A Man. And His Blog.

It was a boring episode. I’m about to cancel this episode, if there isn’t one single reason in this show to continue watching it. And no, the Milf in the lead role is not the one single reason of the show. She might look hot, but she has such bad material to work with, I can’t believe how this show is still alive and airing on television.

So, all the storylines were crappy, boring, or totally terrible. The mental case of the week could have been interesting, if there was a reason to believe the realism of it. Why would a professional poker player go to therapy to look for his tell? Sure, Jason (Joshua Biton) told Dani (Callie Thorne) that he looked at the game tapes, and even asked his friends about his tell, but when I think about this story a bit further, I’m getting dizzy. Going to therapy to find out the tell? Really? That’s what the writers come up with? I don’t know, but is that even realistic? It just feels like the writers are looking for stories to keep Dani occupied with different kinds of patients with different kinds of problems, without risking that one of the usual stories gets repeated. Seriously, that ain’t good in my books…

And again, there were the “flashes” of Dani “miraculously” getting to Jason’s problems, while she was talking to somebody else. OH, COME ON!!! It’s getting fucking ridiculous. Can’t she discover the patient’s problems during the therapy sessions, like every normal therapist? Why does it always have to be in those random situations, where she suddenly gets the idea? Five episodes in, and it’s the fifth time the writers used that method of conclusion. That’s not good in my books. That’s actually lazy writing. Even more, I couldn’t see what Jason as a compulsive liar had something to do with his poker troubles and his tell. Did I miss something, or where the writers not able to bring Jason’s emotions around his family together with his losing streak?

Again, Dani’s kids are annoying. They lie, cheat, lie again, betray their friends, and are practically the worst kids in television history. And again, Lindsay (Hannah Marks) is the origin of all trouble, when she wants to have money to buy jeans, just because her girlfriend said she’s not cool enough, because she doesn’t have those cool jeans (talk about peer pressure). And why not selling TK merchandise, because mommy doesn’t give her kids enough allowance? Baah, I hate those kids. I hate the decisions they make, and I hate that the writers don’t have different ideas to keep the kids interested in the show. They are completely separated from all the other stuff going around in the show, and they always wreak havoc. That’s lazy writing. Again.

Even the story with Bobby (Teddy Sears) wasn’t interesting, though there could have been a great conflict between TK (Mehcad Brooks) and Bobby, because the latter steals his spot in a commercial for an energy drink. But no, instead the writers made a celeb story out of it, and how Bobby is not ready to be a celeb (though it was funny to hear his reasons of why he doesn’t want to be a celeb: to bang hookers and women other than his wife).

I’m giving this show one more episode. But I don’t think the next one is gonna be much different from this one. Why following a series, which completely annoys me and shows, how lazy writers can be? 3.5/10

Let's make a commercial for pedobears

Let's make a deal...

Seems like all my cable dramas minus FALLING SKIES are getting less interesting. After FRANKLIN & BASH delivered a shitty episode, I wasn’t really wowed by this one. Too boring Dani’s (Callie Thorne) nut case of the week, too lame the romantic relationships here, to uninteresting all the troubles between Dani and her family, and Dani and her job. There’s absolutely no drama in this series, and I don’t care about anything. Is there still hope left, or am I canning this show pretty soon?

The story with Randall (James Earl) could have been much better than it was here. At the end, he just had an obsessive-compulsive disorder, but how the writers were getting to that revelation was just lame. I didn’t learn anything about his character, except he was pretty much a quiet egomaniac, who wanted to play, but didn’t do anything to get on the field (also known as talking to Dani about his problems). I especially didn’t like again, how Dani came to the conclusion. Agin, she just looked at something (this time her picture at the wall), she has a couple of flashes, and suddenly she has all the explanations for her patient’s troubles. Seriously, it’s the fourth episode, and the writers haven’t come up with something else to make Dani win? Does it have to be flashes and “sudden conclusions” all the time? And why is it always that the patients are finished with their treatment, after Dani found the reasons for their psychotic problems? We only have TK as a recurring patient, but the rest is completely gone and forgettable? That doesn’t help this show very much in case of believability.

