Tag / A To Z

by jim

Post Mortem – A To Z

atozWay back on Halloween, NBC announced that A to Z, their new sitcom starring Cristin Milioti and Ben Feldman, would finish out its 13 episode run and then come to an end.  Despite positive reviews, the last episode to air prior to the announcement garnered an anemic 0.7 rating.

After her charming turn as the titular mother on the final season of How I Met Your Mother, I was looking forward to spending more time with Milioti’s work.  Sadly, this show, while not really bad, wasn’t particularly good either.  I hope to see Milioti back on my television again at some point, in something more worthy of her charm and talent.

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.

Continue reading →

by admin

2014 New Fall Season – Thursdays

old-tv-set1Thursday night is traditionally the busiest night of the week. Here’s 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.

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

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.

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.

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.

9:00

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

by admin

NBC Upfronts

the_blacklist_-_keyartThanks to Sunday Night Football and the Winter Olympics, NBC is finishing this season as the number 1 network in the coveted 18-49 demographic.  Without the Olympics, things will not be as easy in the fall, so the network did some major upgrades, dropping poor performers like Community and Revolution and bringing in new shows starring the likes of Katherine Heigl, Debra Messing, and Kate Walsh.

The Blacklist, the one breakout scripted hit from last fall for NBC, returns to Mondays for the fall, before moving to Thursdays in the February after getting the post-Super Bowl slot.  It will be replaced by State of Affairs, Heigl’s return to television as a CIA analyst who advises the president.  Casey Wilson and Ken Marino team up for the new comedy Marry Me, slated for Tuesdays.

NBC looks to have abandoned the Must See TV concept on Thursday, replacing the first hour of comedy with a new season of The Biggest Loser.  Two new comedies, Bad Judge, starring Kate Walsh, and A to Z, featuring the charming Cristin Milioti, follow it, at least until The Blacklist moves in the spring.  Parenthood will return for an abbreviated 13 episode final season.  Fridays see a new adaptation of DC’s Constantine, one that will hopefully make everyone forget about the Keanu Reeves film.

Not on the schedule yet are the final season of Parks and Recreation and a third season of Hannibal, plus new shows including Mr. Robinson, starring Craig Robinson as a musician forced to work as a substitute teacher, One Big Happy, a comedy starring Elisha Cuthbert as a gay woman who decides to have a baby with her best friend, right before he falls for a new woman, Emerald City, a miniseries re-imagining characters from The Wizard of Oz, and, of course, the previously announced Heroes Reborn.

There doesn’t appear to be much that I will be watching on NBC in the fall, and even less once Parenthood comes to an end.  I may end up trying some of the new shows, and hopefully they will be worth the effort.