2017 New Fall Season – Thursdays

old-tv-set1Thursday night is traditionally the busiest night of the week for my television viewing habits. Here’s what’s on the slate for this season.

7:00

Grey’s Anatomy – The medical drama enters its 14th season, which is astounding considering the number of remaining original cast members.  After the hospital blew up at the end of last season, some changes are bound to be afoot.

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

Gotham – I haven’t watched the show since the middle of season 2, so who knows if I’ll even come back to it.

7:30

The Good Place – After the shocking reveal at the end of last season, Ted Danson and Kristen Bell return to heaven.  Or hell.

Young Sheldon – Is too much Sheldon a bad thing?  CBS hopes not, as this spinoff of The Big Bang Theory goes back to Sheldon’s childhood in Texas.  Will it work?  Only time will tell.

8:00

Arrow – The team goes through another shakeup after the events of last season.

9:00

S.W.A.T. – Shemar Moore returns to CBS with this update of the 70s show (and 2003 film). Continue reading →

2017 New Fall Season – Mondays

old-tv-set1We continue our annual look at the new fall season with Monday night’s offerings, which features some returning favorites and a few new shows with some potential.

7:00

The Big Bang Theory – Once again, The Big Bang Theory moves back to Mondays until late October to accommodate the NFL.  With Sheldon’s proposal to Amy at the end of last season, this year looks to be shaking things up a bit.

Supergirl – With her boyfriend banished from Earth, Supergirl decides to focus on being a hero and push aside her “human” side.

8:00

The Gifted – FOX brings a new entry in the superhero fold, this time in the world of the X-Men.

9:00 Continue reading →

CBS Upfronts

With very few holes to fill in their lineup, CBS presents easily the least changed lineup for the fall.  With the network again airing football on Thursday nights for the first 2 months of the season, there will be much juggling going on, starting on Monday, where The Big Bang Theory returns until football ends.  It will be followed by 9JKL, a new show starring Mark Feuerstein, Linda Lavin, and Elliott Gould.  New comedy Me, Myself & I, with Bobby Moynihan about the defining moments in one man’s life over three distinct periods, is sandwiched between the returning Kevin Can Wait and Scorpion.  Once football ends, Kevin moves up to lead off the night and Superior Donuts moves in.

Tuesday stays exactly the same.  Wednesday night sees Criminal Minds move back an hour for its 13th season, with its old time slot given to Seal Team, starring David Boreanaz in a military drama that follows the professional and personal lives of the most elite unit of Navy SEALs.  Thursday, starting in November, starts with The Big Bang Theory, followed by the spin-off Young Sheldon, about, well, a young Sheldon Cooper.  The night finishes with S.W.A.T., a new drama based on the old series and film remake starring former Criminal Minds star Shemar Moore.

Friday stays exactly the same.  Sunday adds Wisdom of the Crowd, starring Jeremy Piven as a visionary tech innovator who creates a cutting-edge crowdsourcing app to solve his daughter’s murder, and revolutionizes crime solving in the process, which will in no way be the similar to last year’s APB, which bombed on FOX.

On tap for midseason, along side returning favorite Elementary, are Instinct, which stars Alan Cumming as a former CIA operative who is lured back to his old life when the NYPD needs his help to stop a serial killer, and By The Book, a comedy about a modern day man at a crossroads in his life who decides to live strictly in accordance with the Bible.

Gone and never to be seen again are The Great Indoors, 2 Broke Girls, The Odd Couple, Pure Genius, Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders, Doubt, Training Day, and Ransom.

Midseason Review – Thursdays

old-tv-set1Time for our look back at Thursday nights, which has traditionally been the busiest night of the week for my television viewing habits.

7:00

Grey’s Anatomy – The medical drama enters its 13th season, with the last 8 episodes of season 12 still sitting on the DVR waiting to be watched.  Since I don’t know how last season ended, I’ve avoided looking at what lies ahead this year.

Surprisingly still watchable here in season 13.

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

The show has focused on personal growth this year, with Sheldon and Amy moving in together and Bernadette and Howard having a baby, opening up new avenues for comedy.

DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow – The grouping of DC’s also-rans returns for its second season, with a promised appearance from the Legion of Doom.

The show is moving to Tuesdays with their revamped team lineup.

7:30

The Great Indoors – Former Community star Joel McHale returns to network TV with this comedy about the new generation gap in the workplace.

Well, I had planned on trying this, thanks to Joel McHale.  Sadly, I never got around to it.

