New TV shows (dramas)
I recently posted about this fall's new "comedies," and now I'm on to the dramas.
This is a very, very mediocre lot. I mean, 2011 was not exactly a banner year for new series, but it was still significantly better than this season so far. Only three new shows had reasonably good pilots: Arrow, Last Resort, Nashville. (I say reasonably good because I cut a certain amount of slack based on the fact that these are first episodes. Being a pilot is no excuse for flat-out sucking, though, IMO, and too many of the new series do just that.)
Again, I mention only the premise of each show, with no real spoilers.
Metacritic has summarized a bunch of critical reviews into rankings for each program. The clear leader is Nashville (84 points out of 100), followed by Last Resort (74), Elementary (73), Arrow (72), and The Mindy Project (69). Behind them are Vegas (67), Ben and Kate (66), Go On (66), Revolution (64), 666 Park Avenue (61), The New Normal (60), Chicago Fire (49), Animal Practice (48), Made in Jersey (43).
The six "worst" shows? The Mob Doctor (42), Emily Owens, M.D. (42), The Neighbors (41), Guys With Kids (38), Partners (37), and bringing up the rear: Beauty and the Beast (34). I'd argue that Emily Owens isn't quite that bad, but the others in that bunch sure are awful.
666 PARK AVENUE: I wanted to love you. Terry O'Quinn, Robert Buckley, Vanessa Williams, Dave Annable, you all deserve better. In fact, you have all done better, and I trust you will again. This tame horror story is a disappointment. Just when I thought it was building up to something potentially interesting, it flattened out.
ARROW: Superhero show about Oliver Queen (the Green Arrow). I came into this series knowing very little about the character's background, and I was pretty entertained. Viewers who are more familiar with the Green Arrow story might have seen a lot of the plot twists coming. I was surprised several times, though, and I like that.
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: Well, it started out okay and then went way, way downhill. I fell asleep during the pilot, then made myself watch the whole thing again. It was a chore. The "beauty" is Catherine, an NYPD detective, and the "beast" is Vincent, who has a murky backstory and a scar on his face. Terrible dialogue, a boring plot, ridiculous characters, and atrocious special effects contribute to making this show a real contender for the title of "worst pilot of the year."
CHICAGO FIRE: A painfully generic procedural about Chicago firefighters. The day after watching the pilot, I couldn't remember much about it except fire, firefighters, Jesse Spencer with an American accent. Another possibility for "worst pilot of the year."
ELEMENTARY: Sherlock Holmes is a recovering addict living in New York, and Joan Watson is a former doctor who now works as his "sober companion." Since it's yet another procedural without particularly interesting plots to distinguish it in at least the first two episodes, I was hoping the characters would stand out. Not really. In the second episode, I guessed several of the things that Holmes and Watson would say to each other in various scenes, and I knew well ahead of time exactly how the episode would end. Even though this show is underwhelming, it's probably still the fourth or fifth best of the season so far, which does not fill me with joy.
EMILY OWENS, M.D.: Better than I expected. Mamie Gummer is an insecure surgical resident who worries about fitting it at her new hospital, how to deal with an old rival, whether she should tell a fellow resident she has a crush on him, that sort of thing. The tone is uneven, Emily's inner narratives are a bit much sometimes, and Grey's Anatomy has already done it much better, but this show is watchable. It also did a few nice little things with a couple of the characters that gave them a bit of depth.
LAST RESORT: Tense drama about a submarine crew that receives unexpected orders to perform a very aggressive action. When the commander questions these directions, the crew is suddenly placed in serious danger. There are a lot of layers to this show, and I give it major points for ambition.
MADE IN JERSEY: This one has already been pulled from the schedule, and it deserved to be. A New Jersey-born lawyer tries to make it as a fish out of water in a Manhattan law firm, with all of the cliches one might expect. Enough said.
THE MOB DOCTOR: Ridiculous mess about a surgeon who has to pay off a debt to the mob. Yes, it packs medical cliches and mob cliches into the same show, providing a double whammy. Its poor ratings pretty much guarantee a quick cancellation, though.
NASHVILLE: One of only a few new shows with interesting stories to tell and the apparent potential to tell them well. I'm not much of a fan of country music, but that doesn't really matter. I like the setup, with an "older" country star, Rayna, losing her popularity and much-younger Juliette poise to usurp her throne. Politics and twisted family dynamics add to the mix. I can see this show going a long way.
REVOLUTION: Fifteen years after electricity was mysteriously disabled, the United States is basically in a pre-industrial state. Plus the government fell apart, so a militia is running things. I like the premise, but the series itself is a mess. The plot is murky, the characters are cardboard, the dialogue is wretched, and the lack of logic is stunning. Still, at least it's entertainingly bad. I can't stop watching it.
VEGAS: In the late 1960s, a cattle rancher becomes the mayor of Las Vegas. His main nemesis is gangster Vincent Savino. I just can't come up with much to say about this show. It's competent but forgettable.
