2009 Fall TV Preview |
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| Written by Lauren Cheal and April Yorke |
| Wednesday, 14 October 2009 00:00 |
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We have divided this year's preview into 3 categories, and we'll dive right into the dramas that you should be watching this fall, and those that you should probably avoid. DramaNew Hits
The Good Wife: Ok. We are pretty torn about this one. A lot of things about this show point toward miss, and it really isn't doing well in the ratings, but we watched the pilot and thought it was a pretty good show. It stars Julianna Margulies as wife of a politician who is caught having sex with a prostitute (sound familiar? Yeah, the premise is a bit dumb). Chris Noth (Mr. Big) plays the jackass husband and the cast is strengthened by Christine Baranski as the mentor/adversary to Margulies' Alicia Florrick who is forced to return to the working world. Cheating politician storyline aside, this show is a basic law procedural with a fish out of water twist. Florrick has been away from the world of criminal law for a long time, but she has a sharp intuition and uses it to her advantage. Like we said, it is formulaic, but the pilot was enough to get us to tune in again. (Tuesdays at 10, CBS) New Misses:
Melrose Place, ugghh. The Beautiful Life (already cancelled, thank goodness). Returning Hits
Friday Night Lights: We know that no one watches this show. We know it because NBC knows it (and isn't airing it until next year in the second half of the regular TV season). But we implore you . . . watch this show. The show is heartbreakingly real, well-observed, and just plain sharp. Season three really helped pulled the show out of the small mess that was season two, and we are extremely excited to see what happens in this next instalment. (eventually, NBC) Mad Men: We aren't technically up to date on this one, but from what we have heard, it is still excellent (and if what we saw in season 1 and 2 continues, it is most certainly worth our time). As writer Matthew Wiener accepted an Emmy on behalf of the show, he bragged that he was the only person in the room of television folks who had complete creative freedom on his show. These are the perks of working at AMC, a network previously known only to viewers of classic movies. Whatever they are doing, it seems to be working. Don Draper is a brooding, mysterious and sometimes horrifying castle of a man, the girls in the office are endlessly entertaining, and we can't resist the chic costumes and lifestyles presented to us on the show. Plus, did we mention Jon Hamm? We would even buy his "John Ham," if given the chance. The man is HOT. (Sundays at 10, AMC)
Returning Misses: Grey's Anatomy: This show seems doomed to never return to its former quasi-glory. Dead Denny killed this (already gasping for air) show. CSI: We love a procedural as much as the next guy, but when Gil Grissom is not even on the thing anymore (nothing against his replacement, Laurence Fishburne), it is time to move on. The great thing about procedurals is that you can watch them for all eternity in re-runs on Spike, and there are more than enough of those to last us until the sun explodes. Reality TVWe should preface this short section by saying that the writers of (Cult)ure Magazine generally believe reality TV to be dead. But for those who are still hanging on, here are our recommendations. New Hits: There aren't any. Like we said, it is a dying genre (in quality, if not in quantity). New Misses: Apparently there is something called Hoarders . . . it sounds horrifying. CBS has a show called Arranged Marriage which also sounds bad. Don't waste your time on either. Returning Hits:
So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD): This one is a mouthful, but if you are at all interested in dance, this show is pretty entertaining. It falls in the category of reality TV that we like to call "merit based." The young men and women on this show are quite talented and their hard work is fun to watch. Unfortunately SYTYCD has some of the more annoying judges in reality TV today (Nigel the Smug, Mary the Shrieker, and occasional guest judge/choreographer Mia (Michaels) the Banoodles -- yes, that is a word she invented last year and it quite aptly describes her mental functioning). These judges are always asking for things like "more organic purity in your movements" which we really don't get, but the entertainment factor of the dances and the really smooth hosting job by Cat Deeley make up for it. (Wednesdays at 8, FOX) Project Runway: Following some drama over a move to the Lifetime Network from Bravo, this competition show is back and still one of our favorites. While Tim Gunn's try at his own show failed pretty miserably