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Sep. 15th, 2013 11:37 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatEntertainment Weekly's Fall TV Edition came out on Friday. It announced 119 tv shows. Seriously, it's not possible to watch a 119 tv shows. It's not really possible to watch 20 for that matter - unless that is all you are doing? In which case, you are probably a paid television critic, and seeing many of them without commercial interruptions. Commercial interruptions due make a huge difference regarding tv watching.
The difficulty with EW, besides the fact that it appears to have become little more than an entertainment industry marketing hype publication, is that the critics praise the shows they personally like to the heavens and ignore practically everything else. Objective they aren't. And the critics don't really reflect the population as a whole. This may explain why their picks often are not in the top of the ratings, and don't tend to last more than two seasons, if that.
New Fall TV shows that appear to be interesting, or worth trying at least:
1. Sleepy Hollow - Icabode Crane is the hero, albeit more attractive than in the Disney animated version. He teams up with Abby Mills, a detective, and they solve supernatural/paranormal crimes - think X-Files but more in the gothic/horror fantasy realm as opposed to the science fiction/alien horror realm. Icabod is over 600 years old and has come back to defeat his old nemesis the Headless Horseman.
2. Brooklyn Nine-Nine - a comedy about a police station in Brooklyn. (Notably the only cop comedy that has done well was Barney Miller, most are too over the top or crass.) This one stars Andre Braugher and Andy Samberg. The critics are raving over it - but keep in mind that they most likely only saw the pilot and without commercials.
3. Hostages - it's a mini-series about a terrorist who kidnaps a surgeon's family in order to ensure she kills the President of the US on the operating table. Stars Toni Collette and Dylan McDermott (whose gotten into the habit of playing twisted antagonists).
4. Once Upon A Time in Wonderland - it's a mini-series (13 episodes) about a grown-up and instutionalized Alice who escapes the asylum to journey to Wonderland in order to rescue and reunite with her one true love (a Genie) and fight the evil Jafar. Apparently they've merged Disney's Aladdin with Alice in Wonderland.
5. The Crazy Ones - about a somewhat eccentric ad agency head honcho and his mainstream dull as toast daughter butting heads. Stars Robin Williams and James Wolk (Mad Men) as the ad agency buddy team that critics love, with Sarah Michelle Gellar as the dull as toast daughter/straight woman. (She's in the Pam Dawber role, they tried to get Pam Dawber to play the mother - but she wanted a lot of money. Can't say I blame her.) The problem with this one is it is on the incredibly crowded Thursday night.
6. Reign - this is a period romantic thriller/drama about Mary Queen of Scots betrothal to the King of France. To say it is not historically accurate would be an understatement. Actually from what I've seen and read of it to date - it makes the Tudors and Merlin look historically accurate by comparison. Apparently knowing British History or History period is not a requirement for television writing, novel writing maybe but not television writing. Not that it matters - its target audience barely knows American History, or Geography for that matter, let alone European History. All that's required is pretty twenty-somethings, cool fashions, and lots of romantic intrigue and angst. Think Gossip Girl set in the 1600s or thereabouts.
7. Marvel - Agents of Shield - might as well say Joss Whedon's Marvel Agents of Shield, but apparently that title was too long? Also it's not exactly accurate. Whedon is as involved in writing this baby as well..he was with the Buffy comics, or Steven Spielberg and Ridely Scott are with Falling Skies and the Good Wife (although, the difference being, that Spielberg and Scott aren't writers or known for their writing, while Whedon is known for his dialogue. Actually, that's the only thing I like about Whedon - his ability to write quippy dialogue.) No, the people who are writing and over-seeing this baby are Joss Whedon's kid half-bro - Jed and Jed's wife Maurissa, whose last attempt at television writing and show-running was...Dollhouse. Their first scripts were songs for Doctor Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog.
Gotta give Marvel credit for knowing how to brand and spin their franchise. The only entertainment group who is better at it than Marvel is..Disney, who owns Marvel.
