DVR Cleaning: Crusoe [series premiere], Grey’s Anatomy, The Sarah Silverman Program
By fred | October 19, 2008
I’m a little late, but here we go with my weekly DVR Cleaning. This time I’ll talk about the latest NBC series, Crusoe, which wasn’t as bad as you might have thought/expected it would be — or is it that had such low expectations it was scientifically impossible that anything could have been as bad as I was expecting it to be?
Also a few words about Grey’s Anatomy and the whole lotta love that’s lacking these days, and of course the latest episode of The Sarah Silverman Program, since I didn’t had time to watch it on Thursday.
Crusoe: Rum And Gunpowder [series premiere]
(S01E01-E02) It should be a surprise, this coming from NBC and all. I don’t know if you gave a try to NBC’s latest new series, Crusoe. I can see why you would not do it, after all it’s NBC, it’s one of those idea that came out of the ‘genius’ idea Silverman had, to list the most-known stories and just turn them into series, and clearly the network had faith in the show, sending it right away on Friday night, aka TV death slot.
And yet, the truth is, Crusoe might just be the “best” of all the new series of NBC this season. Granted, with a waste like Knight Rider, an unfunny insult like Kath & Kim, and the really bad My Own Worst Enemy, it doesn’t mean much. But still, only NBC could get their least bad new series and send it to die on Friday nights right away…
About the show itself, I didn’t find the acting always that great, but quite frankly is was better than what you get on Knight Rider for example, much better, (though, again, that’s not saying much…) and it actually didn’t really bother me, because it fit right into the show. Oh sure, the pirates were Johnny Deep-ish - or should I say Jack Sparrow-ish ? - and, like about everyone else on the island, looked and sounded more like parody or caricatures of their characters than the actual characters, but then again, it somehow works here.
The show should be, and was, first and foremost made of action and adventures, it’s not Lost with mysteries to solve, black monster to avoid and island to move, and in that area the two-hour pilot was pretty good. It did feel like a movie, -ish, in that there was all the action and adventure you might want, not much to think about, but I’m guessing it’s probably best anyways.
The show opens with Robinson having been on the Island for years now, Friday by his side already speaking English, and a full city and traps everywhere built somehow all over the island. No time to waste on the first weeks or any of that, we’re directly thrown into action, people running after each other and fighting, and why not?
Of course, the real concern I have is about what’s to come next, because if somehow there’s a new boat that comes to the Island every single week, and yet each time for one reason or another Robinson can’t leave the Island, which is his ultimate goal, it’s gonna become quite ludicrous. And I’m not sure this show can manage one episode of 42 minutes with only two characters on the island, no one else, so no fights, so big magical traps and other explosions — cause clearly, subtlety and complex-character portrayals isn’t the strong point of the show, just look at Crusoe, athletic, and shirtless within 10 minutes of course, architect, inventor, funny, good, compassionate, he’s the perfect clichéd hero with teeth so white he doesn’t need a light, or flame, at night.
Of course there were flashbacks, but I honestly didn’t care much about any of it. It’s too bad, because that’s where people like Sam Neill were found, but I really don’t care about his past or how happy he was before getting there, or how Blackthorn (Neill) might have sent him to the Island to die to he could have a ’son’ or whatever the story will be.
I have no idea if the next episodes will be any “good”, and as I said I’m curious as what they’ll be about, but at least this two-hour pilot was pretty good as a pure light entertainment program, and if you missed it and have two hours (or just one hour and a half, without commercials) to kill, you might wanna give it a try.
Posted in Reviews
Shows: Crusoe, Grey’s Anatomy, The Sarah Silverman Program
