Last week I expressed disappointment with the Fall’s new shows as—-in my opinion—-really none of the best and brightest have fully lived up their potential. Well this week I have no such complaints about the midseason crop as there’s not an outright stinker in the bunch of the ones I will talk about today. Consider it the triumph of the one-word TV show, and all this before promising looking new titles like “Missing” and the fascinating “Awake” have even premiered.
5. The Firm: No real point wasting a lot of space on this one as it’s already been cancelled but it’s the only one besides Alcatraz I’ve seen more than one episode of, so I might as well get a quick review out of it and give it a…C+ grade.
4. Smash: Only seen one episode of this show so far and first eps can be misleading. Still, I liked what I saw as this seems more original than I was expecting as the first drama I know of that shows what it takes to get a Broadway musical produced. My big complaint is that Katherine McPhee is all wrong for the role of a Marilyn musical and therefore the wrong lead actress for this TV show (her competitor for the part, Megan Hilty, is so obviously superior) so for now it lowers the show’s grade to a…B grade with obvious potential for improvement.
3. Alcatraz: The only show besides the already-cancelled The Firm I’ve seen multiple episodes of. I’ve seen the first five so far and they’ve left me decidedly mixed on this one. I’m not particularly bowled over by its high-concept (prisoners from Alcatraz disappear then and wind up in the present day now as master criminals) because it’s essentially an excuse to make a standard cop show seem fresh, and I think this is basically a lazy version of Fringe. Still, I am curious about the mystery at the center of why the convicts are disappearing which means the show is at least compelling so far, and every episode is slightly better than the last. Grade so far….B
2. The River: The only other person I know who caught the premiere episode was scared to death from it. I have to admit that I’m digging this show so far for its wildly original mix of Amazon adventure serial and scare-your-pants-off ghost story. I’m especially intrigued that every ghost on the show seems to have its own story and they all seem like good ones, and this show’s nifty camera work (the creepy baby dolls opening their eyes right over someone’s shoulder, the “found footage” of an explorer holding fire in his hands) really adds to the mystery. The only knock on it so far are lame characters and dialogue. Grade so far…B+
1. Touch: I’ve only seen the pilot episode but I really, really enjoyed this truly original show starring Keifer Sutherland who knows a little something about original shows after his time on 24. It felt instantly refreshing to watch an inventive show that didn’t have to hide behind being a police procedural (Grimm, Person of Interest, Alcatraz, and even Awake). Grade so far…A-