[UPFRONTS] Murtzcellanious: CanWest Global & E!'s Fall Line-Up 2007 – Murtz Jaffer Reviews Global and E!'s New Shows

Features, News, Shows

Okay, so when I reviewed CanWest Global and E!’s actual Upfront presentation on Friday, I told you that I would tell you why I had to use my superpowers to check out all the screeners.

After attending the presentation, I rushed over to Global to pick up my screeners and watch them all to give you guys the first look at the new line-up. I didn’t think there would be that many and that the task for a professional TV-watcher would be pretty easy. Piece of cake, I remember saying to myself. Man, was I wrong.

So here I am… 21 shows, one Kid Nation trailer and 16 hours later to preview everything CanWest and E! will have for you this Fall. I’ll tell you what you need to see, what you can afford to miss and why E! is the greatest thing to happen to Canada since Inside Pulse. Enjoy!

SHOWS ON
Back To You

Tied with Swingtown as Global’s best pick-up, Back To You has one of the best all-around casts on television today (and not just the new shows). Featuring Kelsey Grammar, Patricia Heaton, and Fred Willard, the show focuses on news anchor Chuck Darling (Grammar) return to Pittsburgh where his career started. The reason for the return? Darling was fired from his last job after accidentally going on a rant that was caught on tape and put on YouTube. The show is hysterical because Darling still thinks that he is the man in Pittsburgh even though he comes back as a disgrace. There’s also his relationship with co-anchor Kelly Carr (Heaton) to deal with as the pair had a one-night stand before he left and she now has daughter which may or may not be his. After watching the pilot, the resemblance to Frasier is insane. The title sequence starts off with an animation (just like Frasier used to) and the transitions are slow which was also a trademark of Grammar’s old show. Just like with Cashmere Mafia below though, I do not think that imitation is always a bad thing. Back To You is engaging, well-written, and well-acted. While it is primarily a comedy, it also has small elements of a sitcom and a drama. It is one of the best new shows in the new television season and I give it my highest recommendation. After all, don’t we all remember a movie called Anchorman?

Cane

I was never a big Jimmy Smits fan before watching Cane and I always thought that he was one of those actors like Keanu Reeves or Nicolas Cage where you either really liked him or just couldn’t stand any of his work. With that being said, Cane changed my opinion. In the show, Smits plays Alex Vega, the adopted son of Pancho Duque (played by Hector Elizondo). The Duque’s run successful sugar and rum businesses and when Pancho learns that he is dying and is offered a questionable deal to sell the sugar portion of his enterprise to another family, he is forced to make a difficult decision. One that is made even more arduous as he also has to decide on which one of his family members will take over as his heir. The Latin family saga primarily looks at the evolution of the American Dream as it also explores conflicts of love, the power of money and familial allegiance. The show is definitely original, and while it stumbles for the first few minutes as the arcs are being drawn, it definitely heats up in the second half. I really like the casting for this show, starting with Smits and Elizondo, followed by Nestor Carbonell (that shady guy from Lost who played Richard Alpert). One of the best parts about this show is that there are many storyline threads that can be pursued. This means that every episode has the potential to be worth watching. Thumbs up.

Canterbury’s Law

Global and E! seem to really like their legal dramas. Between the two stations, they have the rights to Shark, Boston Legal, Women’s Murder Club and Canterbury’s Law. The star of this one is Julianna Margulies (The Sopranos, ER) who plays Elizabeth Canterbury. The story is pretty stale. Canterbury is a rebellious attorney who is willing to do whatever it takes to protect her clients. The case that she was working on in the pilot didn’t even matter. This is clearly going to be just like every other legal drama that is currently on the air, where we already know that Canterbury is going to win every case. The question is not whether she is successful, but just how far she is willing to go to get the victory. I thought the pilot was okay. But then again, you are talking to somebody who has liked almost every legal drama around. From Matlock, to The Practice and now to this. I just like seeing different legal defenses. This one isn’t anything to write home about.

