A nice step up that fulfills the promise in last week's so-so premiere. I'm digging the noir vibe here - the suggestion that each of the MP residents may have less-than-noble intentions or possibly skeletons in the closet, and it's always better to suggest that upfront and opposed to awkwardly shoehorning it in later, which was a problem in the last two seasons of the original series. I don't think we'll be seeing any sunny, naíve aerobics instructors moving in anytime soon.
Auggie has a still-bleeding cut on his shoulder. Ah ha, a clue! I'm not what it's a clue to, aside from the observation that Auggie must be a hemophiliac if his wound is still bleeding more than 24 hours after Syd's death.
Ah, so it was Michael's house that David robbed last week! That hadn't been clear, but it does explain how he knew the alarm code. (Although won't that be a clear giveaway when Michael sees that the painting is gone without signs of a break-in? And wait a second ... Michael Mancini is collecting art?! Back issues of Playboy, sure, but art?)
David is boring so far. He's supposed to be interesting - the "bad boy" and all that - but he's reaching a Antonio Sabato Jr. level of dullness. Get this boy a character injection, stat!
Anyway, I'm glad David is taking pains to protect that million-dollar painting he just stole. Rolling it up like a newspaper in your hand, that's perfect - if you're planning to sell it on eBay, ya dope!
Thank Odin: Jonah doesn't wear the freakin' hat this week. But his green-shamrock-only bowl of Lucky Charms reaches the Soggy Point of No Return after a) he and Riley start snuggling, and b) Ella wants his help putting up a security camera in the courtyard.
Speaking of Ella's concern, aren't all these folks acting a trifle calmly over the fact that their landlord was murdered and was found floating in the pool yesterday morning? It's not like Sydney had a sudden heart attack. There's a killer out there! Fear and paranoia are acceptable responses!
Jonah volunteers to MacGyver a security system using an old camera that he had used for Skype. Great idea, Jonah: So with a Skype camera, we can expect a security feed that's completely useless beyond 2 feet or without bright lights, yes? Thanks!
Ella goes to work and finds out that lots of people have gotten laid off due to a merger. (Did Disney buy her publicity agency, too? And don't you hate going to work on a Friday and getting hit with surprises like that?) Her new boss is Coop from the last season of Charmed, and he tells her to pack up, also. I guess the Human Resources department got canned, as well. She pulls a Jerry Maguire out of her well-toned ass and says she'll prove her worth by signing a fictitious A-list movie star over the weekend. Well, that makes more sense than idiot Billy Campbell salvaging Julie Newmar's "comeback" in the original series.
Lauren doesn't seem too displeased by her new career as high-priced call girl, does she? She actually smiles when Tobe calls.
Time for another flashback! Auggie recalls his battles in the Crimean War and... oh wait, that's Highlander again. Sorry. We find out that Auggie met Sydney at an AA meeting. That night, they have wild sex. You go, Sydney! Show those kids how it's done!
Lauren, to her shock, discovers that having $5,000 does not make up for owing $30,000 in tuition! Presumably, Lauren did better in college at pre-med than she did at math. But hey, she has another guy lined up. After that, just four more dives into abasement and depravity and she'll be all paid up.
Ella is the hardest character to figure out: She's trying to wreck Jonah and Riley's relationship; she picks out a sexy outfit for Violet to wear at Coal (the restaurant/nightclub that's the new show's substitute for Shooter's, The Only Bar in Town); and she gives Lauren some thoroughly amoral yet well-meant guidance. Clearly, she's intended to be this show's Amanda, but her "toughness" comes across as comical and we haven't yet seen her softer side. David may be boring, but at least he's more believable than Ella.
Yikes, another Auggie flashback! Auggie was romancing Joan of Arc when... oh, damn, that was a Forever Knight flashback. Sorry again. Auggie, about to make a Nick Nolte plunge off the wagon, tells Sydney about his dead girlfriend. Some time earlier, he had gotten into a fight with another guy, and his girlfriend got in the way ... of a knife?! I can see getting in the way of a bullet, but a knife? Who was Auggie fighting, Bullseye? Sydney tells the Augmeister that for her to properly support him, they have to stop having wild sex. Gee, thanks for the support, Syd!
Holy Plot Contrivance, Batman! It turns out that the goals of David (steal expensive watch), Ella (sign ersatz Orlando Bloom star), and Lauren (act as her new john's eye candy) call all be accomplished at the same party. Wow!
To distract Ella from his thievery, David shows her a photo of him as a boy, along with his mom, in front of their trailer-park home. "But it was a Beverly Hills trailer park, so we still hired immigrants to mow the lawn and clean out the porta-potties." This is meant to make David more interesting. Plot Device FAIL.
But I got a kick out of David quickly slipping on the stolen watch to avoid detection! That was funny.
I'm forcing myself to write about Jonah and Riley. Their "fight" over Jonah's jealousy of Riley's friendship with Auggie lasted about 10 seconds, just enough time for me to write "Gag." Still, it may foreshadow a future fling between Riley and Auggie, which is good. Seduction and betrayal are essential ingredients of Melrose Place!
Wearing her borrowed dress, a newly hottified Violet gets the job as hostess at Coal. But that smile of hers - it's ambigiously evil!
Questioned by the police, Auggie has flashback #3. (He's going to get brain damage!) Auggie is searching for his father who stole his kidney and... oh wait, that's a Lost flashback. Sorry. Shortly before Syd's death, Auggie discovers that Sydney has raided Whitney Houston's house and is massively binging on cocaine, booze, and Ho-Ho's. Apparently, their relationship broke up over her obsession with Michael Mancini, a.k.a. David's dad. After Augster tries to snap her out of it, she slashes him with a convenient knife, hence the shoulder wound.
