Mr. President You Have 24 Hours To Cast Your Vote Or Be Kicked Off The Island #DesignatedSurvivor #ABC #3weekroundup

Mr. President You Have 24 Hours To Cast Your Vote Or Be Kicked Off The Island #DesignatedSurvivor #ABC #3weekroundup

All Pictures Courtesy of ABC

Yes, that headline may seem overly long, meandering and pointless, not to mention it refers to three different shows all in one, but those dialed into TV will come to realize just how genius it was and then you’ll be all like, “Oh, Michael, your wit is amazing. How do you do it?” and I’ll shoulder shrug, “It’s what I do.” Or you’ll probably just connect all the dots and shoulder shrug yourself and not even care. That hurts my feelings. It’s time for another 3-week roundup of a new show. Designated Survivor, you’re on deck.

ABC’s new show Designated Survivor stars Kiefer Sutherland (most recently of 24 fame; Huh! Huh! The 24 hours reference in the title. Yeah, you get it. Don’t roll your eyes at me) as one of the lowly cabinet members of the current fictional president. His character, Tom Kirkman, is the current Secretary of Urban Housing and Development, one of those cabinet positions that you’re not really sure exists and sounds like nothing more than a glorified landlord for American cities. That is until one fateful night during the presidential address. In a breathtaking opening scene for the first episode, he looks out of his window from a secluded office area and can see the capitol on fire during the state of the union. The show thrusts us into the chaos immediately (showing us just how amazing and riveting this show could be from jump) before peeling back the clock to show us 15 hours earlier.

Fifteen hours earlier it was business as usual on The Hill. A busy day, the president’s office is preparing for the State of the Union later that night while taking care of other business: lobbying for support for other new government plans, making strategic conflict moves against our foreign terror enemies, etc. One of the last things the President needs to be bothered with is the Housing plan proposed to him by his lowly Urban Housing secretary; in fact, in a meeting with him, the President has a far different plan.

For years, Tom (forgive me if I slip up and call him Kiefer every now and then because that might be easier) and the President have gotten along, even though their agendas seem to run counter. He chose Tom because he was a good guy, but sadly he feels the man doesn’t have a single political bone in his body. He’s not ostensibly cut out for the D.C. atmosphere, not to mention the President sees him almost as dead weight (and you know what we do to dead weight). With that in mind, the President proposes a plan to shift his job. Technically, he is not firing Kiefer, though it can be seen as that to some people. Technically. Instead, he’s shifting his position/pushing him toward a job as an ambassador in Canada somewhere (I think they said Alberta). This way he still gets to maintain a job in government while staying out of the President’s finely coiffed hair.

Naturally, this ambassadorship would require a move to Canada, something which his wife, Alex Kirkman (played by veteran Natascha McElhone) wants no part of. The kids are settled, their oldest son, a teenager, only has a few years more of high school, and their daughter looks like she’s still in elementary, equipped with an early bedtime and fluffy teddy to lull her to sleep. A move is the last thing she wants, especially now that she loves her job (I think she’s an attorney, but the hectic show has only mentioned it twice). They debate about the positives and negatives, and he jokingly but half-not-jokingly says that he’ll commute from Canada to D. C. and back.

And then they get a call. “What’s a designated survivor?”

Tag Me In Barry O

OK, admittedly, one of my family members thought that line was stupid because if he’s supposed to be a real cabinet member, then he should know what a designated survivor is, regardless of whether this concept is real or not. And even in my defense of the line—that it is there so they can later explain the concept to the viewer—I totally ignore the fact that they explain this concept at the beginning of the episode, albeit in small type across an image of the the capitol. Still, this is forgivable on behalf of the writers.

So, to answer the question: A designated survivor is one person from the line of presidential succession that is chosen to sit out a big government event in which most of the top ranking officials will attend, in order to assure that if something terrible happens, the government will continue forward. Think about how LBJ took over after JFK was assassinated: succession. Or how Gerald Ford got sworn in after the whole Nixon watergate thing: succession. From what I can remember of government class, I think it goes President, Vice Pres, Speaker of Congress, Speaker of House, Secretary of State, then I’m not sure. But, somehow Kiefer’s character as the Secretary of Urban Housing factors into that. They sequester him away in a conference room just off the capitol where he and his wife can watch the address on TV in safety. And we have returned to that opening scene once more.

Boom goes the dynamite! And dead fall the people. With the State of the Union address normally attended by every congressperson and much of the President’s cabinet, practically everyone dies: Pres, Vice Pres, everyone, save for the designated survivor. And then the games are on. Tom has never really been elected to anything in his life, never even had high political aspirations, yet, now he will be sworn in as the next president of the united states. Not only is the US undergoing the biggest terrorist attack on home soil since 9/11, but they’re swearing in a rookie at the helm. It’s no secret that the sharks that already constantly circle the waters of the swampy Potomac smell blood—and that’s not just from the over 400 dead elected officials in the rubble of the capitol.

With Tom’s first mission after being sworn in to find out who did this and reassure the American people that everything will be fine, his wife’s main goal is to make sure her family is alright and get them situated on a night where the nation is under attack. The secret service quickly gets their little girl from home and brings her to the White House. Their son, however, lied about going to a friend to help with a Youtube video; instead, he is out in a rave/club selling drugs to other underage kids like himself. They figure out where he is, raid the club and grab him just after he hides the drugs on himself. This will become a serious issue, trust me.

Tom—erm... I mean, President Tom is dragged into the White House war room where he is greeted by the previous president’s top trusted general and other analysts as they are trying to figure out what next to do and who attacked them. As he is getting info about potential terrorist plots and credits for the attack, out on the ground we have a secondary plot/characters developing.

Maggie Q plays an FBI agent stationed in D.C. who, at the time of the bombing, was at a bar drinking away her life’s regrets. Upon seeing the explosion on TV she jumps into action even though she isn’t on-call if you can say that. She makes her way down to the rubble of the capitol and helps to dig for bodies and evidence. We meet her boss played by Malik Yoba (of New York Undercover fame) who seems both stern and lenient, but not a conspiracy theorist like his subordinate. She gives him one theory backed by a few measly initial facts/ evidences, and he is set to run with it.

Back in the war room, the general latches on to the FBI assistant director’s theory about the attack coming from one specific group of Islamic extremists. He wants to bomb them into oblivion now, but the new president wants surety of such theories. Regardless, they have another issue mounting. The Iranians have moved a few of their fighter jets into the Gaza strip and are ready to overtake Israel at any time. They see US weakness and have readied their pounce. In his first presidential move, Tom negotiates with the Iranian Ambassador to get him to move those jets back to their own land or else. Real strength, he proves a few people wrong about him already.

