BLOGS

Charlie's Angels: Fall's Most Mediocre New Drama

ABC's new Charlie's Angels isn't the worst remake that we've ever seen (we're still leaning towards Knight Rider for that dishonor), it's not exactly what you'd call Emmy-bait (though it isn't trying to be), it doesn't have the most attractive cast on TV (Vampire Diaries probably wins that one) and it definitely doesn't have the most kick-ass girl action scenes (we tip our hat to Nikita ), but with all that said, it's not the worst show to premiere this fall. It isn't even that bad when all is said and done. It's just that it falls in the unfortunate position of being average -- not great, not appallingly awful, just there. And unless it garners some Big Bang Theory-style ratings, it probably won't be there for long.

The premise is the same as the original series and the subsequent movies: Three young ladies, saved from prison sentences by a mysterious man named Charlie Townsend, work together to take down criminals in unconventional ways. In this version, the three ladies are Abby (Rachael Taylor), think Serena van der Woodsen turned catburgler; Gloria (Nadine Velasquez), a former military gal who made a wrong decision; and Kate (Annie Ilonez), a dirty cop. As the pilot begins, they're trying stop a kidnapping ring when Gloria falls victim to a car explosion (which is so obviously shot that even an Amish person who'd never seen TV before could see it coming) and dies, immediately putting a wrench in their happy little family. Yes, most of these characters are orphaned or have severe family issues, so they've bonded together on the lovely beaches of Miami in order to soothe their pain away with kickboxing, Parkour-style wall-climbing and heaps of sunshine.

The Angels try to pin the explosion on Eve (Minka Kelly), who used to "work" with Gloria back in her carjacking days, but it turns out that Eve was actually trying to help Gloria on some secret case to take down Carlos Bernard (the former Tony Almeida on 24, now an El Salvadoran crime lord who specializes in trafficking young women). With the help of Bosley (Ramon Rodriguez), the gals are able to easily deal with any sort of problems that get in their way and eventually take down the person who once tried to kidnap Gloria and Eve from their South American orphanage before they went all it's-a-hard-knock-life on his ass and slapped him in the face with a statue. Obviously, Charlie is impressed with Eve's skills and taps her to be the new Angel, and the girls all lounge around on his yacht and compare shoes and make plans to share wardrobes.

For those in love with Minka Kelly (and yes, she's quite stunning) this show will appeal visually. And for those who can't get enough of tough ladies kicking butt, it will also hold some itnerest. There's not a lot of stellar acting happening here, but it's mostly passable for what it is. It also tries to be hip with some highly amateur-looking inserts and half-screen visuals that neither add nor detract from the show. But while this show doesn't really offend on any level, it just sort of hangs there, like an unwanted dress from last season. We can't really see ourselves watching more episodes because there's nothing captivating about it, but it minds its own business and we can totally see our dads happily tuning in each week.

Our vlogger Sean Crespo manages to find a bright side to this new Charlie's Angels in this video:

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44 Comments

September 23, 2011 9:14 AM
eagle826
Reply

This is a horrible show! Poor acting and poor storyline! Cancel show no so no one else has to suffer! Save your money!

September 23, 2011 11:44 AM
Leigh
Reply

Abby (Rachael Taylor) kinda sucks in this show...her acting & looks. In fact, even when she talks it seems odd. Bosley doesn't quite fit in either and Charlie's voice is not at all what I was expecting...prefer the original and even the movie versions. Minka & Annie are the only ones that bring something to the show.

September 23, 2011 1:03 PM
gingersmom
Reply

In the original they weren't criminals. They all graduated from the police academy. Yes, I am sad I know that.

September 23, 2011 1:29 PM
OverWatch
Reply

This show WILL be short lived. Minka and the co-stars are just eye candy. When they open their mouth to talk, ugh. Who is to blame, the directors. ABC directors apparently have no clue.

September 23, 2011 1:38 PM
Jill
Reply

"The premise is the same as the original series and the subsequent movies: Three young ladies, saved from prison sentences by a mysterious man named Charlie Townsend, work together to take down criminals in unconventional ways."

