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Critics: Pushing Daisies Is the Best Show, Cavemen the Worst

BuzzSugar — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 14:46:38 -0800

I love checking out the results of the twice-yearly TV critics' polls, which help track which TV shows are on the rise and which, well, aren't in the eyes of critics around the country. The latest poll, which covers summer shows and the start of the current TV season, was just released, and ABC's Pushing Daisies made its first appearance on the list in the No. 1 spot.

Another new show, Mad Men, finished second, while Dexter ended up in third. Heroes showed signs of its rough fall, plunging from No. 6 in the last poll to No. 25 in this one. The Office and Friday Night Lights also stumbled a bit, but both stayed in the top 10 — and House made one of the biggest leaps forward, jumping from No. 15 to No. 7.

On the worst side, it probably isn't a surprise that Cavemen topped the list, with Viva Laughlin — which only aired two episodes — coming in at No. 2.

The most interesting to me: One show made appearances on both the best and worst lists. Want to know what it is, plus see the top 10 best and worst? Just

What Did You Think of "Cavemen"?

BuzzSugar — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 06:00:00 -0700

What Did You Think of "Cavemen"?

I watched, and it was just as bad as I thought it would be

I watched, and it was actually kind of good

I didn't watch, but maybe I'll check it out next week

I didn't watch, and I have no plans to

Other (tell me below)

TV Tonight: "Cavemen" and "Carpoolers"

BuzzSugar — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 07:30:00 -0700

Tonight's the night we've all been waiting for: the official premiere of "Cavemen"! I'm sorry, was that too much excitement?

Truth be told, I am actually curious to see the first episode of "Cavemen" tonight, if only because it's been totally revamped from the episode ABC sent to critics this summer. The network didn't send out versions of this new episode, so we're all in the dark. And while holding back screeners is not typically a good sign (it even prompted Time's TV critic to launch an ironic High Quality Show Alert!), maybe ABC just wanted to keep it quiet so we'll be blown away by the subtle humor and realistic depiction of being an outsider in modern society. Who knows?

The show is paired with "Carpoolers," a series I surprised myself by kinda-sorta liking when I saw the pilot. I really think this is one that could go either way, either being goofily great or painfully stupid. I'll give it a few episodes, at least, if only to watch TJ Miller, whose very presence on screen makes me chuckle.

Interestingly, ABC — which has made its name recently with female-centric shows like "Grey's Anatomy," "Desperate Housewives" and "Dancing with the Stars" — is way into promoting the manliness of these two shows. To watch their "man date" music video promo, just

Fall TV Preview: Five New Shows to Skip

BuzzSugar — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 07:30:00 -0700

All summer long, I've been giving you my first impressions of the networks' new shows. Now, with fall TV upon us, it's time to tell you which shows are deserving of space on your TiVo and which ... well, aren't. Today, I'm starting off with five shows that — based on their pilots — you'd be best to steer clear of this fall.

5. "Life" — I was into the premise of this show about a detective who gets sentenced to life in prison and rejoins the police force after his wrongful conviction is overturned. But the show itself was such a bundle of cop-show cliches and random quirks that it was already grating on me by 10 minutes into the pilot. Lead actor Damian Lewis gives his best shot, but if the writers want to create a "House"-style misanthrope, they're going to have to do more than make him wax poetic about fruit all the time.

4. "Viva Laughlin" — I once declared this musical drama the pilot I most wanted to see ... but then I actually saw it. What a bummer. I thought it would be a fun, cheesy, over-the-top hit. In reality, the musical numbers that didn't involve Hugh Jackman fell flat, and the dialogue was cringe-worthy. I still hold out hope that it could get better, but I doubt it's going to be on the air long enough to improve.

Three more to be wary of, so

Pilot Watch: "Cavemen"

BuzzSugar — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 08:30:00 -0700

The networks have announced their fall schedules, but which of the series will actually be worth watching? Throughout the summer, as I watch the pilots, I'll be posting my first impressions. A lot can change before a show makes it to air, so these aren't comprehensive reviews, just quick thoughts on how the shows look now. Today's installment: ABC's much-mocked "Cavemen."

What's it about? Based on the Geico caveman commercials, the show centers on a trio of young cavemen combating stereotypes in modern-day San Diego.

Who's in it? Nick Kroll, Bill English, Sam Huntington, Kaitlin Doubleday

The good: "Cavemen" has been reviled, laughed at and critically savaged since the moment it was announced, so the best thing I can possibly say about this episode is that it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. A few of the jokes were even a little bit — wait for it — funny, and some of the little details were clever; I've had a picture of one of the cavemen reading the Economist set as the background on my computer for months.

