TV: New Shows, Fall 2013
I love watching pilots of new TV shows, seeing how the writers set up the characters and relationships, the world-building, and the larger stories. Here are some of my winners and losers among the new shows for Fall 2013.
NEW SHOWS I’VE GIVEN UP ON
The Crazy Ones: Sarah Michelle Gellar is great, but the rest of the show is a snooze and way too homogenous. Some nice chemistry between Gellar and Williams, but not enough.
Michael J. Fox Show: The writing. Oh, god. The writing. The episode where Mike and his wife are appalled that their daughter’s passion for photography involves artistic nudes drove me over the edge. It’s an immature, backwards thinking show, despite Fox being generally awesome.
Super Fun Night: I want to love Rebel Wilson in this, and I truly like what they’ve done with the male lead, but it’s just not funny.
The Tomorrow People: I failed my disbelief roll. Those actors look like they’re in their thirties, not still in high school. Nice twist at the end of the pilot (the most info-dumpy pilot EVER), but ugh. Too much pretty.
Edited to add:
Mom: I love love love Allison Janney and was excited for a show full of women, but I’m just not interested in the subject matter, which seems to be three generations of teen moms dealing with their relationships to each other.
NEW STUFF I’M STILL WATCHING:
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: The only thing this has going for it, in my opinion, is the Marvel universe. I’m sticking around just to see references to things I actually like, but it’s nowhere close to being must-see TV.
Sleepy Hollow: Diverse cast, strong female characters, and a fairly adorable male lead. It’s not edge-of-my-seat-viewing, but it’s up there with shows like Haven.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Despite some unfunny and unnecessary fat jokes in the latest episode, I’m enjoying this show more and more. Andy Samberg’s childishness is actually viewed as a flaw by everyone, and most of the humor comes from making fun of him for it, not reveling in it. Nicely diverse cast with lots of women and no racism or misogyny that I’ve picked up on so far, a rarity for sitcoms.
[Crossposted from jennreese.com. Comment here or there.]