We wrap up with a poolside scene involving all the MP residents. Ella drops in a good line about not having to prostitute herself to succeed; Lauren winces. Jonah, who is getting suspicious of Violet because of her 2 a.m. swim, red hair, and residency just days before Sydney's death, asks Violet if she had gotten a chance to know Syd. Violet's gaze goes blank, which means 1) bad acting and 2) Flashback! Violet confronts Syd and tells her - ta dah! - that Violet is Sydney's long-abandoned daughter. Violet even got a DNA match to "prove" it. Sydney denies it, forcefully stating that there's no way she could be Violet's mom. And you know something? I believe Syd! Something else is going on. But Violet sure gets the "I won't be ignored!" look! Did Violet turn Violent and murder our Sydney? Could she have committed a crime worse than lip-synching? Ooops, end of flashblack!
On that last point, let's think about timelines. Violet is probably supposed to be about 21, yes? Sydney first appeared on Melrose Place in 1993, sixteen years ago. (Crap!) Sydney herself at that time was supposed to be early 20s, 25 tops. So could she have had a teenage pregnacy? Well, duh, it IS Melrose Place!
Melrose Place did not start off as a gang buster chart topping viewer machine, but last nights second episode drew less than 2 million viewers (estimated of course). Just to put that in perspective, the Vampire Diaries premier got about 5 million viewers and "Glee" on FOX got about 7.44 million viewers.
It is hopeful to note though that Gossip Girl (now returning for it's third season) kicked off with ratings that were a little worse.
Most likely the ratings will improve as soon as the industry takes into account all of the episodes stored on people's DVR's.
This sort of lame kick off sems to be pretty common for night time dramas and you may remember that the classic episodes of Melrose Place also started off slow then gained momentum and viewership as the season went on. It takes a while for people to get invested in the characters!
Why not host a Melrose Place Party next week and help bring the ratings up and have a little fun at the same time!
Last Updated on Wednesday, 16 September 2009 15:18
As you may have noticed, I have not posted anything about the premier of Melrose Place yet. I have been trying to think of the right thing to say and mulling it over and over and over. This is in no way a review of the show, but rather some of my initial thoughts.
First thing I noticed was that there was no intro song for the credits, just the Melrose Place logo, or at least "Melrose Place" in the new distinct font. that kind of reminds me of Lost. It's so cool it needs no theme song!
As the characters were introduced, it became evident that there will likely be some kind of tension between Jonah and Ella that should be interesting.
Speaking of Jonah, I just want to slap him and say "Dude, if she has to think for more than 10 seconds after dating for 5 years the answer is no, or at least should be and you should run."
I was not impressed with David Breck. He reminds me of a not so great Brad Pitt, but I am sure that he will end up rolling into his own character and pulling it off. We just have to give him a chance. I mean he DOES have Mancini blood!
Violet should be a really interesting character. I am looking forward to seeing more of her.
I was disappointed that the premier was only one hour! I was really hoping for two.
I am glad that they are taking the time to introduce the characters slowly instead of starting too much. I really liked how Auggie was mostly background until the very end.
I came to realize that this is NOT a remake, but rather a continuation... Putting it in that perspective changes things I think.
When it was over, I was thinking "Yep, that's Melrose!"
Over all I was pleased, but I think that it is going to take some time for people to get invested in the characters before it gets REALLY good. That is what makes the drama!
The biggest disappointment to me was not the show at all, but rather the number of people that watched it. There were 2.3 million estimated to have watched Melrose Place, while 11.7 million watched America's Got Tallent and 8.1 million watched Big Brother. All of these shows are on other stations though and this does not seem to be too bad for a show on the CW, so I am not too worried... Yet. :(
Be sure to check out the forum for some discussion on characters and answers to your questions!
Tonight is the night! Tonight at 9 eastern ad 8 central time we will see the premier of the new Melrose Place show. (I tell ya, it is hard to type this without using an exclamation point for every sentence.)
Be sure to register with the melroseplace.tv forumnow to talk about the show after it's over.
Who's your favorite character?
Who is destined to get together before the end of the season?
Which other previous cast members would you like to see back?
It seems that about once a week, there is a new article asking if Heather Locklear will be rejoining the cast of Melrose Place in her role as Amanda. Already, we have confirmation on the return of Thomas Calabro as Michael Mancini, and Laura Leighton as Sydney Andrews as regular characters and Josie Bissett and Daphne Zuniga (Jane and Jo respectively) returning as guest stars.
This is getting pretty close to half of the old cast. Lissa Rinna (Taylor) and Grant Show (Jake) have also expressed interest in the show. Add in one or two more and it is the same thing all over again, just a bit older. Sorry to say, but that is not what Melrose Place is all about. It is a show about 20 somethings clawing their way to the top, not people getting ready to join AARP. They are fine people, but this is not their place.
90210 made a mistake in trying too hard be the old show. Bringing Kelly back was enough, but adding in Brenda was ... not interesting. Melrose Place should not make the same mistakes. Michael and Sydney are enough, everyone else, stick with a guest appearance.
Melrose Place did not start off as a gang buster chart topping viewer machine, but last nights second episode drew less than 2 million viewers (estimated of course). Just to put that in perspective, the Vampire Diaries premier got about 5 million viewers and "Glee" on FOX got about 7.44 million viewers.
