The Brickbat

TNT’s New Series “Trust Me”

Posted on 11. Feb, 2009 by Dan.

A few weeks ago “Trust Me” aired for the first time on TNT. “Trust Me” is a new dramedy series on TNT. It takes place in Chicago at an ad agency in present time. It is written by; Hunt Baldwin and John Coveny, who also serve as the show’s executive producers. They made a name for themselves writing and producing episodes of “The Closer”. Joining them is Michael M. Robin, who also worked on “The Closer” as well as “Nip/Tuck”.

Television pilots to me are a jumping off point, it’s not going to be the best episode of the series, but it will serve as a good jumping off point. I like to give a series a couple of episodes to find its legs before coming to a decision.

“Trust Me”, currently three episodes in, is a good television program. It isn’t great, it’s nothing ground breaking, and at times seems like it doesn’t really know what it wants to be. TNT, who apparently knows drama, has labeled this show as a drama, which I don’t really see. Everything seems to have a slight comical feel to it. **Spoilers** In the first episode a character dies and the reaction to his death comes of more light hearted than dramatic. Thinking about it now, there really isn’t anything in this show that would constitute a drama, but its not a sitcom or a comedy either.

The dynamic of the cast is what will make or break this show. Tom Cavanagh and Eric McCormack have a great chemistry and work well together in making the viewer believe they have been working together for several years. Monica Potter plays a newly hired copywriter still trying to find her legs within the agency. Her character tends to be kind of annoying at times, but I feel it has a lot to do with the predicament she is in.

When this show got closer to being aired there was a lot a talk about how it was a knock off of “Mad Men” and television didn’t need another TV show about an ad agency. First, Mad Men is a period piece set 45 years ago. Second, holy crap another show about an ad agency what’s the total? 2? How many shows are on TV that involves lawyers, doctors, or cops? Comparing those two shows is like comparing “Scrubs” and “Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman”.

My highest hopes is that “Trust Me” finds its legs and starts heading into the same direction that “Scrubs” did in its first season. Having a good combination of both comedy and drama. Being able to switch between those two is never an easy thing to do.

Overall, I would suggest anyone who awake and watching television at 10pm on Monday’s to watch this. If you never see this show, it won’t be the worst thing that ever happened to you. My gut tells me that this will not make it to a second season, which is unfortunate.

To watch episodes online go to TNT’s website.  For those of you using a mac you’re out of luck.

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Lost Discussion: Episodes 5.1 & 5.2

Posted on 28. Jan, 2009 by Sean.

This is a new weekly feature here on the Brickbat.  We’re all huge fans of Lost and spend tons of time discussing the show, this is a glimpse of our weekly discussions.  This features Sean and Matt, Dan will be joining us next week.

Sean B: So last night was the highly anticipated Season 5 premiere of Lost.  There were so many “oh shit!” moments I couldn’t even wrap my brain around all of them – Cheng waking up and filming the Arrow video in the beginning, Faraday bumping into him, Ethan popping out of the jungle, Yemi’s plane crashing, Ana Lucia, Ms. Hawking, Desmond in haz-mat gear jumping out of the hatch and pointing his gun at Faraday.

Matt P: Yeah.

Matt P: You know, if Lost had remained stagnant then we would start hating it.  It’s why 24 has become a joke.  It’s the same shit over and over again.

Matt P: Shows like Battlestar Galactica and Lost and The Wire, the shows that really alter their formula and shake the characters to the core are the ones that stick with you.

Matt P: It’s why season 2 of Lost, in my opinion, because it was so stagnant was the weakest.

Sean B: Yeah, but I still liked that season

Sean B: they just kind of spun their wheels a bit but once they kicked it into gear, because ratings sucked – then it got better.

Matt P: And going back it was a great season and fleshed out the characters more.

Sean B: but the first few episodes of season 3 I thought were “meh,” too

Sean B: I credit Brian K Vaughn with turning around this show and really propelling it forward.

Matt P: Him and the fact that they officially gave the show and end

Matt P: They said, “Three more seasons and we are done.  That’s it.”

