From Deseret News archives:
'K-Ville' It's the Big Uneasy
Good for them!
Unfortunately, "K-Ville" despite its pretensions is a rather run-of-the-mill cop show. And that's being somewhat generous.
Bad for us!
"K-Ville" (Monday, 8 p.m., Ch. 13) is two shows wrapped into one. But this is not not chocolate and peanut butter, which blend so nicely, but more like oil and vinegar. Or maybe chocolate and vinegar. Yuck.
Anthony Anderson stars as Marlin Boulet, a take-no-prisoners veteran of the New Orleans Police Department. Unlike many of his colleagues, he stayed at his post during Hurricane Katrina and the disaster that followed. And he's passionate about rebuilding the city and rebuilding his family life.
In Monday's premiere, he gets a new partner Trevor Cobb (Cole Hauser), a veteran of the war in Afghanistan who isn't exactly forthcoming about himself or his past. He rubs Marlin the wrong way, but then pretty much everybody seems to rub Marlin the wrong way.
There's some very emotional stuff here, and Anderson proves, as he did in "The Shield," that he's a fantastic actor.
Frankly, after watching the pilot I feared my reaction was too harsh. But then critics were sent a second episode, which looked like a cross between "The Dukes of Hazzard" (complete with Boss Hogg) and "Scooby-doo."
When the show's executive producer, Jonathan Lisco, took questions from TV critics a few weeks ago, his answers didn't exactly inspire confidence. One critic summed it up rather nicely, saying, "I couldn't decide whether you wanted to be a gritty, realistic show like 'NYPD Blue' or a wild and woolly show like 'Starsky & Hutch.' Which one is it?"
Not overly polite, perhaps, but the point is completely valid.
"Well, I would throw it back out to all and ask you, why, are those two mutually exclusive?" Lisco asked.
Um, yes. They absolutely are.
You can't have it both ways. You can't do a gritty police show and throw in ridiculous plots, over-the-top action sequences and in the final moments of Monday's premiere toss in a surprise about the background of one of your two leads that makes it utterly impossible for viewers to take seriously any of what they've just seen.
I won't give it away lame though the big twist is, it wouldn't be fair to ruin the surprise. But it is not a pleasant surprise, because it's so dumb you sort of feel like you just wasted an hour of your life watching "K-Ville."
Fox is doing "K-Ville" a disservice by advertising it as a "landmark" series and making it appear much more serious than it actually is. (And much less, well, dopey.)
"We're not necessarily out to be only messaging in the wake of a big national disaster," Lisco said. "We're out to create entertainment, and I actually think that that balance is something we are very focused on in the show. We want to create entertainment; at the same time, we want to be socially relevant to the extent possible."
But what he's proving is that it's possible, while trying to be two things at once, to be neither.
E-mail: pierce@desnews.com
Recent comments
The name itself ("K-Ville")does a disservice to New Orleanians....
Kahlil | Sept. 21, 2007 at 7:15 p.m.
- Sp. Fork man arrested in thefts 4:17 p.m.
- Nurse charged with abuse of teens 4:15 p.m.
- Downtown plans three-day ""Eve"" 3:44 p.m.
- Small-business conditions improve 3:41 p.m.
- Pair arrested in Provo burglary 3:36 p.m.
- Summit Co. appoints first manager 3:24 p.m.
- Man sentenced to 7 years in death 3:21 p.m.
- Senate Dems at odds over insurance 3:20 p.m.
- U.S.: $3B to end tribe royalty dispute 3:09 p.m.
- Police seek missing WVC woman 3:06 p.m.
- BYU football: Bronco weighs in on Hall
- Yet again, we learn BCS is a big joke
- Witness: Mitchell stalked victims
- Williams' late jumper tops Spurs
- Storm pounds Utah for 2nd day
- Cougars in better mood about bowl
- Ranking the bowl games
- $2M error could mean layoffs
- Andersen apologizes for Jordan hoax
- BCS reform still needed
- Y. profs: Beck not all-knowing
274 - TCU to play Boise in Fiesta Bowl
203 - Letters: Global warming a lie
200 - Cougars going back to Vegas
147 - BYU football: Bronco weighs in on Hall
145 - Utah/BYU rivalry can be more civil
141 - George lost in rivalry hatefest
119 - Ed Smart 'appalled' at testimony
101 - Harpring's NBA career is over
98 - Store planning for Palin crush
86
As distressing as it was to see KUTV's longtime vice president/general...
To the 12:30 commentator, There are also other connections some people...
Lillard is the best bball player in the state. Case closed.
first, I would like to see the evidence to support your claim that ":most...
They are going to destroy Medicare.
Liberalism is a mental disorder
This is a good thing right?
To "Uh red shirt... | 1:10 p.m." profits have very little to do with the cost...
If JT wants to help the team he should start playing D and rebounding. Right...
Every time I read a post, I want to say something...lol re: Lawsuit Are...
If we could move the waste dump to Orem I'd be all for it.



