[US] New Shows

Basq

Well, similar to a thread TmB created last Summer - it's officially pilot season and it's time for us to air on views and opinions on the pilots for the new shows.

So.. here's mine on what i've seen so far - starting with my favourite and working my way down:

Jericho
Plot Outline: After a nuclear disaster caused by several terrorist attacks destroys most of America, residents of a small Kansas town must come to terms with a new and very different reality.

Definantly my favourite of all the pilots so far... i love the idea and how it was executed. Patchy acting from some characters and some downright questionably moments (

tracheotomy with a straw..

:eek:) aside. The show had enough moments of promise (

convict emerging from the shadows

) and stirring images (

closing the show with the crow covered highway with Snow Patrol's "Run" playing over it

). And was wondering whatever happened to Skeet Ulrich... now i know!

Shark
Plot Outline: Sebastian Stark just quit his old job of defense attorney after a shocking outcome in one of his cases and a personal epiphany, now looking for a job he receive a call from the LA city mayor office. When meeting the city mayor, he has an offer for a new job, director of the Los Angeles DA's high-profile crime unit, but with a twist, he would have to train a new team of inexperienced lawyers by using years of experiences, tactics and by practicing in Stark tribunal in his home.

Loved this... it's 'House' with lawyers instead of doctors and James Woods instead of Hugh Laurie. Loved James Woods quips and the dynamic between himself and the daughter. And that over-used but beautiful James Hiatt song to close the pilot won me over.

Traveller
Plot Outline: Jay, Tyler and Will were friends who had spent the last two years in grad school living together. They were about to go on a summer journey, but a simple prank to rollerblade through one of New York's most famous museums made Jay and Tyler prime suspects in a terrorist bombing that destroyed the museum a few seconds later. Jay and Tyler hoped that Will could clear their name, but discovered that they had no way of proving Will ever existed.

Really enjoyed it... not as much as some people judging by the thread posted up last week. However,

the bombing was done brillantly, rollerblade race was quite well done too. The dynamic between the three main characters (well, mainly two from now on presumably) was very believable.

Show could really be something special next season. Shame it's not airing til January but it'll be a nice companion to '24 - Day 6'.

The Nine
Plot Outline: So much in life is beyond our control. Each day can change the rest of a person's life. Nine people face just such an unexpected twist when they are caught in a bank robbery gone wrong. They must endure a 52-hour hostage standoff that will leave two people dead and seven others changed for the rest of their lives. These nine people will be changed forever and their lives will be intertwined because of these 52 hours.

Has the potential to be excellent but pilot was essentially quite weak. I like the way the series will obviously unfold -

revealing more and more of the stand-off as it progresses but did i really notice much of a change in these people before and after these gruelling 52 hours which will enthuse me to tune in week after week?

Not really!

Heroes
Plot Outline:Heroes is a serial saga about people all over the world discovering that they have superpowers and trying to deal with how this change affects their lives.

Just downright loathed this pilot. Maybe i'm being a bit hard on it but a weak script, quite 1-D characters and most of all, the

Japanese guy irritated the arse off me!

. Ali Larter was delicious however but i just didn't get some stuff in it (

Ali Larter has a mirror monster of herself who goes around beating the snot outta people..

). Could be good but pilot was poorly executed... will probably tune in again though.

tvnutz

Jericho looks good...was the pilot shown yet,or was it acquired by *cough* other means,which no one has to mention.

AliasFan47

Basquille, you are contradicting yourself as being o moderator on the Lost & Prsion Break boards...

It says clearly that you cannit discuss downloading and yet you have seen the only shows leaked onto Peer2Peer / torrent sites.

Unless you have a good explanation you hippocrit than I will make sure this thread is closed....

Basq

AliasFan47 wrote:

Unless you have a good explanation you hippocrit than I will make sure this thread is closed....

Get a dictionary, you arse! :eek:

How'd ya like that for an explanation, hmmm?

Spocker

Thanks for that basquille, what with Lost just over and Prison Break flying along... I was wondering was coming down the line and you've given some good markers - cheers.

S.

Mossy Monk

AliasFan47 wrote:

It says clearly that you cannit discuss downloading and yet you have seen the only shows leaked onto Peer2Peer / torrent sites.

where did he discuss downloading?

Matthewthebig

What is this downloading you speak of?

digiman

I have seen the trailers for The Nine on american tv now a few times and I think it is a show that I would like, another one that I am looking forward to is 6 degrees. It is on ABC as far as I know and is from the same producers as Lost. There is another one called Vanished I think starting on Fox that is being billed as similar to 24.
They really are starting to build up the advertising over here for these new fall shows.

