TV Watchers around the world can let out a collective sigh of relief: we made it! The winter hiatus is drawing to a close, our favorite shows are returning, and new shows are premiering. This year, as networks experiment with short seasons and limited series to compete with cable networks and nab stars unwilling to commit to more time-consuming shows, there is a larger than usual crop of premieres. But before we look at what’s new, let’s dig in to the best and worst of our returning shows:
Best Hiatus Returns-
The Crazy Ones–
As mentioned before, I mostly watch out of love for the cast. The show itself is middling-ly funny and Sarah Michelle Gellar deserves better than playing whiny, uptight daughter to Robin Williams’s zany dad. That being said, this was great. Why was this episode different from all other Crazy Ones episodes? It let SMG’s character Sydney be funny in her own right rather than neurotic and serious.
Big Bang Theory–
Taking a page from How I Met Your Mother’s more emotional playbook, this was easily the series’ most touching episode. When Penny’s acting job doesn’t pan out the way she expects, she makes a drunken leap that might irreparably damage her relationship with Leonard. The couple’s issues felt very raw and real. What follows is an awkward and touching heart to heart between Leonard and Sheldon (who spent the entire episode trying to quantify “humor”). Some people complain when comedies get serious and emotional, but this complexity is the way I like my comedies.
Most Disappointing Return-
Community–
Community is always hit or miss for me (love the Troy and Abed show, never cared for Pierce). I find the early episodes funnier than the later ones and hoped Dan Harmon’s return would pick things up. Unfortunately, I did not laugh once. It mostly felt like awkward setup where Jeff’s relationship with the gang would no longer be appropriate but, being a TV show, would continue. Was it trying to go darker? If so, it never quite hit the right tone.
New Series Premiere Rundown-
One of my main TV watching rules is:
“Never judge a show by its pilot.”
Pilots are like book covers: rarely a good indication of what’s to come. Sometimes you know you’re going to hate something (it’s not your genre, you can’t stand that actor/writer/director…), but generally, a well-informed decision requires a second—and occasionally third—episode.
In comedies, the pilot has a lot to set up and jokes get funnier as the show builds off itself. In genre shows, the pilots tend to be impressive and flashy but often can’t carry the high production values and solid writing through (I talk more about this here). Procedurals are a little easier because the formula remains mostly the same week to week but even those are not guaranteed with the pilot. That being said, there is a lot of TV and only so much time, so I’m here to help you figure out whether or not a show is worth tuning in to:
Intelligence (CBS)-
Secret Service agent Riley Neal (Meghan Ory) is pulled off presidential detail to play bodyguard (read: babysitter) to the US’s most important asset: Gabriel Vaughn (Josh Holloway), an agent with a microchip in his brain connecting him to the world wide web. Naturally, Neal is not interested and Vaugh is reckless and damaged. Plot-wise, nothing is revolutionary, but it has cool visual effects (skeptical about “cybering” but I’ll go with it) and enjoyable cast chemistry. I am glad to see Meghan Ory back on TV (I miss Red on Once Upon a Time). I enjoy the banter between Neal and Vaughn, who become believable, opposites-attract partners (nothing romantic for now) and the show has set up some interesting possibilities. Vaughn will likely have, and develop, more abilities due to his microchip and I’m curious to see these—not to mention possible side effects (think Chuck‘s Intersect).
Verdict: Check it out.
The Assets (ABC)-
The CIA has a traitor, leading to an alarming of deaths of agents and compromised missions. The show chronicles the CIA’s attempts to identify the traitor (who viewers know is Aldrich Aimes). It doesn’t help that I rarely enjoy period pieces. 1985 may not be that long ago, but it isn’t current either. This feels more like a movie than the intended mini-series. The fact that this is inspired by a true story amps up the excitement, though this was not advertised well. (The series is based on the book Circle of Treason: A CIA Account of Traitor Aldrich Ames and the Men He Betrayed by retired CIA officers Sandra Grimes and Jeanne Vertefeuille.) I spent more time wondering when the episode would end than on the edge of my seat. Real spy-work often takes place at a desk, looking at patterns and paperwork. This does not make for nail-biting viewing.
Verdict: Skip. [As of January 10: After 2 episodes, ABC has pulled The Assets from its schedule. Don’t bother checking it out if the rest is posted online somewhere.]
Killer Women (ABC)-
Molly Parker is a member of the male-dominated Texas Rangers, and due to her “femaleness” she is under-appreciated and her ideas are prematurely dismissed. Obviously, she kicks butt. Tricia Helfer’s Six was not my favorite character in Battlestar Galactica and I didn’t come into the show with any expectations. I find the “woman trying to prove she’s as good as the boys” plotline tiresome. There was a time and place for this, but at some point we need to move on to a world where women don’t have to prove themselves. Maybe if we show women simply being equal to men, kids will grow up seeing this as an accepted fact and start to view it as an accepted fact as well. We don’t have to make a big show of it. Overall, the episode was fine. Nothing special, nothing terrible.
Verdict: Probably a pass.
Chicago PD (NBC)-
Sgt. Hank Voight leads an Intelligence Unit shortly after his release from jail (his arrest is chronicled in parent show Chicago Fire). In his unit is Det. Antonio Dawson, Gabriela Dawson’s brother (from CF). Chicago PD lacks the eye candy of CF, but it has the action. And it has Sophia Bush as a detective, so that’s weird and fascinating. We got surprise cameos from CF cast members. (It is confusing that it aired after CF‘s newest episode, where we see Dawson is no longer a medic.) It will be interesting to see how often we get these crossovers, or better yet, larger ones like on Angel and Buffy. The show aims for a grittier tone than CF (when your lead character is not a young, better-off-shirtless actor, you tend to go less soapy), and we’ll see how that works out. We don’t know much about the characters yet but there are hints of intrigue and I’m curious to see where it will go.
Verdict: Tentative, just do it.
What do you think TV watchers? What blew you away and what was better left off the air? And don’t forget to come back next week for my recommendations on Enlisted (FOX), Bitten (Syfy), Helix (Syfy), and more.
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