Trailer Wars 2013

I unabashedly adore trailers. A good trailer that gives you goosebumps, makes you giggle uncontrollably, or brings on a surge of overpowering emotion is like crack (ugh...I feel like Rob Ford has ruined crack jokes forever...). Good trailers don't always turn into great movies or shows (I'm looking at you Tristan and Isolde!) but it's still fun to judge them on their own merits. 

I'm always really excited when the trailers for a new TV season are released at the Upfronts. I've read about all the new series and I'm dying for a first taste. There are always a few highly anticipated concepts that I'm really disappointed in and some unexpected gems that peak my interest. The trailers for the 2013-2014 Network TV have been out for a couple of weeks now and I've had to time to watch and re-watch, roll my eyes in disgust, and whoop with delight. 

Here are my picks Top Trailers of the year. The CW was basically disqualified because they released 30 second spots and 'scenes'. Those are not trailers and they suck.

Only time will tell whether these shows will live up to the standard their trailers have set. 

1. Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D (ABC)

I'll be honest - this number 1 spot was pretty much a given. The Marvel Universe on TV with Joss Whedon at the helm??? Unless this trailer featured narration by Fran Drescher and a soundtrack by Nickelback I was destined to love it! But it really is a kick-ass spot in its own right. It's action packed with gravitas and stakes, peppered with classic Whedonverse humour at precisely the right moments. "Don't touch Lola". It pays homage to the bigger properties that spawned it - with quick shots of Thor's hammer and Captain America's shield - but focuses on building its own universe. It also does a pretty good job of introducing new characters without resorting to dry bio-pack information.

2. Surviving Jack (FOX)

This show was not on my radar at all. It was created by Justin Halpen, inspired by his 2012 book I Suck at Girls. This is the same guy who brought us Sh*t my Dad Says so you can see why I wasn't expecting much. But surprisingly this trailer is hysterical. First of all it manages to make the early 90s (a sort of weird transitional period between the polka dot insanity of the 80's and completely schizophrenic goth/boyband/punk late 90s) feel like a unique time period. Which is kind of cool! Secondly ALL of the characters seem funny and three-dimensional. Usually there's at least one cliche character in a comedy trailer who makes you to cringe. But most importantly, Christopher Meloni comes across like a superstar. He plays the hard-ass, man's man, secretly loveable Dad role perfectly. He's everything one-note Shatner was not. I'm crushed this is a mid-season series because this trailer really made me want more NOW.

3. Once Upon a Time in Wonderland (ABC) 

I was prepared to roll my eyes at this  trailer because I hated the idea of a Once Upon A Time Spin-off. It seemed like a bad move. But I quickly got swept up in the epic melodrama and romance of this concept. Other than the title there is no real reference to Once Upon A Time - which is is great! It felt like I was stepping into an entirely new world; a beautiful universe that could exist entirely on its own. The characters demanded attention - Alice is a captivating child-like waif you just want to hug and the Genie had me swooning immediately. It's no easy task to hook your audience on a love story in under 4 minutes, but I'm already invested. The incredible music choice definitely helped. That score just screamed DRAMA, HEARTBREAK, FANTASY.

4. Rake (Fox)

This Fox series seems like an incredibly ambitious show. There are a hell of a lot of plot threads in a trailer for a single episode of a series. But that's what intrigues me so much. This show will obviously have procedural elements because the main character is a lawyer who seems to be tackling new cases all the time. But it's also rich in serialized character drama; he's in love with a prostitute, he's a gambling addict, he has a crazy stalker. This trailer is one big, crazy complex mess that really, really works. It's funny, it's poignant, and it makes you think. And they did a great job of highlighting the punchy, intelligent dialogue. 

5. Hostages (CBS)

What? A CBS Series??? Yeah...I'm as surprised as you are but this one really hooked me. It told a really great story from start to finish. I understood exactly what was happening to the characters and why (which sounds like a given, but unfortunately a lot of trailers fail at that) The stakes for the series were clearly set up and they are damn high! Obviously there's a fantastic cast with Dylan McDermmott, Toni Collette and Tate Donovan. And I really loved how the trailer highlighted the duality of all the characters with supers that outlined their conflicting personas. "FBI agent...Terrorist. Husband...cheater. Advisor...Conspirator". I'm skeptical that a high concept show like this has enough legs to become a long running series but that's not the trailer's problem! It did its job very well.

