Case in point, Terra Nova, one of the most highly anticipated new shows in production for the network seems to be floating in some sort of irksome miasma. Which, on the plus side, allows me to use the word "miasma," which doesn't happen all that often. On the negative side, however, means that there's no trailer for the show and the projected premiere date keeps changing (for the worse, i.e. later and later). As such, I'll report what I can, but I haven't the foggiest idea of when any of that information might be relevant.
TERRA NOVA
Description: From Steven Speilberg, this new "epic family adventure" also has Peter Chernin, Brannon Braga, and Buffy and Lost alum David Fury on the creative team. Life on Mars alum Jason O'Mara stars in the lead role.Word is, Terra Nova will show a dystopian world that has been brought to its knees by overpopulation, industry, pollution, etc. In a last-ditch effort to save the planet, scientists find a way to restore a prehistoric environment. As such, be prepared for dinosaurs and dinosaur-related mayhem.
My Take: Well, at this point, there's really not much to take... But, on paper, this certainly sounds like it could have some potential. The creative team is solid and from what I'm hearing and seeing (and knowing Speilberg), the production values are sky high, so at the very least, it should be an impressive, slick production. Hearing it called an "epic family adventure" doesn't exactly have me chomping at the bit, but I'll look past that till I actually get to see some footage. Nothing was shown at the upfronts (or anywhere else that I could find), so either they don't have anything yet to show, or they're hoping to build the hype. It's probably a little of both. I hear it will be filmed in Australia, so the visuals should be pretty stunning. In general, dinosaurs and family-friendly adventures aren't at the top of my list, but I'd be remiss to count this one out. My only real concern with this one is the cost. Unless this show knocks it out of the park in the ratings department, I don't see how Fox could possibly keep it for long. But, as with just about everything from the 90's lately, it might be time for a reboot. I'll keep you posted, but seriously, I believe this one was initially slated for fall, then for midseason, and now it's looking more and more like fall 2011...RIDE-ALONG
Description: Slated for midseason, will likely air on Mondays, and might take over for Lone Star if it gets canceled. From Shawn Ryan (The Sheild, Lie to Me), stars Jason Clarke (Brotherhood), Jennifer Beals (she's a maniac), and Delroy Lindo.
My Take: First off, take everything I've ever said about cop shows, lather, rinse, and repeat. I only ever saw an errant episode of The Shield, but by all accounts, it was a cop show tour de force, so in terms of genre, it seems few are better suited to it than Shawn Ryan. He managed to make Lie to Me a watchable second-tier show, so it seems he might have actual magical powers. So, at the very least, the creative team is strong, even if the genre itself has been done and done and done. This show seems to be attempting to take a different bent on your standard drama with the Jennifer Beals angle, and Jason Clarke is excellent (even if his accent decidedly isn't), so this show really does have the makings of something special. Seriously though, is his character supposed to be Australian? I doubt it, but honestly, his accent was all over the place and I really had to try to decide if he's supposed to even be an American, let alone a Chicago native. It was kind of hard hearing him talk about his town and what Chicago means with every other word sounding abundantly Aussie... That melted away some of my suspension of disbelief, I must admit. Even if he simply had a solid American accent, that would be fine, but his is far from American and a world away from Chicago. On The Glades, our leading man Matt Passmore is also an Aussie, and while he doesn't have a Chicago accent, his American accent is pretty good and gets better episode-to-episode. Here's hoping Clarke follows the same trajectory. Anyway, aside from that the trailer doesn't exactly have me salivating, but it did manage to pique my interest. Once again, I'm always a little concerned about gritty crime dramas finding their ways onto network TV, but Fox tends to take more chances than your NBCs or ABCs, so hopefully they can translate the mean streets of Chicago into something that bears a resemblance onscreen. With a woman as the head of all police, the inherent sexual politics could very well form one of the foundations of the show. While that's an issue that's a genuine concern, it's generally one that annoys rather than captivates in my book. The boys' club that is law enforcement has always been a turn off and with this set up, I don't know that there's any way it can be avoided. My hope is that Beals' character really is the best of the best and everyone already knows that. Doubtful, but here's hoping. Long story short, this show certainly has potential, but it'll take a hell of a lot to get me invested in yet another cop drama.
MIXED SIGNALS
Description: This is a new relationship comedy created by Bob Fisher (“Wedding Crashers”). Stars Nelson Franklin (“I Love You, Man”), David Denman (“The Office”), Kris Marshall ("Human Target"), Liza Lapira (“Dexter”) and Alexandra Breckenridge ("Family Guy").
My Take: This actually has a similar framework to the horrendously horrendous Better Together (title has changed to Better With You, but I'm still much better without, thanks), but doesn't look quite as disastrous. More than anything, this just doesn't look like my kind of show. I wasn't all that impressed by Wedding Crashers and don't generally subscribe to this kind of humor, but the trailer for this one looked decent enough. The would-be hilarious perils of coupledom (especially with the "women are ridiculous and men have to put up with them" bent) don't often appeal to me, but I'm willing to give it a shot. I doubt this will make it onto my regular rotation, but there were certain moments of the trailer that point to a certain potential. This appears to be yet another case of "schlubby guy/hot girl" times three, however, and I've never really been a fan of that phenomenon. It's another reason why No Ordinary Family is slightly off-putting. If you ever, ever, ever saw the reverse, it wouldn't be so irksome, but I can't think of a time when there was a "dumpy woman/hot guy" couple (unless specifically played for laughs at the woman's expense). Sigh. Anyway, if this show can find a balance between frat house pot shots at women and actual comedy, it could work, but based on the trailer, I'm not holding my breath. I'm on the fence with this one and hope the actual pilot holds a lot more laughs than the preview did.
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