Ugly Betty One of the Most Beautiful Things on TV
Add comment May 19th, 2008
One of the biggest winners on a TV season decimated by the strike, Ugly Betty is one of the most vibrant and poignant shows in television. The show explores unconventional beauty of Betty Suarez (American Ferrera), a geeky but determined young woman who works in the midst of fashion mogul Mode Magazine. What makes Ugly Betty so identifiable is the substantial voice the show gives to all its characters, spanning not only Betty and her friends but even the conniving Wilhelmina Slater (Vanessa Williams) and her underlings. Engaging and accessible, Ugly Betty airs on ABC at 7 PM.
Gossip Girl revolves around teenage heirs of socialites in glitzy New York’s Upper East Side. While the show focuses mostly on the games people play for rank and status, it hides a compelling narrative, especially concerning main character Serena van der Woodsen’s (Blake Lively) dark and complicated past. Another great aspect of the show is eponymous Gossip Girl (Kirsten Bell), an apparently unseen blogger whose reports on the rumors and relationships around school directly informs and affects the complex cast of characters. Unfortunately, there’s so much going on in each episode it takes a lot of attention to get a bearing the characters and their ever-shifting relationships. If you can keep track of everything and everyone, Gossip Girl can be rewarding experience. It airs on the CW Mondays at 7:00 PM.
Bearing Jerry Bruckheimer’s explosive tint, CSI gave a flashy view of criminal science, but its counterpart Criminal Minds is a bit more subtle. While CSI focuses on the technology, Criminal Minds explores the psychology. The main characters use everything from the color of paint to the arrangement of posters on the wall for insight into both criminals and their victims. Joe Mantegna heads the powerhouse cast, but the show is capable of balancing between the profiles as well as the victims and even criminals, lending to a fuller story episode to episode. Criminal Minds airs on CBS Wednesdays at 8 P.M.
movies, geek culture is at an all-time high. Big Bang Theory follows four geeks in an apartment next door to the beautiful Penny (Kaley Cuoco). The main character Leonard (Johnny Galecki) particularly pines over Penny, but is about as successful in his pursuit as Wiley Coyote chasing the Road Runner. The real problem here is the geekiness override the plot instead of complimenting it, as conversations about comic books, science fiction and mint condition action figures actually prevent the story from progressing. This is a shame, because from Leonard and Penny to the particular deadpan geek Sheldon (Jim Parsons), Big Bang Theory has one of the better sitcom casts on TV today. Big Bang Theory airs on CBS Mondays at 7:00 PM.
One of the many, many crime solving shows, NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service) stands out for one reason: its actually pretty fun to watch. The show features a vibrant mix of military investigators, ranging from the laconic Leroy Gibbs (Mark Harmon) to the mercurial Anthony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly). The cases bring an enjoyable element of political intrigue, but despite a wide variety of timely topics pulled right from the headlines, the material never rises above fluff, despite a healthy amount of charm. NCIS airs on CBS Tuesdays at 7:00 PM.
Putting the Ira Glass-narrated radio documentary “This American Life” on Showtime doesn’t make much sense at first. The lack of images on the long-running NPR show actually enhances the effect by forcing the audience to mentally picture the subject. But some things you just have to see for yourself, and this is where Showtime’s counterpart show – also narrated by Glass – really takes off. From a paraplegic’s daily struggle with a life-threatening disability to an Iraqi transplant manning a booth labeled “Talk to an Iraqi” in the American Midwest, both the topics and conclusions of “This American Life” are candid and heartfelt. The second season airs on Showtime May 4th at 9 PM.
There are some foods we like in spite of ingredients we normally wouldn’t touch and there are some foods we hate even if the ingredients are among our favorite dishes. Unfortunately, the latter is the category the NBC show 30 Rock falls under. Tina Frey, Alec Baldwin and Tracy Morgan are all great actors with great chemistry. Unfortunately, they just don’t mix, even with energetic interplay. Most of the blame lies on Baldwin, whose clearly powerful acting chops leaves Fey and Morgan clamoring to keep up. Still, 30 Rock has a fresh aroma and enjoyable aftertaste – it’s just everything in between that’s lacking. 30 Rock airs on Thursdays on NBC at 8:30 PM.
While Desperate Housewives might have one of the best-looking casts on television, it also has one of the best opening narrations, which lays out the plot with sing-song clarity. One of ABC’s most memorable staples, the accessibility of Desperate Housewives is undeniable. Revolving around a circle of small town female friends, all of the title characters are exceptionally three dimensional: one minute the titular housewives are engaged in acts of desperation, but many times these very acts lead the characters to reconnect with their spouses, family and each other. Desperate Housewives airs on ABC Sunday at 8:00 P.M.
The latest incarnation of the longest-running sci-fi show stars David Tennant as the Doctor, a nine century old space traveler with two hearts, a sonic screwdriver and space ship shaped like a telephone booth (one which ironically precedes Bill & Ted). Much like Supernatural follows the Winchesters as they drive into a different horror story every week; Dr. Who follows a similar pattern for science fiction. Much of the plots are tinged with classic science fiction themes like alienation, paranoia and subversion, but the stories, like the Doctor himself, are written with light-hearted sense of humor and even wonder. One of the most engrossing and compelling science fiction shows of recent memories, Dr. Who airs on Sci-Fi at 8:00 PM.
