*** Television, Fall 2009 ***

[bicker]

Mercy (NBC)

"Mercy," a new medical drama with a unique point of view, portrays the lives of the staff at Mercy Hospital as seen through the eyes of those who know it best -- its nurses. Nurse Veronica Callahan (Taylor Schilling, "Dark Matter") returns to Mercy from a military tour in Iraq -- and she knows more about medicine than all of the residents combined. Together with fellow nurses Sonia Jimenez (Jamie Lee Kirchner, "Rescue Me") and Chloe Payne (Michelle Trachtenberg, "Gossip Girl"), Callahan navigates through the daily traumas and social landmines of life and love both inside the hospital and out in the real world. The cast also includes: James Tupper ("Men in Trees") as Dr. Chris Sands, a new doctor at the hospital who complicates Veronica's life; Diego Klattenhoff ("Supernatural") as Mike Callahan, Veronica's husband; and Guillermo Diaz ("Weeds") as Nurse Angel Lopez.

​

Part of the problem I have with Mercy is that I am going to have a hard time thinking of Buffy's little sister as a nurse. Seriously, we're going to record Mercy, and we might even watch one or two episodes, but we are unlikely to watch this show week after week, until it has established itself as a good show. It just seems to me that these characters are just too-deliberately created as arch-types, perhaps even stereotypes. Or perhaps I'm simply feeling that, with ER finally over and Grey's Anatomy entering its twilight years, perhaps it is a time to give the hospital drama genre a rest of a while.

 

[bicker]

Trauma (NBC)

"Trauma," the first high-octane medical drama series to live exclusively in the field where the real action is. Like an adrenaline shot to the heart, "Trauma" is an intense, action-packed look at one of the most dangerous medical professions in the world: first responder paramedics. When emergencies occur, the trauma team from San Francisco General is first on the scene, traveling by land, by sea or by air to reach their victims in time. From the heights of the city's Transamerica Pyramid to the depths of the San Francisco Bay, these heroes must face the most extreme conditions to save lives -- and give meaning to their own existence in the process.

​

Hmmm... the blurb writers must have forgotten the old series Emergency! And arguably the series Saved from a couple of years ago probably qualifies. This is another show that we're not planning on watching until we see indications that it is going to be very good. And I feel that way especially because of how NBC seems to be overselling the action-factor of the series. We like Jamey Sheridan, but not enough to overcome our wait-and-see instinct.

 

[bicker]

(By the way, those two shows are the entirety of the new dramas being offered by NBC this fall. The dearth of new options can be attributed to them allocated five hours a week to Jay Leno.)

 

[bicker]

Hank (ABC)

Sometimes scaling back is the best way to get ahead. Wall Street legend Hank Pryor (Kelsey Grammer) and his wife Tilly have been living the high life in New York City. That is until Hank is forced out of his CEO job and has to move his family back home to the small town of River Bend.

A self-made man, Hank is used to running the show, but now that he's lost almost everything, can he learn how to hang with his family? The Pryors have had to seriously downsize their lives -- even their king-sized bed won't fit in their modest new home. Tilly's not too pleased to be back in the same zip code as her family -- especially her badgering brother Grady. Hank's offbeat son Henry worries about fitting in with a new crowd and his daughter Maddie would rather talk on her cell phone than be anywhere near her Dad. But every great businessman knows that the key to success is to turn setbacks into opportunities. Hank has big plans to get ahead in business... and to reconnect with his family. It may take a while for an industrial giant to figure out how to mingle with the little people -- like his family -- but Hank's up for the challenge. Like that smaller bed... Turns out that wasn't such a bad idea after all.

To be honest, if Back To You didn't succeed, I have little hope for this Kelsey Grammer showcase. Sorry.

 

[bicker]

The Middle (ABC)

Forget about athletes, movie stars and politicians. Parents are the real heroes -- but Frankie Heck (Patricia Heaton), well she's some kind of superhero. A loving wife and mother of three, she's middle class in the middle of the country and is rapidly approaching middle age.

Frankie and her husband, Mike, have lived in Orson, Indiana their whole lives. A man of few words (every one a zinger), Mike is a manager at the town quarry and Frankie is the third-best used car salesman (out of the three) at the local dealership. She may not be a high-powered career woman, but when it comes to her family, she'll go to just about any length. And with kids like these, she had better. There's Axel, her semi-nudist teenage son conceived with Guns N' Roses playing a significant role; Sue, the awkward teenage daughter who fails at everything with great gusto; and their seven-year-old son Brick, whose best friend is his back-pack.

