[US] - New Shows

Mr E

I've seen most of the new US shows this season... here are my first impressions... (Synopses taken from tv.com)

Prison Break
This drama focuses on a prison designer who gets himself thrown into one of his own prisons to help his falsely accused brother escape death row. Described as in the vein of The Great Escape , the series will unfold over 22 episodes, charting the course of a single break.

Best of the lot, by far. Its cohesive, its entertaining, its tense, its exciting. 6 episodes in, and there hasn't been a weak episode yet.

Threshold
Threshold revolves around a female government contingency analyst who leads a team of scientists and military personnel who get in contact with a mysterious alien lifeform.

Pretty enjoyable stuff. The crew of a US ship encounter an alien. After the encounter, they evolve and escape to land. It'll be interesting to see where they go with this. Strong pilot, but weaker second episode - I have my fingers crossed for a strong series.

Invasion
Man has searched the skies for centuries and has never come up with conclusive evidence to prove the existence of other forms of intelligent life. What if we have been looking in the wrong place? What if there were other forms of intelligent life already living among us? What if perceived natural disasters were really diversions created to conceal clandestine alien activities?

A modern take on Invasion Of The Body Snatchers. Its a slow series so far, but enjoyable all the same. Hopefully 'the bigger picture' will be revealed early on in the series so people don't lose interest.

Surface
Surface” is an expansive drama and undersea adventure that centers on the appearance of mysterious sea creatures in the deep ocean. The mystery ensnares a spectrum of people, including naval officers in the South Antarctic Sea, a family in San Diego, scientists from the Oceanographic Institute in Monterey, and fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico. The seemingly innocent creatures they find are beautiful, and kids may even want to play with them -- but is there something more to them? One thing’s for sure – they’re full of surprises as viewers embark on this journey to discover what might be lurking in the sea.

A mixture of ET, Close Encounters and Jaws. I thought the pilot was slow, but things picked up a bit in episode 2. The closing shot of episode 2 was a jaw dropper....

Criminal Minds
An elite squad of FBI profilers analyzes the country's most twisted criminal minds and anticipates their next move before they strike again. Each member of the "mind hunter" team brings his own area of expertise as the team pinpoints predators' motivations and identify their emotional triggers in order to stop them.

For those who miss The Inside, this should give you a much needed fix. Its clever, well acted, and a bit like a TV show version of Thomas Harris' books... I like it alot.

Bones
Forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperence Brennan, who works at the Jeffersonian Institution and writes novels as a sideline, has an uncanny ability to read clues left behind in a victim's bones. Consequently, law enforcement calls her in to assist with murder investigations when the remains are so badly decomposed, burned, or destroyed that the standard identification methods are useless.

I'm not blown away by this at all. 3 episodes into the series, and its a bit 'meh'. I've said before in another thread that this show would benefit from some sort of story arc to thread episodes together. As it stands now, the shows are stand alone, so its hard to get attached to the characters.

Commander In Chief
For the first time in American history, there will be a female president. Commander-In-Chief is a political drama surrounding the nation's first female president. This series will examine not only the shock of a first woman president, but the issues she will face. Not only will she take charge of a grieving nation, but also the care of her own household.

I liked this alot. Geena Davis' character (the first Independent Vice President) becomes President after the existing one dies. She fights against pressure from the President's staff to resign and takes the hot seat. It'll be interesting to see where they go with this - there is alot of scope for great storylines throughout the season. Good humour too (her husband takes over First Lady duties!)

Reviews for 8 more new shows later.

pickarooney

Keep em coming

Of all the ones you mentioned, I've only seen (one episode of) Prison Break. I liked it a lot, just haven't got around to watching more yet.
I really don't like sci-fi and don't get the fascination with forensics - just how many more crime scene analysis programmes do we need to see?

TCamen

Gonna start watching the new shows next week once my thesis is done & dusted. I wanna see a few of the ones mentioned above, but I'll wait for 'Threshold' on Sky One in November.