Sean B: yeah, I think that’s why this and BSG are so good.  They can do all kinds of shit because they know what the endgame is

Matt P: When you have an end to work up to, the show becomes tighter.  All the great stories have an end.  They have a journey to get to.  The characters have an actual arc.  I think giving Lost an execution day was instrumental in making it what it is.

Sean B: I liked that Neil’s nickname was “Frogurt.”

Matt P: I thought of you as soon as he said that.  “Beware; this doll carries a terrible curse.  But you get your choice of “Frogurt.”

Sean B: “The Frogurt is also cursed.”  That’s bad.  “But you get your choice of toppings.”  That’s good!   “The toppings contain potassium benzoate.  That’s bad.”
Can I go now?

Sean B: Frogurt was also the guy in an old “Got Milk” ad where he’s the curator of an Aaron Burr museum and while eating a peanut butter sandwich he hears a trivia contest on the radio and the question is, “who shot Alexander Hamilton?”

Sean B: And he calls in to try to win but he can’t be understood because he’s got a mouthful of peanut butter.  So he’s like, “Aaa-un Buh!”  And then it says, “got Milk?”

Sean B: I loved that commercial

Matt P: I also like that they are giving Sawyer the chance to be the hero.  You know?  He is going to have to kind of fill the Jack role.

Sean B: Yeah, I like Sawyer’s role.  That character has really evolved into something special.  He was so corny and annoying initially.  Jin’s another one that progressed exponentially in a short amount of time.

Matt P: Feels like they all did.  I mean who would have predicted Kate would be a mother?  Or Charlie would be so selfless?  Even Desmond, a character we’ve known for such a small amount of time, was given a character arc.  He has grown to accept himself and consider himself worthy of Penny.

Matt P: Thing is, I am not understanding what is going on with the island.  Why did IT move?  Looks to me like the people on the island are moving backwards and forwards through time.  If the people are the ones moving then why did the island disappear?  Makes no sense to me.

Sean B: That I don’t get either – maybe the whole wormhole theory?

Sean B: I always go back to the line “whoever said it was an island?”

Sean B: I think someone said it in season 4 or something, can’t remember who though.

Matt P: So what the hell could it be?

Matt P: I’ll tell you what it is, a place where impossibly hot chicks got to congregate.  Sun, Kate, Nikki, Claire, Juliet, Libby, whinny ass Sharon.

Matt P: Not sure I buy the whole wormhole thing.  I loved the fact that they started the episode with the guy from the instructional videos.

Sean B: True.  So is Ms. Hawking Daniel’s mom?

Matt P: DUDE!

Matt P: I didn’t put that together.  But it makes perfect sense.

Sean B: Really?  I thought that right away but I don’t know because she’s with Ben in LA in 2007, not at Oxford like Daniel says.  Unless he’s talking as 2004 Daniel and is mistaken as to her whereabouts in 2007.  But that seems like a pretty big fuck up for him to make.  And she’s in a monastery or church and she was in that picture on the monk’s desk – the one Desmond joined before he met Penny in Scotland. Sean B: so how is she connected to that guy?

Matt P: That is odd.  When you open up the time travel bag writers better stay frosty.  Super easy to eff up your continuity.

Matt P: Was happy to see Desmond back.  Very cool that they had Faraday seek out Desmond, who was established as Daniel’s constant in Season 4.

Matt P: I also like that they have to stick with the whole Time Machine idea of time travel.  No matter how hard you try, you can’t change time.

Matt P: Also, is Locke in some kind of stasis?  Or suspended animation?  He was told that he had to die by Richard Alpert.  Maybe when you die the island spits you out into the current time stream?  I am reaching there I know, but how does he make it back?

Sean B: dude, your time machine comment just made me think.  What if the island itself is the time machine?  And it can be moved not only in time but in space?

Matt P: Now, that makes sense and is kind of cool.  Should call Brian K. Vaughn and get a job.

