Television Fall 2008 Series Previews Part 3

Next up is FOX

There doesn't seem to be any previews available as yet for NBC shows. When they become available I'll post them.



Fringe
A young FBI agent has to team up with an eccentric, volatile scientist and his estranged genius son to solve crimes involving fringe science, the science of the supposedly impossible.(Zap2it)
Starring: Anna Torv, John Noble, Joshua Jackson, Lance Reddick , Kirk Acevedo, Jasika Nicole and Mark Valley.

Comments:I'm adding another show to my watch list. "Fringe" looks pretty good...Given that it's from JJ Abrams and the muddled mess of "Lost" I don't know how long I'll last, and given FOX's itchy cancelation finger I don't know how long it will last, but it looks worth a shot.

Do Not Disturb
"Upstairs/Downstairs"-style look at the employees and guests at a ritzy New York hotel.(Zap2it)
Starring: Niecy Nash, Jerry O'Connell, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Molly Stanton, Jolene Purdy, Brando Eaton

Comments: I think Zap2it says it best, "Niecy Nash is funny. Jesse Tyler Ferguson is funny. Jerry O'Connell is capable of being funny. The clips from "Do Not Disturbed" are not particularly funny". Although I've never really found Niecy Nash all that funny it still sums up the clips I watched. Plus it's a sitcom which gives it a pass in my book.

Dollhouse (Midseason)
Echo is a Doll. She can be imprinted with a new personality and past to do all manner of jobs, but when she isn't on the job she has no memory of her own. But when Echo starts having memories, things get complicated for her, the other Dolls and the FBI agent trying to discover the truth about the Dollhouse.(Zap2it)
Starring:Eliza Dushku, Tahmoh Penikett, Fran Kranz, Olivia Williams, Harry Lennix, Dichen Lachman, Enver Gjokaj

Comments: While I think the trailer looks good there are two things that totally kill all thoughts of watching the show; 1st Joss, am I really a glutten for his brand of pain? Could I really do another one of his shows and survive the torture? Those are the questions I keep asking myself and I don't think I have it in me to survive the pain yet again. 2nd, I'm not a fan of Eliza and wish there could be any other actress playing Echo but her...well except Robin Tunney. I didn't like Faith, I didn't like her in Tru Calling, and I haven't liked her in the couple of movies I've seen with her. She reminds me of one of those actors that is either always playing the same character or just playing themself. Since I don't know her I can't say if it's the latter, but it sure does seem that all characters are some variation of Faith.
I'll pass.

Sit Down, Shut Up (Midseason)
Animated Comedy about teachers at a high school in a fishing town that care more about their own disagreements and insecurities than about the welfare of their students. Based on an Australian format.(zap2it)
Starring:Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, Henry Winkler, Cheri Oteri, Will Forte, Regina King, Nick Kroll, Tom Kenny and Maria Bamford

Comments: How many animated series can one network handle? Since I don't watch any of the others I won't be watching this one either.

The Cleveland Show (Midseason)
Animated comedy about Peter Griffin's buddy Cleveland.

Comments: See my comments for "Sit Down, Shut Up" plus add I hate Family Guy and this gets a pass simply by association.

Secret Millionaire (Midseason)
A group of wealthy individuals go undercover in impoverished neighborhoods and learn valuable lessons about how the other half lives. At the end of their journey, each of the millionaires will give a donation of a minimum of $100,000 to a lucky recipient (or recipients). (Zap2it)

Comments: Oh goody a show with sob stories...I think I might just have to put this on my list lower than sitcoms and reality/game shows. I'll pass.

Television Fall 2008 Series Previews Part 2

Next up are the CW and ABC

The CW
Surviving the Filthy Rich
The show centers on Megan, a 23-year-old Ivy League graduate who gets fired from her magazine job and becomes a live-in tutor to the twin granddaughters of a cosmetics mogul. (Buzz Sugar)
Starring: Ashley Newbrough, JoAnna Garcia and Lucy Kate Hale

Comments: Why do sisters that rich share a bedroom? This looks mindless and without substance. I don't think anyone could pay me to watch this show. To think they canceled Veronica Mars and passed on VM Future only to bring the viewers shallow drivel like this.

Stylista (Game/Reality)

Comments: Didn't watch. This genre falls below sitcoms on my watch list.