Um, what? They weren't saved from prison in the original TV series...granted, their jobs sucked and might have been a metaphorical prison...granted, I get what TWOP was trying to say, that Charlie saved 3 women in all 3 formats of the show, and the current re-write he saved them from prison, but dang, work on your writing/editing skills.

September 23, 2011 2:58 PM
Diana Kern
Reply

Seriously, it was the worst acting I have ever seen in prime time in years. Minka is the worst actress I have ever seen. The reason the other two actresses did not come off well is because how to you act with some one that is that bad?! Cancel now or bring back the one the killed off! She could act and was better looking too!

September 23, 2011 3:38 PM
Joe
Reply

El Salvador is not in South America; it's in Central America.

September 23, 2011 3:38 PM
salvationtweet
Reply

Miami Citizen's VS Corrupt Politician Drama include Medicare Fraud and For Profit Manage Medicare Clinics that Robed form the Elders by denying them care and how politician get kickback by them ;)

September 23, 2011 3:49 PM
Steven
Reply

Angel Cohn, you should do some research before you write a review. The premise is not at all the same as the original. In the original they were all cops who were assigned menial jobs like metermaid and crosswalk guard. Charlie took them away from all that, to work for him at Townsend Detective agency in Los Angelas. The show had some bad acting going on, i.e. "I didn't know my heart could hurt this much", and "we were her family". Give me a break. And since they are all crooks, I can't find that they would be do gooder detectives now, just because Charlie hired them. Very poorly written, directed, and portrayed.

September 23, 2011 3:58 PM
Dan
Reply

Minka is smoking hot, but she can't act. The cinematography (videography?) was excellent, with many beautiful, colorful scenes of Miama.

September 23, 2011 4:00 PM
Dan
Reply

Minka is smoking hot, but she is a terrible actress. There was beautiful cinematography (videography?) of Miami, though.

September 23, 2011 4:49 PM
stacy
Reply

Ok the black girl is the only pretty one, the blond hair girl was very pretty on transformers but what happened???? and Minka kelly is not pretty, and the voice is horrible. The acting was bad!!!! It reminded me of a Charlies Angels spoof..lol

September 23, 2011 4:56 PM
Anna
Reply

THIS WAS TERRIBLE! and I LOOVE Charlie's Angels! The premise is ripped from 'She Spies' and ruins it as a Charlie's Angels show. The original premise was one of women in law enforcement being wicked smart and talented and being underused (meter maid, desk duty) because they were women. Charlie "took them away from all that" and hired them as super smart super-sleuths women private detectives! You can't change that to grabbing three criminals... not the same thing AT ALL. The voice of Charlie is awful. The acting is so-so but the script and dialogue was beyond TERRIBLE all those writers in LA... who's relative did they hire?!! "Remember Angels, you are Angels of Justice not Angels of Vengence". cmon! There was little to no character development. I loved Pamela Anderson's VIP and I STILL could not stomach this show last night I had to turn it off 30 min into it and cancelled the DVR record series. The cheesy product placements... I don't know even where to begin. It was horrible. I could name every other show on TV and it would be better than this show. I'm so disappointed. I hope PanAm is decent this Sunday.

September 23, 2011 4:57 PM
Anna
Reply

THIS WAS TERRIBLE! and I LOOVE Charlie's Angels! The premise is ripped from 'She Spies' and ruins it as a Charlie's Angels show. The original premise was one of women in law enforcement being wicked smart and talented and being underused (meter maid, desk duty) because they were women. Charlie "took them away from all that" and hired them as super smart super-sleuths women private detectives! You can't change that to grabbing three criminals... not the same thing AT ALL. The voice of Charlie is awful. The acting is so-so but the script and dialogue was beyond TERRIBLE all those writers in LA... who's relative did they hire?!! "Remember Angels, you are Angels of Justice not Angels of Vengence". cmon! There was little to no character development. I loved Pamela Anderson's VIP and I STILL could not stomach this show last night I had to turn it off 30 min into it and cancelled the DVR record series. The cheesy product placements... I don't know even where to begin. It was horrible. I could name every other show on TV and it would be better than this show. I'm so disappointed. I hope PanAm is decent this Sunday.

