New US Network Show Roundup for Fall 2008
http://firefox.org/news/articles/1741/1/New-US-Network-Show-Roundup-for-Fall-2008/Page1.html
Leva Cygnet
By Leva Cygnet
Published on 08/9/2008
Plenty of new dramas, and some sitcoms and a few reality shows round out the 2008 fall lineup ...
The fall premiers are only a few weeks away ...
Privileged
A well-educated aspiring journalist gets hired to tutor the kids of an upper crust family. And what sounds like a daytime soap opera results. It's scheduled to premier on September 9th, 2008 in the same time slot as the premier of the JJ Abrams big-budget and heavily marketed new series Fringe so it may also get spectacularly clobbered in the ratings from the outset.
Promo here:
Fringe
A two hour, $10,000,000 pilot for a series co-created by JJ Abrams (Lost, Alias, Felicity) and Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman (Alias, Mission Impossible III, Star Trek alumni) tells you they're serious about making this show succeed. It's also got a comic book scheduled for release two weeks before the premier on Fox on September 9th, 2008 and the pilot was screened in its entirety at Comic-Con. (And then subsequently escaped into the wilds of the internet, so if you want to see it you should be able to hunt it down via the usual methods. Nothing like a little viral marketing. You can't convince me they didn't plan that.)
The official trailer is here:
Premiers September 9th, 2008 on Fox.
Do Not Disturb
A sitcom about employees at a New York City hotel. I can see a lot of material for comedy here; it might be worth checking out. The promo has a certain feel reminiscent of "Night Court." Jason Batemen is directing the pilot, which airs September 10th, 2008.
In Harm's Way
This is a reality show about people with dangerous jobs. This is by Craig Piligian, who created Chopper, Survivor, and Dirty Jobs. I'd watch. It premiers September 21st, 2008 on the CW.
Worst Week
Sitcom about a soon-to-be-married man who goes on vacation with his fiance's family. Things go downhill from there. It's based on a BBC series, is being made by Fox, and premiers September 22nd, 2008.
Another one I'm eh about. How do they plan to continue the series once they've ran out of week? ("Worst Week: Week Two?")
Valentine, Inc.
This is a CW show but it's not on their site yet. Premise is a family of Gods who play Cupid and do whatever it takes to get people together with their soul mates. Premiers September 21st, 2008.
My initial reaction? Eh. I'm a sucker for sappy romance -- witness a decades long obsession with CBS's Beauty and the Beast -- but the thing with sappy romance is that I like to get to know the characters. For me, romance is all about how the character's relationship evolves over time, and how they overcome obstacles in their path. For me to really enjoy a romantic story, the characters need to grow on me, and become like friends.
I'm not sure that this setup will allow me to invest enough emotional interest in the protagonists to actually enjoy the romance factor. But they could prove me wrong. It is an interesting idea.
The Mentalist
Yet another crime drama featuring a detective with razor sharp powers of observation. It says that right in the official promo text. 'Razor sharp powers of observation.' The earliest modern incarnation of this sort of character that I can think of is Sherlock Holmes. Currently, we have Monk, Bones, Criminal Minds, CSI ... and that's just off the top of my head, and limiting myself to currently airing shows.
They better make sure the acting and writing is as razor sharp as the detective's mind. It's competing for viewer affections with shows like Monk and Bones and that's some heady competition indeed. CBS, September 23rd, 2008.
Easy Money
This is about a man who is running his family's very successful short term money loan business, Prestige Payday Loans -- and having moral qualms about the business, and about his family's behavior. Plus, there are mysteries about his past, and a romance with a brainy grad student. It's an interesting concept, and the creators have a nice pedigree -- Diane Frolov and Andy Scheider also created The Sopranos and Northern Exposure. September 21st, 2008 on the CW.
Gary Unmarried
About a newly divorced dad. Another standard family sitcom that doesn't appear to have any gimmicks or hooks -- it'll succeed or fail based on the storytelling and acting. September 24th, 2008 on CBS.
Knight Rider
I will say that I was skeptical of last spring's back door pilot for Knight Rider. They've tried several times to revive the Knight Rider franchise, with varying degrees of disaster, from "eh" to "wow, that so needs a good MST3King." (Knight Rider 2000 surpasses Highlander 2 for first place on my personal list of Really Awful Movies.) As a child of the 1980's, I was in love with that car -- and I wrote lots of fanfics where the first thing I did was get rid of Michael Knight, because it was all about that car -- and I've been disappointed with every new Knight Rider movie or series to come along since.
So when they announced that they gonna try again, I got someone else to write the review in advance for this site, because I figured it was going to be awful and I would be mean in the review if I wrote it. And I don't like being mean. It puts me in a bad mood.
And then I watched the pilot.
And, squeeeeee, they got it right. I adored it. Yes, I know some of the die-hard fans hated it, but I liked it. And I also saw a tremendous amount of potential in it for a successful series. It had good actors and they got the car exactly right. (Down, fanboys, down. I know it wasn't the Transam from the 1980's series. They got KITT's attitude right, which, I think, was most important.) And the story more-or-less held up with a minimum of egrecious plot holes.