The bad: Even though it was better than expected, "Cavemen" still wasn't worth watching for any reason other than laughing at its expense. At best, it was a 30-second joke poked and prodded until it was more than 20 minutes long; at worst, it was an awkward, clumsy racial allegory.

Will I watch? ABC has announced a lot of changes to the show since producing the pilot I saw. One of the cavemen has been recast, and the episode I saw won't air as the premiere on TV. Even so, I didn't see anything in the pilot (or hear anything at the TCA tour) that makes me think the show will be better even with the adjustments.

ABC has preview clips online, and to see a gallery of photos,

Odds and Ends from the TCA Press Tour

BuzzSugar — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 05:30:00 -0700

I'm back from my first stint at the TCA press tour, and frankly, I'm awed (and a little baffled) by all the access we reporters got to stars, producers, writers, and even the top brass at the networks. Is there any other industry that would open its doors so wide to journalists — and give them food and cocktails in the process?

I've been sharing a lot of the news from the tour, and there will be more interviews and stories to come as we get closer to the fall TV premieres. But I also wanted to let you in on some of the behind-the-scenes moments from my days in LA. So, without further ado ...

When it comes to party planning, none of the other networks can hold a candle to Fox. NBC and ABC kept their parties on-site at the Beverly Hilton this year, and the CW went to the Pacific Design Center just down the street. But Fox went all-out, first busing the TV critics to Les Deux for a New Orleans-themed bash with the cast of "K-Ville," then renting out a portion of the Santa Monica Pier so everyone could mingle among the skee ball games, crazy rides and bumper cars.
Fox also had the crowd beat when it came to clever themes. In addition to the "Family Guy" lunches named for characters, we also had a cafeteria-style meal for "Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader?" The network's pages, who pass the microphone to reporters during the sessions, also changed outfits between sessions, donning lab coats for the "House" panel and fatigues for "The Sarah Connor Chronicles."
An ABC publicist told us on Wednesday night that the guys of "Cavemen" would be walking the red carpet in their full caveman makeup on Thursday — but no dice. At least the guys were nice enough to wear their nametags around the party so we could recognize them.
The kids of The CW's new shows — especially "Gossip Girl" and "Aliens in America" — are so darn nice and funny, it's hard not to love them. The whole crowd spent the CW's all-star party joking around with each other, begging their publicists to let them go into the weird floating bubbles in the fountain at the Pacific Design Center, and taking pictures of each other making ridiculous faces. At one point, lead "Gossip Girl" Blake Lively took my recorder out of my hand so she could interview the "Aliens" boys and one of her costars. Precious!

More details, so

TCA News Roundup: "Cavemen," 'Cashmere," and More

BuzzSugar — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 07:30:07 -0700

One of the most hotly contested sessions of the TCA press tour came Wednesday afternoon, when the cast and producers of the much joked-about "Cavemen" took the stage. Reporters demanded to know if the show was preying on particular racial stereotypes, whether the show had any female or non-white writers, and whether Geico was involved in creating the show. (The answers: no, yes, and not really, in that order.)
Regardless of how "Cashmere Mafia" works as a show, the leading ladies (Lucy Liu, Miranda Otto, Bonnie Somerville and Frances O'Connor) are going to look darn good. Patricia Field, the costume designer from "Sex and the City," will be creating the outfits. Said Liu: "She has an incredible talent for putting together pieces and making them look like art."
ABC Entertainment President Steve McPherson said he wasn't concerned about the creative turn "Grey's Anatomy" took last season, but he did expect the show would look different in the fall. "There was a lot of really difficult, you know, emotional stuff going on for kind of a multitude of characters," McPherson said. "And I think we're going to get away from some of that just because of the nature of the storytelling that [Shonda Rhimes]'s going to do."
"Dancing with the Stars" will be getting a spinoff of sorts, tentatively titled "Dance X," in which the judges will pit teams of dancers against each other.