Sean B: So it can move to Africa (Tunisia area), to the Antarctic where the polar bears roam and to God knows where else?  That would explain so much

Sean B: But then why did Ben end up off the island in Tunisia?

Sean B: Although he did say that the person who spins the donkey wheel gets shot off the island and can’t return.

Sean B: Maybe that’s why Widmore is searching for the island?  He was part of Dharma or a crew member of the Black Rock and he was chosen to be the donkey wheel turner and he got spit out to wherever and he can’t get back.  So he’s been spending his resources trying to find it again.  And the irony is the worthless guy who wasn’t good enough for his daughter ended up finding it.

Matt P: Yes it would and is a completely satisfactory explanation.  My biggest worry with Lost is that they are going to give us an unsatisfactory explanation to the mysteries of the Island.

Sean B: Yeah, I agree.

Matt P: But here is the thing, they are moving to a time period with different people ON the island.  How is that possible?  If the island is the time machine, then why are we seeing thing changes on the island?  Yemi’s plane crashing already happened.  Why would the people move back into time but the island stay as a kind of constant?

Matt P: Alpert told Locke that the next encounter they have his past self won’t recognize Locke.  To me, time is shifting for the people who were on the island when Ben pushed the wheel.  They are moving through the time stream on the island.

Sean B: Those people move in and out with the time because they weren’t the ones that moved the island

Sean B: I agree with you there

Matt P: Maybe, and that would be the post plausible solution.  But in the Time Machine, the scientist and the machine moved through time.  Everything changed around them, but they were a constant.  The people seem to be the actual time machine as the island changes around them, you know?

Sean B: Well, that’s going by what we deem time travel to be like from that book and other movies we know.  I mean, in Back to the Future you CAN change shit like Biff becoming a millionaire, etc. – in Lost you can’t.   Course correcting and all that

Sean B: but I feel like even though you can’t change shit in the lost universe, one of them can – Jack perhaps?  I feel like he’s got special abilities maybe inherited from his dad.  I mean – if you can’t change shit – how did he get off the island?  Ben and Locke keep telling him he wasn’t supposed to leave yet he did.  He shouldn’t have been able to heal Sarah but he did.  It’s like he’s immune to that whole “time course correcting” rule.

Matt P: True.  See I think it’s Locke that has the abilities.  I think Locke meant to kill himself.  They bring him back to the island and he is going to pop out of the casket and sing Hello My Baby.

SeanB SHI: What do you mean by that?  That he “meant to kill himself?”

Matt P: Well, Alpert tells him in order to get off the island and get the oceanic 6 back Locke has to die.  Was thinking he is in some kind of stasis or something until he gets back to the island. Locke’s the catalyst.

SeanB SHI: Stasis?  This isn’t Aliens, guy

Matt P: Or suspended animation.

SeanB SHI: But then he wouldn’t be dead

Matt P: Whatever guy, all I am saying is he isn’t truly dead.

SeanB SHI: OK, so why would Alpert tell him he had to die?  I mean, I could see Ben telling the O6 that Locke is dead for whatever manipulative reason he conjures up, but Alpert seems honest and moral and I don’t think he would tell him he has to die while the two of them are alone.

Matt P: You think he actually is dead and makes the ultimate sacrifice for the Island?

SeanB SHI: No, that’s a good point.  But going back to Michael trying to kill himself – the Island wouldn’t let him because he still had work to do so John’s task is to get the O6 back to the Island.  There’s no way the Island would kill him or let him be killed until he accomplished that task.

SeanB SHI: You know, Hugo’s dad was watching “Expose” so maybe that was a hint that Locke is just under the Medusa Spider’s effects like Nikki and Paolo.

Matt P: AHHHH YES!

SeanB SHI: Which also makes sense because Ben would need someone to keep an eye on the body and make sure it doesn’t get buried, cremated or whatever.  Which is where the butcher shop woman comes in.

Matt P: That makes sense.  I mean John is the guy.  He lost his way for awhile, but he is the guy that makes the miracles happen.

