ADVANCE REVIEW: Season 3 Premiere of Chuck

Chuck is back! No more Mr. Nice Spy!! I had mentioned earlier that I was sort of a casual Chuck viewer, but this season is not to miss. I am a Chuck convert, and I’m so excited for the return! When last we left Chuck, he suddenly had new powers (due to the Intersect 2.0), he and Sarah were in love, and all seemed pretty good in Bartowski-world.

The season premiere picks up where they left off. Chuck Bartowski is trying to embrace his new role as a spy. He is slowly grasping his new powers with the Intersect 2.0, and suddenly knows kung fu, how to play musical instruments, and get out of the stickiest situations. But what makes Chuck the character we adore, is not his Intersect powers. At heart, Chuck is still that lovable nerd from Buy More who is head over heels for Sarah. And it’s those things that make Chuck who he is, that can interfere with his ability to perform as a spy. If he can’t flash (Intersect 2.0 lingo that means to gain the information to do those aforementioned crazy things), he risks failing at a mission. And he can’t flash when he gets nervous or upset or scared or shows any sort of emotions. And let’s face it, if you are at risk of being beat up, you probably would get scared too.

ADVANCE REVIEW: Bravo’s Launch My Line

Bravo has some top quality programming (get it?) with Top Chef, Top Design, and Shear Genius, among many others. It lost Project Runway to Lifetime this year, and I think the show has definitely suffered since moving. Perhaps to fill its void, Bravo has come up with a new show called Launch My Line. It is a reality/competition show, hosted by Dean and Dan Caten (designers of the line D Squared), where each person is competing for a chance to launch their own fashion line. The twist however, is that each contestant knows relatively nothing about designing and creating clothes. There are stylists and dressers and fashion critics who know a lot about the industry, but on the other hand you have a choreographer and a marketing executive. To help them launch their line, each contestant is paired with a fashion expert. I hadn’t really heard of any of these fashion experts, but I can’t really call myself one, so I trust Bravo.

Their first challenge is to come up with a name and a concept for their line, and then design a signature look. At first I found myself comparing the show to Project Runway. There is no Tim Gunn (although D Squared are so cute and awesome), no Mood Fabrics, and there were no Quick Fire challenges like on other Bravo shows. But after my initial thoughts that it isn’t Project Runway, I realized that the show is incredibly unique. Each contestant brings their own perspective to clothing design and I really enjoyed seeing how they conceptualized a line without any prior experience. In my mind, there is already a front-runner, but I don’t want to spoil too much. There are also a couple of contestants who I already find to be divas and rather pretentious. I was pleasantly surprised by the show. I expect quality programming from Bravo, and I was not disappointed in the least. For anyone who likes Bravo shows, or fashion, you will love Launch My Line. Be sure to tune in Wednesday at 10 pm on Bravo.

Meet the Contestants:

• Dan Karaty, Choreographer
• David Applebaum, Architect
• Eric Cubeechee, DJ
• Kathy Rose, Jewelry Designer
• Kevin Black, Music Mogul
• Louanna Rawles, Stylist
• Marilyn Crawford, CEO
• Merle Ginsberg, Fashion Critic
• Patrick McDonald, Fashion Writer/Dandy
• Vanessa Gonzalez, Event Designer

ADVANCE REVIEW: V: “It’s Only The Beginning”

V has only a few episodes under it’s belt so far this season, but I am really enjoying it. I have to admit that I am still way behind on Flash Forward, but V I have been keeping up with (not that it’s been terribly hard to do so). V centers around a group of “Visitors,” or aliens, who visit planet earth in huge ships, claiming that they come in peace and wish to share technology with people on earth. Anna (Morena Baccarin) is the V leader who is strikingly beautiful and calming in her own way. The Vs bring into questions issues of devotion, worship and whether they are just arriving or if they’ve been there all along.

