Post Mortem – Blindspot

On September 25, 2015, Blindspot premiered on NBC with a naked Jaimie Alexander, fresh from the first Thor film, bursting out of a bag in Times Square.  The show focused on Alexander, a heavily tattooed amnesiac who joins an FBI task force formed to learn her identity and to decipher the clues hidden in her tattoos.  Over the next 5 seasons, she learned who she was, got her memory back, worked with and against the task force, and, ultimately, rejected her past self to become Jane Doe.

The final season aired last summer and, as I recall, brought things to a satisfying conclusion.  I ran through the final two seasons last year during the lockdown, so that may have helped my enjoyment of it rather than watching week to week.  It’ll be interesting to see some of the cast does next, especially since more than one of them have ties to the MCU.

2020: The Year In Television

Last year was a bit disjointed when it comes to television shows.  The corona virus shut down most productions along with the rest of the world back in March, leaving the 2019-2020 season to end abruptly and causing the 2020-2021 season to roll out late, if at all.  On the other hand, it also caused me to be home full time since March, giving me plenty of time to catch up on streaming shows I may have missed or that were newly released.  Since we cover the network and cable shows that I watch elsewhere, let’s take a look at the 23 seasons of shows I streamed on various platforms this year.

Away Season 1 (Netflix)
Hillary Swank plays an astronaut who leaves her family behind on Earth to captain the first manned mission to Mars.

Blindspot Seasons 4 & 5 (Hulu)
I had fallen a bit behind on this NBC show that wrapped up last summer so I combined what episodes I still had on the DVR with Hulu to burn through the final two seasons.

Bosch Season 1 (Amazon Prime)
Based on the book series by Michael Connelly, I watched the first of six seasons last fall.

Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina Part 3 (Netflix)
The latest installment of the darker interpretation of Archie Comics character is probably the only show I had watched pre-pandemic.

DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow Season 5 (Netflix)
I had only watched the first episode of the season pre-pandemic, which was the Crisis On Infinite Earths crossover, as it aired, so I combined what was on my DVR with Netflix to burn through the season quickly.

Dead To Me Seasons 1 & 2 (Netflix)
Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini get entwined in each other’s lives after killing each other’s husbands.

The Flash Season 6 (Netflix)
Like most of the DC shows, I hit pause after the Crisis crossover and before the season ended early, using my DVR and Netflix to catch up.

The Flight Attendant Season 1 (HBO Max)
Kaley Cuoco returns as a flight attendant with drinking issues who finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation.

Lost In Space Season 1 (Netflix)
The remake of the 60s classic came out a few years back, but I never got to it until my December vacation.

Never Have I Ever Season 1 (Netflix)
A comedy about a high school aged Indian girl fighting against her traditional family while wanting to be a “normal” teen.

Ozark Season 3 (Netflix)
The latest installment of the money laundering family in Missouri and their dealings with the Mexican drug cartels. Continue reading →

Midseason Review – Fridays

old-tv-set1With the advent of winter premieres, the start of the premium cable network shows, and with February sweeps around the corner, it’s time to revisit my thoughts from the beginning of the season and look ahead at what’s to come for Sunday nights.

7:00

Blindspot – The show returns for a shocking fourth season.

I have yet to watch any of this season, so I can’t really comment on it.

8:00

Hawaii Five-0 – The ninth season of the show corresponds with the 50th anniversary of the original.

After 9 years, I’m not sure there’s anything new I can say about the show at this point.

9:00

Blue Bloods – A change in family dynamics looks to shake things up for the first family of the NYPD as they return for their ninth season.

The changes between Jamie and Eddie, both in the work place and in their personal lives, has given a little new breath to the show.  Not much, but a little.

Now, for new entries that will be hitting the screen this winter:

The Blacklist – James Spader and Megan Boone return for the sixth season.

2018 New Fall Season – Fridays

old-tv-set1Our final look at the new fall season gives us Friday’s amazing slate of shows.

7:00

Blindspot – The show returns for a shocking fourth season.

8:00

Hawaii Five-0 – The ninth season of the show corresponds with the 50th anniversary of the original.

9:00

Blue Bloods – A change in family dynamics looks to shake things up for the first family of the NYPD as they return for their ninth season.

NBC Upfronts

NBC announced their new fall schedule yesterday and very few changes are afoot, with only 3 new shows making the cut. The week gets off to a familiar start with The Voice returning for another round on Mondays, followed by Manifest, a new drama about a missing plane that returns 5 years in the future. Tuesday leads off with more of The Voice, followed by This Is Us and New Amsterdam, a new medical drama that stars some old favorites.

Wednesday is turned over to Dick Wolf, with his 3 Chicago series running back to back to back.  Comedy still reigns supreme on Thursday, with Superstore, The Good Place, and Will & Grace joined by I Feel Bad, from executive producer Amy Poehler.  Law & Order: SVU moves to Thursday for its 20th season.  Blindspot remains on Fridays, where it will continue to lead off the night.