Other shows I want to have a look at:

Reunion
Supernatural
Sex, Love and Secrets (with Denise Richards mmm)
The Night Stalker - starts tonight in the US

Mr E

Supernatural
Supernatural stars Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki as Dean and Sam Winchester, two brothers who travel the country looking for their missing father and battling evil spirits along the way. Sam Winchester is a college student bound for law school, determined to escape his family's past - unlike his older brother, Dean. Ever since they were little their father has been consumed with an obsession to find the evil forces that murdered his beloved wife, and recruited his two young sons to help them. They have grown up as hunters of the supernatural. Sam escaped this way of life after high school, and now has a happy life with his girlfriend, Jessica, and a promising future career. Dean, however, stayed behind with his father to join him in his "hunting".

I quite like this one. Great special effects, and some scenes that will make you jump. Enjoyable, and definitely one to watch.

My Name Is Earl
Earl’s life has been full of poor choices and mistakes, but after winning a small lottery jackpot he has an epiphany and vows to change his ways. Upon discovering that he is the holder of a winning ticket, Earl is hit by a car and the ticket blows out of his limp hand as he lies unconscious in the street. While recovering in the hospital and watching television, Earl has a karmic epiphany, thanks to Carson Daly, who attributes his success to doing good for others. A light bulb goes off in Earl’s dim head and he sets out to right every wrong he has done starting with a grade school geek.

Wry, amusing comedy that shows promise. You'll be smiling all the way through it, but there are too few 'laugh out loud' moment. Great idea for a show, though, and Jason Lee is definitely likeable as Earl.

How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother is a comedy about Ted (Josh Radnor) and how he fell in love. It all starts when Ted's best friend, Marshall (Jason Segal), drops the bombshell that he's going to propose to his long-time girlfriend, Lily (Alyson Hannigan), a kindergarten teacher. At that moment, Ted realizes that he had better get a move on if he too hopes to find true love. Helping him in his quest is Barney (Neil Patrick Harris), a friend with endless, sometimes outrageous opinions, a penchant for suits and a foolproof way to meet women. When Ted meets Robin (Cobie Smulders), he's sure it's love at first sight, but destiny may have something else in store. The series is narrated through flashbacks from the future.

I found myself laughing ALOT during this. Good characters (especially Neil Patrick Harris' character), and very funny in places.

Everybody Hates Chris
Motivated by his childhood experiences, Emmy Award-winner/actor/comedian Chris Rock, narrates this very hilarious & touching story of a teenager growing up as the oldest of three children in Brooklyn, New York during the early 1980s.

I like this one too. The whole thing is narrated by Chris Rock, and its funny stuff. Good cast of characters, and lots of laughs.

Killer Instinct
Killer Instinct details the chilling stories behind the bizzare and deviant crimes cimmited by San Francisco's most aberrant criminals and the detectives who's job it is to stop them. The Series centres around Detective Jack Hale of the S.F.P.D's deviant crime unit. Hale has chosen to be on the front line of the city's toughest division after taking a hiatus from the force following the death of his partner, whom he had a personal relationship with in the line of duty. Intesnse and Private, Hale is haunted by his own personal demons and fights to save his sanity and career.

Another good show. A team of cops who try to solve the 'weirder' crimes in San Francisco. For example, episode 1 focuses on a rapist who paralyses victims with spiders before assaulting them (this is all from the opening scene, so I'm not giving anything away). It leans more towards detective work than forensics (thank god), and is better because of it.

TCamen

episode 1 focuses on a rapist who paralyses victims with spiders before assaulting them (this is all from the opening scene, so I'm not giving anything away).

Sounds like 'Profiler' S1 finale 'Venom', use of exotic animals to torture and kill etc.

Sam and the VCTF team are taunted by a diabolical serial killer (guest star Lori Petty) who prefers to use a variety of exotic poisonous spiders to kill her victims

Mr E

Last 3...

E-Ring
E-Ring, a political drama set within the Pentagon, was created by David McKenna and Ken Robinson, a former Green Beret who consults for CNN on terrorism and military intelligence. McKenna penned the pilot script. Jerry Bruckheimer is the executive producer.