Still, some remain unconvinced. One such detractor is Kal Penn’s character. Yeah, Kal Penn is in this. He plays a once-junior speechwriter for the previous president who finds himself confessing his doubt and frustration about the “new rookie” at the helm of the nation to the very man himself in one of those creepy talking in the bathroom stalls moments. Ewww! It’s awkward, and funny, and awkwardly funny, but it also bonds them in a way that will only grow stronger as the show persists. He is tasked with writing the most important speech of Tom Kirkman’s life: a speech to the American people as their new president after the devastating terrorist attack. The first episode ends with that and the discovery of another undetonated bomb in the capitol rubble found by the FBI. 

Episode two picks up on Tom’s first full day. With the general he butted heads with now scheming with the previous president’s chief of staff to stage some kind of puppetmaster coup, and bits of the rubble still on fire, President Tom knows that he has to visit said rubble at some point during the day as the body count continues to rise. But first he has to go through a myriad of other governing business, including a briefing with every intel professional and chief of whatever still left. Updates on transportation, the stock market, the banks, who could have bombed them, terrorist interrogation tactics and a brouhaha in Michigan. And while everything else is important and given answers, the episode focuses on the Michigan thing and the group that did this.

In Dearborn, Michigan, devout Muslims are being attacked in the street, some badly beaten, others killed and the unrest has led to the governor running his state as if he were king and it his own sovereign kingdom, instructing the police to use a nationally unacceptable military level of force in and against the Muslim communities. When President Kirkman calls him to tell him to stop, the man plays him like a straight up punk and tells him that he doesn’t have to listen to him because he’s not the elected President. Personally, the moment I saw that, I thought he should’ve called in the national guard, but he took a different approach.

The hate for brown people intensifying through the US, Kal Penn is stopped by the cops a few feet from his home under suspicion. He cooperates, they run his license and he manages to get away without being shot, but it still unnerves him enough to mention it to his boss. As they watch the Michigan mayor impose a curfew on the Dearborn Muslim community, and the man refuses to take the President’s calls, Kiefer meets with a surprise person. As it turns out, just like for the presidency, there is a designated survivor for the congress, too, or rather a designated survivor for the opposing political party. Congresswoman Kimble Hookstraten (played by Virginia Madsen) comes to meet with the new president and commiserate about the loss of the government. Seen from miles away, her intentions really seem to be aimed at the seat of president as not only is she questioning whether he should be president, but much of the nation feels the same. They don’t even know this guy, but he’s suddenly they’re leader? You might feel ticked, too.

The visit to the rubble goes terribly as something that isn’t supposed to be a photo-op turns into a photo-op, which then devolves into a panicky riot ignited by people watching the breaking news about a brutal police beating of a Muslim teen in Dearborn. That, coupled with some fat white guy running through the crowd and digging into his jacket, yanking something free incites the secret service to hop into action and shuffle the President and new First Lady back into the caravan and zip the heck outta there.

The President manages to get the Michigan governor on a video-conference call and tells/threatens him with some political move that gets the man to have his police ease off from the brutality. Unfortunately the kid dies in the hospital, but another battle is won... for now.

Meanwhile, Maggie Q’s investigation into the bomb continues as she visits the experts’ lab. With their newly-gained info, she surmises that the second bomb found in the rubble may have never been meant to explode. In other words, the bombers placed it there so it could be found so it could link back to the desired terrorist group. She concludes that not only is this a possible red herring but maybe the attackers are not yet done.

There’s a little contention on the homefront with Alex arguing with her and the President’s son about him not being responsible enough to look after his sister, but she doesn’t find the drugs until episode three.

Episode three starts to show the struggle between President Kirkman keeping his family happy and the pressures of the job. As the nation prepares to mourn the passing of their previous president, President Tom prepares to give a eulogy at the man’s private funeral (one that is televised). With Kal Penn on the job of writing the perfect speech for him, the President must also make another big call that will define his term: he has yet to make a determination of who will be his chief of staff. Between the old president’s COS (played by Adan Canto) and his personal lead staffer for all his years in the public sector (played by Italia Ricci) he has gotten two varying opinions on everything, but from two very informed people. Both eagerly await his choice, something he has not a mind to think about until after the funeral.

Meanwhile, the biggest news outside of the old president being mourned is that a survivor is found in the rubble. Hell yeah, it’s suspicious! Of course, he could truly have just been the luckiest man in the room. On it, Maggie Q doesn’t believe in his Leprechaun blessing and asks to review the TV recordings of what happened. In those recordings she sees another woman in the visitor rafters with a cameraphone snapping pictures of the political theater in action. Two pictures and an off-time timecode is all it takes for her to realize that something wicked happened in the minute of blacked-out TV where the survivor man wasn’t in his seat.

If that’s not bad enough, the group that the general swore was behind the attack finally lays claim to it in the most dubious of ways. Somehow, they hack into the White House’s personal, secured computer network, take a digitial looky-loo, and leave the video for the staff to find. Between that and the deceased president’s son not wanting the “new guy” to speak at his funeral, favoring instead the other congresswoman designated survivor, President Tom has more on his plate than a Roman aristocrat fresh from the vomitorium. The funeral eulogy rejection comes on the heels of a sit-down interview with Elizabeth Vargas in which she hardballs him with a question about if the president fired him on the day of the attack. In a D.C. twist unseen since Honest Abe, he told the truth and said that he had been ungraciously offered (read: forced) into a possible new position as an ambassador to Canada—more fuel to the fire for people already jockeying to get him out of office.

The funeral goes well and the congresswoman is seen as a strong leader but, in an underhanded but conning trick, the president’s old COS releases the video of the terrorist group taking responsibility, undermining President Tom’s leadership, yet earning the position of Chief of Staff. When breaking the news to his old loyal girl in Ricci, he tells her that he needs someone who is going to think differently than him but wants to keep her on as a special adviser to him. The tape distracted people from thinking about Tom not being worthy to be president.

The show ends when, on the homefront, his wife finds the MDMA (Molly) that their son was selling and is about to tell him but he can’t make it home in time for dinner that night. Still, everyone stays up to see him come in and have a little family time. Yes, that was a lot and yes, this show is intense.

What’s my grade? I give it a B+ with strong consideration for A-. We are getting up there in good TV, folks. Granted, this is no Game of Thrones, but for broadcast TV this is really quite good. The show moves fast, has a very hectic political feel to it, is political without being overly political if that makes sense, and is smartly written as it juggles a lot of swords but never catches hand on blade. I think the most interesting part of it all, however, is that even though it is for the sophisticated viewer like those who enjoy Game of Thrones, Fargo, People vs. OJ Simpson, Scandal, it is also very much a family show. It has yet to drench itself in overly-sexualized plots (though, I’m sure they may have something down the pipeline for Ricci and Cando’s characters) and has briefly touched on the subject of infidelity with Maggie Q’s character making the revelation that she was so invested in the bombing because she was having an affair with one of the senators now confirmed dead. Is there danger, blood, violence? Yes, however nothing worse than what one might see on other broadcast TV series. I would say someone ten-years-old and up could watch this, no problem. And, like I said in my preview look at this fall’s new shows, I will give my recommendation of a night switch for this. I actually think that if this show survives, it can go well on ABC Sunday nights in the 9pm timeslot. Granted, it has no real humor in it, which has been a downfall of ABC Sundays ever since Desperate Housewives left and then Brothers and Sisters just went on a forever hiatus, but it fits well as a transitioning show between Once Upon A Time and Quantico. Yes, Secrets and Lies is currently doing fine there, but I think that this would work better as a full season mainstay as it is perfectly suited mentally for a slow Sunday night.

