Necessary Roughness Set Visit: Step Into The World of Dr. Dani

USA Network has come out guns blazing this summer with the return of our favorite shows as well as premiering a few new ones. On June 29^th USA will debut its latest show, Necessary Roughness, based off the life of Dr. Donna Dannenfelser. Graciously, USA invited Poptimal to visit the set of their newest series in the heart of Atlanta so we could learn a bit more about the show.

Here is the synopsis of the series before we move on:

Necessary Roughness centers on Dr. Dani Santino (Callie Thorne) a Long Island psychotherapist whose personal life unravels when she finds her husband cheating. Diving fully into her work, she takes on the challenge of rehabbing a bad boy professional football player (Mehcad Brooks) whose off-the-field antics threaten his career and the team franchise. Underestimated at every turn, she succeeds beyond expectations and soon finds herself as the most sought-after therapist for high-profile clients. Athletes, entertainers, politicians and others living in the spotlight clamor for her unique brand of tough love therapy during their moments of crisis. Although her career is reenergized, it wreaks havoc on her life as a newly minted single mom of two teenagers. Recognizing her ability to change people’s lives, she’s determined to strike a balance between both worlds. The series also stars Marc Blucas and Scott Cohen.

The crew shot the pilot for the show in a mansion, but once the series was picked up for its first season they realized they would be unable to use the house. So what did they do, you ask? The next best thing of course, they built an identical interior replica in studio.

Walking onto the set of Necessary Roughness is an amazing feeling and one that might just make you feel a bit jealous. The sets made for the series are amongst the very first built at the brand new Screen Gem studios outside Atlanta.

Strolling into Dr. Dani’s house I found myself blown away at the level of detail in every room of the first floor, which consisted of a living room, family room, kitchen, and Dani’s office. The fridge was decorated with pictures of the TV family growing up, DVDs around the family room, a schedule of the LIRR (Long Island Rail Road), to-do lists, psychology books, and even food in the pantry. I did take a trek up the stairs to the second floor, but sadly I was met with stairs to nowhere.  All in all, the set for the house was very livable. I wouldn’t mind moving in myself.

The second set that I came across was the New York Hawks training facility. I must note that this is an imaginary football team with no ties to the NFL. The NFL is pretty stingy with who they give their license to (videogamers probably know this from the Madden franchise) so the show creators had to come up with their own football league and teams.

The training facility was beautiful. Walking in through the main doors, posters of the New York Hawks cover the walls. There is a staircase to your left with the team’s schedule displayed. Going forward, visitors come across the trophy case, which highlights some of the greatest moments of the New York Hawks. Three offices for the head coach, trainer, and assistant coaches dominate the majority of the facility. Smack dab in the middle of it all is the medical center filled with physical therapy equipment for the injured players. Finally there are the locker rooms with players’ names over each individual locker. One of my favorite parts of the NY Hawks facility was reading the fake writing on the notepads the assistant coaches used. You can check out the pictures below.

On set that day I had the opportunity to talk to Executive Producer Craig Shapiro and actors Marc Blucas, Scott Cohen, Patrick Johnson, and Hannah Marks. Sadly Callie Thorne was not available as she was home resting due to back spasms. Here are some highlights from the conversations:

Talking with EP Craig Shapiro

• When asked about the genesis of the show – “There is a real Dr. Donna Dannenfelser who was a therapist for the Jets in the ’90s. And we were put together with her and we thought, I even said this, it’s a story about a therapist and she wants to get her story told and we were like, we’ll have a meeting. She was one of the most amazing people that I have ever met. Dr. Donna, she had stories that were like I said, they were hilarious and they were moving and they involved the players and they involved her family as she tried to juggle these two lives; [the] overwhelming need to take care of these players and the overwhelming need to take care of her kids and those two things were in conflict all of the time. So, we just thought that was a great jumping off point for a series.”

• The decision to cast Callie Thorne – “When we write, we pick an actor for a voice for the character, not having any expectations. I mean, it’s easy to pick Brad Pitt even though we’re not going to actually get Brad Pitt for a movie or a TV show, whatever it is, just to get a sound of somebody and we said, okay, it’s Callie Thorne. So we saw, I’m not exaggerating, 120 actresses, many of whom are fantastic, they were great actors, almost all of them. But they weren’t Callie, they just weren’t the part quite the way she can inhabit it and as it got later and later and we were going longer and longer we just kept saying, we can wait for Callie and it was like a month and a half and we just thought this is nuts. We can’t wait for Callie for another month and a half but as things dragged on, we basically realized that her pilot was not going to go ahead and we got her at the eleventh hour and fifty nine minutes. The absolute last second and she did an audition for us from New York on tape, she sent it in, and it was great.”

Talking With Scott Cohen

• When asked about the research Scott put into his character Nico, a “fixer” – “The research that I did, I found out that there are Nicos, usually they’re five agents that are like that type of security, like that type of people around sports teams but there are more people with high school kids that are so intense on getting into college or the pros. Those people are very much around them and they are actually security like the people that are hired to protect a younger kind generation of athletes that are not quite ready to make the step but they are going to make the step. There’s publicity people and security people. I mean, heads of security are everywhere. I talked to one person that works at Fox Sports and he told me you can do as much research as you want. I could tell you that there are those but you will never be able to speak to them. I tried to. I definitely tried to.”

• Scott Cohen also lets on that he does end up dealing with Dr. Dani’s kids when they start to lose control. During one of the scenes we saw filming on set, Ray J and Lindsay go into cahoots to sell autographed jerseys of New York Hawk’s star receiver TK. It’s only a matter of time before Nico catches wind of this and has to “fix” the kids.

Talking With Marc Blucas

• Marc talks about his character’s relationship with Callie’s Dani – “I want them to be two people that have fun, that just enjoy each other. I don’t want to be the guy trying too hard to be charming. I don’t think either of these characters are in that life place. They know who they are, they’re comfortable in that lane and suddenly, it’s just like hey, that works and we both take each other off guard.”

• Marc talks about embarrassing himself on his audition – “I thought I was so smart going into my audition.  I’m like, you know, I know so much about sports you guys obviously don’t know anything.  It’s the Atlanta Hawks and New York Jets or Giants.  They’re like yeah, licensing and I’m like…. I’m ready when you are.”

• If Marc had a choice of guest stars – Marc would love to bring his old college basketball pal Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs on for an episode if he could. Blucas also said, “I think in a really perfect world we could have some stunt casting come across.  For me to put in a plug for someone that has great comedy chops like Peyton Manning would be unbelievable.  On SNL, I think he’s hilarious.”

Talking With Hannah Marks and Patrick Johnson

• Patrick Johnson’s character is a ladies man with eleven girlfriends. How he doesn’t get caught, I will never know. Hannah remarks, “I remember in the pilot there was one take where I was supposed to say, ‘don’t tell mom or I’ll tell your girlfriend about your other girlfriends’ and I said, ‘I’ll tell your girlfriend about your boyfriend.’ “

• Hannah on what drew her towards her character – “What drew me to the role was she’s so much like me. She talks like me, she is really sarcastic, she’s really negative. She’s just so much like me and it’s fun because I find that it’s easier to ad-lib and make up my own expressions with this for her because it is so similar to me.”

Necessary Roughness premieres on USA Network tomorrow, Wednesday, June 29 at 10/9c.

For more television coverage, click here.

