NBC aka The Biggest Loser

Now that the fall slaughter is basically complete, it's time to run down the networks and see how everyone fared. Oh, NBC... Seems they just didn't get rid of Zucker in time to save this fall development schedule. At this point, I'm honestly not sure how they're going to recover. They spent an obscene amount of money trying to revitalize the network with an unheard of number of high-profile, expensive new shows and what do they have to show for it? Chuck is one of their highest-rated scripted shows. Quite frankly, when titling this post, I had a hard time deciding between NBC shows The Biggest Loser or ER in terms of aptonyms. I thought about Lost, but that's another network that's currently in trouble.

Here's how the chips fell for the peacock this fall... (We'll start with the bad news--brace yourselves, there's a lot of it.) It's hard to know just where to begin when even the "successes" are failures, but here we go. Worst of the worst.

(When talking about TV success and failure, you're usually talking ratings. For a primer on TV ratings, go here. It'll probably make most of the ratings talk later on make a lot more sense.)

THE CANCELEDS

Outlaw
While it wasn't the very first fall show to get the axe, that has more to do with NBC's ever-lowering standards than with the ratings themselves. Even for a Friday show, the ratings were abyssal. At last glance, they were getting their asses handed to them by the CW in terms of key demo ratings. On any other network, Outlaw would have been toast even sooner than it was. Deservedly so, as luck would have it. This was a truly terrible show that should never have seen the light of day. This sucker was about dead right out of the gate with debut numbers that were embarrassing by nearly any standards. Jimmie, you made for the worst season of Dexter ever, and for that, I'm glad to see your career taking a hit. Let this be a word of warning to other shows... don't cast him! Boy, I don't remember hating him before Dexter, but seriously, if I never hear the name Miguel Prado again, it'll be too soon. Smits is forever tainted... as is the third season of Dexter, thank you very much.

Undercovers
Although this show was only recently given the passive-aggressive axe (rather than being flat out canceled, they simply opted to not pick up anymore episodes), I think it's probably the most devastating, most expensive blunder NBC has endured this year. Good lord, when a flashy, high-budget JJ Abrams production can't survive on your network, what can? Once again, however, this show was quite deservedly canceled. Its debut numbers were lower than expected and just kept falling from there. At last count, it scored a 1.3 in the key demo. For comparison's sake, that's only slightly better than Nikita's numbers. The Vampire Diaries most recently scored a 1.6. When you're getting trounced by the CW, you're in trouble, even if it's abundantly clear that their shows are awesome. Serious trouble. Fans of Undercovers might cry foul that that's an unfair comparison because the CW slate airs on a different night than Undercovers does. Yeah, they air on a much more competitive night. And they're still holding their own. NBC promoted the hell out of Undercovers, and scheduled it in one of the least daunting timeslots on the air. At the end of the day, it's just a terrible show. It's a shame to lose on of the few shows around to be helmed by faces of color, but as one commenter noted on a gossip blog, poor quality transcends race (or something like that). At the root of the problem for me was the lack of gravity. I realize the writers were aiming for a lighter farce, but they shot themselves in the foot. Hell, Psych has more suspense and more at stake and it's even more of a farce. Undercovers was just plain dull. when there's nothing to lose, there's little to gain. The espionage was about as suspenseful as the lame-ass catering B-plots. This show won't be missed by viewers, but I think NBC is about ready to cry. This was their ace in the hole going into this fall and it has proven to be one of their costliest misfires. Ouch.

THE SHOULD-HAVE-BEEN CANCELEDS

Chase
I still can't believe that they picked this show up for a full-season. I really think they simply didn't have anything with which to fill the gap, so they had to keep it. At last count, they were averaging a 1.5 in the key demo when they received the back nine order. For yet another comparison, Fox's Lone Star was unhesitatingly canceled after two weeks of scoring a 1.3--which is the same kind of numbers that led to Undercovers being canceled. 1.3 and 1.5 aren't that far apart, even in terms of TV ratings. Why did Chase get a pass? Well, it's a tough call. Aside from having little else to fall back on, Chase airs in one of the most competitive timeslots on the air. Based on the steep competition (I can't say I'd be happy to be pitted against Castle and Hawaii Five-0 if I were a show), a 1.5 might not be looking so bad to the suits at NBC. The most recent 1.2 that the show posted last night, probably looks pretty grim. Ouch. It managed to eek out of a full season order, but it won't be picked up for a second season. Quite frankly, if this trend continues, it'll likely get yanked before the year it out. It certainly won't survive the winter break. Good god, this is the first time since I started watching the ratings that the CW actually looks almost competitive! When compared to NBC, they really aren't that far behind. Sad. Fortunately, Chase is yet another horrible show, so it deserves the axe, but for NBC's sake, this is yet another colossal failure, and it's a purported success. Ha!

