I don't envy the people who get paid to watch the new pilots. It's exhausting; the human brain can only handle so much expository dialogue before everything starts blurring together. In retrospect, maybe the academically front-loaded structure of my week isn't the only reason I'm tired.
Boardwalk Empire
- A good pilot, not a great one, but it gave me enough that I know I'm interested in seeing more. A few more episodes should show the cast settling in more with the fabulous production design and really making the era feel lived in. It didn't always draw me in, plot-wise, but I did feel at the end like I really wanted to keep watching Steve Buscemi, Michael Pitt and Michael Shannon each doing their thing.
- I like the imagery of the bottles washing up on the beach, but otherwise this show has one of the least dynamic opening credits sequences I've seen on a while in a cable drama.
Hawaii Five-0
- Very fun, with good chemistry among the central four actors. I think this show appeals to the same part of my brain that likes to drop everything and watch Armageddon whenever I find it on TV.
- Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park are awesome anyway, but also featured in sci-fi/fantasy's two most gloriously tragic romances of the past decade. (I like to pretend that I don't have a big softy shipper heart, but I'm only human.) Hopefully, the show's procedural structure means that somewhere down the line they can find guest spots for Yunjin Kim and/or Tahmoh Penikett. Just because it would be awesome.
Detroit 1-8-7
I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this pilot. It was very reminiscent of Homicide, (the central partnerships in the pilot in particular reminded me a lot of Pembleton/Bayliss and Bolander/Munch) but that just makes it derivative, not bad, and, at least tonally, a solid change of pace from most other crime procedurals currently featuring on the dial.
Undercovers
- It almost seems unfortunate that J.J. Abrams has a creator credit on this show, if only because that means it will invariably be compared with Alias. I loved Alias, but I can also recognize that this is a very different show. With Chuck back too, I don't know whether I'm patient enough for two separate lighthearted spy shows on the schedule, but I liked the actors enough here that I'm willing to give it a few more weeks.
- I can recognize that I'm talking abnormally much about Deadwood now, but I do have to say that when I first saw Gerald McRaney in this show I was all, "EVIL!!!"
I don't have the energy to write up all of these, but I do know which ones I'm interested in watching again.
The Rundown:
Yes: Boardwalk Empire, Hawaii Five-0, Detroit 1-8-7
Yes, with various reservations: Raising Hope, Running Wilde, Undercovers
Yes, as long as the network keeps it on the air: Lone Star
Yes, at least for a few weeks, because I'm curious to see how the documentary construct plays out week-to-week: My Generation
I totally thought I wasn't in, but that twist at the end there sure was intriguing: The Event
Inoffensive and solidly acted, but there are only so many crime shows one person can watch: Chase, The Whole Truth, The Defenders, Blue Bloods
Not great, and at times uncomfortably condescending in tone, but I might keep watching because I'm interested in race and media: Outsourced
Not laughing during a comedy is such an awkward feeling, especially when there's a laugh track: Mike and Molly, Shit My Dad Says, Better With You
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