So. If they can capture the feel of the pilot in the series, and keep the quality up, this may well be one of the better new shows of Fall 2008. I am eagerly looking forward to the premier of this one.
And I so want a "KITT happens" bumper sticker!
Premiers September 24th, 2008 on NBC.
ComicCon interview with the stars and TPTB:
Life on Mars
ABC's site has been repeatedly broken every time I've tried to view it. (Note to web developers -- if your site breaks in Firefox and IE, you fail.) The UK version of Life on Mars featured a detective who was thrown back in time to the 1970's and was then a fish out of water dealing with the 1970's culture. Per Wikipedia, the "unsatisfying mythological element" of the hero's origin has been removed, but it's not clear where the quote comes from. Gotta love Wikipedia.
It's a great concept, unless the "mythological element" they're referring to is the fact that the hero comes from the future. In that case ... what's this about again?
October 9th, 2008 on ABC.
My Own Worst Enemy
Spy with the Hollywood plot device version of multiple personality disorder lives a dual life as an everyman and a government operative. Then his identities become aware of each other. Christian Slater is starring as the hero, Henry Spivey, and Slater obviously has a built-in fanbase. The executive producers are Jason Smilovic (last year's Bionic Woman) and David Semel (who has a long pedigree including being executive producer on House, M.D, and Heroes, and a producer for Dawson's Creek.)
The question is, will the idea work? I think that will depend on how they move the story forward as they resolve the conflict between Henry Spivey's alter egos. The conflic between the spy-Spivey and the everyman-Spivey doesn't sound like it could successfully deliver more than several episodes full of angst. It's a great concept for a movie; not so much for a long-running series. However, if they can successfully introduce new elements it might work out. I'd give it a chance, anway. Airs on NBC on October 13th, 2008.
Crusoe
Based on the novel by Daniel Defoe, this is being filmed in the UK, South Africa and the Seychelles and is set to debut October 17th on NBC. It's described as equal parts "MacGyver, Castaway and Pirates of the Carribbean."
It's a nice concept, and I think it will be worth at least checking out to see how they interpret the books.
Surviving Suburbia
A sitcom about a blue collar family in the suburbs. There's no unusual gimmick here -- it seems to be a pretty straightforward concept of a snarky statement about working class life in America. The success or failure of this show will, therefore, entirely rely up the writing and acting.
The odds of the writing an acting being above par are pretty decent; the producer is Kevin Abbott, who also worked on Roseanne, Reba, Grace Under Fire,and My Name is Earl. November 7th, 2008
A well-educated aspiring journalist gets hired to tutor the kids of an upper crust family. And what sounds like a daytime soap opera results. It's scheduled to premier on September 9th, 2008 in the same time slot as the premier of the JJ Abrams big-budget and heavily marketed new series Fringe so it may also get spectacularly clobbered in the ratings from the outset.
Promo here:
Fringe
A two hour, $10,000,000 pilot for a series co-created by JJ Abrams (Lost, Alias, Felicity) and Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman (Alias, Mission Impossible III, Star Trek alumni) tells you they're serious about making this show succeed. It's also got a comic book scheduled for release two weeks before the premier on Fox on September 9th, 2008 and the pilot was screened in its entirety at Comic-Con. (And then subsequently escaped into the wilds of the internet, so if you want to see it you should be able to hunt it down via the usual methods. Nothing like a little viral marketing. You can't convince me they didn't plan that.)
The official trailer is here:
Premiers September 9th, 2008 on Fox.
Do Not Disturb
A sitcom about employees at a New York City hotel. I can see a lot of material for comedy here; it might be worth checking out. The promo has a certain feel reminiscent of "Night Court." Jason Batemen is directing the pilot, which airs September 10th, 2008.
In Harm's Way
This is a reality show about people with dangerous jobs. This is by Craig Piligian, who created Chopper, Survivor, and Dirty Jobs. I'd watch. It premiers September 21st, 2008 on the CW.
Worst Week
Sitcom about a soon-to-be-married man who goes on vacation with his fiance's family. Things go downhill from there. It's based on a BBC series, is being made by Fox, and premiers September 22nd, 2008.
Another one I'm eh about. How do they plan to continue the series once they've ran out of week? ("Worst Week: Week Two?")
Valentine, Inc.
This is a CW show but it's not on their site yet. Premise is a family of Gods who play Cupid and do whatever it takes to get people together with their soul mates. Premiers September 21st, 2008.
My initial reaction? Eh. I'm a sucker for sappy romance -- witness a decades long obsession with CBS's Beauty and the Beast -- but the thing with sappy romance is that I like to get to know the characters. For me, romance is all about how the character's relationship evolves over time, and how they overcome obstacles in their path. For me to really enjoy a romantic story, the characters need to grow on me, and become like friends.
