BuzzSugar

Pilot Scoop: Breaking In

BuzzSugar — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 07:00:00 PST

I already gave you a sneak peek at Fox's Breaking In during the Winter TCAs, but let's take a closer look at the show by examining its very first episode. For my latest pilot scoop, here are a few of the comedy's pros and cons.

What it's about: Cameron Price (Bret Harrison) is your typical college slacker with Van Wilder syndrome. Even with seven years of schooling under his belt, he'd much rather pull pranks and hack into teachers' emails instead of actually graduating. But once high-tech security firm Contra Security hears about Cameron's talents, it's only a matter of time before they come calling. Boss Oz (Christian Slater) literally breaks into Cameron's dorm room and takes him under his wing as an intern at the company, which attempts extreme heists (think stealing cars) to win over clients.
Where it works: Harrison is just as charming here as he was on Reaper, and several of the quirky secondary characters show promise (I'm particularly a fan of the hovering office secretary Carol and Smallville's Michael Rosenbaum as sophomoric dimwit, Dutch).
Where it doesn't: The script's jokes and vocabulary often try too hard, i.e., "douche-icle" instead of cubicle and "multi-assing" instead of multitasking. Groan. Odette Yustman seems like a miscast as the requisite love interest/bad girl, and for the first five minutes of the pilot, Christian Slater appears to be doing a Jack Nicholson impression, complete with dark sunglasses and cigar.
Am I hooked? I wasn't in the beginning, but the show picks up steam further into the pilot. I'll probably give it at least one more go before I make a final judgment call.
When is it on? Wednesday, April 6 at 9:30 p.m. on Fox.

Watch a preview clip after the jump.

TV Tonight: The Reaper Finale

BuzzSugar — Tue, 26 May 2009 10:30:55 PDT

I'm not happy to see any of my favorite shows end for the season, but tonight's Reaper finale is particularly poignant, as the show was not picked up by the CW for another season and several of the show's people have already signed on for new things (including Tyler Labine and the show's creators Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters). All is not totally lost, though, as there's talk of possibly continuing the show on ABC. Anyway, I have absolutely loved this season - perhaps even more than the first - as we've gotten to know Sam's half-brother Morgan (the ever-dashing/sleazy Armie Hammer) and Ben's demon girlfriend Nina (Jenny Wade). And, of course, my two favorites, the Devil and Sock, have been consistently amusing as well.

In tonight's finale, "Sam (Bret Harrison) and Andi (Missy Peregrym) try to find Tony (guest star Ken Marino) to help them translate the scroll Nina brought back from Hell. . . . Sam challenges The Devil (Ray Wise) to a game of quarters, but they play to a draw and The Devil refuses a rematch, so Andi offers her soul as collateral." Yikes! I can't wait, and yet, I'm also dreading having to part with one of my most beloved shows. Reaper fans, what are your favorite things about the show? We can get through this together. To check out a promo for tonight's finale and share your thoughts,

read more. Photo courtesy of The CW

TV Tonight: The Romantic Side of Reaper

BuzzSugar — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 06:30:02 PDT

Basically I just want an excuse to post the funny promo for tonight's episode of Reaper because it makes me laugh every darn time I watch it. Though it's a little silly at times, the writing on this show consistently cracks me up. Like in last week's episode when we learned Sock's (Tyler Labine) "signature" pick-up line: "Excuse me, I think you're standing on my penis." I mean . . . come on!

Tonight's episode promises more sleaziness from Sam's (Bret Harrison) um, half-brother, Morgan (Armie Hammer) as Sam works to win Andi (Missy Peregrym) back. Seriously, though, the promo after the jump is a treat all its own. To watch,

TV Tonight: Reaper's Back!

BuzzSugar — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 05:30:48 PST

It feels like it's been an eternity in hell since we last got to hang out with the Devil, Sam, Sock, Andi and Ben. Have you missed them as much as I have?

Last we heard on Reaper, Tony tried to trap Sam - only to bury alive Sam's dad instead. In tonight's season two premiere, Sam, Ben and Sock return from a long road trip to find themselves fired from the Work Bench and pretty much homeless. Meanwhile, Andi is rather peeved at Sam for not letting her know where he was for several weeks, and the Devil has a scary and challenging soul-catching assignment for Sam. Also, Sock finds an attractive girl living in his mom's house while his mom's away.