Images courtesy of Bilal Mian and Poptimal.com

TrollHunter Review: Norwegian Trolls > Internet Trolls

TrollHunter is a found footage monster movie, in the same vein as The Blair Witch Project or Paranormal Activity. “Found footage” is becoming more of a groan inducing cliche for scary movie fans and I believe that this dead horse has been beaten enough. But TrollHunter somehow manages to take this worn out format, add a dash of mocumentary and travelogue, and create a new kind of monster movie experience.

The film starts with three young Norwegian film students trying to tack down a known bear poacher. There is the on-camera talent Thomas (Glenn Erland Tosterud), the audio person Johanna (Johanna Morck), and the cameraman Kalle (Tomas Alf Larsen). They end up stalking the mysterious Hans (Otto Jespersen), who they quickly find out doesn’t poach bears at all but rather hunts trolls, hence the title.

Hans is then convinced to let the persistent students tape him during his hunts, but only after he asks if any of them are Christians because, as everybody knows, trolls can smell Christians.  They all then pile into a beat up Land Rover searching for the legendary monstrous trolls. TrollHunter is satirical, scary, funny, filled with striking landscapes and  in the end it all somehow adds up to a entertaining popcorn adventure movie.

There are certain cardinal rules that horror/monster movies seem to follow. Number one on my list for a good horror movie is this: the less the audience knows the scarier it is. Why is Michael Myers murdering people in the original Halloween? We don’t know, and that’s scary. Once you start trying to explain things it’s just not as scary anymore (e.g. Rob Zombie’s Halloween). TrollHunter doesn’t follow this rule, it does the opposite and explains everything you ever wanted to know about troll.

In fact it doesn’t follow many monster movie rules.

For example, the characters go exploring dark woods several times. There is a lot of running and screaming and falling, all obvious monster movie tropes. The difference here is the protagonists are seeking out the monsters, not blindly running into them. By sticking to certain old school monster movie cliches and at the same time ignoring others or doing the exact opposite, TrollHunter gives the audience a false sense of security. The movie doesn’t have any real twists to speak of, but you don’t know exactly what’s going to happen either.

Since the movie is titled TrollHunter, I’m not spoiling anything by telling you there are trolls in the movie, and you actually get to see them. This breaks another rule of monster movies: don’t reveal the monster until the end. You see trolls several times very early on in the film. The filmmakers keep the thrills coming with good CGI effects for the trolls and unnerving sound effects, ranging from low troll grunts to eardrum popping roars.

The trolls are ugly and huge and dangerous, but there is also an adventure like quality some monster movies lack as the protagonists decide to track, bait and capture/kill the trolls. Watching it I was torn between wanting them to find more trolls and not wanting them to die doing it. It’s kind of like a scary game of Pokemon, where Ash can die from trying to catch ‘em all.

Norway’s terrain is a huge aspect of the film as the troll hunter and student documentarians travel around looking for fairytale monsters. From seaside towns to ancient forests and the frozen tundra beyond, the movie showcases the country as if it’s trying to lure you to travel there for your next vacation. There are surprisingly pretty shots made from the window of a Land Rover that you wouldn’t expect from a handheld cam shake-fest. The trolls lurking in these woods and countrysides are seamlessly woven into their environments which works well aesthetically and in the narrative as a whole.

TrollHunter is a entertaining matinee monster monster movie that came out just in time for the summer. Catch it in the theaters now if you can, because a Hollywood remake isn’t far behind. And if there is one thing Norway can do that Hollywood can’t, it is make a hilarious yet terrifying mocumentary about creatures that live under bridges. They could probably make a better lutefisk as well.

Images courtesy of

Review: America’s Got Talent … and A Bunch of Weirdos

In the latest installment of America’s Got Talent, host Nick Cannon and the gang come to us from both Atlanta and then New York City, where there are some truly colorful and sometimes horrifyingly weird competitors. That is perhaps the best and scariest part about this show: you never quite know what to expect. Howie Mandel, Sharon Osbourne, and Piers Morgan were in rare form this week and continued their fun and often argumentative chemistry. There are times on the show when I find myself more fascinated with Piers’ lack of human emotion and sense of humor and the constant banter between him and Howie than I am with the actual auditions. That being said, there were quite a lot of highlights here. Let us break them down into fun categories and get started …

THE GOOD:

* Attack Dance Crew: This was a large group of men dancing in a style they claim to have created called “drilling,” which consisted of loads of energy, jumps, great choreography, and a fresh new feel. Piers loved it, and Howie didn’t quite get it, saying they looked more like cheerleaders than dancers. Piers replied: “If I didn’t know how stupid he was already, I’d apologize for him.” Howie looked a bit upset by this comment, and I can’t really blame him. Piers can be such a pompous douche at times, and there was really no reason to call Howie stupid just because he didn’t love the routine. Sharon, as usual, ended up having the deciding vote and put them through to Vegas.

*Anna Graceman: An 11-year-old girl with the soulful voice of someone three times her age, Anna also played piano and performed an Alicia Keys’ song beautifully. Very rich, pure sound with a great personality, too. All three judges sent her through to Vegas.

*Snap Boogie: I really loved this kid. Maybe it is because I am from Massachusetts originally, and he is from Boston. Or perhaps it is because they chose him to do a backstory on and his tale of dancing on the city streets as a poor kid to help his mom pay the bills got to me. Hell, maybe it is just because I think he has an insane amount of raw, natural talent. They call him Snap because he is a dancer, and when he dances, his body sort of snaps all around. It was a mix of breakdancing, hip hop, streetdance, and even pop-locking. Honestly, I don’t know what the hell to call it, but I loved it. He went through and we will get to see more of this unique dancing style. This is exactly the kind of person I would love to see win the whole thing.

*Michael Turco/Magician: This act somehow felt very classic and old, and very modern and new all at once. Michael used 5 different lovely girls in his act, and made them appear and disappear all over the stage in various compartments and boxes. With the dramatic music, feathers, capes, and fire, this totally had the feel of a Las Vegas act, and would make a perfect show in Vegas. Loved it.

*ELEW: There is really no way to properly describe this man and his act. First of all, the man himself was one of the oddest people I have ever seen. Referring to himself as a superhero and wearing odd steel armor-like devices up his arms to symbolize “strength and beauty,’ this looked from moment one like it would be a huge trainwreck. But then he began playing the piano. He did not sit down to play, but instead stood up and attacked the keys with intensity and aggressiveness. He literally banged on the keys, and at one point put his hand inside the open piano top and played from the inside. The song was a fascinating mix/mash-up of classical , rock , and jazz all at once. The judges loved it, calling it phenomenal, surprising, and “genius.” Let’s be honest: this dude is a whackjob. But he is damn good.