Journeyman

Didn’t like this one at all. I watched it a few times to understand what was going on, but I am still completely confused. The show is described as a “romantic mystery-drama” about Dan Visser (played by Kevin McKidd), a San Francisco newspaper reporter who “inexplicably” begins to travel through time. While going on these adventures, Visser starts to save the lives of other people while damaging his own relationship with his present-day wife and son. The problem is that the show is not nearly that linear. In the pilot, Visser went from working at a paper to making love to his wife to waking up in the middle of a street seemingly homeless to saving some guy from being run over to being reunited with his long-lost fiancee. I mean I am confused just typing that, let alone watching it. At first I thought it was a take on Early Edition that starred Kyle Chandler (Early Edition). On that show, the lead woke up each morning to get the next day’s newspaper in advance. He then took it upon himself to save people from dying. I liked that show because it was easy to follow. You knew what the problem was and you knew what the lead character was trying to do. On this show, it kind of seems like a jigsaw puzzle that you are trying to put together. The problem is that the pieces are from DIFFERENT PUZZLES! So it doesn’t matter how much time you invest into solving it, it just isn’t worth the effort. Just like when you were a kid and you couldn’t get the Rubik’s Cube to work so you just peeled off all the colored stickers and stuck them back on to make it look like you solved it. The Journeyman needs to go on an extended journey.

Life

This was another show that I felt missed the mark, but only slightly. While the concept of a former detective being released after wrongfully serving time in prison sounds good, I thought that the execution (no pun intended) was poor. I thought that the pilot would have been better served to highlight how tough it must have been behind bars for a cop before ending the show with his release. This would have made the release and the second chance at life mean more not only for the character, but for the audience as well. While the premise of Life is clearly about Detective Charlie Crews’ (played by Damian Lewis) readjustment to a regular lifestyle, I think that the first episode should have been used to outline what he was readjusting from. Instead, the episode basically just showed him out of jail and already back in the force, working with a new partner and reading Zen books to deal with his anger. Since leaving, he also had all kinds of inexplicable new abilities including being able to talk to dogs and also had a higher degree of sympathy for low-level criminals. One of the main plot points of the premiere was when Crews told a father to hide his marijuana before the rest of the squad came to search his house. When questioned by his partner about it, Crews just said that he didn’t want to see him serve time for something so minor. Lame. I thought it was lazy writing. In addition, I thought that Lewis wasn’t particularly great as the lead. This one was not one of my favorites.

Swingtown

This show is absolutely amazing. My top pick from the Global dramatic line-up this season, Swingtown is fresh and innovative TV and undoubtedly the most unique show that I screened this season. The series is set in the 1970s, during the time of the sexual revolution where open marriages were the order of the day. Swapping partners is the show’s central storyline and this show is similar to HBO’s Big Love (about polygamy) in the way that it is groundbreaking in subject matter. I thought this pilot was perfect in design. The show starts off with Tom Decker (played by Melrose Place‘s Grant Show) meeting a stewardess on a flight and bringing her home to his wife, Trina (played by Windfall‘s Lana Parrilla) where they both “enjoy” her company. The show then follows a new couple that has moved into the Chicago suburb, Bruce (played by Jack Davenport) and Susan (played by Molly Parker) Miller. The new neighbors immediately draw the attention of the Decker swing captains and they immediately try to lure them into their world of experimentation. I cannot rave about this show enough. The pilot is very fast-paced and with sexy writing and great production value, this is clearly what an adult Dazed and Confused would have looked like.

SHOWS ON
Bionic Woman

I wasn’t a big fan of Bionic Woman. The story is very simple. Jamie Sommers (played by Michelle Ryan) tries to make ends meet as a bartender while taking care of her hearing-impaired sister at home who makes things even harder for Sommers because of her bad attitude. Just when things seem like they can’t get any worse, Sommers is involved in a major car accident. When she wakes up, she finds that her legs have been amputated and replaced and that she has undergone a surgical implantation that has left her with a strengthened right arm, amplified hearing and enhanced legs that allow her to run faster than a car. The problem is that she is now indebted to the people that saved her life. I know that the The Bionic Woman series was popular in the late 70’s, but I just do not think that the concept translates well to 2007. I think that Michelle Ryan definitely works as a lead, but that the plot is choppy. I think this is because the writers had to establish too much in 40 minutes. Not only did we have to meet and become invested in Jaime Sommers, but we also had to learn about all of her bionic capabilities. The result was that things moved too quickly. Perhaps now that we have met the Bionic Woman, things will get more interesting as she saves the world every week, but this one just didn’t do it for me.

