Forever (2014-?)
Network:
CBS
Starring:
Ioan Gruffudd
Alana De La Garza
Lorraine Toussaint
Plot:
A 200-year-old man works in the New York City Morgue trying to find a key to unlock the curse of his immortality.
Review:
Liked this pilot. It was like a mixture of Sherlock Holmes, a cop drama, and a pinch of some supernatural. It was interesting and I’m curious to see what happens next. Happy there’s a new episode tonight.
3.5/5
Gotham (2014-?)
Network:
Fox
Starring:
Ben McKenzie
Donal Logue
Jada Pinkett Smith
Plot:
The origin story behind Commissioner James Gordon’s rise to prominence in Gotham City in the years before Batman’s arrival.
Review:
I watched this show because I love superhero shows, but I’m not a fan of prequels. I already know that Gordon isn’t going to succeed. He can’t, or Batman will never exist. It’s kind of depressing knowing that going in.
The show was fine, I liked the Gotham vibe it had. I did think they went overboard introducing so many future super villains. Every couple of minutes you were being introduced to someone’s alter ego and sometimes there was a super cheesy pun to go with it. They made sure to say riddle when Enigma was introduced. There were cats for Catwoman and of course Copperpot was called penguin. A bit too much for one episode.
Overall it was an alright pilot and I’ll probably watch a couple more episodes.
3/5
Scorpion (2014-?)
Network:
CBS
Starring:
Elyes Gabel
Katharine McPhee
Robert Patrick
Plot:
An eccentric genius forms an international network of super-geniuses to act as the last line of defense against the complicated threats of the modern world.
Review:
Is it possible for a pilot to jump the shark? If you know anything about the internet, computers, or just technology in general this show is not for you. My eyes nearly rolled out of their sockets and my husband laughed so hard there were tears in his eyes.
Setting aside the horrible story I also didn’t like the fact that the “pretty girl” was the stupid one. Well I’m sorry she’s not stupid, she’s the only one with common sense because the geniuses are too busy thinking deep thoughts. I wish the stupid one had been a dude, a single dad would have been just as good as a single mom, it also would have been kind of new. Instead the only other female on the show, so far, is an Asian chick because only Asian women can be smart. I also hate the fact that you can clearly see they’re going to try and get the lead genius to have a thing for the “pretty girl.”
I love a good show about geniuses. This was not a good show.
2/5
I just got finished going through the Entertainment Weekly Fall TV Double issue and I’m kind of embarrassed at how excited I was. It took a couple of hours but I’ve got my excel spreadsheet prepared and all my start dates listed, now I just have to sit back and watch as my DVR fills up.
There are twenty-four shows on my watch list this year, eleven are new. I ended up dropping a couple that I watched last year and a few got canceled, which explains why almost half of the shows I’m watching this season are new.
There are a couple that I’m incredibly excited about, some I’m unsure of, and at least one I’m not sure if I want to be watching anymore. I dropped New Girl because I didn’t like almost any of the episodes last season but for some reason I’m still watching Bones. Not sure what’s going on there and I might end up dropping it.
Can’t wait for my CW shows to start, especially The Flash, but I’m not sure if I’m going to like the Fox TV show Gotham. Not overly fond of prequels, I know what’s going to happen, and since they have to fail for Batman to be created I’m just not looking forward to it. I’m interested to see how they do Constantine but it’s another show I’m unsure of.
Several romantic comedies on my list this year, which is weird. I’m going to be honest and say the only reason I’m watching A to Z on NBC is because I loved the mother from How I Met Your Mother. Marry Me is getting watched because I loved Happy Endings, and Star Wars Rebels because I want to see how they’re going to ruin my childhood.
Lots to watch this year and I’m going to try and post a review of each new pilot, though to be fair it’s never good to rate a show based on its pilot.
Now I’m going to watch Haven, which was new last night, and kick off the Fall TV season.
Fringe (2008-2013)
Network:
Fox
Starring:
Anna Torv
Joshua Jackson
John Noble
Jasika Nicole
Plot:
A television drama centered around a female FBI agent who is forced to work with an institutionalized scientist in order to rationalize a brewing storm of unexplained phenomena.
Review:
Fringe was one of those shows I came too late, but once I got into it I watched every week. It took a couple of false starts, but by the time I got into the second season I loved it.
It’s been a little while since it was off the air and when I saw that Netflix had the entire series on streaming I decided to go back and experience the episodes back to back.
Binge watching really exposes a shows flaws and how much a story changes. The first few episodes of the show had a real X-Files vibe going on, which turned me off the first time I tried to watch it. If I want X-Files I’ll watch X-Files. Once you get past those episodes, though, it really gets its own feel.
In season four of Fringe there was an episode that came out of the blue. In the previous episode, The Consultant, there were some major plot points with the main bad guy David Robert Jones (basically a terrorist that wants to reboot the world). You’re thinking awesome what’s going to happen next, but the following episode, Letters of Transit, has them in the 2063 and has nothing to do with the story arc. The episode would have worked better as the season finale as a sort of this is what you have to look forward to, but I’m sure there was some sort of network bullshit that caused the episode to be aired at that time. Whatever the reason it’s episodes like that which made the show difficult for viewers to just jump into.
So much happens in the show that things that would cause a continuous ripple effect in any other show are almost forgotten three episodes down the line. Which is fun but like I said, makes it hard for random people to just jump in. Now that it’s on Netflix I hope it gets more attention and people discover the gem that it is.
4.5/5
Dynamite Review 