I was perhaps a bit presumptuous in my last post when I said that these new shows left me with a shrug. Today's a bit more promising with one exception. Of course, I'm not watching shows I am pretty sure will be terrible, such as Selfie or Mysteries of Laura. I don't hate myself so I only watch the shows I'm interested in. Today, I bring you two dramas and a comedy. The dramas fair a whole hell of a lot better than the comedy.
Mulaney
What the hell happened to this show? This pilot is absolutely dreadful. This so badly wants to be a new version of Seinfeld and it fails so badly at it. There may not be one single thing I liked about the pilot. I like that Nasim Pedrad is getting employed. That's it. That's the only thing I liked about the pilot.
John Mulaney, a former writer for SNL, is a comedian I have not really seen all that much. Apparently, he's one of the best stand-up comedians there is today. That is not reflected here at all. There was nothing funny about this episode, including his stand-up. His delivery is painfully stiff and I'm not sure who thought it was a good idea that he'd be good in a sitcom. I won't judge his stand-up material based on this episode, which seems to have infected everything in this episode with poison. But there are good stand-up comedians who really wouldn't fit as a sitcom star. Mulaney may just fit into that category.
Anyway, this is a pretty outdated format. In case you didn't know, there is a laugh track. Well it's filmed in front of a live studio audience, who I can't imagined laughed at any of this under their own free will. I've been watching The Andy Griffith Show and all the actors might as well be in a theatrical setting the way they act. That's exactly how the characters on this show act. It's like they are overacting so that everybody in the theater can see it - except this is a television show and you can tone it down. Despite liking three of the actors, none of the performances were good.
I'm giving this show four episodes based upon Mulaney's reputation, Nasim Pedrad, and Elliot Gould. (Well that's my plan. There's somewhat decent chance I can't bring myself to watch any more episodes.) And really I'm just looking for potential because sitcoms traditionally struggle immediately. Think Parks and Recreation and 30 Rock. But I want to be clear that me viewing the next three episodes has absolutely nothing to do with the pilot. The pilot is an irredeemable turd.
Grade: F
Verdict: Might want to wait for someone to tell you the show's turned a corner
How to Get Away with Murder
Oddly enough this is my first exposure to a Shonda Rimes television show. Technically this wasn't created by her, but she's an executive producer and it's similar in style to her previous shows from what I've read. I'm not sure How to Get Away with Murder is a good reflection on whether to watch Scandal, but it doesn't exactly scare me away either.
There are things I liked about it and things I didn't like about it. Let's start with the obvious: Viola Davis. I'd go as far as to say she's the only reason this show even works. The character of Annalise Keatings is a person who will be highly unethical, highly abrasive, and highly manipulative. In the wrong hands, Keatings would not be someone you'd want to watch everyday. Davis makes her click. She makes her an awesome character.
The rest of the cast is less memorable. Wes Gibbons, played by Alfred Enoch (best known for Dean Thomas in Harry Potter movies), is about the only character who sticks out, but he also gets by far the most screen time. How to Get Away with Murder will probably function similar to "House" - Davis teaches Gibbons and four other students how to evade a guilty verdict. What makes it different is two different mysteries that I won't reveal, but they seem likely to have something to do with Keatings.
To say this show seems unrealistic would be an understatement. I'm no lawyer, but I'm pretty positive the representation of how the legal system works is laughable. Also, no teacher like Keatings could possibly exist in any sort of real life, giving her students full access to an ongoing trial that she's defending. The class is also called Criminal Law 1000 and as a person who's taken many 1000 classes, it's hilarious how much work the students do. No, that's not how a 1000 level class works TV show. Anyway, as a viewer, I'll be juggling a somewhat entertaining show with these problems. But I care much less about the realism than I do about the non-Keatings characters, who I couldn't place out of a lineup (except for two: Gibbons and the guy from Orange is the New Black)
Grade: B
Verdict: Tentatively Watching
Gotham
I was not expecting much from this show, but I enjoyed it. The show both takes itself too seriously AND is way too campy at time, but I don't mind the mishmash of tones. I think there's real material to be mined from a corrupt Gotham police force, although the level to which it is corrupt is almost absurd. So Jim Gordon is literally the only good policeman?
