Thursday, July 26, 2007

Summer Series Round-Up

Besides the fun Burn Notice, I've sampled three other much-hyped new series:

  • Saving Grace. Holly Hunter's trying way too hard to be lewd and bad-ass (although she looks good doing it). Despite many reviewers' earnest assurances that Grace isn't pushing any particular religious agenda, I found it to be pretty standard default Christianity. Laura San Giacomo adds a bit of needed spice, but not enough to keep me tuned in. My verdict: yawnsville.
  • Mad Men. I'm soooo tired of movies and TV series that think that advertising = creative genius. I don't know what Mad Men has to be so self-congratulatory about, considering that their protagonists are universally corrupt. As a woman and a Jew, I find my fuck-you meter going off at an alarming rate. I get that they're trying to scoff at the unenlightened bad old days, but the writers are having too much fun seeing what they can get away with. Still, the production values are lavish; the characters, however slimy, are interesting; and John Slattery is ornamental. My verdict: I'll keep watching until they piss me off too much.
  • Damages. Glenn Close is giving a great steel-magnolia turn as litigator Patty Hewes, and newcomer Rose Byrne holds her own as her maybe-not-so-naive young associate. Dark, twisty, and layered, this looks like prime entertainment. My verdict: where's the popcorn?

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