Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/42627
Trouble in Paradise A would-be Eden goes awry in Terra Nova TV by DEAN ROBBINS At the beginning of Terra Nova (Monday, 8 p.m. Fox), Earth is undergoing environmental collapse. So a couple — doctor Shelley Conn and cop Jason O'Mara — take their three kids on a risky trip into the past with a group of pilgrims. They wind up 85 million years ago, where an enigmatic leader named Taylor (Stephen Lang) sets up a colony amid the lush primordial forest. It's a would-be Eden, but we immediately sense trouble in paradise, both dinosaur- and human-oriented. Terra Nova has its share of cheesy plot devices: the leader with a dark secret, the hero who won't follow the rules, etc. On the other hand, I give it credit for being different from the usual network cop and doctor shows. Terra Nova is at once prehistoric and futuristic as it explores the pitfalls of creating a utopia. Plus, I dare you not to flinch when the dinosaurs — aptly called "slashers" — lunge at the camera. In the midst of chaos, Taylor concedes, "You can't build a civilization in a day." True enough. I'm going to give Terra Nova a full season. Revenge Wednesday, 10 pm (ABC) Many series try to create a juicy soap opera set among the rich and wicked, but Revenge is the rare success. Much of the credit goes to Emily Van Camp, who stars as a young woman seeking payback on those who heartlessly framed her father. Our anti-heroine adopts the persona of Emily Thorne, a fresh-faced newcomer to the Hamptons' high-society set. Emily targets queen bee Victoria (Madeleine Stowe), the one chiefly responsible for her father's downfall. Van Camp makes your skin crawl whenever her expression turns stony. You have no doubt that this seemingly innocent lass can cause grievous harm. The series' epigram quotes Confucius: "Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves." I suspect Emily will dig a few more than that be- fore she's through. A Gifted Man Friday, 8 pm (CBS) This new drama is about an obnoxious surgeon named Michael (Patrick Wilson). Perhaps sensing that obnoxiousness alone isn't enough to draw in viewers, the scriptwriters added the ghost of Michael's dead ex- wife (Jennifer Ehle). You expect things to pick up when the ghost ap- pears, but A Gifted Man remains low-key bordering on dreary. The most disappointing moment comes when the dead ex-wife gives Michael her old computer pass- word and asks him to download some files. That may well be the least spine-tingling request made by a ghost in re- corded history. Pan Am Sunday, 10 pm (ABC) This new drama turns back the clock to the Coffee, Tea or Me era — the early days of commercial jetliners in the early '60s, when the "stewardesses" were all gor- geous young unmarried women in sexy uniforms and white gloves. Pan Am is an airborne soap opera about making up and breaking up, but the producers throw in Cold War spy stuff in a misguided effort to give it some heft. They also make a few token attempts to show brains under those jaunty Pan Am caps. "Does the Marxist dialectic account for a dual thesis?" asks the boyfriend of stewardess Christina Ricci. Her unlikely reply: "That's Hegel, not Marx!" For all its pretensions, Pan Am is chiefly concerned with showing the women wriggle in and out of their tight clothes after flight duty. As Marx said, beautiful stewardesses are the opiate of the masses. Or was that Hegel? Voted Best Shopping Center THANK YOU FAYETTEVILLE from: Rhudy's Erry 7@TUE@X@GS`TUPS@ www.rhudysjewelry.net 910-488-7571 African Braids Atlantic Bedding, Tonoco, LLC. BB&T Tu Belk Hardee's California Nails Castle Uniforms Clippers Hair & Nail Salon The Dancer Fabulous Finds Consignment, Inc. For Women Only/VIP Fitness Kathy's Shoe Repair Kristina's Boutique The Mill End Store Paul Mitchell, The School Precision Tune Prestige $2.59 Cleaners Red Wing Shoes Rejoice! Performing Arts Studio Sally Beauty Supply School Tools Spirit's Tally & Tally, Attorneys WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM SEPTEMBER 21-27, 2011 UCW 33 YyrdEax