In Other TV News

• Killer Instinct: Johnny Messner still can't act, but at least knows how to brood enough to keep you interested, because face it no one is paying attention to anything that comes out of his mouth. That said, this man is no lead and the series would be vastly more interesting if they wrote it with Chi McBride or Kirstin Lehman as the lead character. Messner just seems so out of his league.
• But Can They Sing? : Bai Ling still can't sing, but knows that outrageous outfits and '80s pop songs always win voters; Antonio Sabato Jr. improves ever so slightly by not completely butchering "I Want You To Want Me" shirtless (do not ever give this man a ballad again); Carmine tries the same route, but I'm sorry, I don't think there's a market for tanorexic twink rap; Larry Holmes sings "Let's Get It On" and...ew, it's my father and I just don't even want to envision it.
• The Boondocks: This show and Noah's Arc were the two big premieres I was waiting for this Fall, and...this is the bigger disappointment. Let's just put the whole "nigger" debate to the side here (I side with Steve Harvey and Richard Pryor on it, anyway)*, this show just seems to have the oddest pacing. The comic strip is quick-paced and to the point, and the show just drags. As much as I like Regina King, she's no Cree Sumner, who is a voice actress par excellance and makes some of the most hackneyed lines on Drawn Together work.

*Richard Pryor said that after he visited Africa, he would never call another black man "nigger." Steve Harvey echoed that sentiment and disagrees with McGruder, who believes that the word does belong in entertainment.

• Reunion: Well, it's getting kind of interesting. I'm praying that as we get into the 1990's that the characters will at least acquire some sort of actual depth and quirks. The show's basic premise is too good for it to tank.
• Noah's Arc: I still stand by my Julia comments, but for pete's sake, I hope the actor playing Noah starts pitching his voice a bit deeper, because half the time I have to rely on captioning in order to find out what he says. The writing, however, still is very strong and I hope it stays that way. Good job, Patrik-Ian.