For every fall TV show that gets media attention (Bionic Woman, Private Practice, Gossip Girl) there is a hidden gem worth watching (Woman's Murder Club)
Monday
Try it: NBC’s Chuck, about a computer geek who accidentally becomes a secret agent, is promising. Worth checking out, but the writers’ main concern will be to remain consistent. The pilot wasn’t. The CW is catching some flak for Aliens in America, a sitcom about a Pakistani Muslim exchange student who comes to live with an average family in a small town in Wisconsin. Is it racist? The real question is Is it funny? Journeyman is a drama from NBC about a San Francisco newspaper reporter and husband/father travels through time, changing people's lives. Some slow buzz on this show - might be worth checking out.
Skip it: The Big Bang Theory (CBS) about two brainy best friends who know a lot about quantum physics but nothing about real life. Love star Johnny Galecki, but this show has minimal buzz. Never a good sign. Fox’s K-Ville is a police drama set in post-Katrina New Orleans. Interesting leads in Cole Houser and Anthony Anderson, but minimal buzz and it sounds depressing. Christina Applegate stars in ABC’s Samantha Who? as a woman with amnesia who realizes that she was a jerk in her “previous life.” The pilot was watchable but dull.
Tuesday
Try it: Carpoolers (ABC), follows the trials and tribulations of guys who carpool together. Minimal buzz, but the pilot was hysterical (if uneven) – who knew Jerry O’Connell could be so funny? The CW’s Reaper, about a teen who discovers that his parents sold his soul to the devil, is a hot property, but the pilot was a little slow. See for yourself.
Skip It: TheCavemen (ABC) pilot was unwatchable and will surely be the first show cancelled. CBS’s drama Cane, starring Jimmy Smits as the head of a large Cuban-American family, is getting “pseudo-buzz.” Imagine an executive somewhere saying “Oh no! This show sucks but we have to promote Jimmy Smits!” and you get the picture.
Wednesday
Try it: ABC 's Pushing Daisies, a whimsical dramedy about a man who finds he can resurrect the dead. But is it too whimsical? The CW loves Gossip Girl, a teen soap about privileged prep schoolers, and rightly so. The pilot was guiltily entertaining. ABC’s Dirty Sexy Money, starring Peter Krause as a lawyer to a Kennedy-esque family has promise. Especially since it’s from creator Greg Berlanti (Brothers & Sisters, Everwood.)
Skip it: Fox’s Back To You starring Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton has tons of media exposure, but those who have seen the pilot say it’s light on the laughs. CBS’s Kid Nation, a Lord of the Flies-type reality show, is getting major buzz – for the child endangerment lawsuits. Grey’s Anatomy spin off Private Practice (ABC) grossed abysmal ratings when it aired as part of a Grey’s two-parter. Word is that the re-cast pilot is just as awful. There is a ton of buzz on NBC’s Bionic Woman, an update of the 1970s TV show, but the pilot's pacing was all over the place, and the characters underwritten. Speaking of bad pilots, skip NBC’s Life, about a detective given a second chance to return to the police force after spending years in prison for a crime he didn't commit. Too effected.
Thursday
Try it, then Skip it: The pilot for ABC’s Big Shots, starring Dylan McDermott, Michael Vartan, Christopher Titus and Joshua Molina, was watchable, but not appointment television.
Friday
Try it: There is no buzz whatsoever for ABC’s Women’s Murder Club starring Angie Harmon, as a San Francisco detective who cuts through the red tape by banding together with her female friends. As an added insult, the show was dumped onto Friday nights. A shame, since the pilot was fast paced and fun.
Skip it: Expect CBS’s Moonlight to stay alive longer than it should, since it’s from producer Joel Silver. But yet another vampire detective? No thanks.
Sunday
Try it: The original pilot for the CW’s Life is Wild was only so-so, but with recasts and reshoots, could be perfect for family viewing Sundays. Think 7th Heaven or Everwood set in South Africa. Cheesy and watchable.
Skip it: CBS’s Viva Laughlin is a mystery drama with music about eternal optimist and freewheeling businessman ..oh, forget it. This show doesn’t have a chance.
Visit MyBuddyTV for more dissection of the new fall shows.
