The Fall television season has arrived!! I admit that I watch an obscene amount of television, but I'm tired of investing my time on a new show and then having it cancelled after one season. Last year, I picked 16 shows. In 2010, I picked 14 shows. Only 12 of these shows still exist and I only watch 7 of them. So this year, I decided to be very limited in the amount of new shows I watch; I narrowed it down to 5.
1. Elementary - The show had me at Jonny Lee Miller. I was a big fan of the show
Eli Stone (which was cancelled after 2 seasons) and he was superb as a psychopath on
Dexter. I think he'll make a damn fine Sherlock. Adding Lucy Lui as a female Watson is an interesting move (but does that mean she's not on
Southland anymore? I can't remember what happened to her character. Help!). I'm really not a fan of CBS shows. Over the past few years, I've tried to give them a chance with
Blue Bloods and
Person of Interest but both have disappointed me. I feel like CBS airs shows that you don't really have to pay attention to; there is no depth or full character development. For
Elementary to work, there needs to be some depth (like the BBC's
Sherlock). Here's hoping they try something new.
2. 666 Park Avenue - I really enjoy horror TV shows and with the success of
American Horror Story and
The Walking Dead, it's a perfect time for this show. Set in an apartment building on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, the residents all are seemingly having their dreams come true, but they may have unknowingly made a deal with the Devil. I'm going to throw it out there and predict that Terry O'Quinn (aka John Locke, aka Kendall) will probably be revealed as the Devil. Or is that too obvious? I do know that would be perfect casting, but I guess we'll see. Other cast members include Dave Annable (HOT) and Rachael Taylor (HOTTER). Also, it's being compared to
The Shining, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that's ridiculous. I'm just hoping for a fun, creepy, campy, soap-like drama.
3. The New Normal - Oh Ryan Murphy. I love him and I hate him. I love him for his crazy, brilliant mind that created
Nip/Tuck and
Glee and I hate him for being an arrogant, stubborn asshole that turned both those shows to outrageous trash (the jury is still out on
American Horror Story, but I think it is very telling that he is doing the show as a "mini-series" each year which basically allows him to do whatever the fuck he wants, instead of a show that has to have consistency). I think
The New Normal will likely be funny, in the same vein as
Modern Family. Justin Bartha makes me laugh with his goofiness, Ellen Barkin is bat-shit crazy (in a good way) and NeNe Leakes was surprisingly funny on
Glee, so I am expecting some good humor. At least for the first 2 seasons.
4. Revolution - I think everyone is tired of high-concept TV shows being introduced as "the next
Lost". After the failure of so many shows (
Six Degrees, FlashForward, The Event), we should just accept the fact that such a thing will never exist. Just like there will never be another
Friends, there will never be another
Lost. J.J. Abrams is an Executive Producer on
Revolution, but that doesn't mean much to me (especially since I don't like
Person of Interest or
Alcatraz). I prefer him being involved in a writing capacity (
Alias and
Fringe are amongst my favorite shows of all time). So, I will watch the show but with hesitation. It seems like a really cool concept- set 15 years after an epic blackout. There is the mystery of why the power was turned off, but also whether it should be turned back on. I don't know....it could work.
5. Animal Practice - I admit, I am really unsure about this show, but I really, really love JoAnna Garcia and I really, really want her to find a project that showcases her talent. Plus, Justin Kirk is hilarious in that perfectly dry and sarcastic sort of way (although him starring in this show is just a reminder that
Weeds is ending.....sad face). Wednesday night is sort of lacking on television shows (seriously, EVERYTHING I watch is on Thursday night) so I figure I could give it a shot. I watched the preview episode that aired a few weeks ago and it was decent. I didn't really laugh, but there was a nice set up of characters and plot. I used to want to be a veterinarian so it's sort of interesting territory for me.
1. Elementary - The show had me at Jonny Lee Miller. I was a big fan of the show Eli Stone (which was cancelled after 2 seasons) and he was superb as a psychopath on Dexter. I think he'll make a damn fine Sherlock. Adding Lucy Lui as a female Watson is an interesting move (but does that mean she's not on Southland anymore? I can't remember what happened to her character. Help!). I'm really not a fan of CBS shows. Over the past few years, I've tried to give them a chance with Blue Bloods and Person of Interest but both have disappointed me. I feel like CBS airs shows that you don't really have to pay attention to; there is no depth or full character development. For Elementary to work, there needs to be some depth (like the BBC's Sherlock). Here's hoping they try something new. 
2. 666 Park Avenue - I really enjoy horror TV shows and with the success of American Horror Story and The Walking Dead, it's a perfect time for this show. Set in an apartment building on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, the residents all are seemingly having their dreams come true, but they may have unknowingly made a deal with the Devil. I'm going to throw it out there and predict that Terry O'Quinn (aka John Locke, aka Kendall) will probably be revealed as the Devil. Or is that too obvious? I do know that would be perfect casting, but I guess we'll see. Other cast members include Dave Annable (HOT) and Rachael Taylor (HOTTER). Also, it's being compared to The Shining, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that's ridiculous. I'm just hoping for a fun, creepy, campy, soap-like drama.
3. The New Normal - Oh Ryan Murphy. I love him and I hate him. I love him for his crazy, brilliant mind that created Nip/Tuck and Glee and I hate him for being an arrogant, stubborn asshole that turned both those shows to outrageous trash (the jury is still out on American Horror Story, but I think it is very telling that he is doing the show as a "mini-series" each year which basically allows him to do whatever the fuck he wants, instead of a show that has to have consistency). I think The New Normal will likely be funny, in the same vein as Modern Family. Justin Bartha makes me laugh with his goofiness, Ellen Barkin is bat-shit crazy (in a good way) and NeNe Leakes was surprisingly funny on Glee, so I am expecting some good humor. At least for the first 2 seasons. 
5. Animal Practice - I admit, I am really unsure about this show, but I really, really love JoAnna Garcia and I really, really want her to find a project that showcases her talent. Plus, Justin Kirk is hilarious in that perfectly dry and sarcastic sort of way (although him starring in this show is just a reminder that Weeds is ending.....sad face). Wednesday night is sort of lacking on television shows (seriously, EVERYTHING I watch is on Thursday night) so I figure I could give it a shot. I watched the preview episode that aired a few weeks ago and it was decent. I didn't really laugh, but there was a nice set up of characters and plot. I used to want to be a veterinarian so it's sort of interesting territory for me.
I completely agree with you about CBS shows. They mostly just seem to be procedurals that don’t focus on character development as much, which just doesn’t interest me. That said, I’m still planning to watch Elementary. One of my Dish co-workers got me into Sherlock and I’m sure this one won’t be as good, but like you, I love Jonny Lee Miller. I’ll have to set my Hopper to record the premiere for me, since I work late. I’ll have to do that with all the shows I’m planning to watch this fall, actually, but I’m glad I’ll at least be able to come home to a full DVR every night. I’m really looking forward to seeing what Lucy Liu is like as Watson. She was really great on Southland.
ReplyDelete