Sean B: Ok, I was just reading the episode recap of Lost online.  On the raft Faraday said they were inside the radius when the first flash occurred and dislodged them from time.

Matt P: Yes

Sean B: So obviously it’s the energy emanating from that donkey wheel room that causes the time traveling.

Matt P: Right

Sean B: But it’s not just the island or the people on it but the way the island disappeared (from the viewpoint of Jack and the O6) it looked like it sank.  There was a ripple in the water.

Sean B: So I really think it’s a wormhole.  Stephen Hawking has theorized there is no size restriction on black holes.  They can be small.  So given how Lost names a lot of its characters after real people (Faraday, Bentham, etc) maybe that’s it.  And Ms. Hawking is named after Stephen Hawking.  She just squeaks less.

Sean B: Maybe the island moves on a line

Sean B: Likes it’s always latitude-ally on bearing 305 or whatever it was

Sean B: but it can move to points further down the line

Matt P: Right, why Faraday said he needs to calculate a new trajectory

Sean B: Like if you’re at 0 degrees longitude, you can be in Mali, Spain, the UK, etc.  You need the latitude to pinpoint your exact location.  Maybe that’s the Island’s special property – it doesn’t’ exit under those rules.  It exists only on one or the other so that’s how the island can “pop back up” in Africa, Antarctica, etc

Matt P: Hence the polar bears and such

Sean B: Yeah

Sean B: New question:  Is Miles Dr. Cheng’s baby that we see in the very beginning?

Matt P: Maybe.  Although I think maybe people are grasping a little.  Plus, when does that take place?  Miles isn’t that old.  When was Dr. Cheng on the Island?   Modern cameras photograph differently.  Reel to reel is older technology.

Sean B: Yeah, but it’s not that much older.  It’s like 1980 or some shit – remember video cameras weren’t’ around even that recently.

Matt P: And when Ben explains the Orchid station the instructional video is on magnetic tape.  The kind that goes into a VCR.  Which would place him in the 80s

Sean B: Right.

Matt P: Would also explain the paranormal abilities.

Matt P: Close proximity to the island.

Sean B: Oh and I had a thought – remember when Locke found the beachcomber with Boon?  And he lost the ability to walk as he got closer to the spot near the plane?  That inability to walk – was that a result of Ethan shooting him in that same location in a time skip?   Like some kind of phantom injury?

Matt P: DUDE, WOW.

Matt P: Yeah that makes sense.  If that is true that is genius.
Sean B: Yeah, they couldn’t have had the foresight to plot that out, right?  I mean that was season 1.

Sean B: But I still don’t get how Faraday got to the Orchid when it was being built.  I wonder if he was originally from that era and experimented or was exposed to that energy and became able to travel through time.  Or maybe he moved the island at some point, was unable to return and spent his years trying to figure out all the Dharma secrets and how to travel through time

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24 Discussion

Posted on 28. Jan, 2009 by Sean and Dan.

Sean and Dan are current authors of thebrickbat.com, this is a joint piece.