Hot Docs 2013: The Manor

The Manor was a personal film, directed by and staring Shawney Cohen, who was  conflicted about his unusual family business. Since the late 70s when Shawney was 6 years old, the Cohen family has owned and operated a sleazy strip club in Guelph, Ontario. In many ways The Manor has been good to the Cohens, providing them with jobs and bringing them wealth and comfort. But is it also a poison that has spread throughout the family? Shawney’s overbearing 400lb father, who runs the club, is struggling with an overeating complex that even gastric bypass surgery can’t cure. His 85lb mother is a lonely wisp of a women who lives on laxatives. And his brother is a douchebag in training who practically lives at The Manor, romancing strippers and zooming around in luxury cars.  And Shawney is just…confused….does he hate the club? does he want to be with his family? what is he doing with his life?

It was a very interesting film, that provided an intimate, no holds barred insight into how a fractured family relates to each other. We watched all of the Cohens struggle with deeply ingrained issues that consumed their lives and chipped away at their relationships. And they were all fascinating personalities – no weak characters in the bunch. But when the film was over I was left thinking...”and”? And what does this family say about our world? Has anyone learned anything or changed their lives? Do I care?

I don’t need all of my stories to be tied up in a pretty bow, but I need to feel like they are trying to make a point. I didn’t get that with The Manor. At the end of the film everyone was in exactly the same place they were when it started. There was no hope or despair…it was just status quo. And although the strip club setting allowed for some hysterical and disturbing moments, I wanted Shawney to draw a stronger connection between The Manor and his family’s problems. It felt a little disjointed.

Hot Docs 2013: Downloaded

Downloaded , a film by Alex Winter, charted the rise and fall of Napster in the late 1990s/Early 2000s. We all know the story – in 1998 Shawn Fanning an 18-year-old internet fan dropped out of college to create a file sharing system that would allow fans to exchange their favourite songs on an unprecedented scale. He teamed up with another teen, Sean Parker, who managed handled the business affairs, and Napster was born. It was a massively popular, attracting over 20 million users, mostly teenagers. But the recording industry panicked over piracy, artists like Metallica and Dr. Dre lost their sh*t, and everyone sued the hell of them. By 2002 Napster had lost their legal battles, declared bankruptcy and users had moved on to Kaaza, Limewire and later Torrents.

This film was a strangely nostalgic experience for me, like revisiting my late teen years high through the lens of this revolutionary music service. I was around the same age Shawn Fanning was when he created Napster and I was a HUGE music fan at the time. I used to collect CDs like they were going out of style…which I guess they were! When I discovered Napster it was incredible. I could pull up obscure pop songs I hadn’t heard in years. Instead of waiting by the radio for hours to hear a brand new single I could simply download it and play it over and over until the album came out. At the time it didn’t stop me from purchasing music, it only fueled my CD obsession because I had easy access to different artists and I could sample before buying. It was like having an HMV listening booth in my bedroom. Or more accurately, my parent’s bedroom since they possessed the sole household computer back in those days.

Looking back at it now, it’s crazy to realize that Napster was only a huge cultural phenomenon for 2 years. These days I blink and 2 years just disappear. But as a teenager, 2 years felt like a lifetime.

There’s been a lot of debate about whether Napster fostered a new generation of kids who believe they have the right to free music. And they definitely sparked that desire. Before Napster it was a given that if you wanted any type of media you had to pay for it. They showed us it was possible to get media for free. From there we had to decide for ourselves what we were willing to pay for and how much we were willing to pay for it.

But I think more importantly, Napster created our current culture of immediate media gratification. There’s no waiting to hit up the record store, bookstore or video store anymore. If you hear a song you like, or want to check out a new TV show, it’s one click away. If I can’t find something immediately that I’ve randomly decided I must have, I huff and puff and whine. I’m used to having the entire wide world of media at my fingertips and it’s unacceptable to me that it should be any other way. Napster created that expectation. Others have nurtured it and expanded upon it, but they were the first to show us it was possible. I think THAT is their true legacy.

