It's dawning on me that the fall season is just around the corner and I'm in very real danger of not getting all the shows previewed in time. As such, I'm going to streamline and truncate the process. First and foremost, it has become abundantly clear that reviewing comedies in this kind of format is a lost cause. There just isn't enough to really indicate if a show is going to be funny or not (usually not). The 2 minute promo seems to do more justice to dramas, so unless there's a comedy that really stands out, I'll be sticking to their more serious, hour-long friends. I was tempted to keep the midseason slate to a minimum (what with them not showing up until January or February, but so many of the most promising options are relegated to winter that I can't.
ABC has several new comedies for fall, but most of them look to be hit or miss. Hopefully they pan out better in full than they do in the trailers, but some of them have no hope. I've linked to trailers for them in case you're really, really interested.
In short, Last Man Standing stars Tim Allen ('nough said) and looks unspeakably bad. As per his nauseating Home Improvement persona of yore, it's a show that has very little to say or do other than made broad, sweeping generalizations about the sexes and pretend they're hilarious. They are not. I have very little tolerance for the notion that women are in charge and men simply have to put up with them. No one forced you to get married and have kids, genius. Shows like this make men look stupid and useless and make women look like shrewish harpies. Um, yay? Not so much. Worst of all, I think I spied Caitlyn Dever (aka Loretta from Justified) playing one of his daughters. Geez, talk about trading down. Ouch.
Man Up follows in the men vs. women trend, but has a hell of a lot more potential. I'm not saying it looks like a surefire hit or anything, but after watching the Last Man Standing promo, this looks like pure gold. Again, with comedies, it's hard to tell, but this looks like it could be fun. It seems to be opting for men are children and women have to take care of them, which also does neither gender and favors, but at least it isn't as nauseating. Done in the right way, this could work.
Suburgatory appears to have the most potential of the bunch. My good friend Michael Ausiello really enjoyed the pilot, and based on the promo, it appears to have more edge and perspective than ABC's other options. A lot of the notes being hit seem to be aiming for Popular, which is a show I loved, but which have become pretty prevalent lately, so they don't seem quite as fresh. That said, asking if team spirit is something that will clear up on its own wins them a hell of a lot of points. I'm intrigued.
Work It features men in unconvincing drag, because, you know, there's nothing funnier than men dressed as women. I had a class in college called "Queer Theory" where we dissected why it's oh-so-hilarious for burly men to dress up as women and yet why when women dress like men, it isn't funny at all. What it boiled down to was that people see it as men reducing and degrading themselves for comedic effect, but see women dressing as men as powerful and confident. What could possibly be more ridiculous than a man wanting to dress like a woman? Hilarious, I say! Yeah, no. This looks absolutely terrible, and for more reasons than gender-coding, but its basic premise alone is completely cringe-worthy. Pass.
Midseason, of course, has the comedy I'm most excited about. Why or why are the networks doing this? See below for the sum-up of shows that won't premiere till January or February. Oy.
With the fall comedies quickly out of the way, here are ABC's midseason dramas:
THE RIVER
Description: Stars Bruce Greenwood (John from Cincinnati), Leslie Hope (24), Eloise Mumford (Lone Star), Joe Anderson (The Crazies) and others. Written by Michael Green (Kings) and Michael R. Perry (Persons Unknown). Executive producers include Oren Peli and Jason Blum (Paranormal Activity) and Steven Spielberg.
First Impressions: This looks like a solid production with an interesting bent, but I'm not sure it'll be my cup of tea. I've never been one for the Blair Witch-y, Cloverfield-y fake documentary format and I generally find thrillers to be less than thrilling. That said, it's not your typical network television fare and I'm always looking to add something new to my rotation. I have a feeling this will struggle in the ratings department, however, and that it will likely get lost in the shuffle. All in all, this feels more like a feature film than a television show, which, speaks to the production quality, but also speaks to the narrative. It's hard to tell from this particular promo, but I'm just not sure how good a series this will make. In short, it's too early to make a snap judgment with this one. It's the kind of show that will either be incredibly well done or will be a disaster. From what I've seen so far, it's likely the latter, but even if its a home run in general terms (good cast, interesting premise, high production values), it just doesn't strike me as the kind of show I'll be invested in week to week.
SCANDAL
Description: Stars Kerry Washington (Ray), Henry Ian Cusick (Lost), Tony Goldwyn (Ghost), Guillermo Diaz (Mercy), Columbus Short (Studio 60), Darby Stanchfield (NCIS) and others. Based on the career of crisis management consultant Judy Smith, who serves alongside producers including Shonda Rhimes (Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice) and Betsy Beers (Grey’s Anatomy).
