'Revenge' Creator Mike Kelley Leaves Show

Emily Thorne (Emily VanCamp) & creator Mike Kelley

I never really do entertainment based - or any sort of news articles on here but I found this quite interesting and actually a little irritating (let me explain why in a bit).

It was announced yesterday that creator of ABC's/E4's soap-y drama 'Revenge' would be leaving the show in its entirety. Mike Kelley's series starring Emily VanCamp and Madeline Stowe debuted in the US in September 2011 and is currently in its second season. The creator is set to finish post-production duties on the show shortly before he departs, which is expected to be next month.

The announcement surprised me mainly because I've never heard of a creator stepping down from a show this early on. 'Revenge' became a sleeper hit with its debut, gaining just over 10 million viewers on its first ever showing. The audience viewership stayed strong, as did its critical reception for the next 21 episodes in the season. However, its audience has depleted somewhat in the show's sophmore year, with only 5.49 million people tuning into its most recent episode, "Masquerade", on Sunday 31st March. The move is, as I said shocking to me, but what irritated me about Kelley leaving his beloved show behind was the supposed reason.

Kelley had allegedly lobbied for 'Revenge' to carry a shortened 3rd season, possibly to stand at 13 episodes, to abandon unnecessary story arcs and twists that ultimately aren't necessary to the shows main story. ABC opted against the idea, most probably because they would be losing out on thousands, maybe even millions of dollars of ad-revenue from only having 13 episodes in one series (although there isn't an official figure for how much 'Revenge' "charges", in October 2012 a 30 second ad cost a little over $150,000 according to this chart from ad-age). 

What ABC doesn't seem to understand is that a short season is exactly what the show needs at this point. At the end of season 1 we were left with a cliffhanger that 18 episodes later - still hasn't been fully seen to, and while the second series is good (at a stretch), it's been carried on for much longer then it probably should've been. The show is known for its ridiculously dramatic soap opera-like twists and turns; people from the past showing up unexpectedly, fake deaths, surprise pregnancies and the like, while also trying to maintain a very dark, crime related story at its core. The marriage of the two genres of soap and crime is what's brought the show into the forefront from its inception, but with its intricate and tricky sub-plots which are quickly getting more difficult to follow, viewership is declining. A concise season of much fewer episodes would allow less "waffle" in the show, and let the main story work perfectly without the interruption of pointless side arcs and guest characters.

Network television needs to put shorter seasons into practise. It happens here and there and shows such as 'The Following', (the first season of) 'Scandal' and NBC's 'Hannibal' are proof that it can actually work effectively. Plus all you have to do is look at the most celebrated TV shows of the 21st century so far: 'Breaking Bad', 'Mad Men', 'The Walking Dead', 'Game of Thrones', 'Luther', 'Downton Abbey' and 'The Wire'. How many episodes have they all had per season?

Not as many as Revenge.


You can read a review of Revenge Season 1 here.

5 Most Underrated and Underused Characters on Television

Donna – Parks and Recreation

Where is Donna? Where is she? She’s a valued member of the Parks and Recreation department of Pawnee, Indiana that seems to pop up once or twice an episode (if that) with a couple of lines,  and…that’s pretty much it. In fact, her role in the show has become smaller and smaller as the series has gone on. The absence of Donna is pretty much the only downfall in an otherwise flawless sitcom.

Cerie – 30 Rock

When Liz Lemon asked Cerie “looked okay”, a spritely Cerie retorted with “that’s exactly how you look”. The fact that the line is said not in dislike or disdain but as a genuine compliment is why she's such a good character. The usage of Cerie is vaguely similar to Donna’s in Parks and Recreation – she turns up once in a while, gives us some good dialogue, and then she’s off again. Only (once again like Donna) she works in the exact same place that every episode of the show is set in.

Harrison Wright – Scandal

Okay, this one is a bit of a cheat as *spoiler* creator Shonda Rhimes has stated that this characters role will be beefed up in the second half of the addictive political drama’s second season *end spoiler*. Harrison has largely been on the backburner, occasionally seen conversing with Abby and Olivia…while not doing much else. Although it has been revealed that Harrison avoided a serious prison sentence on behalf of crafty and not-so legit work of Olivia Pope, the statement was made only as a passing reference. I think we can assume this will play a major part in the last few episodes of the season, along with (hopefully) many more to come.

Luke Dunphy– Modern Family

For some reason “I can feel my heart beating in my eyes” is one of my favourite Modern Family quotes, and it comes from young Luke, probably the most underutilised Dunphy on Modern Family. The show which has  one of the strongest and most comedic ensemble casts currently on television, needs to let the most beloved of those, such as Gloria, Phil, Manny and Cam step aside; just for a little while and let Luke do something solo.