Buzz News Roundup, 7/9

BuzzSugar — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 13:27:51 -0700

Forbes confirms that Jane magazine is shutting down.
Rupert Friend has been cast as Prince Albert alongside Emily Blunt in The Young Victoria, says Hollywood Reporter.
Recently ousted NBC entertainment president Kevin Reilly could be hired by Fox, which would reunite the team that developed "Nip/Tuck" and "The Shield," TV Week reports.
MTV News warns that there may not be a new Outkast album for two years, while Andre 3000 and Big Boi pursue solo projects.
Bestselling novel Water for Elephants will be adapted for the big screen, Variety reports.
It sounds like we're in for at least one, if not two, more editions of "The Apprentice," Reuters says.
Billboard says The Cure is working on a double album due in October.
Lance Bass will join the cast of the Broadway musical "Hairspray" on August 14, reports the AP.
The Hollywood Reporter says ABC is retooling "Cavemen," adding a new character, ditching the caveman played by Dash Mihok, and shooting a new first episode to go deeper into the characters' back stories.
This year's ComiCon schedule of events has just been released.
In TV casting news, two Kevins — Alejandro and Pollak — are joining the cast of "Shark" on CBS, while TV Guide says Michael Cassidy of "Hidden Palms" will be the new editor of The Daily Planet on "Smallville."

Get a Sneak Peek of ABC's New Shows

BuzzSugar — Tue, 15 May 2007 23:30:03 -0700

ABC isn't giving us quite as extensive a sneak peek of its fall lineup as NBC did for its new shows, but we can still get a taste: In addition to a ton of photos of the new shows and their casts, ABC's put up brief video clips of its pilots. You can see the whole batch of them together, or you can just click on the name of the show in this list to go directly to that show's clip: "Sam I Am," "Cavemen," "Carpoolers," "Pushing Daisies," "Private Practice," "Dirty Sexy Money," "Big Shots," "Women's Murder Club," "Cashmere Mafia," "Eli Stone," and "Miss/Guided."

It's not easy to judge a show from a minute of video, but I'm going to try anyway. "Dirty Sexy Money" and "Pushing Daisies" grabbed me the most, "Miss/Guided" could either be wonderful or awful, "Eli Stone" is worth watching for the George Michael cameo, "Big Shots" is "Sex and the City" for dudes (but does star geek-wonderful Joshua Malina, so points for that), and "Cavemen" ... well, at least it made me chuckle, which is more than I can say for "Carpoolers."

I have tons of pictures of the new shows — and really, you've got to see the crazy "Cavemen" makeup and the fanciful world of "Pushing Daisies" — so to take a spin through,

ABC's Fall Schedule: My Take

BuzzSugar — Tue, 15 May 2007 13:30:08 -0700

Now that I've had a while to think through ABC's announcement of its fall schedule this morning, I have some thoughts on which news is good, which is bad and which is still a little baffling. Take a spin through my list, then let me know what you think.

ABC is taking a big risk by putting three new shows — "Pushing Daisies," "Private Practice" and "Dirty Sexy Money" — on Wednesdays, but they're three of the shows I'm most looking forward to this season. "Pushing Daisies" is getting amazing buzz already, "Dirty Sexy Money" has my man Krause, and ... well, you know how I felt about the first episode of "Private Practice," but it can grow.
Poor "Men in Trees"! Granted, it's not a show I got into this season, but I know a lot of you love it, and I think ABC's treatment of it is seriously bizarre. First it launches on Fridays, then moves to the post-"Grey's" spot and builds an audience, only to get bumped off the schedule for tryouts of new shows. Now it's back on Fridays. Seriously, way to toy with your fans.
However ... I'm getting the sneaking suspicion that Friday TV might actually be good this year. (Is that a sign of the apocalypse?) Between "Friday Night Lights," "Men in Trees" and the new "Women's Murder Club" — which at least doesn't sound awful — I might actually have a reason to stay in.

Lots more musings, so

ABC Picks Up "Private Practice," "Cavemen," Nine Others

BuzzSugar — Tue, 15 May 2007 10:56:10 -0700

Sheesh, why not just make it an even dozen? ABC, the network that had already renewed a ton of series before this week's upfronts, announced 11 new shows — seven dramas and four comedies — this morning. Amazingly, "Cavemen" — yup, that one based on the Geico caveman, pictured above — was one that made the cut, along with "Dirty Sexy Money" and "Private Practice," whose pickup was among the worst-kept secrets in showbiz.

Among returning shows, here were some of the big announcements:

"Lost" isn't on the fall schedule; it will instead premiere midseason, probably still on Wednesday, though no time slot has been set.
Despite rumors about "Ugly Betty" possibly moving to Sundays, the Sunday lineup of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," "Desperate Housewives" and "Brothers & Sisters" is staying intact.
Once again, we're in for fall seasons of "Dancing with the Stars" and "The Bachelor."
The neglected "Men in Trees" will be back in its original Friday time slot.
Virtually all the other returning shows are staying put in their current time slots.

Gone: "What About Brian," "Knights of Prosperity," "According to Jim," "George Lopez," "In Case of Emergency"

Here's ABC's official press release, and to see the full schedule and descriptions of the new shows,