Downloaded did a great job of not only telling the Napster story, but also revealing the people behind it and how the chaos affected their lives. After Aaron Sorkin’s depiction of Sean Parker in The Social Network, it’s hard for me to see him as anything but a douchebag, but Shawn Fanning was a fascinating character. He had a truly utopian vision for an internet in which file sharing connected people around the globe. And he never anticipated the backlash or how out of control everything would get.

 I loved one of the later scenes in the film where Shawn Fanning and one of his former Napster business guys were being interviewed…and the business guy started calculating just how much money Napster had managed to raise and loose during their battle with the recording industry. He estimated that they were about $500 million dollars in the hole when they finally declared bankruptcy. As he continued talking, the audio faded out and the camera focused in on Sean Fanning’s face as he reacted to the $500 million figure. He was staring off into space with all of these complex emotions playing on his face. It was like horror mixed with utter disbelief…and exhaustion. Years later, the realization of what a monster Napster became still hits him.

The Following: Serial Killer Shocker

The Following was definitely one of the most talked about pilots of the 2012-2013...and the fact that it was held back until mid-season only increased the anticipation. I probably could have got my hands on a copy before it aired, but I was itching for a pure TV experience and I waited until it officially debuted.

SPOILER ALERT!

The series is centered on former FBI agent, Ryan Hardy (Kevin Bacon), who is drawn back into the bureau when a serial killer he arrested stages a horrifically violent prison escape. Joe Carroll (James Purefoy), an extremely intelligent and dangerous literary professor slaughtered 14 women on a college campus before he was finally imprisoned in 2004. Obsessed with the work of Edgar Allen Poe, Carroll fancies himself a death artist - a visionary who 'experiences' art. He cut out the eyes of his victims, turning them into a grotesque work of art. His final victim Sarah Fuller (nice to see Maggie Grace again!) escaped with a stab wound and her eyes in tact when Hardy shot Carroll and saved her (taking a knife to the heart in the process). 

In the pilot, Carroll is on the loose and Hardy is back on the case as a consultant. The years haven't exactly been kind to Hardy and he's become a lonely drunk with a pacemaker, who has never shaken the Carroll case. Hardy is convinced that Carroll will come after Sarah Fuller again. He needs to finish what he started. While she is under 24-hour protection Hardy and the FBI make a horrifying discovery. Through the power of the Internet Carroll has attracted a gaggle of groupies and wannabes: followers who are hanging on his every word. He convinces one young woman to disrobe in the middle of a makeshift FBI office and stab herself in the eye with an ice pick. He turns another creepy prison guard into a murderous protégé who helps him bust out of prison. 

Sidenote: Are ice picks ever used for anything but murder? People are always getting stabbed with ice picks in TV and movies. But when's the last time somebody actually picked at ice with one? 

The pilot comes to a morbid end when Sarah Fuller is abducted by her gay neighbours who were working undercover for Caroll for over 3 years -  watching over her until Caroll was able to complete his masterpiece. Hardy is too late to save Sarah this time and she meets an excruciating end. Caroll is willingly recaptured and sent back to prison, but his reign of terror is far from over. There are over 300 active serial killers at any one time in the U.S. and Carroll has recruited and trained a large chunk of them. Now he will sit back and gloat as they carry out his orders and commit their own heinous crimes. 

Yes this is cop show and there will more than likely be weekly murders/cases that need to be solved. But the tone is very different than a CSI or a Law and Order. This show is SCARY - like horror film freaky. It's a shadowy figure, knife in the dark, 'look out behind you!' terror fest. I guess shouldn't come as a surprise since Kevin Williamson wrote and directed the pilot. It's just been a long time since a TV series made me want to leave the lights on and hide under the covers at night! 

