Thief Of Love

It's like the man never met a high concept he didn't want to exploit.

'Tos

So very true. You just think at some point he would realize that he's no good at anything high concept, but nope.

He mentioned in one of the commentaries that Everwood worked so well because it was under the radar and could only work if it stayed under the radar. My, how he has lost that mentality. Becoming successful was the worst thing that ever happened to him, heh.

ForVanAngel

Do you think 2 new shows are enough for Berlanti? You could be wrong.

Upfront 2012: What Pilots Are Still Alive

So, CBS keeps their options open for Greg's legal-drama "Guilty" - of course I'd rather have a Berlanti show than any from other producers, still I wouldn't be interested.

Dolfan13

This basically sums him up, haha.

ForVanAngel

Isn't that a bit harsh? Of course we call can see that those shows are not in the same universe than Everwood, but maybe he wants to make something different. And honestly there maybe ain't no room for family drama (Everwood, J&B and B&S were), so he's trying something different. Of course it's sad, I didn't care for "No Ordinary Family" at all, won't watch any of his 2 (or maybe 3) new shows, but maybe some of you guys tells us that it has some Berlanti/Everwood quality to it and is worth watching.

In other news:

The Soul Man” – NEW SERIES PREMIERES WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20 AT 10PM ET/PT

Good for you that I read a lot tv news, and when I saw the name John Beasley, I knew I had to post it here. Maybe someone watches it, I'll stay away, TV Land's "The Exes" is such a horribly bad sitcom which I watched for 4 episodes, so I won't touch another show from a station that puts such crap on air.

'Tos

It's less about him trying to do different things, than it's that these different things aren't good. Everwood was extremely well written and he had a lot to do with that, especially in S1. Most of his other shows are not very good, and he has at least something to do with that. I think it's just that he's obviously a talented guy, he made something so memorable, and he's fallen so flat after that's disappointing for us. I like that he's trying different stuff, but I'd prefer if it was good different stuff.

Saying that, other than watching because I was a Berlanti fanboy and I think he still has talent, I am actually excited for both Arrow (the actors and producers should stop bringing up any comparisons to Nolan's Batman movies, though) and Political Animals.

I do kind of hope to see Guilty get picked up too (thanks for that link, Matt) because I've always had a soft spot for Cuba Gooding Jr. and seeing if he and Berlanti can team up to make a good use of their obvious talents would be interesting for me.

ForVanAngel

The Overachievers Of This Year’s Upfront

Guess why I'm posting that. Nice for him, good luck, not interesting for me.

'Tos

Doesn't sound like you're interested in much if you only read this thread, Matt.

The clip for The Arrow looks like it's going to be a grittier, darker superhero show. I don't know how long they'll be able to sustain that, but one thing that Berlanti does well, even in his more recent stuff, is the ability to balance darker drama and humour/hope.

ForVanAngel

Hm, maybe I too often said that I don't care. Sorry for that. Just my opinion, feel free to have fun with his newer shows.

But it's just that Berlanti did "Everwood", "B&S", "Jack & Bobby" and "Eli Stone", all shows I really like, more than like. So it's almost heartbreaking that he now does things I don't care at all about. From his filmography, that started after he left B&S, did anybody watch "No Ordinary Family" and like it or see a certain Berlanti quality to it at some point? I never cared, for me that concept sounded silly at best and stupid even, I'm not into Superhero stuff at all, so yeah, you won't make me watch "Arrow" for a second, looks like "The Cape" reloaded or what?

Dolfan13

I guess. He's just never been able to follow up with any magic after Everwood, in my opinion. I liked the beginning of Eli Stone but stopped watching it around when Katie Holmes came on. I thought it went really downhill out of nowhere.


That short trailer for Arrow actually looked pretty good. There wasn't a lot to it but as Tos mentioned, it looked like it could be pretty gritty. I'll give it a few episodes before making a decision.

Oh god, that show was awful.

ForVanAngel

I admit just flying over the article and now reading that Greg is only heavily involed with the new 6-part cable show called "Policital Animals" - and that sounds quite interesting to me, though I will watch it not this summer. It will start July 15th on USA Network and is produced by Berlanti Productions. Now I'm honestly relieved Greg still can make a show that interests me a bit.

'Tos

I'm looking forward to Political Animals too. The trailer made it seem like it's going to be a mix of Jack & Bobby and Dirty Sexy Money which...actually isn't a good thing. But it is a very good cast.

Agreed. That show had SO much potential. It started off SO well. Actually, he does typically do very good starts (Dirty Sexy Money and No Ordinary Hero both started out extremely well, as did his beginning run on Brothers & Sisters). It's like he comes up with some neat ideas to start a show, but then nothing to continue them. Hopefully that will change this season!

ForVanAngel

I wouldn't blame Eli Stone on Katie Holmes, as far as I remember she was only there twice. I like the show, both seasons but I admit that season 2 was hard because they had to change things but also had to ensure that Eli keeps his aneurysm because without that no visions. It's hard with a repeating thing like that to keep it fresh but for me 26 episodes is totally fine, I liked the cast and also the mixture of topics. Yeah, it's somehow true, B&S was best in season 1 (though season 4 also was really good but season 2 and 3 at least for me had some ups and downs), but he left the show as a writer after season 1. But he was producer until season 4, so I kind of have to blame him a bit. Grant, how did you like "Dirty Sexy Money"? I couldn't even finish the pilot (and usually I'm a big fan of Peter Krause) because what the show is about didn't interest me much, don't like rich, greedy superficial people.

By the way, on May 24, Greg Berlanti had his 40th birthday. Congratulations Greg, for Everwood we will always be thankful and I'm especially greatful that you helped Emily to achieve television fame. Without him getting her to Everwood and B&S, Emily wouldn't be on Revenge, no chance.

'Tos

I liked Dirty Sexy Money quite a bit at first, Matt. Really good cast, interesting if not likable characters, and a great mix of comedy and drama. Peter Krause (I like him a lot too) and Donald Sutherland had a fun dynamic. It went downhill as it went along and it was soapy, but it was actually a lot better than I ever expected it to be, especially because like you I don't like shows about rich, greedy, superficial people.

I can't blame you for not enjoying the pilot, though. There were much better episodes.

Oh, Happy Birthday to him! It's funny to think of him as 40. Not that that's anywhere close to old, but when he started, he was kind of a boy wonder in being so young and being so successful. I mean he was 32 when he created Everwood, which is young. Not that most showrunners or creators are old, but, still, it's impressive to me!

ForVanAngel

And some more news about Mr. Berlanti:

ABC Nabs Sera Gamble-Greg Berlanti Medical Drama With Penalty

Sounds boring to me, not a medical drama fan.


If only there were something Everwoodesque between that.



Did watch 2 episodes of The Soul Man from TV Land with John Beasley. I think his role is cool, the show was okay, but then I didn't care, so I dropped it after 2 eps.