The Event
Yet another show that got a full-season pick-up, and yet another show whose ratings really don't warrant such a distinction. It's the best show of NBC's fall slate, however, so I'm glad they're giving it the old college try. Its ratings started out stronger than expected, but it's been hemorrhaging viewers ever since. I myself am one of those viewers. Well, sort of. Technically, it's been piling up in my DVR for over a month... I'm going to give it one more shot, but assume I'll bite the bullet and cancel it. It's really a pretty good show (as I recall from 5 weeks ago), but I just couldn't seem to get into it initially. Anyway, it managed the back nine, but with a 1.7 key demo rating last night, the slide continues into some seriously troubled waters. Of all the new shows on the network, I think this one will have the hardest time recovering from the winter break. As with FlashForward before it, I predict it will limp its way through sweeps, go on hiatus, and basically never really come back. I can't imagine this show will get a second season, so I'm honestly not all that motivated to give it another shot. The only way this show will be back next year is if NBC doesn't have any other options or simply can't afford to promote anything new. As one of the only new shows to even kind of step out of the box this year, it's a shame, but I can't say I'm surprised.

THE UNBELIEVABLY-LOW-BAR SUCCESSES

Chuck
Okay, this cracks me up every single time. This show has been struggling since day one, has almost been canceled three years in a row, and is now one of NBC's highest-rated and most consistent scripted programs. Ha! The really funny part is that the ratings aren't any better than they've ever been. In fact, they're worse. But with a steady 1.9-2.0 in the key demo, it's one of NBC's top shows these days. I honestly haven't been all that impressed by the current season (what can I say? I'm bored. Where's Bryce Larkin when you need him? Oh wait, that would be on White Collar), but it seems to be turning a corner (it always seems to take a few episodes to really get in gear). I'm happy for the little-show-that-could and do hope that they're all laughing their asses off at the NBC brass. Unless NBC someone finds a whole lotta cash (at this point, I'm thinking alchemy is their best bet), I don't know how they're going to put together a slate this fall that might result in Chuck getting the axe, so count on Chuck sticking around for the foreseeable future. With the new president though, I'm hopeful for NBC's creative direction in the coming year. It can't possibly get worse, right?

Law & Order: Los Angeles
Hi, broken record here. This show is averaging a 1.9 in the key demo, but for NBC, that makes it one of their pinch hitters. Man, that's bleak. I've never watched the show, but I hear it's pretty awful. I've heard that Law & Order : UK is actually quite good, however, so I'd suggest tuning into BBCA if you're really in the mood for this particular franchise.

Outsourced
Ugh. I tried to watch the pilot, I really, really did, but just couldn't do it. 7 minutes was all I could take. I hear it's actually gotten considerably better since then, but I'm in no mood to give it another go. I was pretty disheartened and embarrassed to hear that it received a full season order, but given that it's a half-hour comedy with decent ratings, I'm not surprised. It most recently scored a 2.7 in the key demo, which at first blush looks fantastic for NBC, but trust me, it's really not that impressive. When you take into account that its lead-in The Office scored a 3.7, that's a serious drop off, and leaves it in fourth for the time period. Not good. But, it's an inexpensive show that's easy to produce and that has to be paired with something else, so I'd be surprised if it doesn't get a second season. While its ratings should be better, they're pretty damn good by NBC standards, and have actually been fairly consistent, so assuming it stays above a 1.5, it should be a shoe-in for another year. How sad is that? Double ugh. Of all the shows to make my safe list, did this really have to be one of them? Really? Thanks for nothing, NBC. Once again.

