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Memphis Beat -- New Series w/ Jason Lee -- "Pilot" -- 06/22/10

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Old 06-22-10, 05:01 AM
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Memphis Beat -- New Series w/ Jason Lee -- "Pilot" -- 06/22/10

Memphis Beat

Synopsis:

Spoiler:
A crime drama focusing on offbeat Memphis detective Dwight Hendricks (Jason Lee), a Southern charmer with a passion for his city and blues music. In the series opener, Dwight investigates the abuse of an elderly female disc jockey, but his loose crime-fighting manner irritates his disciplined boss (Alfre Woodard). Meanwhile, Dwight's spirited mother woos a neighbor.


Starring:

Jason Lee (My Name is Earl)
Alfre Woodard
DJ Qualls
Robyn Lively

Pilot Directed by Clark Johnson (The Shield)
Executive Producer is George Clooney

TNT ordered 10 episodes

Good Review here:

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertain...beat_cops.html

The review mentions the show has a good soundtrack.

Promo:

<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/cQ0qD64srJY&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/cQ0qD64srJY&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>

I'm a not a huge fan of Jason Lee, but I like a good offbeat show and this appears to fit that mold.

Short Interview with Jason Lee about the show:

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Jason-Le...s-1019798.aspx

Last edited by DJariya; 06-22-10 at 05:05 AM.
Old 06-22-10, 07:35 AM
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Re: Memphis Beat -- New Series w/ Jason Lee -- "Pilot" -- 06/22/10

Forgot this show starts tonight. Ill DVR it and check it out.
Old 06-22-10, 08:03 AM
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Re: Memphis Beat -- New Series w/ Jason Lee -- "Pilot" -- 06/22/10

nah, I'll pass.

how about a wrap up episode of 'My Name is Earl'?
Old 06-22-10, 08:32 AM
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Re: Memphis Beat -- New Series w/ Jason Lee -- "Pilot" -- 06/22/10

Worth a shot. I'll TiVo it.

From what I've read about this show's focus on the music of Memphis, it makes me think of a police procedural version of Treme.
Old 06-22-10, 09:39 AM
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Re: Memphis Beat -- New Series w/ Jason Lee -- "Pilot" -- 06/22/10

Loved Jason Lee and MNIE, but I get a bad vibe from this. I'm going to watch, but I'm not so thrilled about the music aspect of the show.
Old 06-22-10, 09:49 AM
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Re: Memphis Beat -- New Series w/ Jason Lee -- "Pilot" -- 06/22/10

Originally Posted by Deftones
Loved Jason Lee and MNIE, but I get a bad vibe from this. I'm going to watch, but I'm not so thrilled about the music aspect of the show.
This is my feeling too. However, I had a similar vibe (but with the medical procedural take) when I was about to start HawthoRNe which I ended up liking by the end of the season. So I'll give it a shot.
Old 06-22-10, 10:55 AM
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Re: Memphis Beat -- New Series w/ Jason Lee -- "Pilot" -- 06/22/10

I definitely plan on checking this one out.
Old 06-22-10, 12:56 PM
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Re: Memphis Beat -- New Series w/ Jason Lee -- "Pilot" -- 06/22/10

I dunno. This doesn't seem like something that plays to Lee's strengths. Can't really see him as a tough guy.
Old 06-22-10, 01:04 PM
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Re: Memphis Beat -- New Series w/ Jason Lee -- "Pilot" -- 06/22/10

Dead on arrival, imho.
Old 06-22-10, 01:18 PM
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Re: Memphis Beat -- New Series w/ Jason Lee -- "Pilot" -- 06/22/10

Shows with a Southern flavor make a good fit with summertime. And it's always nice to see Alfre Woodard. I'll tune in.
Old 06-22-10, 01:34 PM
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Re: Memphis Beat -- New Series w/ Jason Lee -- "Pilot" -- 06/22/10

Originally Posted by starseed1981
Dead on arrival, imho.
Even without watching it?
Old 06-22-10, 01:41 PM
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Re: Memphis Beat -- New Series w/ Jason Lee -- "Pilot" -- 06/22/10

The only shows that have tanked or were canceled recently on TNT were:

Raising the Bar (even though it did get a 2nd season)
Trust Me
Saved
Saving Grace (only because the studio canned it)
Heartland

This is over the course of 4 years.

