Big Shots (2007–2008) User Reviews

I LOVED This Show

[madact · 9/10 · 29 September 2007]

As far as pilots go, this one rocked! The 4 main characters are funny, self-absorbed jerks who are going to be given a run for their money from the women in this show.

The cast is terrific -- great variety, fine actors. Dylan Mc Dermott is gorgeous, Michael Vartan is sooooooo sweet, Christopher Titus is funny, and Josh Malina is a delightful neurotic. And the WOMEN!!! Terrific -- lovely Paige Turco, smart and sexy Nia Long, sly and sassy Peyton List, sweet and sympathy-provoking Amy Sloan, and sultry and manipulating Jessica Collins.

Pilots are always a little sketchy. The writers don't know who the actors are -- they're just writing for anyone at that point. Watch this show. Give it a chance, and, as the writers get to know the actors, I'll bet anything the script will take on a life of its own.

A slick, stylish and entertaining guilty pleasure held up by a fine return by Christopher Titus

[liquidcelluloid-1 · 17 February 2008]

Network: NBC; Genre: Guilty Pleasure, Drama, Comedy; Content Rating: TV-14 (for strong suggested sexual content, language); Perspective: Contemporary (star range: 1- 4);

Seasons Reviewed: series (1 season)

It's been said that "Big Shots" is network TV's attempt at a male version of "Sex and the City. I'm always wary of such comparisons, but watching what creator John Harmon Feldman ("Tru Calling") has put together here does inspire the comparison.

It goes almost without saying that the show never delves into the true reason "Sex" was such a masterpiece - that it was a rich, intelligent insightful satire of modern relationships regardless of the gender of the participants. I don't expect any show to do that in the near future. "Big Shot" feels like a reaction to "Sex" from someone who never actually watched the show, only the simplified media hype around it. Feldman grabs Michael Patrick King's cliff-notes and runs out the back door.

Feldman sidesteps any realistic male perspective on relationships to drop us into a guilty pleasure fantasy world of high-powered CEOs. It's a fun guilty pleasure fantasy world - one centered around four friends who are constantly mired in scandal, offered improbably casual sex and held down by their wives and exes. Let's call a spade a spade. Feldman gets around traditional male clichés and any social commentary by fully embracing modern emasculation. "Men. We're the new women" says Duncan Collingsworth (Dylan McDermot, "The Practice") and while he isn't quite saying it while getting a metrosexual pedicure, the seed is planted or a satirical nugget that the show has no interest in exploring. These guys don't mind being a little feminized, a little needy - as long as they can still play with their toys.

Speaking of the guys, the cast is quite good. Notably, Christopher Titus who makes a welcome return to TV 5 years after his own sitcom got a premature heave-ho. It's not a huge stretch for the comedian to play "the funny one" in the group, but he takes his usual ticks and tailors it (or restrains it) to suit this show and this character beautifully. In a performance that gives the show it's most character, he plays the rarest of TV oddities: the happily married guy. There is also Michael Vartan's ("Alias") character who is cheated on by his wife only to fall for a long-time colleague (smoking hot Nia Long). Then there is Joshua Milana ("Sports Night") an odd-man-out who cheats on his wife with Jessica Collins only to have the two meet and become best friends. McDermot has got the most melodramatic story lines of all. An ex wife marrying his corporate competition (Paul Blackthorne, in his one thousandth villain appearance since "24"), a belligerent daughter working for him, a boy who shows up claiming to be his estranged son and a rendezvous with a prostitute who turns out to be a pre-op transvestite.

"Big Shots" is another worst-case scenario guilty pleasure show. Along the lines of "Nip/Tuck" or "Desperate Housewives". The stories, in an attempt to find original, ground approach a larger-than-life cartoon. Damn if it isn't entertaining though. Maybe that's just the guy in me. The one that would love a pad like Titus' character gets when he constructs a man sanctuary out of leather recliners, big screen TVs, video games and a basketball hoop or the ridiculous offers from beautiful women that McDermot's character seems to be burdened with all the time. Or simply a quiet day on the golf course with your 3 closest friends. It sends the mind spinning about how good it could be if it were on cable, where the tee box conversations could be extended to include in depth observations and the sex scenes could be fully realized. "Big Shots" proves that the wish fulfillment series isn't just for teenagers anymore.

If the show weren't so mired in melodrama (will the tranny's diary with Duncan's indiscretion in it get in the wrong hands?) and made no bones about the shallow male fantasy it wanted to be "Shots" could have really taken off and flown. "Big Shots" isn't for all tastes. It's pretty air-headed, simply written and pedestrian in execution. But it was a fun playground to play in for an hour a week. Empty but well done.

* * * / 4

The Show That Never Really Had A Chance.

[Emmjewels · 10/10 · 14 April 2008]

For: HowTVshouldbe and others who felt the same way. Just so you should know, as far as I'm concerned ABC NEVER really believed in this show from the start, so it doesn't surprise me that things turned out the way they did. Oh yes, they did show a 'few' promos in the beginning, but right after it got on the air the promos 'abruptly' stopped three weeks in. I don't care what anyone else says, ABC did not make even one attempt to save it (and that means bringing in better writers, or moving the show to a new day and time slot, like they did with the rest or their shows.),so what exactly was so 'different' about this one show? I'm beginning to wonder just what kind of a message they're sending to Mr. Vartan's fans, as this is the second time we've had to start a campaign (although, they didn't even wait for it to go through this time) to keep one of his shows going. 'Big Shots' was a very good show in my estimation, and proof of that was the fact that Vartan and actress Nia Long have had mini-videos posted on YouTube (under the 'Big Shots', James and Katie name) because the fans really enjoyed seeing them together. If by chance they're not coming back, why in the name of all that's Holy won't ABC try a "spin-off" with the shows two most popular characters? We just don't get it.

