The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Tuesday, September 21, 2010 -- 5 TV needs pilot lessons Ben Affleck runs this'Town' This week is one of the best weeks of the fall. We are currently amid the releases of new fall TV lineups. Our favorites like "Glee," "30 Rock," "Com- munity" and recent Emmy- gold mine "Modern Fam- ily" are back this week along with a whole CAROLYN crop of new KLARECKI television. This is the welcome week of TV, and I'm pumped. Sixteen new shows are premier- ing this week on NBC, ABC, CBS and FOX. Most likely, 80 percent of them will not be renewed for a second season. That means maybe three of these shows have staying power. And this week, TV fans will be judging each pilot to decide what's worth tuning back in for. That's a lot of pressure to put on a pilot episode, but everyone already knows what weight it holds. The writers, directors and producers understand this first episode must be outstanding - otherwise they'll be canceled mid-season. So what makes a pilot success- ful? I'm no Hollywood big shot. I don't know the formula for hit television - nor do I claim there is such a formula -but there are a few things I look for when watch- ing new TV. First and foremost, new TV shows must have a captivating premise. If you look at the lineup of shows this fall, you will see that some people have definitely forgotten this. I keep getting "Lone Star," "The Defenders," "Outlaw," "The Whole Truth" and "Blue Bloods" confused. Why is that? Because they're pretty much the same, at least in terms of promotions. Their commercials are all incredibly similar, making it nearly impossible to tell them apart. After racking my brain, all I can remember without turning to Google is that the guy in "Out- law" pl WestV about t person vaguel Worst. tian Sh Last to rem new id for "Gl you kn worth, you ha case of Truth, suck or I can't; shows pilots I somet for. The new T Maybe a uniqi inspire all, but inspire online Says w actersi layed Matt Santos on "The In all actuality, most of the fing," "The Defenders" is shows this fall seem so unorigi- :wo lawyers with opposing nal there shouldn't be much alities and "Lone Star" is problem keeping them moving y reminiscent of "My Own with recycled ideas from past Enemy," a show with Chris- sitcoms, crime cases pulled from ater that flopped in '08. the headlines and tons of love tri- fall's biggest hits were easy angles. If one of these seemingly ember because they had a standard shows surprises me, and ea. You saw one commercial it seems like they know where ee" or "Community" and they're going, I'll consider sticking ew that it was going to be around for the end of the season, watching, if only because but there's one more thingI need dn't seen it before. So in the before I'm on board with a show "Lone Star," "The Whole and will watch it loyally. " etc., either their premises I need characters. I need fas- r their advertisingsucks. If cinating characters with real see the difference in these problems. I need to know them now - and I can't - the or even just want to know them, better convince me there's but the characters are what make hing worth sticking around or break TV. We felt for the kids on "Glee," we fell in love with second thingI need in a Troy and Abed's antics on "Com- V show is sustainability. munity" and we wish our family "S#*! My Dad Says" has was as adorable as the one on ue premise. It's a show "Modern Family." I doubt we'll ad by a Twitter feed after fall in love with all of the new cop come on, it's a show characters to hit TV this week. ad by a Twitter feed. The Though "White Collar" was a version of Shit My Dad surprise last year, so let's stay orks when it's 140 char- open-minded. Perhaps "Mike and every few days, but can Molly" will prove a loveable pair, or maybe Will Arnett ("Arrested Development") and Keri Rus- sell ("Felicity") will have enough i's time for a chemistry to keep me glued to the screen for "Running Wilde." ietwork TV Of course, there are many more factors that can make a show taste test. hit or miss. Sometimes the best shows have lackluster pilots. It really isn't completely fair for me retch that into a whole to judge an entire season on one ? William Shatner will episode, but with the hustle and gry and offensive and the bustle of college life, who has the Nill struggle to move past time (or patience) to sit through sitcom plots. While this an entire season of "Chase" just speculation, last fall's to make sure it's as crappy as it Forward" proved the looks? This is our week of sam- ance of sustainability. The pling. I'll taste as many shows as et itself up to depict only a Ican, and if they're unique, have nth span of time based on potential for development and r into the future everyone have appealing characters, I'll sit d." So as soon as it became down for a meal. Boston-based drama features strong ensemble cast ByANKUR SOHONI