*Landau Eugene Murphy Jr: This was the “surprise of the night” audition; the one that we are supposed to fall in love with in the same way that we fell in love with Susan Boyle and her shockingly gorgeous voice. Landau, like Boyle, started off by giving the wrong impression to the judges upon his entrance. First off, he is an African-American man with dreadlocks. OH THE HUMANITY!!! Next, he said he loved Howie Mandel and did an impression of Howie’s famous “Bobby” character. And finally, he was chewing gum onstage, and got scolded like a child by Piers for it. Really Piers? “Are you chewing gum? Well spit it out. You should not be chewing gum while you are auditioning.” Oh give me a break. Are we at the Metropolitan Opera suddenly? The White House? You just got done watching a dude shove a pumpkin pie into his mouth for Christ Sakes! A stick of gum ain’t gonna hurt anyone. So, with all these terrible strikes against him, Landeau began to sing, and out of nowhere, Frank Sinatra came out of him. Performing “Under My Skin”, he had an old-school classic standard quality, like a mix between Sinatra and Dean Martin. Very smooth and lovely voice. Add to that the fact that he washes cars for a living, throw in a few well-placed emotional tears after Howie tells him his life is about to “change forever,” and you’ve got yourself the new Susan Boyle! I don’t know if I’m quite ready to proclaim this man the best singer the planet has ever seen quite yet, but he was good. And I liked HIM. The person. And he, of course, is going to Vegas.

A couple of other acts of interest that I would place in the positive category included Summerwind Skippers, a jump rope team, and Fiddleheads, a group of older men who played bluegrass with a twist. They did not show much of them, but I could tell that I wanted to see more.

THE BAD:

*Triple Threat: A group of four “BFF’s” – three girls and one guy, who were unbelievably annoying even before they began to sing and dance. Why are they called triple threat, you ask? Well, because on Broadway, people who can dance, sing, and act are referred to as triple threats. I bet you’re scared now, eh? These teens were totally obnoxious. It was like watching a really terrible, awful, junior high school version of Glee with about 1/3 of the talent. They performed “You Can’t Stop the Beat”, and I wanted to shout out: “OH YES I CAN! JUST WATCH ME!”, and then proceed to throw them off the stage, one by one by one. Luckily, the judges pretty much did this for me and sent them packing back to La-La Musical Theatre land.

*The Human Knot: This is, unfortunately, exactly what it sounds like. It was a guy who twisted his gross body parts into pretzel-like scenarios and positions that made me want to vomit. When he was swinging his arm around and round his head over and over while making a sound like he was having a terrible orgasm, that is when I had to leave the room. Buh-bye.

*Squonk Opera: Not even sure what the hell this was. Something to do with opera-like singing, acting (both badly), and horns were on peoples’ heads. I don’t know why. I think I was doing drugs while watching this portion of the program. Nope. It really happened.

*Hershae Chocolate: Now, some may disagree with me here on sticking this dude in the “bad” category of my review, since he did get through to Vegas, but I will stand by my opinion on this one. For once, I agreed with Piers, who also didn’t “get” this guy’s act. Basically, he was a drag queen dressed up in ridiculous attire, performing what, to me, was a rather chaotic and confusing act that included a mediocre imitation of Macy Grey, some back bends, a split, and then some weird dancing to Donna Summer’s “Last Dance.” That is pretty much it. It was bizarre, and I was unclear on the point of it all. Sharon and Howie loved him, and put him through to Vegas. When Piers said: “I must be missing something here,” Sharon replied “Yes, you are. A bloody sense of humor!” Usually, when things are really funny, Piers never finds them funny. In this instance though, I am with him. I didn’t get it. At all.

THE WEIRD AND THE “WTF???”:

*Joseph Ravens: No idea what this was supposed to be. A man dressed in a full body suit that made him look like a large condom, that had what looked like a pair of lips coming out of the side, rode a unicycle and then items that looked like pillows began to spill out of the lips of his body suit onto the stage. Then he left. Didn’t even stick around to be mocked properly by the judges. Nick Cannon said it best with: “What’s happening?” Absolutely no idea, but I may have nightmares tonight about it.

*Captain and Maybelle: This act was so disgusting and totally awful and pointless that I literally could not physically watch half of it, which makes it difficult to tell you what exactly happened here. I don’t feel too badly though, as Piers and Sharon did the same thing. Piers actually turned his back on the act as it was happening, and Sharon and Howie both half-blocked their eyes and half-committed themselves to watching this. It involved a lot of torture, piercing of things, bodyparts being pulled down by weights, a clothes hanger in a dude’s mouth, and a knife, which I believe he swallowed. I think I am getting sick again. Believe it or not, all of this horror is considered a talent by some, and so both Sharon and Howie put them through to the next round, which I will also not be watching. ICK!

*Armand and Angelina: Are these two for real? They were so out of control ridiculous it was hard to tell. This couple was clearly very smitten with one another, and kept talking about how performing their art feels like they are “making love with everyone watching.” Eww. Creepy. Who the hell wants to watch you two creeps make love? Not me. I would think they were goofing around with all of this, except for the fact that neither of them seemed to have any sense of humor at all, and they seemed to take themselves and their act very seriously. What was their act? Well, he played the recorder while she sang opera. The idea was supposed to be that they combined two styles of music and created magic. Instead, it was quite unlistenable and awful. Howie couldn’t stop laughing AT them, as he found the act SO ridiculous that it was funny. Sharon agreed and put them through to Vegas. Piers asked the two of them if they had lost their minds, and the audience gave the act a good old-fashioned BOOOO!!!!!

*Joel “The Canon” Pedelsky: Um … he ate a pumpkin pie …. and he hates pumpkin pie … in less than 90 seconds. That is it. Really. That’s the act. That got on TV. A guy in a cape eating pumpkin pie and looking like a lunatic. It was so gross. He shoved it into his mouth and it looked like he was eating puke. He got the X from all three judges and was promptly sent home.

*Riley Schillaci: This chick was weird as all hell. Dressed to the nines in a black outfit and cape looking thing, with black hair and a goth-like look, she  had the demeanor and personality of someone who was on their way to the electric chair, about to die. Her act was Sword-Swallowing, and it was much too disgusting to watch. At one point, she made Nick Cannon join the fun by pulling the sword out of her throat to prove that it was a real sword. Cannon screamed “eeww!” and ran off the stage like a little girl. Howie Mandel’s sarcastic comments to Riley were hilarious, telling her: “The joy that you exude … people do things with a flourish … and you don’t have that flourish …do you know what I’m saying here?” After she stared at him stone-faced, he told her to smile. Be happy. She didn’t seem to know how or what that meant, and left the stage and the show to go back to her creep cave deep below the earth. Man, was she creepy.

*Steven Retchless / Male Pole Dancer: Calling himself a “pole-fessional” (HAHA!!! Get it? Pole?), Steven came out wearing nothing but a very skimpy silvery toned tight boxer like brief, along with perfectly placed silver sparkle all along his body and eyelids. A weird act indeed, but I must say, once he started his stripper pole routine, he certainly worked that pole like a pro. His body spun round and round, and he had definite control up there. Howie and Sharon watched in amazement, while Piers folded his arms and snuffed up his nose at the very thought of possibly enjoying a man moving his body in such a manner. Despite Piers’ fear that he would turn gay simply by watching this man’s performance, Sharon and Howie put him through and he is going to Vegas. I hope next time; he spreads his silvery butt cheeks right into Piers’ British nostrils.

What did you think of this week’s auditions? Who was your favorite? Will Piers turn gay? Should Sharon switch places with Howie and let the two men fight it out while sitting right next to each other without her as a shield? Sound off here!!!

Season 6, Episode 7 (originally aired June 22, 2011)

America’s Got Talent airs Tues/Wednesdays at 8pm EST on NBC.

Read more America’s Got Talent reviews here.

Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop Review: Team Coco Hits The Big Screen

It seems like only yesterday that the battle for NBC’s late night lineup was still underway and who could forget the story? One man claimed to retire allowing a younger, funnier gent to take his place on the mecca of late night comedy – The Tonight Show. Seems nice. But wait – the guy doesn’t really retire. He actually just gets another show that’s on earlier in the evening and it is AWFUL.

How awful you might ask? So awful that viewers ran away from the network entirely! Local news broadcasts following the fake retiree’s show saw their ratings plummet and with them they took the young comic still trying to get his sea legs in that most coveted of time slots. This wouldn’t do. So how does NBC try to fix it? They decide to put the fake retiree back on in his old time slot and push the young guy back to just past midnight. Our young hero didn’t like this idea so he bailed on the most revered late night franchise in the business and entered into the great void of unemployment.

It is around this point that Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop begins. One wishes there had been cameras rolling behind the scenes of the great war between NBC, Jay Leno, and Conan O’Brien. We can only imagine the screaming, the tears, and the pure anger that must have been flowing during this period and it would’ve surely made for a great movie, but instead we get Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop and I think the result is all the more satisfying. Instead of watching a man get torn down by corporate assholes we start with seeing him at rock bottom and then fighting to do what he loves most – entertain people. It is a story as uplifting as Rocky. That is if Rocky Balboa was pale with really big orange hair.

Documentary filmmaker Rodman Flender started following Conan around with the cameras very soon after the fallout with NBC and managed to capture both a man who was clearly feeling defeated but also immediately ready to strike back with a new venture. Due  to the settlement with NBC, Conan was legally prohibited from appearing on television for a period of six months. Some people may have taken that as a blessing and used the time to rest and relax after a stressful, public ordeal but not Conan. On the very day that he aired his last episode of The Tonight Show he began conceiving and planning an epic standup tour that would include over 40 shows across the United States and Canada.

Did he do this for money? Nope. He walked away from NBC with a check for $44 million so he  could’ve lived quite comfortably for those six months without a care in the world, but the most important thing that we learn in this documentary is that he needs an audience. And this isn’t the kind of need like I need a massage every now and then. No, he really NEEDS an audience to stay sane. He appears to have a great home life with a wife and two adorable kids, but like any artist, he needs that fulfillment of doing what he’s good at to keep him content.

Some people may choose to look at this trait as if he is someone who craves the spotlight and applause but it never really comes across as that selfish. He appears to be a man who is obsessively devoted to his fans in a way that he can’t refuse them. The film shows numerous examples of him going out of his way to sign something or to take a photo or to stand around hugging and shaking hands for hours following a physically gruelling stage show. He quite simply aims to please and its genuine to the last follicle of that big hairdo he’s got going on.

This documentary is an equally fascinating look at the making of a comedy tour tied to a man fighting the deep-seeded anger inside him for what went down with NBC. As the tour goes on and we see him pour his heart and soul into every performance, we can also see how happy he is compared to the more mundane aspects of life backstage where he can be a little sullen.

We certainly see flashes of anger and few almost diva-like moments but for the most part Conan is what you’d expect him to be – a little bit zany with occasional flashes of child-like hilarity. Some of the film’s best moments are when he just kind of lets loose and has fun. A few interactions that come to mind are his chomping of peanuts while a flight attendant tries talking to him and a backstage appearance of 30 Rock‘s Jack McBrayer and Jon Hamm that descends into pure, unadulterated foolishness. To say that I laughed as hard during this film as during any scripted film this year would be an understatement.

This is an easy film to recommend. It isn’t the be-all and end-all of showbiz documentaries but its very well put together, endlessly insightful, and often very, very funny. Anyone on Team Coco (was anyone really ever on Team Leno?) will find lots to love here including some new found respect for Mr. O’Brien who now resides on TBS but without a doubt deserves a whole lot better.

Grade: B+

Images courtesy of Rodman Flender.

Necessary Roughness: Q&A with Callie Thorne

USA Network is all set to welcome a new character to its line-up. You’ve already met Shawn and Gus, Burke and Caffrey, Marshall Shannon and Dr. Hank, but now viewers prepare to meet the incomparable Dr. Dani as she gears into action on the new series Necessary Roughness. In a Q&A conference call with lead star Callie Thorne, the actress talks about her new series, the true inspiration behind it, and when it all falls down, who does Dr. Dani turn to?

In Necessary Roughness, Thorne stars as Dr. Danielle Santino, a professional psychiatrist who unexpectedly finds her own personal life tossed into turmoil. Newly divorced and now taking the reigns of single parenthood, Dr. Dani struggles to keep her family afloat in the midst of instability. But when the tough no-nonsense Dr. Dani signs on to be the therapist for a professional football league, she finds her personal and professional lives helplessly intertwined. And as she gets more and more popular in her professional life, Dr. Dani must learn how to balance a career with her family.

Necessary Roughness is inspired by the real life story of Dr. Donna Dannenfelser, who also serves as a supervising producer on the show. When asked about what initially excited her about doing the show, Thorne makes it clear that to her Dr. Donna’s the real draw.

“The fact that it was a true story,” Thorne says, “and the fact that it was a real woman, a real extraordinary woman,
is why I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this script.”

Even before reading the script Thorne says that because of the real-life aspect of this story, as well as Dr. Donna’s participation in the writing room, this series would be more “layered” and grounded. And it turns out she was right.

“I read the script,” Thorne says, “and it felt so honest and based on a real kind of truth. Even when I got to meet her it all sort of fell into place so perfectly because there’s a spirit about her that fills up the entire page.”

And while it may seem daunting to try to capture that spirit on camera, Thorne says that meeting with Dr. Donna made it all easier.

“It wasn’t so much about researching her actual history… what was important to me mostly was I just wanted to soak up her spirit, that’s partly what makes her so extraordinary,” said Thorne.

Thorne says that to that end, although Dr. Donna was always on set to answer any questions about cognitive and behavioral therapy, what Thorne really relied on was her presence in order to tell her story.

But while Dr. Dani is the main focus of the show, Thorne says that to her Necessary Roughness feels sort of like an ensemble, “the scenes are so rich with these other characters… they took such great care in every character. It didn’t matter if it was a lead character.”

“Each moment with each character is important,” she said before continuing that each story feels like an “A” story, that every storyline seems as important as the next. Mehcad Brooks stars as TL King, Dani’s first and (to Thorne) favorite patient. And while there will be a series of other patients Thorne tells us that TK will definitely be on the scene from week to week. (I have to admit, I was worried about Mehcad’s face time with all these other ‘patients’ crashing the scene. And just hearing this makes me extremely happy.)

Also starring in the series is Marc Blucas as the football team’s trainer with whom Dani has a one night stand before they find out they’re going to be working together. Scott Cohen plays Nico the “enforcer”whose job no one seems to know as of yet. But I don’t know, maybe his role is just to provide a little romantic competition. Which Thorne admits, he definitely does. And while Thorne says that she doesn’t know how the relationships with Matt/Nico will evolve (will they stay friends or something more?), I have got to say that I’m just looking forward to seeing how they do. Craig Bierko stars as Ray Santino, Dr. Dani’s ex-husband, and Amanda Detmer takes the role of Jeanette, Dani’s best friend.

And while Dr. Dani is the sounding board for many of the characters on the scene, when asked who Dani can turn to for a listening ear, the answer is a surprising no one. Sure, she has her best friend, her mom, (who’s apparently crazy, by the way) and the potential interest of Matt who as Thorne says is not quite yet that person.

