Pen-Elayne on the Web

Idiot Boxing Again: Part Two

See previous post. Breaking up The Pitches (TP) and My Highly Opinionated Snap Judgements (MHOSJ) on the networks' new fall series by day for easier reading and because I talk a lot. All times listed are Eastern and PM, and TP quoted verbatim from the nets.

Monday

CBS: Two and a Half Men (9:30) - TP: Charlie is a very successful jingle writer who in his 35 years has never worried about anyone but himself. And he likes it that way. But his seemingly perfect setup looks as though it's about to crumble: Alan and Jake have moved into Charlie's Malibu beach house. Alan, Charlie's soon-to-be-divorced younger brother, and Jake, Alan's 10-year-old son, are about to turn playboy Charlie's world upside down. That's something Charlie feared would happen once he agreed to the arrangement, but he realizes that he and his polar-opposite brother now have something in common: Jake's best interests. The real question is whether the brothers will be able to make a good home for Jake without wanting to divorce each other. Charlie Sheen stars, along with Jon Cryer. Blythe Danner plays their mother. MHOSJ: The first of many non-traditional nuclear family "wacky" comedies on the new fall lineup. This is one I'd watch once or twice for the stunt-casting alone, but I think it's going to live or die on the writing.

NBC: Las Vegas(9:00) - TP: Fast. Furious. Fun. You can bet on high stakes and high-speed action in this adrenaline-fueled drama from the writer of The Fast and the Furious. Big Ed Deline, former CIA, runs the best surveillance company in Vegas. Big Ed's best employee is Danny McCoy, an ex-Marine and Vegas native, who loves living life in the fast lane. Mike Cannon, head valet, keeps track of who's coming and going. Mary Connell, Danny's childhood friend, is a high-class escort who has a knack for learning people's darkest secrets. Danny's best source just might be Jane, the savvy new casino host. Both exude a seductive style -- a lot like the city itself. MHOSJ: Boy, does this pitch sound way too full of itself, or is it just me? It would have been nice if the pitch mentioned that "Big Ed" is played by James Caan (or is Caan no longer "a name"?) Does a surveillance-company drama count as a cop show? Is "shows set in Vegas" becoming a subgenre?