First Impressions: First thought? Oooh, she's sassy! [in mock tone] Second thought? Desmond!!! Okay, so here's the deal. This is a Shonda Rhimes production. Citing a long list of precedent, there are certain aspects of the show which we can all assume will be there, whether you like it or not. That said, this looks to be a farther step out of her mold than usual. At the very least, viewers will be spared yet another medical drama and even better, we won't have to endure the trials and tribulations of newbies on the job. Kerry Washington is lovely and appears more than capable of anchoring the show. Her character has a bit too much in the "she's amazing, she gets the job done no matter what" department, but that's to be expected with this kind of concept. More importantly, Desmond. Oh, how I love Henry Ian Cusick and I'm honestly pretty excited to see him back in action, even if sans delectable accent. I'm also a big fan of Joshua Molina, but it doesn't look like he's a regular. What it does look like is that the show appears to value a good guest actor and that can mean the difference between memorable episodes or terrible ones, especially if this is in any way a procedural. I'm hoping, and from the promo it appears to be the case, that this is a serial drama and doesn't pen itself in by procedural conventions. If it can truly break out of Shonda's mold and take its own unique spin, this show could be pretty engaging. I'm not willing to bet the farm or anything, but this looks far and away like Shonda's most promising new project in years.
On the comedy end of the spectrum, ABC has some serious contenders slated for midseason. Why they're holding them to January, I'll never know, but I guess they got the memo that all the major networks seem to have gotten. Oy.
At any rate, here are the midseason comedies:
APARTMENT 23
Description: Stars Dreama Walker (The Good Wife), Krysten Ritter ('Til Death), James Van Der Beek (Dawson's Creek), and others. Nahnatchka Khan (American Dad) and Dave Hemingson (Traffic Light) penned the pilot and will produce along with Jeffrey Morton (Traffic Light).
First Impressions: Okay, I have two sets of first impressions for this one. When the new slate of shows was initially announced, this show didn't have a trailer so much as a hilarious clip of James Van Der Beek basically being himself on the show, and capitalizing on his Dawson days. It was pretty damn funny. The trailer certainly points to some potential, but it's that clip in my head that has me excited about this show. Well, not the only thing, but its front and center (and no, I couldn't find it on youtube--they seem to have scrubbed it from the internet). Anyway, aside from Dawson, we have Dreama Walker who, after devious turns on Gossip Girl and The Good Wife, has really proven herself as a formidable actress. She is an absolute pro at playing vengeful and cunning, so her battles with the equally wonderful Krysten Ritter should be kinda sorta awesome. Krysten is wonderful in just about everything and can play it straight, comedic, or completely insane at the drop of a hat. The website I pulled the cast list from has her main credit listed as 'Til Death, but that really shouldn't be her claim to fame. When I cite a love of Krysten Ritter, I'm talking about her roles on Veronica Mars and Breaking Bad, thanks. In short, I'm more excited about this show than I have been about a comedy in a long time. We'll have to wait a couple more months to see if it actually pans out, but so far so good. The only way I think Dreama could have more going for her is if she and Eli Gold were granted a spin-off. Now that's a show with an automatic spot on my ever-crowded regular rotation.
GOOD CHRISTIAN BITCHES
(which was retitled Good Christian Belles because the brass at ABC has no guts, and then retitled GCB, because Good Christian Belles was terrible... not as terrible as GCB, but once you've started that snowball rolling downhill, it's hard to stop it)
Description: Stars Leslie Bibb (Popular), Kristin Chenoweth (Pushing Daisies), David James Elliott (JAG), and Annie Potts (Designing Women). Robert Harling (Laws of Attraction), who penned the pilot, produces alongside Darren Star (Sex and the City) and Aaron Kaplan.
First Impressions: I'm super-excited for this one if for no other reason than Kristin Chenoweth. Okay, there are other reasons, but she's certainly the biggest one (and, conversely, the tiniest one as well). The original title, Good Christian Bitches, was enough to get me intrigued by this one. Indeed, that title is what would have assured the show some viewers come midseason. Sure, it would have offended some people, but at least you'd know what the hell the show was about. GCB? Seriously? Ooooh, I love it when those three letters are together! Can you imagine when G and B start talking about C behind her back! Dear ABC, I know you're prudes and that network TV is the last bastion of watered-down drudgery, but unless they're in the industry, no one is going to know what that means. Oy. Anyway, aside from the god-awful title, this looks like a soapy, sudsy, "mean girls" of the south and I kind of can't wait. I am a little confused over the concept exactly though... Apparently all those women supposedly went to high school together? Uh, they aren't even close to the same age, people... Oh, well. Suspension of disbelief if my middle name (Agnes was already taken). If this were airing anywhere by network, I'd be even more excited. My main fear is that ABC will be so afraid of offending anyone (which already appears to be the case) that the show will lose any and all edge it once had. Fingers crossed they somehow slip by, but I've been burned by network TV too many times to be confident. Even a bowdlerized version will still have Kristin Chenoweth, so that's what I'm really hanging onto. God, I miss Pushing Daisies.
No comments:
Post a Comment