:: a toe in the water... ::

:: Thursday, October 23, 2003 ::

up in the air -- it's a plane! it's a pig! it's...

... me blogging about a show on a major network. And not being snarky about it. And it's not even genre. Whoah. What's up with that?

I can't tell you how long it's been since I've *watched*, let alone liked anything on the three US majors. Now obviously, since I like it, sharp objects are probably being sharpened. So before The Big Sword of Stupidity descends from up above and severs this one from the schedule, let me introduce you to Karen Sisco.

I have a three ep rule: hook me by then, or I'm off. Sisco got me in the first three minutes. She's got a raging libido. She drinks scotch. Sometimes, when things are really crap, she drinks scotch alone in the dark. Oh yeah, and she's a US Marshall, which means she's all about The Job, the gun, and a seriously dry sense of humour.

And the walk. Deah gott, the walk.

"Karen Sisco" spins off from Elmore Leonard's "Out of Sight" and having not seen the film, it's hard to know how much to credit producer Jason Smilovic and writer Bob Brush for the character herself. I do, however, give them kudos for not filing those razor-sharp Leonard edges down to nothing more than hot-babe-with-big-gun.

The show itself feels quite deliberately like a 1970s Aaron Spelling production (the credits alone give that away), but Karen is not exactly one of Charlie's Angels. She's dark, compact, relentlessly straightforward and relies on no one but herself (she doesn't even have a partner.) Minus the flowing blonde locks, minus the jiggle, she's the sexiest thing I've seen on network television in...well, ever.

It's the walk. Deah gott, the walk.

I can't remember where I've seen Carla Gugino before (though I know I have) but it's really to her credit that "Karen Sisco" is as interesting as it is. I will happily admit that this is pretty formulaic writing: whip the plot along to cover the holes and hope people enjoy the snappy dialogue enough not to notice. (Speaking of -- darlings, 516 is the area code for West Palm, not Miami. If you're going to place card a location, you are going to have to take 43 seconds to look the area code up. That huge snort of derision you heard last week was brought to you by the residents of at least three Florida counties, plus the entire former audience of Miami Vice.)

However, there's something to be said for the effort the show puts in to do the formula well. The dialogue *is* snappy enough to cover most of the holes, and the acting is surprisingly good for this sort of fare. And really, that's why I'm recommending it. In something that's going to be as flatly episodic as this, I need the characters to hook me hard. And, despite being unoriginal, they do. Gugino and the equally laconic Robert Forster in the sidekick role (in this case, Sisco's PI dad) spark wonderfully together. Bill Amos as yet another black-guy-as-chief would be terrific if they just filled out his role enough to make him a human being instead of a politically correct casting decision, but the show is only three eps in so there is still hope. (No qualms with PC casting thing either if it gives a good actor a job, but why is it always just the one? The show's set in Miami for frell's sake, why are all the rest of the cops -- and robbers, so far -- *white*? Mr Smilovic, Mr Brush, while you're looking up the area code for Miami, how about checking out the demographic info?). And even if Karen Sisco herself is pretty much the stereotypical tough-ladycop-who-just-wants-to-be-wuvved; Gugino's deft hand with the actor's paintbrush gives the character a surprising array of colours. Beneath the cool opaque exterior, Karen's lonely heart glows like a dying coal. Enquiring minds want to know.

And of course, there's the walk. Deah gott, the walk.

All in all, any show that sets its female lead up to be desirable to grown men with brains rather than drooling adolescents with overworked right hands is worth keeping around, at least for a season or two. So I'm spreading the word. Karen Sisco. Have a look.

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:: fialka 2:49 PM [+] ::

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