Television Premieres and Notables: October 20-26, 2014

Sooooo, a month has gone by since the new TV season kicked off, so why not a little recap?

Overall, I feel it's been pretty lame-- but it's no a complete waste (not complete, but close to complete.)

First off: after a absolutely brutal season, The New Girl found its groove again. If you gave up last season, I'd recommend trying it out again.

Arrow took an even darker turn at the end of the premiere-- and it looks like they may stick with the consequences. A nice change from the "Big Death that's forgotten about a week later" norm.

Sleepy Hollow is seemingly getting bogged-down by its own mythology/cleverness. It started down that path last season, but the actors have been keeping me coming back. As great as they are, though, I'm not sure I'll stick around much longer.

As for new shows, a usually give dramas 2-3 eps before I make a drop/keep decision, and comedies get 4-5 episodes.  I didn't make it through the pilots of these: The Mysteries of Laura, Cristela, Manhattan Love Story, and a pilot that actually inflicted pain in me: Mullaney (I actually contemplated suicide before hitting "stop" and "delete series" from my DVR).

Gotham has been pretty good, but there's something I can't quite put my finger on from making me love it. But I'm sticking with it; it's certainly one of the more ambitious attempts this season.

The Flash has been really cool and fun. It is a modern super-hero representation, but instead of dark and brooding, this show takes a more "doing the right thing" tact. Barry helps people because he has the power to. Sure, bad things have happened (mother murdered when he was young; father in jail for it) it's not what drives him. He does what needs to be done because he can do it.
That's been bothering me quite a bit about comic books the past few years, and I like to see a superhero don a suit because he feels a responsibility to; because helping people is its own reward.

Other than black-ish, not a single new comedy has impressed me. I'll stick with a couple to see where they go, but I won't be sad if they all disappeared.

Dramas haven't fared much better. I like the concept of Scorpion, but I'm  not sure if it'll be interesting or varied enough to devote much effort in. NCIS: New Orleans is competent enough, but I find procedurals awful boring. I have played each episode so far simply because of Scott Bakula and Lucas Black. I'm happy they have a steady gig (and a popular one), but I wish they'd be on something more interesting.

And it all brings me to the biggest surprise of the season: Jane the Virgin. Only one episode has aired so far, but I'm hooked. What's interesting about it is: it's got a telenovela vibe and has lots of soap opera tropes-- but it was so elegantly put together in a light package that I just had to love it. It you are craving something new in this lousy TV season, give it a try.

Anyway, let's see what's going on this week:


Monday, 10/20

The Millers; CBS. 7:31 pm CST. 2nd Season Premiere.

American Dad; TBS. 8 pm CST. 11th Season (and new network) Premiere.


Wednesday, 10/22

Melissa & Joey; ABC Family. 7 pm CST. 4th Season Premiere.

Baby Daddy; ABC Family. 7:30 pm CST. 4th Season Premiere.

The 100; The CW. 8 pm CST. 2nd Season Premiere.

Web Therapy; Showtime. 10 pm CST. Season Premiere.


Thursday, 10/23

Project Runway (Lifetime; 8 pm CST). Season Finale.

Newsreaders; adult swim. 11 pm CST. 2nd Season Premiere.


Friday, 10/24

Alpha House; Amazon. Streaming. Season Premiere.

Grimm; NBC. 8 pm CST. Season Premiere.

Deal With It; TBS. 8 pm CST. 3rd Season Premiere.

Constantine; NBC. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.
I have to give NBC credit for attempting this, but I also have to keep expectations low because there is no way a network is going to get close to the true John Constantine from the Hellblazercomic.
So, will a neutered Constantine be an interesting one? I don't know. I hope so because this series could give us an entirely new outlook on comic book inspired TV/movies.


Sunday, 10/26

Boardwalk Empire (HBO; 8 pm CST). Series Finale.

I knew it all those years ago sitting in Honors Brit Lit...

Television Premieres and Notables: October 13-19, 2014

Monday, 10/13

Jane the Virgin; CW. 8 pm CST. Series Premiere.
A 23-year-old virgin gets pregnant when a medical procedure goes awry.
Sounds crazy? Well, this series is based on a telenovela, and they can get pretty crazy.
But it sounds as if this show is going to go for a little bit of an Ugly Betty vibe, so lots of "overdrama" with some whimsy.
And I have to say this pilot had critics buzzing more than other this season. It had lots of fans.
Probably worth checking out.

Star Wars Rebels; Disney XD. 8 pm CST. Regular Series Premiere.
Sure, there was a little pilot a few weeks ago, but this is the night it kicks in regularly.
Set between Eps III and IV-- and with teases of certain people/places we could see in Eps VII and beyond...


Tuesday, 10/14

Marry Me; NBC. 8:01 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Casey Wilson and Ken Marino star as a couple who keep trying to get engaged-- but something always seems to get in the way of the proposal.

About a Boy; NBC. 8:30 pm CST. 2nd Season Premiere.
This show was a little up and down last season, but David Walton held it together nicely.
Nice to see a show of his get to a second season, and nice that it was this one. There's potential here.


Wednesday, 10/15

Top Chef; Bravo. 9 pm CST. 16th Cycle Premiere.


Friday, 10/17

The Knick (Cinemax; 9 pm CST). Season Finale.

Foo Fighters: Sonic Highway; HBO. 10 pm CST. Mini-series Premiere.
For their new album, the Foo Fighters recorded eight songs in eight different cities, and this series spends one episode in each of the eight cities showing us their process.

Comedy Bang!Bang!; IFC. 10 pm CST. Season Premiere.

The Birthday Boys; IFC. 10:30 pm CST. Season Premiere.


Saturday, 10/18

Black Dynamite; adult swim. 9:30 pm CST. Season Premiere.


Sunday, 10/19

Manhattan (WGN; 9 pm CST). Season Finale.