I've already seen the episode and while it's nothing too-too different form the same old Reaper goodness, it really does deliver the laughs. I didn't realize how much I was missing these guys - Sock especially - until they made me belly-laugh for an hour. To check out a preview of this season, which kicks off with tonight's premiere, titled "Episode IV: A New Hope" (ha, Star Wars),

read more. Photo courtesy of The CW

First Look: Reaper Season Two

BuzzSugar — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 14:30:24 PST

Among the awesome things about TV this Winter is the return of Reaper, the quirky CW buddy comedy about a boy and the devil who rules him. Yup, I love this silly show, and finally, today brings a quick glimpse of the second season.

It's just a little teaser, but I'm at the point where any glimpse of Sock making gross bodily noises or Sam attempting to take out some demon with a frying pan is good enough for me. It's just good to see the Work Bench crew again - not to mention the devilish Ray Wise.

The show returns Tuesday, March 17, but no need to wait - to get a quick taste now, just

read more. Photo courtesy of The CW

TV Tonight: The Reaper Season Finale

BuzzSugar — Tue, 20 May 2008 15:04:54 PDT

Well, the silver lining around this season finale cloud is that Reaper is definitely getting another season on the CW! This is excellent news, and maybe the summer will provide folks with some time to catch up on the first season of this bizarrely funny, fantastical show.

It feels like just yesterday I was super skeptical about the premise of this show (a bounty hunter for the devil? He uses a vaccuum? What?) and then quickly won over by the quirky humor and lovable cast when I viewed the pilot. I'm thrilled to know that it will live again on the CW for another season.

As for tonight's finale, titled "Cancun," here's the description: "The demons target Sam (Bret Harrison) when they fear he may pose a greater threat to their rebellion than the Devil (Ray Wise) himself. A treacherous trap is set, bringing surprising allies to Sam's side and leading to shocking revelations that could have explosive implications for his future. Meanwhile, Sock (Tyler Labine) falls for a demon (guest star Cindy Sampson)."

You can see a video clip of Sock being devilishly seduced, along with the regular CW preview for tonight's episode if you

Reaper Needs More Lady Viewers, Bret Harrison Tells Me

BuzzSugar — Mon, 12 May 2008 12:30:28 PDT

Right on the eve of the CW's upfronts, when we'll learn whether or not Reaper (one of my favorite new shows of the '07-'08 TV season) is getting a second season, Bret Harrison took a few minutes to chat with me about Reaper's need for more female viewers, what his first thoughts were reading the script and what we can expect from the season finale, airing Tuesday May 20.

He was totally sweet and friendly so check out what I learned from everyone's favorite bounty hunter for the devil:

Buzz: So, about that send-socks-to-the-CW campaign to save Reaper. . .

Bret Harrison: Yeah! I don’t know who started it or whatnot but I think it’s amazing and I don’t know if it’ll work, but we’ll certainly go out with a bang if it doesn’t.

Buzz: That's true! Are you feeling optimistic about the network's decision? Or do you just not know at all?

BH: I feel optimistic. I weirdly feel optimistic. There’s just been too much positive press about it, especially with these past five episodes, we’ve gone up in ratings. . . There’s been talk about how we’ve done better than some of the other shows that are getting picked up but we don’t have as strong a female demographic, and that may be one of the reasons they’re holding off.