Cashmere Mafia

I expected a lot from Darren Star, the creator of my favorite show of all time (Melrose Place) and somebody who I feel might be the greatest television writer of our era. As per usual, Star didn’t disappoint. I loved every second of Cashmere Mafia. While it undoubtedly resembles Sex & The City and comparisons will immediately be drawn, I look at it as kind of like Myspace versus Facebook. Just because Myspace came first, it doesn’t mean it is better and if you knock something off, it doesn’t matter if you do it better. Everything about this show jumps out at you. The pilot does a phenomenal job of introducing the lead characters. The storylines are basic while being gripping at the same time. And with a major Survivor reference thrown in early on, how could I not love this show. Did I forget to mention there are two lesbian kisses… in the pilot? As for what else to expect, the cliche soapy storylines are all there. The plot twists of the cheating husband and the boyfriend who can’t take his girlfriend making more money than he is are seemingly omnipresent. The thing about these overused storylines is that there is a reason they are overused. They work! The best pilots are the ones where you immedinately develop an affinity for the characters and become invested in them. That is definitely the case for the women enlisted in the Cashmere Mafia. I believe that this will be a show that will define the new E! network in Canada and one of the best pick-ups this season. The acting is flawless and I cannot rave about the writing enough.

Clean House

A new-age taking on TLC’s Trading Spaces, Clean House is hosted by Niecy Nash (Boys Don’t Cry, Malibu’s Most Wanted and her team (designer Mark Brunetz, go-to guy Mark Iseman and yard sale diva Trish Suhr) who basically go to messy people’s houses and reorganize their places for them. The way it works is that the team goes to a place, determines what can be sold at a garage sale and then whatever is made by the sale in terms of money is matched by the show (up to $1000) which is then used on buying new stuff. The premiere featured a family headed up by two members of some motorcycle club and their kids. The place was a disaster and after some heavy convincing from the team, the father was sold on selling his car for $500 and the mom finally agreed to stop her obsession with using ivy decoration everywhere. The team used the money to buy a new bed among other assorted goodies. While I can’t see any guys watching this show, it is still funny and definitely a guilty pleasure. I thought Niecy Nash was annoying but I would rather have a host with a loud and annoying personality, than one who doesn’t offer anything. Thumbs in the middle.

Dr. 90210

When I first saw this, I kind of had a CH deja vu. I thought that Vanity Insanity had returned! Haha. Anyway, like that show which focused on the lengths that people are willing to go to change their appearance, Dr. 90210 follows a different mix of plastic surgeons in the Los Angeles area. I believe that E!’s plan is to just start airing episodes from the latest season and not from when the show first started. In the first season, the show focused exclusively on Dr. Robert Rey’s clinic in Beverly Hills. Since then, Dr. 90210 has expanded and now features a variety of other doctors including Dr. Gary Alter, Dr. Jason Diamond, Dr. Linda Li, Dr. Julian Omidi and there are rumors circulating that Big Brother 2 winner Dr. Will Kirby will also be featured in an upcomign episode. As for this “pilot”, the show features a couple of breast augmentation surgeries. Dr. Rey is operating on a wannabe professional surfer and Dr. Linda Li is fixing a woman’s ruptured silicone implants. The show is very graphic in the amount that it airs but what is interesting is that the show isn’t just about the patients or the surgeries that are being completed. Like any good reality show, it also shows the home life of the doctors. In the premiere, we learn that Dr. Rey has just moved into his dream new office (apparently his goal when the show first started) and also purchased a new mansion that his wife does not like. We learn that Dr. Li just had a baby with her anaesthesologist husband and by the end of the episode, we learn that she is pregnant again. The show is another guilty pleasure, and it is interesting enough to worth watching. Definitely not a show to schedule around though.

How Do I Look

On first glance, How Do I Look? is just another makeover show. On second glance, How Do I Look? is definitely just another makeover show. Hosted by Finola Hughes (General Hospital), the episode that I screened highlight the fashion problems shared by a belly-dancing mother and daughter duo. How Do I Look? features three accomplices, whose mission it is to help their stylistically-troubled friends. In this case, it was the mother’s son and his girlfriend who were the first pair of accomplices. As for the third? Get ready for a blast from the past. It was Marcelles Reynolds from Big Brother! I almost fell out of my seat when I saw him on the show. When he was introduced on the show, it said that he had styled for David Schwimmer and Shannon Elizabeth in the past. And make no mistake about it. Marcelles was clearly the star of the show with his trademark one-liners and memorable facial expressions. One thing that I liked the most about this show was the fact that the show didn’t take itself too seriously. When the women modelled their old outfits, the music that played in the background was completely hokey and over-the-top. I thought this was cute because too often, these makeover shows make it look like choosing the right kind of shirt is just as important as solving the global warming crisis. The other thing that was interesting about this show was that after the accomplices went through the subject’s closet and threw out anything they thought didn’t look good, the show immediately went into the reveal of the new look. There was no time wastage at the mall shopping for new clothes or anything. It was just like ‘hey, you suck. You should be wearing this.’ Once again, I thought this was innovative for a makeover program. While they do show some of the process behind the change, this only happened after the reveal. I liked this show.

