New Shows this Fall....the verdict is in.

[amnisias]

So far the newbies pretty much shape up the way I thought they would. I normally pick a bunch of possible maybes based on how I like the summaries and who is in the show and then weed out the bad ones after the pilot. I might pick up some other ones later in the year if the buzz on my flist convinces me. This year I picked the following (opinions behind a cut so you can avoid me raining on your parade if you like shows I ditched, I tend to avoid posts that crap on my shows, too....):

Revolution


This one made it on the list solely on the strength of it's buzz, but I was dubious it would live up to it. The premise is not really water tight, but I can handwave that. Then there was Peter Hale from Teen Wolf and I got distracted - 'Is Peter Hale gonna die?', so that didn't help. Apparently if all technology fails, the world looks like the 18th century only with cars used as planters. The world looked totaly fake to me and put me right out of the show. Then they went on and killed off Peter Hale (that clarified things on the TW front) because his son acted amazingly stupid. I didn't really care for any of the characters but what finally put the last nail in this coffin for me was that lady pulling out a computer in her attic. This one is not for me, though I know it's doing well and popular. I guess I like my apocalyptic shows a bit scruffy and with aliens and Dr Carter on board. There's no accounting for taste....


Arrow


I've been really looking forward to this one, I caught a preview which looked visually really good and pretty dark but with potential for tons of man!pain. I didn't watch Smallville (I think seeing a character being 'reinvented' this quickly on TV would have put me off otherwise) and I don't really know anything about the story, so I'm going into this with no baggage. We've only had one episode, but so far I'm enjoying it. The pilot set up the premises swiftly without waisting too much time on it, just enough to get things going but with plenty of room for more detail to be added later. Arrow convinced with spectacular abs and solid enough acting. The voice-overs where a rather clunky and painful, but I'm hoping they'll be ditched once the show finds it's rhythm. And it's always nice to see Paul Blackthorne again.


Last Resort


This show was on the top of my list this year. I really likee the premise, it's really fresh and unusual and it raises lots of difficult questions that feel pertinent and relevant. Plus - Scott Speedman. (Yes, I watched Felicity, and I had a thing for Ben. Nobody is surprised by this, surely?)  And this one came totally through, I was hooked with the first 20 minutes of the pilot. The plot is dense with plenty of (easily distinguishable) characters and various story arcs going on in different corners of the world. I love that both the cast and the characters are multi-cultural, ranging from Nepalease-Australian via French to Americans of African & Irani descent. Andre Braugher is just pitch perfect as the Captain, with a gravitas and presence that makes it believable that he convinced his troops to disobey orders and - so far - has managed to keep order. And Sahr Ngaujah is just as amazing as the leader of the island population that has been dragged into the middle of a conflict that has nothing to do with them. We're now three episodes in, and it keeps on getting better.


Nashville


The reason this ping'd on my radar was Connie Britton. I loved her FNL so I just had to check this one out. I like certain types of country music and the idea of exploring what it's like to be a successful career woman in her mid forties with baby sharks snapping at your heels. I watched the pilot, and really loved Connie Britton, and if I keep watching it's be because of her as well. Her character so far is faboulous, tough as nails when she has to be, looking out for herself but without being bitchy or mean. Alas, if just every character could be so nuanced - but everybody else seems to be a black or white cardboard cut-out. Baddies & goodie, all clearly labled for easy consumption (reliable ex-lover with a heart of gold, bitchy and manipulative newcomer with a meth-adict Mom in the closet, unsympathtic, weak hubby ((Eric Close - why did you?)) and naive, uber-talented but under-rated newcomers) - based on the pilot you shouldn't have trouble predicting the major plot points of the first season fairly accurately. But. Connie Britton.


Beauty and the Beast


This show had it really, really easy with me. Because I'm a soppy at heart, and I love the basic premise of the La Belle et la Bête fairy tale, whether it's the '46 movie, the Disney version or the story. I remember seeing bits of the late '80ies TV version (it was the age of one TV households so viewing was governed by majority votes) and was utterly spellbound. So I was really looking forward to getting an updated 21st century take on that ultimate love-story. Think what you could do with that. What I'm saying is, I was totally prepared to fall in love with the show on minmal effort in the pilot. Points for showing up, knowing your lines and very basic plot coherence. I WILLED this show to be good. --- It was a pile of hot horse dung, I'm affraid. The plot was non-sensical, the writing bad, the beast a guy with fashion model looks and a fashionable, manly, tiny scar, the leads and the oppposite of chemistry. I was gnawing through a pillow just to make it through the 42 minutes of the pilot. Painging by numbers is more inspired than this.


Elimentary


I didn't mind another reworking of the Sherlock Holmes story, but frankly, I don't know why they bothered (other than genrerating buzz and interest) . This story is so different from the original that minus the names and the violin it would have been just another procedural with a quirky premise. I checked this out because of JLM, I admit it. They did a really good job creating quirky characters, Sherlock has something of a young Dr House about him (the drugs, the stubble, the acidy honesy and an analytical master mind) but Lucy Lui gives him contra and the sparks are flying back and forths nicely. If I keep watching it'll be for the relationship rather than the crimes, but that's the case for me with most procedurals. We'll see...

Comments

[legoline.livejournal.com]

Everybody keeps telling me how cool Arrow was and I really love me some super heroes but...it's a TheCW show, and it has Katie Cassidy.

At least I've gotten hold of the pilot now. Not sure if and when I might watch it.

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the run down. I've been thinking about checking out Revolution but I might not now. Arrow was fun and I'm liking all the characters so far. I haven't heard of any of the other. So many new shows...

[colls]

I stuck with Revolution for a few episodes but am likely giving up now. I was on the fence and wasn't pleased with last week's developments.

Frankly, I have no "new" shows this season then. Which is fine, I have plenty to keep up with. :) It'll give me a chance to catch up on other ones like finally watching the last 3 episodes of season 3 Justified and keep up with Supernatural.