Falling into a new season
Louise Tripp
Issue date: 9/10/02 Section: Frontline
- Page 1 of 4 next >
|
Fox has the longest new line-up, but whether any of the shows have staying power remains to be seen.
Premiering January 2003 as a midseason show, "Oliver Beene" is a man's look back at his 1962 merge into adolescence and his quirky family. Essentially, it's "Malcolm In The Middle" meets "The Wonder Years."
Yet another Fox sitcom, "The Grubbs" shows similarities with "Malcolm…" —Randy Quaid and Carol Kane co-star as the eccentric parental units to average underdog Mitch Grubb. "The Grubbs" premieres Nov. 3.
Fox is also launching two variety shows. "Cedric The Entertainer" (Sept. 18) features comedian Cedric and a colorful crew of actors preforming comedy skits a la "Mad TV" and "In Living Color." "30 Seconds to Fame," in contrast, is more of a talent contest with two rounds— the last narrowing contestants down to three and allowing only one to win $25,000.
"Meet The Marks" promises to at least be a more unusual sitcom to say the least. Though it's scripted, a twist of surprise is added when a member of the outside world, the "mark," is called on to become a guest star without knowledge that they're on TV. Each half hour will consist of two stories and the show's premiere is slated for January, though the official date has yet to be released.
Finally, Fox attempts to show its stuff with four new dramas. "Girl's Club" (Oct. 21) is Ally McBeal times three, with a trio of female lawyers invading a male-dominated firm and working to make a name for themselves.
"Firefly" (Sept. 20), from the producers of "Buffy The Vampire Slayer," is a futuristic sci-fi drama taking place during a universe-wide civil war. The main focus is the crew of a transport ship, Serenity, their relationships in close quarters and their work to survive.
The focal point of "John Doe" (Sept. 20) is a man in Seattle who helps the police force due to his unbelievable knowledge of virtually everything, except of course his name or where he came from.
"Fastlane" (Sept. 18) looks as if it could be carbon-copy of past crime dramas, this one basically centering on the same thing: two L.os Angelos cops and their tough female boss. (Tiffani Theissen is of "90210" and "Saved By The Bell" fame, who has apparently dropped the "Amber" in order to…be more tough?) The two cops, Bill Bellamy and Peter Facinelli (Can't Hardly Wait) have to constantly choose between being cops and a criminal lifestyle.