Tag / State Of Affairs

by jim

Post Mortem – State Of Affairs

stateofaffairspromo290814-1State of Affairs, which featured the return of Katherine Heigl to television for the first time since leaving Grey’s Anatomy in 2010, was a complete mess of a show.  I think I managed to make it through about 2 1/2 episodes before cutting bait and, honestly, I was surprised to see that the full order of 13 episodes aired.

I was a fan of Heigl for years, dating back to her appearance in My Father The Hero in 1994.  After leaving Greys under bad circumstances and a string of under-performing films, this show was supposed to relaunch her career.  Personally, I think it was a bad fit for her talents, which lean more towards comedic drama than straight drama, and I hope she finds work more suited for her soon.

by admin

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 – CBS spent $275 million to broadcast 8 Thursday night NFL games, so The Big Bang Theory moves back to Mondays until late October.  The show continues to be a ratings powerhouse, so hopefully the move doesn’t shake things up too much.

Now that the football season is over, the show has moved back to Thursdays, so I will save my comments for then.

2 Broke Girls – Once The Big Bang Theory returns to its Thursday perch, 2 Broke Girls will return to the Monday slot it inherited last spring from How I Met Your Mother.  At this point, the show is what it is, so there is no point on hoping that the writers move away from their lowest common denominator form of comedy.  As long as Beth Behrs and Kat Dennings continue to charm, I will continue to watch.  But their charms only go so far.

At this point, there is no sense in hoping that the show becomes more than what it already is.  As I said in the fall, the charms of Beth Behrs and Kat Dennings are really the only reason to keep watching.

Gotham – FOX gets in the superhero game with this Batman prequel, set in the days just after a young Bruce Wayne has witnessed the death of his parents.  The show has been sold as more of the Gotham police force dealing with the criminals that will one day become Batman’s fiercest foes.

After a rocky start, the show came around to be a pretty solid entry in the super hero universe.

8:00

Sleepy Hollow – I am going to be completely honest and say I don’t really remember much about the first season of this show, other than it was a little crazy and it didn’t exactly grab me as much as it seemigly did everyone else.  I guess I’ll stick around until/unless I find something to take its place.

I let the first half of the season pile up on the DVR before burning through them mostly in November.  The show is kind of crazy, and I did seem to enjoy it when I watched a paid attention.  Otherwise, it is still a bit of a blur.

Jane The Virgin – The first CW pilot in years to not feature either vampires or superheroes is an adaptation of a Venezuelen telenovela.  Early reports are that it is one of the better pilots of the fall, so I guess I can give it a shot.

I’ve been impressed with the show so far, but I can tell that the novelty will wear off rather quickly.

9:00 Continue reading →

by admin

2014 New Fall Season – Mondays

old-tv-set1Day 2 of our look at the new fall television season brings us to Mondays.

7:00

The Big Bang Theory – CBS spent $275 million to broadcast 8 Thursday night NFL games, so The Big Bang Theory moves back to Mondays until late October.  The show continues to be a ratings powerhouse, so hopefully the move doesn’t shake things up too much.

2 Broke Girls – Once The Big Bang Theory returns to its Thursday perch, 2 Broke Girls will return to the Monday slot it inherited last spring from How I Met Your Mother.  At this point, the show is what it is, so there is no point on hoping that the writers move away from their lowest common denominator form of comedy.  As long as Beth Behrs and Kat Dennings continue to charm, I will continue to watch.  But their charms only go so far.

Gotham – FOX gets in the superhero game with this Batman prequel, set in the days just after a young Bruce Wayne has witnessed the death of his parents.  The show has been sold as more of the Gotham police force dealing with the criminals that will one day become Batman’s fiercest foes.

8:00

Sleepy Hollow – I am going to be completely honest and say I don’t really remember much about the first season of this show, other than it was a little crazy and it didn’t exactly grab me as much as it seemigly did everyone else.  I guess I’ll stick around until/unless I find something to take its place.

Jane The Virgin – The first CW pilot in years to not feature either vampires or superheroes is an adaptation of a Venezuelen telenovela.  Early reports are that it is one of the better pilots of the fall, so I guess I can give it a shot.

9:00 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.