Fall TV 2014 Previews: Friday Nights

Friday nights, as per usual, aren't jam-packed with new shows. It is becoming less of a place where TV shows go to die (although it is still somewhat of a graveyard). Two new shows (and another airing of reality TV Utopia) are on fall Fridays: another laugh track comedy and a supernatural drama.

Cristela

 Premiere Date: October 10

Showtime: 8:30 pm

Network: ABC

Description: Cristela is a Mexican-American law student who must juggle an unpaid internship and her family.

     

To Watch or Not to Watch: Meh. This seems like basically another version of The McCarthys. Laugh track, zany family problems, etc., etc. Hitflix found Cristela the actress/producer incredibly engaging at the press conference, but the comedy of the pilot too broad and overdone.

Fall TV 2014 Previews: Thursday Nights

Thursdays are an interesting night. There's two shows about how awful the people in the legal profession are (How to Get Away With Murder and Bad Judge), a romcom (A to Z), a remake of a British police procedural (Gracepoint), and a comedy with a laugh track (The McCarthys).

How To Get Away With Murder

 Premiere Date: September 25

Showtime: 10pm

Network: ABC

Description: Shondra Rhimes has already created soapy versions of doctors and politicians and now turns to lawyers. Viola Davis is a criminal law professor who tells her students how to get away with murder. 

     

To Watch or Not to Watch: Hitflix is supremely unimpressed, while TVline thinks it's the new Scandal. I do not think I can get through this show without wearying myself out from eye-rolling. This is the downside of trying to watch a soapy version of law school after having actually gone to law school. This is about a basic criminal law class, taken by first year law students. First year law students know nothing. Honestly. And yet Viola Davis picks them to work at her firm? What? Usually firms won't touch you until the summer after your second year. Also? These lines? Outraged law student: "You got him to lie on the stand!"; Viola Davis: "I did my job." ETHICAL VIOLATIONS BATMAN. I know that's what people think lawyers do all the time (lie, cheat, be a bane on society). But that is NOT part of the job description, I swear. On the other hand, this will certainly be dramatic. And have great music.

Fall TV 2014 Previews: Wednesday Nights

Wednesday nights are looking pretty bleak. There's an attempt at the next Modern Family, a Glee with sick kids, a police procedural investigating mystery that cops can be moms, and and another police procedural, this one with a horror movie feel. One of these could be a breakout, but the trailers aren't too encouraging.  

Black-ish

 Premiere Date: September 24

Showtime: 9:30 pm

Network: ABC

Description: A sitcom about an African-American family - ABC's attempt at the next Modern Family.

     

To Watch or Not to Watch: Hitflix and TVline both like the adult cast and think that the show has a lot of promise. The trailer doesn't make me want to watch the show - I'm not into the pilot. But I agree that the parents in the show (Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross) are funny and have good chemistry. Plus, Laurence Fishburne (!!) plays the grandfather. If you like family comedies, it is certainly worth checking out. But it might take a few episodes to find itself.  

Fall TV 2014 Previews: Tuesday Nights

Tuesday has the most new shows of any day of the week. There's several new comedies, an experiment in utopia, two new crime shows (including a new NCIS) and another teen superhero. 

Selfie

 Premiere Date: September 30

Showtime: 8pm

Network: ABC

Description: A very, very loose adaption of My Fair Lady with Karen Gillan as Eliza Dooley. a woman obsessed with social media until she realizes she has no real friends. She turns to John Cho as Henry Higenbottam, who reluctantly agrees to "rebrand" Eliza.

     

To Watch or Not to Watch: The pilot is already on Hulu, so you can judge for yourself. IGN likes the two leads (Gillan and Cho), but thinks the plot is a little thin and the slang is overdone. Hitflix hates the Eliza character as well as her buzzword lingo. No one is a fan of Karen Gillan's attempt at an American accent. I'm leaning towards "to watch" because I think this is a shaky premise that, like Ugly Betty could build into a beautiful show with awesome chemistry between the leads. Plus, I have a soft spot for both Karen Gillan and John Cho.

Fall TV 2014 Previews: Monday Nights

Monday nights have one my most anticipated new shows airing (Gotham). Plus a lot of other shows of which I'm much more wary. 

Scorpion

 Premiere Date: September 22

Showtime: 9pm 
 

Network: CBS

Description: A group of 20-something genius misfits aided by one "normal" waitress, work for Homeland Security. It's basically The Big Bang Theory, except with MORE! SHOUTING! and no laugh track.

     

To Watch or Not to Watch:The "first look" provided by CBS is basically a 5-minute synopsis of the first episode. It looks eye-rollingly formulaic. Then again, it could always pick up after the pilot (although I don't expect it to). I think this show will be successful in the line of an NCIS, but I'm probably out for the first half, and then will see what it looks like after the midway point. Reviewers seem to find it goofy/absurd, but entertaining.

Fall TV 2014 Previews: Sunday Nights

The new fall TV season is almost upon us. So what's worth watching? What should be skipped?  

I've read the blogs. I've watched the trailers. I've tapped into the national zeitgeist. All so that you don't have to (you're welcome). 

Each day this week I will look ahead at what new shows are coming out this season. Tonight we tackle Fall 2014's new Sunday night shows. 

Sunday nights this fall are fairly light when it comes to new shows. There's just two: Madam Secretary and Mulaney (three shows are going to air in later seasons on Sunday - Galavant [winter], CSI: Cyber [winter] and American Crime [spring]). 

