Comments on: Updated! Premiere Week 2011: NBC

By: Kyra Hunting

Kyra Hunting — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 04:11:37 +0000

Great points, Jonathan. While I agree that The Event was certainly not an innovative program but our rhetoric as a website introducing NBC last season was one of risk taking and innovation. I don’t think the reality of last years shows bore that hope out but I think the risk management strategies this year are also very visible.

By: Eleanor Seitz

Eleanor Seitz — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 17:18:51 +0000

I think that the show’s formal elements (either intentionally or unintentionally) are kind of working to make Azaria’s character the main character, whom we feel for the most. He is the center of most of the workplace scenes, and in general seems to be richer. I left the pilot liking him more as well, and considering him the more sympathetic character – although this is most likely biased by my years of Azaria fandom.

By: Jonathan Gray

Jonathan Gray — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 21:00:50 +0000

Not sure I agree, though, that NBC is playing it safer this year than last. The Event was such an obvious attempt to mix 24, Lost, The 4400, and so forth into a horrible science experiment hybrid that I'd actually credit Up All Night with being more starkly innovative and bold, as much as I had issues with it. As for Free Agents, I enjoyed it. I think it could be better, and hope it'll get there, but both leads were thoroughly watchable, Anthony Head was fun, as were the other supporting cast, and it had a pace and punchyness that UAN lacked. Azaria deserves his own show, and anyone who saw Huff when he captained that has probably seen what tremendous range he has -- it ain't all Bartender Moe. But not only do I want him to succeed: I found myself wanting his character to succeed.