Tag / Backstrom

by jim

Post Mortem – Backstrom

backstromWhat do you get when you combine the creator of Bones with one of the stars of The Office on a show based on a Swedish series of books?  I mean, besides a bit of a mess.  You get Backstrom, starring Rainn Wilson as a brilliant Portland detective who is his own worst enemy.

Sadly, despite an impressive cast, which also included Dennis Haysbert, Thomas Dekker, and Sarah Chalke, the show was a mess.  I obviously have not read the source material, so I don’t know if the flaws lied there or in the implementation of the translation.  Either way, the show will not live on to see a second season.

by admin

Midseason Review – Thursdays

old-tv-set1Thursday night is traditionally the busiest night of the television week. Here’s our look back at my pre-season thoughts on what’s on the slate for this season.

7:00

Grey’s Anatomy – The medical drama enters its 11th season with a move to an earlier timeslot.  There are cast changes aplenty this year, so hopefully the show can continue its recent quality upswing.

I noticed that episodes of the show started piling up on the DVR somewhat this season.  I’m all caught up now, but with the big logjam at this timeslot, who knows what will happen when the show returns.

The Big Bang Theory – The show returns to Thursdays in late October, following the midpoint of the NFL season.

The show is much more relationship focused this year, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but there hasn’t been as much interaction between the 4 original nerds without their new-found lady friends.

Bones – The show moves back to Thursdays for its 10th season.  Beyond that, there’s not much to say about the show that hasn’t already been said.

Well, the show kicked off the season by killing off John Francis Daley’s character, so there was a bit of a shake up, but the show is pretty much the same as its always been.

8:00

Gracepoint – FOX hopes that taking a successful British mystery, Broadchurch, and remaking it for an American audience while keeping the same star, David Tennant, will make lightning hit twice.

Tweaking the ending of the show ever so slightly did not make the previous 9 1/2 episodes being exact duplicates of their British counterparts a worthwhile watch.

8:30

A to Z – The pilot didn’t exactly reach out and grab me, but star Cristin Milloti, fresh from her turn as the titular mother in the final season of How I Met Your Mother, is exceedingly charming, so I will give this a longer chance to impress.

Well, the show should be wrapping up its 13 episode run soon.  If they have Cristin Milioti’s character die and have the lead guy hook up with Cobie Smulders instead, it would give the show a proper sendoff.

9:00

Elementary – Sherlock and Watson return for a third season of helping the NYPD solve their cases.

Sherlock returned from London with a new assistant, so there has been switch up to the status quo.

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by admin

FOX Upfronts

gracepointIn a departure from years past, FOX focused only on their fall schedule at their upfront presentation and didn’t bother with the winter or spring schedules they usually roll out and quietly ignore when the time comes.  The big changes start on Sunday, with the animation block broken up to include live action series Brooklyn Nine-Nine airing between The Simpsons and Family Guy.

Sleepy Hollow returns for an extended second season, which will follow their highest profile new show, Gotham, featuring a pre-Batman Bruce Wayne and the people who will become his rogues gallery.  New Girl and The Mindy Project return to Tuesdays, following a new reality show that, in a show of restraint, will air twice a week.

Bones returns to Thursday for what is expected to be its final season, where it will be followed by Gracepoint, an American remake of Broadchurch that, like its source, will star David Tennant.  The American version, expected to be have a different ending from the original, will have a limited 10 episode run.

At some point in the spring, The Following is expected to return.  The only exciting show waiting for a timeslot seems to be Backstrom, a comic police procedural from Bones creator Hart Hanson and starring Rainn Wilson.