The following was discussed between 12:00am and 1:00am

Sean: OK, so the new Season of 24 is upon us.  I’m one of the many fans of the show who thought Seasons 1-5 were great and 6 was absymal.  In fact, I think they went fro mthe best season to the worst and that drastic downward spiral has really left me apprehensive about Season 7.
Sean: The 2 hour Redemption episode kind of gave me hope, but I’m kind of “meh” about this season so far
Dan: I agree with you on that, I actually stopped watching after about hour 7 during season 6.  At the time I thought it was really shocking when Jack shot Curtis, but looking back that really pisses me off.
Sean: Agreed.  I think they ran out of “shocking moments” and it was pointless and did nothing to move the story forward.
Dan: Redemption made me feel like “hey wasn’t that guy in 28 weeks later, I’d rather be watching that right now.”  It would have been a better fit for the writers strike. It would have given people something
Dan 24 has been off for almost 2 years now
Sean: True but I liked Redemption because it took Jack totally out of his element.  I mean, the tough guy saving a bunch of kids routine is played out, but it was still kind of cool seeing Jack do it.  And I thought it was a good way to get him back to the US to face the music without incorporating Audrey, his daughter or any other nonsense.
Dan: I think the big news LAST year was Tony Almeida not being dead.  I remember there was no silent clock when he died which is a tradition for when characters die on 24 and the message boards blew up with “OMGz He’s not dead!!”  So they were right. I owe some kid on a message board an apology.
Sean: I remember seeing those posts
Dan After the first two episodes I was done, I was going back to watching Heroes or anything else that was on TV.  The only thing I found redeeming was that Kim Bauer was not in the episode.  The main reason I watch 24 is to see Jack Bauer be a bad ass and there were very few moments in the first few episodes
Sean: agreed
Dan: Also, after Dana Scully every woman to play an FBI agent has annoyed the living hell out of me.
Sean: To be honest, I initially thought the “Tony being alive and being a bad guy” thing was super lame, but I’m kind of liking where they’re going with it thus far.  But the first two episodes didn’t reel me in like every other season
Sean: I literally COULD NOT wait for the other seasons’ next episodes ,but maybe this time it’s because I don’t want to get my hopes up given how horrific season 6 was.
Sean: I just feel like 24 has run out of original ideas
Terror threat?  Check.
Jack has a special insight into the terrorists?  Check.
Security breach somewhere?  Check.
Someone needs to be broken out of a prison even though it’s gonna make Jack look bad?  Check.
Dan: All of them ripped off from Die Hard movies.  Die Hard 4 was terrorists holding the United States hostage with its own technology network but I was just happy to see Tony’s character back.  I was willing to see where they were going with it. Part of me feels like they had to bring back someone from the past to shock audiences.
Sean: but my problem with that is they gave it away too soon like season 6 with the nuke.  They could have built up that tension a little more and not shown Tony in every single trailer.  That was the big season reveal and it happened in the first hour.
Dan: I just was on the 24 Wikipedia and I saw the promo cast photo and EVERYBODY was in it.  Totally would have taken away from Bill and Chloe showing up in episode 3 and 4 it was posted back in July and I thought why the hell would they do something so stupid
Dan: But you’re right there really hasn’t been any moment where you’ve been left on your seat
Dan: even the struggle between tony and jack was 5 seconds and FBI agent Walker shows up and acts like Jack wasn’t just wrestling a known terror suspect
Dan : But I’m happy that this season isn’t based in LA.  Seriously if I lived in the 24-verse LA would be the last place anyone would ever live.
Sean: yeah, no shit.  I would move to Arkansas before staying in LA
Dan : How funny was it watching Agent Walker try and pull a Jack Bauer and push the gun against the guys wound?
Sean: yeah, that was kind of ridiculous – “Let me throw away a lifetime’s worth of principles because I hung out with Jack Bauer for an hour.”
Dan: then trying to suffocate the guy…uhhh if he’s suffocating he can’t talk.
Sean: well, she’s new at this, guy – you’ve got to build up to those Jack Bauer levels.
Sean: but my questions is – what is left for him to do?  He has no friends, no wife, a daughter who hates him, crazy Audrey, no job, and he’s done every horrible thing possible to save our country.
Dan: Are you kidding me?  There is so much.
Sean: Well, he hasn’t eaten a live baby yet so there’s always that.
Dan: haven’t you picked up on the subtle mention of Kim Bauer she’s coming back
Dan: he could kill her.  I’d be ok with it
Sean: Maybe they can bring the cougar back to while they’re at it