This is a very, very mediocre lot. I mean, 2011 was not exactly a banner year for new series, but it was still significantly better than this season so far. Only three new shows had reasonably good pilots: Arrow, Last Resort, Nashville. (I say reasonably good because I cut a certain amount of slack based on the fact that these are first episodes. Being a pilot is no excuse for flat-out sucking, though, IMO, and too many of the new series do just that.)
Again, I mention only the premise of each show, with no real spoilers.
Metacritic has summarized a bunch of critical reviews into rankings for each program. The clear leader is Nashville (84 points out of 100), followed by Last Resort (74), Elementary (73), Arrow (72), and The Mindy Project (69). Behind them are Vegas (67), Ben and Kate (66), Go On (66), Revolution (64), 666 Park Avenue (61), The New Normal (60), Chicago Fire (49), Animal Practice (48), Made in Jersey (43).
The six "worst" shows? The Mob Doctor (42), Emily Owens, M.D. (42), The Neighbors (41), Guys With Kids (38), Partners (37), and bringing up the rear: Beauty and the Beast (34). I'd argue that Emily Owens isn't quite that bad, but the others in that bunch sure are awful.
666 PARK AVENUE: I wanted to love you. Terry O'Quinn, Robert Buckley, Vanessa Williams, Dave Annable, you all deserve better. In fact, you have all done better, and I trust you will again. This tame horror story is a disappointment. Just when I thought it was building up to something potentially interesting, it flattened out.
ARROW: Superhero show about Oliver Queen (the Green Arrow). I came into this series knowing very little about the character's background, and I was pretty entertained. Viewers who are more familiar with the Green Arrow story might have seen a lot of the plot twists coming. I was surprised several times, though, and I like that.
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: Well, it started out okay and then went way, way downhill. I fell asleep during the pilot, then made myself watch the whole thing again. It was a chore. The "beauty" is Catherine, an NYPD detective, and the "beast" is Vincent, who has a murky backstory and a scar on his face. Terrible dialogue, a boring plot, ridiculous characters, and atrocious special effects contribute to making this show a real contender for the title of "worst pilot of the year."
CHICAGO FIRE: A painfully generic procedural about Chicago firefighters. The day after watching the pilot, I couldn't remember much about it except fire, firefighters, Jesse Spencer with an American accent. Another possibility for "worst pilot of the year."
ELEMENTARY: Sherlock Holmes is a recovering addict living in New York, and Joan Watson is a former doctor who now works as his "sober companion." Since it's yet another procedural without particularly interesting plots to distinguish it in at least the first two episodes, I was hoping the characters would stand out. Not really. In the second episode, I guessed several of the things that Holmes and Watson would say to each other in various scenes, and I knew well ahead of time exactly how the episode would end. Even though this show is underwhelming, it's probably still the fourth or fifth best of the season so far, which does not fill me with joy.
EMILY OWENS, M.D.: Better than I expected. Mamie Gummer is an insecure surgical resident who worries about fitting it at her new hospital, how to deal with an old rival, whether she should tell a fellow resident she has a crush on him, that sort of thing. The tone is uneven, Emily's inner narratives are a bit much sometimes, and Grey's Anatomy has already done it much better, but this show is watchable. It also did a few nice little things with a couple of the characters that gave them a bit of depth.
LAST RESORT: Tense drama about a submarine crew that receives unexpected orders to perform a very aggressive action. When the commander questions these directions, the crew is suddenly placed in serious danger. There are a lot of layers to this show, and I give it major points for ambition.
MADE IN JERSEY: This one has already been pulled from the schedule, and it deserved to be. A New Jersey-born lawyer tries to make it as a fish out of water in a Manhattan law firm, with all of the cliches one might expect. Enough said.
THE MOB DOCTOR: Ridiculous mess about a surgeon who has to pay off a debt to the mob. Yes, it packs medical cliches and mob cliches into the same show, providing a double whammy. Its poor ratings pretty much guarantee a quick cancellation, though.
NASHVILLE: One of only a few new shows with interesting stories to tell and the apparent potential to tell them well. I'm not much of a fan of country music, but that doesn't really matter. I like the setup, with an "older" country star, Rayna, losing her popularity and much-younger Juliette poise to usurp her throne. Politics and twisted family dynamics add to the mix. I can see this show going a long way.
REVOLUTION: Fifteen years after electricity was mysteriously disabled, the United States is basically in a pre-industrial state. Plus the government fell apart, so a militia is running things. I like the premise, but the series itself is a mess. The plot is murky, the characters are cardboard, the dialogue is wretched, and the lack of logic is stunning. Still, at least it's entertainingly bad. I can't stop watching it.
VEGAS: In the late 1960s, a cattle rancher becomes the mayor of Las Vegas. His main nemesis is gangster Vincent Savino. I just can't come up with much to say about this show. It's competent but forgettable.