Basq

Mossy Monk wrote:

where did he discuss downloading?

Exactly... cheers Mossy!

Oh... and 'Eureka' is pretty good also. Started last week in the States with a double episode and it's starting on Sky One on August 16th. But for some reason Sky One are marketing it as 'A Town Called Eureka'

Anyways.. quite a snappy script, some genuinely funny moments, talented cast and a very intriguing premise makes good watching.

RobertFoster

AliasFan47 wrote:

Basquille, you are contradicting yourself as being o moderator on the Lost & Prsion Break boards...

It says clearly that you cannit discuss downloading and yet you have seen the only shows leaked onto Peer2Peer / torrent sites.

Unless you have a good explanation you hippocrit than I will make sure this thread is closed....

Right on brother, fight teh powah!

Thanks for the info basquille, though I won't know which to go for until you campaign to start a forum for it

herobear

eureka has a nice premise but awful execution imo.

anybody watching Weeds on skyone ?(granted its not very new in the US, but it is here) im lovin it!

tvnutz

AliasFan47 wrote:

Basquille, you are contradicting yourself as being o moderator on the Lost & Prsion Break boards...

It says clearly that you cannit discuss downloading and yet you have seen the only shows leaked onto Peer2Peer / torrent sites.

Unless you have a good explanation you hippocrit than I will make sure this thread is closed....

Is that a joke? Otherwise take that stick out of your arse! geez! There was no mention of downloading...at all,so therefore,no breaking of the rules.

Man...seriously,look at you post again,tell me you don't have a personality like that! :eek:

Basq

RobertFoster wrote:

Thanks for the info basquille, though I won't know which to go for until you campaign to start a forum for it

Heh... how true!

herobear wrote:

anybody watching Weeds on skyone ?(granted its not very new in the US, but it is here) im lovin it!

Actually that's one show i kept missing... must have a look for reruns / DVD of it at some point.

PS - oh, for those looking for something to watch... the excellent '28 Days' is back for a second season tonight in The States. For those who don't know what it is, it's a documentary series with a slight twist. Created by Morgan Spurlock of 'Super Size Me' fame... it typically puts people in quite unlikely / uncomfortable situations for 28 days and tracks their progress.

Typical example from last series was shacking up a straight laced Texan football player who's openly-homophobic with a gay guy from San Francisco for 28 days! :eek: And another episode involves a mother trying to live life like her daughter by binge drinking for 28 days.

Anyways.. much recommended!

murfie

do you know what channels these shows are on, I'll do a search now anyway. But another show which just aired last week on Sci-fi is Eureka, its different, about a town in middle America where they are something like Area 51, and its full of mad and wonderful technology of the future thats been developed. Its something to watch here on sci-fi till session 3 of BStar starts again.

And Morgan Spurlocks show is called 30 Days, no matter, I watched the new border patrol one tonight, very good. Its surprising how everyone that goes and does these will come away with a better view on life, just shows how little people know, and all they are is scared of the unknown

Basq

murfie wrote:

do you know what channels these shows are on..

'Jericho' will air on CBS
'Shark' will air on CBS
'Traveller' will air on ABC
'The Nine' will air on ABC
'Heroes' will air on NBC

murfie wrote:

But another show which just aired last week on Sci-fi is Eureka, its different, about a town in middle America where they are something like Area 51, and its full of mad and wonderful technology of the future thats been developed. Its something to watch here on sci-fi till session 3 of BStar starts again.

Yep.. mentioned this further up the thread. You may have missed it!

murfie wrote:

And Morgan Spurlocks show is called 30 Days, no matter, I watched the new border patrol one tonight, very good. Its surprising how everyone that goes and does these will come away with a better view on life, just shows how little people know, and all they are is scared of the unknown

Whoops.. so it is! Probably got confused with the "oh-so-highlarious" Sandra Bullock movie!

ixoy

Good work Basquille - I'll check out "Jericho" when I can and a few of the others. Keep an eye for anything else coming down the pipeline (isn't there some show about a guy repeating the same day over and over, for example?)

TerrorFirmer

Jericho looks promising; the rest, a mixture that at this stage seems to be one of blandness and plain awfulness in my opinion...

Basq

ixoy wrote:

.. (isn't there some show about a guy repeating the same day over and over, for example?)..