“They’re walking that romance will they-won’t they line or do they keep things professional? So he’s not quite somebody who she can turn to,” explains Thorne. If it’s not them, then who? “It is part of what pushes the story; who does she turn to for help.” Thorne admits that she likes that everything is up in the air for Dani and that the audience is figuring it out just as she – Dani – is, “I think that’s kind of what makes it extra interesting.”

Wanna know more? Be sure to watch Necessary Roughness as it premieres this Wednesday, June 29 at 10/9c on USA Network.

Photos courtesy of Justin Stephens, Quantrell Colbert, and USA Network.

E3 Expo 2011: Squeeeee-3 – The Best of the Best

E3 is 100% overwhelming. It’s a giant metal cave of noise, lights, boobs, and swag that blends together until you can’t tell one from the other (Pro Tip: Boobs are softer than PS3 controllers). Having a game plan is any good E3er’s first line of attack against massive crowds, overpriced food, and wafting clouds of nerd-flu. I braved all of this to give you the best of the best of E3 2011. You’re Welcome.

1.       Bioshock Infinite – Just as the franchise begins showing its age, the creators of one of the greatest series of this console generation flips the (coding) script – and the literal one for that matter- presenting a brand new experience. Gone are the eerily beautiful, flooded boroughs of Rapture and the arrested development of the early 1960s; the giant-sized Big Daddies; the enslaved Little Sisters. All replaced by a lushly recreated, high-in-the-sky, early 20^th century American city. Bioshock Infinite was the best demo at E3 (admittedly, it did help a teensy bit that the press demo room was designed to match the vibrant world of Columbia) which continues to make Bioshock an unmatched FPS experience.

2.       Uncharted: Drake’s Deception – Easily one of the most anticipated games this year, Drake’s Deception continues a series in which narrative and well-drawn characters are as vital and engaging as the exciting gameplay. In a genre that focuses way too much on explosions and boobs to keep people occupied (I’m looking at you, Gears of War), the Uncharted series is a breath of fresh air that reminds us all real entertainment, no matter what the catalyst, is only as good as its story. It’s all about the story, people.

3.       Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 – Modern Warfare can sometimes get a bad rap because it’s not exactly “high art” even in gaming circles and is the game that casual gamers will cite as being “totes awesome,” but regardless, there’s a reason why the franchise is a juggernaut. Modern Warfare 3 ups the ante in such a major way that it simply can’t be ignored. The E3 demo level ending with a car chase through the London Underground that results in a catastrophic derailment demonstrates just how grandiose COD’s trademark scripted sequences can get.

4.       Rocksmith – For the zeitgeist, the mega-popularity of music games has been in its twilight for some time now which has provided much confusion; if one more dumb-ass Gamestop employee tells me that “Rock Band” has “gone out of business” I’m going to punch them in their home row. For the millions that continue to play and love those games though, there is nothing better. Just ask the aforementioned Rock Band’s DLC library- 1700 songs and growing every week. New to the mix is Rocksmith, from Ubisoft. The big innovation with this game is in its unique breakout cable that allows players to plug any guitar directly into their console. Yes, any real guitar. Happily the missed opportunities of Rock Band 3’s Pro Trainer have come to fruition here and with dozens of effects pedals and amps to choose from, they have made the experience satisfying for both newb and face-melter alike.

5.       Live TV on 360 – The games get the lion’s share of the glory at any given E3, but Microsoft’s secret weapon this year was the expansion of their XBOX Live service to include live network TV. The jury is still out on cost, content, and quality, but hopefully this is the beginning of the end of the stranglehold cable companies have put on the end-user. Or, at the very least, it will be the kick in the balls those companies need to put their pricing in check.

6.       Batman: Arkham City – Arkham Asylum shocked many upon release in that it was an incredibly solid game based on a licensed property. Usually these are things that never go hand-in-hand, but Rocksteady found a way. What they also seemed to have found is a way to top themselves on a second go, this time expanding the scope to what appears to be an open-world game with playability as Catwoman. Both are the perfect playground for Batman. ZING!

7.       Kinect – Hardware launches are always slow to start, gaining momentum over time rather than straight-away. 2010 was the year that Microsoft got people familiar with their motion controller and 2011 will be the year we see it fully integrate into the console. Microsoft’s lineup of games built for Kinect and others that use it to enhance gameplay have seen an uptick in design creativity and innovation, most directly from the mad minds at Ubisoft (Raving Rabbids: Alive and Kicking, Ghost Recon).

8.       PSPVita – Rumored for the better part of a year, surprise to no one, the Vita still made one hell of a showing at the Sony press conference as it wowed the crowd by running a demo for Uncharted: Golden Abyss, a PS3-caliber Uncharted adventure. Add to that Ken Lavine’s announcement of a brand new Bioshock experience crafted specifically for the Vita’s horsepower and controls scheme plus 3G, WiFi, touch screens, dual analog controls, and app functionality and the Vita is a portable force to be reckoned with. Not so hot? Sony’s exclusivity agreement with AT&T. What the hell, guys?

9.       Aliens: Colonial Marines – The demo was rough, the presentation was a little corny, but there’s no denying the inherent bad-assery of Aliens: Colonial Marines. Long in gestation, A:CM is setting itself up to be the premiere first-person shooter for the Aliens universe, the best since the first Aliens vs Predator game for PC. New creature types felt out of place and the presence of another Queen on LV-426 so quickly after the first one’s demise is suspect, but for any fan, this is a complete must-play.

10.   Sony’s 3D Advancements – Another awesome tech advancement that flew under the radar this year was Sony’s commitment to lowering the pricing on 3D hardware, making it more affordable for the masses, and creating the groundwork for a larger adoption of 3D home entertainment. Announced this year is a PS branded model of active-shutter 3D glasses that are a fraction of the price of other glasses (around $50) and a PS branded 24” HD TV that clocks in at $500 bundled with glasses and a copy of Resistance 3. The best part of the TV? The one-console multiplayer/co-op experience  makes split screening a thing of the past, using the 3D technology to split the screen for each player depending on what pair of glasses they are wearing. Holy Crap Awesome Sauce.

Are you stoked for the upcoming games and tech wizardry previewed at this year’s E3? Post your thoughts below!

 

Images courtesy of 2K Games, Sony, Ubisoft, Warner Bros., DC Comics and Irrational Games

 

 

So You Think You Can Dance Review: Never Gonna Dance Again

Stakes were much higher for our dancers this week, as four people were sent packing on So You Think You Can Dance. After allowing the “Meet the Top 20” episode to be more about showing off the dancers in their element instead of only focusing on the long walk to the judges’ decision, I feel like I already have a much greater sense of who they are as dancers and as people than I usually do. This week we got to learn a bit more about the dancers as each spilled one of their partner’s secrets. Only a few were actually embarrassing or juicy, some weren’t secrets at all and most were just plain boring. But the producers get a solid B for effort. They’ve clearly infused a little more levity and fun to editing these packages.

During the performance show, Debbie Reynolds joined Nigel and Mary on the judges’ panel. Hopefully, they stick to this kind of fabulous casting. Singing in the Rain is one of the greatest celebrations of music and dance to ever hit the big screen. Sure, she complimented everything, along with herself, but it’s much easier to listen to her when its critique time over Robin Antin, the queen of gyration. Plus, her personality is as sweet and funny and charming as I imagined she was almost 60 years ago when she nabbed the role of Kathy Selden.