Daily Arts Writer The fine people over at the Warner Brothers market- ing department proved their cunning while promot- ing crime drama "The Town." Forgoing the obvious, they branded their trailers with the cryptic message "from the acclaimed * *' director of 'Gone Baby Gone."' Now, if' you're familiar with The Town "Gone Baby Gone," you might be wondering why the studio didn'tuse and Rave the household name of said director. an The answer is: that director isn't Warner Bros. known specifically for his directing, at least not yet. Because that director is none other than Ben Affleck. It's somewhat surprising - but completely appro- priate - that the studio would let the mega-actor and inexperienced director rest on his credits and not his name recognition. No matter how much Affleck's act- ing has been criticized, even vilified, he has yet to make similar missteps in his directing career. And while his name may bring up scarring images of "Paycheck" and "Pearl Harbor," his modesty as a filmmaker is incred- ibly endearing and made commendable by the quality of his work in "The Town." The setting of "The Town" is Boston's Charlestown, which apparently produces more bank robbers than any other neighborhood in the country. The film fol- lows a team of bank/armored car robbers, led by the kind-hearted Doug MacRay (Affleck) and-the trigger- happy James Coughlin (Jeremy Renner, "The Hurt Locker"), while an FBI agent (Jon Hamm, TV's "Mad Men") is hot on their tail. After a successful robbery, the team takes hostage bank manager Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona") to fend off the cops. Once the coast is clear, they drop the hostage and let her live - but there starts the problem. Fearing she could help the FBI, the robbers agree to intimidate her into sub- mission. MacRay can't resist though, and is so charmed by Keesey's vulnerability that he falls for her. At that point, even though MacRay denies it, the story's unrav- eling is all but inevitable. The marvelhere is the ensemble cast.It's full of famil- iar faces, and every actor from Blake Lively (TV's "Gos- sip Girl") to Pete Postlethwaite ("Inception") exhibits his or her respective character's tragic flaw with a natu- ral ease and a (usually) believable Boston accent. Even Chris Cooper ("Adaptation") puts in a terrific one-scene It r In Boston, that "Superbad" shit would never go down. performance as MacRay's imprisoned father. The film establishes a high standard for itself and at times its male leads seem like a mixed bag. Ben Affleck is still the actor Ben Affleck, and it's become under- standably difficult to distance his personality from his character's. His Boston accent and token Red Sox attire hearken back to his "Good Will Hunting" days, but don't make up for his simplistic approach to a com- plex character. He shows a fierce effort, without which the film would likely fall flat, but doesn't considerably change up his acting formula. Jon Hamm suffers from a similar problem in his role - he doesn't quite fill out his character, allowing his FBI agent to fall victim to a campy script construction. He isn't developed quite as well as his criminal coun- terparts and isn't given as much freedom to show off his acting chops. Rebecca Hall, on the other hand, is perfectly cast as the fragile Keesey, and her abilityto make the audience quiver along with her is astounding. Likewise, Jeremy Renner is nothing shortof awesome. He expands on his performance in "S.W.A.T." with a new troubled inten- sity and wows with a bloodthirsty rage. While "The Town" isn't as tightly paced as its Scorsesian cousin "The Departed," it's a crime drama that succeeds on both the "crime" and "drama" counts. The film is a gritty, riveting display and avoids the cheesy pitfalls of its genre-mates. That each and every character, no matter how flawed he or she is, inspires an emotional investment is just as much a testament to the cast's ability as it is a sign of Affleck's talent as a director. No matter how dark "The Town" is, it signals a bright future for Affleck's filmmaking career - one in which his name mightbecome a mark of brilliance and no longer a blot upon a film poster. they st season act ang show typical is pure "Flash import show s six-mo how fa "flashe clear what was going to happen at that climactic moment, there was no longer any reason to follow the series. Klarecki is making a show based off Friendster. To question that decision, e-mail her at cklareckiumich.edu. - I GET YOUR SENIOR PORTRAIT TAKEN Monday 9/20 - Friday 9/24 in the Sophia B. Jones room of the Michigan Union The sitting fee is just $10! This price includes your portraitfeatured in - the 2011 Michignensian Yearbook Sign up online by visiting www.OurYear.com and entering School Code: 87156 Phone 734.418.4115 ext. 247 E-mail ensian.um@umich.edu Bring in this ad and receive $2 off the sitting fee. Michiganensian YEARBOOK