Yeah, heard of something like that but can't recall it's name. Producers are clearly running out of ideas. Is that not just Tru Calling?

One show which apparently is excellent but hasn't been "shown" yet is 'Smith'

Mr E

Nice one, Basquille.... I wanted to do this, but I've been feeling lazy (it was hard work last year!).

Haven't seen Jericho yet, but I'm definitely going to hunt it down now.

Traveler (one 'l', BTW!) shows great promise. Could be hard to stretch into multiple seasons without crawling up its own arse, though...

The Nine was very good, but I'm not sure the idea really worked. I mean,

we all know that 9 people walked out at the end. The first 10 or 15 minutes were great, but the stuff that happened afterwards was fairly boring. The revelation at the end was a bit 'meh' - I was hoping for a monster twist.

lostexpectation

basquille wrote:

Yeah, heard of something like that but can't recall it's name. Producers are clearly running out of ideas. Is that not just Tru Calling?

One show which apparently is excellent but hasn't been "shown" yet is 'Smith'

is that the one with ray liotta?

Basq

basquille wrote:

One show which apparently is excellent but hasn't been "shown" yet is 'Smith'

lostexpectation wrote:

is that the one with ray liotta?

That's the one... very good cast (Amy Smart, Ray Liotta, Virginia Madsen and Jonny Lee Miller) and sounds interesting!

TV.com Summary wrote:

This drama follows the adventures of a team of thieves who visit different cities to execute high-level crimes.

TmB wrote:

The Nine was very good, but I'm not sure the idea really worked..

Agree with you completely.. characters just didn't show enough of a radical / interesting change for me to want to know what happened to them in those 52 hours.

AliasFan47

tvnutz wrote:

Is that a joke? Otherwise take that stick out of your arse! geez! There was no mention of downloading...at all,so therefore,no breaking of the rules.

Man...seriously,look at you post again,tell me you don't have a personality like that! :eek:

Mossy Monk wrote:

where did he discuss downloading?

So how did you see the pilots because you know an a lot about them when you haven't even seen them. The pilots are only available to US TV critics and and bit torrent sites. They haven't even aired in the US yet.

Mossy Monk

AliasFan47 wrote:

The pilots are only available to US TV critics and and bit torrent sites. They haven't even aired in the US yet.

no **** :rolleyes:

even if the whole world downloaded them nowhere did basquille mention what site they would have been downloaded from or what client has been used. as said earlier you really need to remove that stick from your arse as this thread is discussion about the shows not downloading. you are looking like a troll, a poor one at that

Dont be at yourself

Just back from US TV critic friend's house.

Watched Jericho and The Nine. Both were pretty awful, I doubt I'll bother watching them.

Jericho

is a great premise but the acting is quite hammy and it's far too days-of-our-lives for me.

The Nine

started off ok, peaked at the bank robbery and went downhill from there. None of the post-robbery interactions interested me, and there wasnt enough exposition on what actually went on during the robbery. If it's gonna move that slowly all season, I wont have the will to watch it.

Unearthly

Travller is great imo. One of the strongest pilots I have ever seen. Then again the pilot is very hard to judge how a show will go on. I didn't like the Lost pilot, now I love the show

Heroes sounds awful from reading about it.

Jericho I have heard mixed reviews about, I will give that a go.

The Nine intrigues me, I will check that out next.

iFight

Thanks basquille, that Jericho one sounds good, same to Heroes, despite the negative review

kaimera

Saved is pretty solid. Showing on TNT along with The Closer.

Eureka seems very good from what I've seen.

Heroes in the fall.

Nightmares and Dreamscapes by Steven King is a 4 week double ep special over the summer on SciFi. Some very good episodes there. Ends next Wed I think.

Dont be at yourself

Just watched Traveler. I was very impressed. It was a little clichéed, but great cast, great production values and direction mean I'll be tuning in for the next one.

Basq

kaimera wrote:

Saved is pretty solid. Showing on TNT along with The Closer.

Yeah, i like 'Saved' but would enjoy some more character development as it seems we've learned the bare minimum about the characters in the episodes so far though Tom Everitt Scott is very good in it.

kaimera wrote:

Eureka seems very good from what I've seen.

I'm enjoying 'Eureka' from the two episodes i'so far.. mainly due to Colin Ferguson very goiod in the main role. Very funny guy - the scene in the second episode

with him apologising to the house for not calling to say he'd be home late was brillantly done!