10. MISSY and WADI | Cha-cha | Jean-Marc Généreux | “Cannibal” by Ke$ha

This was the first time a dancer was truly pushed out of their comfort zone, in my opinion. Jean-Marc choreographs for authenticity and not to suit an out of place dancer. I commend their commitment to the steps, but picking up something so new definitely took a little of the energy out of their stage personalities. Missy definitely understood the grounded footwork better than Wadi, but I wish they both hit it harder. Nigel and Mary didn’t hold back, saying Wadi didn’t match up to past contenders who had to step out of their style and Cha-cha. Missy didn’t disappoint the judges though. Mary dubbing her the “queen of cha-cha” was a little far-fetched though. Debbie stood up for Wadi, saying she would take him home, and “he can Cha-cha with Debbie anytime.” Still, he got really down on stage, throwing a tiny pity party which I could have done without. If America smells defeat, they leap right on it. Firm upper lip, big boy.

Personal Secret: Wadi uses Nair on his chest, and Missy laughs awkwardly.

9. ROBERT and MIRANDA | Hip-hop | Nappytabs | “Break Ya Neck” by Busta Rhymes

This had to be the worse Nappytabs routine ever performed. Even the married choreographers looked surprised by the massacre at the end of the number. The idea of woodpeckers sounds exciting and different, but I found it to be a completely awkward translation with this pair. I think these two are both quirky dancers so the odd idea should have been better suited to them, but they seemed tentative the entire piece which made me feel uncomfortable. I don’t know what the judges saw. Robert was certainly more natural, but they gushed over both dancers. If I had to compare this woodpecker number to season three’s “The Hummingbird and Flower,” choreographed by Wade Robson and performed by Jaime and Hok, there’d be no competition.

Personal Secret: Robert believes he is a pro wrestler, while Miranda has a crush on Tadd.

8. SASHA and ALEXANDER | Hip-hop | Nappytabs | “Coming Home” by Diddy – Dirty Money & Skylar Grey

On the flip side, this is right where I love Nappytabs the most. I just wish another pair had attempted it. Sasha, for the first time, looked awkward, and she’s had experience with hip-hop so I felt let down. Alexander just wasn’t believable. NappyTabs noted, during rehearsal, that they really needed to connect to pull off the number, and they didn’t. The subject matter of a man coming home from war was certainly touching and timely, with Obama’s address earlier in the night where he confirmed that troops would be withdrawn from Afghanistan by September 2012, but I wasn’t with Mary and Debbie who were crying. I swear I have a heart; I just didn’t get any realistic emotion from either of them.

Personal Secret: Sasha sweats like a dude, and Alex loves looking at himself in the mirror.

7. IVETA and NICK | Bollywood | Nakul Dev Mahagan | “Baawre” from Luck by Chance

I immediately got excited because I knew Iveta could dominate the fast-moving style, full of very particular and rapid feet, arm and hand motions. She does that in her own style. However, she and Nick continue to surprise me. Tappers and ballroom dancers are usually not the first ones to nail new choreography, but I think they did pull off all the moves. I agree with Nigel that compared to the past Bollywood numbers, this one wasn’t as strong or exciting. But, hello, who has yet to come even close to Joshua and Katee’s Bollywood number?

Personal Secret: Iveta talks to herself in the mirror, often telling herself she’s a beast, and Nick wears shorts all the time, despite his chicken legs.

6. CLARICE and JESS | Contemporary | Stacey Tookey | “Cathedrals” by Jump, Little Children

This number was the first time that Jess really appeared short, in my eyes, like incredibly small. Clarice was flawless, while Jess was more wooden, and she suffered for it greatly. Those lifts felt heavy because he made them look extremely heavy. His Broadway style doesn’t typically include lots of fluid motion, and it showed here. Nigel felt they were better apart than when they came together as a couple aesthetically. Mary thought Jess had incredible control, but enough with his fabulous pirouettes. We know he has a ridiculously low center of gravity.

Personal Secret: Clarice sleeps with her eyes open, and Jess draws stick figure orchestras, seriously…

5. RYAN and RICKY | Jazz | Mandy Moore | “Addicted to Love” by Robert Palmer

Mandy believes Ricky and Ryan are young dancers, immature in their experience. I don’t believe she would have placed any bets on them, but the two young dancers are exceptionally talented. Ryan really stole the performance. Technically, these two are pretty equal in my eyes, but Ryan is more commanding on stage. Nigel applauded how the contemporary dancers, used to more fluid motion, really mastered the sharper movement. The number was raunchy, and their bodies spelled that out, but Ryan’s face was all smiles when she wasn’t gasping or sighing. That will get old fast and appears fake. Ricky, on the other hand, doesn’t express himself enough in the face. He pulls off that blank stare really well though. The problem is that even though the number was sexy, I didn’t believe they thought the other was sexy, and isn’t that the point?

Personal Secret: Ryan’s leg stubble grows super fast, and Ricky’s full name is actually Rodderick.

4. JORDAN and TADD | Viennese Waltz | Jean-Marc | “Fade Into Me” by David Cooke

I expected this routine to be a mess, yet it was absolutely gorgeous. Tadd’s strong, dramatic arms and his rise and fall were leap years ahead of what I expected. Jordan was confident and graceful. Nigel hit it on the nail when he said that this was one of the best hip-hop to waltz transformation ever. I could contend that, but I do believe, at the least, this is the earliest we’ve seen a hip-hop guy truly dominate ballroom.  Mary went so far as to dub him the biggest surprise of the season so far.

Personal Secret: Jordan “isn’t the brightest crayon in the box.” That was a secret? Tadd is a little OCD when it comes to packing.

3. MARKO and MELANIE | Jazz | Mandy Moore | “Sing With A Swing” (Raf Marchesini Radio Edit) by DKS

Again, these two partner very well in such a short period of time. They were incredibly in sync. While the routine wasn’t at all emotional, it was incredibly fun and full of life. Melanie showed a spunkier side of her personality. She’ll need to do more of this, as we’ve seen many technically exceptional dancers make it to the finale, but not win the crown, instead losing it to the dancer with a bigger personality. Nigel agreed with Debbie that these two are stars though.

Personal Secret: Melanie hates when people touch her ears, and Marko can’t put down his romance novels.

2. CAITLYNN and MITCHELL | Contemporary | Stacey Tookey | “Turning Tables” by Adele

Stacey pushed these two with an extremely emotional number about an unhealthy relationship for such new partners, but thankfully she did, because it showed a completely different side of Caitlynn and Mitchell and actually allowed him to really show his skills after being sidelined last week. These two have been dancing for less time than the other pairs, yet their connection shot up to the top of the pack. I truly felt that they left their hearts on the stage. Caitlynn also left a little blood after Mitchell, inadvertently, punched her in the nose. The girl cried but kept going without missing a beat. At least Mama Cat was there to dab their faces with tissues.

Personal Secret: Caitlynn’s fuzzy boots make her feet all kinds of gross, and Mitchell love his zebra printed Snuggie.

