Love, Present and Past.

Have you seen the new Cupid? I have. I watched the two episodes out of order. I saw Ep. 2 before the pilot. This was the wrong order. The pilot was excellent. I didn't like Bobby Cannavale before i was the pilot and i still don't. But that is ok, i don't like Sarah Michelle Gellar, but i love Buffy Summers. Trevor Pierce is no Trevor Hale but he is good enough. Better than good enough, he is pretty good.

It is a little unfair to make comparisons of the 2009 version of Cupid to the 1998 version. Jeremy Piven is incredible, Bobby Cannavale is ok. Sarah Paulson is sweet and fine, Paula Marshall was smart and sultry. New York is generic, everything is set there; Chicago is a much more interesting locale. But just because something is superior does not render the lessor version meritless. Cupid (2009) is a good show.

The things that made Cupid (1998) good are still there. There is interesting contemporary music. You may take this sort of thing for granted given that Srubs has been on for eight years now and Gillmore Girls and Dawson's Creek have come and gone and moved on to syndication, but in 1998 using good, lesser known, contemporary music in your television series was novel. The good people at ABC have not changed this facet of the show in its new incarnation.

The show is also well written. Erin would tell you that it is corny or cheesey but that is ok; the show adds the appropriate amount of spice. It is exactly these qualities that make a series about love work. Incidentally, it is also exactly those qualities that make nachos work.

The leads have good chemistry. Even though ABC has insisted on a greater focus on the B story, the romance of the week, there is still plenty of time given over to the A story, Cupid and Psyche, er, Claire. As always there are pretty people on the show. (Here's to hoping Lisa Loeb is once again one of those pretty people.)

I hope you'll find time to watch, record, download or Hulu™ this fine program before it goes away. The original had a fifteen episode run, but each was gold. This current series may only take silver, but if that is good enough to get you on the Wheaties box then it is good enough to block out one hour a week for. (Forty-three minutes if you DL the show.)

Later

Bob


"I firmly believe his dreams are of nymphs and satyrs." Dr. Claire Allen

For those of you who are interested i have the original 1998 series starring the inimitable Jeremy Piven. It will be available via my loaner hard drive in the near future. Make your reservations now.