Reading While Black

I’ve made it an issue to watch as much TV as possible this season after a long hiatus from regular TV watching. While I haven’t watched everything, with the new technology and TV stations airing their episodes online, I’ve been fairly pleased with the new pickings. Two stand-out debuts were Dirty Sexy Money and Big Shots.

One of the problems with pilot episodes is that they tend to be unevenly written in an attempt to both introduce the characters and their issues while not seeming like an introductory episode. Thankfully, DSM and BS nearly seamlessly interwove introducing the show and kicking it into high gear.

Dirty Sexy Money was a winner for me. The Darling family is ludicrously dysfunctional and Brian Krause as Nick George is easy to identify with as the family’s harried new lawyer who also grew up with the Darling children. While I did roll my eyes at the very Desperate Housewives-esque introduction of a whodunit sub-plot to dominate the show (or first season), it was done well enough to feel unique. The actors are marvelous even if a few of the characters fall on the wallpaper side (the senator, the youngest brother, and the sisters), but all in all, I’m hooked.

Big Shots was another hit. But first can I gush over Nia Long? With more and more black actors turning to TV due to the chilly movie climate, she is an extremely underrated actress whom I hope this show utilizes to her fullest potential. Dylan McDermott, Christopher Titus, Michael Vartan and Joshua Malina are four men whose characters could loosely be described as a male version of SATC, as they struggle through life, love, and of course, sex. There were more than a few chuckles elicited by their antics, though Titus’ character Brody seems like the “straight man” to the other three characters’ drama. Stand-out storylines include the crazy three-some between Malina’s character Karl, Karl’s wife and Karl’s mistress (in a hilarious scene, his mistress takes him to couple’s therapy–and to the same therapist Karl is seeing with his wife), and the friendship-rivalry between Nia Long and Michael Vartan’s characters (mucho chemistry). Oh, and can I jump with joy over the addition of Charisma Carpenter as a recurring character?!

A few returning shows I’ve tuned into include America’s Next Top Model, Survivor: China, Ugly Betty, Grey’s Anatomy and Beauty and the Geek. Tonight the first episode of Moonlight airs tonight on CBS. I’m still mourning Angel, but I’ll see what this show is about. *g*