I'm not sure that this setup will allow me to invest enough emotional interest in the protagonists to actually enjoy the romance factor. But they could prove me wrong. It is an interesting idea.
The Mentalist
Yet another crime drama featuring a detective with razor sharp powers of observation. It says that right in the official promo text. 'Razor sharp powers of observation.' The earliest modern incarnation of this sort of character that I can think of is Sherlock Holmes. Currently, we have Monk, Bones, Criminal Minds, CSI ... and that's just off the top of my head, and limiting myself to currently airing shows.
They better make sure the acting and writing is as razor sharp as the detective's mind. It's competing for viewer affections with shows like Monk and Bones and that's some heady competition indeed. CBS, September 23rd, 2008.
Easy Money
This is about a man who is running his family's very successful short term money loan business, Prestige Payday Loans -- and having moral qualms about the business, and about his family's behavior. Plus, there are mysteries about his past, and a romance with a brainy grad student. It's an interesting concept, and the creators have a nice pedigree -- Diane Frolov and Andy Scheider also created The Sopranos and Northern Exposure. September 21st, 2008 on the CW.
Gary Unmarried
About a newly divorced dad. Another standard family sitcom that doesn't appear to have any gimmicks or hooks -- it'll succeed or fail based on the storytelling and acting. September 24th, 2008 on CBS.
Knight Rider
I will say that I was skeptical of last spring's back door pilot for Knight Rider. They've tried several times to revive the Knight Rider franchise, with varying degrees of disaster, from "eh" to "wow, that so needs a good MST3King." (Knight Rider 2000 surpasses Highlander 2 for first place on my personal list of Really Awful Movies.) As a child of the 1980's, I was in love with that car -- and I wrote lots of fanfics where the first thing I did was get rid of Michael Knight, because it was all about that car -- and I've been disappointed with every new Knight Rider movie or series to come along since.
So when they announced that they gonna try again, I got someone else to write the review in advance for this site, because I figured it was going to be awful and I would be mean in the review if I wrote it. And I don't like being mean. It puts me in a bad mood.
And then I watched the pilot.
And, squeeeeee, they got it right. I adored it. Yes, I know some of the die-hard fans hated it, but I liked it. And I also saw a tremendous amount of potential in it for a successful series. It had good actors and they got the car exactly right. (Down, fanboys, down. I know it wasn't the Transam from the 1980's series. They got KITT's attitude right, which, I think, was most important.) And the story more-or-less held up with a minimum of egrecious plot holes.
So. If they can capture the feel of the pilot in the series, and keep the quality up, this may well be one of the better new shows of Fall 2008. I am eagerly looking forward to the premier of this one.
And I so want a "KITT happens" bumper sticker!
Premiers September 24th, 2008 on NBC.
ComicCon interview with the stars and TPTB:
Life on Mars
ABC's site has been repeatedly broken every time I've tried to view it. (Note to web developers -- if your site breaks in Firefox and IE, you fail.) The UK version of Life on Mars featured a detective who was thrown back in time to the 1970's and was then a fish out of water dealing with the 1970's culture. Per Wikipedia, the "unsatisfying mythological element" of the hero's origin has been removed, but it's not clear where the quote comes from. Gotta love Wikipedia.
It's a great concept, unless the "mythological element" they're referring to is the fact that the hero comes from the future. In that case ... what's this about again?
October 9th, 2008 on ABC.
My Own Worst Enemy
Spy with the Hollywood plot device version of multiple personality disorder lives a dual life as an everyman and a government operative. Then his identities become aware of each other. Christian Slater is starring as the hero, Henry Spivey, and Slater obviously has a built-in fanbase. The executive producers are Jason Smilovic (last year's Bionic Woman) and David Semel (who has a long pedigree including being executive producer on House, M.D, and Heroes, and a producer for Dawson's Creek.)
The question is, will the idea work? I think that will depend on how they move the story forward as they resolve the conflict between Henry Spivey's alter egos. The conflic between the spy-Spivey and the everyman-Spivey doesn't sound like it could successfully deliver more than several episodes full of angst. It's a great concept for a movie; not so much for a long-running series. However, if they can successfully introduce new elements it might work out. I'd give it a chance, anway. Airs on NBC on October 13th, 2008.
Crusoe
Based on the novel by Daniel Defoe, this is being filmed in the UK, South Africa and the Seychelles and is set to debut October 17th on NBC. It's described as equal parts "MacGyver, Castaway and Pirates of the Carribbean."
It's a nice concept, and I think it will be worth at least checking out to see how they interpret the books.
Surviving Suburbia
A sitcom about a blue collar family in the suburbs. There's no unusual gimmick here -- it seems to be a pretty straightforward concept of a snarky statement about working class life in America. The success or failure of this show will, therefore, entirely rely up the writing and acting.
The odds of the writing an acting being above par are pretty decent; the producer is Kevin Abbott, who also worked on Roseanne, Reba, Grace Under Fire,and My Name is Earl. November 7th, 2008