This was much better than I thought it would be. Good story (in the pilot, anyway). Funny in places, good action, good suspense. Can't imagine it being huge, but the pilot was very enjoyable.

Kitchen Confidential
Kitchen Confidential, based on Bourdain's memoir about food, drugs and working in the kitchens of top restaurants. It is a single camera comedy. Jack Bourdain played by Bradley Cooper had it all but it messed it up going wild. Four Years later, he only has a great girlfriend and a crappy job as an aide in Pizza Chain Kitchen. Until Pino Lugeria contacts him to become the Chef of his famous Restaurant. An offer, his girlfriend tells him he cannot refuse. He is back on the field with his old friends, Seth Klein (Nicholas Brandon) the pastry chef, Teddy Wong (John Cho), the Japanese Chef and Steven (Owain Yeoman) who is his second and everyone will be witnessing if he is capable of steering clear of his old ways.

I wanted to like this, but I can't say I did. Struck me as trying to be 'Scrubs in a restaurant', but it didn't really work for me. It might improve, though.

Just Legal
“Just Legal” is a fast-paced procedural drama with humor starring Jay Baruchel (‘Undeclared," ‘Million Dollar Baby”) and Don Johnson (“Miami Vice, ” “Nash Bridges”) as lawyers who save their clients, and in the process, save themselves. David “Skip” Ross (Baruchel), 19, a brilliant legal prodigy, dreams of becoming a great trial lawyer. When he can't land a job at a prestigious L.A. firm because he's too young, Skip ends up working for Grant Cooper (Johnson). Once a great lawyer, now burnt-out by the realities of life, Cooper is barely scraping by in his beachfront law office. Together, Skip and Cooper become defenders of the accused and crusaders for the unjustly wronged. Their cases vary from stories ripped from today's headlines to clever mysteries with procedural twists.

Don Johnson is BACK. Who cares? Gruff burnt out lawyer Johnson is teamed up with teenage prodigy lawyer. Obvious culture/age/method clashes abound, but underneath the cliche, it was pretty good. Wouldn't break my heart if I never saw it again, but what i saw was likeable enough.

Mr E

Haven't seen Reunion, Out Of Practice, Sex Love & Secrets, Ghost Whisperer, Love Inc., Night Stalker (starting tonight), Inconcievable (starting tomorrow).

If anyone has seen 'em, whats the verdict?

pickarooney

Where do you get time to watch all this, TMB? I've a hefty backlog of half-watched shows and I don't know if I'll ever get through them

Tusky

Jesus TmB....no offensive but how long do you spend watching tv shows?!?!?!

Basq

My opinions on what i've seen:

Prison Break
This drama focuses on a prison designer who gets himself thrown into one of his own prisons to help his falsely accused brother escape death row. Described as in the vein of The Great Escape , the series will unfold over 22 episodes, charting the course of a single break.

Excellent excellent stuff!! As TmB said, the best of the lot by far. Possibly will be a big hit with Oz fans over here - truly gripping episodes with multi-stranded storylines that demands you to tune in week after week.

Invasion
Man has searched the skies for centuries and has never come up with conclusive evidence to prove the existence of other forms of intelligent life. What if we have been looking in the wrong place? What if there were other forms of intelligent life already living among us? What if perceived natural disasters were really diversions created to conceal clandestine alien activities?

Watched the pilot and thought it was far too slow. Judging by the pilot, it feels too much like a Stephen King mini-series and will probably die a death before series end.

Bones
Forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperence Brennan, who works at the Jeffersonian Institution and writes novels as a sideline, has an uncanny ability to read clues left behind in a victim's bones. Consequently, law enforcement calls her in to assist with murder investigations when the remains are so badly decomposed, burned, or destroyed that the standard identification methods are useless.

I wanted to like this... i really did! Watched the first episode which i fell asleep on twice. Truly 2-D characters with truly awful acting by David "one expression" Boreanez, no character development and a weak script. Have to say the only thing i liked about the pilot was the music (Feeder and Howie Day... me happy! ). Got the 2nd and 3rd episode on stand-by so will give it another chance.

