Drum roll, please. Here is the final installment in a three-part series offering profound insight on the new broadcast shows for the 2007 fall season. Here we look at CBS's hits and misses.
The Big Bang Theory: Three relative unknowns head the cast of this sitcom about two nerds named Leonard and Sheldon (Johnny Galecki and Jim Parsons ) who find out the apartment across from theirs has just been rented by the beautiful Penny (Kaley Cuoco). The chemistry between Leonard and Sheldon is great, and the one-liners they throw back and forth about science, a historically hilarious subject, are pretty funny (although I doubt I understood any of them). Penny is their foil: bubbly, social and the opposite of the classic nerd stereotype. Cuoco pulls it off somewhat convincingly and comedically. The real stars are Leonard and Sheldon, and I will definitely watch this show again, if only to bear witness to the witty repartee between them. Mondays at 8:30 p.m.
Cane: This Latino soap opera has an impressive cast: Hector Elizondo and Rita Moreno play the elder Duques, and Jimmy Smits is their golden boy adopted son, Alex Vega, who became CEO of their rum and sugar empire in the season premiere. The show revolves around the professional and private lives of the Duques and their rivalry with the Samuels. The dialogue is wooden, though, and the actors don't seem fully invested in their roles. Vega's brothers, Henry (Eddie Matos) and Frank (Nestor Carbonell), are interesting; Henry is a party boy who takes his money for granted, and Frank is the eldest Duque son, who resents Alex (who isn't blood, after all) taking his rightful place running the business. The show really slips when Alex's home life enters the picture: He and his wife Isabel (Paola Turbay) have little chemistry, and their three children seem like props, showing that Vega has a softer side. All in all, this show was forgettable. Tuesdays at 10 p.m.
Kid Nation: This show lived up to its preseason hype. I really loved the candid emotions from the children in this show, who are trying to live on their own in a deserted mock-Western town. There is something fascinating about watching these kids try to navigate the real world without adult supervision. They engage in typical day-to-day activities but also team up in challenges where they have the opportunity to win things like extra outhouses or a TV.-
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Stephanie Hummel