Instant Beauty Pageant

Picture this. You are a hot girl. You decide to go shopping and head over to the mall. When you get there, you see a couple of dorky hosts and a bunch of cameras. You look for a second and then continue shopping after deciding to ignore them. A few minutes later, the dorky hosts come up to you and ask you if you want to compete in a beauty pageant that evening. The prize is a trip for two to Hawaii. When you ask who you will be competing against, you are told that you will be facing off against another four girls from the mall! Hahaha. I love it! Reality TV trash at its finest. So there’s the concept of Instant Beauty Pageant. The one rule that I didn’t mention was that you are given a couple of hours and $400 to spend on getting an evening dress, a swimsuit, shoes and any accessories that you might need. The show that I saw took place at a mall in San Diego and it was highly enjoyable. When girls were approached, whoever was with them had to be their acting coach. This could be their mom, their friend, their boyfriend or in the case of the eventual winner Juice Newton! Classic. I loved this show and I can’t wait for the next episode!

K-Ville

Another show that I really enjoyed was K-Ville. The concept of devoting a series to the city of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina is unique and it’s surprising that a show would use this theme so quickly. What I like about K-Ville is that it depicts gritty aspects of what life must have been like after the hurricane along with a degree of hyperbole for dramatic effect. The show takes place two years after Katrina and the city is still in shambles. Crime is so prevalent in every community that it is almost a permanent resident of the neighborhood. The show’s main theme is one of redemption as a team of cops do everything in their power to reclaim their city before it is lost forever. Anthony Anderson (The Shield) is the standout among a pretty decent cast that also features Tawny Cypress (Heroes). I thought that the pilot was amazing and riveting television as the show started with the hurricane’s immediate aftermath and how Marlin Boulet’s (Anderson) partner left him when he couldn’t handle what was happening. The show then moves two years into the future as Anderson is still a cop in the city and is now being paired with a new partner just as his old one has returned to try and win back his trust. K-Ville is definitely worth a look.

Kid Nation

If for no other reason, you have to watch E! just to see Kid Nation. I have been referred to as the world’s foremost reality television expert, and I can tell you that no voyeuristic program has intrigued me more than this one. The concept, which Ryan Seacrest highlighted at the Upfront presentation on Wednesday is fairly simple. 40 kids are taken to an abadoned ghost town in New Mexico and left there for 40 days to form their own society. The kids range in age from eight to 15. There are challenges every week which determine the role that each child will have until the next competition and the roles include the “upper class” and “cooks.” There is also a governing council of kids that preside over the town hall meeting every seven days where they determine which one of their peers wins that week’s “Gold Star.” The gold star (awarded at the end of each episode) is worth $20,000 in scholarship money and the council of kids are left to use their own criteria in determining who wins it at each meeting *how much do you want to bet they all get the money at the end?). While no one is voted off, the kids are free to leave at any time. Unfortunately, while a pilot was not available, I did screen a long trailer and this just made me want to see it even more. It look spectacular. How can you not adore that concept?

Life is Wild

Just like Canterbury’s Law, this was a decent show with a very tired concept. A New York veterinarian (played by Brett Cullen) decides to uproot his second wife and their two sets of children and moves to a South African lodge to save cows that are in desperate need of medical attention. Not sure if life is wild, but the cliches certainly are as the once feuding family now bonds as lions and giraffes become their new neighbors. The show is still good and the production value is decent, so I might give it a chance. What I really didn’t like about it was the teen daughter character of Katie (played by Leah Pipes). She served as the pilot’s narrator and was the main thread that connected the relationships in her family as well as the character who introduced the new South African characters to the show. These new South African characters included a couple of boys that appear to be interested in Katie. Here’s the thing though folks. She’s not that hot. And her attempts to be funny were very annoying (although I blame the writing for this, not the actor). Anyway, in a line-up that is predominantly adult in nature, this is one of those rare shows that the entire family can watch and for that reason, I think it will be okay. But at the same time, you can argue that viewers might reject it because it is so outside E’s traditional teen-demo programming.