Supernatural
Supernatural stars Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki as Dean and Sam Winchester, two brothers who travel the country looking for their missing father and battling evil spirits along the way. Sam Winchester is a college student bound for law school, determined to escape his family's past - unlike his older brother, Dean. Ever since they were little their father has been consumed with an obsession to find the evil forces that murdered his beloved wife, and recruited his two young sons to help them. They have grown up as hunters of the supernatural. Sam escaped this way of life after high school, and now has a happy life with his girlfriend, Jessica, and a promising future career. Dean, however, stayed behind with his father to join him in his "hunting".

Yep.. i like this! An excellent pilot but an above-average second episode which does provide at least one geniune scare week after week. Can still see the image in my mind of the

wendigo

from episode 2! Have episode 3 around somewhere still to watch.

My Name Is Earl
Earl’s life has been full of poor choices and mistakes, but after winning a small lottery jackpot he has an epiphany and vows to change his ways. Upon discovering that he is the holder of a winning ticket, Earl is hit by a car and the ticket blows out of his limp hand as he lies unconscious in the street. While recovering in the hospital and watching television, Earl has a karmic epiphany, thanks to Carson Daly, who attributes his success to doing good for others. A light bulb goes off in Earl’s dim head and he sets out to right every wrong he has done starting with a grade school geek.

Yeah... this is a toughie! While i like Jason Lee and Ethan Suplee (how much weight has he lost?! :eek:) as the two "leads". I found it pretty hit-and-miss stuff for the pilot. The only real laugh-out loud moment from the pilot being

".. got first dibbs!..."

. But maybe the comparisons to 'Arrested Development' clouded my judgement. But got the second episode ready to watch so might change my mind.

Everybody Hates Chris
Motivated by his childhood experiences, Emmy Award-winner/actor/comedian Chris Rock, narrates this very hilarious & touching story of a teenager growing up as the oldest of three children in Brooklyn, New York during the early 1980s.

Quite funny but not groundbreaking either. To be honest, take a spinkle of 'Oliver Beene' and a dash of the humour involving slumming it as a lower-class family from 'The PJ's'.. add the situations from 'The Bernie Mac Show' and you've pretty much hit 'Everybody Hates Chris' on the head but it is actually quite promising, and could develop to be a very funny show!

Reunion
Reunion is an original concept in television that follows six close friends from their high school graduation in 1986 to their twentieth high school reunion in 2006. Each episode will cover a year in their lives. It's a murder-mystery that promises stories of love and loss, marriage and death, triumph and scandal as it depicts both the hopes and dreams of 18-year-olds as well as the realities that mark those lives two decades later.

The idea of this show intrigued me but tuned out after one episode. Awful acting along with an 'OC-ish' type feel to what should be a much more mature show drags this promising concept into an uninteresting serial drama.

So... there's my two cents! Harsh but true!

PS - best of the lot: Prison Break, Supernatural, Everybody Hates Chris

tvnutz

Prison Break,Supernatural and Everybody Hates Chris are all great,well worth watching. Havn't seen any of the others.

pickarooney

Anyone dared watch Sex, Love & Secrets yet? It sounds brutal, but just maybe in a have-to-watch way.

cosgrove80

Just thought I'd add my two cents although most of it's been said already.

Prison Break
As people have said probably the best show of the new season (that I've seen). The premise is a little implausible but if you look beyond that it's a great show with genuine tension. I hope they make one series and leave it there (as I read somewhere).

1.How I Met Your Mother
2.My Name is Earl
3.Everybody Hates Chris
4.Twins

is how I'd rate the sitcoms I've seen. HIMYM has the potential to become the new Friends. Twins is pretty dodgy.

Also, although not new, Curb Your Enthusasim is as good as ever.

tvnutz

anyone else having trouble getting the 2nd episode of Everybody Hates Chris from their cousins?

Basq

tvnutz wrote:

anyone else having trouble getting the 2nd episode of Everybody Hates Chris from their cousins?

Apparently there were two episodes on last night - neither are available yet as far as i see!

