Mom (Mon., CBS, 8:30 CT)
This show has a live studio audience that laughs when jokes aren't funny, cheers when a popular guest star appears on screen, and literally "Awwwws" when something cute happens. This show should work better, but it has the stain of a Chuck Lorre sitcom on it.
If you want to see talent wasted by poor writing, despicable human beings, and unrelatable characters, this is the show for you. Anna Faris plays the titular character, a recovering alcoholic mother who hates her own mother, Allison Janney. Faris is the only character who doesn't seem like a terrible person, excluding the kids because they don't really count.
Anyway, French Stewart appears as a somewhat funny Chef who would by no means be employed in real life due to health codes. There's Nathan Corddry, who plays Faris' manager and lover. He's also married. But it's cool because his wife is bitch. But he can't divorce her because her dad owns the restaurant. This is the kind of stuff the show comes up with. Anyway, this is one of those shows where the audience will wonder why Faris chooses to put up with her mother's shit and for this episode at least, the answer is that her daughter improbably wants her mother - who she hates - to talk to her grandmother - who is all of the worst qualities of her mother magnified.
Verdict: This is likes Dads, but inoffensive and slightly funnier. Don't watch. Much better comedies exist.
The Blacklist (NBC, 9:00 CT)
The Blacklist had an interesting, yet troublesome start to begin its series. The amount of improbabilities that happen in this one episode is a little too high for my liking. The writing is mostly predictable when it's supposed to be shocking.
James Spader plays Raymond Reddington, a criminal's criminal who willfully lets himself get caught. It's not hard to figure out why he gets caught. He wants to spend more time with his daughter, fresh-faced agent Elizabeth Keen. That's kind of a spoiler, but it's kind of not. For one, we don't really know if that's true yet. For another, they telegraphed that she was his daughter so blatantly and obviously that they might as well had a neon sign in the background that pointed to Keen and said "THIS IS REDDINGTON'S DAUGHTER."
Spader obviously steals the show as he elevates the material above what it actually is. I don't know if this is a good show or not, but I'm guessing Spader will hide how bad it is for a long time before I figure it out. Or the writers will figure out what they want and just do a better job. Either way, I'll be watching with a similar type of quick hook I had with The Following last year. Points in this favor are that it's much better than The Following was. (I gave up on that show after two episodes so faint praise)
Verdict:Watch it for James Spader; Can't guarantee quality.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D (Tue, ABC, 7:00 CT)
The triumvirate of Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, and Maurissa Tancharoen has created a slick show of basically awesome spies. The pilot was more style than substance as the only fleshed out character was Mike Peterson, an undiscovered superhero. The rest are introductions, explosions, impossible technology, and a lot of exposition.
Clark Gregg is the marquee name as Agent Coulson. That feels odd just saying that. I don't think it's a spoiler to say that he apparently faked his own death to motivate the superheroes in The Avengers. (Don't worry: That death rang kind of hollow anyway since nobody in the audience likely gave a shit about him). The next most famous person is Ming-Na Wen, who played Mulan and was a long-running character on ER. The rest of the characters are relative unknowns and, with the notable exception of Chloe Bennett as Skye, make little impression in the pilot.
Angels fans will appreciate J. August Richards in the pilot as Peterson and Firefly fans will appreciate Ron Glass. While Whedon's influence on this show will probably be minimal, either his impact was high in the episode or his impact on his fellow creators has been high. In this episode at least, this was clearly a Joss Whedon show as the dialogue is snappy and original. Also, he subverts your expectations and I was surprised three times in the pilot. The pilot shows promise. Hopefully, they can build off that.
Verdict: Watch the pilot. Approach the series with a heavy dose of skepticism that Agent Coulson and four actors who could be mistaken as characters on a CW show - I don't mean that as a compliment either.
Trophy Wife (ABC, Tue, 8:30 CT)
Trophy Wife had a fast-moving, character-laden pilot that's kind of a lovely mess. Bradley Whitford plays Pete, a twice-divorced newly married family man with three smart, manipulative kids. His new wife, Kate played by Malin Akerman, is much younger than he is. I hope they explore why they are together in future episodes.
Whitford's first divorce with Diane (Marcia Gay Harden) produced two surprisingly likable and well-acted kids who are NOT mad at their dad for marrying a new mom. Akerman gets a head start in earning the affection of Hilary, played by newcomer Gianna LePera, in a funny sequence in this episode. The other kid is played by veteran actor, Ryan Lee, who despite being born in 1996, has appeared in 35 titles according to IMDB. (Such as Super 8 and This is 40)
Whitford's second divorce with Jackie (Michaela Watkins) produced a lone, adopted Asian kid, Bert. He cons his babysitter in the the pilot and is the most memorable kid of the three. The pilot managed to interject everyone of these characters in the plot, which is why it's kind of a mess. But it's a carefully plotted, well-written mess.