From that interview Lee is hoping his fans from Earl will follow him to this show. Even though there are dozens of cop shows, it looks like it's at least taking a different spin on the genre.

Last edited by DJariya; 06-22-10 at 01:44 PM.
Old 06-22-10, 02:55 PM
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Re: Memphis Beat -- New Series w/ Jason Lee -- "Pilot" -- 06/22/10

Originally Posted by Gunde
Even without watching it?
Already saw the screener.
Old 06-22-10, 11:08 PM
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Re: Memphis Beat -- New Series w/ Jason Lee -- "Pilot" -- 06/22/10

I thought it started off interesting, but went downhill pretty quickly. I think I dozed off for about 5 minutes half-way through and I reached for the remote at the end when he was on stage.

I don't think I'll be back.
Old 06-22-10, 11:40 PM
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Re: Memphis Beat -- New Series w/ Jason Lee -- "Pilot" -- 06/22/10

I'll give it a couple more weeks but I wasn't really impressed. I really liked Jason Lee but I wasn't too fond of much else.

Abraham Benrubi's character is absolutely ridiculous to me. Besides the Willie Nelson haircut, the description of his character is way over the top:

Sgt. Lightfoot is a lovable bear of a guy, with his braided ponytail and mountaineer features. His Native American heritage consists of being 1/16th Chickasaw. But he feels that’s enough to give him free reign to impart tribal wisdom on his fellow officers. On the homefront, he has a volatile relationship with his wife
Old 06-23-10, 01:18 PM
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Re: Memphis Beat -- New Series w/ Jason Lee -- "Pilot" -- 06/22/10

Disappointed w/ the pilot for a lot of the same reasons already mentioned. I may give it another week before I make a decision whether or not to continue.
Old 06-23-10, 01:58 PM
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Re: Memphis Beat -- New Series w/ Jason Lee -- "Pilot" -- 06/22/10

Ratings are in and they were pretty good. 4.3M viewers.

http://livefeed.hollywoodreporter.co...hawthorne.html
Old 06-23-10, 04:05 PM
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Re: Memphis Beat -- New Series w/ Jason Lee -- "Pilot" -- 06/22/10

Not very good at all. I won't be back. Just really boring.
Old 06-23-10, 07:43 PM
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Re: Memphis Beat -- New Series w/ Jason Lee -- "Pilot" -- 06/22/10

We thought it was okay, but nothing we need to watch each week, unlike Justified or Leverage.
Old 06-23-10, 07:50 PM
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Re: Memphis Beat -- New Series w/ Jason Lee -- "Pilot" -- 06/22/10

I didn't think it was that bad. I'll give it another episode or two.
Old 06-23-10, 09:27 PM
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Re: Memphis Beat -- New Series w/ Jason Lee -- "Pilot" -- 06/22/10

It was lighthearted enough that I'll tune in next week. (If I remember.)

I did think the singing thing was a bit much, though.
Old 06-23-10, 10:01 PM
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Re: Memphis Beat -- New Series w/ Jason Lee -- "Pilot" -- 06/22/10

I vote they drop this and bring back MNIE instead.
Old 06-23-10, 10:27 PM
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Re: Memphis Beat -- New Series w/ Jason Lee -- "Pilot" -- 06/22/10

The tone just didn't work for me. It was too fluffy to work as a serious show but not funny enough to work as a comedy. It seemed to be trying for a 'southern-quirky' feel but the quirky elements just felt too calculated for me to be buy it.
Old 06-23-10, 10:31 PM
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Re: Memphis Beat -- New Series w/ Jason Lee -- "Pilot" -- 06/22/10

I guess I liked it more than most folks here. Lee was really good in his role, and I liked his rapport with Woodard and the other cops. The stage bit at the end was a little hokey though.

And I hope every episode doesn't shout, "HEY LOOK, WE'RE REALLY IN MEMPHIS!"

Last edited by Charlie Goose; 06-25-10 at 04:43 AM.
Old 06-25-10, 04:22 AM
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Re: Memphis Beat -- New Series w/ Jason Lee -- "Pilot" -- 06/22/10

Got around to watching this today.

It was alright. The main plot with Dwight investigating the old school Memphis DJ being abused wasn't really that engaging but it had some moments. The B plot with Dwight being over-protective of his Mom and her new boyfriend was a major "Been there, Don't that."

I'll give it a few more weeks to find it's footing. The weird thing about this show is it's set in Memphis, but I read it's shot in New Orleans.


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