Parenthood
It's honestly a bit difficult to decide exactly which category this one should be in. While it's been enduring a slow but steady slide in the ratings, and more than a few rumors that it's getting the axe, it still averages in NBC's safe zone, so I don't think viewers have much to worry about. It's generally in the 2.0 key demo range, which for NBC, is quite solid. Unfortunately, the show itself isn't. It has never been a favorite of mine, but it seems to be more grating than ever. The contrived drama and constant bickering is unbearable most of the time. I hang in there for Lauren Graham and Peter Krause, but it's getting tougher and tougher--especially when you take into the sheer brilliance of its main timeslot competitor, The Good Wife. Honestly, if it's one or the other for you, the decision is easy. I recently just started watching Sports Night on DVD, so my love between Peter Krause and Josh Charles should be evenly split, but overall, The Good Wife is simply superior in every possible way so even Sports Night can't level the field. As happy as I am that Lauren Graham has a steady gig (and that she and Peter Krause are reportedly dating--aww, well idn't that nice!), I wouldn't be heartbroken to see Parenthood get the axe at the end of this season. It has its moments, but it's mostly just shrill bickering. I'm sorry, but if this show is an accurate representation of family life for most people, I can't understand why anyone gets married, has children, or even speaks to other people. When there's nothing but conflict, it's unsatisfying. Who cares if one irrational fight gets resolved because you know there's another one right around the corner. Ugh. It's ratings have been in a downward trend, so it'll certainly be on the bubble come May, but if it can maintain a 2.0, it should be okay. The only other factor that might make that 2.0 not look so rosy is the cost of the show. It has a huge cast of names attached to it and it can't be cheap to produce. NBC doesn't exactly have money to burn these days, so if it comes down to Parenthood or a cheaper show with slightly worse ratings, it could easily be a toss up.

So there you have it. I didn't get into the nitty gritty of some NBC's returning shows, but odds are you're already aware of how they're performing. The Office and 30 Rock are tops, The Apprentice is a ratings disaster, The Biggest Loser keeps eating up more primetime (about 40 minutes of scales bonging a week, I'd say) and my darling Community continues to struggle a bit in a painfully tough timeslot. Creatively, it's better than ever, and NBC has even upped its season order to 24 episodes. Yay! Odds are it'll be fine come May, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. And then there's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. What an unmitigated disaster. For the first time ever, I believe, The Daily Show beat Leno (and Letterman for that matter) in the key demo the other day. Ha! A little Comedy Central fake news show is beating The Tonight Show. That has to be pretty gut-wrenching for the brass at NBC.

Speaking of the brass, as mentioned, NBC has finally, finally, FINALLY gotten rid of Jeff Zucker. I'm honestly not too familiar with his replacement, but I'm pretty sure a pet rock could do a better job, so it doesn't really matter who takes over. At least it's not Zucker. He managed to take the number one network on TV and turn it into a close competitor for the CW. Way to go, dumbass. You won't be missed.

It's hard to know really where NBC will go from here. They need to rebuild their schedule for real this time, get a few solid scripted programs on the air, and then build from there. One of the biggest problems with the fall pilots this year is that NBC doesn't have any heavy hitters to act as lead-ins for new shows. If they can manage to develop even a couple of solid performers, they can use that as a foundation to promote other new shows. Until then, they're going to struggle... more so.

Supreme Fail

It’s not often that I know I’m going to hate a pilot in less than a minute, but leave it to the unfortunately titled Outlaw, NBC’s latest legal debacle, to elicit a groan in roughly 26 seconds. Ooh, impressive! And for all the wrong reasons.

I’m going to try to keep this short and sweet, er, civil (to the extent possible), which shouldn’t be too hard given the amount of fast-forwarding that comes with such a terrible pilot. The opening scene truly set the tone for the show and was about as ugh-worthy as it gets. It featured a couple talking to each other through prison glass as the husband asks his wife to promise him that she’ll move on after he’s gone because their girls need a man in the house. She responds accordingly, with tears and lip-quivering and schmaltziness, culminating in the coup de gras of cheesy: she puts her hand on the glass and he tenderly places his hand over hers. Touching! Right!? No? That was lame? Well, if it wasn’t, the inter-cutting between this heartbreaking love story and with his lawyer racing to the jail with a last minute Hail Mary plan to stay his execution certainly shoves it over the top. Yeah, that all went down in the first minute and didn’t do the show any favors at all… in that it accurately represents the tone, the writing, and the eye-roll-inducing flavor of the rest of the pilot. If they really wanted people to accidentally watch the show, they should have started off with the first few minutes of a different program.

