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Arts
Friday, January 15, 2016 — 5
‘Angel from Hell’ is
no divine comedy
By SAM ROSENBERG
Daily Arts Writer
If it weren’t for its supernatu-
ral hook, “Angel from Hell” might
have been just another bland,
“opposites
attract” comedy
used to fill up an
empty time slot
on CBS’s lineup.
But because the
show
features
the incompara-
ble Jane Lynch
(“Glee”) as its
driving
force,
that should be
enough to make
“Angel
from
Hell” worth the watch.
Lynch
plays
the
show’s
eponymous
protagonist,
an
eccentric, high-functioning alco-
holic named Amy, who seeks to
guide Allison (Maggie Lawson,
“Psych”), an uptight, perpetually
distressed dermatologist in Bev-
erly Hills. Their first encounter
is purely accidental, or so it may
seem: Amy bumps into Allison
and her unemployed boyfriend
Evan
(David
Denman,
“The
Gift”) at a farmer’s market, then
again in a coffee shop with Alli-
son’s childish brother Brad (Kyle
Bornheimer, “The D Train”).
The
coincidences
eventually
confuse Allison, which leads to
Amy revealing herself as Alli-
son’s guardian angel. Similar to
Lynch’s previous TV role as the
skillfully sarcastic Sue Sylves-
ter on “Glee,” Amy comes with
a dark sense of humor, but she
still manages to be likeable. She’s
there to help and defend Allison,
not to ruin her life, even if she
tends to be a little overbearing
and intrusive.
Amy comes at a moment in
Allison’s life that will lead her
down a dangerous path. She
tells the blithely unaware Alli-
son that Evan is sleeping with
her best friend Jill (Liza Lapira,
“Battle Creek”). At first, Alli-
son catches them eating dinner
together, but learns that they
were planning a montage for
her and Evan’s housewarming
party to celebrate all of Allison’s
“big moments.” It seems like an
honest mistake, until come time
for the party Allison finds Jill’s
clover charm in Evan’s office,
leading to Jill’s admitting to her
affair with Evan.
Most, if not all the characters
in “Angel from Hell” have certain
clichéd traits, and the stilted act-
ing doesn’t help either. Though
Lawson does show some poten-
tial, her portrayal of Allison isn’t
captivating enough to ignore how
trite her character is. Comedian
Kevin Pollack (“Mom”), who usu-
ally succeeds in both comedic
and dramatic roles, is underused
as Allison’s father Marv. Fortu-
nately, Lynch performs admirably
in an offbeat performance that
keeps “Angel from Hell” from
going off the rails. The writing
in the pilot episode isn’t terrible,
but it isn’t off-the-walls fantas-
tic either. In fact, many of the
jokes in the show’s pilot episode
are very plain, dry and unfunny,
except when they come out of
Lynch’s mouth. Her naturally
snarky delivery and charismatic
appeal make the most cringewor-
thy scenes seem enjoyable and the
more sentimental moments seem
genuinely poignant.
One of the most enchanting
moments in “Angel From Hell”’s
pilot episode actually comes at the
very end. Scrolling through the
montage of “big moments” Evan
and Jill made, Allison notices
Amy in the background of one
particular childhood photo. As
Allison becomes fascinated and
perplexed, the scene fades to the
montage’s background song: Band
of Horses’s excellent “The Funer-
al.” While the scene is rather short
and not necessarily crucial, it still
provides some gravitas for an oth-
erwise mediocre first episode.
Though “Angel from Hell” will
probably continue to use Lynch
as the source of comedy and
drama, she shouldn’t be the only
one carrying the show’s weight.
The lackluster jokes, unfocused
plot and weak premise have yet to
unravel into something absorb-
ing. Unless Lynch can somehow
single-handedly
save
“Angel
from Hell” from going off the
deep end, the show is destined to
remain a half-hour of uninterest-
ing, dull gags.
C
Angel
from Hell
Series Premiere
Thursdays at
9:30 p.m.
CBS
TV REVIEW
J-Lo’s complex ‘Blue’
By SHIR AVINADAV
Daily Arts Writer
From the get-go, it’s clear
that NBC’s new series “Shades
of Blue” isn’t another cookie-
cutter
crime
drama.
Jen-
nifer
Lopez
(“The
Boy
Next
Door”),
and her new
choppy
bob,
plays
Harlee
Santos,
the
no-nonsense
cop operating
in a morally
ambiguous
Brooklyn pre-
cinct. The thrilling series pre-
miere introduces Santos and
her team of tight-knit cops who
play by their own rules. Lt. Matt
Wozniak (Ray Liotta, “Good-
fellas”) and his band of corrupt
officers break the mold of the
traditional crime drama narra-
tive by walking the thin line of
moral conduct to benefit them-
selves while maintaining a tight
grip over their neighborhood’s
inept criminals.