At any rate from everything I've read and seen to date - the show appears to be about a bunch of covert operatives who specialize in super-villains and super-hero conflict issues. They have lots of high-tech gadgetry and talk in techno-babble, while sporting high ninja style kicks and fighting phasers. Sort of an advanced NCIS with well superheroes/supervillains fighting off-screen. It's basically the story of the Avengers support staff and handlers. Or well, imagine watching Arrow, but without the Arrow.
8. American Horror Story - Coven - Jessica Lange is back, this time as a crazy powerful high couture witch, Fiona. Guest stars include Kathy Bates as a sadistic 1800s plantation owner who uses the blood of slaves to maintain her youthful looks and Angela Bassette as a local voodoo priestess/witch who takes exception to Bates questionable practices. Sarah Paulson stars as Cordelia, Fiona's uptight and rule oriented daughter who runs the Witch School in 21st Century New Orleans. It sounds like it's emphasizing humor over horror this round.
9. The Originals - the spin-off of Vamp Diaries. Klaus, Elijah, and Rebekkah trade Mystic Falls for New Orleans, battled Klaus's old prodigeny, Marcel, for control of New Orleans.
Think what Angel the Series would have been like if Angelus had come to LA with his sister Darla, brother Spike, and discovered he was expecting a kid with one-night stand Nina, while brooding over Buffy. Meanwhile he's fighting his old prodigeny, Trick, for control. That's about as close a description as I can come to. And no, you don't need to have watched Vamp Diaries to enjoy it - they aren't as linked as Angel and Buffy were. The emphasis here, as with Angel, is on Family not romantic relationships. Also, it's not episodic and there's no detective agency (thank you, god).
10. Almost Human - buddy cop drama in the not-too-distant future about a techno-skeptic who partners with an emotional android. Basically Marvel:Agents of Shield with robots instead of superheroes. More science based, less comic book. (it's mid-season, shares Bones time-slot). Comes from the same people who brought you : Fringe.
11. The Backlist - James Spader plays a criminal mastermind who strikes a bargain with law enforcement - he'll help them track down the worst criminals in the world but only if they let him work with a pretty young FBI agent. Think Silence of the Lambs or Hannibal but without the gore.
The difficulty with EW, besides the fact that it appears to have become little more than an entertainment industry marketing hype publication, is that the critics praise the shows they personally like to the heavens and ignore practically everything else. Objective they aren't. And the critics don't really reflect the population as a whole. This may explain why their picks often are not in the top of the ratings, and don't tend to last more than two seasons, if that.
New Fall TV shows that appear to be interesting, or worth trying at least:
1. Sleepy Hollow - Icabode Crane is the hero, albeit more attractive than in the Disney animated version. He teams up with Abby Mills, a detective, and they solve supernatural/paranormal crimes - think X-Files but more in the gothic/horror fantasy realm as opposed to the science fiction/alien horror realm. Icabod is over 600 years old and has come back to defeat his old nemesis the Headless Horseman.
2. Brooklyn Nine-Nine - a comedy about a police station in Brooklyn. (Notably the only cop comedy that has done well was Barney Miller, most are too over the top or crass.) This one stars Andre Braugher and Andy Samberg. The critics are raving over it - but keep in mind that they most likely only saw the pilot and without commercials.
3. Hostages - it's a mini-series about a terrorist who kidnaps a surgeon's family in order to ensure she kills the President of the US on the operating table. Stars Toni Collette and Dylan McDermott (whose gotten into the habit of playing twisted antagonists).
4. Once Upon A Time in Wonderland - it's a mini-series (13 episodes) about a grown-up and instutionalized Alice who escapes the asylum to journey to Wonderland in order to rescue and reunite with her one true love (a Genie) and fight the evil Jafar. Apparently they've merged Disney's Aladdin with Alice in Wonderland.