TCamen

Anyone dared watch Sex, Love & Secrets yet? It sounds brutal, but just maybe in a have-to-watch way.

I really wanna see it, mostly because it's been too long that a truly so-bad-it's-good primetime soap has been on. 'The O.C' takes itself too seriously to be fun like that.

Though S,L+S barely registered on the Nielsen ratings for it's pilot last week, struggled to get a 1.0 rating point -- doesn't bode well :eek:

Poor Denise

PS -- should have a delivery of 'Supernatural', 'Prison Break', 'Surface', 'Invasion', 'Reunion' and 'Sex, Love and Secrets' over the w/e so I'll post up some reviews as soon as I watch 'em.

tvnutz

No basquille,I'm pretty sure there was only one episode of Chris last night.

And did you see the season premiere of Veronica Mars?? I thought it was brilliant,I'm not one for caring about what boyfriend she has so that didn't bother me like it did some people

But the other stuff was great,the way the episode was done and that ending was great,

someone did that to the bus because they thought Veronica was on it,someone wants her dead...interesting!

Also,quite a big addition to the main cast,3 new people,well 2 we kind of knew already,didn't see the new girl yet.

vibe666

damn, beaten to the punch. I've been meaning to do a synopsis with little mini-reviews of all the latest stuff.

two thumbs up for prison break though, top class stuff.

this week I are mostly be watchin': threshhold, invasion, surface and have most of the others ready to watch.

another one which is excellent and just starting it's second series is Medium. 16 eps. in series one, and they're still out there somewhere or other if you look hard enough.

Series one was one of my highlights last year, despite not really wanting to like it, I knew my mum and g/f would and ended up watching it. two thumbs up for it too.

Medium
From Emmy Award-winning executive producer, creator and director Glenn Gordon Caron (“Moonlighting”) comes “Medium,” a chilling drama series inspired by the real-life story of research medium Allison Dubois. Patricia Arquette (“Stigmata,” “Flirting with Disaster”) stars as a young wife and mother who, since childhood, has been struggling to make sense of her dreams and visions of dead people.

Allison DuBois (Arquette) is a strong-willed young mother of three, a devoted wife and law student who begins to suspect that she can talk to dead people, see the future in her dreams and read people's thoughts. Fearing for her mental health, she turns for support to her husband Joe (Jake Weber, "U-571"), an aerospace engineer, who slowly comes to believe that what his wife is telling him just might be true. The real challenge is convincing her boss, D.A. Devalos (Miguel Sandoval) -- and the other doubters in the criminal justice system -- that her psychic abilities can give them the upper hand when it comes to solving violent and horrifying crimes whose mysteries often reside with those who live beyond the grave.

Sofia Vassilieva and Maria Lark also star as Ariel and Bridget, the DuBois children. David Cubitt (“10.5”) also recurs as Detective Lee Scanlon.

Series two is shaping up very well so far and only in Ep. 2 so there's still time to catch up.

Basq

tvnutz wrote:

And did you see the season premiere of Veronica Mars?? I thought it was brilliant,I'm not one for caring about what boyfriend she has so that didn't bother me like it did some people

But the other stuff was great,the way the episode was done and that ending was great,

someone did that to the bus because they thought Veronica was on it,someone wants her dead...interesting!

Also,quite a big addition to the main cast,3 new people,well 2 we kind of knew already,didn't see the new girl yet.

Yep.. twas excellent!

The writing probably wasn't as strong as most episodes last season but loved the

mindf*ck of a second half

and the excellent ending to the episode.

Had a feeling Meg would be a goner! No-one else on the bus was really important to the show on that bus besides Meg, was there?

Anyways, very promising season premiere and loved Keith's joke to Wallace when urinating.

tvnutz

basquille wrote:

Yep.. twas excellent!

The writing probably wasn't as strong as most episodes last season but loved the

mindf*ck of a second half

and the excellent ending to the episode.

Had a feeling Meg would be a goner! No-one else on the bus was really important to the show on that bus besides Meg, was there?

Anyways, very promising season premiere and loved Keith's joke to Wallace when urinating.

