Jump to content

Sons and Daughters & Boston Legal


CSW

Recommended Posts

  • Members

Does anyone watch these?

I just got into Boston Legal and I must say I spend more time laughing then I do with any other show since Arrested Development.

But Sons and Daughters is very enjoyable as well, and surprisingly touching. I recommend it.

But back to Boston Legal, this show (repeat this and last week but they are new to me) is so well done. The writing is crisp and the acting is amazing. There are some flaws and kinks the need to be ironed out but I do think it has a voice (on social commentary).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 7
  • Created
  • Last Reply
  • Members

What ABC needs to do is reinvigorate it's Saturday night. Put the lower performing but critically acclaimed shows there (Sons & Daughters, Crumbs and Commander in Chief), IMO.

It'll never happen in a million years but what else have they (or any other network) got to lose if they don't try. Saturday could eventually turn into a must see night (LOL, like I said, will never happen).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I am still pissed BOSTON LEGAL was shifted to Tuesday Nights to feature the highly hip and overrated GREY'S ANATOMY. I still refuse to watch the GREY'S because of that.

And I never have any room to tape it on Tuesday with the rest of the TV shows I watch on a regular basis.

To me, LEGAL was a much better fit for the 10PM slot after DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES. Both shows featuring talented, older, "has-been" actors back in the saddle.

Is Shirley Schmidt still being the ever-so-wonderful [!@#$%^&*]-stirrer?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I see what you're saying and I used to feel the same way but I've been brought into the GA mix. I have stopped watching DH though because its novetly has worn off.

As for BL, Shirley is definately keeping things balanced. Her character is starting to develop as her ex-husband and her are embarking on affair because Shirley thinks that he's divorced. Slight snag, he hasn't actually gone through with the divorce yet. Do you how Shirley finds this out? When his wife comes to her looking to sue him for cheating... that is how she realizes she's having an affair with a married man.

But seriously, she's really helping the show. I'd say Paul is the show's true counterbalance though. How can you not root for this character? I'm not sure the actors are all has-beens just awesomely cast!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



  • Recent Posts

    • Yes from when they went on Let’s Make a Deal too. Pam stole Forrester designs for Jackie M. Of course a month later we saw Nick, Lesley, Owen, and Bridget all exit in the same episode.
    • Great pairing that seemed to come out of the blue! Around that time, it felt like Sheffer/Goutman didn’t really know what to do with Emily or Hal. And KM and BH had surprisingly great chemistry. It was good for Emily especially because she was coming off those unsympathetic years with the Tom affair and then running the Intruder and essentially just being a busybody.
    • I think the issue with Lulu is less the character (which was the issue in the Julie Berman days under Guza II) and more the lack of nuance. The current GH team rarely writes nuance for any character or at least can't sustain it for long, or they reserve it for a favored few. I also think the rooting interest at GH BTS often remains on preferred characters or actors - BLQ/Setton - vs. Laura's kids. So it's easy to make Lulu the heavy if you think Brook Lynn and Chase are the money on this show. I don't, but I think FV does. And that's not to say I think Amanda Setton is bad in the role, or that I would get rid of BLQ. I don't trend towards either (though I do think that if Setton's personal beliefs keep getting in the way of material I would reluctantly recast). I think Brook Lynn is essential to use as a lead presently. But I don't think it needs to be the black and white dichotomy of suffering young matriarch BLQ and aggressor Lulu. While it's good that unlike in the Guza years they can recognize that Lulu can be obnoxious and rash, can be her own worst enemy and that that is part of the character, it can be toned down or given more layers than it has of late. There's nothing wrong there the writing can't fix.
    • 1999: I just watched it. It felt so primetime. La Lucci is making history. Aretha's daydreaming segment. @Contessa Donatella Thank you, my love. So helpful and informative as always. adding them to my queue.
    • I know this isn’t a usual or anywhere near universal take, but I loved the relatively brief Hal/Emily relationship/marriage more than I ever thought I would have with KMH/BH.
    • In my field (not that) I've written my share of dreck when it's what people wanted vs. something good. In the end what matters is the check. These pilots may not be great, but whether or not those writers intended otherwise they got paid.
    • I think there is plenty to critique and/or roast about the show, but I think there's also good bones and a lot of progressive improvement. It's the Bell/B&B formula and house style that is hardest for it to shake and the most necessary IMO, as well as some dead weight actors or characters, but that formula also apparently works for a lot of general viewers and I suspect CBS. OTOH it's also very modern in certain ways (sometimes overly hip dialogue, and some story) that still make it feel like a show that's bouncing between distant past staples of soap opera fundamentals and the present moment. And the old fashioned product placement is fun but also so goofy, while material like June is hysterical. Imagine leading with 'the underpass is where I live, and I like it there!' It's an unusual show in that way, because its identity and tone is still not fully formed. You don't know what it'll be. But that's normal at this juncture. The closest thing to a glimpse of the future foundation, I think (besides the obvious core family setup that's been there since Day 1), is the rivalry and future familial bond - and likely love/hate relationship - between Kat and Eva. A la many central sisters or siblings throughout soap history.
    • I loved Kelley Menighan! She was an MVP, especially during the show’s last few years. I always looked forward to anything she did with MM, BH, CZ, MW,  and the two grownup Alisons. Wasn’t a big fan of her with RH’s Paul. I always admired how she balanced being a vixen and being neurotic.
    • LLC can be a lot (lady definitely doesn’t phone it in), but her scenes with Rena made me wish they played actual sisters on a better platform.  Aside from JE, who is a legend so it’s no surprise when she’s excellent, Amanda Setton is my MVP of this story and she hasn’t always been great in this role. You see so much happening in her face as she’s navigating the shifts and layers of this story. She’s fully locked in. Glad Rory Gibson is getting his due on GH. I knew he had more to give than what Y&R was giving him. The writing will be a factor here as well because the character of Michael hasn’t been written well in ages (if ever, arguably). GH just can’t sustain the good stuff for more than a few weeks. Alexa Havins is a very good actress and was widely embraced as Lulu initially, but the character’s one-note abrasiveness has a lot of folks wishing she was gone at this point. 
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy