So the Summer TV season is in full swing, and that means it’s the dominant season of cable, who have original shows more or less all to themselves while the broadcast nets show Big Brother ripoffs like ABC’s “Glass House.” So if you don’t like reality shows (and I sure as hell don’t) but want something to watch until AMC’s Breaking Bad makes its triumphant return, let’s talk about what’s going on with a few “in the meantime…” shows.
Falling Skies: I thought the first season of this show was mediocre at best, usually having one great scene an episode surrounded by ten scenes that made me roll my eyes. This season picks up a few months after the events of last season, as Noah Wyle’s resistance leader has freed himself from the mothership he voluntarily walked onto at the end of last season. That great cliffhanger ending—-Tom? the resistance’s brain walking onto the mothership?—-is quickly resolved as he’s back on the ground in the first scene of the premiere. However, not everyone trusts him, and although the viewer is led to believe we can trust him fully, some of the other characters don’t quite yet. A better show would have teased out Tom’s return a little longer, and really made us wonder if this is the same man we knew in season 1 (you know, establishing some suspense and mystery) but Falling Skies is not a better show. It’s a show to watch in the summer, killing time until the Fall. Grade for the premiere episodes: C+
Futurama: This resilient show (which many don’t know is still on) got cancelled by Fox after four seasons back in the early 00’s and then, after becoming a cult hit on DVD, got resurrected by comedy central, who were already showing the reruns. This is now the third “new” season on Comedy Central, and, although I could watch this show forever, I can’t say it’s exploring much new ground. By now, all the characters are overly familiar and the situations provide better visuals than jokes. But Futurama is still the most beautiful cartoon show in history—-just look at some of the action sequences and planets they’ve come across, and the near destruction of Earth (and Mars) in the premiere—-and I’d rather have it on TV than off it. Grade for the premiere episodes: B
Dallas: Then, of course, TNT’s triumphant resurrection of Dallas, the ultimate case of cable bringing back a broadcast relic. Futurama only had to wait a few years, but Dallas has been off the air for nearly a quarter century. What separates this TNT sequel from all the terrible remakes over the years (Charlie’s Angels, for just one pitiful example) is that this isn’t a remake, but a continuation of the events that lovers of Dallas have come to know. I think that’s a much smarter decision, and it also helps that Larry Hagman’s ever-scheming J.R. Ewing is still such a fun character even in his 80’s. [He and his old nemesis Cliff Barnes now try to outfox each other over bowls of jello at a nursing home.] Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy) is still an idiot, and his son Christopher (Jesse Metcalf) is an annoying idiot, but with J.R. and his equally devious son Jon Robert stirring shit up, I think fans of the old show will probably enjoy the new. Grade for the first three episodes: B