612 replies to this topic

[mustbekarma]

I think it might be about vampires. Apparently, this is an ABC summer production. It starts Sunday, June 20. The preview shows Rhona Mitra biting somebody's neck and talking about how kitchens are her favorite room. I guess it's about monsters in a gated community. The protagonists are the Monahans, who move to the community after leaving Chicago. The dad, Nick, becomes the new chief of police. There's a lot grandiose language in the official description. Here's a snippet from the official ABC website.

There's something very different about this place, almost... haunting. Unions will be complicated by friends with unnatural influence, insatiable housewives will struggle with ravenous cravings, and teenagers will be cursed with keeping their beastly instincts in check. The Monahans are facing an uncertain fate. Nick is about to be tangled up in a mystery where he will begin to piece together the dark truth about their new home, and the supernatural elements that lurk behind the shadows of The Gates.

This could be fun for snark value alone. The only actor I recognize is Rhona Mitra, who's most recent work I know of is Stargate: Universe as Kiva, a psychotic leader of the Lucien Alliance, or at least she's trying to play psychotic.

[Turkish]

I'm betting this show will run it's course this summer and then we will never see it again.

To me, it looks like it's going to be more like Desperate Housewives(who just happen to also be supernatural creatures) and less like True Blood, Being Human, or Vampire Diaries. All of which manage to be different and more interesting than Twilight.

[mustbekarma]

I'm betting this show will run it's course this summer and then we will never see it again.

I think that's a pretty safe bet. God, the description for this show was so stinking melodramatic. Hell, if this show is really about sexy vampires, it could freaking stay on the air.

All of which manage to be different and more interesting than Twilight.

I think watching paint dry would be more interesting than Twilight.

[Last Time Lord]

Those promos don't really tell a whole lot about what the show is about. Most promos are more in depth as to what the show is about.

All I got for this is: Gated Community + Monsters.

[redshirtx]

I can't help thinking "Wait, Eastwick got axed and we're getting this crap?" I'm not sure if it'll even be worth snarking on.

[casey22]

So what are they vampires or werewolves? Both? I'm sure ABC will not be able to come close to Vampire Diaries but I will check it out. It seriously seems to be lacking in the humor department and a Twilight vibe? If that is the case? I'm out of here.

[Cozmicmyst]

There is about 20 minutes of the first episode on hulu if you look for the show on there. It's not horrible, but it could be a heck of a lot better.

[Tippi Blevins]

The show's not getting a forum, but I will be wee-capping it for TWoP. Hoping it's better than it looks or at least fairly snark-worthy. Or both.

Edited by Tippi Blevins, Jun 18, 2010 @ 1:19 PM.

[DEM]

I watched the preview on Hulu, and I'm intrigued. On the plus side, Rhona Mitra speaks in her native accent. On the negative side, Rhona Mitra's dress. Also, teen Chip(-On-My-Shoulder) may get on my nerves real quick, as may skateboarding daughter who's behaving younger than the actor who portrays her (I hate that).

I'm a bit confused about the premise/set up of this town, but... Rhona Mitra. As a vampire.

[AimingforYoko]

but... Rhona Mitra. As a vampire.

Is Michael Sheen showing up as a werewolf?

[Teitr Styrr]

I watched the preview on Hulu, and I'm intrigued. On the plus side, Rhona Mitra speaks in her native accent.

I agree with all of this. I'm intrigued as well.

Is Michael Sheen showing up as a werewolf?

Heh.

[mustbekarma]

I just caught the preview on Hulu. It does expire in 2 days, though. I really liked it. Vampires don't glitter in the daylight, and all the bright, pretty colors and beautifully manicured landscaping and scenery are going to be a really nice juxtaposition to the whole vampire subject matter.

On the plus side, Rhona Mitra speaks in her native accent.

That was definitely a plus. Who knew Rhona Mitra could act? I'm being bitchy, I know, but I was kind of impressed how well she did.

Hell, I liked all the characters, even. Heck, this could actually be a fun show. I'm in.

The show's not getting a forum, but I will be wee-capping it for TWoP. Hoping it's better than it looks or at least fairly snark-worthy. Or both.

Weecap! Cool. Maybe I'm just being really generous, but I think the show will be better than it looks. I'm not going to go into a lot of detail to avoid spoiling anyone, but all the Desperate Housewives/Vampires vibes I was getting from the promos were pretty much laid to rest in the first five minutes. The sink full of blood was quite the vivid image. It also helped that the sunlight started to fry Rhona's skin where she missed putting the sunblock on. Vampires should never be able to walk about in sunlight without consequence, let alone glitter. I also wondered if Rhona was trying to hide being a vampire from her husband, and then he went all pyscho vamp on her.

Edited by mustbekarma, Jun 18, 2010 @ 4:10 PM.

[SunlessNick]

Vampires should never be able to walk about in sunlight without consequence, let alone glitter.

I disagree; being harmed by sunlight is a far from universal in vampire legends. Although I'm with you when it comes to the glittering.

Edited by SunlessNick, Jun 20, 2010 @ 8:46 AM.