8:00

Pitch – Strangely, I don’t usually enjoy movies or TV shows about baseball despite loving the sport in real life, which means I don’t know if I’ll get in to this tale of the first female professional baseball player.  Having Gregg Olson and Chad Kreuter on board as technical advisers certainly can’t hurt.

The first season has come and gone and it went surprisingly well.  I’m hoping for a second season.

9:00

The Good Place – Kristen Bell stars as a new arrival to the afterlife in this new comedy from the creator of Parks and Rec.

A big swerve at the end of season 1 leaves me wanting a second season.

Continue reading →

Midseason Review – Mondays

old-tv-set1Day 2 of our look back at my thoughts on the new fall television season and what is new for the winter and spring..

7:00

The Big Bang Theory – Once again, The Big Bang Theory moves back to Mondays until late October to accommodate the NFL.  The show continues to be a ratings powerhouse, so I assume the move won’t shake things up too much.

I’ll save my comments for Thursday.

Supergirl – Despite a successful first season, CBS jettisoned the show and now the second season will air on The CW.

Moving to The CW seems to be working out for Supergirl.  So far we’ve seen appearances from Superman, Maggie Sawyer, and the Flash.

Gotham – I still have the last 9 episodes of season 2 sitting on the DVR, so things don’t look that great for my continued interest in Gotham this year.  But, you never know.

The backlog has grown to include those 9 season 2 episodes and all of season 3 to date.  I need to make a decision soon as to whether or not to cut bait.

7:30

Man With A Plan – Matt LeBlanc returns to network television in this comedy about a contractor who takes more responsibility at home after his wife returns to work.  It should be worth at least a shot.

One episode of this piece of garbage was more than enough.

8:00

Jane The Virgin – At this time last year, I was worried that this show would be a one-season wonder and that I would tire of the telenovela aspect of the show.  Those worries turned out to be unfounded, as the show continued to be a solid, entertaining watch.  I’m expecting more of the same this year.

My expectations have been met, as I continue to enjoy the now mistitled show.

2 Broke Girls – A 6th season for this crass show that has never been as good as it should be, given the talents of the leads.

This year has been more of the same.  It’s a shame to waste the talents of the two likeable leads on such a mess of a show.

9:00 Continue reading →

2016 New Fall Season – Thursdays

old-tv-set1Thursday night is traditionally the busiest night of the week for my television viewing habits. Here’s what’s on the slate for this season.

7:00

Grey’s Anatomy – The medical drama enters its 13th season, with the last 8 episodes of season 12 still sitting on the DVR waiting to be watched.  Since I don’t know how last season ended, I’ve avoided looking at what lies ahead this year.

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

DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow – The grouping of DC’s also-rans returns for its second season, with a promised appearance from the Legion of Doom.

7:30

The Great Indoors – Former Community star Joel McHale returns to network TV with this comedy about the new generation gap in the workplace.

8:00

Pitch – Strangely, I don’t usually enjoy movies or TV shows about baseball despite loving the sport in real life, which means I don’t know if I’ll get in to this tale of the first female professional baseball player.  Having Gregg Olson and Chad Kreuter on board as technical advisers certainly can’t hurt.

9:00

The Good Place – Kristen Bell stars as a new arrival to the afterlife in this new comedy from the creator of Parks and Rec. Continue reading →

2016 New Fall Season – Mondays

old-tv-set1It is time once again to dive in to the new fall lineups for the television season that kicks into gear tonight. We start this year, thanks to last night’s Emmy Awards, with Monday night’s offerings, which features some returning favorites and a few new potentials.

7:00

The Big Bang Theory – Once again, The Big Bang Theory moves back to Mondays until late October to accommodate the NFL.  The show continues to be a ratings powerhouse, so I assume the move won’t shake things up too much.

Supergirl – Despite a successful first season, CBS jettisoned the show and now the second season will air on The CW.

Gotham – I still have the last 9 episodes of season 2 sitting on the DVR, so things don’t look that great for my continued interest in Gotham this year.  But, you never know.

7:30

Man With A Plan – Matt LeBlanc returns to network television in this comedy about a contractor who takes more responsibility at home after his wife returns to work.  It should be worth at least a shot.

8:00

Jane The Virgin – At this time last year, I was worried that this show would be a one-season wonder and that I would tire of the telenovela aspect of the show.  Those worries turned out to be unfounded, as the show continued to be a solid, entertaining watch.  I’m expecting more of the same this year.

2 Broke Girls – A 6th season for this crass show that has never been as good as it should be, given the talents of the leads.

9:00 Continue reading →

2016 Emmy Awards – Comedy

Emmy_statueWith the Emmy Awards scheduled for Sunday night, here are my predictions for the awards for Comedy shows.  I most likely have seen most of these shows, so, unlike my annual Oscar predictions, I will not mostly be going on gut feel and word of mouth, but will have a somewhat informed decision.