The way ABC has chosen to break up the season is to air 4 episodes in a row, and not air a new one until 2010. I’m not sure how I feel about this, but I can say that the mid-season finale — if you can call it that — was very successful. The episode centers around the resistance movement (at this point it consists of Georgie played by David Richmond-Peck, Father Jack played by Joel Gretsch, Erica Evans, played by Elizabeth Mitchell, and a V himself Ryan Nichols, played by Morris Chestnut), and their plans to take down the Vs. Meanwhile, Erica’s son is getting much more involved with the Vs, and it becomes very clear that the Vs are using him for some ulterior motive. The Vs also give Chad Decker (Scott Wolf) an exclusive story about the healing centers (which Anna plugs on TV throughout the episode). The Vs claim their medical technology is incredibly advanced and far beyond anyone’s imagination.

But back to the resistance group, which I think is interesting and unique. Each person contributes something different. They make one small step towards progress at the end of the episode, but I don’t want to spoil anything. We also learn more about Anna’s relationship with the Vs, and about the 5th Column (the V resistance group).

This episode left me with a ton of questions, but I don’t feel like that is a bad thing. I think the season is moving at a pretty good pace, even though I want instant gratification. I want to know more about “getting connected,” which was brought up by a V in the last episode. I want to know more about the leader of the 5th column, and whether there are more traitors. I realize I just have to be patient to wait for the answers, but there is one thing that is for sure…V is keeping me very interested and very entertained. And at the same time, it is very grounded (for a show about aliens and all). The characters are well developed and well acted, and I only wish I knew more about some of Anna’s right hand men and women. I can’t wait to see how the season progresses, and I really look forward to when it pairs up with LOST in 2010.

Be sure to tune in tonight at 8 pm on ABC to see “It’s Only The Beginning.” I can’t wait to hear your thoughts as well!

ADVANCE REVIEW: Modern Family “Great Expectations”

This week’s episode of Modern Family centers around Claire and Phil’s anniversary. Phil wakes Claire up to shower her with gifts, but Claire’s gift falls far short. She ends up getting the bass player from Spandow Ballet (after several viewings, I still am not sure I spelled that right) to play a private concert for them. This band has supposed significance for them, but I don’t want to spoil too much. Edward Norton’s Izzy is just incredible. Who knew he had such great comedic timing?

Meanwhile, Cameron and Mitchell reunite with their oldest friend Sal (played by the beautiful and talented Elizabeth Banks), who has no inhibitions. Several times during their night out, Sal implies that she wants to kill Lily. I don’t want to spoil every hilarious joke, so I’ll let you tune in for the clever one-liners. We discover later on that Sal is acting out for a reason, and Cameron and Mitchell end up having to comfort her.

While all of this hilarity is going on, it is “Jay’s night,” where Jay hosts a sleepover with all the grandchildren. Hayley wants to attend a party with Dylan, and Luke thinks Jay is dying. And of course there is Manny, who shamelessly flirts with his cousin Hayley.

I like that this episode, while full of extremely funny moments, also gets to the heart of things. The show is a comedy, but at the core, it is about a family (as crazy, dysfunctional and atypical as it may be). Phil and Claire might have this marriage that appears quite ridiculous on the surface (Phil is this goof-off dad who wants to be his kids’ friends, and Claire is this more serious, on top of things mom), but deep down, they really love each other. And Jay might be this patriarch figure who has made fun of his family from the outset, and is married to quite the firecracker, but deep down, he really loves his diverse family.

When I first heard of Modern Family before it premiered, a friend described it to me as “The Office” but with a family. I have a ton of love and respect for The Office, but Modern Family has really found it’s footing as a unique show. There is absolutely nothing like it on TV, and that is such a great thing. I can’t wait to see Fred Willard, Minnie Driver and all the other guest stars they have up their sleeves. It has been an amazing season so far, and I can’t wait to see more.

Be sure to tune in tonight for an all new episode of Modern Family at 9 pm on ABC. And next week I will be posting my interview with Eric Stonestreet (Cameron).