By Robert Bianco, USA TODAY
First impressions count, even if the only thing the networks show when they reveal their new fall series are a few short clips . It's not fair to form a final judgment until the full pilots arrive, but since networks use these clips to entice advertisers, it seems fair to evaluate them on that basis. USA TODAY's Robert Bianco considers what he has seen and comes up with an early look at the most promising ? and puzzling ? entries.
By Bob D'Amico,, ABC
Kelli Garner, left, Margot Robbie, Jonah Lotan, Christina Ricci, Michael Moseley and Karine Vanasse star in Pan Am.
By Bob D'Amico,, ABC
Kelli Garner, left, Margot Robbie, Jonah Lotan, Christina Ricci, Michael Moseley and Karine Vanasse star in Pan Am.
ABC catches ?Pan Am? flight back in time
You can't accuse ABC of standing pat. The network has the most new shows (seven), which is what happens when all last fall's new shows flop. ABC and NBC have both dug deep holes for themselves and could have trouble climbing out.
Most promising:Pan Am. If looks could kill, Pan Am would murder the competition. The clips for this '60s-set paean to the glory, glamour days of air travel were lush and lovely ? if you have a lingering fondness for the days when stewardesses were all gorgeous and girdled, pilots were all handsome and heroic, and passengers all dressed like they were going to the prom. Combined with its Charlie's Angels revival, ABC would seem to have cornered the market for female-powered nostalgia. How that translates to story-telling remains to be seen. ABC is promising excitement and "sexy entanglements," all built around Christina Ricci as a secret bohemian off to see the world. It could be as enticing as Mad Men? or as quaint as '63 flick Come Fly With Me, which the clips rather resemble.
Most puzzling:Revenge. "Puzzling" would describe most everything else on ABC's fall lineup, Still, if you're looking for one oddity, go with this drama starring Brothers & Sisters' Emily Van Camp as a young woman who returns to the Hamptons to seek vengeance on rich folk who did her wrong. She's a fine actor, and most of us can name a few rich CEOs we wouldn't mind seeing kicked a bit ? but every week? Right after ABC's Wednesday comedies?
CW?s ?Ringer? a good call
Ah, CW, the little network that sort of could. And if you're in its teenage-girl target audience, probably does.
Most promising:Ringer. Within that target, the surest hit is probably The Secret Circle, a witch drama from the producers of Vampire Diaries and based on a series of books by Diaries' author. But for an older crowd, the show to watch out for is Ringer, starring Buffy's Sarah Michelle Gellar as a woman on the run who takes over her twin sister's life, only to discover it's even more messed up than her own. Gellar is a welcome TV presence, the cast (with Ioan Gruffudd as her husband/brother-in-law) is strong, and the clips looked suspenseful.
Most puzzling:Hart of Dixie. CW loves youth-oriented, sappy soapfests, like this story of a young New York doctor (Rachel Bilson) who takes over a small-town Alabama practice. The clips looked terrible and more than a little condescending, but if CW can get a run out of One Tree Hill, don't bet against a teen-fueled Hart run.
NBC?s ?Grimm? looks good
In NBC's defense, this fall's pilots were all put into motion by the now-departed and unlamented former management team. For NBC's sake, let's hope the new team knows how lifeless these shows look.
Most promising:Grimm. The new bosses have ordered one very promising, high-profile project ? and if it works, it could be the first step to restoring the network's fortunes. Unfortunately for fall viewers, that show ? the musical Smash? won't be arriving until mid-season. Until then, make do with this Buffy-ish Friday sci-fi show about a group of hunters, "the Grimms," who are the only ones who know monsters walk among us.
Most puzzling:Prime Suspect. Among the many choices, let's go with this remake of the beloved British cop-show classic, because the word it really does most invoke is "why?" Why would anyone want to remake Prime Suspect when the original is readily available ? and when the original star, the great Helen Mirren, would seem to be irreplaceable, no matter how hard Maria Bello tries? And while there's no doubt sexism still exists, why would a network that has spent decades showcasing female cops and bosses in the Law & Order franchises suddenly expect its viewers to buy the idea that a bunch of New York male detectives would be openly antagonistic to a woman? In 2011? In New York? On TV?
Fox sends in the dinos
Like CBS, Fox has fewer holes to fill, and is filling more than a few of them with TV's most anticipated new contest, Simon Cowell's The X Factor.
Most promising:Terra Nova. If you've heard of any upcoming fall show at all, chances are it's Terra Nova. This Steven Spielberg-produced big-budget, man-vs.-dinosaur drama, sends a group of colonists from 2149 back to 85 million B.C., where they'll have a second chance to rebuild civilization. Anyone who caught the clip on Idol knows the pilot is likely to deliver the special-effects goods; the question now is can Terra Nova do it weekly?
Most puzzling:I Hate My Teenage Daughter. The two moms at the center of this story, former high-school outcasts whose children are "mean girls," don't really despise their daughters, which is good; we might, which isn't. Daughter has wonderful stars in Jaime Pressly and Katie Finneran. But in the clips, the moms seemed too frantic ? and the daughters too hateful.
Not-broken CBS dishes up comedy in ?2 Broke Girls?
Stable, reliable and ? in these days of media meltdowns ? refreshingly competent, CBS almost always comes up with shows that work well with other CBS shows, which is why the network remains America's most popular. This year, the slate isn't just solid, it's the strongest overall, with CBS scoring the most buzzed-about new comedy and, in J.J. Abram's Person of Interest, one of the season's most promising new dramas.
Most promising:2 Broke Girls. It could be quite a year for Whitney Cummings. She's starring in her own sitcom on NBC, and she co-created this CBS sitcom with Sex and the City's Michael Patrick King. And while the NBC show looks iffy, her CBS effort left the upfront gates as an early front-runner. Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs star as diner waitresses ? one born to struggle, the other a down-on-her luck trust-fund baby ? who become best friends. It's an old setup, but the performances are fresh and the clips actually made the gathered crowd laugh, a sad rarity this year. The show as a whole, of course, may not be as funny as its highlights ? but at least it was able to come up with a string of funny moments.
Most puzzling:How to Be a Gentleman. CBS is in an enviable position heading into the fall; none of its shows looked bad, and most of them looked better than anything the competition offered. How healthy is CBS? It's scheduling moves ? shifting CSI to Wednesday and The Good Wife to Sunday ? were more interesting than the other networks' schedules. Still, even in a strong slate, something has to look less sturdy, like this comedy about an etiquette columnist (David Hornsby) who gets lessons in manliness from his bad-boy trainer (Kevin Dillon). Some of the jokes were amusing, and the show boasts good supporting stars in Dave Foley and Mary Lynn Rajskub. But if the life lessons don't flow both ways, the show is quickly going to grow old and a little offensive.
Zooey Deschanel January Jones Rebecca Romijn Amber Valletta Nichole Robinson
No comments:
Post a Comment