I almost did it. The only premiere that I didn't get to this week was Elementary (and the ones I put in bold, but those don't count), so once I watch it, it will probably get its own post. Also, I wanted to write this post before the end of the weekend, so I will review tonight's premiere(s) (most importantly, Homeland) within the next few days.
Now I'm going to briefly review the seven premieres that I watched this week. I will sort them by network, and I will give each of them a rating out of five.
CBS
How I Met Your Mother:
It has yet to be confirmed whether this season of HIMYM will be its last. I, for one, hope that it is because the show has lost steam the past couple of seasons. That said, the premiere was strong and brought Ted closer to the mother than ever before. I look forward to seeing how all the clues they have dropped since the beginning tie together in the end (if it is indeed the end).
Rating: 3.5
Hawaii Five-0:
This premiere was very intense. It picked up exactly where the finale left off, and it definitely delivered. I was somewhat disappointed by parts of last season, so I hope this season will remain as strong as it began. There is plenty of story to tell this season. Chin has suffered a loss, Danny is in a legal battle with his ex-wife, and Steve just found out his mother is not dead after all. Here's hoping they can maintain these story lines while delivering the intensity that they showed in the premiere.
Rating: 4
The Big Bang Theory:
Last season's finale was one of the best of the series, so I was slightly disappointed by this premiere. Howard argues with his mother, Leonard's relationship with Penny is awkward, and Raj is lonely...so nothing new (except that Howard is arguing from space). The only advancements we seem to be making are in the relationship between Sheldon and Amy. The two have a date night which is, in a word, interesting. The episode was still funny, but the plot was dry. I hope the writers can pick it up this season.
Rating: 3
Person of Interest:
Like The Big Bang Theory, last season's finale was amazing. Unlike The Big Bang Theory, this premiere did not disappoint. With Finch kidnapped, Reese must proceed on his own, which is an interesting new dynamic. My only request for this season is more flashbacks so we can delve deeper into the characters' pasts. In this episode, we see into the past of the machine, which has more or less become another character. I am very interested to see where they go with this season and how quickly Finch is rescued.
Rating: 5
FOX
New Girl:
FOX aired two episodes of New Girl on Tuesday, and they were both hilarious. I won't dwell too much on this premiere because all I need to say is that the show is hilarious and if you aren't watching it, you should be.
Rating: 5
ABC
Modern Family:
Although the story lines aren't always the most original, this show has some of the most consistently funny writing. The premiere was no exception. It was interesting how they handled this episode. It picked up right where the finale left off, where most sitcoms do a time jump to coincide with when the episodes are airing. At the end of the episode, there was a time jump to a few months later. I thought that was handled nicely. Finally, Ed O'Neill was amazing in this episode and proved that he should've won the Emmy last week.
Rating: 4
Last Resort:
I was actually quite surprised by this pilot. It was very well done, but I have some worries about it. A lot of characters were introduced, so I hope that they can develop them well. Also, it seems that this show will either be really good or will drop in quality fast since the pilot was so intense. Lastly, I hope they find a good way to use Autumn Reeser's character because I like her, but some of her scenes seemed out of place. I really look forward to the rest of this season.
Rating: 4.5
Wow. That ended up being a lot longer than I wanted it to be. I think it's safe to assume I won't be doing any more of these all-encompassing posts. I know these reviews were not very detailed, but I'll try to do detailed reviews for some future episodes. For now, excuse me while I massage my fingers.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Prelude to Premiere Week
The 2012 fall TV season is upon us. While some shows have already premiered, the vast majority of shows start this week. This means that I have a very difficult task ahead of me: watching a large number shows in the little free time that I have. That said, I would like to warn you that most of my posts from here on out will likely be at least a day or two after the shows they are about air. I will do my best to watch some shows live if I can, in which case I may write a post that night, but don't expect many of those. Also, I may end up grouping shows together to save time. Lastly, my plan for this first week is to wait until I have watched everything and do one post with short reviews for everything. Then, in the weeks that follow, I will probably do more focused posts.