last year, he is really great on PR. Pssst . . . contestants . . . if Gunn tells you that your draped dress is "not working" you should believe him and change the ugly thing! We always agree with his assessments and so do the panel of judges. In contrast with SYTYCD, the judges on this show are great. Nina Garcia and Michael Kors really know fashion and it is clear that they use this knowledge when judging these contestants' creations. For those who don't know anything about fashion, the show is also a good introduction to the industry and some of the techniques used in making apparel. (Thursday at10, Lifetime; Saturdays at 10, Slice) Food-based Reality Shows: These are also "merit-based" and feature people doing what they are best at. Top Chef is our favourite, but Hell's Kitchen can also be entertaining, mostly because we kind of love Gordon Ramsey ("you bleeping donkey!"). Returning Misses: How much time do you have? Survivor lost its mojo some time ago (if we had to pinpoint, we would say that train wreck season when some genius (Mark Burnett, creator and show god) decided to divide the tribes according to "race"). We were shocked that Big Brother earned a second season, let alone an 11th. Dancing with the Stars is another one that has never been great, but this season's "celebrities" really leave something to be desired-Aaron Carter, really? And here are our best guesses for hits and misses for Comedy this Fall. ComedyNew Hits:
Community: This show has potential. The cast includes an older and wiser (maybe) Chevy Chase, Joel McHale (The Soup), and Yvette Nicole Brown (who played the Staples employee who didn't like Dwight's buggy eyes on The Office). Community is the story of a group of community college students and the life choices they made to end up there. The show is light comedy, but it might be worth 30 minutes of your time this week. (Thursdays at 8, NBC) New Misses: Cougartown: Um . . . we don't know much about it, but we saw a preview where lead (and producer) Courtney Cox is getting a painful bikini wax . . . hi-oh! Plus, the show is called Cougartown. We'll be skipping this one. Honourable (Canadian) Mention: Being Erica: Recommended by one of our readers, Being Erica is a generally funny look at a woman who is trying to figure out what she wants out of life. Coming into its second season, the actors and writers of the show are hitting a discernable stride. Returning Hits: The Office: We all know that Season 4 and 5 were not ideal...but we stuck with the show because sometimes it is so funny it hurts (see mostly Season 2). And while we are pissed that NBC couldn't afford to draw back great talent of Amy Ryan as Michael's dorktastic love match, we are giving it one more year of our attention. There is too much talent on that show for us to not tune in. Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica. (Thursdays at 9, NBC)
Honourable Mention: How I Met Your Mother (if only for NPH) and Accidentally on Purpose (although it will likely be cancelled soon). Returning Misses: Two and Half Men: We don't understand the humour here. We are sorry to our parents who really love the show, but we just don't get it. And yes, we have heard that Jane Lynch plays a hilarious psychiatrist, but it just isn't enough to make up for the constant jokes about Charlie Sheen's character sleeping with a lot of women (plus she's on Glee now). Gong . . . The Big Bang Theory: People are really split about this one . . . a lot of folks say that it is really funny, but we have not seen that. We have seen overly caricatured nerds that are just annoying. Maybe we love real nerds too much; this one just isn't for us. When we asked some of our Top TV experts what show's cancellation they were most enraged about, and everyone picked Pushing Daisies. Here is why:
Previsously:Steve Dominey's 2008 Fall TV Preview. Lauren Cheal took on Mad Men's sexual politics. April Yorke called Supernatural (and a bunch of other shows) gay. Tags: 30 rock, beautiful life, biggest loser, friday night lights, glee, good wife, mad men, melrose place, preview, project runway, pushing daisies, so you think you can dance, supernatural, the office, tim gunn, vampire diaries
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Comments (2)
Nice work!
Wonderful article! Makes me wish I watched more TV, which is a strange desire for me.
Gordon Ramsey
is indeed really hard to take on Hell's Kitchen. Dude seems ready to drop from a heart attck any second. And he's like 39. He looks at least 50, must be all the rage. Anyways, if anyone wants to check out "The F word", he's not usually so angry, and is way more fun when he's just excited about food, and chatting with celebs that come into his restaurant. |
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