​

So here's the other half of Back To You. Same comment.

 

[bicker]

Modern Family (ABC)

Today's American families come in all shapes and sizes. Just ask these three families.

Jay recently married Gloria. Now Jay is trying hard to keep up with his much younger and hotter Colombian wife, along with her passionate pre-teen son, Manny. Claire is having a hard time raising her own family. Her husband Phil is great, except that he thinks he's "down" with their three kids, much to all their embarrassment. And, Mitchell and his enthusiastic partner Cameron have just made a major life change by adopting a Vietnamese baby named Lily.

Shot from the perspective of an unseen documentary filmmaker, this comedy takes a modern look at the complications that come with being a family in 2009. Steven Levitan (Just Shoot Me) and Christopher Lloyd (Frasier) invite you into the sometimes warm and sometimes twisted embrace of modern day families.

We generally don't watch comedies anymore. I think they all suck. But this one looks very interesting and we are going to check it out. I hope I can get past seeing Ed O'Neill as Al Bundy!

 

[bicker]

Cougar Town (ABC)

Can a woman of a certain age be a mom, a successful career woman and still be on the prowl? Jules Cobb (Courteney Cox) is about to give it a try.

In a small Florida town, the center of high society is the Cougars high school football team... which is wildly appropriate since this town is the natural habitat for over-tanned, under-dressed divorcées prowling for younger men. Jules desperately doesn't want to be one of them, but with an ugly divorce behind her and 40 staring right back at her, she's longing for a little more action in her life. The available men her own age, like her silver fox of a neighbor, Grayson Ellis, only seem interested in dating barely legal hotties. Egged on by her very married and very irreverent best friend Ellie and her determined assistant Laurie, Jules reluctantly dips her toe back into the dating pool. To her surprise, she hits it off with a nice young guy named Matt -- emphasis on the young -- and discovers this gal still has the goods.

​

My first impression on reading the title of this show was that they were doing a double entendre, making it sound like they were referring to a place where middle-aged women pursue younger men, but instead perhaps the Cougars were the local high school football team. Nope! It's about middle-aged women pursuing younger men. Under other circumstances I'd dismiss this as overdone (including Eva Longoria in the first season of Desperate Housewives), but this is Courtney Cox, and despite its low ratings, I thought Dirt was great. I think this one might be good.

 

[bicker]

Eastwick (ABC)

In the seaside village of Eastwick, three very different women are about to discover some bewitching talents they never knew they had. And once they get together-- watch out. Something wicked is coming their way.

There was a time when Roxanne, Kat and Joanna didn't get along because of their preconceived notions of each other. Roxie was the extroverted artist, Kat the overworked wife and mom, and Joanna the wallflower local reporter. But after a weird encounter in the park, coupled with a few martinis, these three women have suddenly become fast friends.

When the mysterious Daryl Van Horne arrives in town, he manages to bring the women even closer. His wealth, charisma and bad boy sex appeal are an irresistible combination for the three ladies. What's even more dangerous is that he unleashes their unique powers in ways they never could have imagined. But by igniting their hearts' desires, he might just be opening Pandora's Box.

Eastwick will be turned upside down as these enchanting women come into their own. Although bad for a few locals, it's still the best thing to happen to this small New England town in centuries.

​

This is on our list, but the more I think about it, the more I think this could be bad. I mean what wasn't covered in the movie? More specifically: How will this television show pull out from under the shadow of being based on such a big and arguably good movie? We'll check it out, but I'm not going to get my hopes up.

 

[bicker]

Flashforward (ABC)

A mysterious global event causes everyone to black out simultaneously for two minutes and seventeen seconds, and each person sees a glimpse of their lives six months from now. When they wake up, everyone is left wondering if what they saw will actually happen.

I'm currently reading the novel, in anticipation of this series. They're billing it as the logical next big series for LOST fans. I hope they're right. The premise is good, and it looks like they're investing a lot to get it right.