[patriotickid]

It was pretty solid. Not sure it's good enough for a long series, but maybe as a 13 week summer series it's intriguing enough.

[Snark Shark]

Holy Totally Taking Advantage of the Twilight craze, Batman!

At least there's no sparkly crap.

That was definitely a plus. Who knew Rhona Mitra could act? I'm being bitchy, I know, but I was kind of impressed how well she did.

Actually I've always thought she was a pretty good actress. That said, she's got some pretty mediocre material to work with here thus far. She's got the pathos down, which takes some ability, but overall this show seems like it will be constantly in danger of going over the top.

And I said above this was a rip on Twilight. Actually I take that back. It's more "True Blood: Network Edition, with some teens tossed in" (that last is the bone tossed to Twilight). Except TB CAN totally go over the top and milk it, 'cause its cable, but here those attempts will likely fall flat, because of what you can and can't do on network TV.

[GrapeEarth]

I liked it, but I wanted more explanation of what exactly everyone was. Obviously there are more than just werewolves and vampires in this town. I'm going to take a guess that Devon and Peg were witches of some sort.

Rhona Mitra did a good job bringing the creepy. I loved her jumping over the banister and landing gracefully on the floor below. That shot was nicely done I thought.

I actually felt bad for the werewolf boyfriend instead of wanting to hate him like I think we're supposed to. I didn't buy into the instant love connection between Charlie and Andie.

[Snark Shark]

I'm going to take a guess that Devon and Peg were witches of some sort.

Oh, I think that was made pretty obvious. The good witch and The bad witch, it sounds like...

I actually felt bad for the werewolf boyfriend instead of wanting to hate him like I think we're supposed to.

Actually, I sense we're supposed to like him. The show went out of its way to make sure we knew he didn't want to misbehave, but couldn't help himself. Sort of like what they did with Rhona Mitra's character except... we haven't seen the kid murder someone.

[Amelie06]

I actually liked this. I thought I would hate it. I find myself intrigued by most of the storylines. The only one I don't care about is the terrible chief trying to be a better father/husband. The chief needs very little evidence to start trying to stitch someone up for murder. I know he isn't wrong, but nothing he knows right now really justifies warrants and illegal searches of the vampire couple.

Rhona Mitra did a pretty good job. Even though she seems to habitually kill innocent people, I feel bad for her. I know we aren't supposed to like or trust her husband, but I was kind of on his side. Yeah, he roughed her up, but I would have too. Here he is trying to be hot and legit in a "nice" community and this bitch is murdering douche-bags in their kitchen. He made it clear that their daughter was a priority for him. I guess they wouldn't be able to continue raising her outside of The Gates, and Rhona keeps doing things that could cause them to leave. I understood his frustration with her.

With the teen saga, does the girl both boys like French? Sometimes I swear I could here some kind of accent. Anyway, the werewolf she is already dating is crazy hot. Crazy. But he does has some serious rage issues so I understand why she is drawn to the ordinary chief's son.

All in all, I will be back next week.

[DEM]

I liked this. Lots of Rhona Mitra (first billing! yay!) smoothed out the rough edges. Those rough edges included Nick Monohan, Tortured/Obsessive Cop; Devon the Bad Witch, who seems to think she's in a revival of Dallas; and Instant Romeo & Juliet Jell-o with Stalker Boyfriend topping.

I am somewhat confused about this community. So it's got a significant (majority?) population of supernatural folk, but the cops are all normals? How does that work? Why do the vampires and werewolves and witches want to be there, and why is it forbidden to "act out" within the confines of the community? What does it mean that Claire & Husband couldn't raise their daughter outside?

As far as writing goes, I'm a bit worried about pacing (see Insta-Romance and the 6-hour missing persons report), but I like that many of characters are conflicted in some way.

Rhona Mitra did a good job bringing the creepy.

Yes. I found her manner when she was visiting with Sarah Monohan disconcerting. I think Sarah did too, hence the dropped dish.

I'm glad Claire and Peg are friends. I liked Peg.

The chief needs very little evidence to start trying to stitch someone up for murder. I know he isn't wrong, but nothing he knows right now really justifies warrants and illegal searches of the vampire couple.

For real. When he said that Husband started answering for Claire, I was like, What?? He offered one hypothesis during the natural course of the conversation! I'm thinking Chief could use a dose of Peg's herbs... or a plate of Claire's cookies.

Edited by DEM, Jun 21, 2010 @ 1:18 AM.

[kelbel]

I actually felt bad for the werewolf boyfriend instead of wanting to hate him like I think we're supposed to. I didn't buy into the instant love connection between Charlie and Andie.

Oh, me too. The boy does have rage issues (I chalk that up to him still adjusting to werewolf-ism) but I still felt bad for him. But the entire teen scene still dragged only because of the two love birds and their insta-connection. I really wasn't into that or them. But the werewolf stuff was interesting at least.

Rhona Mitra did a fantastic job in her role. And if given more material to work with, I think she can really knock it out of the park. Right now, she's the only reason I'm tuning into this show next week.

