6A - Monday, April 15, 2013 T
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
New Netflix show
does no good
'Bad Samaritans' is
a weak attempt at
original comedy
By RADHIKA MENON
DailyArts Writer
Netflix is expanding. What
started with cult excitement
in the announcement of an
"Arrested
Development" (C
resurrection
quickly moved Bad
to actual origi- SmaritanS
nal program-
ming - most Netflix
noteworthy of
which is the
political thriller "House of
Cards." The online streaming
service is branching out, now try-
ing its hand at original comedy.
Unfortunately, unlike its prede-
cessors, "Bad Samaritans" is far
from brilliant.
After Jake (Brian Kubach,
"Piranha") and Drew's (Julian-
na Guill, "Crazy Stupid Love")
anniversary-turned-breakup
ends with a park fire, the duo
is sentenced to 2,000 hours of
community service. They meet
a bunch of weirdos during their
time, including a socialite look-
ing for a sugar daddy, a stoner
with no plans of ever leaving this
gig and a tattooed ex-biker with
good intentions. It's an interest-
ing take on the group-based com-
edies that have recently become
the go-to formula in the genre,
but sadly there's no spark here.
A nursing home is the back-
drop of the pilot, forcing Jake
and Drew to explore their broken
relationship in the face of Drew's
grandmother who is a resident
there. The former couple dili-
gently avoids telling her about the
breakup, and instead takes mat-
ters to the other extreme.
The community service angle
allows the location of the series to
be forever undetermined, adding
fresh scenery to every episode.
However, this ever-changing set-
ting makes it impossible to cre-
ate a solid secondary cast beyond
the core group of community
servants. If we're likening it to
"Arrested Development," this
means that there is no Gene Par-
mesan, no Ann Veal and no Steve
Holt. What makes a lot of com-
edies stand out is the strength of
the supporting cast - often they
are the true cult clinchers.
Without this important group,
"Bad Samaritans" must rely sole-
ly on the talents of the core group,
and mainly Drew and Jake. Jake
is the typical underachieving
boyfriend while Drew is the
uptight borderline bitch who
has had enough in the relation-
ship; there's nothing new here.
The characters are bland, and
their close proximity and banter-
ing will undoubtedly bring them
back together by series' end. Bo-
ring.
The main problem with "Bad
Samaritans" is that it's just not
funny. The jokes are flat, the
characters are dull and the act-
ing is extremely forced. The lack
of advertising and low produc-
tion value makes it almost certain
that Netflix wasn't channeling
much money into this project,
and it shows. You don't necessar-
ily need A-list actors like Kevin
Spacey a la "House of Cards,"
but you do need quality writing,
directing and producing - all of
which "Bad Samaritans" lacks.
While the premise is a fresh
take on the sub-genre of group
comedies, "Bad Samaritans"
lacks the comedic element nec-
essary for success. A series like
this with a lot of potential would
be better served with more crisp
writing, and realized and distinct
characters.
Netflix has shown that it has
the ability to create and develop
meaningful and exciting drama
series. If only it would put the
same energy and effort into
everything that they produce.
0
NBC
Jay's suit seems to fit pretty well.
ooking forward to
'onigh'withJi*mmy
By ALEC STERN press release highlighted Leno's
Daily Arts Writer 22 successful years as host of the
iconic late-night talk show. (Iguess
Well, NBC has done it again. it's better if we all just forget about
In 2014, Jay Leno will officially Conan O'Brien's brief stint as host
step down as host of "The Tonight in 2009, while Leno was headlin-
Show"... for the second time. ing his own show on primetime.)
Via press release on April 3, Over the past few weeks, there
NBC confirmed what had been the has been a lot of speculation over
worst kept secret of the year: "Late what "The Tonight Show with
Night"host Jimmy Fallonwillsuc- Jimmy Fallon" will be like and
ceed Jay Leno after the conclusion what will happen with the rest of
of the 2014 Winter Olympics. The NBC's late-night line-up. While
the move is still several months
away, it's confirmed that "The
Tonight Show" will be moving
back to New York, where Johnny
Carson hosted the program for
the first 10 years of his 30-year
tenure. The Roots' lead MC, Black
Thought, also confirmed that the
group, which has been the house
band for all five seasons of "Late
Night with Jimmy Fallon," will be
making the move to 11:35 p.m. as
well.
Fallon's promotion leaves
an empty seat on "Late Night,"
and in the past few months, two
names have floated as possible
replacements: Seth Meyers and
Alec Baldwin. Both would make
sense, having strong ties to Lorne
Michaels, the executive producer of
"Late Night" and creator of "SNL,"
where Meyers has served as head
writer since 2006. He was also an
executive producer on "30 Rock,"
where Baldwin spent seven seasons
playing Jack Donaghy.
Call: #734-418-4115
Email: dailydisplay@gmail.com
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But who will
replace Fallon?
RELEASE DATE- Monday, April 15,2013
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ACROSS DOWN
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30AttentionfromOr.28 Gary Larson's
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36 'Big tourist draw 34"The Raven"
41 Movie trailer, e.g. petR
42Sun, in Spain p
43 Seashocker 1 2 3 4a
44 Hieroglyphic 13
snakes 1
47 Lovers' spat, say 165 i
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spanning work 19
stoppage
55 Right-angle piece 22
56 Pamplona 25
runner
57 Professor's 2 2 29
security z
59 Simon Says 373
relative, and a T
hintlto what
35 NBC sketch 49 Big operatic
show ending
37 Yemen neighbor 50 Mowing
38 Met, as a difficult flower
challenge 51 DeGeneres's
39 Decays sitcom
40 Somewhat 52 Actress Lindsay
45 Like political 53 Praise
hawks 54 Straight up
46 "Hell mother 005Young newts
pople" French 09 Greek Cupid
dramatist 60 Golfer Trevino
48 At no charge 61 Self-importance
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
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Baldwin's name originally came
into the late night discussion as a
possible replacement for Carson
Daly, whose 1:35 a.m. "Last Call"
has very quietly made it 12 sea-
sons on the network. However,
this proved only to be specula-
tion when "Last Call with Carson
Daly" was renewed for a 13th sea-
son on April 10.
Similar to 2009, Jay Leno didn't
exactly step down from "The
Tonight Show" as much as he was
forced out. Strange, considering
"The Tonight Showwith JayLeno"
continues to be the most-watched
program in late-night. However,
like most television shows, it's not
about how many people watch -
it's about how many young people
watch.
In that regard, neither Leno or
his broadcast rivals, David Let-
terman and Jimmy Kimmel, are
winning the ratings race. During
the first quarter of 2013, in the key
18-49 demographic, Comedy Cen-
tral emerged as the big winner:
"The Daily Show with Jon Stew-
art" and "The Colbert Report"
were the No. 1 and No. 2 shows,
respectively.While Stewart has the
advantage of airing30minutes ear-
lier - in direct competition with
only "Conan" and "Chelsea Lately"
- Colbert goes head-to-head with
Leno, Letterman and Kimmel.
Though Leno was a strong No. 3
on the list, with only 60,000 view-
ers separating him and Colbert,
NBC has been grooming Fallon as
his replacement for some time now.
Fallon is NBC's investment for the
future, and with "Jimmy Kimmel
Live" now airing an hour earlier,
it's time Fallon makes the move as
well.
At only 62 years old, there's
no telling what Leno's next move
could be. He has a very loyal fan
base andcould easily set up at a dif-
ferent network - rumor has it he's
been fielding offers from many. But
NBC seems ready for a change,
and with the potential lineup of
Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers,
they could end up with the fresh-
est and funniest duo inlate night.
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04/15/13