The Blacklist returns at mid-season, debuting on Fridays after Blindspot.  Also returning are A.P. Bio, Good Girls, and, after a pick-up from Fox, Brooklyn Nine-Nine.  Four new shows also wait for spots on the air, including Abby’s, starring Natalie Morales as a woman who runs a bar in her backyard, The Enemy Within, a spy thriller starring Jennifer Carpenter, The Inbetween, which sounds fairly ludicrous, and The Village, about the inhabitants of a Brooklyn building.  Similar to last year, the fate of Timeless is still up in the air.

Cancelled shows include The Brave, The Carmichael Show, and Great News.

Midseason Review – Fridays

old-tv-set1We finish up our look back at the fall season with Friday’s amazing slate of shows.

7:00

Blindspot – A 2 year time jump gives the third year show a soft reboot as it moves to the deadzone of Friday nights.

I don’t know how much of a future this show has.

Once Upon A Time – For some unknown reason, the show returns for its 7th season minus 6 cast members.

I still don’t understand the rationale for continuing the show.

8:00

Hawaii Five-0 – An eighth season of the show that doesn’t really impress, but doesn’t really disappoint, loses Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park from the main cast.

More of the same.

Jane The Virgin – The telenovela returns for its fourth season with a surprising move to Friday nights.

The quality is still there.

The Exorcist – FOX’s reboot of the movie franchise was surprisingly entertaining in its first season.  We shall see if they can keep it up for another year.

I didn’t make it back for this season.

Marvel’s Inhumans – With the rights to the X-Men tied up by FOX, Marvel has tried to make the Inhumans their new go-to team, both in the comics and now on television.  Early reviews show that this will not be a winning formula.

I made it through one painful episode.

9:00

Blue Bloods – The first family of the NYPD returns for an eighth season.

More of the same again.

2017 New Fall Season – Fridays

old-tv-set1Our final look at the new fall season gives us Friday’s amazing slate of shows.

7:00

Blindspot – A 2 year time jump gives the third year show a soft reboot as it moves to the deadzone of Friday nights.

Once Upon A Time – For some unknown reason, the show returns for its 7th season minus 6 cast members.

8:00

Hawaii Five-0 – An eighth season of the show that doesn’t really impress, but doesn’t really disappoint, loses Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park from the main cast.

Jane The Virgin – The telenovela returns for its fourth season with a surprising move to Friday nights.

The Exorcist – FOX’s reboot of the movie franchise was surprisingly entertaining in its first season.  We shall see if they can keep it up for another year.

Marvel’s Inhumans – With the rights to the X-Men tied up by FOX, Marvel has tried to make the Inhumans their new go-to team, both in the comics and now on television.  Early reviews show that this will not be a winning formula.

9:00

Blue Bloods – The first family of the NYPD returns for an eighth season.

NBC Upfronts

NBC announced their new fall schedule yesterday and changes are afoot.  The week gets off to a familiar start with The Voice returning for another round on Mondays, followed by The Brave, a new drama starring Anne Heche which is sure to do well.  Tuesday has an attempt at a comedy hour, with Superstore and The Good Place sandwiched in-between The Voice and Chicago Fire.  Wednesday has 3 returning dramas, starting with The Blacklist.

The network will try to revitalize the Must See TV brand on Thursday, with the revamped Will & Grace leading off the night and this year’s breakout hit This Is Us, before a dramatized version of the Menendez brothers murders.  Blindspot moves to Fridays, where it will lead off the night.

Midseason will bring comedies A.P. Bio, starring Patton Oswalt, and Champions, from executive producer Mindy Kaling.  On the drama side, there is Good Girls, about suburban moms who decide to start robbing banks, Reverie, starring Sarah Shahi as a hostage negotiator, and Rise, from the people behind ParenthoodTimeless, which was cancelled last week and then not cancelled, will also return at some point.

Cancelled shows include The Blacklist: Redemption, Chicago Justice, Emerald City, Powerless, Trial & Error, Grimm, and The Celebrity Apprentice.

Midseason Review – Wednesdays

old-tv-set1We have reached the half way point of our look back at the offerings for the new fall season.  Here’s what Wednesdays had on tap for the fall.

7:00

Arrow – Season 5 finds Oliver Queen trying to save the city, both as the Arrow and as mayor.  This also promises to be the last season of flashbacks, making me look forward to season 6.

Honestly, Arrow’s new team isn’t really clicking with me.  Hopefully the spring switches back to the old configuration.

Lethal Weapon – FOX reboots the movie series with Damon Wayans.  Might be worth a look, at least.

I made it through a couple of episodes before bailing. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t really anything special.

8:00

Modern Family – The comedy, entering its eighth season, is really starting to show its age.  It’s still fun, but the plots are starting to get a little out there.

A strong first half of the season for the long time favorite.

Criminal Minds – The show returns for its twelfth season minus original stars Shemar Moore, who left last spring, and Thomas Gibson, who was fired for attacking a writer in the early going of this season.  To fill the void, Aisha Tyler has been bumped up to a regular cast member and Paget Brewster returns as Emily Prentiss.

A few new faces have joined the BAU and they continue to solve crimes.

Frequency – The CW reboots the movie, replacing Dennis Quaid with the fetching Peyton List.

The first season wraps up tonight, as father and daughter fight crime together, separated by time.

8:30

Black-ish – After a strong second season, the show returns looking to improve yet again.

This might be my favorite comedy currently airing.

9:00

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