What a great show! Definitely the best of the new season

[Dawnsdinosaurs · 10/10 · 13 October 2007]

I've been reading comments that Big Shots isn't good. The cast isn't believable. I don't see these guys as friends. I don't think you're watching the same show I am. I can easily see these guys as friends from school or whatever. They haven't said yet and maybe won't. Look at your own friends, don't you have friends people would be surprised you are close too? That being said now on to details about the show. I think its a great cast.

I love how James is struggling with his break up with his wife after finding out she was sleeping with his boss. Will soon be dealing with fear of losing his kids to the ex's new boyfriend.

Karl and his mistress who when she decided to tell his wife liked her and now they are best friends. I couldn't stop laughing when after the wife has pictures of Karl and his girlfriend, Brody fixes it for him and now the wife thinks he's gay.

Brody head of a crisis management company, he could make a fortune off of his friends handling their problems. His wife, who we haven't seen as of yet, has him completely whipped. If she says jump he asks how high.

Duncan's story line is great and complicated, hooking up with the ex he's having a great time until he realizes if she gets serious with another guy their little escapades will end. She's torn because if they do get back together she knows he'll start cheating again. In the last episode he asks her out on a date and she accepted, I can't wait to see how long he'll be faithful to her.

This is a great show and the only one that I truly look forward to each week.

Best Show You're Not Watching

[Brownsbros3 · 10/10 · 18 January 2008]

Big Shots rules! This is such an awesome show. It's about the lives and friendship of four CEOs James, Carl, Brody, and Duncan. James (Michael Vartan) finds out that his wife cheated on him with his boss, and leaves her. The boss winds up dying, and James goes from on the verge of being fired to being the new boss. He then proceeds to run the company with his longtime friend Katie (Nia Long), who has been hiding a secret crush on him. Duncan (Dylan McDermott) is the playboy who realizes after a lifetime of philandering that his ex-wife, Elizabeth (Paige Turco), is the one he truly wants to be with. The problem is that she's engaged to his mortal enemy Terrence. He's also dealing with the bitterness of his daughter (Peyton List), who blames him for their broken home. Carl (Joshua Malina) was cheating on his wife, Wendy, (Amy Sloan) with Marla (Jessica Collins). Carl decides that he no longer wants to be with Marla, and wants to stay with his wife. Marla goes to tell Wendy about the affair, but winds up liking her so much that they become best friends, and she moves in with them. Brody (Christopher Titus) is a crisis manager, which means whenever the others get in trouble, he's in charge of bailing them out. At the same time, he has to bend over backwards to do favors for his demanding wife, Janelle (Charisma Carpenter).

The cast is first rate, and I've really enjoyed watching the plots develop. I thought it was very unfair for the critics to bash this show. Though the show has continued to air there has been constant speculation that ABC is going to cancel it. I hope they don't. I think if they would just promote the show more, or put it in a better time slot, it might succeed. I never see ABC promote Big Shots at all. The only promos I ever see are for Desperate Housewives or Grey's Anatomy. You would think those are the only two shows on the network.

Not very good

[anna_8146 · 5/10 · 6 August 2008]

I had very high hopes for this show and after a few episodes, I have to say I was disappointed.

I love the cast. Dylan McDermott is always great, just like Michael Vartan and Christopher Titus. And Nia Long is always really good. So, the show had good potential.

But for some reason there are four principal characters and only three story lines amongst them. Christopher Titus's character isn't in much of the show accept when the four guys get together. And that's a shame since I looked forward to seeing him on TV again because he's a talented comedian.

The other big part I react to is that Karl's whole storyline is a comedic one, while the other two main story lines are much more serious. Another thing that makes me almost dread seeing a scene with Karl's storyline is his wife. I'm sorry, this actress might be good in other roles but here she gives an unbelievably bad performance.

For some reason I still watch the show but most often I seriously can't wait till it's over.

I can't for the life of me understand how the show currently has 8.1 user rating here on IMDb.

Brilliant

[soveryme · 10/10 · 6 January 2009]

Love, Loved it, Iam a woman and a big fan of Sex and the City, I don't understand the comparisons to SATC except maybe the four best friend bit, this show is excellent, I wonder if men do see relationships in the light of this four men, but I have known Men who are whipped like Brody, have had their wives cheated on them, Have tried to move heaven and earth to gain back the love and trust of the women whom they have cheated on, and have slept with a woman only to have that same woman become friends with their wives, although the outcomes and circumstances are not this funny, these men do exist. Big shots is the only TV show I have been looking forward to every week for a very long time.It's very disappointing that they decided to can it after just one season, this show is hot, laughs per minute and serious when it needs to be, with so many so, so and mediocre, and try to hard shows out there why would they can one as good as this, everyone in my social circle both men and women love this show, I do have to agree with one of the other commenter's' who said that there weren't enough scenes of Brody without the other guys.