Outstanding Comedy

Black-ish

Master of None

Modern Family

Silicon Valley

Transparent

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Veep

Veep won last year and would seem to be a good choice to repeat, so I’ll go with that.

Outstanding Actress In A Comedy

Ellie Kemper, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep

Laurie Metcalf, Getting On

Tracee Ellis Ross, Black-ish

Amy Schumer, Inside Amy Schumer

Lily Tomlin, Grace and Frankie

Julia Louis-Dreyfus won this award the past three years, and I see no reason why she won’t repeat again this year.

Outstanding Actor In A Comedy

Anthony Anderson, Black-ish

Aziz Ansari, Master of None

Will Forte, The Last Man on Earth

William H. Macy, Shameless

Thomas Middleditch, Silicon Valley

Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent

Jeffrey Tambor brought home the award last year for his gender-bending role on Amazon’s hit series.  My guess is that Aziz Ansari rides the same wave of good feelings to take home the trophy for his Netflix series.

Continue reading →

CBS Upfronts

bbtFor the first time this century, CBS announced a new fall schedule this week without a version of CSI in the mix.  Instead, the Tiffany network looked to other familiar properties, and stars, to fill the holes in their lineup.  With the network again airing football on Thursday nights for the first 2 months of the season, there will be much juggling going on, starting on Monday, where The Big Bang Theory returns until football ends.  It will be followed by Kevin Can Wait, a new show featuring former CBS star Kevin James.  Once football ends, James moves up a half hour and will be followed by Man With A Plan, starring former Friend Matt LeBlanc.  2 Broke Girls, The Odd Couple, and Scorpion round out the night.

Tuesday wraps two versions of NCIS around Bull, a new drama starring former NCIS star Michael Weatherly as, and you can’t make this up, a young version of Dr. Phil.  No changes on Wednesday night, where Criminal Minds returns for its 12th season.  Thursday, starting in November, starts with The Big Bang Theory, followed by the new Joel McHale-helmed The Great Indoors.  The night finishes with Pure Genius, a new drama from the creator of Parenthood.

Friday sees a new version of MacGuyver, followed by the returning Hawaii Five-O and Blue Bloods.  Sunday adds another version of NCIS to fill the hole left by The Good Wife.

Gone and never to be seen again are The Good Wife and summer staple Under The Dome.  Gone and destined to be seen again is Supergirl, which is moving to the CW.  Gone and maybe seen again is Limitless, which didn’t make the schedule but is not officially cancelled and is looking for a new home.

Midseason Review – Thursdays

old-tv-set1Time for our look back at Thursday nights, traditionally the busiest night of the week for my television viewing habits.

7:00

Grey’s Anatomy – The medical drama enters its 12th season after a dark 11th season which killed off Patrick Dempsey’s Dr. McDreamy.  The show promises a brighter season, so we’ll see what happens.

The show has kept plugging along, despite the loss of Patrick Dempsey.

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

With Leonard and Penny married, Sheldon and Amy back together and moving their relationship forward, and Raj in a committed relationship, the show’s focus has certainly changed considerably since its beginnings.

Bones – The show returns for its 11th season.  Beyond that, there’s not much to say about the show that hasn’t already been said.

There’s really nothing new to say about this show that hasn’t already been said.  It is what it is.

Heroes Reborn – NBC’s rebooted Heroes show, originally announced 18 months ago, finally makes it to air.  I will give this a shot, but I fear it will have a very short leash, given how poorly the original series ended up.

The show wrapped up its run last week, and I’m left wondering what the point was.  This was not a story that needed to be told, and suffered from some of the same problems as the original.

7:30

Life In Pieces – Assuming I’m still watching this come November, it moves from Monday along with BBT.

As I said on Monday, I am not still watching this.

8:00

The Blacklist – James Spader returns for a third season of chewing the scenery.

The status quo has changed, with Liz, finally exonerated, no longer allowed to be a field agent.  Will this change the chemistry of the show?  Only time will tell.

Sleepy Hollow – I dropped this midway through the past season when I realized that I was never actually watching the show and instead just playing it in the background while doing other things.  I doubt I’ll be going back, considering I still don’t know any characters name beyond Ichabod Crane.

A crossover with Bones brought me back for a week, but that was it.

9:00

Elementary – Sherlock and Watson return for a fourth season of helping the NYPD solve their cases, this time with John Noble as Sherlock’s father.

The show continues to impress with its version of the classic character.

Continue reading →