Tuesday, June 02, 2009

'Royal Pains' is like 'Entourage' on crack...

... in a good way. At least that's how Daniel Carlson (of Pajiba "fame") describes it in this review. Which is weird, because from the looks of the commercials I thought it was going to be terrible. USA normally produces exactly the kind of shows I like to watch: I love Psych and Burn Notice, and I enjoyed the few episodes I saw of The Starter Wife. I even liked old-school USA sci-fi shows, like The 4400 and The Dead Zone. And everybody enjoys Monk, even if they don't admit it. 

But then there was In Plain Sight, a show I don't really like, but I can't figure out why. Abby suggested it was because there were no men good looking enough to hold our interest. That could be part of it, but I enjoy Law & Order: CI, and Vincent D'Onofrio isn't my idea of eye candy, so that can't be the only reason I don't like the show. It's had great guest stars like Sherry Stringfield, Dave Foley, and Wallace Fennel. Why don't I like the show... I think it's because something about Mary McCormick (the actress who plays the main character) grates on me. For a while I thought it was just the way her character was written, but then I saw an interview with her on Chelsea Lately and she was even more annoying. I rented another movie that she's in to try and figure out if it's really Mary McCormick I have a problem with. I'm guessing it is her, because I've actually already seen the movie, and I can't remember her character at all. And she has 3rd billing on IMDb, so you'd think I'd at least kind of remember her.

So anyway, here's what I'm getting at: the promotion leading up to Royal Pains is bringing back memories of the marketing for In Plain Sight, which isn't a good thing. Although I do remember USA started showing ads for IPS months before the premier, so I was already annoyed by the show before it even premiered. I really thought Royal Pains would be another disappointment, but since it was given a positive review from a reviewer I've been following for years, and he likens it to Burn Notice, I'll give it a shot and let you know what I think.