Well they lost the new teacher on the bus Now they won't be able to slag off her name anymore...Ms Dumbass lol and what did he say back to him,my name is pronounced reshard...and ye the joke with wallace was funny. Whats the bets the new chick will be a love interest for him...:D

TCamen

And did you see the season premiere of Veronica Mars??

I think this thread is for New *new* shows, not new seasons

In saying that, the season premiere of 'America's Next Top Model' was really fun -- superhero photo shoot, cool

Gonna watch the new stuff over the w/e, I'll post back then.

pickarooney

Apologies for continuing the VM theme, but I must have said WTF out loud ten times towards the end of that episode. Whatever about tosspot Echolls, Duncan is the dullest character in television history, the Mars chick is hot as Mercury but thick as a bock of caramel sometimes.

Don't know if I despise series 2 yet or not.

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

missingtime

For example, episode 1 focuses on a rapist who paralyses victims with spiders before assaulting them

Thats from a john connelly book.

TCamen

Supernatural Aside from some cheesy dialogue and awkward interaction between the two leads, it's quite enjoyable. Some nice direction in the opening two episodes. It's not quite as grown-up as 'Night Stalker', and kinda covers similar ground, so it's interesting to see how differently they tackle certain 'weird attacks'

Night Stalker's pilot and Supernatural ep#2 both cover vaguely similar beastly attack, but in very different ways

It's quite funny having Jared Padalecki call his brother 'Dean' all the time after playing Dean in 'Gilmore Girls' for so long

Night Stalker Crime reporter Carl Kolchak (Stuart Townsend) is partnered with Perri Reed (Gabrielle Union) at The Beacon , a Los Angeles newspaper. Together they investigate a string of strange murders...all of which may be related to the death of Kolchak's wife 18 months earlier in a similarly bizarre manner. A murder that the FBI consider Kolchak the primary suspect.

Buckets of potential in this one. While the main story was a bit weak, the other weird goings on that were briefly touched on looked fantastic and were nicely chilling

e.g The girl who spontaneously combusted, the family who moved into the house, only to be found all hanging dead in the attic and the decomposed couple in the office building

. Stuart Townsend is really good in the pilot, and there's good chemistry with Gabrielle Union. I'm really excited to see where it all goes, and with some stronger A-plots it is definitely a more mature 'Supernatural' with a stronger grim tone.

I loved the hat on the rack in Kolchak's home office and the Darren McGavin cameo. Nice touches to show respect for the original series.

Reunion I enjoyed the pilot because it was utterly predictable, the characters were cliched, but everyone seemed to be having fun, particularly Chyler Leigh in the future segments. Hilarious! Definitely so-bad-its-good primetime soap fun

Still have 'Surface', 'Invasion' and 'Prison Break' to watch, but I'm happy enough so far with the new shows.

grrnnw

Anyone see any episodes of Head Cases before it was canned? I watched the first 2 episodes and really enjoyed them. Who schedules a show up against Lost and then cancels it after just 2 weeks - crazy!!!!

It looks like 'Sex, Love and Secrets' and 'The Nightstalker' could also be dead in the water by the way. I would love for Nightstalker to have been a success, but I watched the pilot and was very disappointed.

tvnutz

anyone having trouble getting Episode 4 of Supernatural from their cousins? :rolleyes:

TCamen

It looks like 'Sex, Lies and Video' and 'The Nightstalker' could also be dead in the water by the way. I would love for Nightstalker to have been a success, but I watched the pilot and was very disappointed.

Do ya mean 'Sex, Love and Secrets'? If so, yeah it's deader than dead.

'Night Stalker' did well in it's first airing last week, so I'm not sure if you're just saying that it's creatively dead in the water? I don't think the pilot was amazingly strong, but the basis for a good on-going series is there.

TCamen

Surface I liked the pilot, a bit slow-moving, but got there by the end. The one reservation I'd have with it, is that it's very miniseries-esque. I'm not sure how a full series would develop, but I'll keep watching to find out.