The other problem is that the show is relying to heavily on iconic villains of the franchise. A little restraint goes a long way. The pilot itself includes the Riddler (who for some reason is working for the police?), Penguin, Catwoman, a young Poison Ivy, and possibly the Joker. It's also the way they introduce them: here's the Catwoman, who nicknames her self cat and her every move is catlike in a literal sense. The other villains are much the same in their bluntness.
However, there's hope in a new character created just for this series - Fish Mooney - who is played by Jada Pinkett Smith. Smith is having a whole lot of fun with the role and she's definitely one of the more intriguing villains despite the fact that she's got no history - or possibly because of it. I really like the two leads of the show - Donal Logue and Ben McKenzie. This show has potential as long as it figures out what it's doing.
Grade: B
Verdict: Safe to watch
Playlist
1. "Tongues" - Joywave
2. "Operate" - ASTR
3. "Eleven: 11" - Pell
4. "It's My Part" - Jonquil
5. "I Can't Live Without My Radio" - LL Cool J
There are things I liked about it and things I didn't like about it. Let's start with the obvious: Viola Davis. I'd go as far as to say she's the only reason this show even works. The character of Annalise Keatings is a person who will be highly unethical, highly abrasive, and highly manipulative. In the wrong hands, Keatings would not be someone you'd want to watch everyday. Davis makes her click. She makes her an awesome character.
The rest of the cast is less memorable. Wes Gibbons, played by Alfred Enoch (best known for Dean Thomas in Harry Potter movies), is about the only character who sticks out, but he also gets by far the most screen time. How to Get Away with Murder will probably function similar to "House" - Davis teaches Gibbons and four other students how to evade a guilty verdict. What makes it different is two different mysteries that I won't reveal, but they seem likely to have something to do with Keatings.
To say this show seems unrealistic would be an understatement. I'm no lawyer, but I'm pretty positive the representation of how the legal system works is laughable. Also, no teacher like Keatings could possibly exist in any sort of real life, giving her students full access to an ongoing trial that she's defending. The class is also called Criminal Law 1000 and as a person who's taken many 1000 classes, it's hilarious how much work the students do. No, that's not how a 1000 level class works TV show. Anyway, as a viewer, I'll be juggling a somewhat entertaining show with these problems. But I care much less about the realism than I do about the non-Keatings characters, who I couldn't place out of a lineup (except for two: Gibbons and the guy from Orange is the New Black)
Grade: B
Verdict: Tentatively Watching
Gotham
I was not expecting much from this show, but I enjoyed it. The show both takes itself too seriously AND is way too campy at time, but I don't mind the mishmash of tones. I think there's real material to be mined from a corrupt Gotham police force, although the level to which it is corrupt is almost absurd. So Jim Gordon is literally the only good policeman?
The other problem is that the show is relying to heavily on iconic villains of the franchise. A little restraint goes a long way. The pilot itself includes the Riddler (who for some reason is working for the police?), Penguin, Catwoman, a young Poison Ivy, and possibly the Joker. It's also the way they introduce them: here's the Catwoman, who nicknames her self cat and her every move is catlike in a literal sense. The other villains are much the same in their bluntness.
However, there's hope in a new character created just for this series - Fish Mooney - who is played by Jada Pinkett Smith. Smith is having a whole lot of fun with the role and she's definitely one of the more intriguing villains despite the fact that she's got no history - or possibly because of it. I really like the two leads of the show - Donal Logue and Ben McKenzie. This show has potential as long as it figures out what it's doing.
Grade: B
Verdict: Safe to watch
Playlist
1. "Tongues" - Joywave
2. "Operate" - ASTR
3. "Eleven: 11" - Pell
4. "It's My Part" - Jonquil
5. "I Can't Live Without My Radio" - LL Cool J
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