Going in, I had heard that Jimmie Smits (who headlines this mess as a Supreme Court Justice who leaves the bench in order to defend the little guy against the big, bad system) was the best part of the show. This is true. This is also a very sad commentary on the rest of the show, because Jimmie, the supposed cherry on top of this mess, is awful. I’ve never been a huge fan of his (even less so after his disappointing turn as Miguel Prado on Dexter’s misguided third season), but I have to admit, in a sea of awful, he was only mostly awful. In his defense (apparently I’ve been watching/reading too much media from across the pond because I just spelled that “defence”), the writing and concept of this pilot were the primary problems. I don’t know that anyone could have made this role work, but Smits fell painfully short. Good god, even the scenes that didn’t involve cringe-worthy courtroom antics were painful and forced. At one point, Smits’s character, having a crisis of conscience, literally watches footage of his late father in the dark, with tears in his eyes. You know, because his character has depth and stuff. Ooh! And a gambling problem! And he's a lothario! Thems are layers.

The supporting cast, if possible, is even worse. It’s barely even worth mentioning, except that two of his unfortunate underlings were familiar faces trapped in thankless, thoroughly unlikeable roles. Carly Pope stars as Lucinda, who’s basically Lisbeth Salander, but, you know, sexy and sassy (which I believe is required by Standards and Practices... this is network TV after all). Being an alum of Ryan Murphy’s prior pet project Popular, methinks Pope should really be angling for a role on Murphy’s newest pet project… a little show called Glee. Then there’s Jesse Bradford, whom you may recognize as the brother from Bring It On. Based on all the wholesale thievery going on, I think it’s safe to say that Hellcats would be more than happy to give him the exact same role, and sad to say that a stint on Hellcats that would be a step up. Yeah, I’ll just let that statement sink in for a minute.

Even if I had never seen another legal show before or if I was unfamiliar with this brand of cheesiness, I’m confident I would have hated this pilot. I did a hell of a lot of fast-forwarding, so if you loved this show and think I’m crazy, maybe I just skipped over all the half-second, insanely awesome bits that sneaked in amongst the crap. It’s possible, right? Ugh. This show is absurd, predictable, and above all, sanctimonious. The powerful bad boy resigns from his position on high to fight for the little guy. I can practically hear the inspirational music swelling… no, wait, I can actually hear it. Groan. Every time I stopped to watch a few minutes of the show, I was met with all the courtroom blustering, the defiant speechifying, and the ethical soapboxing that you’d expect with this kind of a concept, only worse. When the judge overturns the death row inmate’s guilty verdict, you’re not surprised in the least when minutes later the guy is sauntering out of the courtroom, all smiles. Yeah, because that’s exactly how it works.

Long story short, you’d have to be a true, indiscriminate die hard for legal dramas or to have never even seen a legal drama before to find much charm in this hard-boiled, pretentious mess.

The verdict is in… and I’m out.

Pilot Grade: F

NBC Pilots 2010: Volume 1 (of many)

Now that Upfronts are over, the real fun begins. Below is NBC's new fall schedule and the first handful of pilots (this is going to take a few volumes to get through--you've been warned). NBC is in serious need of rebuilding the entire network (basically), so they have quite a few new shows to look at... like, 187 or so, many of which will premiere at midseason. Some look more promising than others... (and by "others," I obviously mean Jerry Bruckheimer's new crap pile Chase--see below for exciting details!).

MONDAY
7-8 p.m: Chuck
8-9 p.m: The Event (new)
9-10 p.m.: Chase (new)

TUESDAY
7-9 p.m.: The Biggest Loser
9-10 p.m.: Parenthood

WEDNESDAY
7-8 p.m.: Undercovers (new)
8-9 p.m.: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
9-10 p.m.: Law & Order: Los Angeles (new)

THURSDAY
7- 7:30 p.m.: Community
7:30-8 p.m.: 30 Rock
8-8:30 p.m.: The Office
8:30-9 p.m.: Outsourced (new)
9-10 p.m.: Love Bites (new)

FRIDAY
7-8 p.m.: Who Do You Think You Are?/School Pride (new)
8-9 p.m.: Dateline NBC
9-10 p.m.: Outlaw (new)

SUNDAY
6- 7:15 p.m.: Football Night in America
7:15-10:30 p.m.: NBC Sunday Night Football

SUNDAY (midseason)
6-7 p.m.: Dateline NBC
7-8 p.m. – Minute to Win It
8-9 p.m. – The Celebrity Apprentice

That fall schedule has a fair slate of new shows to begin with, but then there are a whole slew of other new shows that are being held till midseason. Methinks NBC has decided to hedge its bets and see what falls flat so it can be replaced by something new. What does this mean in the long run, you ask? It means Chuck's ratings had better improve or it's going to be in trouble. It was picked up for an initial 13 episode order, and if even a few of NBC's new shows catch on, I think Chuck will be a goner.