Kevin Bacon is perfectly cast in the role of Ryan Hardy. He's always had a haggard, run-down appearance and it's easy to believe him as a broken lawman. But it's James Purefoy who really mesmerizes in the role of Joe Carroll. In the flashback scenes, as a psychopath blending into society, he's utterly charming and likeable. But when he stares down Hardy in an interrogation room, his face transforms. He becomes twisted and menacing, with a smirk that chills to the bone. This is an intelligent, dangerous villain worth investing in. And what's fascinating is that he only had a short sojourn outside prison. It appears that he will be behind bars for the foreseeable future. I'm fascinated to see how the show is able to develop his character in a static location. It's a challenge for any actor to bring a strong enough presence to sell that, but I think Purefoy can pull it off. 

There are lots of interesting sub plots and side relationships to play with here. Somehow Hardy became involved with Carroll’s wife during the arrest and trial. I’m dying to find out more about how their affair developed. I would really love to delve into her psyche as well. How horrifying to discover that the husband you love, the father of your new baby, takes pleasure in cutting up young women! How is this woman coping? 

There’s some great tension between Hardy and the current FBI agents. He was called in as a consultant because nobody knows Carroll like he does, but he’s been off the job for years. Yet he seems to be the only one people will deal with, the only person capable of connecting the dots, and the FBI are forced to let him take the lead. 

One aspect of the series that does irk me slightly is the assumption that there are tons of brilliantly deceptive people in the U.S. who are gullible enough to become Carroll’s puppets. The creepy prison guard who murders puppy for practice is completely plausible, but the fake gay couple who spent years cuddling up to each other and playing best friend to their neighbor just so they could abduct her at precisely the right time? Hmmm. And the perky, warm babysitter who managed to fool everybody and bond with Carroll’s ex-wife and son in a long con to kidnap Carroll’s son for him? It's a stretch. People who are weak minded enough to idolize a serial killer aren’t generally smart enough to pull off these elaborate set-ups. However I’m willing ignore those small issues if the story proves compelling enough. There are far more important issues than plausibility in great storytelling! 

Ratings:

The show had 10.3 million viewer overall and a 3.1 rating in the 18-49 demo (5th overall bested by the CBS comedy line-up and the Bachelor). That’s a really solid start for a Fox series, although they promoted THE HELL out it. 

Healthy Cookie Fun

I love baking a variety of cookies to share with my family at Christmas. But I have a sister who doesn't eat wheat, dairy (except for eggs) or processed sugar...which makes baking a little difficult. Every year I struggle with Gluten Free Vegan recipes from random websites and they always turn out a little wonky. They were either structurally unsound or suffered from unfortunate aftertaste syndrome. Maybe I just need a little more practice, but I'm unmotivated to skip butter when I don't have to. So this year I decided to skip the specialized recipes and focus on adapting already successful cookie. FINALLY the results were predictable and delicious. Here are a few of the yummy treats.

Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups of light spelt flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup coconut oil
1 3/4 cup cane sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp hot chili powder (cayenne powder) - optional

*this adjusted recipe is courtesy of Martha Stewart*

1. Pre-heat the over to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
2. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl
3. Beat coconut oil and 1 1/2 cups of sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy
4. Add eggs and beat to combine
5. With mixer on low, gradually add flour and beat just until combines (don't over mix)
6. In a small bowl combine remaining sugar and cinnamon with the chile powder
7. Form tbsp sized balls of dough and roll them in the sugar mixture
8. Place balls a few inches apart on the cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes
9. Let cool for 4 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

These chocolatey cookies fall somewhere in the middle of chewy and crunchy - let's call them chunchy. They have a nice spicy bite from the chili powder that kicks in a few seconds after you swallow. But be forewarned the spicy/sweet combo may not work for everyone. My mother scrunched up her face after eating one and proclaimed her distaste. But my brother, sister and boyfriend gave them a stamp of approval

Tips:
-I find that coconut oil is the nicest textured and flavoured butter substitute. But other options are vegan 'butter' or shortening.
-Spelt flour is wheat free NOT gluten free. So, while I use spelt and kamut for my sister, if you're baking for someone who is avoiding gluten, try rice flour.

