Part 1
Part 2
Today, I'm review two sitcoms based off annoying premises and one show based off a superhero. So that's apparently not a great start. However, the superhero show is genuinely good and the annoying premise pilots aren't as bad as you'd expect!
The Flash
Well, this show is fun. I'll admit I'm kind of burned out on the superheroes, a trend that doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon. But The Flash has a different tone than the other superhero shows. Besides Nolan's films and The Avengers, the films are at best mediocre and worst boring. Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is simply uninteresting. Gotham doesn't really know what it's doing. (I have not seen Arrow, which may be the exception and I've in fact heard it is)
Welcome to The Flash. This show is immediately good. The pilot gives us the origin story plus a villain plus introduces us to all the characters so obviously this episode is rushed. But it sure as hell acknowledges how fun being The Flash would be. Grant Gustin is well-cast as the lead playing The Flash in a "Wow is this really happening to me? Awesome" way. Which not enough superhero projects do because the seems like the natural response.
The early returns on the supporting cast are promising. Law and Order vet Jesse L. Martin has something not many actors can claim about their roles and that is 10 years experience of being a cop on TV. Tom Cavanagh is good as the genius scientist who probably is hiding something. And I already like both Danielle Panabaker and Carlos Valdes as the scientists who presumably will help Flash along the way.
Another cool thing is that the origin story seems to be directly tied to how exactly so many supernatural villains will pop up in the future. He got struck by lightning, but other people were also affected including the villain this week. Overall, I'd highly recommend this show even to anybody feeling burnt out by superhero shows.
Verdict: Absolutely watch
Grade: A-
Marry Me
Unfortunately, a sitcom nowadays a sitcom needs to have some sort of hook to its pilot to distinguish itself from every other sitcom. This one, for mostly worse, is that the two leads cannot seem to get engaged to each other. Like both want to get married, but hey something keeps getting in the way! Because that's how life works I guess. (To be fair, it's based on creator David Caspe and Casey Wilson's attempts in real life so I guess it does work like that).
With that said, I really liked this show. Casey Wilson is the star of the pilot making a character who demands to be married now likable. She basically screams at Jake (Ken Marino) for a solid three minutes while he's down on one knee trying to propose to her. She's screaming about how she can't believed he hasn't proposed yet. So you can see the challenge, but Wilson somehow pulls it off.
Ken Marino isn't playing a Ken Marino character, which is strange. I'm sure he'll get crazier as the show goes on, but in this first episode he's normal. There's also Tim Meadows in this as Wilson's gay dad (she has two gay dads). Meadows doesn't get anything to do in the pilot, but he's IN this show so there's a reason worth watching in the future. The show looks promising.
Grade - B+
Verdict: Watch
Selfie
I did not expect to be reviewing this show, but next thing I know I'm watching an episode of Selfie. I mistakenly watched the third episode of this show instead of the pilot. I really don't think that makes much of a difference, and in fact could help a show with a premise like this.
I'm not sure I can get into this show. For one, I just don't find it all that funny. Then there's the obvious fact that this show will be sooo dated in 10 years. I suppose that's an invalid criticism of a show in the present, but it's always in the back of my mind with most of the jokes. The show almost survives solely on the acting ability of Karen Gillan and John Cho, but I'll be cautiously waiting for this show to get good - if that ever happens - instead of watching it while it airs.
But this show is nowhere near as bad as you would expect gathering from the title so there's that.
Grade - C+
Verdict: Safely skip
Playlist
1. "Forgive & Forget" - The Kooks
2. "Fame" - David Bowie
3. "Run the Jewels" - Run the Jewels
4. "A Hard Day's Night" - The Beatles
5. "Fantasy" - Breakbot feat. Ruckazoid
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