The Unusuals (season 1) (1 Viewer)

[Joseph DeMartino]

Sadly I think production had halted on the "mini-sesaon" before the deicsion to cancel was made, so I seriously doubt we are going to see any sort of "conclusion". We'll probably get another (excellent) episode and maybe a little bit of a cliff-hanger.

I don't think things went backwards with Alvarez at all. On the escaped prisoner case, the gang halped save him from his own screw-up. Yes, he proved himself useful in the end, but he had caused the problem and up until then didn't contribute a hell of a lot. This week Walsh & Co. took the next step in integrating Alvarez into the squad by orchestrating the pranks. Because it is clear Alvarez himself hadn't learned all that much from recent events - he was still a humorless git about the mini-desk thing. He should have laughed it off, vowed revenge and moved on.

I loved Dellahoy and the doctor. That's a great relationship. And "manipulative bastard" is a whole new side of Banks - which I enjoyed. Wish the show were going to be around long enough for us to see more of it.

Later,

Joe

 

[Greg_S_H]

I tweeted Hawley about answering lingering questions, but no response so far. He was still trying to save the show as recently as a week ago, but I think he's given up now.

 

[Greg_S_H]

From Hawley on the tweetie:


At least he's knocking on some doors. It'd be nice.

 

[NeilO]

I think USA would be a good fit. "Characters Welcome"

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Really. They could open up a whole wing at USA for the characters on this show. Besides, something's gotta fill the void that will be left by Monk's departure. L&O: CI and In Plain Sight don't quite make it in the quirkiness dept.

On the other hand, there is some pretty dark stuff amid all the humor on The Unusuals. Depending on where the producers saw the show going, it might work on F/X as well.

But I'd prefer to see them on USA. Too bad they aren't an NBC/Universal show. Then we could have a cross-over where Mary and Marshall follow a witness to New York and have to enlist the cops of the 2nd to help them out.

Later,

Joe

 

[mike caronia]

So that's it? Bummer.
All the dramatic shows I watch getting the axe is starting to give me a complex.
This season alone...Life on Mars, The Unusuals, Pushing Daisies and Terminator.

 

[NeilO]

It was another good episode. I they'll will find another home for the series.

 

[JohnS]

Am I missing something?
How did the brown bag sex guy get a copy of the cop's sting apartment key?
Cole and Beaumont were only in that Doctor's office for a short time without those apartment keys.
The Doctor wasn't in on it.
So wouldn't the brown bag guy had to get a copy of the key while that doctor had possession of those key's at the time Cole and Beaumont were in session?

 

[pitchman]

Yeah, I thought that was a bit murky too. Unfortunately, we had lots of severe weather crawls and interruptions throughout the evening last night, and I thought perhaps I just missed a scene or two. IIRC, it sort of looked like the doctor took the dish containing their keys and stuff with him when he turned out the light and left the room. Which, at the time, seemed pretty lame to me.

Overall though, this was a really fine episode, and with the exception of the aforementioned, it was well-written IMO. Everything moved along at a nice brisk pace and they did a great job showcasing Amber Tamlyn's character. I'm sorry to see this program go.

I still hate the dopey name, though!

 

[NeilO]

The brown bag guy said he was a locksmith and had a copy of the doctor's key so he could check on the doctor's appointments. So, he would scope out information on patients from the doctor's appointment books and use his locksmith skills and kit to break into their apartments.

 

[RAF]

I agree that it was another good episode in a series that kept drawing me in more and more. Lots of great lines and quirky plots. In a way I'm glad that this wasn't presented as a wrap-it-all-up series ender. That makes it easier if some network (major or minor) with more sense than ABC can be convinced to pick up one of the highlights to me of the now-concluded season.

Fingers crossed (but not surprised if nothing happens)....

 

[pitchman]

I'm not disagreeing with you because I do recall hearing the guy saying something about being a locksmith, but if that's how the writers had this going down, then that is totally whacked IMO. How the heck is the locksmith going to know that Cole and Beaumont would be away for the weekend simply by looking at the doctor's appointment schedule? Especially since this was their first appointment with the doctor and it literally occurred one day before their weekend getaway. I can't imagine how that information would wind up in an appointment calendar.

Despite this unnecessary and bizarre plot twist (they obviously decided it was important for someone other than the doctor to be the culprit) I still really enjoyed this episode.

 

[Marty M]

You make some great points. I, too thought the ending of this plot line was very lame and week. The doctor is seen taking the bowl with the keys back into his private office. How could the locksmith come in undetected, make a copy of the keys, and have them back so they could be returned to the owner in the 15 minutes the doctor said he wanted the couple to stay holding each other. This was a very sloppy job of writing, IMO.

 

[Nelson Au]

Too bad the series is over. Is it cancelled or did they just complete the run ABC greenlit?

ABC has had a lot of really good quality series come and go recently. What that says to me is that the general audience is not getting it. I don't have or want cable, so I don't know if that's a better venue. Just because they can show nudity or swear is not a good enough reason, or is it?

Or is it that on network TV, the threshold for ratings is just crazy high? Seems so unrealistic as good shows have so little time to prove itself. Why not a whole 24 episode run? Cost is an issue I realize. And so maybe if cable needs programming, their threshold for ratings is a lot lower?

 

[Greg_S_H]

I imagine it's because ABC made a pretty big push on the show's behalf and it didn't pay off in ratings. Even a Lost lead-in didn't seem to work. I hope it gets carried over to a network that can live with smaller ratings, but it sounds like Hawley's pitching new ideas while simultaneously trying to save the Unusals. I get the idea he knows renewal is a pretty long shot.

Good episode. At least we found out that Delahoy really does have a tumor before the show ended. And the actress playing Margot was tres sexy.

 

[Mikah Cerucco]

There's definitely more to what makes some cable shows good than nudity and profanity. Part of it is just the business model that doesn't require a show to have 10 million viewers in order to be successful. A show like Damages doesn't revolve around nudity and profanity. It seems to understand those are not the only things that make adults adults. Premium cable does indeed have a lot of profanity and nudity, but I don't think that's what makes premium cable shows good either.

I didn't watch The Unusuals because there are only so many hours in the day, and I wasn't really hearing consistently strong feedback. Nothing in the commercials leading up to the show interested me. It may be a hard show to hook people into if they don't just watch out of curiosity and end up sticking around.

 

[Garrett Adams]

I really liked the show but I was starting to get annoyed by Delahoy's slurred speech. If it was Batman he'd be named Mumbles.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Cut him some slack. The poor guy has a brain tumor.

Regards,

Joe

 

[Nelson Au]

Thanks guys for clearing up how the cable TV model works in terms of reaching a particular audience with a lower expected rating. I understand now very clearly now Joe, your explanation is very clear.

With digital TV now operating with multi channels, (channel 7.1, 7.2 and 7.3) I wonder if a network now could try to target to specific audiences this way? The thought just occurred and I probably am missing a lot of issues. I realize not every local network affiliate will have multiple channels and I'm sure there is some cost issues here. I just wondered why couldn't ABC have a sub-channel with more direct audience appeal.

 

[Greg_S_H]

I don't think most of the audience even knows about the sub-channels. I can access them on my OTA setup, but not my cable box. Reminds me: since the digital switchover, I get some but not all of my OTA channels. No idea why, since I have a built-in tuner.


But, when he came in, the girls asked, "How do you have so many apartments?" If he picked the lock and didn't use a key, even those bimbos would know something was up.