September 23, 2011 6:29 PM
anonymous
Reply

Minka Kelly is a whore!

September 23, 2011 7:27 PM
V
Reply

Central America, not South America, you idiot.

September 23, 2011 9:26 PM
Christine
Reply

I'm pretty much just watching this show for Minka Kelly (my Friday Night Lights love will never die) and the camp factor. The actor playing Bosley is so awful, it's hilarious. In fact, this entire show is so awful, it's hilarious. And I'll be watching and laughing until it's inevitable mid-season cancellation.

September 24, 2011 6:49 AM
Maldwyn Dobbs
Reply

Hiya aill, I live in Manchester England, i heard that Charlies Angels was returning and am waiting patiently for ir to start here. I loved the original tv series Farrah Fawcett was always easy on the eyes, now that i have read your review i'm preparing to be sorely disappointed. Good luck to you all. Maldwyn.

September 24, 2011 11:11 AM
arjumand
Reply

I'm joining in with the chorus of SHAME, BOO, DOWN WITH THIS SORT OF THING to Angel Cohn for writing that in the original series the Angels were criminals.

Seriously, their backstory was part of the opening credits for every single episode (it was the 'previously, on Buffy the Vampire Slayer' of the late 70s/early 80s). We were told, over and over, that they were rookie cops who wanted to do more than clerical work.

I neither know nor care what their backstory was in the movies, which don't exist in my universe, thanks.

September 24, 2011 1:13 PM
gcat
Reply

I wanted to finish watching the episode but I could'nt. At the 8.5 minute mark I could barely look. "Please don't tell me she's really gone?" You saw her car explode into a fireball right? Horrible acting. Oh for the love of God, please cancel this show.

September 24, 2011 1:13 PM
gcat
Reply

I wanted to finish watching the episode but I could'nt. At the 8.5 minute mark I could barely look. "Please don't tell me she's really gone?" You saw her car explode into a fireball right? Horrible acting. Oh for the love of God, please cancel this show.

September 25, 2011 1:59 AM
ab
Reply

Worst remake? Not Knight Rider, but Night Stalker. And thanks, TWOP, for saving me from watching this on Hulu. I'll look for repeats of the original if I have to get a "fix" of this sort of thing.

September 25, 2011 2:00 AM
doma
Reply

Thankfully, I dvr'd this horribly crap so I could fast forward thru the stupid parts...oh, wait...it was all stupid...the acting was awful, the plot, the music, the characters, charlie...I feel violated...it was so bad. I'm so glad exec's at ABC are getting bonuses for spewing crap like this...during a (non) recession.

September 25, 2011 11:36 PM
aidansmom
Reply

I am in the minority, but found this to be just as pleasantly cheesy as the original. I was a HUGE Charlie's Angels fans when I was a girl, and think this is just as over-the-top cheesy, glam, etc, as the original. I went into it expecting to be disappointed and found it is truly a guily pleasure.

September 26, 2011 4:21 PM
Minnesota Jo
Reply

I barely made it to the 9 minute mark. Absolutely horrid.

September 28, 2011 6:55 PM
Dude
Reply

Actually the blonde girl was not in transformers. That was Rosie Huntington-Whitely who happens to be way hotter and a much better actress (*',)

September 29, 2011 2:59 PM
Chris
Reply

Leave Miami, go to a city that CSI & Law & Order aren't in. Wait let's think San Fran? Wasn't that the original location? Acting need improvement but some rough start shows can evolve to awesome series, i.e. Buffy

September 29, 2011 3:38 PM
Irene
Reply

The original angels were NOT Criminals! You owe them an apology!