Verdict: Definitely watch - All-Star cast, good writing, and an impossibly endless supply of ideas that could come from this premise.
Anyway, French Stewart appears as a somewhat funny Chef who would by no means be employed in real life due to health codes. There's Nathan Corddry, who plays Faris' manager and lover. He's also married. But it's cool because his wife is bitch. But he can't divorce her because her dad owns the restaurant. This is the kind of stuff the show comes up with. Anyway, this is one of those shows where the audience will wonder why Faris chooses to put up with her mother's shit and for this episode at least, the answer is that her daughter improbably wants her mother - who she hates - to talk to her grandmother - who is all of the worst qualities of her mother magnified.
Verdict: This is likes Dads, but inoffensive and slightly funnier. Don't watch. Much better comedies exist.
The Blacklist (NBC, 9:00 CT)
The Blacklist had an interesting, yet troublesome start to begin its series. The amount of improbabilities that happen in this one episode is a little too high for my liking. The writing is mostly predictable when it's supposed to be shocking.
James Spader plays Raymond Reddington, a criminal's criminal who willfully lets himself get caught. It's not hard to figure out why he gets caught. He wants to spend more time with his daughter, fresh-faced agent Elizabeth Keen. That's kind of a spoiler, but it's kind of not. For one, we don't really know if that's true yet. For another, they telegraphed that she was his daughter so blatantly and obviously that they might as well had a neon sign in the background that pointed to Keen and said "THIS IS REDDINGTON'S DAUGHTER."
Spader obviously steals the show as he elevates the material above what it actually is. I don't know if this is a good show or not, but I'm guessing Spader will hide how bad it is for a long time before I figure it out. Or the writers will figure out what they want and just do a better job. Either way, I'll be watching with a similar type of quick hook I had with The Following last year. Points in this favor are that it's much better than The Following was. (I gave up on that show after two episodes so faint praise)
Verdict:Watch it for James Spader; Can't guarantee quality.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D (Tue, ABC, 7:00 CT)
The triumvirate of Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, and Maurissa Tancharoen has created a slick show of basically awesome spies. The pilot was more style than substance as the only fleshed out character was Mike Peterson, an undiscovered superhero. The rest are introductions, explosions, impossible technology, and a lot of exposition.
Clark Gregg is the marquee name as Agent Coulson. That feels odd just saying that. I don't think it's a spoiler to say that he apparently faked his own death to motivate the superheroes in The Avengers. (Don't worry: That death rang kind of hollow anyway since nobody in the audience likely gave a shit about him). The next most famous person is Ming-Na Wen, who played Mulan and was a long-running character on ER. The rest of the characters are relative unknowns and, with the notable exception of Chloe Bennett as Skye, make little impression in the pilot.
Angels fans will appreciate J. August Richards in the pilot as Peterson and Firefly fans will appreciate Ron Glass. While Whedon's influence on this show will probably be minimal, either his impact was high in the episode or his impact on his fellow creators has been high. In this episode at least, this was clearly a Joss Whedon show as the dialogue is snappy and original. Also, he subverts your expectations and I was surprised three times in the pilot. The pilot shows promise. Hopefully, they can build off that.
Verdict: Watch the pilot. Approach the series with a heavy dose of skepticism that Agent Coulson and four actors who could be mistaken as characters on a CW show - I don't mean that as a compliment either.
Trophy Wife (ABC, Tue, 8:30 CT)
Trophy Wife had a fast-moving, character-laden pilot that's kind of a lovely mess. Bradley Whitford plays Pete, a twice-divorced newly married family man with three smart, manipulative kids. His new wife, Kate played by Malin Akerman, is much younger than he is. I hope they explore why they are together in future episodes.
Whitford's first divorce with Diane (Marcia Gay Harden) produced two surprisingly likable and well-acted kids who are NOT mad at their dad for marrying a new mom. Akerman gets a head start in earning the affection of Hilary, played by newcomer Gianna LePera, in a funny sequence in this episode. The other kid is played by veteran actor, Ryan Lee, who despite being born in 1996, has appeared in 35 titles according to IMDB. (Such as Super 8 and This is 40)
Whitford's second divorce with Jackie (Michaela Watkins) produced a lone, adopted Asian kid, Bert. He cons his babysitter in the the pilot and is the most memorable kid of the three. The pilot managed to interject everyone of these characters in the plot, which is why it's kind of a mess. But it's a carefully plotted, well-written mess.
Verdict: Definitely watch - All-Star cast, good writing, and an impossibly endless supply of ideas that could come from this premise.
Playlist
1. "I'll Be Doggone" - Marvin Gaye
2. "Two Princes" - Spin Doctors
3. "Sometimes" - Cam Meekins
4. "Maps" - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
5. "Illuminate" - Ab-Soul ft. Kendrick Lamar
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