What I want to do now is provide you with a list of which premieres I plan on watching this week. The shows in bold are ones that I'm not sure if I will watch and will probably only watch if I have time. All times are Eastern.
Monday 9/24
How I Met Your Mother (CBS 8:00)
Hawaii Five-0 (CBS 10:00)
Tuesday 9/25
New Girl (FOX 8:00)
Ben and Kate (FOX 8:30)
Vegas (CBS 10:00)
Wednesday 9/26
Modern Family (ABC 9:00)
The Neighbors (ABC 9:30)*
Thursday 9/27
Last Resort (ABC 8:00)
The Big Bang Theory (CBS 8:00)
Person of Interest (CBS 9:00)
Elementary (CBS 10:00)
Sunday 9/30
Family Guy (FOX 9:00)
Homeland (Showtime)
666 Park Avenue (ABC 10:00)
*I don't really have any desire to watch The Neighbors, but I think I might watch the pilot just to see how ridiculous it is. If you haven't heard about it, you can watch the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_iJy5auBko
So that's what I have ahead of me this week, not to mention the few other shows that have already premiered. Wish me luck, and happy viewing!
What I want to do now is provide you with a list of which premieres I plan on watching this week. The shows in bold are ones that I'm not sure if I will watch and will probably only watch if I have time. All times are Eastern.
Monday 9/24
How I Met Your Mother (CBS 8:00)
Hawaii Five-0 (CBS 10:00)
Tuesday 9/25
New Girl (FOX 8:00)
Ben and Kate (FOX 8:30)
Vegas (CBS 10:00)
Wednesday 9/26
Modern Family (ABC 9:00)
The Neighbors (ABC 9:30)*
Thursday 9/27
Last Resort (ABC 8:00)
The Big Bang Theory (CBS 8:00)
Person of Interest (CBS 9:00)
Elementary (CBS 10:00)
Sunday 9/30
Family Guy (FOX 9:00)
Homeland (Showtime)
666 Park Avenue (ABC 10:00)
*I don't really have any desire to watch The Neighbors, but I think I might watch the pilot just to see how ridiculous it is. If you haven't heard about it, you can watch the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_iJy5auBko
So that's what I have ahead of me this week, not to mention the few other shows that have already premiered. Wish me luck, and happy viewing!
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
'Revolution' Pilot Review: Power Struggles
On Thursday I went to an advanced screening of the pilot of the the NBC show Revolution. I'll try not to spoil the episode for those who haven't seen it, but if you want to watch it before reading this, you can watch it at nbc.com/revolution.
Overall I was very impressed by the pilot. I had high hopes that it would be good but was unsure whether it would deliver. By now you probably know what the show is about, but I'll give a brief summary anyway. Fifteen years after a mysterious blackout, humans must survive without cars, batteries, and anything electronic. Firearms have been outlawed, which explains the sword fighting and crossbows seen in the promos, and militias have risen under the mysterious General Monroe.
The show is centered on Charlie Matheson (Tracy Spiridakos), daughter of Ben Matheson (Tim Guinee) who seems to know something about the blackout. Charlie's brother Danny (Graham Rogers) is taken by militia leader Tom Neville (Giancarlo Esposito) after Ben is killed. With his dying breath, Ben tells Charlie to go to Chicago to find his brother Miles (Billy Burke), who will know how to find Danny. Charlie takes on this mission, accompanied by Ben's girlfriend Maggie (Anna Lise Phillips) and his friend Aaron (Zak Orth).
Almost all of the actors gave great performances. Both Esposito, coming off of an outstanding season of Breaking Bad, and Burke were great in their respective scenes. I look forward to seeing more of them, and hopefully they will share some scenes soon because I would love to see them face off. I was especially surprised by Spiridakos's performance. I was not expecting her to convince me as the young heroine, but she did. Hopefully she can keep it up in the episodes to come. The last performance I want to mention is that of Orth, who provides the comic relief in the show. He had some good one-liners in this episode, so I hope the writers can use him well.
