Valentine is one of those high concept shows that could, depending on how they're implemented, turn out to be fundamentally excellent or fundamentally awful. "The Greek gods are alive and well and living among us". Brilliant, hey? I'd buy that book/watch that TV show, because it's a great idea.
But, and here's the problem, if the gods just sit in front of the TV all day, it's going to be very dull; if they demand human sacrifices or set nation to war with nation to reduce the excess population, it's going to very dark and scary. So pitch is very important.
US TV tends to go for light and/or fighty when dealing with the Greek gods. Hercules (yes, I know he's Roman) and Xena (completely made up) went for light and fighty on the few occasions when they went modern-day; Cupid (also Roman and coming around for a new series some time soon, despite having been cancelled once) went for light. They were all fun in their way, sometimes extremely imaginative, but generally nothing to make you mourn their passings too much.
Valentine (yes, not even Roman but early Christian), in which Aphrodite, Eros, Hercules/Heracles and other gods try to fix mortals up with their soul mates, goes for light in a big way. Starring Jaime Murray (Hustle, Dexter) as Aphrodite aka Venus aka Grace Valentine, it's imaginative, quite fun, but at times excruciatingly bad - as well as instantly forgettable.
Getting people to watch your shiny new show (or returning old show) is always tricky. Billboards are among the main media you can use to get people to tune in, provided you create enough impact.
Here's a shiny collection of billboards (and a couple of magazine spreads and covers) for the current and returning shows in the US, as featured by TheHollywood Reporter, complete with rating. Where I've reviewed the show, I've included a link to the review
The CW has been trickling its shows out this year, rather than splurging them out in one lump in September. So there are some new shows that haven't had much publicity that are popping up next month. Valentine, previously Valentine Inc, has been hovering on the radar here for a while, since:
It's got Jaime Murray from Hustle and season two of Dexter on it.
Due to premiere on Sunday, October 5 at 8/7c, the show has the basic premise that love gods Aphrodite (Jaime Summer) and Eros (Kristoffer Polaha) are still alive in modern times with some of their entourage and fellow gods from classical Greece, and they're busy matchmaking. Yes, it's a rom-com or something very similar. You can find out the full plot after the jump, and from the web site, too, since it's too long to put on the front page.
Here though is a slightly low quality YouTube promo, which also includes interviews with the cast. Notable things I've also learned: Holly Valance is appearing in it. I know not why or when. I'd tell you more but there's no screener for me to scrutinise (naughty CW!).
In the US: Showtime, Sundays, 9pm. Starts September 28 In the UK: Probably FX again, some time next summer
It can't have escaped many people's notice that the story-telling structure of intelligent – and unintelligent – American television has changed substantially over the last few years. As well as the impact of 24, which has made serialised television possible again, The Wire's use of Shakespearean rather than Aristotelian storytelling techniques has spread to other dramas, while premium cable channels and DVD box sets have made “slow burn” TV shows viable.
All of which makes reviewing just the first episode of a new series a pain in the arse – or ass – particularly with something like Dexter. One of the first shows to demonstrate there was life on cable outside of HBO, it's now on its third season and continues to demonstrate that some TV shows can't simply be judged on their first episodes, since all the goodies are in the evolving plot still to come.
Tue 18 Nov: Does it count in the CSI: Miami drinking game if David Caruso and Emily Procter are apparently in the same scene together, but they never speak to each other and you never see both their faces at the same time?
Sat 15 Nov: The Ascent of Money "sponsored by Cayman Islands". Huh. What's going on there then?
Sun 02 Nov: Do you think it's deliberate that Sam's mom in the US version of Life on Mars is called Rose Tyler?
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