorthanded, but that might be due to the time needed for character introductions.

Quotable: “I feel very strongly about this right now — you know, we’ve done the anti-hero for all these years. It’s wonderful… but you know, almost every character you see on TV, they’re dark, they have a problem, they’re anti-heroes. And I became very interested, sort of as a curative after The Sopranos, in finding out what a hero is today.” — executive producer Robin Green, explaining why it’s time for a show about a family of cops.

Bottom line: They’ll serve and protect this Friday-night timeslot well.

 

OUTLAW

CBS/Global/9 p.m./premiered Sept. 17

Starring: Jimmy Smits, Jesse Bradford, Carly Pope, Ellen Woglom, David Ramsay.

Premise: A U.S. Supreme Court justice, known for his conservative politics and loosely liberal lifestyle, abruptly resigns his post on the country’s highest court and returns to private practice, determined to fight for the underdog while trying to reform the justice system from the ground up.

Lowdown: If you’re looking for a proven, bankable TV star to anchor your prime-time drama, you probably can’t do any better than Smits — his stellar runs on L.A. Law, NYPD Blue and The West Wing are ample evidence that he’s an actor who can deliver the goods and who viewers are eager to see. BUT… you’ve got to give the guy something to work with, and Outlaw simply lacks the substance and narrative integrity that his considerable talents deserve. In a 21st-century context, the notion that a U.S. Supreme Court justice could also be a hard-partying womanizer with a gambling addiction without attracting the attraction of the axe-grinding media and blogosphere simply doesn’t hold water.

Quotable: “I have a belief that the judicial system doesn’t always lead to justice, and that good people in the system often can follow the law, do their job, and know in their hearts that it’s hurting innocent people. So I always imagined that a judge who has to do that might have a hard time living with himself and going home at night.” — executive producer John Eisendrath, explaining the “What if?” scenario that inspired this series.

Bottom line: Sentenced to a very short term on Friday nights.

 

RETURNING-SHOW ROUNDUP:

— Secret Millionaire — 7 p.m., ABC/Global, date TBA

— Human Target — 7 p.m., Fox/CTV, Oct. 1

— Medium — tonight at 7, CBS

— The Ron James Show — tonight at 8, CBC

— CSI: NY — tonight at 8, CBS/CTV

— The Good Guys — tonight at 8, Fox

— Hell’s Kitchen — tonight at 8, Citytv/premiered Sept. 22 on Fox

— The Fifth Estate — tonight at 9, CBC

— 20/20 — tonight at 9, ABC

— Survivorman — tonight at 9, Citytv

— Mantracker — tonight at 10, Citytv

brad.oswald@freepress.mb.caw