Now that I finally got a chance to watch the premiere of The Event (I recorded it last week with Chuck b/c of work, but wanted to originally wait to see the 2nd week ratings, but had to watch since I’m off today and can watch it) and decided against Undercovers (I was interested in it initially, I mean, come on, it is JJ Abrams we’re talking about, but as the premiere got closer and the ads ran, it looked less and less interesting, and the ratings for it showed that others thought so too). I caught the pilot of No Ordinary Family, which doesn’t premiere until Tues, Sept. 28 at 8/7c when ABC allowed 5,000 people to stream it online. I caught Nikita, watched the first two eps actually, but, didn’t watch the third one. I watched the pilot for Hawaii Five-O last week online at cbs.com, but ended up not watching CBS’s new Thursday comedy Shit My Dad Says (I still refuse to use the symbols) and new Friday series Blue Bloods like originally planned, so I can’t say anything about those.
So, of the new series I caught, how do they stack up?
Well, obviously, because I no longer have a DVR, I find it a little difficult to just check out a new series, run the risk of actually liking it, and having to fit it into my schedule, which, though I work part-time, it’s still annoying. So several series I chose to not watch because they didn’t hold enough of my interest to begin with, they were more of a curious show, so that’s why I didn’t watch the new William Shatner (that and, I already had two shows I watch on Thurs. at 8, Vampire Diaries on the CW and FOX’s Bones), and despite wanting to check out Tom Selleck’s new series, I opted out to not have to record anything to DVD (let the damn thing rest) and watched Haven on Syfy instead. But, several shows I still HAD to watch, so let’s start with Monday:
Hawaii Five-O on Mondays, 10/9c PM on CBS, is a remake of the classic series. There were several key factors in my decision to continue as plan to watch the series (the next day online). One: Alex O’Loughlin. The guy can’t seem to catch a break. Moonlight, I still think, would’ve rebounded if CBS stuck with it and carried it into the vampire craze, but it got canned, as did his next series, also on CBS, the medical drama from last season, Three Rivers. Two: Len Wiseman directed (well, the pilot at least), and he also directed the first two movies of the Underworld franchise. Three: James Marsters is at least in the pilot, and given the character he played (the bad guy), looks like there could be more appearances? (see a pattern yet, kind of vampiric background in this show, don’t you think). Four: along with Marsters and O’Loughlin, two more stars of the genre line, Daniel Dae Kim, who was in Lost, and Grace Park of Battlestar Galactica fame. Five: Yes, this is a crime drama, but it is certainly a fun one, with a fantastic cast. Will I continue to watch? Based on the pilot, yes, I plan to watch, and recommend it if for some reason you don’t watch ABC’s Castle (which I do). Oh, side note, anyone notice how William Sadler (Roswell, Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey) played Steve McGarrett’s (O’Loughlin) father, well he also played Dr. Yablonski’s (O’Loughlin) uncle on Three Rivers. Interesting? Another great casting choice, although Steve’s dad gets killed.
The Event on Mondays 9/8c PM on NBC, is, well, a very interesting drama. Despite the mass advertising for this series, I still wasn’t turned off from watching it. Maybe it’s because all the trailers made me really want to know what “the Event” actually is, and the pilot, though may be a bit hard to follow, moved fast and, well, ended with a shitload of questions. Is this the next Lost? No, most certainly not, but with Heroes gone, a strange new series is what NBC needed, and the ratings were strong with the pilot, but I’m worried that it may be lost to some people. I really hope that those that watched it weren’t turned away, because, right now, this is about as close to a Lost replacement we got. Factors for me to watch the pilot: One: Jason Ritter, sometimes, it just takes an actor or two to make me watch a series, again, he hasn’t had a lot of luck with shows, having been in two past CBS series that bit the dust (though, the drama Joan of Arcadia did manage a 2nd season, while the comedy The Class died after one, which was a shame b/c that was hilarious), I just think that though this is a show with a large cast, he stands out. Two: Large cast and lots of complexity, it’s the Lost formula, it was what NBC had with Heroes, bring in a huge cast of knowns and unknowns, make sure to start a lot of questions (“What happened to Leila?,” “Who are the prisoners?”, “What happened to the plane?,” and the main one, “What is the Event?”, that’s just the pilot, and I may have missed a few), it brings in mystery and intrigue, which I like. Three: Cast is pretty huge, along with Ritter, there is also Laura Innes (ER), Zeljko Ivanek (who has been on True Blood, 24, Heroes, Damages), Scott Patterson (Gilmore Girls, Aliens in America), and Blair Underwrood (Dirty Sexy Money serving as the President of the US, along with a decent cast of relative unknowns. Four: Action, yep it’s got that too, plus the jumps from one scene to another kind of remind me of 24, making is suspenseful. Will I keep watching? I’m on the edge of my seat.
No Ordinary Family on Tuesdays at 8/7c PM on ABC, like I said, I caught the pilot online, so I don’t need to watch the premiere, but it runs like your typical intro pilot. Since this has yet to premiere on broadcast, I don’t want to say much, but there really isn’t much to give away, since the ads cover it well. A family with some problems crash and find themselves with superpowers. Yes, it’s a family with superpowers, and the powers they get come from what they need (to overcome weaknesses, basically). The father feels less masculine, now he has super strength, the mother is busy and doesn’t have time for much, now she has super speed, the daughter is a typical teenager who basically just wanted to snoop into peoples lives, now she’s telepathic, and the son sucks at math, now he’s a math wiz. As far as what made me watch it, One: Julie Benz, who played Darla on Buffy and Angel, and was more recent on Dexter (before her character bit the dust), she’s got the fan fare behind her, as does Michael Chiklis, who was in The Shield. That’s pretty much it, other than being sci-fi/fantasy. Will I keep watching? I’ll check the next episode to see how it goes, sci-fi/fantasy shows tend to need a few extra episodes before you can get into it, but it doesn’t overly scream WATCH, just yet.
Nikita on Thursday 8/7c PM on the CW, ah, this show I already stopped watching. I never watch La Femme Nikita, but this spy chick going rogue wanting to take down a secret gov. agency, and she’s got a spy on the inside, blah blah blah. I’m sorry, sure it’s got the kick-ass action and attitude, but I just don’t really care about any of the characters enough to even watch one more episode. I don’t miss it, and it’s something I can’t overly describe as to what the main problem is. It is an oddball on the CW, I agree they kind of need more shows like that. I wanted to watch it because, One: an action show on the CW is very rare, but for the most part, the series was hyped and looked like something I could watch. Will I watch more? Eh, nope.
Now to wait to see 2nd week ratings to see if whatever shows I do watch can make it. And then in a few months, I should have some midseason shows to look forward to, one of which is the Matthew Perry comedy Mr. Sunshine on ABC, and I’m very much looking forward to it.