The Unusuals (season 1) - Page 3

Re: The Unusuals (season 1)

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.

Re: The Unusuals (season 1)

From Hawley on the tweetie:


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

Re: The Unusuals (season 1)

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

Re: The Unusuals (season 1)

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.

Re: The Unusuals (season 1)

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?

Re: The Unusuals (season 1)

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!

Re: The Unusuals (season 1)

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)....

Re: The Unusuals (season 1)

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.

Re: The Unusuals (season 1)

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.

Re: The Unusuals (season 1)

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?

Re: The Unusuals (season 1)

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.

Re: The Unusuals (season 1)

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.

Re: The Unusuals (season 1)

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.

Re: The Unusuals (season 1)

Or maybe a very sloppy job of viewing? You're right - he could not possibly have copied the keys. Of course that doesn't matter, because he didn't copy the keys and didn't need to copy the keys. He's a freakin' locksmith. That means he can pick the locks. He has the tools and the skills


We're talking about basic cable networks like USA and TNT, not premium channels like HBO and Showtime. Although not subject to FCC rules (because they aren't broacasters) most basic cable channels adhere to similar standards so as not to offend viewers or scare off advertisers. (F/X tends to be a little edgier, but their flashes of very brief or semi-nudity don't go much further than what ABC or NBC might show after 10 PM and that language stops well short of things like the F bomb.)

The reason cable might work better is a) in absolute terms you can survive with lower ratings. If you're getting 1 million and a half viewers on most basic cable channels you're a success, 4 million and you're monster hit. On the networks if you're under 10 million you're likely cancelled. And b) the advertising and business model allows for a show to "narrowcast". A quirky show that appeals to a particular audience that a given advertiser really wants to reach can do very well. If I sell computer games I can pay a fortune to advertise to 12 or 15 million people watching Private Practice and get maybe 500,000 who would actually be interested in my games, or I can spend a lot less to advertise on some show on G4 that is seen by 750,000 people, 90% of whom would be interested in what I'm trying to sell. Which is the better investment for me?

That's why broadcast network shows have to appeal to a very broad audience, while cable originals can fill niches.


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

Regards,

Joe

Re: The Unusuals (season 1)

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.

Re: The Unusuals (season 1)

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.

Re: The Unusuals (season 1)

Same here. (Well, I don't have an OTA antenna, but the basic local channels that I get by plugging the cable straight into the input on my TV.) I get the sub-channels there, not through my DVR. And I agree, most people have no idea what they are or where they are. Besides, the sub-channels would be unsuitable for first-run dramas and comedies precisely because they use the "left-over" bandwidth assigned to each channel. It isn't like you could do one 1080i show on the main channel and another on a subchannel (plus additional material on yet other subchannels.) You can show the weather radar at low-res on a low-bandwidth subchannel, and other less-demanding stuff on others, but not a second HD channel.

Since the final digital switch-over some channel positions actually shifted around and you may need to re-scan your digital channels to make sure you're getting them all.


He could have been there earlier and left the door open - or picked up a spare key. The fact is someone who practices can pick a lock in less time than you or I can open one with a key, and with little more noticeable effort. All he had to do is tell the girls to keep an eye out for cops or nosey neighbors, put his body between them and the lock, and he could have picked it without raising any suspicion at all.

Regards,

Joe

Re: The Unusuals (season 1)

I was just being argumentative anyway.

I'll try rescanning the channels. I rarely use OTA, so I need to remember how to do it!

Edit: Thanks for the suggestion, Joe. That got my channels back and then some.

Re: The Unusuals (season 1)

Even if we buy that, it still does not address the bigger issue of how in the heck is this locksmith going to know that Cole and Beaumont are going to 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 (supposed) weekend getaway. That kind of information simply would NOT wind up in an appointment calendar.

Feel free to blame the viewer, but your rationale does not convince me that this was anything other than sloppy writing...

Perhaps this ill advised "plot twist" came down as a note from an ABC suit and the creators felt compelled to incorporate it into the script. If so, then IMO they should have reworked the script to make it a little more logical... or believable!

First off, sorry if this thread bump makes you say, "Ah, man.  I thought it was going to be renewal news!"  Nah.  I'm watching 28 Weeks Later (excellent thus far, though I'm breaking to eat some food) and I was shocked to see both Jeremy Renner and Harold Perrineau.  What's with this show and its zombie connection?  Those two, plus Joshua Close was in Diary of the Dead.  Also, the "zombie" episode, and Amber was in a pilot for a zombie show that never got picked up!  I'm starting to think everything goes better with Harold Perrineau.  Lost, Unusuals, 28 Weeks and I recently saw him in a Dead Like Me.  Guy is cool.

I just saw on TVShows that this will be available as a complete series, exclusively from Amazon.  It's up for pre-order.  I'm going to pass since it isn't Blu-Ray.  Yeah, I'm a HD snob.  Besides, I loved the show, but at this point watching it again would be kind of like being taken to the edge and then she says, "Sorry, gotta run."