Empire

I've had so many ideas for blog posts swirling around in my head the past couple weeks, it's been difficult to decide what to write about. And then I realized I was using that as an excuse to be lazy. So I'm kicking off some more regular posts with a review of my favorite mid-season premiere of the season: Empire.

Just to clarify....not this Empire.

THIS EMPIRE.

What's not to love about rich people scheming and backstabbing? Sure, this is kind of a common plot in television, but you guys. Empire is really really good. I think it's actually crazy good. It takes everything that's awesome about shows like Dallas, but isn't ridiculous or campy. I was completely hooked in just the first few minutes and every episode keeps getting better (and the ratings have gone up with each episode which is kind of unheard of these days on network television).

The plot is very King Lear set in the modern music industry. Lucious Lyon (Terrance Howard), is a former drug dealer turned hip hop mogul and the CEO of Empire Entertainment.  In the pilot episode, he's diagnosed with ALS and told he has only three years to live. Of course his thoughts turn to his legacy, and he tells his three sons that one of them will inherit Empire...and they will have to prove they deserve the honor. So basically, they are competing among each other for ULTIMATE POWER. Well, ultimate music power. Well, millions and millions of dollars. The stakes are high is what I'm saying.

Everyone instantly starts plotting against one another and the waters are further muddied with the arrival of Cookie, Lucious' awesome ex-wife and mother of the three sons. She's just out of prison where she served time for getting the seed money for Empire Entertainment by getting involved in some drug deals. Cookie is just an all-around badass with amazing fashion sense and is pulling for her second son (he's very much of the John Legend-type singer/songwriter school) to be the heir. But since the son is gay....Lucious is against the idea.

If Cookie ain't happy, ain't NOBODY happy.

I mean, seriously. THE DRAMA. There is so much going on with this show it's crazy, but it all makes sense, the performances (at least as far as the older characters are concerned) are really strong, and the music throughout the show is great. It's also really nice to have a black-centric show that doesn't feel like it was just thrown together (ahem, Blackish. Looking at you). This is a tight, well-made, compelling drama.

Empire has right off the bat established itself as must see tv for me, so give it a shot and I bet you'll get hooked. You can find it Wednesdays at 9:00 EST on FOX, and catch up with the three aired episodes over at the show's website.

Sneaky Ass White People

Oh, Dallas. Or as my friend Corey likes to call the show, "Sneaky Ass White People."

And that pretty much sums it up, right? Because these people aren't happy unless they are scheming and plotting and...what's another word for scheming? Whatever, that's what they do. Oh, and they're all white. Even the "hispanic" girl is like, barely tan.

Season 2, which began about a month ago, is roaring right along; one of the things I love about Dallas is that the plot moves. Anne Ewing decides to shoot her ex-husband (who kidnapped her daughter 20 years ago and raised her in another country and has tried to bring down the entire Ewing family) and the next episode she's on trial and convicted of murder. Most dramas would drag that storyline out for all it's worth. But not Dallas. After all, we've got John Ross cozying up to Rebecca, who was almost on the hook for the murder of her partner in crime, and is now starting to have feelings again for Christopher, who agreed to mediation to divorce Rebecca and have custody of the twins she is carrying, but now will have to deal with Elena owing Sue Ellen millions of dollars since her brother violated a loan contract when he transported stolen goods in a truck.

Got all that?

And we haven't even gotten to the plots that JR has in the works. 

So there are no complaints with the plot. Things are just as deliciously soapy and implausible as they were last season. And the acting isn't even horrible--I still think the older generation is schooling the kids on how to be crafty, but the younger folks are holding their own.

But there's a cloud over the proceedings. And that cloud is the recent passing of Larry Hagman, aka JR Ewing, aka the guy who got shot and caused all America to lose their shit trying to figure out who did it. In case you hadn't heard, Hagman died back in November from complications associated with leukemia. He's still going strong on the current episodes of Dallas though (which were filmed before his death, obviously).

I've avoided spoilers as to how the show will handle his death, and this has actually caused me some anxiety. JR is such a central part of the show and Larry Hagman has been the best part of the show's return, he's so delightfully evil and sleazy. I only hope that they do him justice with a send-off since he's basically the founding father of Dallas.

Oh, and another reason I love watching Dallas is because I can talk about it with my (previously mentioned) friend Corey. He has a way with words that is quite entertaining. For example, here is a sample of a discussion we had regarding an earlier episode where a new character, Becky, joined the proceedings, as a witness in Christopher and Rebecca's divorce trial.

Corey: But that damn John Ross really wants it all sooooooooooo bad…..but you already knew that something was going to happen to the star witness….she came forward a bit too cool.

Me: Her “little southern girl” act was a bit too much. “Gee, I’ve never been in a nice hotel before, mister!”

Corey: Yeah you are like….yeah this is 2013…you don’t have to talk like emma stone in “the help”

"Emma Stone?? I was going more for Bryce Dallas Howard...you know, more ignorant and racist."

Dallas airs Monday nights at 9:00pm on TNT. 

Deception

Well, crap.

That's all I need right now--another show to get hooked on. I mean, seriously. There's only so many hours in a day! What am I, super woman?

Anyway, Deception is fun and you should totally watch it. The End.

What, you wanted more? FINE. Think of Deception as Revenge meets Veronica Mars. A wealthy socialite, Vivian Bowers, is found dead in a hotel room of an apparent drug overdose, but suspecting there might be murder afoot, Detective Joanna Locasto goes "undercover" to infiltrate the rich and powerful Bowers family to determine the truth of what really happened.

I say "undercover," because it turns out Joanna grew up with the Bowers family (her Mom worked for them) and Vivian was her best friend. She is welcomed back into the Bowers family, but they don't know she is a cop or that she is working with the FBI to discover whether any of the family members were involved in Vivian's death.

 

Any murderers in this room? No? Carry on then.

While the show is basically a Revenge rip-off...there is still a lot to like here. First off, the main character is a woman of color and is smart and capable. That doesn't happen a lot on tv, you know. Second, there are some great performances. Victor Garber as the head of the Bowers clan, Tate Donovan as his oldest son--both are really great.  There's just something about a rich family full of secrets that is just so delicious to watch. Each episode includes revelations regarding the Bowers family and possible motives--as of now the murderer could have been anyone. Which is just the way I like it.

If you don't have room on your viewing schedule for another Rich People Murder Show then you might want to leave this be, but if you never got around to watching Revenge or the new Dallas, check out Deception. I think you will find a lot to like.

Deception airs Mondays at 10pm on NBC.

Secrets within secrets within secrets...DECEPTION. (that was an Inception joke in case you didn't get it)