1. ASHLEY and CHRIS | Broadway | Spencer Liff | “Please, Mr. Jailer” by Rachel Sweet

This week, they really saved the best for last in my eyes. Ashley and Chris set the stage on fire with an indelibly sexy number. Tadd thought Ashley was hot so he had no issues getting in the mood, but Ashley had a hard time imagining her partner as a love interest. Still, I felt that wasn’t a problem once they hit the stage. Chris made me completely forget that he was a hip-hop guy. Completely. I didn’t think about it until Nigel did. And, WAHOOOO, Mary put them on the hot tamale train!

Personal Secret: Chris apparently has a creepy smile, and Ashley thinks she has more swag than she actually does.

Before we knew it, it was time for the results show. David Scott choreographed a dramatic group number that I thought was undoubtedly a Broadway routine, and I was reminded of how exciting it is to not only watch the contestants grow as dancers but to watch these choreographers push and grow as well over the seasons. Another fun perk is how many dancers get their 15 minutes of fame because of this reality show. Rage Crew stopped by to claim theirs.

While those adorable kids and teens looked like they were having the time of their lives, Wadi, Missy, Nick, Iveta, Ricky and Ryan most likely wanted to cry, but there was no time before their solos. As Cat realized, no one held back, and the judges had one hell of a hard decision. Each is so talented in their own style but have also shown such potential in other styles. Yet, to me, there’s just something special about Nick and Wadi. Nothing against the girls but there’s something truly unique and personable about these two. Nick and Iveta, especially, surprised me with their flexibility, and have the drive and potential to really grow outside of their style. At least, LMFAO, their “Party Rock Anthem,” and Quest Crew were an awesome distraction while the judges contemplated the dancers’ fates. Sure, all “drive-by” performances are self-serving promotional opportunities, but the song is catchy and fun. Quest Crew can dance their asses off, and LMFAO had no problem sharing the spotlight. They even got down with Quest and did a pretty admirable job. Fun can’t last forever on result night, and you know it, and two men and two women had to go home. Iveta, Missy, Wadi and Nick, two couples who I truly enjoyed, had to exit the competition, leaving Ricky and Ryan to dance another week.

So Poptimal lover, what do you think of the results? Is there someone else who should have gone home instead? Were you happy to see new Gatorade girl and last season’s winner Lauren Froderman in the house? And was it just me, or wasn’t Mary incredibly orange? Sound off below!

For another take on this week’s episode, check out Say Goodbye to the Oddballs by Trisha Leigh.

Season 8, Episode 8 and 9: “Top 20 Perform Again” and “4 of 20 Voted Off” (original airdates June 22 and 23, 2011)

So You Think You Can Dance airs Wednesday and Thursday nights at 8/7c on Fox.

Images courtesy of Fox and IMDb Pro.

Friday Night Lights Review: Decisions, Decisions

With the offer on the table in Florida, Eric (Kyle Chandler) and Tami (Connie Britton) Taylor have some decisions to make about their future in East Dillon. Meanwhile, the Riggins clan prepares for Tim’s (Taylor Kitsch) parole hearing, the school gets ready for the annual athletic banquet, and Vince (Michael B. Jordan) comes to a decision of his own.

Coach Taylor visits the college in Florida, and it turns out they’re about to make a change in classes and the person they’re looking to hire will have total control of the program, including a rather sizable budget and all recruiting initiatives. When he shares some of the relocation benefits with Tami, including a house with a pool, and she’s quite taken with it. News of his trip has spread across the team, with everyone from players in the locker room to Buddy Garrity (Brad Leland) pacing, trying to figure out what Coach Taylor might decide.

The players ask Coach if he plans to go, and he manages to dodge the question the entire episode while giving them the impression he’s staying. Tami is asked to sit on a panel for educators on how to prepare students for college and ends up having words with another panelist about valuing the importance of individual interaction over standardized testing. That guy just doesn’t understand; there’s nothing Tami Taylor can’t do.

At the athletic banquet, Buddy organizes a small tribute to Coach in hopes of convincing him to stay. All of the players take turns thanking him and highlighting memories from the season. The shared speeches ultimately come off a little shallow, particularly Vince’s lackluster stumble at the end. It just didn’t grab me. Eric is clearly moved however, and takes the stage where he lets everyone, including Tami, know they’ll be sticking around East Dillon.

Vince finally gets a reality check when his dad (Cress Williams) gets a call from a scout passing on him. He talks his dad down and gets him to agree to take a break from trying to get Vince recruited. He wants to focus more on getting back in Coach’s good graces and earning his starting position for the playoff games. Vince participates in practice with the rest of the team and later approaches Coach in his office to tell him he wants his spot back. Coach Taylor tells him to earn it, and takes a minute to remind him the purpose of the team isn’t to get him a college scholarship. Vince eventually has another verbal altercation with his dad over the situation, forcing his mother to step in and put a stop to the talk. Later on at the athletic banquet, Vince tries to reconnect with Jess (Jurnee Smollett).

Billy (Derek Phillips) is overeagerly trying to prep for Tim’s hearing. Tim’s been taking classes and has a record of good behavior, so he might be let out early. Mindy’s impressed with the short speech he’s prepared, but Billy wants some more help, feeling responsible for his brother’s situation. He gets Buddy and Coach to agree to come down to the hearing with him. Tim doesn’t want Billy to speak, because he feels he’s done enough already. Tim Riggins, are you feeling a little upset with your decision to take the blame for your brother’s chop shop? Maybe just a bit?

Of course Billy speaks anyway, awkward and shaking the whole time in the endearing way I’ve come to love about him this season. Coach Taylor speaks next, offering words on Tim’s character and the kind of man he knows him to be. Buddy interjects, offering Tim a job at his restaurant when he’s released. While the board decides, Tim tells Coach he’s sorry for letting him down. Coach apologizes for not visiting Tim more. Eventually, Tim’s released and heads back to the Riggins house, where Becky (Madison Burge) finds him at the end of the episode.

This is clearly going to complicate things for Becky and Luke (Matt Lauria). The two of them have finally reached a place where they’re happy and moving forward in their relationship. She helped him realize this week that football’s not the only thing he’s good at. Maybe Becky won’t end up living on a farm with him in the future, but I sort of hope she comes to have a more fraternal relationship with Tim. We all get it, he’s a smoldering pile of Texan goodness, but Becky, you know Luke’s the right guy for you.

This episode got back a little to the roots of the series, showcasing how a town looks out for each other. The way Buddy jumped to Tim’s aid, though he owes him nothing, and also the way everyone seemed affected by what the Taylors’ decision would be shows how symbiotic a relationship the people of East Dillon have. We’ve only got three weeks left to spend with them, which would’ve made saying good bye to the Taylors even harder for this viewer.

Season 5, Episode 10 “Don’t Go” (original airdate June 24, 2011)

Friday Night Lights airs at 8/7c Fridays on NBC.

Images courtesy of Bill Records and NBC.

Suits Set Report: Welcoming a New Show with Open Arms

Fun fact: did you know Suits was originally called A Legal Mind? I much prefer this new title. Not only is it short and sweet, but it encompasses so much of what the show is going to be about (figuratively, not literally, of course). Suits aims to look beyond the neatly pressed jacket and trousers and learn about the characters behind the suit.

Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams) has lost his way in life. He was practically raised by his grandmother who’s now sick in the hospital and relies on him to pay the medical bills. Truth is, Mike is a genius. He has a photographic memory and retains every small detail of whatever he’s read. But being hard on cash, Mike takes up an offer from his friend to deliver pot and make an easy $25,000.