Midseason Replacements (usually airing in January, after the winter break, and after the pilots that premiered in the fall have tanked):

Comedies: Friends with Benefits, The Paul Reiser Show, and Perfect Couples

Dramas: The Cape and Harry's Law

Where's the much-rumored remake of the Rockford Files, you ask? Good question. In short, your guess is as good as mine as to why this didn't get off the ground. I haven't heard anything definitive, but it is conspicuously absent from NBC's slate, so who really knows.

And with that, on to the pilots that actually did get picked up officially...


UNDERCOVERS

Description: Stars Boris Kodjoe ("Resident Evil: Afterlife"), Gugu Mbatha-Raw, (“Bonekickers”), Jessica Parker Kennedy (“Smallville”), Carter MacIntyre ("American Heiress"), Gerald McRaney ("Deadwood"), and Ben Schwartz (NBC’s “Parks and Recreation”). J.J. co-wrote, produced, and directed the pilot. Josh Reims (“Brothers and Sisters”) also serves as a co-writer and executive producer and Bryan Burk ("Fringe," "Lost, "Alias") is an executive producer.



My Take: Well, you could hardly ask for a better pedigree behind the scenes, but I'm still not sold. This is NBC's great white hope/ace-in-the-whole, so for their sake, I hope I'm wrong about this one. I'm mostly unfamiliar with the cast (which can be a very good thing (allowing for viewers to come at the characters without any pre-conceived notions) or it can point to the reason why they're relative unknowns...) and I'm just not sure they are capable of anchoring the series as well as I would have expected. Granted, I've only seen five minutes, but the actors just didn't really grab me. I think the biggest problem with the show will be the boilerplate storyline (so, you know, no biggie). When I initially heard about the Undercovers, I thought it sounded very promising, and it still very well could be as awesome as one could ever dream, but I seriously doubt it. This show is quite obviously Mr. and Mrs. Smith meets Alias or a modern day Hart to Hart. A lot of shows are boiled down to such (one show + another show = our show!) recipes when they are initially pitched, so that's not the problem and is often quite a good thing when trying to woo viewers. It quite frankly gives you a sense of what you're in for. I guess the difference here is that the comparison doesn't stop there. With Undercovers, it doesn't just give you a sense of the tone and style of the show, but as near as I can tell, lays out the whole concept of the show and base storylines. Such comparisons should be evocative, but unspecific. Tantalizingly vague, if you will. When you hear that the pitch for Grey's Anatomy is ER meets Sex in the City, you have a notion of where you're headed, but you have no idea what it's going to look like when you get there or what's going to happen. Undercovers doesn't really pique my deepest curiosities because, well, I've seen all the shows in its recipe, and the end product is, well, exactly the same, it seems... Hell, they even have a Marshall Flinkman on the other end of their comms, for crying out loud. When a show can be summed up so easily and so completely, it's hard to see where show will bring anything truly unique to the table. I'm not saying the show will be terrible or anything. In fact, it looks like a well-made, splashy, expensive, movie-style production with one hell of a creative team behind it. From the trailer alone though, I guess it just feels a little... uninspired. It feels a bit like JJ phoned this one in and we're left with a very familiar, almost generic spin (no, wait, there is (presumably) no spin) on an old routine. It just doesn't feel special the way that Alias felt special and I'm just not sure where this show is going to go 3 or 4 seasons down the line. I'm hopeful there's a lot more to it than the trailer leads on, but so far? I'm rather underwhelmed. It just seems a bit too generic to really pique my interest, which is a real shame. Here's hoping they prove me wrong.


CHASE

Description: This is billed as a fast-paced drama from Emmy Award-winning executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer (“CSI” franchise, “The Amazing Race,” “Pirates of the Caribbean” films) and executive producer Jennifer Johnson (“Cold Case”). Stars Kelli Giddish (“Past Life”), Cole Hauser (“K-Ville”), Amaury Nolasco (“Prison Break”), Rose Rollins (“The L Word”) and Jesse Metcalfe (“Desperate Housewives”). Bruckheimer, Jonathan Littman (“CSI” franchise, “The Amazing Race,” “Cold Case”) and Johnson serve as executive producers, while KristieAnne Reed is co-executive producer. David Nutter (“The Mentalist,” “Without a Trace” “The X-Files”) directed and is executive producer of the pilot that was written by Johnson.



