Fall TV Preview 2015--The CW

Here we are once again for another entry in the 2015 Fall TV Preview. If you need to catch up on the last few entries, click on the Page link at the top of the blog . . . the one labeled TV Preview Posts. It will give you access to all of the Fall TV posts I've written since WWYG?! went live in 2004. The most recent years are down at the bottom of the page.

And now, let's look at The CW.

In past years, I've written The CW late in my list of previews, because it usually provided a shorter list of shows. It is the "fifth"network, with the least amount of money and national coverage, it can't afford to offer a full slate of shows every single night. And that doesn't appear to be different this year either.

Sunday

Case in point. On Sunday night, The CW gives us "Local Programming."
What's that, you wonder? I can't begin to guess.

Well, truthfully, I could go sit down in front of the TV right now and verify what local programming might be--since I'm drafting this on a Sunday night. But I think it is more fun to imagine what it might mean in your locality.

Maybe in the southwest, local programming is lots of Clint Eastwood western movies. And maybe in the Deep South it consists of reruns of The Andy Griffith Show? (Presumably, it is based on lots of regional stereotypes?) Why don't you weigh in down below in the comments and tell me what local programming looks like where you live and watch TV?

Monday

Two shows are provided by The CW on Monday. Returning is last year's successful show Jane the Virgin [returns 10/19 @ 9]. And the new show is called Crazy Ex Girlfriend [premieres 10/19 @ 8]. This new show is described as "A woman gives up her prestigious job and upscale Manhattan apartment to search for love in California."

And with that simple sentence, I'm immediately turned off and tired of the entire concept. Why don't you ever see a show about a crazy ex-boyfriend who gave up everything to chase after the girl that got away? How many shows have tried to tell that story? I mean, I guess parts of How I Met Your Mother showed some of that, but very few shows have been honest about the emotional problems that men have faced in the world of dating. It is always expected that women carry the burden of emotion and caring. Guys are shown as actually caring less about it all. Just give them a beer and a football game and they should be just fine, right?

Tuesday

All right. Here we go with some interesting programming!

First, we got season two of The Flash [returns 10/6 @ 8]. As you know from my post on CBS and the new show Supergirl, I'm a fan of the superhero TV genre. And I enjoyed the first season of The Flash quite a bit. I didn't know much about the mythology of the comics character before I started watching, but the good news is that you don't really need any prior knowledge. As long as you can accept the possibility that a weird combination of super-colliding atoms and some other weird "weather stuff" can alter someone's atoms and body enough to give him super speed, then . . . well, you are in. Just enjoy watching Barry The Flash Allen adjust to his new powers and hope that he can use those powers to simultaneously help the innocent while also trying to solve the mystery of his mother's death (when he was a boy, naturally) and also try to hide the truth with those that he loves (to keep them safe). It's all standard superhero stuff. But it's done well. And most importantly, the costume doesn't look awful. (Always an important consideration . . . really!)

Credit: cw.com; Just LOOK at this image. Wouldn't YOU want to know what is going on in a show with this sort of imagery?

What is the other show on Tuesday? iZombie [returns 10/6 @ 9]. I admit that I didn't watch the premiere season of this last year. But Lynda gave it a few watches and was favorably impressed with it. So I set my DVR to catch me up and I am ready for the second season to start. Since I am currently watching the unrelenting sadness that is both The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead, this show is a welcome antidote to that  sort of zombie show. iZombie has a good mix of the humor of Veronica Mars, twisted through the zombie angle and dusted with a bit of Dollhouse (the zombie main character taking on a bit of the characteristics of a new crime victim each week). If you like these sort of genre-heavy shows, you might want to give this returning show a try in its second season.

Wednesday

And here is the final wheel of my superhero tricycle--Supergirl, The Flash, and Arrow [returns 10/7 @ 8]. As I mentioned in my earlier post, Arrow can tend to get too broody and mopey--especially all of the second half of last season, when Oliver Queen (the Green Arrow of the comics) debated replacing Rás al Ghul. It was pretty overwhelming in its sadness and pretentiousness and I never really believed that it was going to happen. So, it was hard sledding to sit through so many episodes focused on something that I had little investment in.

 I promise you that you will NEVER see the actors on Arrow this happy during an episode.
It will be much, much more like this.

But Arrow can be a good show at times, when it lets go a bit of the world-saving pressure that Oliver puts on himself. When it focuses down on the relationships between the characters--which just happens to be occurring during a time of crime fighting and costumes--it can be fun to  watch. (As long as there is not THAT much time devoted to Laurel Lance. I really don't like that actress very much. either before or after she became the Black Canary.) I could definitely use more of Stephen Amell (Oliver) and Emily Bett Rickards (Felicity).

Other than more superheroes, The CW on Wednesday night also gives you Supernatural [returns 10/7 @ 9].

Thursday

Have you watched The Vampire Diaries [returns 10/8 @ 8] or The Originals [returns 10/8 @ 9]? I have not. And I am someone who watched every episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer PLUS Angel and I even tried to watch The Tomorrow People a few seasons back. Who does watch these shows? Maybe people who are tired of rereading Twilight novels or can't quite figure out how to combine their Anne Rice vampire fan fiction with that great idea for Speed Racer 2015?

Friday

And speaking of returning CW shows, how about Reign [returns 10/9 @ 8] and America's Next Top Model [returned 8/5] . . . so I guess I'm sorry that I didn't let you know in time for you to watch the most recent "cycle" of ANTM. My bad . . .

 I think that the best thing to be done with these shows is to combine them into a single program demanding that the fashion models only be photographed in medieval garb while the photo shoots center on things like winching up a drawbridge and putting a castle under siege.

Look, Game of Thrones handles medieval situations in sexy ways, so don't' tell me that it can't be done.

Saturday

Do I even need to tell you what is featured on this day? Well, just in case you wondered, it isn't football, football, football.

Instead it is . . .

 LOCAL PROGRAMMING!
(Video courtesy of Hayward Fowler, proprietor of Tifton's own The Fun Channel.)

Next time? Let's take a look at Fox. See you then.