September 29, 2011 7:02 PM
athought
Reply

Thought the acting was not the best, and a younger Bosley is different, but miss the golden tones of John F as Charlie. So think you should have gone just the opposite for him..Sam Elliot's voice would have been a great inventive idea!

September 30, 2011 3:02 PM
AngelKelly
Reply

I absolutely loved the original TV series and was thrilled to hear of a remake. The first two episodes have left a lot to be desired, and that's very disapointing to me, because if this show fails, no one is going to try remaking Charlie's Angels again.

October 1, 2011 2:44 AM
JustTheFacts
Reply

Annie Ilonzeh, the Black chick...has a great look and by far the best actress...Rachael Taylor, the Blond..hate so say, is not very attractive and has no body at all in the addition of being a not so good actress...Minka Kelly,to echo what many have already stated...she's eye candy...but an incredibly bad actress. This show ripped off "She Spies" theme of "bad girls gone good" yet still tried to make itself a serious action cop show...it would have been better off tying to become a satire and laugh at itself, like She Spies, VIP and the Charlies Angels movie series.

October 1, 2011 9:54 PM
sean
Reply

Bad acting cancel this trash

October 2, 2011 2:18 PM
belly
Reply

who is the new charlie? as in who is the actor who plays his voice???

October 2, 2011 2:19 PM
belly
Reply

who is the new charlie? as in who is the actor who plays his voice???

October 2, 2011 2:20 PM
belly
Reply

who is the new charlie? as in who is the actor who plays his voice???

October 2, 2011 4:01 PM
James
Reply

I was very excited about the new TV show Charlie’s Angels, but when I went to the web to see what was there, the first thing I saw was very disappointing. The white American writers just can’t shake the racism if the past. They put the only black cast member in a maid’s uniform doing housekeeping. What rank racism. I am in Iraq heading to Afghanistan soon. I certainly will not be watching this latest offering racial stereotypical dribble.
A proud American of African descent.

October 4, 2011 7:21 AM
Heyleigh
Reply

I think Abbey (Racheal Taylor) is the only one that can act on this show she has more realism to her actoring the other two are pretty to look at but are such bad actress. They always seem to have their mouth open trying to pose. They seem tense. Give me real characters not ones who do just lines And the story so so. Not the baddest thing to watch.

October 5, 2011 10:54 PM
Matt
Reply

"Once upon a time there were 3 little girls you went to the POLICE ACADEMY.........." ummmm not rescued from jail. if your gonna copy at least follow the formula - ALL of it. This thing stinks worse than Playboy Club. Hasta la vista angels!

October 6, 2011 2:44 AM
Mike
Reply
replied to comment from Dude

Rachel Taylor was in the first of the Transformer films. She played Maggie Madsen, one of a trio of digital communication experts who were gathered from the university where they were studying. Her acting was bad in that too.

October 6, 2011 8:12 PM
Johhny Vee
Reply

This show is so lame. As others have said: poor story, really bad acting, no edge or attatude. Just really really bland time-filling TV. I don't expect this to even see out it's first (and last) season. Look for this to be yanked within weeks. A very poor effort when you look at other remakes like Hawaii 50 where they took a classic, kept the orgional attatude and edge while putting a modern spin on it.

October 8, 2011 10:29 AM
Robert Paulsen
Reply

I normally don’t get a chance to watch movies on TV all that much and I’m glad people like me have other options. A benefit to being a DISH Network customer and employee is that I can watch thousands of titles for free at DISHOnline, this includes Charlie’s Angels! I’m glad people like me have other options, and you do to!

October 11, 2011 1:31 AM
Rajitha
Reply
replied to comment from Dude

She was in Transformers 1 as a communication specialist.

October 14, 2011 12:23 PM
tom
Reply

Tanya Roberts (Angel #5) could blow all 3 of these new Angels off the screen because she had screen presence. No presence here, just blandly attractive young (too young, actually) women. I couldn't get past 10 minutes of this.

December 24, 2011 6:26 AM
Lewis Hilton
Reply

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