Should you be watching? Yes. I can’t stress this enough, set your expectations people. I hate TV snobs who say they will only watch shows rated 9.0 or higher or who expect Shakespeare from every series. What? It’s just entertainment, people. If you like a good political thriller that gets down to business (similar to West Wing), then you’ll probably enjoy this. Intense action, mystery, family drama, people trying to undercut each other—it’s got everything, minus the gratuitous sex found in Game of Thrones, How To Get Away With Murder and Scandal. Designated Survivor currently airs on Wednesdays at 10pm on ABC.

What do you think? Have you seen Designated Survivor? If not, do you think you’ll check it out now? If you have, what did you like about it? How do you think their son’s drug dealing will factor into future episodes? And what is behind the guy who mysteriously disappeared from his seat during the bombing? Let me know in the comments below (hint: click the no comments button if you see no comments).

Check out my 5-star comedy novel, Yep, I'm Totally Stalking My Ex-Boyfriend. #AhStalking

If you’re looking for a scare, check the YA novel #AFuriousWind, the NA novel #DARKER, #BrandNewHome or  the bizarre horror #ThePowerOfTen. For those interested in something a little more dramatic and adult, check out #TheWriter. Both season 1 and season 2 are out NOW, exclusively on Amazon. Stay connected here for updates on season 3 coming summer 2017. If you like fast action/crime check out #ADangerousLow. The sequel A New Low will be out in a few months. Look for the mysterious Sci-fi episodic novella series Extraordinary to premiere sometime this winter on Amazon and my blog. Join us on Goodreads to talk about books and TV, and subscribe to and follow my blog with that Google+ button to the right.

Until next time, “Wait, so you’re saying that it’s Gen Xers vs. Millennials? Huh. That’s interesting.”

P.S. Get it now? The title? It’s funny because not only did Kiefer star in 24, not only is his new show called Designated Survivor, not only did he not get voted into office on the show, not only does it remind you all to go vote (or not) in this upcoming presidential and overall election, but the show airs on the same night that CBS airs their newest season of Survivor. Yeah! Wow, I guess it really wasn’t that brilliant. Eh, well... I’ll think of a better sign-off next time, and hopefully a better title.

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Wait, Aren’t All Weapons Lethal? Even Tasers Can Kill, Right? #LethalWeapon #FOX #3weekroundup

Wait, Aren’t All Weapons Lethal? Even Tasers Can Kill, Right? #LethalWeapon #FOX #3weekroundup

All pictures courtesy of FOX

Hiz-zah to whoever came up with this wholly original idea for a TV show. I know that whichever executive greenlit this show they call Lethal Weapon over at FOX is losing their mind just knowing how they’ve blown people away with something fresh, hip and all-around cool. Two cops doin’ cop stuff on a weekly basis, but there’s a little friction in their relationship. How did they not think of this before? Seriously, what genius greenlit this? But before I heap on the accolades, let’s dig into the nitty gritty of Lethal Weapon in another 3-week roundup of the new (new?) show.

FOX’s rehash of the 80s movie (seriously, can the Baby Boomers and Gen Xers running Hollywood not think of any original ideas; I’ll give Boomers a break because they came up with this concept 30 years ago and executed it successfully. But Xers can stop reaching back into their childhood to give us the same overdone crap) Lethal Weapon starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover comes to us as a literal big screen to small screen translation. Before you perk your lips to spit venom at your computer screen and say “Well, what did you expect?” I’d like to kindly point you to last year’s rendition of Minority Report. Yes, it may have been canceled. But at least with that idea they tried doing something different, new, slight to right of the concepts put forth in the movie. Here, the first three episodes of Lethal Weapon have been like watching the first movie over and over on repeat with a little extra Mrs. Murtaugh added in for extra flavor. Let me set the scene.

We opened the first episode with Martin Riggs (played by Clayne Crawford; never seen him before, but he’s been in stuff) playing a wild Texas police officer chasing down some criminals with his partner riding shotgun in a pickup truck. I never can quite get a good accent down just right, but I have to say that his opening lines all seemed terribly over-accented, not to mention overacted. While in this high-speed chase through Texas desert, he takes a call from his wife who is going into labor with their first child as they speak. She is on her way to the hospital and tells him to hurry his butt back home to see his kid come into the world. A “yes, ma’am” kinda guy, he stops the truck and uses the opportunity to show his military sniping skills to take down the guys who thought they had gotten away. His work done, he rushes back to his woman’s side. But it isn’t until he arrives at the hospital does he receive the bad news. On her way to the hospital, his wife got T-boned by a semi, killing both her and the baby. And now...

We cut to Roger Murtaugh on the morning of his 50^th birthday and first day back into the office since suffering a heart attack. Played by TV vet Damon Wayans Sr., Murtaugh is far different from Danny Glover’s take in my opinion. He’s slightly funnier but also less straight-man, which plays very well against his wife Trish (played by Keesha Sharp), but not as well off of Riggs. A scar down his chest from the heart surgery he had, he not only awakens to his beautiful wife, but to the realization that they have a newborn to go with their two teenage children—unexpected pregnancy. He actually had the heart attack in the delivery room. Now, Trish makes him wear one of those fancy Fitbit-esque watches to monitor his heart rate because if it gets higher than a certain threshold (“50! Stay above 50!” I know that’s a Speed reference which is a completely different movie but still), he runs the risk of another attack and possible death.

Murtaugh returns to work to find his old partner promoted to captain. While Roger commends the man for his new position, no way he could tether himself to a desk just yet. He loves being an LA detective too much. So, he’s getting a new partner, this new lateral transfer from out of state that his captain wants him to show around. Before he can meet the new guy, he is called in to a bank heist.

As you’ve probably already guessed, Roger meets Riggs at the heist. The free-wheeling, depressed, deathwish Riggs doesn’t bother following protocol but instead waltzes right through the front doors with pizzas for the robbers that didn’t ask for food. He yaps to them about how they’ll want to get away and/or make the news all the while sizing them up with a gun to his head. Quicker than they could think, he yanks the gun from his nearest shooter and takes out the rest of the guys easy. The hostages flee, he strolls out with a slice of pizza, introduces himself and says he’s got the situation contained. And then the building blows up with he and Murtaugh standing less than a football-field’s length away.

There’s the typical Murtaugh and Captain argument about how the guy is unstable all before they end up working their first official case together.

The case: A dead man with a gunshot wound to the head found high in the Hollywood Hills overlooking the neon-orange sunset. A war vet, the man earns the immediate respect (human to human) of Riggs, who finds it strange that they found no car and his boots are clean. In other words, he didn’t walk up there, so how did he shoot himself, as is the examiner's initial conclusion from looking at the body?

A visit to the widow reveals that they were supposed to move out of state in one week. Murtaugh shows his detective skills when he sees the man’s son sitting with a baseball glove that belonged to his father. Apparently, the man was a leftie, but whoever placed the gun thought he was right-handed—why shoot yourself with your non-dominant hand. They track him back to his work at the docks where they find that somebody was importing illegal drugs. But before they get to that conclusion, they get into a wild car chase from the port as it is revealed that somebody knows more about the man’s death than they are letting on. A shady guy hops in a sports car and zooms off only to crash, get out of the car and be hit by a bus. Thousands of dollars of city damage.

They take a break mid-show for some partner bonding because Trish urges Roger to invite his new crazy partner over to the house. She wants to meet him. The meeting goes... emotionally. He reveals he used to be married but lost his wife as Roger explains his new baby. While Trish can see the carefree, suicidal tendencies in her husband’s new partner, she’s also very open-hearted and forgiving and thinks this could be a good thing for her man.

From there, Riggs goes back to the dead man’s widow where he learns that their son has been kidnapped by the cartel from which her husband stole heroin. Standard “drugs for the boy,” but she can’t find the drugs. What she doesn’t know but Riggs and Murtaugh figure out is that one of the guys they talked to at the LA Port was not only the dead man’s rent-a-cop boss but his commanding military officer during his tours of duty. It was that man’s plan to steal from the cartel. He contracted the dead man out to do it, then killed him so that the cartel would think the dead man still had their drugs and the mastermind would escape blame. As soon as Riggs concludes this, he handcuffs Roger to a counter-bar in his beachside mobile home because he wants to go off and play hero/martyr.

Riggs gets to the warehouse and finds the kid being held by the drug guys. Without an exchange, hell breaks loose as Roger comes in after somehow escaping the sand-trailer. The baddies die in the shootout and the detectives come out the hero. They are about to leave when someone starts sniping at them from the roof. The military mastermind shoots Riggs in the arm, causing the off-kilter cop to come up with a sacrificial plan where he will play target for the shooter, which will give away the man’s position, allowing Murtaugh to shoot the guy. Instead, Roger shoots Martin in the foot, causing him to drop to the ground where a gun lies beneath him. A dead shot as proven by the beginning of the show, Riggs grabs the gun and shoots from the ground to the sniper, making the man tumble dead off the roof.

We end the first episode knowing that Martin Riggs has to have weekly therapy visits to keep his job, with a therapist played by Fast and Furious star Jordana Brewster. I’m sure she’ll probably be a potential complicated love interest. We also learn that Riggs’ (ex?) father-in-law happens to be the DA or some kind of high-ranking government official in LA and is glad to have his daughter’s remains buried back in the home of her childhood.

Episode two starts with a butt-chewing from the captain about the amount of damage they caused in the city and the cost. He’s reluctant to give them another case and switches them off homicide for a while. Instead, he gives them a simple noise complaint. A huge party in the hills, a neighbor woman called about the daytime shindig. As soon as they get there, they hear gunshots ring from the suspected house and see the assassin escape. A man that had come to the party house to engage in illegal weapons dealing sees someone that happens to have a hit on their head. He tries to shoot and kills guest star Jason Derulo (initially thought to be the target). After another wild chase through the city, the man ends up exploded and unable to tell them anything.

When they do more tracking of the guns and the party guests and workers, they find that the real target of the entire party melee was actually a young waitress woman. Through some cool forensics detective stuff, they find out that the woman in question (they wanted to find her to question her on what she knew, initially) is also pregnant. The hit is out on her because of what she has seen/done/knows. As, apparently, is always the case for any woman who is in trouble, hers stems from a man she fell in love with. She found out about his illegal arms dealings and ran. So, Riggs and Murtaugh put her into a safe house while they go off and have another family dinner. Murtaugh finally learns that not only did Martin have a wife, but that she was pregnant when she died. Now he feels even worse about flaunting his newborn in the man’s face but is still committed to crowding around the man as part of a new family.

Meanwhile, an ATF agent that had been working on the illegal gun smuggling gets in contact with the LAPD office and works with Martin and Roger. In the end, this agent is revealed as corrupt and one of the dealers; in fact, the very boyfriend (I think) of the woman. He kidnaps/takes her into his custody, and goes to complete a huge gun deal. Riggs and Murtaugh figure it out in the nick of time and get there to stop the thing with a myriad of explosions and bullets. The day is saved, though, this time, Roger Murtaugh has to slip his heart-monitoring watch off because it is going crazy at the fact that his heart is so elevated, and he can’t have it beeping when he and Riggs sneak into the warehouse where the deal is going down.

Episode three starts with the robbery of an armored truck full of drug money. No, not the scratch and sniff, shoot-it-up kind but the sticky-icky, legal in California (medically), Colorado and Washington (state) kind. But apparently, some of it is illegal because the first place Riggs and Murtaugh go (after Riggs is done moping in his beach trailer and shooting his TV for daring to show happy couples) is to the cartel homies and Mexican street thugs. Apparently, they are the ones who took the money, ramming the armored truck with a dump truck and jacking a few million in marijuana profits. A twist, the only witness left alive is a retired cop and driver/security guard of the armored vehicle; the man also played Murtaugh’s training officer back in the day. A little detective work (it’s always a little) finds that some of the drug dealers are dead or in jail but the truck is still missing because the retired cop stole the truck back from the idiot criminals. He was just going to keep the money because, after so many years working on the force, he’s now in poor health and lacking money—partially caused by the sickness and death of his wife of over two decades.

Roger tries to get in some quality date-time with his wife, and Riggs debates whether he can really open up to anybody including the precinct-mandated therapist and his father-in-law, all while they try to figure out what to do to the retired cop. He’s sorry, he confessed to Roger, he knew he did wrong and he knew it was stupid, he was just down on his luck. Still, they have to turn him in. But he gets kidnapped by the cartel that wants their money back. In probably the most uncreative, “OK we can’t think of a better way to get them outta this mess” climax, the case ends with the two going all car chase/chicken on the thugs, leading them on a wild chase through the city as they completely ignore the fact that the thugs have a gun to the ex-cop’s head. Naturally, the thugs hop into their own low-riders and chase full-steam after the money-leaking armored truck until they corner our two lovable idiots. How will they escape? The police cavalry come in at the nick of time, sparing the viewer from anything more creative and memorable. To be honest with you, I had to cook dinner while watching the second and third episodes and found them so forgettable that I had to go back and re-spot-watch them for key plot points. Oh. My. God! Brace yourselves, people, because it’s coming.

