Reviewing a television series isn't easy.
That's not a complaint. TV critics watch television for a living, after all - it's not like we're digging ditches or anything.But the problem with reviewing a series is that, at most, critics see maybe three episodes before we sit down to write. A lot of times, we see only one episode.
And you never know what's going to happen after that. There have been shows with great pilots that turned out to be real stinkers, and there have been shows with weak pilots that turned out to be gems.
You just never know.
Reviewing a show like ABC's "Gun," which premieres tonight at 9 on Ch. 4, is particularly difficult. The problem is compounded by the fact that this is an anthology series.
Every week, there is a different set of actors, a different set of writers, a different director. All that remains the same is the name, the executive producers (including film director Robert Altman) and the "Gun" in question - a pearl-handled, semiautomatic, 1911 officer's issue Colt .45.
So who knows what's going to happen from week to week?
The only sure thing about "Gun" is that the pilot episode is great. And, if you look at the episode as sort of a mini-movie, it's a clear cut above almost every other made-for-TV movie.
There's actually a mini-movie within a mini-movie in the episode, which was directed by James Foley (whose credits include "Glengarry Glen Ross"). It opens with a mock-macho guy buying the gun and bringing it home to his disapproving wife. The guy can't help himself - he just has to play with the weapon, which he accidentally discharges into his television set.
How's that for irony?
The bullet passes through the TV and through the wall, where it . . . well, you'll have to watch to see where it ends up. The vignette is both funny and frightening at the same time.
And that mixture of humor and a sinking feeling of terror continues in the body of the episode. A failed actor by the name of Harvey Hochfelder (Daniel Stern) is on his way out of Los Angeles with his wife (Kathy Baker of "Picket Fences") and son when he's held up - literally - at a convenience store.
Harvey loses his cool, saves the day and becomes an overnight media sensation. The next thing you know, the success that has eluded him is dumped in his lap - he's a hot guest on network news and talk shows, and he's starring opposite Kathy Ireland in a TV movie based on his exploits.
It's a clever satire on both Hollywood and America at large.
And there are a number of surprising twists and turns, the biggest of which is saved for last.
"Gun" looks to be a modern-day successor to anthology series like "The Twilight Zone" and "Alfred Hitchcok Presents."
And, while further episodes were not made available to critics, there's reason to hope that the quality can be maintained. Altman himself directed the second episode, and future episodes will be directed by Tim Robbins and Ted Demme. And the stars include Rosanna Arquette, Darryl Hannah, Peter Horton, Jennifer Tilly, Randy Quaid and Sean Young.
We'll just have to wait and see how things work out.
NOT A CHANCE: Yesterday I gave a good review to the new ABC series "Leaving L.A.," which debuts tonight at 8 on Ch. 4. Today I gave a good review to the new ABC series "Gun."
So I expect them to be around for a while, right?
Absolutely not. Neither one of these shows has a chance.
First, if ABC was committed to these shows, it would not have scheduled them on Saturday nights - a black hole for the network.
Second, "Leaving L.A." is an exceptionally quirky series set in the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office. And quirky series do not succeed on network television, no matter how good they are.
Third, "Gun" is an anthology series. There hasn't been a successful anthology series on network television in decades, and there's a long line of good or better entries in the genre, from "Amazing Stories" to "Tribeca."
If you have any desire at all to see either show, you'd better tune in quick. They're not going to be around for long.