In
this
fresh,
fast-paced
crime thriller, Lopez adeptly
plays both the emotionally vul-
nerable single mother and the
tough cop. Santos struggles to
judge whether the ends are jus-
tified by her and her task force’s
unconventional means. Though
Lopez stands out as the star of
the series, it’s about her rela-
tionship with her colleagues
and the impenetrability of their
ties to one another just as much
as it is about her grapple with
morality and providing for her
daughter. She isn’t just a resil-
ient policewoman committed to
her job. She’s a tenacious crime
fighter whose loyalty to her team
binds her and her daughter Cris-
tina (Sarah Jeffery, “Descen-
dants”) to them like a family.
This weight is felt in every line
she speaks and every action she
takes. As she says to Michael
(Dayo Okeniyi, “The Hunger
Games”), the rookie under her
supervision whose grave mis-
take is covered up by Wozniak,
“All he (Wozniak) expects in
return is loyalty.”
Rather than a handful of good
cops who take down hardened
criminals one by one in a tradi-
tional obstacle ridden, emotional-
ly transparent plot structure, we
are provided with a team whose
loyalty to one another makes
them impervious to the conse-
quences of their abuse of power.
Though their intentions are good,
it is unclear whether their meth-
ods of maintaining order ben-
efit them more then the citizens
they are supposed to protect.
Under their corrupt system, they
methodically accept bribes from
commonplace drug dealers in
exchange for freedom to continue
operating under the unit’s rules.
In a time when corruption is
rampant and police conduct is
under intense scrutiny, the show
draws attention to the morally
gray area in which authorities
justify their actions in the name
of protecting law and order (and
themselves). Rather than another
crime series centered on justice-
upholding
straight-shooters,
“Shades of Blue” critically con-
siders what motivates how police
forces carry out their duties and
how their relationships both in
and out of the precinct influence
their actions. This added element
to the standard crime drama pro-
vides a host of possibilities for
both plot and character develop-
ment, but sorely lacks the satisfac-
tion derived from seeing the chase
that leads to bad guys getting put
behind bars.
Despite the lack of actual crime
solving, the first episode creates
suspense as Santos is faced with a
chain of difficult decisions both in
her job and personal life. Between
her relationship with her daugh-
ter Cristina, her mentorship of
Michael and her bond with col-
leagues, Santos exhibits an emo-
tional range that adds depth to
her character and makes it clear
Lopez was the perfect fit for her
role. In this series, the “American
Idol” judge and pop diva sheds
her playful charm and takes on a
more serious role, bringing for-
ward uncompromising sincerity
and a tough attitude.
Lopez’s compelling character
and performance coupled with a
topical look at how police forces
should operate under complex
circumstances, places “Shades of
Blue” among the top shows pre-
miering on NBC this season. An
update to the crime drama has
been long overdue, and while it
is uncertain how the various ele-
ments of “Shades of Blue” will
play out in its forthcoming epi-
sodes, there is plenty of incen-
tive to continue watching.
B+
Shades
of Blue
Series Premiere
Thursdays
at 9 p.m.
NBC
ABC
30 seconds ago he was a cat.
TV REVIEW
Difficult ‘Crime’
Second season
tackles athletics
and sexual assault
By ALEX INTNER
Daily Arts Writer
I’ve been playing with a con-
cept for a while called “eat your
vegetables
television.”
This
phrase
repre-
sents TV that’s
difficult
to
enjoyably watch
but
remains
necessary
viewing either
because of its
cultural
value
or importance
to the pop cul-
ture landscape.
One
example
of
“eat
your
vegetables TV”
is the first season of the HBO
drama “The Leftovers,” which,
while great, was slow in its pac-
ing and therefore somewhat of
a chore to watch. Going into the
second season premiere, I was
fully prepared to give “American
Crime” a similar review based
on what I saw of the first season,
but my opinion changed when I
pressed play. “American Crime”
is deliberately tense, making sure
the viewer is unsettled at every
point possible in the episode. It’s
incredibly tough to watch, but
there are few better shows on
network television.
The second season of “Ameri-
can Crime” follows a differ-
ent story from the first season,
one which is all too familiar if
you’ve read the sports pages
recently. In the first episode,
Taylor Blaine (Connor Jessup,
“Falling Skies”), a scholarship
student at a prestigious private
school in Indiana, finds himself
expelled from school after pic-
tures of him looking drunk were
taken at a basketball team party.
When his mom Anne (Lili Taylor,
“The Conjuring”) confronts him
about it, he tells her members of
the team drugged and sexually
assaulted him at the party. After
Anne brings the accusation to
the school’s headmistress (Felic-
ity Huffman, “Desperate House-
wives”), she and the basketball
coach (Timothy Hutton, “Lever-
age”) have to deal with the impli-
cations of the accusation.
The story resonates particu-
larly in the context of the accu-
sations brought forth against
athletes such as Jameis Winston
and Greg Hardy, both currently
playing in the NFL. The first epi-
sode takes a substantial amount of
time to establish how important
basketball is to this school and the
people in its community. This pro-
gram is as important to the school
as football is to Florida State Uni-
versity (Winston’s alma mater).
Touching on the accusation and
the school’s lacking response, the
hour suggests a future indictment
against this type of sports culture,
which sweeps actions like rape
under the rug.