​

 

[bicker]

Three Rivers (CBS)

Three Rivers is a medical drama that goes inside the emotionally complex lives of organ donors, the recipients and the surgeons at the preeminent transplant hospital in the country where every moment counts. However, dealing with donor families in their darkest hour and managing the fears and concerns of apprehensive recipients takes much more than just a sharp scalpel. Leading the elite team is Dr. Andy Yablonski (Alex O'Loughlin), the highly-skilled workaholic lead organ transplant surgeon, whose good-natured personality and sarcastic wit makes him popular with his patients and colleagues. His colleagues include Dr. Miranda Foster (Katherine Moennig), a surgical fellow with a rebellious streak and fiery temper who strives to live up to her deceased father's excellent surgical reputation; Dr. David Lee (Daniel Henney), a womanizing surgical resident who's broken as many hearts as he's replaced; Ryan Abbott (Christopher J. Hanke), the inexperienced new transplant coordinator who arranges the intricately choreographed process of quickly and carefully transporting organs from donor to patient; Dr. Sophia Jordan, the head of surgery and a dedicated medical professional; and Pam Acosta (Justina Machado), Andy's no-nonsense operating assistant and best friend. In this high stakes arena, in which every case is a race against the clock, these tenacious surgeons and medical professionals are the last hope for their patients.

​

Pulling up the rear, literally. This series will be the last new series of the scheduled fall season to premiere (before, of course, the inevitable mid-season replacements are slotted in). Just because I'm curious that way, I have to wonder why they're waiting to premiere this until October. And why there are so few still photos of this show available to display. Hmmm...

It showcases Moonlight star Alex O'Loughlin and L Word star Katherine Moennig, so of course we'll watch it.

 

[bicker]

One way of looking at the Fall Schedule is timeslot-by-timeslot. I figure that the best ones to start with are the most competitive timeslots, those on the most lucrative night of television for broadcasters: Thursday. Starting at the beginning of the night....

Thursday
8:00-9:00 pm
__________ABC: Flash Forward [9/24]
__________CBS: Survivor [9/17]
__________CW: Vampire Diaries [9/10]
__________Fox: Bones [9/17]
__________NBC: SNL Weekend Update Thursday [9/17] / Parks And Recreation [9/17] (mid-season: Community / Parks And Recreation)

This timeslot has the distinction, in our house, of being the only timeslot, this fall, for which we have a significant conflict... and it is a four-way conflict, not just a three-way conflict. In past years, we've had as many as three three-way conflicts. I don't think the smaller number of conflicts this year constitutes a significant trend, because the overall hours of programming that we're interested in has increased, and, of course, the one conflict we have is a four-way conflict.

ABC moves Ugly Betty away to make room for Flash Forward. (Trivia: The book was Flashforward; I'm not sure why the television series is two words.) This has been billed as a show for folks who like LOST. If so, I don't know why they're presenting it at 8:00 (other than the fact that the only later slot that they legitimately could have put it in was Friday 9:00 pm, where they moved Ugly Betty to, but I suspect that the budget for Flash Forward wouldn't have been warranted by the prospects of a Friday showing). The premise of the series (see above) is great. I've just finished the novel, and I don't think the advertising blurbs for the show really do the premise justice (even assuming that the series will limit itself just to capitalizing on the first two thirds of the novel -- for folks who have read the novel, the reason for the division would be obvious).

(The next paragraph includes my own personal speculation about Flash Forward. However, having read the novel, what is written below might be considered by some to be a little more spoiler-ish than they would like. If so, then just skip the next paragraph.)

There is a lot of ground to cover, potentially, though it really depends on how broadly they're going to extend the scope of the show. I mean, theoretically, they could have guest stars each week, and delve into the flash each had, and play with the ramifications of it on their lives afterward. However, there is a set of series regulars, and I'm not sure (given their specific roles in the novel) how they'd weave those folks into what these guest stars deal with. So if they generally stick to the flashes of the regular cast, and the ramifications of those flashes, I'm not sure how far the series can go. Unless they introduce another device, that "resets" the premise, perhaps every season, or (similar to Heroes) twice per season. That could work, and actually there is some foundation for doing something like that in the final third of the novel.

CW moves Smallville away to make room for Vampire Diaries. This really puzzles me. Smallville is the best CW has, right? (It's surely the only program that they presented last year that my wife and I watch. ) Why spend so much money resigning the cast, and then move it away from the most lucrative night of the week to the second least lucrative night of the week? Very strange. And especially since, between the two shows (Smallville and Vampire Diaries), it seems to me that Vampire Diaries would be just as appropriate for Friday night. And Vampire Diaries cannot be anywhere near as expensive as Smallville is. Very very strange.

What they've said is that they want to build a big audience on Friday night, and they figure that Smallville will draw them in. Really? Okay, they know more about this stuff than I do, but I gotta wonder...