5. The Crazy Ones - about a somewhat eccentric ad agency head honcho and his mainstream dull as toast daughter butting heads. Stars Robin Williams and James Wolk (Mad Men) as the ad agency buddy team that critics love, with Sarah Michelle Gellar as the dull as toast daughter/straight woman. (She's in the Pam Dawber role, they tried to get Pam Dawber to play the mother - but she wanted a lot of money. Can't say I blame her.) The problem with this one is it is on the incredibly crowded Thursday night.
6. Reign - this is a period romantic thriller/drama about Mary Queen of Scots betrothal to the King of France. To say it is not historically accurate would be an understatement. Actually from what I've seen and read of it to date - it makes the Tudors and Merlin look historically accurate by comparison. Apparently knowing British History or History period is not a requirement for television writing, novel writing maybe but not television writing. Not that it matters - its target audience barely knows American History, or Geography for that matter, let alone European History. All that's required is pretty twenty-somethings, cool fashions, and lots of romantic intrigue and angst. Think Gossip Girl set in the 1600s or thereabouts.
7. Marvel - Agents of Shield - might as well say Joss Whedon's Marvel Agents of Shield, but apparently that title was too long? Also it's not exactly accurate. Whedon is as involved in writing this baby as well..he was with the Buffy comics, or Steven Spielberg and Ridely Scott are with Falling Skies and the Good Wife (although, the difference being, that Spielberg and Scott aren't writers or known for their writing, while Whedon is known for his dialogue. Actually, that's the only thing I like about Whedon - his ability to write quippy dialogue.) No, the people who are writing and over-seeing this baby are Joss Whedon's kid half-bro - Jed and Jed's wife Maurissa, whose last attempt at television writing and show-running was...Dollhouse. Their first scripts were songs for Doctor Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog.
Gotta give Marvel credit for knowing how to brand and spin their franchise. The only entertainment group who is better at it than Marvel is..Disney, who owns Marvel.
At any rate from everything I've read and seen to date - the show appears to be about a bunch of covert operatives who specialize in super-villains and super-hero conflict issues. They have lots of high-tech gadgetry and talk in techno-babble, while sporting high ninja style kicks and fighting phasers. Sort of an advanced NCIS with well superheroes/supervillains fighting off-screen. It's basically the story of the Avengers support staff and handlers. Or well, imagine watching Arrow, but without the Arrow.
8. American Horror Story - Coven - Jessica Lange is back, this time as a crazy powerful high couture witch, Fiona. Guest stars include Kathy Bates as a sadistic 1800s plantation owner who uses the blood of slaves to maintain her youthful looks and Angela Bassette as a local voodoo priestess/witch who takes exception to Bates questionable practices. Sarah Paulson stars as Cordelia, Fiona's uptight and rule oriented daughter who runs the Witch School in 21st Century New Orleans. It sounds like it's emphasizing humor over horror this round.
9. The Originals - the spin-off of Vamp Diaries. Klaus, Elijah, and Rebekkah trade Mystic Falls for New Orleans, battled Klaus's old prodigeny, Marcel, for control of New Orleans.
Think what Angel the Series would have been like if Angelus had come to LA with his sister Darla, brother Spike, and discovered he was expecting a kid with one-night stand Nina, while brooding over Buffy. Meanwhile he's fighting his old prodigeny, Trick, for control. That's about as close a description as I can come to. And no, you don't need to have watched Vamp Diaries to enjoy it - they aren't as linked as Angel and Buffy were. The emphasis here, as with Angel, is on Family not romantic relationships. Also, it's not episodic and there's no detective agency (thank you, god).
10. Almost Human - buddy cop drama in the not-too-distant future about a techno-skeptic who partners with an emotional android. Basically Marvel:Agents of Shield with robots instead of superheroes. More science based, less comic book. (it's mid-season, shares Bones time-slot). Comes from the same people who brought you : Fringe.
11. The Backlist - James Spader plays a criminal mastermind who strikes a bargain with law enforcement - he'll help them track down the worst criminals in the world but only if they let him work with a pretty young FBI agent. Think Silence of the Lambs or Hannibal but without the gore.