There doesn't seem to be a trailer for the NEW 90210 series.

ABC
Opportunity Knocks (Game/Reality)
A mobile team heads to Anytown, America to give away big prizes to a chosen family while quizzing them on how well they know each other.

Comments: Ick

Life on Mars
Sam Tyler, a modern-day police detective who, after a car crash, mysteriously finds himself transported back to 1973 and still working as a detective. Based on the BBC series.
Starring: Jason O' Mara as Sam Tyler, Rachelle LeFevre as Annie Cartwright, Colm Meaney as Gene Hunt, Stephanie Jacobsen as Maya, Lenny Clarke as George Randall, Patrick Wenk-Wolff as Colin Raimes and Richard Benjamin as Milton Kornboll.

Comments: No John Simm. I really don't like watching the same scenes with different people while lacking the charisma of JS and Philip Glenister. I'll pass.

The Goode Family (Midseason)
An animated TV program that revolves around a family obsessed with doing the "right" thing environmentally, politically and socially. (IMDB)


Comments: Not a true preview clip but this bored me to death. If it was meant to interest me it didn't. The animation stills look horrid and the characters unrelatable.

Television Fall 2008 Series Previews

I ran across YouTube trailers of the new fall shows and found some more interesting than they sounded in the written description. In a bid to keep you from having to waste time searching them out, I've corralled them all into one place. Enjoy.

Watching the trailers and seeing who's in them has changed my opinion on a few shows. Some for the good and some for the not so good. What do you think?

1st up CBS

Worst Week
Sam Briggs (Kyle Bornheimer) is an entertainment magazine editor who will do anything to please the parents of his girlfriend, Melanie...but instead becomes a one-man wrecking crew whenever he's around them. (TV Spoilers on Yahoo Groups)
Based on the British limited run series, the focus of this single camera comedy is on a young couple’s hellish period before they officially start life together as a married couple.(Marc Berman)
Starring: Kyle Bornheimer, Erinn Hayes, Nancy Lenehan, Jay Maolone and Kurtwood Smith.

Comments: Not to judge a show by its trailer but I'll pass.

The Ex List
After a psychic tells a woman she has already met the man she is going to marry, she begins to track down each and every man she has ever dated. (Marc Berman)
Starring:Elizabeth Reaser, Rachel Boston, Alexandra Breckenridge, Adam Rothenberg and Amir Talai.

Comments: Blah. Pass.

The Mentalist
A man with psychic abilities (former The Guardian star Simon Baker) works as an independent contractor for the police. (Marc Berman)
Starring: Tim Kang, Amanda Righetti, Shaun Toub, Robin Tunney and Owain Yeoman.

Comments:Robin Tunney gives it a pass. Even if this show turns out to be the greatest thing on TV (even though it looks like a clone of Monk, Psych or pick any cop genius show) I still won't watch it based on Robin Tunney being in it. For some reason she always looks like she's in pain...or constipated making her painful to watch.

Eleventh Hour
A government scientist and his attractive counterpart try to save people from deadly scientific experiments.(TV Spoilers)
A professor who is an advisor to a government scientific agency partners with a government operative to troubleshoot any problems or threats to a specific scientific endeavor. (Marc Berman)
Starring: Rufus Swell and Marley Shelton

Comments: as much as actors like Eliza or Robin will turn me off from a show, there are actors like Rufus Sewell that I'll watch because of their past work. 11th Hour is one of those times. I'm not crazy about the trailer, but I was sold at first glance.

Project Gary
A recently single painting contractor and his controlling ex-wife face post-divorce mayhem after 15 years of marriage as they embark on new relationships. (Marc Berman)
Starring: Jay Mohr and Paula Marshall

Comments: Strike 1; it's a sitcom. Strike 2; I like Jay Mohr better on Ghost Whisperer and I won't watch it on that principle alone.

Harper’s Island (midseason)
An Agatha Christie-like murder mystery begins to unveil in this interactive drama after a group of friends meet on an island off the Seattle coast for a wedding. (Marc Berman)
Starring: Elaine Cassidy, Ryan Merriman and Samantha Noble.

Comments: While the trailer looks creepy and full of possibilites I can't help but think watching this series won't end well. The only hope is if it has a 13 episode order and wraps everything up nice and neat by the end. I can't think of any murder mystery series that ever left the viewer with a good resolution.