Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Fall TV Preview 2016: My Shows that are a STOP!

This year, instead of focusing my posts on networks, or nights of the week, or some other organizational principle, I'm grouping shows into three main categories: GO! CAUTION! or STOP!

Today I'm going to talk about the shows that I think are big, bright STOP's! You've been warned!

Aaron Sorkin's A Few Good Men, LIVE! (NBC; coming soon?)
There are so many dangerous things about that title in bold above. Aaron Sorkin; LIVE!; NBC. All warning signs that you need to stay away.

The Blacklist: Redemption (NBC, coming soon?)
I don't know if The Blacklist was any good, but I heard some people say that it was good. But I'm not too psyched about the idea of taking a marginally successful show and trying to generate a spinoff Dick Wolf style. The fact that it is not scheduled for Fall release is also worrisome to me. Is NBC so successful all of a sudden that they don't NEED lots of new shows in the Fall season?

The NEW Celebrity Apprentice (NBC, Mondays, January 2 @ 8)
The show that brought us Gozer the Gozarian in the form of Donald Trump, GOP candidate for the White House, is retooling itself with Arnold Schwartzenegger in the big chair. Will he say "You're Fired!" or will he say "Come with me if you want to profit." I'll never know because I'll never watch.

Emerald City (NBC; Fridays, January 6 @ 9 pm new)
High concept. Genre. Whichever category you want to put this show in, I'm uncomfortable predicting it as a success. Did NBC try to make this into one of its LIVE events and then shift gears and turn it into a series? I'm skeptical. And it's on Fridays. There are many "coming soon" shows on NBC and they are waiting in the wings precisely because of these kinds of adventurous ideas.

Trial and Error (NBC, coming soon)
Why waste any time or words telling you how bad this show is, when a picture will prove it so much more definitively than anything that I could possibly say? I won't even bother trying to give you a plot. Any plot you imagine from this set up shot is likely to appear if the show is given enough time.
Credit: NBC.com

No Tomorrow (The CW Tuesdays@ 9, new)
As the title might lead you to guess, this is a show influenced by a fictional apocalypse. But . . . it's a comedy! But really, the most comedic thing about it is the tortured description sentences someone had to bend themselves into pretzels to write: "When a risk-averse female procurement manager at an Amazon-like distribution center falls in love with a man who lives life to the fullest because he believes the apocalypse is imminent, it leads to comedic and poignant results as they embark on a quest to fulfill their individual bucket lists."

Now, you all know that here at WWYG?! I deal in only the best prose. (I once considered my blog tag line should be All Killer; No Filler; so you know that I'm right when I tell you that this description is a problem.

Frequency (The CW Wednesdays @ 9, new)
You may remember the movie this show is based upon--child mysteriously contacts dead father through ham radio. Well, this show is the same, but the unintended consequences for the mystical radio broadcasts create problems that need to be resolved. I guess you could take the spirit of Early Edition (remember that show?) and mix in some wackiness of this year's NBC show Timeless. But I don't think this one is for me.

[Editor's note: I feel sorry that I am putting a STOP sign in front of both of The CWs new shows for this fall. But, then again, I'll be visiting the network frequently to watch its bevy of superhero offerings: Supergirl (rescued from CBS for season 2), Arrow (yes . . . still), and The Flash (definitely). But I won't be watching Legends of Tomorrow any longer. Beyond the tights and capes shows, I'll gladly come back for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend as well. So . . . I'll definitely be spending time on this mini-network this year.]

RETURNING SHOWS

I've decided to stop watching The Big Bang Theory. I have ceased to laugh at the shows humor and don't see any reason to continue. Besides, I can most likely catch the seasons I will miss in endless syndication somewhere during my next decade of TV watching.

Similarly, I've given up on Quantico (ABC Fridays @ 10). But really, I gave up on this show after the initial spurt of new shows during the first half of its premiere season. It just didn't grab my attention and I didn't care about the characters who were all portrayed as liars and cheats--some of whom were involved in a terrorist bombing in New York? And the others were being trained as FBI agents and were also trying to figure out which of their classmates did it? (Sorry, I have already spend too many words on this. Dropped.)

And so, that is it for this Fall. I hope you learned something. Let me know in comments if you like a show that I panned. I'd love to hear other opinions.

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