Harry Crane – Mad Men

In a world where everyone is lying, backstabbing, cheating on their wives and descending into alcohol addiction in 1960s based drama Mad Men, Crane is only guilty of..one or two of those. For a while Crane, played by Rich Sommer was one of the few genuinely likeable characters in the fictional Sterling Cooper work place – and it may just be because it feels like decades ago, I barely even remember him on screen in the show’s 5^th season. We better see him actually doing some serious shit when Mad Men returns next month.

Revenge- Season 1 (TV Series)

l-r: Nolan (Gabriel Mann), Ashley (Ashley Madekwe),
Jack (Nick Welscher),
Emily Thorne (Emily VanCamp), Daniel (Josh Bowman),
Declan (Connor Paolo),
Charlotte (Christa B. Allen),
Victoria (Madeline Stowe) & Conrad (Henry Czerny)

Urgh. URGH. There are no words to describe how much I enjoyed the first season of ABC’s breakout drama 'Revenge'. Created by Mike Kelley, 'Revenge' is an appropriation of the book The Count of Monte Cristo written by Alexadre Dumas in which the protagonist is sent to prison for a crime he didn’t commit, and swears to bring down the people that put him there once he is released. Revenge is a modern day version of Dumas’s tale, in which main character, Emily Thorne (actually born Amanda Clarke, played by Emily VanCamp) is the daughter of the wrongfully imprisoned character from the book. The show is also set in the ultra-upper-class Southampton, New York, with money and power playing as two huge themes throughout the series.

Revenge is host to an array of different characters, both typical and atypical of what you might expect to see in a soap-ish female driven drama. Emily is aided by Nolan Ross (Gabriel Mann) the only person who knows her true identity and her intentions to bring down the Grayson family, headed by the ice-cold and treacherous Victoria (Madeline Stowe), who helped frame Emily’s father. Emily and Victoria’s scenes together are incredibly enjoyable, due to the fact that you can really feel their distaste for one another through their incredible politeness, even though Victoria has no idea who Emily really is. However, Victoria often takes a backseat to villain Tyler Barrol (Ashton Holmes) a mentally unstable friend of her son’s, and backstabbing liar that is so irritating you may feel the need to punch your TV screen.

Emily Thorne/Amanda Clarke

'Revenge' has enough drama, twists and turns to keep fans of shows such as 'Desperate Housewives' interested, while the shows crime, power and of course, vengeance plot points are sure to bring in unexpected fans as well. It’s smart, it’s engaging, and it’s Kill Bill for the Gossip Girl generation, and it needs to be watched.

A+

Key Episodes: Commitment, Chaos, Reckoning 

Happy Endings- Season 2 (TV Series)

The US TV season is beginning to wind down, and breakout post-Friends sitcom Happy Endings has been one of the most enjoyable shows of the season. It started out as the “Year of Penny” and appeared to be that way throughout most of the season, with attention shifting from Dave (Zachary Knighton) and Alex’s (Elisha Cuthbert) non-wedding in the pilot to Penny’s (Casey Wilson) hilarious romantic desperation and “abbreeves”.

Although there is no official word as of yet whether Happy Endings will be renewed for a third season but hopefully the ABC network will make an announcement soon, as although the sitcom may not have the viewership of other ABC juggernauts Modern Family and Revenge or even the long-running Desperate Housewives which is set to finish for good next month, it deserves a place among the schedule as it is a hilarious and well put together series.

From Left: Brad Williams (Damon Wayans Jr.), Jane Williams (Eliza Coupe), Max Blum (Adam Pally),
Alex Kerkovich (Elisha Cuthbert), Penny Hartz (Casey Wilson) and Dave Rose (Zachary Knighton)

Happy Endings seems to have found its footing since its inception, as any show that features a group of six friends is bound to bare similarity to…well Friends; and although it may have finished in 2004, the image of the close knit clan stays ingrained in our minds and will do for years to come. And yes, even though we have the successful yet borderline snooze-some How I Met Your Mother, every other amazing sitcom seems to be relegated to cable channels, almost saying that you can’t be funny without being down right dirty. Happy Endings proves this wrong, by having a more diverse and interesting group of protagonists than many of their contemporary counterparts, the bloated, sluggish, gay Max (Adam Pally) and Yuppie-ish interracial couple Jane (Eliza Coupe) and Brad (Damon Wayans Jr.).

The season ended the same way the last did- with a wedding, only this time the wedding saw recurring character and super drama queen Derek, and his partner Eric tie the knot, as well as setting up a dreaded love triangle between Alex, Dave and Penny. But will the potential triangle make the show grow old fast? I hope not. I’m pre-ordering the box set as SOON as that hits amazon.

A+

Key Episodes: “Yesandwitch”, “Spooky Endings” “Four Weddings and a Funeral (Minus Three Weddings and One Funeral)”