Paradise City

I know that the New York Post ripped this show to shreds, and while I didn’t hate nearly as much as Linda Stasi did, it certainly wasn’t the greatest thing that I have ever seen. The show is produced by Ryan Seacrest Productions and Go Go Luckey (the team behind Laguna Beach). It actually looks a lot like MTV’s Twentyfourseven a show about a group of guys trying to make it in Los Angeles. Both shows involve incredibly copious amounts of self-promotion. Paradise City primarily is about of eight people in Las Vegas that all look like models. These include Jenner (a former Hooters calendar girl who moves to Vegas looking to start-up an online magazine of women’s stories and is searching for initial financing), Jack (a marketing exec at the Hard Rock Café), Molly (a TV reporter for Hot On Las Vegas!), Rick (the lead singer of “Adelita’s Way”), JJ (the token black guy referred to as ‘The Player’), Greta (no idea what she does aside from pine after Rick), April (a Playboy bunny) and Willie (a male model and swordsman at the Excaliber Hotel). Just like Laguna Beach, there is no real point to the show. Just a depiction of these people trying to make it in Vegas and partying together. One of those shows that will be a guilty pleasure but something that you will definitely turn to if nothing else is on. Even if it is just playing in the background. They say that whatever happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas and maybe in this case it should.

Style Her Famous

Now Jay Manuel will have two shows airing in Canada! I know, I know. It’s hard to contain your excitement. Not only will Manuel continue hosting Canada’s Next Top Model, but he will now also host Style Her Famous on E! The show is just another in the litany of those makeover shows, and the “twist” on this one is that the person is styled in the same way as their favorite celebrity. This includes make-up, clothes, accessories and (get this), a faux-magazine cover shoot. On the episode that I watched, an edgy rocker wife and mother wanted to look like… ready for it…. wait for it…. Reese Witherspoon! Bwahahahahahahahaha. It was funny. Just picture Bettie Page with tattoos everywhere wanting to look like Elle Woods from Legally Blonde! Once again, it’s good background TV while you are doing the laundry.

The Soup

This show is so good, it is scary. I know some of you Americans will think we are living in the stone age up here since we have never been able to watch The Soup before, and after seeing it, I agree with you. It’s kind of like Global’s Life show where we are getting to see the world in a whole new light and a Soup World is the only one that I want to live in. The satirical entertainment show is so sassy and sarcastic, you are literally laughing from the first minute to the last. The show is also brilliantly hosted by Joel McHale. In the sample that I watched, McHale led by showing a clip of Ryan Seacrest spitting on American Idol Jordin Sparks and admitted on national television (even funnier considering Seacrest is the ‘face of E!’), pointed viewers to Paris Hilton’s Myspace page where she urged fans to sign an online petition to keep her out of jail who are “outraged by injustice” and made fun of Madonna’s desire to adopt Justin Timberlake. This was in addition to ‘classic’ Soup segments that included Cruise Watch (featuring enormous amounts of Tom Cruise mockery), Chat Stew (a hilarious segment that talked about why American Idol was losing viewers featuring a former contestant pointing to the lack of background info on each contestant and ending with McHale asking who the former contestant was) and Reality Show Clip Time (a reel of the funniest moments from the world of reality that happened during the week). While the show is really nothing more than McHale musing in front of a television screen, it is better than any entertainment program that I have ever seen and it is like Saturday Night Live‘s Weekend News Update… back when it was actually funny. The Soup is appointment television.

Sunset Tan

You know a reality show must be good when Britney Spears makes a cameo on the first episode. That’s exactly what happens in the Sunset Tan premiere, a show that follows the insanity that happens at an LA tanning salon as celebrities walk in and out everyday. The show’s ‘heroine’ is doe-eyed Erin from Oklahoma… young and naive, she thinks that joining an LA Tanning salon is the best way to learn how to start up your own business. Sadly, I don’t think Wharton school grads ever thought spraying down Jose Canseco’s naked ex-wife would be the best use for their MBA’s. Then there’s Erin’s “boss” Lisa who is never around and seems incapable of answering her cell phone when it rings. The rest of the supporting cast include “The Olly twins,” Molly & Holly who just “dropped the M & the H” to get their nauseating nickname, Nick (who thinks that selling extra tanning lotion is the equivalent of working for a Fortune 500 company) and Janelle (resident bitch personified). The show is very fast-paced as it quickly moved from Spears’ impromptu appearance, to the Olly girls being trained, to a new manager being promotion and ends with the Salon owners throwing a party where they both jump in the pool naked. When Janelle decides to join them and the Olly twins abstain, a cat fight ensues about which employee’s actions are more “respectable.” Fade to black with Erin calling her pastor-father back in Oklahoma and saying that she misses them. Heh. This is trashy reality TV at its best and I LOVE it. I am in. Makes me wish I needed a tan.