Reunion Watch eps 2+3 last night. I love this show! It's hilarious primetime soap stuff, but it works so well for what it is I love the slow reveal of who's still alive and what they're up to in 2006. The makeup is funny, but they're doing a good job with the soundtrack for each advancing year. I hope FOX renews it for the full 20 episodes, I want to see how it all ends!

Mr E

Surface heats up (yes, pun intended) by episode 3. Its getting very good now that the threat

has now moved onto land

.

Haven't checked out reunion yet... must give it a go!

cosgrove80

Anyone come across anything in the new season that could be considered a Carnivale replacement? i.e something potentially great that the studios aren't pushing and therefore slipped under the radar?

doh.ie

Couple of thoughts on the new stuff:

Shows that are so-so - interesting to watch, but not setting my viewing world on fire: Threshold, Surface, Invasion. I expect to see an improvement in each as the seasons go on. "B-" grades all round.

Exceeding expectations: Commander in Chief (only sat down to have a quick look at the first five minutes of the pilot; wound up watching two episodes. I've never seen Geena Davies this good in anything!) A+!

The 24-like Guilty Pleasure: Prison Break. Turned out way better than I thought it would be. Still stretching credibility in places, but good fun to watch. B+

Please-work-harder-on-your-plots, but otherwise entertaining: Supernatural. Loved the pilot, but the following few were very X-Files reminiscent. Also, SHOWING the wendigo (or any monster) weakens the tension considerably. Millennium and The X-Files were at their best when they showed you nothing. Psychological horror is sat its strongest when it's left up to the viewer's mind. Characters, while interesting, could've done with a more X-Files like believe/sceptic set of roles, or at least a less committed believe in the supernatural. (I'm not a fan of the backstory about them 'hunting' for years.) The mother's backstory is the best aspect of the show. Loved those few minutes in the pilot. Genuinely scary. Overall: B-

Interesting concept; shame it plays like such a soap: Reunion. Will probably stick with it - like some of the twists. Feels like it could have been stronger. B

Weaker returns than I expected: Everwood, Smallville, Alias, ER (but all improved somewhat by season's end last year - why are the opening episodes often the weakest?)

Better returns than I expected: Veronica (though ep 2 was dodge in places), Lost (answers and explanations flowing nicely) and West Wing

In need of a more compelling Veronica Season 2-like mystery: Desperate Housewives

Yet to sample/this week's viewing list: Night Stalker, Ghost Whisperer, Everbody Hates Chris, My Name Is Earl

jor el

God damn you guys :mad: </cartman>, now I have a list of five more shows that look good. Looks like I'll be hogin' the broadband for the next few days getting this lot. Going to start on Killer Instinct, Night Stalker, Threshold, Prison Break and Surface. I've been watchin Supernatural and I find it quite good. I've also been watching Rome and I think that's excelent (and not only because of the gratutious nudity in every episode either :eek: ).

I'm not big on sitcoms so I probably won't bother with any of them, maybe wait to see if they make it to TV over here.

digiman

I was wondering could someone recommend me a new show to watch, I am a huge Lost fan, I think Prison Break is top quality and also really like 24, especially the first season. I also think that Veronica Mars is pretty good, half way through the first season.
With a big interest in these type of shows which of the new American ones would you guys recommend? If you could recommend me 2 please!

tvnutz

digiman wrote:

I was wondering could someone recommend me a new show to watch, I am a huge Lost fan, I think Prison Break is top quality and also really like 24, especially the first season. I also think that Veronica Mars is pretty good, half way through the first season.
With a big interest in these type of shows which of the new American ones would you guys recommend? If you could recommend me 2 please!

Everybody Hates Chris and Supernatural

ixoy

New shows:

Prison Break - Far and away my favourite new show. It reminds me of the fun OTT that '24' used to be. Plus Wentworth Miller is very hot

Night Stalker - 2 episodes in. Quite enjoying it, even if it's very much an X-Files clone (no surprise there). Enjoyably stylish although maybe the plots could be more original.

