Breaking In Returns on Fox

6 03 2012

“Boom goes the Dynamite!” “Breaking In” is back on Tuesday, March 6, 2012 at 9:30 ET/8:30 Central after “New Girl” on Fox. After being cancelled in May of 2011 to the surprise of many after having brought in 10 million viewers at the premiere and averaging 7-8 million each week, the decision was reversed in August 2011.

The new cast of Breaking_In on Fox

There may be some spoilers ahead.

The new episode, “The Contra Club”, reveals changes at Contra Security. Oz (Christian Slater) is unable to pay the bills and needs to bring in someone to buy the agency. The timeline is a year after Cameron Price (Bret Harrison) was originally hired by the firm. Noticeably missing are Dutch (Michael Rosenbaum) and Josh Armstrong (Trevor Moore). Returning characters include Cam (Bret Harrison), Cash (Alphonso McAuley), Melanie (Odette Annable), and Creepy Carol (Jennifer Irwin). Joining the cast are Megan Mullally as Veronica and Erin Richards as Molly.

My immediate thoughts were, “Oh no, this is just like Human Target where they bring in 2 women, one with an English accent, to try to change the formula in order to increase ratings.” And we saw what happened with that–it was cancelled. Megan Mullally has fantastic comedic timing, but in the first episode, it seemed like Oz was somewhat diminished; perhaps this was the intention. It was the all-knowing, all-powering Oz that was the foundation of the show, but I can see how a one-dimensional character would become stale without some obstacle to overcome. I have to give props to the writers for making light of all that happened when Oz says what he does at the opening of the “The Contra Club.” (I’ll let you enjoy that one without spoilers). The filming of the show has a different feel to it, too. I am not quite sure if that comes from the way the episode is filmed or edited, but it is not like the original series. Understanding that it was necessary to establish Veronica, I’m looking forward to a better balance between dialogue lines for both wonderful actors (Christian Slater and Megan Mullally). It was great to see Cash being Cash, full of pranks and the walking dictionary of geekdom.

By the end of the second episode, “Who’s the Boss,” I was totally invested in Molly, which caught me off-guard. The dynamic between Molly and Cam will be interesting to see evolve as Melanie gets to play the jealous person over Cam’s affections, versus Cam being jealous of Dutch the previous year. By the end of this episode, Veronica realizes that she does not know everything about making the business successful, and she and Oz have a moment of mutual admiration (which obviously will not last) for their respective positions and knowledge-base.

Although I dearly miss Josh and Dutch, I’m glad the show is back on. It is a show that will have a quirky niche in the programming lineup much like New Girl and Raising Hope. It needs to be given some time and lots of publicity to develop its audience. I hope you’ll be tuning in to see it. Live tweet with us at #BreakingIn on Tuesday, March 6, 2012 at 9:30 pm EST/8:30 central.

Thank you FoxVIP for allowing the preview of the 2 episodes.





Breaking-In: T’ is Better to Have Loved Than Flossed

13 04 2011
Breaking In on Fox

The cast of "Breaking In" on Fox

Thanks to the Official FOX VIP program, I was treated to yet another preview of “BREAKING IN” scheduled to air on Wednesday, April 13, 2011 at 9:30/8:30 ET/CT after American Idol. Possible minor spoilers are ahead.

Last week we were introduced to Oz (Christian Slater) and his crew from Contra Security: Cameron (Bret Harrison), a young college student caught hacking, who was given the choice of working for Contra Security or going to jail; Josh (Trevor Moore), the “intel” guy, who used to be the golden boy and is jealous of that status now going to Cameron; Melanie (Odette Yustman), the safe cracker, a wild child who has become the objection of Cameron’s affection; and Cash (Alphonso McAuley) who was busted stalking William Shatner as a trekkie and also given a job offer by Oz. Contra Security is the firm you hire to test how well your security system is NOT functioning.

This week, Contra Security is hired by an “old” woman to break into her safe. As with each episode, nothing is as straightforward as it seems and hilarity ensues.

Alyssa Milano (Romantically Challenged, Charmed) guest stars in this week’s episode as Amy, a dentist who Cameron meets at a restaurant. Amy has a secret but the all-knowing, all-seeing Oz is always one step ahead of everybody else.

According to “TV By The Numbers,” the debut of BREAKING IN on April 6, 2011 scored a 3.5 adults 18-49 rating and 9.9 million viewers. It was highest comedy retention after American Idol in more than 4 years, but premieres typically have higher ratings. This week’s episode will be more telling in how well the show will do.

The show is quick-paced and highly entertaining. I encourage you to give it a try. Join us on Twitter during the show for a tweet-up using the hashtag #BreakingIn.

 





Breaking-In on Fox — A Preview

5 04 2011

Because I am part of the Official FOX VIP program, one of the many wonderful perks is getting to see previews of shows (shows already on-air and new shows). Minor spoilers are possibly ahead.

On Wednesday, April 6, 2011 from (9:30-10:00 ET/PT) on Fox, BREAKING-IN starring Christian Slater as Oz, the mysterious owner of Contra Security, a high-tech security firm that people hire to break into their places first and find out where all the dents in that security is. Cameron (Bret Harrison of “V”, “Reaper“) is a young college student who is caught hacking. Oz tells him to join the company or go to jail.

Contra Security does not even necessarily use the highest tech of equipment to do the job–but a lot of creative thinking. Cameron’s first job does not go as planned thanks to Josh (Trevor Moore, “The Whitest Kids U’Know” and “Uncle Morty’s Dub Shack”), who is jealous of the new member of the team. Melanie (Odette Yustman, Brothers & Sisters, Cloverfield) rounds out the team as the safe cracker.

The show takes off from there. I was expecting this show to be a drama and was completely wrong. There is some quick cutting and editing. A heavy dose of comedy is thrown in. Geeks will love the Dragon-Con/Star Wars references. How Cash (Alphonso McAuley, “Love That Girl!” and “Chocolate News”) came to be on the team will delight every fan of science fiction out there. The Colbertnation will love the references to Sky Mall. And I have discovered one more way to possibly raise funds to keep my son, Patrick, in his autism school — selling “nerd pee.”

With Christian Slater at the helm, he has enough moxy and enough charm to make his character believable and to pull this team together. Bret Harrison and Alphonso McAuley have great comedic timing. Trevor Moore reminded me of “Psycho” in the movie “Stripes.” Odette Yustman plays her wild-child character quite well. This is going to be a fun show.

“And BOOM goes the dynamite.”

Breaking In on Fox

The cast of "Breaking In" on Fox