Dan: I think seeing Jack play for the other team could be interesting.  It’ll be interesting until he covertly tells agent Walker and then she tells her superior to let Jack do his thing, he’s still good, and then we find out the head FBI guy is the mole.
Sean: right
Sean: or maybe Nina comes back.  She’s now the walking undead and she bites Jack.
Sean: And he becomes a vampire and then they have to call in the new CTU – Corey’s Team Up – and they come in and resurrect their careers and the 24 franchise.
Sean: this is why I keep telling you I should be a producer
Dan: I think the Corey’s are booked VH1 and MTV and are still making shitty reality TV so it’s only a matter of time.
Dan: Should 24 go the route of Lost and bring on outside help? We both feel that Brian K. Vaughn has done wonders for Lost. Does 24 need new blood to keep it going?
Sean: I don’t know.  At this point, I just think the problem is there are no more compelling stories to tell.
Sean:  They’re extremely limited by the format so it’s not like Lost or any other shows like Battlestar or Heroes where they can get creative and flash back or forward.
Dan: I always wanted to see 24 end and have a spinoff, similar to young Indiana Jones:  Jack Bauer doing special ops in other countries.
Sean: that I think would be awesome.  Maybe have him become a mercenary working to overthrow foreign corrupt governments?
Sean: But that’s pretty much it, though – while he’s a great character you can’t have him leading a normal life, ever.  “Jack Bauer – 24 hours in the life of a line cook” is not something that would send ratings through the roof.
Dan: I think the events that lead jack to CTU would be great
Sean: That would be pretty cool, but if they spin it off, do they change the format?
Dan: Yeah, change the format from one day to just one mission.
Sean: That could be really amazing because his past has come back on 24 so often to haunt him, like the Dennis Hopper character, etc.  So you can see how all that bad blood went down.
Dan: Exactly, or how about Frat Boy: the Jack Bauer college years.  Just have him hazing people with pens to the temple
Sean:  “We’re running out of time!  Say, ‘thank you sir, may I have another!  Now, dammit!!!!”
Sean: I just think the show has to do something in order to keep from becoming a parody of itself.  It’s teetering on that edge right now.  But they’ve had 2 years to get this right so here’s hoping
Dan: I totally agree Kiefer Sutherland is the only thing keeping this show alive.
Dan: But I think my overall feeling is that I’m going down the rabbit hole to see where this leads me.  I don’t think this will be my priority every Monday, I think there will be better TV on.  I might record this/watch it online/download it.
Sean: Agreed.  If I remember to watch, I’ll watch.  If it starts sucking, I’ll go rent the first five seasons and re-live those glory days
Dan: on a side note, by the end of this season we’ll all be hoping jack shoots the president and the “first gentleman”
Sean: yeah, she sucks.  Also not a fan of the Garafolo or the Backstreet Secret Service Agent.  That’s some serious miscasting there.
Dan: I kind of wished the show just followed that chick who dated the dead son
Sean: yeah, I could get behind that
Sean: I do like that Billy Walsh from Entourage is hooking up his girl on the airplane.  That’s pretty cool.
Dan: holy shit that’s where that fucker is from
Sean: It was also good to see Yemi from Lost as the Prime Minister’s security guy.
Sean: I wanted him to say “Hello Eko”
Dan: I was expecting Eko to show up in Redemption
Sean:  It sucks that guy only plays African warlords or inmates.  Why can’t we see Eko in a romantic comedy/musical?
Dan:  So, predictions for the rest of the season:
Dan: I’m thinking Jack is going to get betrayed by one if not all of the following; Tony, Bill, The female FBI agent, the head FBI agent.  They’ll try and use his daughter as leverage to get him to turn himself in.  He’ll save the day probably killing one of not all of the characters mentioned before. Killing isn’t torture after all.  He’ll save them and get his ass a pardon.  They’ll put him in charge of a new special ops unit setting up next season.
Sean: Well, I still think his dad will be back.  That was a loose end they never tied up and I think something’s going to go down with him.  I can see bringing back Audrey and his daughter.  Now that he’s all over the news with that Senate hearing I’m sure his old friends and flames will come looking for him.  I just hope the Chinese stay away.
Or (and I’m dating myself here) but maybe they can go the “Dallas” route and he wakes up to Patrick Duffy taking a shower and Duffy tells him it’s all been a dream.

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Welcome to Thebrickbat.com

Posted on 28. Jan, 2009 by Dan.

Hello and Welcome to the Brickbat. If you are reading this its because there is nothing more to read, or because I deleted the site…again.

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