I’ve got another ten premieres to review, five comedies and five dramas and there are some real gems in here, so first the comedies.
Outsourced is the new NBC comedy about an American who goes to manage a call center in India. The previews for this made me want to die so I expected this to be awful. It did not meet my expectations as it was actually pretty decent. It wasn’t a great show but it has potential to be pretty funny as long as they steer clear of that guy singing Don’t you wish your girlfriend, that was just awful. But overall this one has potential.
$h*! My Dad Says is the new sitcom based on the twitter account of the same name and it stars William Shatner, Will Sasso, and Nicole Sullivan. I am a Shatner-o-holic so I tend to like anything he is in. So I might be biased but it wasn’t a bad show. It does have a laugh track so be warned about that, and there were some weird moments but there were some funny moments too. I really think only Shatnoholics like me should watch this.
On the same night as Modern Family comes the new ABC comedy Better With You, about three couples, the parents and their two daughters each in their own relationships. It is a laugh track comedy and it definitely has those elements to it. As such it’s not very good and probably the worst of the five comedies I watched this week. It does have Kurt Fuller in it who has been in some good stuff but I would probably skip this one for better shows.
Raising Hope is one of two new comedies on FOX. It’s about a low income family that comes into raising a 6 month old girl through very strange circumstances. This show had lots and lots of strange circumstance type moments through out the episode which were one half funny and one half disturbing. I’m not quite sure what I think about the show as a whole and will probably have to see how it pans out, but at the moment it wins the award for being the weirdest new show on television. Also it has Cloris Leachman, and she does take her top off.
Finally we have the other comedy on FOX Running Wilde. It is created by Will Arnett and Mitch Hurwitz who you should know as the creator of Arrested Development. It stars Arnett as a rich tycoon type who is in love with Keri Russell who wants to raise her daughter in the jungle. It also has David Cross as a recurring guest star and will probably have other AD alums. The first episode wasn’t to the caliber of Arrested Development but it was still a funny episode and a show everyone should watch especially if they want Hurwitz to keep a job.
Now for the Dramas. There were some really good shows in the Drama section this time around.
Hawaii Five-O is a remake of the original television series and it’s really quite good. It’s on CBS and has some really good stars including Daniel Dae Kim from Lost and Grace Park from Battlestar Galactica. Like the original it’s about a group of cops who work in Hawaii. It was a very fun first episode which set up the characters well and it should hold up with the level of actors they have. I have never seen the original series but I would imagine fans of the old will like the new.
Terriers is a new show on FX about two partners who are unlicensed private investigators in a California town. It’s created by Ted Griffin who was a screen writer on Matchstick Men and Ocean’s Eleven. I don’t recognize any of the actors from anything else but from what I could tell they all did an excellent job. If you’re already a fan of FX’s programming you should give this one a shot too.
My Generation is a mockumentary television show on ABC which has a really interesting premise. It is much like the 7-Up movies where it follows a group of high school students who were filmed for a documentary during their senior year of high school back in 2000 and now ten years later are being filmed again. I really liked the first episode and the concept is one which has a lot of potential. The trouble I do see however is if this show does well how it can produce more characters later in the series. Still, it’s a very interesting concept and one that I’m excited to see where it goes.
Blue Bloods is a Cop Drama on CBS and the first episode was very very good. I’d say it was so far in the top three of my favorite premiers so far. It’s about a family of police officers and people involved in the legal system, the father is played by Tom Selleck and Donnie Wahlberg plays one of the sons. It is created by Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess both who worked as producers and writers on The Sopranos. I recommend this show to everyone so go find the first episode and watch it.
Finally we have Boardwalk Empire which is on HBO and is also created by a former writer on The Sopranos that of Terence Winter. This is a show about a group of alcohol runners in Atlantic City at the time of Prohibition and it’s lead star is Steve Buscemi. The first episode was very good and comes very highly recommended. It is also produced by Martin Scorsese and the first episode was even directed by Scorsese himself. The first episode gained such high ratings that it’s already been renewed for a second season so go out and start watching this show.
Some very good television out there right now and I still have another edition coming up later on this week.