Review

[Spooky]

http://www.thestar.com/Entertainment/article/557554

Sneak peeks boost the new year

Dec 23, 2008 04:30 AM
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Rob Salem

This year my Christmas came a few days early.

I came into work late last week to find my desk buried beneath a mountain of envelopes and packages.

Excavation uncovered some delightful unexpected surprises: DVD screeners previewing new and returning Fox (and one FX) series I was particularly looking forward to.

It amounted to seven hours' viewing time, which I happily crammed into a single Sunday, prompting my spouse to comment in passing, "You have the best job in the world."

I could not disagree.

This one was of particular interest, given a) the long absence of fan-favourite fantasist Joss (Buffy) Whedon from our TV screens, and b) the characteristic abuse heaped upon him by a meddling and trigger-happy Fox network (one word: Firefly).

The resulting pilot shows aspects of both: a nifty concept, sporadically witty dialogue, a way-cool set (Whedon is as masterfully visual as he is verbal) ... and several glaringly dumbed-down story issues he clearly had to compromise on to even get the thing on the air.

I will not spoil it for you, except to warn you of one particular, ludicrously coincidental plot point that will cause you to spout whatever beverage you are drinking out through your nose (in my case hot coffee – it wasn't pretty).

I also worry about lead actor Eliza Dushku, who is supposed to be playing a radically different character every week, for which I seriously doubt she has the range.

Apparently, one of these will be a 60-year-old woman and it's a pretty safe bet it ain't gonna be another Brad Pitt in Benjamin Button.

There is also the show's unfortunate resemblance to the quickly cancelled My Own Worst Enemy.

Of all my Sunday screeners, this is the one we'll have the longest wait for, debuting in its Friday-night "death slot," with a relocated Terminator as its lead-in, on Feb. 13.

That's Friday the 13th.

I'm just saying.

[Eric]

Ut oh.