Helix (SYFY)-
A team of scientists from the Centers for Disease Control and Protection are called to a research facility in the Arctic to investigate a potential disease outbreak. The disease turns out to be much worse than they could have imagined, creating carriers (called vectors) that try to spread the disease by any means necessary. To be clear, this new horror show is not another zombie show—vectors are intelligent and clever and super strong and they do not transfer disease via biting. There’s also the excitement of a new show by Battlestar Galactica developer Ronald D. Moore. The show garnered huge numbers for Syfy and likely isn’t going anywhere. Helix has already set up a lot of excitement and intrigue and I’m excited to see where it goes.
Verdict: If horror is your thing, check this out.
Bitten (SYFY)-
Welcome back to TV, Laura Vandervoot. (I mostly think of her as Super Girl on Smallville, though most people probably know her best from the short-lived V.) Vandervoot plays Elena, a woman with a secret: she’s a werewolf. (The only female werewolf in existence, though this is not addressed until episode 2.) She moved away from her pack in an attempt to live her own life, only to be summoned back to stop an unknown wolf from exposing them. The pilot was weak (largely because her romantic issues—evil stepmother-to-be?—are so run-of-the-mill compared to werewolf ones), but I trust Syfy enough to try a few episodes before judging (and episode 2 was a lot more promising, which gives me hope). Vandervoot also has such a unique, exotic look that believing she is a werewolf is no stretch.
Verdict: Remains TBD.
The Spoils of Babylon (IFC)–
A spoof of the once-popular mini-series event genre (which is sort of in the midst of a reemergence) Spoils of Babylon on IFC brings to the small screen a bunch of big names Tobey Maguire, Kristen Wiig, Tim Robbins, Jessica Alba, Val Kilmer, Michael Sheen, Will Ferrell, and the possibly forgotten Haley Joel Osment. The only show I have tried on IFC is Portlandia, which I was not drawn in by, so I have little reference for the network overall. Spoils tells the story of the Morehouses (the father Jonas, his daughter Cynthia, and his adopted son Devon) as they strike it rich. Cynthia and Devon fall in love and fight their attraction (Devon more than Cynthia). Ten minutes in and I was ready to shut it off. I would have expected something funnier from Funny or Die.
Verdict: Pass.
True Detective (HBO)-
Like with American Horror Story, HBO’s new anthology series will follow a different location, characters, and crime each season. This season, former partners, Detectives Martin Hale and Rust Cohle are interviewed regarding a gruesome ritualistic killing case they worked seventeen years earlier because the killer, who was supposedly caught, seems to have struck again. True Detective is slow and contemplative (no background music adds to the tense atmosphere) and everyone talks in a sort of overly-calm monotone. The show is highly stylized, with a pseudo-mockumentary style in the form of the interviews. It was a little too slow for me and, like with The Assets, I found my attention wandering through most of the episode. I am a little tired of murder mystery shows and was not drawn in.
Verdict: If you enjoyed The Killing, this might be the show for you. Otherwise, forget about it.
Calling It Quits:
Finally, as the number of shows I watch piles up, I have to decide what shows to give up. This week, I have officially dropped two shows from my watch list:
- – The Michael J. Fox Show (I’m sorry to quit on Fox, but the show is missing something and isn’t memorable) [FEB 6. UPDATE: The Michael J. Fox Show has been pulled off the schedule.)
- – Community (after a disappointing return and a couple uneven seasons, the disappointments just aren’t worth the occasional good episode)
What about you TV watchers? What shows are you loving? Hating? Giving up on? Come back next week for more premiere reviews.
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