Basq

Friday Night Lights:
Plot Outline: Eric Taylor, a first-time high school football coach, finds himself helming a stellar team that has a real chance to make it to the top. The stakes are high, the reward is sweet, and the pressure is immense. Can Eric take his boys all the way while keeping their morale and morality intact?

I did enjoy this... while it was incredibly clichéd - it was also very enjoyable!

What i mean by clichéd for one is that practically every scene open with these shots of fans winding their way into the stadium, shots of the bleachers, cheerleaders practicing, floodlights being turned on - and all of these scenes aided by a bassy synthetised piece of music alongside side. The team is typical American Football fare.. there's the star quarterback, there's the player who rarely plays but is waiting on his "big chance" and.. need i go on? We've all seen these clichés a thousand times in films like 'Any Given Sunday', 'Varsity Blues' and of course 'Friday Night Lights' (the film in which the TV show is based on).

But the show works. I do enjoy American Football and at least watch the Superbowl every year. Kyle Chandler (who we all know from 'Early Edition' and more recently Peter Jacksons 'King Kong') plays the new football coach with the pressure piling up with an oncoming season and a town full of residents with only winning on their minds.

I hope it stays quite a sports-related character-driven show.. and doesn't go down the path of the teen drama ****é like 'The OC' and 'One Tree Hill'

May not change your life but it's recommended... will definantly tune in again anyways!

AdrianII

AliasFan47 wrote:

So how did you see the pilots because you know an a lot about them when you haven't even seen them. The pilots are only available to US TV critics and and bit torrent sites. They haven't even aired in the US yet.

Did basquille not tell you he was a US TV Critic.:D

Good work - a few of them sound good. Havent seen much TV durin the summer but cant wait for them to air soon..

tvnutz

Just watched the pilot of Jericho...very good,Ill be watching this show for sure. I thought it was very well done and I had no problem with the acting.

The explosion was done very well,with the kid on the roof,and that end scene with the dead birds was very eery.

It will be interesting to see where they go with it.

Is this Eureka show the thing starting on Sky One this Wednesday? They are calling it "a town called eureka",but I assume its the same thing.

Mossy Monk

yeah according to imdb it is the same thing

John R

Itv have bought "Smith" for itv4 in early 2007 and Hallmark will show "Jericho" in the new year also.

Matthewthebig

herobear wrote:

anybody watching Weeds on skyone ?(granted its not very new in the US, but it is here) im lovin it!

Was that not on last year?

Ruu_Old

Til Death is starting on Fox on September 7th (Thursdays at 8/7c). Its probably not the best comedy but doesn't look like its the worst either. I will probably check it out.

‘TIL DEATH is a comedy about middle-aged EDDIE (Brad Garrett, “Everybody Loves Raymond”) and JOY STAMM (Joely Fisher, “Desperate Housewives”), who are on day 8,743 of their marriage and have the battle scars to prove it. Their new next-door neighbors are young newlyweds STEPH (Kat Foster, “Law & Order”) and JEFF WOODCOCK (Eddie Kaye Thomas, “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle”) – idealistic, passionate, adorable and married for all of 12 days. It’s a show about new marriage versus old marriage, about keeping the romance alive – or at least staying together so you have someone to drive you to the hospital for your operations.

Basq

The Singles Table:
Plot Outline: By virtue of their single status, Stephanie, Ivan, Eli, Adam, and Georgia have been relegated to the worst table at the wedding of a less-than-best friend. Seated together in the corner by the kitchen, these five strangers wind up sharing more than they would ever imagined--and find themselves rewarded with new motivation, friendships, and maybe even love.

Definantly the most promising comedy of the new season so far.

I really enjoyed this... mostly due to the under-rated genius of John Cho who i've always been a fan of and just stole every scene in the pilot. And the lack of a canned laughter track made me enjoy it more.

For every weak joke (which there were a couple).. there were 2 or 3 that really hit. Not hilariously laugh off loud belly-gut laughs but more of those awkward giggles at either the character's predicament / exchanges or at how real the situation is (for anyone who's been to a wedding).

Anyways, the best moment of the episode without a shadow of a doubt though was... (don't highlight the spoiler unless you don't plan on watching the episode as it will ruin the suprise element of the best joke in the pilot episode)...

The heartful moment of Ivan finally saying goodbye his ex-wife who's clearly moved on. "Goodbye Lexie!" with Ivan's arm just off the top of the screen! "Ivan.. get the finger down!"

Anyways... much recommended!