Cranberry Orange Drop Cookies

Ingredients:
2 cups (packed) dried cranberries
1/3 cup orange juice
2 cups light spelt flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup cane sugar
1 large egg
1 tbsp minced peeled fresh ginger
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp grated orange peel
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup unsalted natural pistachios
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cranberries
(....long list of stuff for this one!) 


1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
2. Put dried cranberries in a small bowl, add the orange juice and let them soak for 30 minutes
3. Whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, ground ginger, baking soda and salt in medium bowl
4. Beat coconut oil, honey and cane sugar on medium speed until smooth
5. Add egg, minced ginger, vanilla extract, grated orange peel and beat until well blended (about 2 min)
6. Gradually add the flour mixture
7. Stir in walnuts, pistachios, fresh cranberries and dried cranberries with any juices that have accumulated
8. Drop cookie dough by rounded tbspful onto baking sheet a couple of inches apart.
9. Bake until golden and almost firm to touch in centre - about 18 minutes
10. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to rack

*adjusted recipe courtesy of Epicurious*

Flourless Double Chocolate Pecan Cookies

This third recipe is technically a cheat because it uses a whole whack of confectioners sugar, but it's completely flourless so it's safe for the gluten free folk. I convinced my sister to set aside her processed sugar phobia and give one a try. They are definitely my favourite of the bunch.

Ingredients:
3 cups of confectioners' sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp coarse salt
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
4 large egg whites, room temperature

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
2. Whisk together sugar, cocoa powder and salt in a large bowl
3. Stir in chocolate and pecans
4. Add egg whites and stir just until incorporated (do not over mix)
5. Drop dough by large chunks (anywhere from 2 tbsp to 1/4 a cup) onto the baking sheets
6. Bake for 22-25 minutes - tops will be dry and cracked

*adjusted recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart*

These cooked almost have a meringue like texture on top due to the egg whites, but inside it's cakey goodness. When I first made them I wondered about the coarse salt because you get larger chunks of it in a few bites, but it's actually quite satisfying - like a salted chocolate bar.

Tips
I prefer my chocolate to be a little sweeter so I actually used half semi-sweet and half bitter sweet chocolate

Emily Owens, MD: Hospital High

 Tuesdays at 9pm on The CW (U.S.) and CTV2 (Canada)

Emily Owens MD is a new CW series about the plight of a socially awkward surgical intern. Emily Owens was a teenage outcast, tormented by her peers, suffering from low self-esteem. But she kept her head down, worked her ass off and went to med school, dreaming of the day when she would finally leave the horrors of high school behind.

….and it looks like it’s going to be a looooong wait. In the first episode Emily strides into the hospital for her first day of work, ready to finally fulfill her destiny as a kick-ass confident surgeon. By the end of the day she’s been horrifyingly reunited with her high school bully/new co-worker Cassandra, relegated to the friend zone by her hot best friend/mega-crush Will and belittled and reprimanded by her stone-faced, hot tempered attending. Emily discovers that hospitals are just an extension of high school – with their own version of jocks, stoners, nerds and mean girls. The moral of this story is that you never really grow up. No matter how old you get, you always feel like the insecure freshman. Uplifting isn’t it?

Let’s start with The Good
-At least the CW has finally realized that the slutty Gossip Girl genre is not working for them and they’re moving away from martinis and headbands. Their highest rated shows of the past few years have been supernatural teen dramas, with quirky family friendly dramas like Hart of Dixie showing some promise. In theory, Emily Owens is a smart programming choice. It’s still girly enough to appeal to The CW’s core audience, but as a hospital drama with a slightly older cast it could attract more mature viewers as well. 

- I like Mamie Gumar (otherwise known as Meryl Streep’s daughter) She has sharp, unusual features and slides easily into awkward looking in the right setting. I actually buy her as a recovering ‘loser’ – unlike a lot of female TV nerds who are really just supermodels with quirky personalities.  Her physicality as an actress is great and she really pulls of flustered and spastic.

-The theme of ‘hospital as high school’ has a lot of potential. It’s a universal experience to feel like you’re never really a ‘grown up’. And it’s a terrifying reality that there is no magic point in your life when you become an adult and everything clicks into place. Many of the insecurities we struggle with as teenagers will follow us through the rest of our lives.