I have to give credit to Jon Favreau (director of the first two Iron Man movies), who directed this episode. He did a fantastic job, but I worry that he may have set the bar too high for future directors. We'll see how they do, but I hope that Favreau comes back at some point, provided that the show continues.
Which leads to my final point: the future of the show. As most hardcore TV fans know, NBC has been struggling with getting dramas off the ground, especially high-concept ones like this. The Event was a massive failure, and Awake, though a great show in my opinion, failed to find an audience. I believe that what this show needs is great character development, something that The Event lacked. The pilot did a decent job at giving us insight into what is driving the characters, but there is still room for improvement. If the writers can make us care about the characters, while simultaneously provide us with an engrossing mystery, I believe the show will succeed.
Revolution is off to a very fine start. I look forward to the rest of the season and hopefully future seasons. There is so much story to tell and so many characters to flesh out, so the people behind the show have a lot of work ahead of them. Here's hoping they can create a show that can reel in viewers and last more than one season. If you're interested, tune in Mondays at 10/9c starting on September 17.
Overall I was very impressed by the pilot. I had high hopes that it would be good but was unsure whether it would deliver. By now you probably know what the show is about, but I'll give a brief summary anyway. Fifteen years after a mysterious blackout, humans must survive without cars, batteries, and anything electronic. Firearms have been outlawed, which explains the sword fighting and crossbows seen in the promos, and militias have risen under the mysterious General Monroe.
The show is centered on Charlie Matheson (Tracy Spiridakos), daughter of Ben Matheson (Tim Guinee) who seems to know something about the blackout. Charlie's brother Danny (Graham Rogers) is taken by militia leader Tom Neville (Giancarlo Esposito) after Ben is killed. With his dying breath, Ben tells Charlie to go to Chicago to find his brother Miles (Billy Burke), who will know how to find Danny. Charlie takes on this mission, accompanied by Ben's girlfriend Maggie (Anna Lise Phillips) and his friend Aaron (Zak Orth).
Almost all of the actors gave great performances. Both Esposito, coming off of an outstanding season of Breaking Bad, and Burke were great in their respective scenes. I look forward to seeing more of them, and hopefully they will share some scenes soon because I would love to see them face off. I was especially surprised by Spiridakos's performance. I was not expecting her to convince me as the young heroine, but she did. Hopefully she can keep it up in the episodes to come. The last performance I want to mention is that of Orth, who provides the comic relief in the show. He had some good one-liners in this episode, so I hope the writers can use him well.
I have to give credit to Jon Favreau (director of the first two Iron Man movies), who directed this episode. He did a fantastic job, but I worry that he may have set the bar too high for future directors. We'll see how they do, but I hope that Favreau comes back at some point, provided that the show continues.
Which leads to my final point: the future of the show. As most hardcore TV fans know, NBC has been struggling with getting dramas off the ground, especially high-concept ones like this. The Event was a massive failure, and Awake, though a great show in my opinion, failed to find an audience. I believe that what this show needs is great character development, something that The Event lacked. The pilot did a decent job at giving us insight into what is driving the characters, but there is still room for improvement. If the writers can make us care about the characters, while simultaneously provide us with an engrossing mystery, I believe the show will succeed.
Revolution is off to a very fine start. I look forward to the rest of the season and hopefully future seasons. There is so much story to tell and so many characters to flesh out, so the people behind the show have a lot of work ahead of them. Here's hoping they can create a show that can reel in viewers and last more than one season. If you're interested, tune in Mondays at 10/9c starting on September 17.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
My Most Anticipated New Fall Shows
It's been quite some time since my last post, but, summer TV being what it is, there hasn't been much to say. Plus, I've been busy getting ready for and moving into college, so I haven't had much time. So today I figured I would do another list, this time of the new fall shows that I'm most excited for.