EDIT: Oh.. and be back tomorrow night with a review of probably the most hyped and anticipated pilot of the new season: "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip"

cosgrove80

Watched the "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" pilot.

I thought it was pretty great and has huge potential. The premise will allow them room to be topical but also leaves space for behind-the-scenes drama.

It's hard to disassociate Bradley Whitford with his West Wing character as he played it for so long. Mathew Perry was good though and didn't stray into wackiness.

The speech at the start was the highlight imo.

I'll leave the full review to Basquille

Rollo Tamasi

Mossy Monk wrote:

no **** :rolleyes:

even if the whole world downloaded them nowhere did basquille mention what site they would have been downloaded from or what client has been used. as said earlier you really need to remove that stick from your arse as this thread is discussion about the shows not downloading. you are looking like a troll, a poor one at that

not so long ago a lot of argo was brought up due to the discussion of Thom Yorke's new album....the thread got locked as the album did not go on release in Europe at the time of discussion. It's a bit funny how there can be one rule imposed by one moderator and a different rule imposed by another on boards.

But anyways, thanks for the thread bas

PS, agree about the stick...get it out of your arse man! That's bad for your health according to my doctor.

Basq

Rollo Tamasi wrote:

not so long ago a lot of argo was brought up due to the discussion of Thom Yorke's new album....the thread got locked as the album did not go on release in Europe at the time of discussion. It's a bit funny how there can be one rule imposed by one moderator and a different rule imposed by another on boards.

Believe me.. there was a serious difference of opinion among mods on that issue so it's best left forgotten!

Rollo Tamasi

i hear ya on that one!

Mossy Monk

i watched Jericho. i quite enjoyed it i must say but i cannot see where they will go from here. should be interesting

seabee

Has anyone heard of/seen Brotherhood? It's supposed to be like The Sopranos but with an irish-american "family".

Mossy Monk

yeah, seen the first 2. i enjoyed it. i like the way it shows the political side of things and also the heavy handed ways of doing things. i would recommend it. 4 episodes have been shown so far

mikeruurds

I don't know if anyone has seen "Kyle XY" yet. It's on episode 6 or 7 in the States and I've seen the first two episodes so far and found them to be quite good.

Kyle XY - KYLE XY follows a mysterious boy who looks like a teenager, but otherwise appears to be a newborn. The Trager family takes him in as one of their own. The series is produced by Touchstone and...

It sounds a bit dodgy but is pretty good.

I must agree that Traveler looks to be an interesting show. I actually quite enjoyed the Heroes pilot. It could end up being a dud, but I thought that the Japanese guy was really funny and the cheerleader with a death-wish was good too.

Mike

Mossy Monk

one of the lads at work has recommended Kyle XY also. hope to check it out soon

TarfHead

basquille wrote:

Oh... and 'Eureka' is pretty good also. Started last week in the States with a double episode and it's starting on Sky One on August 16th. But for some reason Sky One are marketing it as 'A Town Called Eureka'

copied from www.radiotimes.com.

WEDNESDAY 02 AUGUST
A Town Called Eureka
9:00pm - 10:50pm
Sky One
VIDEO Plus+: 34260
High definition, widescreen

1/12
This sci-fi pilot arrives hotfoot from the States, and a very bright idea it is, too. The hero is a US marshal whose car breaks down in "Backwater USA", where everyone behaves as if they're in Back to the Future. Inhabitants are conducting crazy experiments and precocious kids are solving fiendish math, while cattle and bits of caravan start vanishing. It's quirkily compelling, but alarmingly undecided in tone. The intriguing mystery here is not just in the plot: it's how they can possibly expand on the premise.

tvnutz

Just watched the pilot of Studio 60,very good indeed! And it has huge potential as well. Matthew Perry and Bradley Whitford are great actors and work very well together. I also didn't realise it was created by Aaron Sorkin creator of the West Wing,it has to be good in that case!

Basq

Ahhhh... 'Kyle XY' was awful poo!

Only watched the first two episodes but the truly horrible acting from all involved put me off.

mikeruurds

Well... it's the no. 1 rated show on tv.com at the moment.

I guess it's a matter of opinion. The acting is not going to be winning any oscars, but the script is pretty good.

It'll have to do till Traveler starts and Lost, Veronica Mars and Criminal Minds kick off their new seasons.

Mike

Mr E

Watched 4 or 5 eps of Kyle and got bored. I'm interested to see where it goes, but I think I'll read spoilers online rather than going to the trouble of watching it.

I thought it was a bit kiddie to be honest....