And now let’s move on to The Bad:
-The promising theme is poorly realized. It’s too heavy handed and unbelievable.  I buy that hospitals have cliques, backstabbing and flirtations – but that depiction should be subtle and clever. The characters in Emily Owens are way too silly. The writers were shooting for high school and landed on elementary school playground. Doctors in a hospital would not get into a juvenile screaming match about who stole whose stuff nearly a decade ago. They would not allow themselves to be baited into name-calling and face-making by school children. And under no circumstances after someone has performed an incredible procedure on their very first day as an intern, would a fellow doctor yell,“Now I remember why we called you Pits!” in response to damp underarms. Awesome doctor skills trump pit stains – in ANY universe. Yes, human beings are childish, but I’m supposed to believe these people made it through med school?! They have GOT to have to have a little more depth and self control!

-Emily’s voice-overs are badly written and terribly cheesy. She tells herself not to ‘spaz out’ when her crush puts his arm around her shoulders. She warns herself not to mention ‘cheese’ when chatting with a nurse from Wisconsin.  Emily is already so outrageously outwardly awkward that her inner dialogue just feels like overkill. Maybe the writers have been watching too many ‘quirky’ medical dramas (see Grey’s Anatomy and Scrubs) and threw in a voiceover because it’s just what you’re supposed to do. But it wasn’t necessary.

-I want to sympathize with Emily…but I don’t. When she made her giant “I like you” speech to Will, I just wanted to shake her until she shut the hell up. I refuse to believe a grown woman can be as clueless about human behavior as she is.

Will I Watch This Again?
-It’s on right after Hart of Dixie, so it’s easy enough to record a few more episodes, but I certainly won’t be upset if the PVR malfunctions.

Ratings
1.69 million people watched the show and it earned a 0.5 in 18-49. Those aren’t horrible numbers for the CW, but for a premiere episode they would have been hoping for more people. And it’s not a good sign that the 18-49 numbers were lower than Hart of Dixie, which had lower overall numbers.

Nashville: Country Divas

Wednesdays at 10pm on ABC (U.S.) and CTV 2 (Canada)

Nashville is a primetime drama about the complicated world of country music; all sparkles and smiles on the surface...catty and cutthroat underneath. Rayna James (Connie Britton) a 20-year country legend struggles to hang onto her career while poppy young upstart Juliette Barnes (Hayden Panettiere) threatens to snatch her throne with a blinding flash of cleavage and the hypnotic hum of autotune.

This is the story of one town, with two very different faces. And we can see it from the moment we meet both women. Rayna is smart, friendly and genuine, the essence of down home country charm. She greets people warmly, hugs fans, and treats everyone like family. She radiates light when she’s singing on stage. Juliette is rude, abrasive and vapid. She’s concerned about her lipstick, a vogue cover, an appearance on Good Morning America and an upcoming perfume line. Her focus is on everything but singing.

But Rayna’s latest album isn’t flying off the shelves. Her songs aren’t charting because she chooses quality tracks over handpicked hits. Venues for her upcoming concert tour are going to be half empty. In short, she’s not selling because she won’t sell out. Juliette, on the other hand, is a bonafide sensation. Her cheeky crossover songs are burning up the airwaves and not even Rayna’s young daughters can resist her catchy lyrics.

The two country stars do have one thing in common, however - they share the same record label. And the new head of label has come up with an unusual solution for Rayna’s anemic tickets sales. He wants her to piggyback on Juliette’s tour as a co-headliner. But when Rayna asks the obvious question, “who goes on first?”…it’s awkward silence all around. Unfortunately it isn’t a request. If Rayna doesn’t agree to open for Juliette, the label will stop promoting her album. She has only a few days to make a tough choice between her career and her dignity. After a lot of soul searching, she’s subjected to a humiliating meeting with the record execs where they demand a decision. She tells him they can 'kiss her decision as it’s walking out the door'

Nashville is about the struggles of getting older in a business dominated by youth, the pressures of staying current when something new and shiny comes along, and the ongoing clash between the authentic and the fabricated. And it is AMAZING! I completely adored the pilot. It was fun, sexy and juicy enough to stock a 24-hour smoothie bar, but it was also clever and subtle at the same time. There’s a lot of unexplored depth to all to the characters, even the minor ones. Nothing felt superfluous or inconsequential. It’s a rich vibrant tapestry and everyone has a valuable part to play.

