DRIVE gets a "DNF"

As in Did Not Finish.

That's what they give the NASCAR boys who end up in the garage instead of crossing the finish line.

While I enjoyed the two hour premiere of DRIVE, its seams were showing. This looks like it has to be an expensive show to produce - and the producers are slicing expenses wherever they can.

Cars continually race down the same generic stretch of interstate highway. Office complexes double for Cape Canaveral (along with a preposterously bad CGI countdown clock on the side of a building). And I KNOW I've seen the motel the contestants were all departing from in more than one movie or TV show.

There's lots of CGI and green screen in this show - sort of a poor man's version of the incredible shooting techniques pioneered in CHILDREN OF MEN. Cameras swoop in, crossing through windshields while cars roar down the highway, then spin and fly out the side window. It could be impressive - if it were done a little better.

But, if I can overlook the cardboard walls of Kirk's Enterprise, I can overlook the budget limitations on a TV show's special effects.

The story has LOTS of potential. FIREFLY's Captain Tightpants - Nathan Fillion - is back - as Alex Tully, a very familiar role. Fillion can clench his jaw and smoulder like no other actor on TV.

ANGEL's Amy Acker plays Tully's missing wife, who is being held hostage so Tully will compete in a race that makes the Cannonball Run look like a party thrown by Dean martin (which it probably was!)

Melanie Lynskey plays a mom who seems to have had her newborn son taken from her. Hers may be the most intriguing characters so far. She's soft and quiet, and easily taken to be weak - but she's able to do what it takes to protect her child - something we learned very well, very quickly.

Lynskey was featured in an early promo for the show and her voice is so petite, I originally mistook her for Amy Acker. Mrs. Kimosabe and I were pretty puzzled as to how Acker had put on so many pounds - oops to us.

All in all, I'm in the for long haul on DRIVE. My season pass is programmed in and I'm hoping this race runs a long time.

But I have my doubts.

After announcing the show's premiere date, FOX quickly followed up with another announcement that they would be airing just 6 of the 13 episodes ordered before giving the show a break for the summer. That doesn't sound like a vote of confidence.

After seeing the Sunday night numbers, the suits may have been right on this one. DRIVE scored a 6 share.

I don't know what it is about folks from the House of Whedon, but it seems like everyone who learned how to make TV while studying at the feet of creator of BUFFY hits a glass ceiling in the 6 to 7 share range.

While a 6 share was considered a success for The Old WB, it's not enough for FOX. WONDERFALLS, FIREFLY, STANDOFF, TRU CALLING and now DRIVE - they're all quirky little shows created by folks who wrote for BUFFY or ANGEL - and none of them ever scored a double digit share of the audience.

Let's wait to see what Monday's numbers bring....

[Edit: Monday's numbers are in and - TA DA! - a 6 share. A rerun of HOUSE scored a 9 share last week. This does not bode well....)

Rantings of a TV Junkie

In no organized fashion other than the order things pop into my head... my impressions of TV as we wrap up 2006....

1. THE O.C. is back! This show is en fuego! Killing off Marissa Cooper has given the show new life - and it's a happy life. Gone are the endlessly morose, angst-driven storylines about how unhappy Marissa was. It's all been replaced by the perky, funny, pop-cult aware, snarkiness that fans fell for in Season 1. It's not too late to rediscover the fun!

2. LOST is taking its fans on a remarkable journey. I'm not trying to figure it all out. I'm not in the camp that's insisting on answers. Place me solidly in the 'I can't wait to see what happens next" camp. This may be the best series on TV right now.

3. HOUSE endures. How in the world the writers manage to make the same story work week after week is a mystery to me, but they do. Love it!

4. HEROES, the origin! Without a doubt, my favorite new show of the year. I hope the writers are able to take their time and advance the story at their own pace. No need to rush through the prime rib to get to the dessert.

5. There's too much NFL on TV. Yep, I said it. The addition of Thursday and Saturday games is too much. It's diluting the special-ness of Sunday afternoon.

6. IDOL and 24 are a comin'! I just have to figure out how to clear my Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays to make room for them....

7. STANDOFF deserves to come back. A great little show starring one of my favorite actors. I just hope FOX gives it another shot.

8. DRIVE takes off in March. A new series from Tim Minear (FIREFLY), starring Nathon Fallion (also FIREFLY) about an illegal race across the country in which the participants don't know their opponents. Hope it's as fun as Minear's other work!

Questions for '07...

Will the FCC allow more concentration of TV ownership? If so, it's over folks. Allowing fewer and fewer companies to own more and more of the TV we see is far from a good thing.

How high is up for IDOL? With the competitive landscape changed (i.e. LOST moves out of the way) will IDOL reach even higher number in '07?

Where is the next great 3 camera sitcom? It's out there. The suits will find it, it's just a matter of time. Blind pigs come to mind.

Will My Network abandon the telenovela? I think so. The truth is, 20th TV was already shopping those 65 episodes mini-series in syndication before parent company FOX TV (the stations not the network) found themselves losing their UPN affiliation. It was the only thing they had on the shelf to distribute to their stations as an ad hoc net. Look for Ultimate Fighting to follow. Maybe even some sort of poker. But no matter what, it's going to make the syndicated product of the early '80s look good.

I'm sure there's more, but that's al my poor little brain can spit out this afternoon...

Happy New Year to all!