My Take: I don't suppose I could just say "painfully generic" and leave it at that, could I? How about simply, "groan"? This is your typical cop-style piece of crap where some rag-tag crew is the best in the world at what they do blah, blah, blah, but don't worry, there's a new guy on the scene so they can explain how awesome they are to the audience by explaining how awesome they are to the straight-laced what's-his-name who just doesn't understand how things are done by the cool kids. Ugh. I hate that set-up, always have, always will. I don't need everything explained to me (especially when there's basically nothing to explain). I'll catch on, I promise. If you must use some new guy as a lazy tool for exposition, as least be subtle about it. This looks absolutely horrendous and the "talent" both behind and on the screen leave much to be desired. Kelli Giddish was awful in the awful beyond awful Past Life (use a word twice in one sentence, and the third usage is free), and yet someone saw fit to let her anchor yet another show? WTF? Not that even the awesomest lead could save this show from a big steaming pile of cliches and the total hack that is Jerry Bruckheimer. I'm not sure I'll even make it through the whole pilot. I tried to watch a couple of clips online, but fast-forwarded through them. Cheeseball, hackneyed, overwrought, unoriginal, etc. And lest you think I'm being too harsh, her name is Annie Frost? Seriously? Bad. "When Annie comes gunning. Start running." Oh, I'll be running all right... as far away from this piece of shit as possible. If you want to see a kick-ass show about US Marshals, I suggest you tune into In Plain Sight on USA. But, knowing the American viewing public and their thirst for crime procedurals, this just might be a hit. I doubt it'll make it onto my rotation, but I can see where this might have some mass appeal and long-term potential. Lord knows CBS has been milking this type of genre for years now, so why not NBC.


OUTLAW

Description: Stars Jimmy Smits (“NYPD Blue,” “The West Wing”), “Outlaw” is a new drama from executive producer John Eisendrath (“Alias,” “Felicity,” “Playmakers”). Also stars Jesse Bradford (“The West Wing”, "Bring It On"), Carly Pope (“24″, "Popular"), Ellen Woglom (“Californication”) and David Ramsey (“Dexter”). Eisendrath is executive producer along with Terry George (“Hotel Rwanda,” “Reservation Road”), Conan O’Brien, Jeff Ross and David Kissinger (“Andy Barker, P.I.”). “Outlaw” is written by Eisendrath and directed by George.



My Take: Well, when the preview started, I was actually quite intrigued, but toward the end... not so much. Off the bat, I have to hand it to the writers for being ballsy enough to take the legal genre and add something new and unexpected. As the preview started off, the prospect of a supreme court justice abdicating the thrown (as it were) to help change the broken legal system really appealed to me (even in spite of the Jimmie Smits of it all--what can I say? After an entire season of suffering through his Miguel Prado on Dexter, I was happy to see Dex, uh, take care of things...). As things wore on, however, the show seems to have a fairly cheesy, self-righteous vibe going through it that I am definitely not digging. I have no problem with emotional storylines and meaningful messages, but I don't need to be hit over the head with them, thanks. It all just seemed a little too heartwarming and saccharine to be the hard-hitting drama I initially expected... Here's hoping the trailer simply doesn't do it justice (oh good god, that was an unintentional, yet rather painful pun). The good news is that the supporting cast elicited some serious teenesque nostalgia. I had to tweak the description of the show that I pulled off the web because they left out the truly important credits. Jesse Bradford, co-star of the awesomely awesome Bring It On (which was left off his bio inexplicably) and Carly Pope, whom I hardly even recognized! I haven't seen her since Popular (which was likewise left off her bio--seriously who's writing these things?) and it was nice to see her working again (in something that I might actually watch). Seeing them back in action was a bit of a thrill and quite frankly hold a lot more appeal for me than Smits at the helm. It's not going to be the most original show on earth, but at least they've put a new spin on an overdone genre. I loves me a good legal show, but the odds of this one living up to the standard set by The Good Wife are pretty slim. I think it'll boil down to Smits' ability to anchor the show, and so far, not so good. I've never been a huge fan of his, so maybe it's just me, but I don't know that he (or his character) has enough quirk or uniqueness to really draw me in. Only time will tell. I'll definitely give this one a shot, but I have a sinking feeling they've taken an original spin and let it devolve into more of the same. To boot, it's been given the Friday night death slot, so I get the feeling NBC isn't all the confident in the show. I think it's going to have a hard time finding an audience, so for its sake, I hope NBC has lowered their expectations in terms of ratings. Even if they have, I doubt this will make it past midseason.