What’s my grade? OK, I rarely ever do this, but I’m going to actually give this two grades. My first grade is a D. That’s right, it is one of the lowest-rated new shows I’ve watched in the last two seasons of me running this blog. Why? Many reasons. After having written a very plot and character-driven season two of my own episodic novella series The Writer (check that out at Amazon; look for the link below), I find the storylines of the first three episodes so... meh! It is a show dead on creativity. Not only did they not try something new and different or a slanted angle from the films, but they seem to have watered down the sheer... I don’t know what it is, but something. It’s like the X-factor but for film and TV. Something here is missing, even though the cast is really decent. And whatever that missing thing is feels like The Rock’s and Samuel L. Jackson’s characters from that Will Ferrell/Mark Wahlberg movie The Other Guys, only taken semi-seriously (“Aim for the bushes?”). The plots almost feel as if they came from the 90s, they’re so simple. Then, for the first two episodes, I felt it took too long to get into the actual case, which I understand—the first season of my episodic novella The Writer does take a while to pick up and get going because there’s a lot of character, setting and situation set-up—but come on. In both, they didn’t really get to the case until the second act. The action is... sigh! Martin Riggs craziness is summed up by him jumping off stuff: in episode one he jumps off a speeding sports car, in episode two a speeding bike and off a building through the window into another building, in episode three out of an overturned armored truck. It’s cool but repetitive and old-hat. The chemistry between characters and actors is OK, but at some points it does feel like they’re acting, and the directing will neither wow nor depress. It is super-formulaic and worst of all doesn’t have an overarching big mystery/case to occupy the background of the entire season like other recent successful shows such as Blindspot and The Blacklist. Also, I would argue that it doesn’t have the verve and cool vibe of Rosewood, nor the geekiness of Bones or Sleepy Hollow. It’s just very... middling.

However, if you are really into the original movies, as well as you just like a good cop procedural with a few laughs as opposed to something overly serious like Law and Order: SVU, then you might like this, in which case I would give the show a C+. It is not mind-blowing and nothing new, but you can tune in and have an enjoyable experience, just don’t expect a classic.

Should you be watching? Again, with all the things I outlined in my previous two paragraphs, I would have to say no for viewers who are looking for more depth in their shows. That is not to denigrate people who enjoy it. I’d say it is trying to be near the level of Castle, but doesn’t have that same novel idea, wit, and X-factor. But it does work as a good escapism series. Check it out for yourself. You can see the first three episodes now on Fox on Demand or at FOX.com. Lethal Weapon airs on FOX Wednesdays at 8pm, before Empire.

What do you think? Have you heard/seen FOX’s newest incarnation of Lethal Weapon? If not, will you tune in to check it out? If you have seen it, what is your favorite part? Is it one of your newest crazes or is it just an OK show? Let me know in the comments below (hint: click the no comments button if you see no comments).

Check out my 5-star comedy novel, Yep, I'm Totally Stalking My Ex-Boyfriend. #AhStalking

If you’re looking for a scare, check the YA novel #AFuriousWind, the NA novel #DARKER, #BrandNewHome or  the bizarre horror #ThePowerOfTen. For those interested in something a little more dramatic and adult, check out #TheWriter. Both season 1 and season 2 are out NOW, exclusively on Amazon. Stay connected here for updates on season 3 coming summer 2017. If you like fast action/crime check out #ADangerousLow. The sequel A New Low will be out in a few months. Look for the mysterious Sci-fi episodic novella series Extraordinary to premiere sometime this winter on Amazon and my blog. Join us on Goodreads to talk about books and TV, and subscribe to and follow my blog with that Google+ button to the right.

Until next time, "Man, I’m gettin’ too old for this shi--”

‘Whoa, whoa! Dude, you can’t say that on national broadcast TV.’

“But it’s my catchphrase. If I can’t say that, I’ll feel neutered. They neutered my catchphrase?”

‘Yeah, it seems like it. Wow! Missed opportunity.’

P.S. Seriously, why am I not a TV executive? Did no one else realize this? How can you have Lethal Weapon without “getting too old for this sh*%?” That’s like in that one PG-13 Die Hard where they said “Yippy-ki-yay mother” and then cut away. What?? Noooooooo (Vader yell)! I’ll think of a better sign-off next time.

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I Have The Powe—What? Wait, So I’m Not He-Man? Really? #SonofZorn #3weekroundup #FOX

I Have The Powe—What? Wait, So I’m Not He-Man? Really? #SonofZorn #3weekroundup #FOX

All pictures courtesy of FOX 

Time for another three-week roundup review on a new show. Next up, Son of Zorn. A high-bred of animation and live action, Son of Zorn joins FOX’s already crowded Sunday night block of half-hour comedies. But is it a sword-slashing, rip-roaring, barbaric good time, or is it just one of the many shows destined for defeat at the paws of the cancellation bear? Son of Zorn is certainly gonna fight like hell against that bear, kinda like that hiking guy that survived that grizzly bear attack twice. Like, can you believe that guy? Holy crap! Is Leo gonna play him in a movie, too? Is he now gonna go seek vengeance on the guy that killed his boy? So many questions and no reasonable answers. Let’s start the review.

Zorn and his pimp cup.

Son of Zorn (#SonofZorn) is the latest addition to FOX that tries to bridge the gap between the Animation Domination days of Sunday nights, and the newest live-action addition of Last Man on Earth. A show in which the main (though, not the title character) is animated, Zorn is voiced by familiar comedic face and SNL alum Jason Sudeikis. Zorn is a barbarian warrior who hails from the land of Zephyria, a foreign land where everything is animated and they’re stuck in the fictional times of what strongly looks like He-Man territory. The character even looks like a longer-haired He-man with kickin’ Junior-High bangs and blushed-tomato-red hair. His muscles are huge, and, because they’re animated, they always seem to glisten in the real world. At the start of the first episode, we meet Zorn in mid-battle when his cellphone reminds him that it is his son’s birthday. Rather than stay and finish the battle as his friends die in horrifying agony, he’s gotta take a rain-check to hop a flight to go and see his son for his seventeenth birthday.

Titular Character Son of Zorn Alan (he's small one)

His son, Alanugulon or Alan for short (played by Superstore’s Johnny Pemberton), lives with his ex-wife Edie (played by veteran Cheryl Hines) in Orange County, California. Both are totally not animated, regular suburbanites. As any rippling-machismo mound of muscle and testosterone would feel, Zorn still has feelings for his ex-wife and borer of his seed. Upon his arrival back in the OC, he winds up at her house an hour before Alan is set to arrive back home. They catch up on her sofa as she is now a far cry from the young, wild woman he used to know (they had a past filled with drugs, war slayings, conquerings of foreign lands, and copious amounts of sex) but still has glimmers of that carefree teen, twenty, and thirty-something he used to know. He thinks that she still has feelings for him, and judging by the way she is constantly caught staring at his body, it’s clear she does. But alas, she is engaged to be betrothed to another.