NBC is offering comedies, as they have for many years on Thursday night. Replacing My Name is Earl is Community, with Joel McHale (from The Soup) and even featuring Chevy Chase. We love The Soup and I cannot imagine that Community could be anything other than great fun. 30 Rock gets bumped for its cousins SNL and Parks and Recreation. Quite frankly, I could live without them.

Also in the timeslot is one of the strongest programs on any network, Survivor, on CBS, and veteran drama, Bones, on Fox. Survivor regularly won this timeslot last year. Bones held its own though.

Some critics specified both Flash Forward and Vampire Diaries as shows that could indeed be the break-out hits of the fall, despite being up against such strong competition. Time will tell.

As I indicated, we have a four-way conflict. Heck, we used to be big fans of Survivor and if it wasn't for so many other great shows being presented, we'd still be watching, so call this a five-way conflict. This is one kick-tail timeslot. We are going to end up recording Flash Forward and Bones. We'll have Vampire Diaries and Community in our Season Pass List, but they will only record when Flash Forward and/or Bones are reruns. As such, we'll actually get to see a few episodes of Vampire Diaries before it gets cut-off, and then after missing three episodes, we would be able to catch the next three (but won't -- we'll wait until reruns perhaps will allow us to fill in all the gaps). And for Community, we'll be reliant completely on reruns.

How do you see this timeslot working out for you?

 

[CourtasanSatine]

For Flashforward: the male lead looks like he could be related to Voldmort's actor from HP (so are they?)

 

[bicker]

Joseph Fiennes' brother, Ralph Fiennes, plays Voldemort.

 

[CourtasanSatine]

Thanks bicker!

 

[stacy347]

I think it is time for us to get a DVR. Thursdays, I really want to watch both Vampire Diaries and Flash Forward (and thanks for the heads up about the book ~ will be checking that out as well).
Fridays, I have been watching Ghost Whisperer all along and now they move Smallville to that slot ~ I can't choose between those two.
I'm also going to be torn for the 9:00 Friday slot between Medium and Dollhouse along with several other time slots through the week.
I don't remember having so many conflicts during any season before.

 

[Belle Ella]

Generally, when a television show is based on a book(s), I try to read the book(s) before the series begins. I had a hard time finding the books on which Vampire Diaries are based... then I realized I had to check out the teen books section of the bookstore.

These should be pretty light reading right?

Has anyone else read these books? Is anyone looking forward to the series because of the books (or in spite of them)?

I know this was posted back in June, but I thought I would put my two cents in. Honestly, the Vampire Diaries is very lackluster compared to others in the 'genre'. I will comepletely admit that my guilty pleasure is the vampire/supernatural YA genre. I just can't see them making a decent show off that material. The book is actually 4 books that have been put into 2 volumes. There's The Awakening, The Struggle, The Fury, and Dark Reunion. I found them very bland and uninteresting after reading series such as Blue Bloods, House of Night, and the Vampire Academy - all of which I firmly believe would make a much better series than The Vampire Diaries.

I'll probably end up catching the first episode and decide if I want to stick around from there.

I still have to figure out what I will be watching this year, although I know some absolute must haves no matter what are Glee, SYTYCD, and Supernatural.

 

[bicker]

I think it is time for us to get a DVR.

I can help with that.

Thursdays, I really want to watch both Vampire Diaries and Flash Forward (and thanks for the heads up about the book ~ will be checking that out as well).

If you lived in the area, I'd pass them off to you. We won't be rereading them.

Fridays...

We'll get to those timeslots. I've got an issue on Friday, too.

I know this was posted back in June, but I thought I would put my two cents in. Honestly, the Vampire Diaries is very lackluster compared to others in the 'genre'. I will comepletely admit that my guilty pleasure is the vampire/supernatural YA genre. I just can't see them making a decent show off that material.

After reading the books, I can see where you're coming from. However, what we've seen so many times in the past is that books don't translate to the screen in a predictable manner. Sometimes, the television series is substantially worse than the books it is based on; sometimes the television series is substantially better than the books. There are enough ideas in the Vampire Diaries books that a television show-runner can bring about a great television series from those ideas. Or a really crappy television series.