1. Revolution (NBC)
If you watched the Olympics, you probably saw the promos for this show many times. Taking place 15 years after a mysterious event rid the world of all electricity, this show promises to be the most complex of the new season. Early buzz has been that the pilot was very good, which makes me even more excited. However, NBC has a poor track record when it comes to high-concept shows like this one (see: Awake, The Event, My Own Worst Enemy), so we'll see how far this one goes. I am going to the advance screening of the pilot here in Boston on Thursday, so expect a full review this weekend. In the meantime, I believe you can watch the pilot on YouTube.
Premiere: September 17 at 10:00 (all times are Eastern time)
2. Arrow (The CW)
As I briefly mentioned in my first post , I am a big DC Comics fan, so when I heard that a show about the Green Arrow was in development, I was quite excited. This pilot has also been praised by both critics and fans who saw it at Comic-Con. The show is most likely an attempt by The CW to get back the male viewers that they lost when Smallville ended, which is a fine plan, as long as the show is good. The show-runners have promised that other DC characters will show up in the series, so I will definitely be tuning in to this one.
Premiere: October 10 at 8:00
3. Last Resort (ABC)
I don't know much about this show except that it's about a submarine crew that refuses to follow an order to attack a country and are then considered enemies of the United States. I have no clue where the show will go from there, but, based on the concept and the generally good marks given by critics, it could become the network's most popular drama since Lost, provided that subsequent episodes don't drop in quality.
Premiere: September 27 at 8:00
4. Elementary (CBS)
This is the show about which I am the most skeptical. Centered around Sherlock Holmes, who moves to New York to solve crimes, it is sure to be a hit with the normal viewers of CBS procedurals. However, for people like me who are fans of Sherlock, it will inevitably be compared to the excellent BBC show. The oddest thing about the show is the casting of Lucy Liu as Dr. (Joan) Watson. It's an interesting twist, but I'm not sure how it will play out to the Holmes fans. I will definitely check it out, but the pilot is really going to have to hook me in order for me to continue watching.
Premiere: September 27 at 10:00
1. Revolution (NBC)
If you watched the Olympics, you probably saw the promos for this show many times. Taking place 15 years after a mysterious event rid the world of all electricity, this show promises to be the most complex of the new season. Early buzz has been that the pilot was very good, which makes me even more excited. However, NBC has a poor track record when it comes to high-concept shows like this one (see: Awake, The Event, My Own Worst Enemy), so we'll see how far this one goes. I am going to the advance screening of the pilot here in Boston on Thursday, so expect a full review this weekend. In the meantime, I believe you can watch the pilot on YouTube.
Premiere: September 17 at 10:00 (all times are Eastern time)
2. Arrow (The CW)
As I briefly mentioned in my first post , I am a big DC Comics fan, so when I heard that a show about the Green Arrow was in development, I was quite excited. This pilot has also been praised by both critics and fans who saw it at Comic-Con. The show is most likely an attempt by The CW to get back the male viewers that they lost when Smallville ended, which is a fine plan, as long as the show is good. The show-runners have promised that other DC characters will show up in the series, so I will definitely be tuning in to this one.
Premiere: October 10 at 8:00
3. Last Resort (ABC)
I don't know much about this show except that it's about a submarine crew that refuses to follow an order to attack a country and are then considered enemies of the United States. I have no clue where the show will go from there, but, based on the concept and the generally good marks given by critics, it could become the network's most popular drama since Lost, provided that subsequent episodes don't drop in quality.
Premiere: September 27 at 8:00
4. Elementary (CBS)
This is the show about which I am the most skeptical. Centered around Sherlock Holmes, who moves to New York to solve crimes, it is sure to be a hit with the normal viewers of CBS procedurals. However, for people like me who are fans of Sherlock, it will inevitably be compared to the excellent BBC show. The oddest thing about the show is the casting of Lucy Liu as Dr. (Joan) Watson. It's an interesting twist, but I'm not sure how it will play out to the Holmes fans. I will definitely check it out, but the pilot is really going to have to hook me in order for me to continue watching.
Premiere: September 27 at 10:00
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