This Isn't Awkward. 

Yet another SNL and comedy alum, Tim Meadows (The Ladies Man) plays Edie’s fiance Craig. An online college professor who gives lectures over his cellphone and is constantly emasculated by everything related to Zorn, he specializes in psychology and breaking down the mental/emotional needs of Alan and Edie and now Zorn. Think the black version of Neil from The Santa Clause minus the circus sweaters. Zorn would love to slaughter Craig and his people and sacrifice him on a Zephyrian altar while holding his beating heart in his palm, but he doesn’t do that, because, you know, that would put a damper on the whole family vibe.

Strangely, it is because of this barbaric and old-world thinking that Alan is embarrassed by his father who, last time he visited, came to his school slinging his huge sword around for everyone to see. No, that is not some sort of innuendo about his dangly cartoon parts; the guy actually carries around a humongous gold sword that we find out has powers in the second episode. With our society being the way it is (killing frowned upon) Zorn slays everything he can that won’t wind him up in jail: tables, chairs, vehicles, other things worth stabbing (slays more than Beyonce). Yeah, he gets it in. Admittedly, part of the fun of this show is waiting to see just what crazy problem he’ll try to solve or create by wielding his sword. Standing back to look big picture, maybe that could become a problem.

Alan is so embarrassed by his dad’s always-on warrior instincts that he skips out on seeing the man. As it turns out his birthday was three weeks prior, demonstrating how terrible Zorn is at modern technology (that phone reminder was way off). Edie explains that Alan isn’t excited to see Zorn because the man was never around during his childhood. Zorn missed about a decade of the boy’s life and is only now back because... um... huh? Outside of the birthday thing, I got nothin’! Maybe they said it but I didn’t catch it, but I’m thinking that the age of 17 is important in Zephyria culture. Even with that assumption, Zorn schedules a flight back to his land within a few days. It is not until he and Edie talk about how Alan doesn’t want to see him that he realizes he’s missed too much of his son’s life. A mid-battle call from one of his gladiator buddies back home who loses his son on the battlefield (the boy is cut in half lengthwise) cements the idea that he needs to stay around to bond with Alan.

She Looks Like She Used To Be Wild

So, Zorn rents a cheap apartment from a skinny pervert and sets off on a normal, non-soldier life in modern suburbia. He gets a corporate desk job as a telemarketer selling industrial soap dispensers, a job he only gets because he is a diversity hire. His boss Linda (played by Artemis Pebdani of Scandal fame) makes the smooth transition into the role of overworked, apathetic mid-management type who gives semi-inspiring speeches about how everything that Zorn knows from the field of battle can be applied to his new work environment: his war is getting high sales, his pent-up aggression should be used to get high sales, he can move on in life and possibly get over his ex and get closer to his son by getting high sales. I enjoy her performance.

When Zorn takes Alan to a restaurant as a forgiveness plea for missing his entire life, they run into Nancy an Asian classmate and crush of Alan. (I can’t say the actress that plays her because two actresses are still listed most everywhere I look, probably from the original actress being recast when the show went to series). Here, Zorn learns not only that his son is a vegetarian but is ashamed of riding the school bus. The thoughtful and caring father he is, Zorn decides to get his son a vehicle. But instead of a car, he purchases a battle bird from Zephyria, equipped with harness, gut-ripping talons and a wingspan of a small plane. When Edie objects to Alan keeping his dad’s gift, Zorn decides he must kill it to get rid of it instead of shipping it back to his homeland. He stabs it, it doesn’t die, he has to keep stabbing it, it’s funny until it’s not, and then we see the bird twitching in the garbage as the credits roll. Remember, this show is meant to be on the same humor level as Family Guy or whatever other Seth MacFarlane offering that FOX has.

Episode two deals with Zorn moving his crap out of Edie’s garage and soon-to-be marital house. As Zorn deals with his past, Alan tries to woo his crush Nancy. With Zorn’s help and Zorn’s sword’s help, Alan uses a seeing eye sword addition to non-cyber-stalk cyber-stalk her. He can see everything she does and tries to glean her favorites and dislikes before he and Zorn realize it is wrong to spy on people and Alan decides he’ll just be normal and try to get the girl. Does it work? Eh! He’s taking the long route but he’ll probably get there.

Meanwhile, Zorn continues to attempt to relive the old days with Edie who doesn’t budge off her declaration that she is over him. But when he uses his sword to spy on her in the shower, he realizes that she still has the Z, R, N tattoo across her butt cheeks (think about it). He’s got a chance, but he’s still gotta move all that crap from her garage. His crap is quickly replaced by Craig’s pity-purchase of more than a dozen industrial soap dispensers. Such a Neil thing to do.

Episode three sees our hero dealing with the boredom of corporate American work-life. Battle-starved after a week or two away from Zephyria, Zorn seeks out the closest thing to slaughtering his enemies that he can: he picks a prank-fight/real fight with a guy who stole the office hot sauce and works in one of the other companies that occupies the same building as his work. From tricking the man into drinking blood to nearly decapitating him in the middle of the office, Zorn will conquer until the subject of his ire is stopped by his boss and forced to apologize like a bully-child. Now Zorn can’t kill him because... Ethics! And he learns that his real battle... is getting high sales.

All-seeing Eye Sword Stone Sans-Sword

As Zorn holds his own warring frustrations, Alan suffers through gym class bullying by a fat kid that looks like White Shrek. Unsolicited advice from his parent triumvirate gives him three things to do: slay this bully in a battle to the death, fight back with one or two good punches, or tell him that he is loved and get on his back to act like an overturned turtle kicking and struggling to right himself off his shell. Guess who said the last one? Guess what Alan chooses? That’s right, Alan first tells the bully he is loved, then, when that doesn’t work, he gets on his back and flails his legs in the air like an irritated baby on the changing table. But it is revealed that he has cartoon Barbarian legs like his father. And, just like his father, his legs are super strong. One tiny kick flings the boy across the room into a rack, thusly ending his bullying problem. Granted, now everyone knows that he has weird cartoon legs, which probably won’t help in the long run, but if they say something he can just kick their butt, and probably kill them in the process.

What is my grade? I’d give it a C+. Will this survive the season? Most likely, yes. As I stated in my initial preview, this looks like a show that could be really good for two years, then peter off. My problem is that this is not the stone-in-the-water ripple that, say, Family Guy was. Back when Family Guy first came out, it actually got me to start watching FOX’s animation offerings again. And then it got canceled because so few people saw its brilliance. But through Adult Swim it revived and when it did, it truly became a generational phenomenon. Everybody was watching and talking about Family Guy, cementing its place in pop culture. While I have moved on from my Family Guy-days, as I think most people have (not to say it isn’t still popular), I tend to judge FOX’s animated comedies by that rubric. I don’t see this as a must-see comedy like some of the other FOX shows were in their prime. This is akin to Bob’s Burgers in that people will like it but I doubt it will turn into appointment-viewing on a weekly basis.