Madame Secretary

 Premiere Date: September 21

Showtime: 8pm 
 

Network: CBS

Description: Tea Leoni is a tough, no-nonsense law professor who becomes Secretary of State after the first one dies in a mysterious plane crash. Because what we really need is another political conspiracy show. Tim Daly (the handsome one from Private Practice) plays Tea Leoni's husband. Zeljko Ivanek (True Blood's Magister, Revolution, Damages) is the Machiavellian Chief of Staff. The promo hilariously calls Tea Leoni "unconventional," "unpredictable," and "unstoppable." This is hilarious because this is the same language TV ads use when describing the lead on Generic Cop Show #23. So this is basically West Wing if it was a show about a hard-boiled maverick cop, with a little of Scandal's conspiracy thrown in.

     

To Watch or Not to Watch: A cautious "to watch." Early reviews are positive, but also a bit wary. HitFlix says: "nearly everything in the set-up to "Madame Secretary" is silly, from the excruciating posturing from President Keith Carradine --"You don't think outside the box. You don't even know where the box is." -- to the Vast Government Conspiracy that may or may not be afoot. [Hint -- It is. It always is.]" But it also says: "There's a potentially good show at the heart of "Madame Secretary," or there's potentially good bone structure if nothing else." TVLine enjoyed Leoni's performance and praises the cast in general but thinks the family subplot was uninteresting in the pilot and the government cover-up could elicit an eyeroll. I think I will join HitFlix in giving Madam Secretary a few episodes to try to find itself before I commit. 

 

Review: Under the Skin (2014)

Snap Judgment: If you love watching Ryan Gosling staring at things for 2 hours (Drive, Only God Forgives), but always secretly wished Ryan Gosling was a hot lady, then this movie is for you. Scarlett Johansson is an alien who lures men into her van so they can be swallowed by black goo. It's based on the book of the same name by Michael Faber, which is a thousand times better than this movie because it actually explains why Scarlett Johansson is driving around Scotland killing strange men, gives her a personality, and doesn't feel like one man's kinky drug-fueled dream of Scarlett Johansson in a 1970s  sci fi film. I am especially peeved by the ending, which just seems completely needless. The unnecessary naked ladies and lingerie-clad Scarlett Johansson was bad enough, but having a killer alien who preys on men fall victim to a violent sexual assault and be unable to do anything is just...what are you trying to say, director? It feels skeezy.

Grade: D

Final Verdict: Boring, drawn-out, and irritating. Although I did appreciate how very alien they made Scarlett Johansson (very coldly ignoring a crying, abandoned infant and showing no emotion at a good man's death). Scarlett Johansson is an champion starer - she gives Ryan Gosling a run for his money. I await: Who Will Blink First (2018) starring Ryan Gosling and Scarlett Johansson - two actors, no emotion, ONLY STARES.  

If you like this, watch: Solaris, The Signal, Lucy, 2001: A Space Odyssey

WHO WILL BLINK FIRST?!?!

Review: That Awkward Moment (2014)

Snap Judgment: That awkward moment...when you realize a crappy movie isn't going to get better. This is the story of three man-children, lead by Zac Efron, as they fail to navigate love and life. It is truly a cautionary tale about what happens when you have poor communication skills. Also what happens when you squander appealing actors with good chemistry by putting them in a movie with horrible, juvenile writing.
 
Zac Efron and his bestie Miles Teller (The Spectacular Now) spend their days designing book covers and their nights hunting girls to bang. Look, there is nothing wrong with single adult men and women who just want casual, physical relationships. But Zac Efron and Miles Teller come across less like fun, open guys and more like they were part of the 10% of college men who think it's acceptable to have sex with a girl who is incapacitated drunk.

Review: In a World (2013)

Snap Judgment: An overlooked comedy about the voice over industry. Writer/director/actress/comedic gem Lake Bell plays a young woman who dreams of breaking into the voiceover world, like her legendary father. Her father is utterly dismissive of her dream (partly because he's generally a conceited asshole, partly because he's incredibly sexist). Lake Bell is stuck in the stultifying job of vocal coaching, trying to teach stars like Eva Langoria how to do accents  (fun tip: literally putting a cork in your mouth apparently helps you sound more Cockney! not helpful from personal experience: enthusiastically, repeatedly, and drunkenly shouting  "'ELLO GOV'NA"). Lake Bell is a dream at accents, which she bolsters by (not very) sneakily recording people with interesting accents - including stalking them through the hotel lobby where her older sister works. 

Lake Bell finally gets a break into the industry, and is in the running for the voice over of the Hunger Games/Avatar mash-up, The Amazon Games, which will resurrect the famous phrase "In a world..." Family drama, romantic entanglements, and industry shenanigans ensue. 

This is the kind of small film that I really love. It's not too serious and ponderous. It doesn't have a 15 minute close-up of a flower. It's not an allegory or a metaphor. It doesn't let the message hijack the plot. It's just a small-budget story, with a focus on characters, that is funny and sweet and inspiring and emotional and tense (who will get The Amazon Games voiceover?!?!). This is the kind of movie I like to see when I'm getting worn out by blockbuster action movies and super hero films and bigger budget comedies. This is the kind of movie that you don't hear much about when it's in theaters, but it is worth finding it on DVD.  

Grade: A-

Final Verdict: When you feel like watching a comedy with a side of tension, drama, or romance, then watch this. Bonus: it will inspire you to try to add the phrase "In a world..." to everyday events.

If you like this, watch: Celeste and Jesse Forever, (500) Days of Summer, Safety Not Guaranteed, Drinking Buddies, Ruby Sparks, Jeff, Who Lives at Home