Threshold - MEH. If it it wasn't for Peter Dinklage, I'm sure I'd have given up on this one. The whole concept of a Threshold plan makes me think of the Government employing Deloitte & Touche to draw up plans in case of an invasion. The dialogue, in the pilot in particular, can be horifically clichéd and it's only the actor skills that save their characters. But what do I expect when Braga's aboard?

Invasion - Wasted opportunity. The shame is I can see some decent ideas underneath it all but I can't see this lasting long...

Have 'Supernatural' but it's currently on the backburner to be watched at a later date...

TCamen

Weaker returns than I expected: Everwood, Smallville, Alias, ER (but all improved somewhat by season's end last year - why are the opening episodes often the weakest?)

I'm still watching S3 of 'Everwood' on TG4 so can't comment, but I really don't think that 'Smallville' should be lumped in with 'Alias', which has been deteriorating horribly since the start of S4. 'Alias' is seriously woeful these days, but I think 'Smallville' is playing to its strengths (Chloe and the FX) and showing that it can finally move forward with some of the plotlines that have been in statis for the past 4 years - Clark/Lana and Lex/Clark.

Night Stalker - 2 episodes in. Quite enjoying it, even if it's very much an X-Files clone (no surprise there). Enjoyably stylish although maybe the plots could be more original.

I was reading an article with Spotnitz and he was saying how he fully expected people to compare the shows, but he has no interest in repeating The X-Files, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt, for now.

Please-work-harder-on-your-plots, but otherwise entertaining: Supernatural. Loved the pilot, but the following few were very X-Files reminiscent.

I'd agree - the pilot had a stronger plot, but the 2nd episode was a great deal weaker "Let's go wander in the forest for a while until we find the monster". I fear they might take the 'horror movie every week' thing a bit too literally and fall into the above pattern.

Invasion - Wasted opportunity. The shame is I can see some decent ideas underneath it all but I can't see this lasting long...

The pilot was disappointing. I was expecting more spectacle and originality.

Surface Watched episode 3 last night. Wow the opening scene was *so* good, it seriously creeped me out! I like the pace of the show, it's in no rush to have the lead girl part of the investigation team, and I think the disparate ensemble is working well so far. I like it more and more each week!

I still have to watch Prison Break -- have the first 4 eps on DVD now so I'll watch some tonight methinx

digiman

So what do you think of these shows now about a month or so later. Have any of you stopped watching any of them altogether?

Cina

Personally I think Invasion is very good, slow, but good.

Basq

digiman wrote:

So what do you think of these shows now about a month or so later. Have any of you stopped watching any of them altogether?

Outta the shows i reviewed first time round:

• Prison Break
• Invasion
• Bones
• Supernatural
• My Name Is Earl
• Everybody Hates Chris
• Reunion

I've stuck with Prison Break, Supernatural, My Name Is Earl and Everybody Hates Chris.

'Prison Break' has gotten stronger week after week and is the best new show this year.

'Supernatural' has gotten significantly weaker each week... possibly because most of the items in it have already been covered in The X-Files. Not to mention last week's 'Urban Legends' episode being terrible un-original!

'My Name Is Earl' is still very good - though not gut-busting funny. Would prefer a return of 'Scrubs' in it's timeslot, to be perfectly honest.

'Everybody Hates Chris' which i gave a harsh review first time round and has improved a lot. Some likeable characters and a funny script with some close-to-the-bone (and even controversial at times) but funny racial jokes make it increasingly likeable.

PS - Quite enjoying 'Grey's Anatomy' too... just one episode behind my US cousins. Second series is starting on LivingTV tonight at 10pm after they showed the 1st season finale last week.

PPS - Also watched 'How I Met Your Mother' which was about as funny as a case of genital warts (.. harsh?! :eek:). Shame... wanted to like it as i thought Jason Segal could do no wrong.

missingtime

ixoy wrote:

Night Stalker - 2 episodes in. Quite enjoying it, even if it's very much an X-Files clone (no surprise there). Enjoyably stylish although maybe the plots could be more original.

Is this a new version of the old series?

By the way The X-Files was heavily influenced by the original Night Stalker series.

Cina

Meh, actually Rome is the seasons best new show, imo