The rest of the episode was crappy as well. But at least the writers have found a way to bring at least one of Dani’s kids into a proper story. The buddy story between TK (Mehcad Brooks) and Ray (Patrick Johnson) was okay, though I wonder what TK thinks of clubbing with the son of his therapist. And I wonder why Ray is such a stupid kid – hoping to get TK’s help in wowing a girl, but getting his car stolen. Just so TK can buy his new car. I have nothing against a friendship between one of Dani’s kids and one of the Hawks’ players, but there should be more reasons in it too. Other than that, I could slap Lindsay (Hannah Marks) in the face. She is currently the most annoying daughter in television, maybe even the most annoying kid. Somebody should make her overdose on something. That would free me from her character, and it would bring drama into the series.

The information leak was a nice attempt of a nice storyline, but executed lame. Well, Dani had the chance to suspect Angela (Concetta Tomei) for the leak, but it was a really lame way of getting the mother/daughter trouble extinguished, after Ted (Victor Webster) was revealed to be the leak. I wondered already, why he was in this episode. It couldn’t have been just another guy to flirt with Dani and stay in the way of Matt (Marc Blucas) and Dani. And finally I noticed that Matthew is playing basketball a lot. Even though he is a football coach. Can I predict that there is a basketball scene in the next episode? 4.5/10

The case of the annoying daughter

What is Dani doing in bed with clothes on?

I’m kind to believe that this episode was totally alright, if I’m able to forget all the typical USA dramedy mistakes almost every show on this cable network seems to have (I don’t know, since I don’t really watch them all). But the show is kinda fun, especially with Dani (Callie Thorne) being the hot MILF, who has everything right now, but is not able to enjoy it all.

The case of the week was okay. Billy (Matt Barr) was a better and more interesting character than the TV news anchor from last episode. Here I had the feeling that the writers wanted me to care about Billy, and about his therapeutic relationship with Dani – in addition to letting Dani care about her patient, because I didn’t have that feeling at all during the first two episodes. The dry and real racing sessions the two had were entertaining, and they delivered some form of character development for Billy. And it’s totally fine to see Dani a bit crazed out every now and then, like on the race track besides Billy driving the hell out of his training session. The conclusion was, again, unsatisfying though. How Dani came to the reason for Billy’s panic attacks was ridiculous – letting her have a private moment, where she gets some unrelated words from her friends, and all of a sudden she connects her thoughts with the patient, and has the solution to the psychic problems. I would wish for a bit more rationalism in this part of the show, because they make the show less enjoyable.

The rest of the episode was partly okay, partly kinda bad. Dani’s kids were annoying again, and what I was thinking about the possible plot of Betty Gleason (Sharon Morris), the court appointed observer, taking the kids and sending them to their father. Both Lindsay (Hannah Marks) and Ray (Patrick Johnson) annoyed me dearly, and their stories are not even connected with the rest of the series’ story arcs. They are probably just in the show to give Dani the opportunity to have a private life, which she has to battle as well. Obviously the writers don’t believe that battling the job life with loads of crazy personalities is not enough. Uargh, not good. And sorry, but Lindsay and Ray calling the cops on their own party reminded me of the first New Year’s episode of THE O.C., which had the same storyline – and I watched that episode just weeks before this one. Is there any kind of new material in NECESSARY ROUGHNESS, which is not reminding me of other TV shows and movies? At the end, I was really surprised that the kids still stay with their mother. After the events described here, I would have totally sent the kids to foster care. So, what was the story all about? Letting us know that the kids don’t want to live with their father? You could have done that in a little dialog scene…

The conflict between T.K. (Mehcad Brooks) and Shane (Harold House Moore) was okay though. It brought the funny into the episode, and it showed that Dani is fully involved in the lives of the football players. Though it wouldn’t hurt, when Dani sees a couple more members of the team and doesn’t only have to deal with T.K., who hasn’t developed as a character yet. I liked the girlfriend swap though, as well as the chemistry between Dani and Nico (Scott Cohen). I would have expected that Dani ends up with Matthew, but now it seems like the writers are working on a little tête-à-tête between Dani and Nico. I loved how she always thinks that Nico is part of the mafia, letting people disappear, a.k.a. killing them, and how Nico lets her believe that exact fact.

