Sunday, April 30, 2006

If You're Not Watching: "Thief"

This is something I’ll do every once in a while for lesser-known cable shows, or quality shows that aren’t getting the viewership I think they deserve.  

During my hiatus, there hasn’t been much of note as far as new TV shows, but there is one that has shown promise.  “Thief” is a show on FX about a group of—you guessed it—thieves.  This isn’t your mustache-twirling, devious scheme-hatching group of thieves, and it’s also not your fun-loving, non-violent, Ocean’s Eleven type of thieves either.  This is their job, and they take it very seriously.  In the pilot episode, they had to “fire” one of the group because he screwed up and compromised a job.  And by “fire” I mean “shoot”.  But thievery and murder aside, these guys are the protagonists, and as such they are rather likeable.  Andre Braugher plays Nick, the leader of the team.  Week after week he has turned in excellent performances that help carry the show.  In the pilot, Nick’s wife is killed in a car accident, leaving him to take care of stepdaughter Tammi (Mae Whitman, also known as Ann from “Arrested Development”, who gives another MVP performance on the show).  

The relationship between Nick and Tammi is strained at the very best, and it obviously complicates things with Nick’s job to have a teenage girl that is continually prying in his business.  But business continues, and the scenes involving Nick’s “job” are always intense and entertaining.  All in all this is a pretty good show right now that has potential to be great.  For some reason the first season is very short (the season finale is this week), and I’d recommend checking out the sure-to-be-released DVDs before the next season starts.  

Final Score: 3 cents.

In other “if you’re not watching” news, CBS’ “The Unit” just keeps getting better and better.  If you’re not watching this one, you’re really missing out.  It’s been a good performer ratings-wise, but I know there’s still a few of you out there that haven’t checked it out yet.  Do it, and you’ll be glad you did.  

“Veronica Mars”, on the other hand, has not performed as well as it should in the ratings.  As I said in my “Top Ten” post a while ago, this is easily one of the best shows around right now, and I highly recommend you check it out, whatever your TV watching tastes may be.  “Arrested Development” has already gone the way of the dodo, and I don’t think I can handle if this one doesn’t come back next year.  That having been said, I think it will in fact have a home on the new CW network. But if the ratings don’t pick up then, I fear for its future.  So check out the season one DVDs now, and likewise the season two DVDs when they’re released.  That way when season three starts, everyone will watch, and balance can be restored to the TV universe.  (At least as much as possible without “Arrested Development”.  Yes, I’m bitter.)

Blogarama