Should you be watching? If you’re still enthralled by The Simpsons, Family Guy, Brooklyn-9-9 and some of the other comedy offerings of FOX, then I say go for it. It serves its purpose as a decent slapstick family comedy with a slight edge, and with the guys behind the 21 Jump Street remake and the Lego movie as producers, it has unlimited potential for heartwarming humor. But if you want something a little more thought-provoking, then look elsewhere. Son of Zorn airs on FOX Sundays at 8:30pm EST.

What do you think? Have you ever heard of Son of Zorn? Have you seen it? If not, do you think you’d tune in now? If you have seen it, what is your favorite part of the show? Do you think Zorn will ever take the family back to visit Zephyria? And when the heck is Alan going to get his own sword? Let me know in the comments below (hint: click the no comments button if you see no comments).

Check out my 5-star comedy novel, Yep, I'm Totally Stalking My Ex-Boyfriend. #AhStalking

If you’re looking for a scare, check the YA novel #AFuriousWind, the NA novel #DARKER, #BrandNewHome or  the bizarre horror #ThePowerOfTen. For those interested in something a little more dramatic and adult, check out #TheWriter. Both season 1 and season 2 are out NOW, exclusively on Amazon. Stay connected here for updates on season 3 coming summer 2017. If you like fast action/crime check out #ADangerousLow. The sequel A New Low will be out in a few months. Look for the mysterious Sci-fi episodic novella series Extraordinary to premiere sometime this winter on Amazon and my blog. Join us on Goodreads to talk about books and TV, and subscribe to and follow my blog with that Google+ button to the right.

Until next time, "Fabulous secret powers were revealed to me the day I held aloft my magic sword and said... What? You mean I’m still not He-Man? Well ain’t this about a bit--”

P.S. How many more years will we be bombarded in entertainment with things that reference the 80s? When will it stop? Ahhhh! I’ll think of a better sign-off next time.

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Heaven Can Wait But What A Divine Comedy! #TheGoodPlace #3weekroundup #NBC

Heaven Can Wait But What A Divine Comedy! #TheGoodPlace #3weekroundup #NBC 

All pictures courtesy of #NBC  

It’s that time again, people. That’s right, we are in the third full week of the new TV season, which means that most of the new TV shows have had three chances to earn your viewership (and earn a good rating from the networks ) to see if they will stick around. While some shows decided to do a two-episode premiere and totally throw off my review timing (I’m lookin’ at you The Good Place), I will try my best to get as many reviews out in the next week and a half as I can. So, what about this new NBC comedy, the only of the season? Is it good like the title implies, or is it another comedy dud destined to fall by the wayside with the likes of The Craig Robinson Show, Better or Worse, and those other shows that you totally never saw and I haven’t the lethargy-defeating energy to Google? Let’s find out about The Good Place (#TheGoodPlace).

The Good Place is sponsored by cute Otters holding hands while they sleep. It stars Kristen Bell as Eleanor Shellstrop, a freshly deceased typical white woman—thank god they didn’t make her typically Asian—who was born in Phoenix, Arizona, went to college in Tempe, uh... Arizona, and then she moved back to Phoenix, Arizona. Ha! Typical white girl. Anyway, we learn on the first episode that Eleanor has died after a tragic but totally understandable shopping cart incident. There may have been some bending down to pick something up involved, a decline, an ex-boyfriend, an erectile dysfunction billboard truck, an unattentive grocery store parking lot cart-getter and some other stuff involved. Doesn’t matter! What matters is that she’s dead now and has wound up in the office of Ted Danson.

Ted Danson plays Michael (a play off of the Archangel Michael as opposed to the awesome me that I am... I assume) who acts as the de facto Mayor of this Good Place. We later learn that he is the designer of this particular non-heaven heaven. Wait, let’s back up a minute and explain the rules of this place as told to us by Michael—the Ted Danson character, not me... But me, too. Just keep reading.

OK, so The Good Place is not heaven in the Christian sense (though, it totally is modeled after the modern-day Christian-atheistic blur of what people think heaven should be like), but is rather just a good place. It’s also not one big conglomerate setting, but a series of neighborhoods that don’t ever seem to come into contact with each other. Each neighborhood/town is designed and run by one de facto, uh... designer and Mayor... and FroYo vendor. People in non-heaven heaven love FroYo. This place is extremely exclusive and hasn’t allowed in tons of famous people. It also doesn’t allow cursing and replaces all cuss words with more PC (and network-friendly) words like fork and bullshirt! Also, you’ll meet your soul-mate who is supposed to be in the same part of The Good Place as you. Oh, and you get your own home that is built to the specifications of your dream home. Most people choose a mansion, but Eleanor gets, essentially, a mix between a post-modernist kindergarten-shapes-painting and a Lego, interiorly decorated with tons of pictures of clowns (finally, we know why the country’s clown outbreak happened; promo for this show). It’s small, it’s cozy and it is quite possibly the most hideous house Eleanor has ever seen.

That’s right, as soon as Eleanor meets her supposed soul-mate Chidi (played by William Jackson Harper), a French-speaking African nerd, she confesses that she hates clowns, would prefer the huge mansion that her neighbors live in, has never been a lawyer (as assumed by Michael) and doesn’t share any of the memories that display on her living room TV. The only thing Michael got right was her name. Here is where the fun starts.

As it just so happens, black-guy-with-the-glasses was actually an ethics professor when he was alive. He spent his entire life doing two things: teaching ethics and writing an impossibly long, boring and exhaustive opus/book on ethics as explored in episode three. With only two options of where to live posthumously: The Good Place or The Bad Place (a not-hell hell), and Cincinnati totally off the table for middling, not great, not bad, typical people, Eleanor has but one option. She has to learn how to be good. And she quickly learns that learning how to Good is really going to be exhausting.

Black Guy with Glasses. They Call Me Chidi 

With much of the first episode atmosphere and world-building, the second episode (it came in a one-hour super premiere) picks up in the middle of a chaos started by the thoughts, overly descriptive, and pessimistic mouth of Eleanor. In her self-centered and selfish mind, she has mentioned everything from Ariana Grande to stealing gold from her neighbors’ mansion to calling her neighbor a long-necked giraffe to recalling her real life/job as a non-pharmaceutical pharmaceutical telemarketer that sells a medicine—well, actually it's a tableted chalk pretending to be medicine—to old people. And because of all of her extraneous mentions of things before she went to sleep, she awoke to chaos with Grande songs blasting through the sky, jumbo shrimp flying around and attacking people, marauding giraffes running the streets, huge chalk-tablet bottles rolling through the town, giant frogs and everyone uniformed in blue and yellow stripes. Except her. Only now does she realize that she caused all of this mayhem with her stupid, normal, typical thoughts. Why is she so painfully average!!!!

