It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

24 Sep

It’s Pilot Season! It’s like Christmas, Black Friday, and a trip to the dentist all rolled into one glorious month of network prime time television!

I love pilot season. I also hate pilot season. It’s the perfect blend of new ideas crashing violently in the sky, careening into space and either flying into the sun never to be seen again, or catching a weekly orbit in our television sets. Typically, I don’t watch TV. I usually make room for 1 or 2 shows per season, but I do make it a point to watch everything once. Hence, pilot season is the busiest TV time of year for me and I’ve always made it a point to post somewhere my ideas of what is crap (85%) and what is worth watching. So, let’s get on with it!

GO ON – NBC

Initial Thoughts: LA is wallpapered with ads for this show. As far as I can tell, it’s that one guy from Friends who wasn’t dating Rachel and is playing some kind of communal therapist? And… comedy ensues. I want this to succeed if only for Brett Gelman, who I think is an extremely underrated comedian. This guy is brilliant and needs his own show- but I’d be willing to settle for him having a strong supporting part for a season or two until the execs figure out that Gelman is a comedic genius.

Thoughts Post Episode: I gotta say, I actually really liked this show. It was funny all around, with plenty of intelligence and a great script. (Perry isn’t a therapist, however, but is one of the patients) Great formula, great actors, and this has a great chance of being picked up for the season. I really liked this a lot. Oh, and Gelman was awesome.

THE NEW NORMAL – NBC

Initial Thoughts: Feels like this could easily be heavy handed in sending it’s message of acceptance to the point of annoyance. Also looks like it could be trying to be the new Modern Family and loudly jumping on the new nuclear family bandwagon.

Thoughts Post Episode: It’s not even close to the caliber of Modern Family. It was okay, but a lot of the swings at jokes didn’t land and I found the characters very flat and stereotypical. I’d be surprised if this lasted longer than one season.

STARS EARN STRIPES- NBC

Initial Thoughts: Honestly, I don’t want to watch this. This looks horrible.

Thoughts Post Episode: …And then I learned Todd Palin was in it. They put “Four Time Iron Dog Champion” next to his name on the credits and I choked on my spit. Like they’re fooling ANYONE there. How many Palin family members have not had a reality TV run? (Someone get Trig Palin on Toddler’s and Tiaras, STAT!) It’s basically the same reality celebrity game show but with a military twist… It’s mildly interesting, but you gotta have a boner for guns and explosions. I could see this having multiple seasons since the format is so simple and all you really need is a handful of c-list celebrities. ….Or Todd Palin!

THE MOB DOCTOR – FOX

Initial Thoughts: I’m guessing it’s another medical show this time featuring a tough as nails doctor who somehow got connected to the mob and now she has to do all their dirty work, while still keeping her children/family safe/living a double life.

Thoughts Post Episode: ….And I was exactly right. This show features a tough as nails doctor who is involved with the mob in exchange for her brother’s safety, while working 24 hour shifts without needing sleep and always having flawless makeup. She doesn’t have children but in a wild twist, she has a soft spot for the child patients and for the sake of their well being is willing to walk the line of legality- she’s a doctor who plays by her own rules! Yawn. It’s hard to tell with these types of shows if they will last or not. The lead actress plays the predictable role fairly well, so this could become a hit if they were to play up the mob side of the story rather than the dime-a-dozen tough-gal doctor stories…. but I’m going to hold my breath.

REVOLUTION – NBC

Initial Thoughts: Please don’t let this be another Terra Nova.

Thoughts Post Episode: I wanted this to be good. I really did. And the first five minutes were probably the best five minutes of the entire show… And that isn’t saying much, considering the first informative lines where “fill the bathtub with water!” followed by Juliet from Lost looking confused and saying to her husband “it’s happening, isn’t it?!” — If you know what’s about to happen, then you don’t question it in the few seconds of precious time you have before the global blackout occurs by being an absolute idiot. Then the actual story begins fifteen years into the future and it’s all Lord of the Rings up in the rural Chicago area. The story revolved around a young ~~hobbit~~ teenager has to take the ~~one ring~~ the USB stick to ~~Mordor~~ Chicago, while avoiding the evil ~~orcs~~ Militia. Other elements include the token Level 12 Elf archer, a fat Dwarven comedic relief, a super long sword fight, and a handful of mysterious moments to attempt to lure me in for the season. This isn’t as bad as Terra Nova- but it’s no Lost either, which I feel it’s trying to mimic with the whole mysterious group/technology/JJ Abrams executive producer thing. I think this will take a few episodes in order to determine if it’s actually good or not.

NEXT WEEK: Partners, Vegas, The Mindy Project, Ben and Kate, and already hailed as the worst show on TV: Animal Practice. I don’t know how it will top Stars Earn Stripes, but I’ll let you know!