Viva Laughlin

In addition to Kid Nation and Cashmere Mafia, I think this is the show that is going to help to define the E! network in Canada. On simulcast with CBS, Viva Laughlin is produced by and stars Hugh Jackman (of X-Men fame. The show is basically a musical about Ripley Holden’s (played by Lloyd Owen) dream to open his own casino in Laughlin, Nevada. When one of his top investors pulls out days before the casino is about to launch, Holden is forced to ask his biggest rival, Nicky Fontana (played by Jackman) for assistance. When Fontana refuses and snidely offers Holden a job as a manager, the eternal optimist is forced to let it ride on a bet that will either allow him to live out his biggest dream or live out his biggest nightmare. In terms of the format of the program, it pretty much plays out like any other drama with the only difference being that their are musical numbers every once in awhile. The best part about the performances is that they are set to contemporary songs that the audience will definitely recognize and be able to sing along to. While I can see the musical interruptions getting grating as the season wears on, I still feel like it is a creative attempt by Jackman to reinvent television. And with smart writing and an all-star cast that also includes Melanie Griffith and D.B. Woodside, I think this show will be an instant hit. I could turn away from the premiere for a second and this is a very good sign that Viva is here to stay. In fact, you might want to bet on it.

Women’s Murder Club

I have always felt that Angie Harmon is one of the most underrated actresses in Hollywood. She is very good-looking and can also act with the best of them. I was a fan of Harmon’s since her work with David Hasselhoff in Baywatch Nights, and that show was almost a synonym for Harmon’s career as it was also very underrated. I was happy to see Harmon cast as the lead in Women’s Murder Club and my feeling before watching it was that even if it turned out to be half-decent, Harmon’s acting alone would at least earn it a second season. The show involves a group of four women involved in the ‘business’ of solving murders. There’s a detective (Lindsay Boxer played by Angie Harmon), a district attorney (Jill Bernhardt played by Jill Harris), a medical examiner (Claire Washburn played by Paula Newsome) and a reporter (Cindy Thomas played by Aubrey Dollar). The group of women talk about men, money and murder in their weekly chats as they combine their homicide expertise with their real friendships and the result usually leads to them solving crimes that nobody else can solve. Before watching the premiere, I thought that the concept sounded strikingly similar to E!’s other new drama about a group of four women (Cashmere Mafia) with murder replacing sex as the primary plot point. After seeing the pilot, I think that description is pretty accurate. Regardless, this show definitely earned a second-look. My concern for it is the supporting cast. I wasn’t particularly impressed with any of the actors aside from Harmon, but I think that the writing might be able to solve it. After all, the series is based on James Patterson’s series of bestselling books of the same name.

MURTZ’S PICKS
So many shows to choose from. I have to say that Swingtown was my favorite. I loved it and I am as excited for its next episode as I was for the second episode of Heroes last year. I also really liked Back To You which traditionally is not my kind of programming. As for E!, what’s not to like? This is a network that was tailor-made for Murtz Jaffer. I loved The Soup, Cashmere Mafia, and Viva Laughlin. I think these three shows will be the programs that help to establish the network as a contender next seasons. All three shows really stood out to me and I have high hopes for them all. I am pretty sure Kid Nation will also be in that category, but since I wasn’t able to see the actual first episode, this is just my gut feeling. I also liked Women’s Murder Club, Sunset Tan and K-Ville. To say that I am excited would be the understatement of the year!

Murtz Jaffer is the world's foremost reality television expert and was the host of Reality Obsessed which aired on the TVTropolis and Global Reality Channels in Canada. He has professional writing experience at the Toronto Sun, National Post, TV Guide Canada, TOROMagazine.com and was a former producer at Entertainment Tonight Canada. He was also the editor at Weekendtrips.com.