But what's the deal with all these supernatural creatures living in the Gates? And is the Gates just a gated community or a gated town? I mean, it has shops, stores, parks, and a freaking school. I never heard of such a thing. Do places like that actually exist?

One more thing...how can the Radcliffs raise a daughter? I thought vampires were immortal and therefore didn't age. Wouldn't it be wierd if she turns...oh, I don't know, twenty or something and realize that her parents still look exactly the same?

Edited by kelbel, Jun 21, 2010 @ 12:43 AM.

[snuffles]

Well, it's episode one of a 13 episode series so let's not get ahead of ourselves. I'm sure many of the questions we're thinking about are meant to be asked and will be slowly and duly answered over the course of the season.

The sneak for next week already reveals that Andie is not normal. She has powers similar to Rogue of the X-men which means a relationship with her is going to be not so great. I wonder she and Brett know each other's secret? The story suggests not since if I were Brett and knew Andie's problem I wouldn't be worried AT ALL about her attraction to a normal kid, knowing it would be doomed before it even got off the ground. Similarly, if I was Andie, I would have a big problem flirting with the new kid in town if I knew my boyfriend was a slavering werewolf capable of ripping people to pieces and had anger control issues. Never know though.

As for the vampire couple's kid, I think the kid is adopted and right now we have no assurance she is completely normal either. I also think it's kinda sad that Claire blames her husband for turning her into a vampire in the first place and then forcing her to suppress the natural urges that come with that.

Overall, I think there are a lot of interesting subplots and dramatic character arcs and conflicts that can make this show great to follow. It looks like Devon is being set up as the main antagonist/trouble-maker of the show.

My only problem is that the chief of police character is super boring right now compared to all the other interesting people and he is supposed to be the lead and also our surrogate in this crazy world. Not a good start when I was already rooting for Claire to rip his throat out.

You have no search warrant and you go snooping in your neighbor's backyard at 3 in the morning. WHAAA???? How does that make any sense at all.

Anyway, this first episode exceeded my expectations so I'll bite (pun intended) and see what next week brings.

[Snark Shark]

My only problem is that the chief of police character is super boring right now compared to all the other interesting people and he is supposed to be the lead and also our surrogate in this crazy world. Not a good start when I was already rooting for Claire to rip his throat out.

And time will tell if he follows the recent ABC pattern of really dumb Sheriffs/Police Chiefs (not that many people bothered to actually WATCH Happy Town...) Him snooping around in a backyard without a warrant tends to argue that yes... he probably IS "Police Chief Dumbass".

[hilaryvm]

So, are we supposed to think the old police chief was actually the body that was dumped by the vampire couple, or was that just misdirection, and they just haven't found the handyman's body yet?

[Chancellor]

I LOVED IT! I really did, and I'm so glad that this is not at all like Desperate Housewives as some had speculated. DH has humor, this show does not. It seems pretty serious actually. But then again, it is being called a crime drama while DH is more of a dramedy. I loved the hot werewolf guy, and isn't there another werewolf on the show? Just as Brett was about to transform and attack Charlie, he was stopped by another guy who looked like he too was about to transform into a werewolf. All in all, this show's a keeper for me and I hope it lasts.

[Zach W]

Hmm I watched and didn't hate it. The roommates were also surprised by how much they didn't hate it. I was like come on, vampires + werewolves=lame, but the acting wasn't bad, the story might be interesting.

[CalumetK]

This has potential to be a fun summer show. I hope the ratings pick up, though, because they weren't very good for last night's pilot: 4.65 million viewers and 1.5/4 in the adult 18-49 demo.

[meknownothing]

For those of us whose TV habits stretch back to the 1990's, we all recognize "The Gates" as what Sunnydale would have become if the Mayor had been successful in his bid for demon-hood.[/Buffy]

And do not ignore the vampires vs werewolves theme humming around about in the background. Hey, wasn't there a movie about that? "Under.." something-or-other?

Edited by meknownothing, Jun 21, 2010 @ 11:51 AM.

[SanLynn]

Bummer. I was hoping for better ratings too because I quite liked it. Hopefully, we'll get all thirteen episodes at least.

I agree with those who say that the sheriff is the weak point. I thought maybe it was just because I don't like the actor so it's nice to see that others are having the same thoughts from a character standpoint.

Rhona Mitra and her storyline are the biggest drawing points for me with werewolf kid second. Should be interesting to see where all this goes.

Edited by SanLynn, Jun 21, 2010 @ 12:02 PM.

[shockermolar]

Do places like that actually exist?

Yes, kind of freakishly they do. Only without the vampires, witches and werewolves (I guess). I watched 20/20 type show about the problems inherent in one created by Disney - Celebration, Florida. Whether or not it was gated I can't recall. And there are others - it's a whole wave of "urban" architecture apparently.

[JessicaLovejoy]

I've always been a bit bewildered as to why Rhona Mitra's career hasn't popped off more. She has the talent, and her looks are above a few A-list actresses.

Edited by JessicaLovejoy, Jun 21, 2010 @ 12:59 PM.