While Rayna is presented as the likeable heroine, she’s not a guiltless saint. She has a tense relationship with her husband Teddy, who crashed and burned in the financial sector. We don’t have a lot of details about their marriage yet, but Teddy throws out the fact that he was her ‘second choice’ in the middle of a shouting match. Her first choice was most likely her brooding bandleader Deacon, who doesn’t hide the fact that he’s still pining for her. They were lovers in their younger years, but screwed it up somehow. As everyone (or everyone with taste) already knows, Connie Britton is magnificent in everything. And Nashville is no exception. She has such a raw appealing presence as an actress. She’s sexy and charming in the way a REAL woman should be, not the way Hollywood women pretend to be.

And while Juliette is a convincing villain, she’s not a clichéd bitch. Her mother is a broke drug addict who constantly calls asking for money. Juliette probably pulled herself up from nothing to become a superstar. She knows her sex appeal is her not-so-secret weapon and uses it not only to advance her career, but also to distract herself from uncomfortable emotions. But Juliette has a soft spot for soulful country music that gives the viewers a glimpse into a vulnerable heart. She has genuine admiration for Deacon, tearing up while watching him perform in a tiny bar. She tries to woo him away from Rayna by offering him a higher paying gig, but still bats her eyelashes and plays the vixen card instead of opening up to him. Hayden Panettiere completely surprised me in this role. I actually bought her as a sex symbol, which I didn’t think would be possible. She packs a lot of sass into Juliette’s strut and actually makes her short stature work for her. Juliette is like a devious little kitten or a petite acid-tongued doll.  

The lead women are the anchors of this show, but there are a lot of other compelling players:

-Deacon, who is fiercely loyal to Rayna, but enticed by Juliette – or at least the attention she pays him. He’s a talented writer but Rayna has never recorded a lot of his songs because she knows they were written about her and it feels a little too personal.

-Lamar Wyatt, Rayna’s rich tycoon father whom she constantly battles with. She tries to keep her distance from his world and his wealth, refusing to accept any financial assistance. But he thinks she’s willfully blind and just pretends not to know that he was the one who financed her first album and kick-started her career.

-Teddy, who is often overshadowed by his celebrity wife. He’s trying to get back on his feet after a huge business failure and jumps at an opportunity to run for mayor with Lamar’s backing.

-Coleman Carlisle, another mayoral candidate who is a personal friend of Rayna and Teddy’s. Rayna planned to give him her support, but reluctantly backs away after Teddy announces his candidacy.

-Scarlett O’Connor, Deacon’s niece, who writes poetry and waitresses at a popular music bar in Nashville.

-Avery Barkley, Scarlett’s cocky songwriter boyfriend. Deacon worries that he’s not the right kind of guy for her.

-Gunnar Scott, another young musician with a crush on Scarlett. Gunnar convinces Scarlett to help him put her poetry to music and then lures her up on stage during open mic night to perform a song. When influential writer Watty White hears them perform he immediately calls Rayna to let her listen in. He tells her he “has an idea”.

There is a lot of back story to explore, but the writers didn’t jam an overwhelming amount into the first episode. They teased us with just enough that we can’t wait to watch the entire story unravel.

I can’t wait to find out where Rayna goes from here. After walking out on her label how will she prove that she’s still the reigning queen of country music? She’s sure as hell going to fight for the opportunity to walk back in there and go all Julia Roberts on their asses. Big mistake. HUGE. I’m dying to find out what Watty’s White’s big idea is and how it relates to Rayna. It has to involve the fabulous new talent he stumbled across.

Will I Watch This Again?
You’d have to handcuff me to a radiator to stop me!

Ratings
Pretty good news! 8.98 million people watched, 2.8 in the 18.49 demo. It was 6th overall in the demo and number 1 in its timeslot, narrowly beating CSI and crushing NBC’s new series Chicago Fire.