UPDATE

Let's stop and re-evaluate a bit, shall we? Some things have changed, and when that happens, it's nice to take stock of things. Here's a little Q & A to get you caught up.

Q: So, what's changed?

A: Well, for starters, I've just agreed to turn that weekly post at Niners Nation I wrote about earlier into a bi-weekly post. Starting this week, I'll have one post on Friday mornings previewing the weekend's games in the NFL, and another on Monday morning reviewing the weekend action. I'm excited about this opportunity to reach a larger audience, but it will of course mean I have to post a little less over here.

Q: What does that mean for this site?

A: Hopefully, not much. Of course, since both my Monday and Friday football columns will be running elsewhere, they won't be here -- that means no more "For Who? For What?" or "Theoretical Gambling" -- but I will still write short posts that day to at least link to those posts. I'm also going to still try to post once a weekday over here, it's just unlikely that those posts will include my thoughts on sports -- at least not until after football season. I may have the occasional post about a baseball acquisition (today, the Giants signed former Reds reliever Jeremy Affeldt, and I might write something about that shortly, for instance), or random rant about something which doesn't fit into my football pieces, but most of what you'll find here will be related to my personal life, the entertainment world, or both.

Q: Do you have a preview of what exactly is to come for this site?

A: I'm glad you asked that, made-up person. As soon as I'm done answering this question, I'm going to do a quick update on the TV shows I've reviewed up to this point, and in the coming weeks I plan to see several Oscar bait movies to review. I'll also be turning my attention to established TV shows. Up until this point, I've only been reviewing old shows, but I want to review the latest seasons of some of my favorite shows to take a look at how they rate against their previous work.

TV UPDATE

Before I get to updating my reviews, I want to update my Top 10 Shows On TV list, even though I just wrote it last week. After catching up on the last couple episodes of 'Dexter', I need to ammend those rankings to raise it up at least one slot, and maybe more. Right no, they are peaking, with the current storyline one of its most compelling. I'm shocked to be saying this, but Jimmy Smits is the best thing that's ever happened to that show.

In TV, things can also change quickly. When you review a movie, you don't have to worry that the movie might change after your review, turning you into a liar. TV shows, on the other hand, can start off shakily, then turn it around and become very good with a few key changes. Other shows can have a terrific pilot and back it up with a couple good shows before completely crapping the bed. Therefore, I thought it would be a good idea to go back and revisit the TV reviews I've done so far, which can all be found here.

LIFE ON MARS: This was very recent, and I haven't seen another episode, so my CONSIDER grade still stands.

ELEVENTH HOUR: I've seen a couple more episodes of this, but not much has changed. Still CONSIDER.

MY OWN WORST ENEMY: After giving it a PASS, I've seen one more episode (against my will), and there's been no change. I wouldn't hold my breath on it either -- it's been cancelled by NBC.

THE LIFE & TIMES OF TIM: I gave this a HIGHLY RECOMMEND, but while the show is still pretty good, it's become a bit spottier. Because of this recent inconsistency, I'm lowering my grade slightly to RECOMMEND.

FRINGE: Things are looking up a bit for 'Fringe' recently, as the last few episodes have shown it to be finding its own voice a little better. As with a lot of shows, the increased airtime has allowed the characters to become more three-dimensional, and thus the interplay between them is more compelling. They've also had some really cool bits on fringe science of late. Because of this improvement, I'm going to bump by original CONSIDER grade up to RECOMMEND territory.

TRUE BLOOD: Since I gave 'True Blood' a RECOMMEND grade, the show has stalled out a bit. I still like it, but I can see how somehow might say the characters are stagnating a bit as they run over familiar territory. I was prepared to drop their current grade until I saw the last episode, which I thought was better than the last few. I'm going to keep the original grade for now.

THE MENTALIST: The steadiest show on this list. You could argue that's because it's a predictable CBS procedural, and that might have some truth to it, but I like it, so I'll praise its consistency. Still RECOMMEND.

TV Review: 'Life On Mars'

This is the part where I act like an authority on entertainment, and criticize the work of professionals who are, without exception, more successful than I in the industry in which we both work. Some people would say this is proof I have "balls", or "chutzpah" in Jewspeak. Others would say it's proof I'm a "douchebag". To catch up on any old reviews, you can find the link on the right hand side of the page, or just click here.

Yet another re-make of a British show, the new ABC drama 'Life on Mars' is reflection of its concept -- it looks great on the surface, but there's not much underneath. The conceit is interesting enough: NYC Detective Sam Tyler (Jason O'Mara) gets hit by a car and somehow ends up 25 years in the past, in 1973. What's more, he's still a cop in the same city -- just a different world.

It's a world which doesn't understand DNA evidence, and a force where he works with racist, homophobic cops like boss Lt. Gene Hunt (Harvey Keitel) and Det. Ray Carling (Michael Imperioli), who prefer beating up suspects to simply interrogating them. And there are hippies, and bell-bottoms, and sideburns, and cool retro tunes. This all sounds good, right? Only the entire show seems to exist for just this reason -- to be a cool idea.

Digging deeper, however, there doesn't seem to be any foundation to the story which necessitates any of this. In the pilot, Sam is dealing with real-life issues with his partner and love interest, Maya (played by Lisa Bonet), while following a serial killer suspect when he suffers his accident. Back in 1973, he meets the serial killer as a child, and the impression is given that Sam is able to convince to not grow up to be a serial killer. (I know, it's patently ridiculous, but try and play along.) But once this stpryline is over, Sam never goes back to the present, so there is no driving force keeping the story moving forward, no reason to be in the past.

As future episodes progress, a new motivation develops -- Sam wants to go home to his love, and therefore needs to figure out why he's here. But we're also given hints that maybe he's just in a coma -- he hears Maya calling his name, telling him it will be alright. He also sees her reflections in windows, the show's writers seemingly searching for any device which will allow them to keep that storyline alive, despite there being no real link. But Maya disappears in episodes three and four, and Sam seems to move on quickly, flirting with Gretchen Mol's Officer Anne Norris (called "No nuts" by her male colleagues -- clever, huh?) and a hippy chick down the hall.

They also go out of their way to remind us of the differences in our times -- like 1973's ignorance of terms like "hate crime" and "gaydar". It's an interesting idea, but it would help if there were some substance to go with all our style. It also doesn't help that the execution is ham-fisted -- the tone jumps from emotional and reverent to madcap and goofy and back in a heartbeat, and the switch is usually accompanied by an equally jarring switch in classic rock songs (the best thing about the show).

The cast is a strong point. O'Mara is believable in an unbelievable role, Mol is particularly good (always underrated, really), and Imperioli and Keitel are as good as advertised, albeit in roles well within their comfort zone. It's in the writing where the show becomes a bit cartoonish. This shouldn't come as surprise -- the creators (Andre Nemec, Josh Applebaum, and Scott Rosenberg) are the same team which brought us last season's one-and-done dramedy 'October Road', which served up syrupy melodrama with extra helpings of pap.

'Life on Mars' is just good enough -- and superficial enough -- to do very well with middle America, the folks who actually decide the fates of most TV shows (as much as us cultural elitists on the coasts would like to ignore that fact). For that reason, this is the kind of show which can be on for some time. But that can only happen if the creative forces behind it can make the concept last, and that will take a bit more than what they've delivered thus far.

Using the age-old Hollywood scale of judgment -- HIGHLY RECOMMEND/RECOMMEND/CONSIDER/PASS (circle one) -- I rate 'Life on Mars':

CONSIDER