The charity event was okay too. I only kinda-liked it, because it gave Jeanette (Amanda Detmer) some screentime. I love the actress since her WHAT ABOUT BRIAN days, and I wish for her to be a major character real soon. Other than that, the rest was forgettable.

I have to mention the title card here. I kinda noticed that there are episode based. Loved the little racing car at Dani’s feet. Neat idea, I hope it stays that way. 6/10

Billy explains the life of a NASCAR racer

Coach Matthew is giving another lesson in life

Expectedly, I was bored. Of course the pilot was the better episode of the series, and of course there is no way that the show will have some of this stuff so-called drama to make me watch the show on a regular basis. Instead of going into the stories with more seriousness, the writers just tackle the episodic arcs in a tiring way, deliver the HOUSE-like conclusion, and the story is over, while the writers continue to tell the ongoing storylines involving the football team. Only I ask myself what they have to do with the plot and why the writers chose to connect Dani’s (Callie Thorne) line of work with the football team as a series arc…

The episodic arc with Griffin (Nicholas Bishop) and him cracking up in front of the cameras and with millions of viewers watching was actually okay. At least some drama was in the story, though I didn’t see one scene, where the story was actually developed. Instead, the writers bring out Griffin’s wife Meredith (Erin Cahill) and her revelation of Griffin having insomnia and a little problem with alcohol. Was there no way of letting Dani realize that during the therapy session? Was their no way of bringing all this stuff under in the therapy session? Instead, the real reasons of Griffin’s problems, as well as the solution, all came outside of the therapy session. Either Dani is not a good (or even a real) therapist, or the writers don’t know how or don’t want to develop the one-episode character arc within the therapy session. Here I can only say: Writers, please start watching IN TREATMENT right fucking now, so you know what you’re actually doing and what you’re not doing. Furthermore, I was disappointed of how the story ended at the end: Dani suddenly finds out what the problem is, tells Griffin about it, and the problem is over? Can I count on another appearance by Griffin, or are the writers really thinking this is the most realistic way of portraying this story?

The ongoing storylines were boring. I didn’t care much about T.K.’s (Mehcad Brooks) problems or how he is actually behaving like a kid in front of everybody, except Dani (what a cliché – in front of her, he’s a real person, who wants to work on his problems, but as soon as he’s out of her house, he’s back to being a kid). And here’s the problem I actually had during the episode: What does the football team have to do with Dani or the show itself? Just because Dani has the hots for Matthew (Marc Blucas) also means the writers have to give me a story arc about the childish behaviors of the football players? They can do that in a real football show, as the comedy equivalent of FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS for example, but it just does not fit in here. In addition, NECESSARY ROUGHNESS seems to be the 1647376218th TV show, where the writers wait like millions of years, until they bring together man and woman, who have a deep affection to each other. Dani has sex dreams about Matthew, but yet the two are still not dating for real? Did I miss something, or are the writers just stalling, because they are waiting for Dani’s ex to come back? Damn, why can’t nobody write a show, where the couple of the series is actually getting together within an episode and living the rest of the series as a real couple with real couple issues?