The town a mess after the chaos, Chidi uses their second day in The Good Place as a test to see if he’ll help her become good. She has the option between helping to clean up or learning to fly like a superhero. Naturally, she chooses flight. I would choose flight, too, but to fair to me I don’t like cleaning garbage. Chidi, like a boss, volunteers them both for the cleaning. Eleanor does some, then responsibly shoves the rest of the dirt and refuse under a rug to go fly. And then all hell breaks loose again. Literally, it is an adult-themed, live-action, non-food Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs. Whatever she’s thinking will fall from the sky, or rise from the ground. A dumpster falls on two guys—it’s OK because everyone is dead, duh!

Look at how attractive and satisfied she is. Oh yeah, she definitely learned a lesson. 

In the end, she learns a lesson: No shortcuts to being good—a lesson she is bound to learn every single episode, every single week, not that that is a bad thing (see what I did there?). But the plot twists when she finds a letter on her doorstep at the end of the episode that simply says she doesn’t belong there (dun dun dunnnnn!)

Episode three opens with Eleanor trying to figure out who wrote the letter. We go deeper into the lives of two of the other main players. Eleanor’s suspicion immediately goes to her giraffe-necked, mansion-living neighbor Tahani. A British medical charity fundraising superstar (she raised something close to a billion dollars in her lifetime for various health agencies), Tahani is all smiles, spice, and sugar—totally not a reference to her Indian (from India) heritage. Played by Jameela Jamil, my god is this woman beautiful. Um... yeah, I forgot what else I was gonna say. And I say that with an eye that has been on Bell for quite a while. She’s a very nice looking mom, but she’s married so I try not to drool over taken women. Thank god Angelina Jolie is single again. (And there’s your sexist comment of the day. You’re welcome).

Tahani and her Buddhist Monk man Jianyu

Tahani is soul-mates with Jianyu, a Buddhist monk who took a vow of silence that he is still committed to keeping in the afterlife... because he’s weird? Let’s just go with that for now. His silence bothers the heaven out of Tahani the overly talkative smile-machine. In order to try connecting with him, she enlists Eleanor’s help on the third episode. Eleanor tries to pull the truth about the letter from her and expose her as just as big of a fraud and horrible person as she is, but can’t because Tahani seems to be the real deal. Only when Tahani breaks down about her Asian beau does Eleanor come to her aid with a shoulder to cry on and helps to build a relationship with her.

Siri--Uh, I Mean Janet. 

As Eleanor is trying to figure out who sent the letter, her soul-mate Chidi is bothered by Michael to find a hobby/job that will help fulfill him in the afterlife. Aided by The Good Place’s Janet, a human-formed version of Siri designed to help Michael and all the “placers” adjust to life after death, Michael tries steering Chidi clear from his ethics book. He finally reveals to Chidi that he read the book and found it abhorrent which is why he doesn’t want Chidi to waste his time on it (forget the fact that he’s dead and the book may be pointless, though, I’m guessing at some point the book will be used to help people in the Bad Place become good). Chidi decides that he still wants to work on his book and all is resolved. Eleanor learned another lesson about being a good person and how to care about others. In the end, it is revealed that Jianyu is the person who actually wrote the letter. How did he know she didn’t belong there? Because she blabbed to him at the welcoming party after filling up on wine/champagne. Ready for the M. Night-twist? He actually doesn’t belong there either and his name is not Jianyu but Jason Mendoza. Sadly, that story is saved for episode four.

So what is my grade? I give this show a B+. Yes, it is that entertaining. In my initial preview of this show about a week ago, I didn’t know what to make of it. This year, instead of doing deeper research on all the series, I went solely off the commercials to glean series specifics. From what I saw of this show’s trailers, it looked awkwardly positioned for a state of “meh!” I didn’t think that it could last the season and that it would focus on making fun of how good people are. While it does do that, it eases the comedy of laughing at people trying to be their best with flashbacks of Eleanor and Jason (starting on the 4^th episode) at their worst during their lives. There, we learn that Eleanor was a designated driver hat-draw cheat, frequented a coffee shop with a sexist owner because the coffee was good, and didn’t care about the environment at all. The contrast of them as they were and them trying to learn to be good with Chidi as their Yoda has potential for great heart-warming moments if done right. We also have the potential for a secondary or tertiary plot when, in the fourth episode, it is revealed that one of Eleanor’s missed attempts to be good seems to have opened a gaping hole in the floor to lands unseen, possibly The Bad Place.

Should you be watching? Yes. While I cannot say whether this will be the standout of the season, for now, it has earned enough good fortune with me to be a show possibly worth following. The comedic acting is solid, the cast is diverse and isn’t afraid to approach its diversity (in other words, people’s ethnicities aren’t just there because they decided to cast a black guy instead of a white man), and the writing and directing seem solid. With everyone looking as if they are actually invested in the material, it could turn into one of those cult classic comedy shows in the vein of Freaks and Geeks or Community or Arrested Development where it gains a strong following but may be out of its time or just not what people are wanting right now. Check it out and see for yourself. The Good Place comes on Thursdays at 8:30pm EST on NBC. Check out the first four episodes on demand or on NBC.com now.

What do you think? Have you seen The Good Place or is this the first time you’re hearing about it? If you haven’t seen it, will you check it out now? If you have seen it, what do you think about it? Will that hole in the floor really lead to The Bad Place? Has Eleanor really taken the place of another Eleanor? Is she even supposed to be dead right now? What about the other Eleanor, where the heck is she? Let me know in the comments below (hint: click the no comments button if you see no comments).

Check out my 5-star comedy novel, Yep, I'm Totally Stalking My Ex-Boyfriend. #AhStalking

If you’re looking for a scare, check the YA novel #AFuriousWind, the NA novel #DARKER, #BrandNewHome or  the bizarre horror #ThePowerOfTen. For those interested in something a little more dramatic and adult, check out #TheWriter. Both season 1 and season 2 are out NOW, exclusively on Amazon. Stay connected here for updates on season 3 coming summer 2017. If you like fast action/crime check out #ADangerousLow. The sequel A New Low will be out in a few months. Look for the mysterious Sci-fi episodic novella series Extraordinary to premiere sometime this winter on Amazon and my blog. Join us on Goodreads to talk about books and TV, and subscribe to and follow my blog with that Google+ button to the right.

Until next time, "Dude! What hell-hole did you crawl out from?”

‘Detroit.’

“Oh! Fair enough.”

P.S. Ha! An Ohioan making a joke against Michigan. Classic Midwest humor. I’ll come up with a better sign-off next time.

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