For more on this female demographic,

read more. Buzz: It’s funny because a lot of the people that I know who are watching it are female, actually. BH: I think especially with next season, there’s talk of adding some other female cast members. You know, publicity helps and cool internet sock gags help, but I think if you tell a good story, I swear to God, people are gonna catch on to that. I think it all comes down to: tell a good story. I think that’s really what we’re starting to do, especially with these last five episodes, and hopefully the audience will respond to that. Buzz: Right. And the show’s creators are both women, right? BH: Yeah, they are, and that’s what’s so funny about the whole thing. I mean, how ironic. They’re the coolest chicks in Hollywood, I swear. Buzz: When you first read for the part did you have any reservations about the show? On paper it definitely seemed, well, wildly preposterous. BH: Oh, yeah, definitely. When I first got the script I was like, what? I didn't get it! And then first what happened was Kevin Smith got attached and I was like, OK, I'll take a peek. And then I went in and talked to [show creators] Tara and Michelle and. . . they kinda explained it to me, they said, "You've seen Shaun of the Dead?" Yes. "You’ve seen Ghostbusters?" Yes. And we started to kinda play with the scenes and I was hooked. Especially when, you know, Tyler Labine was cast, Ray Wise was cast, Rick Gonzalez, I was like, holy sh*t, this is going to be awesome! And I thought we had the coolest pilot going last year. Buzz: It was definitely one of my favorite pilots out of all of them. BH: That’s so good to hear. And I definitely think everyone will be able to just let it all out next season, and not hold back and go to all these cool places and do what we want to do. Buzz: So, I’ve read the synopsis about the finale, but is there anything we should know about it before we see it? BH: It's just hard to tell when you don’t know whether you're coming back a second season, but what I think we're trying to point at is that Sam has pissed off a lot of demons. When you see the finale you'll understand why but he’s made a lot of people mad, and so now instead of it being well, this is your job, this is what you gotta do, it's The Matrix, it’s Terminator - these demons are after him. And I think that'll be really cool, especially, hopefully they'll be bringing back Ken Marino, Michael Ian Black, those guys will be coming back and there’s been talk of maybe adding another female character, maybe a female demon, which would be cool. It would be cool, Bret Harrison. It would be cool. Photo courtesy of the CW

Latest Save-a-Show Effort: Socks to Save Reaper!

BuzzSugar — Thu, 01 May 2008 10:38:14 PDT

There have been peanuts for Jericho, Mars bars for Veronica Mars, and footballs for Friday Night Lights. Now, Reaper is joining the ranks of floundering shows with an anxious fanbase ready to send hundreds of the same kind of item in the mail to studio executives in an effort to prove how much the show means to them. This time, it's socks, a reference to the hilarious character of Sock on the show, played by Tyler Labine.

According to the official Bret Harrison website, Krakoom, it is imperative that all Reaper fans inundate the folks at CW with professions of love for the show - via phone, email, letter, or soft foot garments. The urgency to get this effort going was spurred on by a recent LA Times article that declared Reaper's future to be "on the bubble." The show's producers and creators believe it would be "foolish" of the CW not to pick up Reaper for another season, especially since it's not like they're competing with the network's most popular series, Gossip Girl, or even with Gossip Girl's audience.

Executive producer Tom Spezialy acknowledges that it took a little while for the show to hit its stride, but now he feels that they're on a roll, and they can already envision several seasons down the line. He said the show is such "a blend of black comedy and horror - and just traditional character comedy and some legitimate drama, we hope - that's it's hard to find the tone in a language that everyone understands."

We won't know Reaper's fate until May 13 when the network announces their schedule, so in the meantime, if you're so inclined, put some socks in the mail.

Reaper photo courtesy of the CW

TV Tonight: Reaper

BuzzSugar — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:30:56 PDT

One night after Gossip Girl steamed up our TV sets, a very different CW show also returns to the air. Reaper is back - and if trying to figure out when the show was airing has seemed like time slot roulette for the past couple of months, then the best news is that it's right home where it started: Tuesdays at 9 p.m.

The show still has five new episodes left, and tonight's sounds like a good one. For one thing, it guest-stars Michael Ian Black and Ken Marino again. For another thing, it involves their characters trying to set a trap for the Devil. Now, I'm just guessing here, but that sounds like a wildly bad idea. There's also a romantic subplot involving Sock trying to win Josie back, which doesn't seem like the easiest task ever (though possibly easier than outsmarting the Devil). Oh, and there are some developments in the Sam/Andi relationship, some of which you can see previewed in the video clips below.

The CW hasn't renewed Reaper for another season yet, and TV Guide recently placed its odds for survival at a four out of 10. Want to boost that? Tune in tonight. To check out a couple of previews of the episode, just

read more. Photo courtesy of The CW

Movie Preview: Deal (Which Looks a Lot Like 21)

BuzzSugar — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 11:31:41 PDT

This movie didn't have a whole lot going for it in the first place, but the timing of it all just kind of forces us to call Deal a "poor man's 21," what with having a ridiculously similar storyline and everything. Bret Harrison - who is utterly adorable on Reaper - plays a smart college kid with a skill for winning at poker, though he gets even better under the tutelage of grizzled ex-gambler Tommy (Burt Reynolds). Then, of course, the protégé and the pro go head to head in a high-stakes game.

Oh, and Shannon Elizabeth (who still takes part in scripted projects, who knew?) plays a high-class prostitute. So. There's that.

Deal opens in limited release Friday April 25. To check out the preview,