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht) is one of the best closers in Manhattan. Sure, he’s cocky, arrogant and manipulates the client, but at least he gets the job done.

At the beginning of the pilot, you have to wonder: how in the world do Mike’s and Harvey’s paths cross?

All it takes is a drug deal gone wrong and Mike stumbling into an interview session being held by Harvey to land a job at the law firm. Harvey, impressed by Mike’s intelligence, brings him on board as his new associate at Pearson Hardman. The firm only hires grads from Harvard Law, but Harvey makes an exception for Mike – hiding the truth from everyone else at the law firm.

Suits is made up of a wonderful cast also including Gina Torres as Harvey’s boss, Jessica Pearson; Rick Hoffman as Harvey’s nemesis, Louis Litt; Sarah Rafferty as Harvey’s personal assistant, Donna; and Meghan Markle as the attractive paralegal Rachel Zane.

Having seen the pilot a few weeks before its premiere, I can tell you that the commercials do not do this show justice. It might seem like just another legal drama, but as executive producer Doug Liman told us during our set visit:

“Suits for me is about plucking this kid who’s really existing on the fringes of society and giving him a suit and a very high paying job and a beautiful office and all the trappings of having made it in NYC. That to me is the heart and soul of the show. I’m really about intelligence being a super power. His super power is that he’s just the smartest guy in the room.”

Like all of USA’s shows, the characters and their individual stories are at the forefront of the show; the legal cases only help move the plot forward.

“I think that [Suits] is in the guise of a legal drama, but it’s all about the relationships and how everyone’s dealing with each other,” said Macht.

A character as arrogant as Harvey Specter could be a real turn off for audiences, but Macht plays it so convincingly and with a bit of mystery that you want to keep watching and see what he’ll get up to next. It’s quite clear that there’s more to Harvey than meets the eye; though he claims not to care for people other than himself, the cracks are starting to show in his armor.

“My character’s definitely layered and comes off as a real hard ass, real tough but I think underneath, he’s really fair,” said Macht. “And when he’s dealing in a case or when he’s dealing with Mike or he’s dealing with any of the other characters, he’s, I think, morally in line with what’s right. As the show goes on, you’re going to see more vulnerability out of him.”

Harvey’s secretary Donna won me over instantly in the pilot. She was funny and complimented Harvey perfectly, though don’t expect any romantic dealings between the two anytime soon. According to Rafferty, Donna knew Harvey “before he was Harvey,” and she’s essentially the female version of her boss.

“I was just drawn to her ‘cause she’s so comfortable in her own skin and so confident in her own position at the firm,” said Rafferty. “She’s smart, she’s confident, she has a big heart.  I think she operates really from a place of compassion and empathy, I think she has that for Mike, though doesn’t necessarily want Mike to know that.”

During our tour of the Suits set, I noticed Donna’s desk had a flyer for the “Diva Dance Club.” It’s exactly where I can imagine Donna, the diva of the law firm, to spend her evenings!

All the sets for Suits were built identical to the law offices in New York used in the pilot. Harvey’s office is filled with shelves of records to play on his record player and a row of signed basketballs lines his windowsill. Clearly this is a lawyer who likes to have a good time! But his rival, Louis Litt, is a bit more serious with newspaper clippings of his achievements hanging around his office.

“Louis is like the douche of the firm,” joked Hoffman. “His suit is his shield, he covers himself for who he really is; he doesn’t want anyone to see who that person is. And who that person is, is actually much softer than he comes across, especially in the first couple of episodes.”

Filming was in full swing when we were on set, and though we didn’t have enough time to watch any filming (Covert Affairs beckoned…) two of the series’ stars Patrick J. Adams and Meghan Markle did stop by very very briefly to say “hello.” And just from those 30 seconds, you can see how sweet and passionate they are about what they do and I can only wish them – and the rest of the cast – all the success in the world for Suits.

Suits airs Thursday at 10 p.m. EST on USA.

Images courtesy of USA Network, Christos Kalohoridis, and Frank Ockenfels.

Bad Teacher Review: So Bad But So Good

Cameron Diaz, Jason Segel, and Justin Timberlake aren’t going to win any awards for Bad Teacher but it was a surprisingly fun and laugh-inducing film that wasn’t cheesy, boring or clichéd. The three actors have all done their fair share of comedic acting and this film is another notch on the belt of good but slightly higher than average scale.

The chemistry between this ensemble cast was terrific with Diaz as the horrendously “bad” teacher Elizabeth Halsey, Segel the smart-ass but endearing gym teacher Russell Gettis and Timberlake as Scott “The Substitute” Delacorte. The supporting characters of Amy Squirrel (Lucy Punch), Principal Wally Snur (John Michael Higgins), and Lynn Davies (Phyllis Smith) gave fantastic performances as the other comical teachers at John Adams Middle School.

What made this movie so enjoyable were a number of things. First to see Diaz play a gold-digging, pot-smoking, selfish, manipulative bitch in Christian Louboutin heels was just priceless because there’s something about seeing a woman behave so badly that makes you root for her even when you know you shouldn’t. Elizabeth early in the movie gets dumped by her rich fiancé and she is forced return to teaching, a job she clearly hates by letting her kids watch movies all day long while she drinks, sleeps, or reads magazines all day in class while contemplating bigger boobs. She decides to snare the new substitute Scott because she learns that he’s got family money, but in order to fully get him she decides she needs a new rack after seeing a picture of his ex-girlfriend with ginormous breasts. Elizabeth spends the rest of the film coming up with ways to make the money for her implants – embezzling, cheating, lying, manipulating and generally doing all sorts of things you would hope a teacher would never do.

Elizabeth’s nemesis is Amy Squirrel who is the antithesis to her “bad” teacher. Amy is overly cheerful to the point where you wonder if she’s taking Prozac. She cares deeply about being a teacher and puts a whole lot of effort into educating her students. But that could all be camouflage for her desperate need to be better than everyone else. Amy completely resents Elizabeth for doing the bare minimum and for simply not caring about her students, the way she treats other people, or anyone else for that matter. Still you can’t help but be on Elizabeth’s side because it’s just so much fun to see her get under Amy’s skin and drive her insane. While Amy loses her cool and acts childishly when she doesn’t get her way, Elizabeth doesn’t just get mad, she gets even. It’s the ultimate “don’t mess with me bitch or I’ll cut you” look that won me over.

This is a refreshing role for Diaz, who’s never quite done anything like this before. Her potty mouth and lack of censorship must be what attracted Segel’s character, well that and she’s hot. Segel, whom I know more as Marshall Eriksen from How I Met Your Mother, did a fine job in putting that role out of my mind as he became the not so physically fit gym teacher with the wit to match Elizabeth’s.

The most awkward moment though had to be the dry-humping scene between Diaz and Timberlake because we all know that they dated back in the day. Good thing it was supposed to be awkward because I can’t imagine filming that was anything but. The musician-turned actor though does have the comedic chops to hold his own (as we’ve seen on his numerous SNL stints) and did a hilarious job as the sensitive, naïve and weirdly douche-y sub.

Bad Teacher is good.  It’s good because nearly all the characters are developed in their eccentricities that it somehow just works. It’s funny because of the ridiculous things Elizabeth does that she wouldn’t get away were this real life and because the school principal is obsessed with dolphins. That should be reason enough to go see this movie.

Images courtesy of Gemma LaMana and Sony Pictures

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