And I don’t even want to mention Lindsay’s (Hannah Marks) lies to her mother regarding Trent (Blake Griffin). Another annoying TV daughter, who is not delighted with good storylines. Another writing cliché in this world of television nowadays. Nobody seems to be able to tackle those problems. By the way, where are Lindsay’s criminal activities? Wasn’t she about to become the next best TV daughter bitch in the pilot? Suddenly she’s just having boyfriend problems here? Very lame… 4.5/10

The writers try to have a serious storyline

Matthew tries to be serious

I proved myself right with this new show: I’m not a friend of USA dramas, and I never find a show, which is actually worth being watched. While FRANKLIN & BASH somehow managed to get me in for at least two episodes (yet I’m still about to cancel the show for me), USA dramedies don’t even attempt to do that anymore. It’s just the same over and over; with a new setting, with some newer characters, and a new way of writing the same old storylines, but other than that, NECESSARY ROUGHNESS is basically the same show I have seen already for episodes on ROYAL PAINS (I only tortured myself through three episodes), BURN NOTICE (two episodes), WHITE COLLAR (only the pilot) and IN PLAIN SIGHT (here the whole first season, but only because of Mary). At least the pilot was somewhat entertaining enough to hope that it will last as long as I lasted with FRANKLIN & BASH.

But overall, I’m just not excited about the cable network anymore. No risks, not really new shows, no surprises in their work, and no sight of some quality drama, which I could look for in an HBO drama, but want to see everywhere and every time. I really don’t know if USA will ever deliver something out of their comfort zone, and I wonder how long it for NECESSARY ROUGHNESS to take, until I completely forget about it and will never watch again.

The series arc is not interesting enough to keep me hooked. We’ve already had a bunch of therapists in TV shows, and nobody will ever beat Paul Weston, but nice try here. At least Dani (Callie Thorne) is a bit funny, sometimes annoying, and a big cliché at that, which makes the whole experience a bit more bearable, since I can count all the predictable moments – boredom doesn’t seem to be a topic for this series for at least the next couple of episodes. Despite Dani being a likable annoying bitch, I hated the rest of the cast, as well as their stories and how they came all together for the pilot. I don’t believe that the sessions with Dani and her new clients (which lets me ask if they will be all the football players from the team, or is she getting some new patients to listen to?) will be the big force of the show, and I don’t buy her troubles with her family. I don’t expect for the little romance between Dani and coach Matthew (Marc Blucas) to be the driving force, because Dani has already troubles with her ex-husband, and won’t be into a new relationship that fast – at least not without stereotypes. The wannabe-criminal daughter Lindsay (Hannah Marks) is already annoying, and plays a very big role in making NECESSARY ROUGHNESS mostly predictable, while her ex-husband Ray (Craig Bierko) couldn’t be more of a disaster regarding TV daughters. I can already imagine how the writers will pursue her storyline throughout the first season, together with the relationship to her mother, and what problem she could eventually become in the series. And when I’m already thinking about that and expect it will happen exactly as I imagine, then why should I watch this show?

Well, for two reasons: First off, I’m new to giving every TV show the benefit of the doubt and watch more than just the pilot and the second episode. Pilot episodes tend to be overly dramatic, overstyled and fast-paced, because the writers don’t seem to be able to not smash all possible storylines and introduction into one hour of television (instead planning those stories for the season – after all, there is the possibility about having to create stories for multiple years). Second: Who knows, maybe this show is actually good, because it wants to be something else, and because I actually liked the angle on American Football. For a German review, I was comparing NECESSARY ROUGHNESS with one of my all-time favorite movies, JERRY MAGUIRE. As long as this series keeps up the comedy of the sports genre, and goes a bit deeper than the pilot suggests, the series could be a nice effort of showing more than just troubled football players with anger issues, and instead go through all the characters and their psychotic problems in a comedic angle. Forget all the drama, instead do some chaos and clash the overpriced, overpaid and arrogant players (and trainers, and managers) with an underdeveloped, overpaid, arrogant and annoying therapist and mix it up with all kinds of storylines from American Football and try to copy JERRY MAGUIRe, instead of FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS. I don’t believe it will happen, but when that is going to be the case, I’m going to have a new favorite show here. If not, I’m creating it by myself.

All in all, the pilot was pretty much solid, considering the other TV shows on the USA Network, but I don’t expect to carry the whole first season through the summer. I think I’m gonna give it two more episodes, before I decide if it’s hot or not. 6.5/10

"See how annoying I can be, asshole?"

A Rod Tidwell moment on TV