“American Crime” achieves
a sense of claustrophobia and
discomfort though its direction,
expertly done by creator and
writer John Ridley (who won an
Oscar for his “12 Years a Slave”
screenplay). Every shot appears
to be deliberate, with the cam-
era placement adding to the look
and feel of a scene, especially in
the second half of the episode.
As the situation becomes clear
and word starts to spread, the
scenes are shot in intimate close-
ups. For example, in the scenes
where Anne talks to the head-
mistress, her emotion is strongly
felt because it’s put right in front
of you without anything in the
way. Showcasing the sadness in
this manner, it makes watching
her pain even tougher and more
gut-wrenching.
“American Crime” also has a
huge ensemble whose perfor-
mances brings additional gravi-
tas. Hutton and Hoffman were
nominated for Emmys for their
performances in season one,
and they do a good job as they’re
asked to make you care about
two new and highly unsympa-
thetic characters (they’re failing
to investigate a rape, after all).
Who I’m most impressed by is
Jessup, who didn’t show much
range or ability at all on “Falling
Skies” and actually seems genu-
ine in his emotional turmoil as a
rape survivior.
Yes, “American Crime” is not
the easiest show, but if you’re not
watching it, you really should
be. No other series on the major
networks is tackling a storyline
about the intersection of crime
and athletics with this much
intelligence and gravity, and very
few are this well put together by
their cast and crew.
A
American
Crime
Season 2
Premiere
Wednesdays
at 10 p.m.
ABC
TV REVIEW
Manipulating ‘Fields’
By SOPHIA KAUFMAN
Daily Arts Writer
Humans enjoy the macabre.
Our voyeuristic interest can
be piqued by films or televi-
sion
shows,
but when the
stories being
related to us
are preceded
by the disclo-
sure that what
we’re
about
to
watch
is
based
on
a
true story, our
level of fasci-
nation jumps
upwards.
“Killing Fields,” Discovery’s
new true-crime documentary
series shot in real time, relies
on this natural morbid curios-
ity. The pilot, “A Body in the
Bayou” (a title strangely remi-
niscent of “Bones”) opens with
beautiful shots of the Louisiana
bayous. The camera then cuts
to a man wearing a wifebeater,
only partially lit, explaining
that people talk about beauti-
ful the scenic land is, but they
don’t know “it’s nothin’ but kil-
lin’ fields.”
The show follows this man,
Detective Rodie Sanchez, as
he comes out of retirement to
work a cold case he hasn’t been
able to put to rest in his mind:
the unsolved homicide of young
Eugenie Boisfontaine, whose
body was found three months
after
her
disappearance
in
1997 in Iberville Parish, LA.
Throughout the episode, more
evidence comes to light, like
indications of blunt force trau-
ma to the head and rape. The
episode ends with the startling
and grim reveal that the DNA
found on Boisfontaine’s under-
clothes comes from two or pos-
sibly three different males.
Sanchez teams up with a
younger
detective,
Aubrey
St. Angelo, to work the case.
While the two seem to work
well together, bringing differ-
ent perspectives to the case, the
show emphasizes the old cop/
young cop dichotomy more than
is needed — it’s already obvious.
This slightly forced dynamic
culminates in a conversation
that sounds straight out of a
campy ’80s detective movie.
As they’re sitting in a car wait-
ing for someone, Sanchez, after
posing personal questions that
Det. Angelo deflects, says, “You
don’t wanna make conversation
with me? You act like I’m your
wife, or your girlfriend or some-
thing, you know, like we out on
a date — ” before Angelo cuts
him off, having seen the person
for whom they’re waiting.
Some aspects of “Killing
Fields” feel jarringly staged,
even though it doesn’t exploit
the victim’s story or her fam-
ily’s pain. Sanchez’s gravelly
voiceover generally works, but
though his sentiments read
realistically, some of his lines
sound contrived, like “The
cases you don’t solve will haunt
you until the day you die,” and
“I think the killer’s still out
there.” This is partially due to
the dramatic drumbeats that
accompany almost every single
minute; meant to emphasize
dramatic reveals or discoveries,
the score only works against
the veracity of the moment.
The people in the show are
always uncomfortably aware
of the camera, especially when
they’re trying their hardest not
to be — like a scene in which
the detectives’ silhouettes are
outlined by the light of a fire,
crackling in slow motion, or
the scene where they go to talk
to the woman who originally
found Boisfontaine’s body —
the framing of which feels like
it could have been lifted out of
“Law and Order: SVU.”
“Killing Fields” relies on
our curiosity about true hor-
ror stories, but it also attempts
to escalate the tension through
these kinds of transparent and
unnecessary stylistic choices.
The true story of the show — an
unsolved murder, a killer pos-
sibly still on the loose and the
dark irony of beautiful land
shrouding the bodies of people
who met untimely deaths —
is intriguing, depressing and
haunting. But this televised
account of it? Not so much.
C+
Killing
Fields
Series Premiere
Tuesdays at
10 p.m.
Discovery
CBS
“Remember when I won an Emmy for ‘Glee?’ “
TV REVIEW