 

[bicker]

Thursday
9:00-10:00 pm
__________ABC: Grey's Anatomy [9/24]
__________CBS: CSI [9/24]
__________CW: Supernatural [9/10]
__________Fox: Fringe [9/17]
__________NBC: The Office [9/17] / Community [9/17]; then: The Office / 30 Rock

Okay, first off, I'm confused: Is Community on at 9:30 pm, or at 8:00 pm? The answer is "yes". The first three episodes are at 9:30 pm, then the show switches to 8:00 pm, for at least two episodes. That doesn't help me, very much. Besides being confusing, the second hour on Thursday is almost as crowded with great programming as the first hour on Thursday is. And one thing I didn't mention earlier: No matter how good a half-hour comedy is, it is still just a half-hour, so unless it is paired with an equally good half-hour, it's own value is halved (in my mind). I dunno... maybe we'll catch Community in reruns, maybe once they move it to Sunday morning 2:00 am. It should be noted that this has been The Office's and 30 Rock's timeslot, so I suspect that they're just showing the first few episodes of Community there to let it gain some audience from The Office.

So the only big change in this timeslot is that Fox has moved Fringe here from Tuesday. I suppose there is some question about what they're going to do once Kitchen Nightmares returns. Practically-speaking, Fox's winter schedule is already full, and that's assuming American Idol won't go beyond two hours a week (and it typically did). We'll see.

I like the pairing of Bones and Fringe. Smile for an hour and then get creeped out for an hour. And with Nimoy returning for some episodes, this season, I think Fringe really can take off. Not in a Grey's Anatomy kind of way, but surely at least in an X-Files kind of way.

Speaking of Grey's Anatomy: Of course, that's the program that typically wins this timeslot. I don't see any reason for that to change this season. Yes, the show is getting old, but they just ditched two original characters and they've recently added some new characters (including Arizona and Owen). With some other shows, you might worry about that being a sign of fading, but AFAIC that could be a godsend for Grey's Anatomy. Capshaw and McKidd are better actors coming into Grey's Anatomy than Pompeo, Dempsey, Chambers, Knight, and Heigl. While I simply must have my Meredith and Derek romance serve as the foundation of the series, a good source for continued interest in the series can come from these new characters AFAIC.

We've never watched any of CBS' CSI series. I'm sure we'd like them well-enough, just like I'm sure we'd like NBC's L&O series (none of which we've watched, either) well-enough. And I don't have any significant objection to these cookie-cutter series. I suppose I figure that one day I'll be a crotchity old man, with my only solace the shows I watch on television -- it'll be nice to have almost 500 CSI episodes (so far), and over 900 L&O episodes (so far), that I will be able to watch as "new to me". (At my current rate of television watching, it would take me about a year and a half to get through all those episodes, assuming I watched nothing else.)

My wife and I tried twice to get into Supernatural. It is absolutely, positively the exact type of show we "should" like. We simply couldn't. I have no idea what the problem is. Maybe we just cannot get the Hardy Boys out of our heads -- I don't know. I think CW knows that they cannot win this timeslot, so they're not even going to worry about how good Supernatural does. They're probably happy enough that they have a show that they can legitimately claim is high quality filling this slot within which they have no real chance of ever winning a big audience.

I don't call this timeslot a conflict, because only three episodes of Community will be broadcast in this timeslot (and I think two of those will be before the other shows premiere). So with two tuners in the DVR, we'll be recording Fringe and Grey's Anatomy.

 

[bicker]

This timeslot has the distinction, in our house, of being the only timeslot, this fall, for which we have a significant conflict...

I don't call this timeslot a conflict, because only three episodes of Community will be broadcast in this timeslot (and I think two of those will be before the other shows premiere). So with two tuners in the DVR, we'll be recording Fringe and Grey's Anatomy.

It just occurred to me that what I consider a timeslot conflict differs from what other folks call a timeslot conflict. We have a dual-tuner DVR, so recording two programs at once is the rule, not the exception. If a conflict is whenever there is more than one show we want to watch in a single timeslot (which seems like the more reasonable definition, for normal people, y'know), then we actually have nine timeslots with conflicts.

 

[stacy347]

Okay, first off, I'm confused: Is Community on at 9:30 pm, or at 8:00 pm? The answer is "yes". The first three episodes are at 9:30 pm, then the show switches to 8:00 pm, for at least two episodes. That doesn't help me, very much.

It doesn't help me, either. I am really looking forward to Community as I have been craving another really good comedy and I think this will be it. The only one that really has me hooked right now is Better Off Ted (I know traditional sitcom people don't appreciate this show but Portia DeRossi's deadpan humor has me rolling every episode and the two scientists play so well off of each other, it's amazing). DH's fave is Two and a Half Men so I watch that with him and get a few laughs but no other comedy on TV right now has me at all interested (Scrubs has been a favorite of mine but I'm just not sure it will be the same this season).
I could probably keep up with Community on demand but this just gives me another reason to push for that DVR, LOL!