6 Women Shows from the Fall TV Line Up (VOD Hidden Gem)October 07, 2011
Media savant T Tara Turk goes deep inside cable TV to reveal Video On Demand's Hidden Gems so even the busiest of our readers can get the most out of On Demand TV. Tell Tara what VOD shows you think deserves her attention.
6 Women Shows From The Fall TV Lineup (VOD Hidden Gem)
Fall TV has me singing the classic Destiny’s Child theme song, Independent Woman Part I (was there a Part II and I missed it?) from the first CHARLIE’S ANGELS movie with Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu. Let’s admit though, there comes a point in any song that gets you amped where you kind of lose your amped-ness thus causing thrown up hands to lower, voices to go from shout singing to sort of a murmur and then a mouthing, a rocking from side to side giving way to a distracted “What was I doing again? Oh cleaning the toilet.”
Below you will find my summary of which songs will have you keep singing “all the mommas who profit dollas” and which one will have you 409ing the bathroom.
Which leads us too...
Charlie’s Angels
Oh my. Well. I’ll rip the bandaid off. It pains me. This is from the girl who has the box set that came in a lunchbox. This from the girl who will even watch the reruns with Shelly Hack. Look, we all know Charlie’s Angels isn’t supposed to be Shakespeare and we don’t even expect it to be Living Single (Queen Latifah, Kym Coles, Kim Fields and Erika Alexander - we miss you). But it can it not be cheesy? Can the attempt to have a sexy Bosley fall to the side and at least get a Bosley gives a little comic relief? Can they not take themselves so seriously? Can it not be in Miami since we already have CSI: Miami and they are doing quiet well? Can this show go away? Can Charlie not sound like he has the flu? Too many questions to make this show with its swiss cheese plot something I can’t even pose in the mirror for. Sorry, Charlie (this was better than me inserting a Minka Kelly/Derek Jeter break up joke).
The Playboy Club (NBC cancelled this show after the article was written.)
I was curious as to find out why Yoda was doing a voiceover and then it dawned on me that it was actually Hugh Hefner. Actually it didn’t dawn on me then. It dawned on me at the end when we see the back of a robot in Hef’s smoker’s jacket talking to...no one? Anyways, I read this whole show begins with a girl killing a guy with a stiletto. Actually it’s a pump. Women know the difference. You can sew buttons with a stiletto. You can hammer a nail with a pump. Where was I? Accidental murder? Eddie Cibrian as a JFK wannabe with dimples. A bunny who may or may not be married. A chocolate bunny with predictable race issues. The birth of the bunny mother hen. Mob. Keys. Fake Ike and Tina Turner show. Blah blah. The best thing about this show are the costumes and well, you can go get pictures for that. It’s important to have a great concept but without a great story, that’s like a bunny without a tail.
New Girl
Zooey Deschanel being herself (which I think is funny) as a character who gets dumped and has to move into an apartment with three guys dealing with their own issues. Deschanel’s kind of humor is quirky and awkward and fun. Put that next to some guys who have no idea what she’s talking about most times and you have yourself a show. The only tragedy here is that we lost Damon Wayans, Jr. to Happy Endings and he’s replaced by a guy who may or may not be as funny as Damon Wayns, Jr or Sr.
Pan Am
Oh yes. As Mad Men reveals, people like classic cool time periods and it was absolutely genius to go behind the Pan Am brand (I still say the concept of The Playboy Club is genius but this is the point in the road where these two diverge). Though the costumes are uniform, the women (including Christina Ricci) wearing them are not and each have just enough storyline to make me want to go round trip (bad dum bump!). Seriously, I think we have just enough factual historical references for the airline to give way to some great storylines (hello - the first episode had them rescuing people from Cuba and included a corny marriage proposal!). We just need a few more women of color on this show pronto since Pan Am was known for being so diverse.
Prime Suspect
Let’s just put it out there. I know I am sometimes an anglophile when it comes to Brit TV but I haven’t seen the vampy Helen Mirren in this show. I can only judge what I saw here and I love not vampy Mario Bello as Detective Timoney. Her tough cop story is plausible, difficult at times, funny and sometimes unlikeable (which I’m okay with). She’s put in a squad full of guys who hate her but she doesn’t ever let them see how it affects her (hello, real world!). She’s dating a guy with a pain in the ass ex and has a relationship with her dad that makes me ache for my own (RIP Larry Robinson). She gets her ass handed to her by a perp and it looks SERIOUSLY painful.. Mario Bello - A+. Now, that said, and this is tough, they could literally replace the entire rest of the cast and I wouldn’t mind. Sorry. It might be the writing but they all seem to fall into the classic NY cop stereotype and I don’t want them to.I want them to be as dope as Timoney is.
2 Broke Girls
Well from the looks of it, this might be the one hit co-producer and co-creator Whitney Cummings strikes this year! I’ll admit I thought I would hate the idea of an uptown girl who’s lost all her cash because her dad was a Madoff (yes, I made it a noun) joining forces with a character not unlike Jo from Facts of Life. Wait. Okay. It’s Blair and Jo in 2011 working in a diner! Okay. Well, since I put it that way, now I know why that show appeals to me, hopefully that description will appeal to you. Hyjinx, wise cracks, cash jokes, etc.all set in a mysterious grimy Sesame Street type Brooklyn neighborhood.
Hopefully these snapshots will help you decide where to firmly plant your woman anthem and your VOD placements once things for the Fall, fall into place.
T. Tara Turk is a novelist/playwright/screenwriter, living in LA with her boyfriend and dog - all three successful TV addicts. You can find her at www.ttaraturk.com or follow her on Twitter @ttaraturk.
