BuzzFeed has this fun quiz to keep you occupied while we wait for The Mindy Project to return. Unlike most TV quizzes, this one asks you to pick pictures! Aside from a glaring omission in the “Pick a TV doctor” category, this was pretty fun, and I think they got my personality matched up well!
Which “Mindy Project” Character Are You?
Fall TV season has begun, and I have returned to blogging about it! Right now we’re halfway through premiere week (with Fox getting a jump on other broadcast channels by premiering most of its shows a week early), so I thought it would be a great time to see how the fall season is shaping up so far. Besides, Wednesdays are my “light” TV night, so I have a bit of time to catch up and share!
Solid Start
One of the most-talked about new shows is Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD, and the pilot did not disappoint! To be honest, I love all of Whedon’s TV shows, so the only thing I was a bit nervous about going in was the cast, since most of them are newbies. Still not sold on Chloe Bennet, who plays Skye, and Brett Dalton has a difficult job getting people to relate to his stoic character, Ward (though the Granny bit helped – wish they’d had time to show more of that scene). I think the show unveiling of characters will make the show better, I just hope people won’t get impatient and tune out. For me, as soon as the truth serum shot happened, I knew this was my show.
Disappointing Beginning
Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s promo bumped it to my “will watch” list and made it one of my top 3 anticipated comedies of the season, which made the fact that the first two episodes weren’t funny at all that much more disappointing. I could forgive the pilot, since the promo gave away all of the episode, but the second episode was even less funny. I may give the show one more episode to win me over, since it has so much potential, but otherwise, farewell.
Creepy Commencement
Sleepy Hollow was on my to-try list, but recommendations from friends and a high premiere rating made me make checking out the pilot a high priority. So glad I did! After catching up on Grimm, I was in the mood for another spooky/cop show, and I love stories about the American Revolution. Tom Mison is pitch-perfect as the fish-out-of-water Crane, and I’m quickly warming up to the rest of the cast.
As well as marathoning through Grimm, I recently caught up Bones, Castle, The Neighbors, and Suburgatory to prepare for their next seasons. Unfortunately, that meant that I was spoiled about many events in season finales, but at least I don’t have to wait as long for resolution to the cliffhangers.
For shows that have already returned, here’s a few quick thoughts: How I Met Your Mother is poised to deliver an amazing final season, with a likeable and perfect-for-Ted mother. Can’t imagine what NCIS will be like without Ziva, and hated that half of her farewell didn’t even include her. Liking what Bones is doing with the new season, not sure about Castle. New Girl and The Mindy Project feel a touch off, waiting to see what the continued fall out is from major events. NCIS: Los Angeles seems to be back to normal, excluding Deeks, and Person of Interest looks like it will be a ton of fun this year.
What are your thoughts on this season of TV so far?
NBC has finally revealed when Community will return – February 7! What I hate about this announcement is that the show will be going back to competing directly with ratings juggernaut The Big Bang Theory in the Thursdays at 8 time slot, as well as American Idol and the CW’s highest-rated drama, The Vampire Diaries.
The Thursday night comedy lineup for NBC will then be: Community, Parks and Rec, The Office, and new show 1600 Penn (30 Rock will have ended and Up All Night will be on hiatus). No word on when midseason comedy Save Me will make an appearance.
Other midseason NBC news:
New drama Deception (formerly Infamous) will take Revolution’s plum Mondays at 10 slot in January while the futuristic drama goes on hiatus. It will air after The Biggest Loser (Revolution and The Voice will return in late March).
Smash will start its second season on Tuesday, February 5th at 10 after Parenthood wraps up its season in January. This move actually makes me more likely to watch the show, as I usually don’t have any broadcast shows to watch in that time slot. I liked some things about the show during its first season, but hated others. The music, however, kept me watching.
Fox has a full episode preview of its new romantic comedy, The Mindy Project (you can watch it now on Hulu, and it premieres September 25 at 9:30PM). I don’t watch many medical shows, but if the pilot is any indication, this show is light on Mindy’s career as an OB/GYN, and heavy on her quest to find the perfect man of her chick-flick-loving dreams.
Fortunately for the show’s longevity, Mindy Lahiri (played by The Office’s Mindy Kaling) seems to be about as lucky in love as How I Met Your Mother’s Ted Mosby. After a drunken speech at her ex-boyfriend’s wedding, she’s arrested for disorderly conduct (which included riding her bike into a pool) and bailed out by her best friend. On blind date (with guest star Ed Helms), she’s charmingly awkward enough to get the guy’s interest, but messes things up with her reaction to being called in for a delivery.
Her own office offers up two possibilities to liven up her love life: a British hottie who’s available for no-strings hookups, and a rival doctor who gets on her nerves, offers unwanted advice, and mocks her favorite movies (hello, inevitable soul mate). Rounding out the supporting cast is Mindy’s best friend and her daughter, and what appears to be the office’s head doctor and receptionist.
The episode was pleasant and humorous, and with a lead-in like New Girl, should stick around long enough to find an audience. It’s too soon to tell if Mindy’s quirks and self-sabotage will be endearing or annoying, but the juxtaposition of idealized romanticism and realistic dating disasters should be a hit among female viewers.
Fox has put a few of its new fall premieres online early, including sibling comedy Ben and Kate (which you can watch now on Hulu and starting September 25, on Tuesdays at 8:30). Irresponsible Ben Fox has a habit of crashing into his uptight younger sister’s life at the most inopportune moments, but he genuinely loves her and her five-year-old daughter, Maddie. His latest visit brings upheaval to both siblings’ love lives.
Nat Faxon and Dakota Johnson do a good job at playing the brother-sister duo, and it’s a nice change having the zany brother be older instead of younger. There’s some room for growth for their relationship to really zing, though, especially since Fox has another sibling comedy coming mid-season, The Goodwin Games. Daughter Maddie (Maggie Elizabeth Jones) is a bit underused in this episode, but her presence and the show’s dynamics give off a bit of a Bent vibe, though Ben and Kate isn’t as snappy or as risque as the ill-fated NBC show.
Rounding out the cast are Ben’s friend Tommy (Echo Kellum) and Kate’s friend and coworker BJ (Lucy Punch). Tommy doesn’t get much screen time in this episode, but he seems a likeable enough character. BJ initially turned me off a bit, but I think it was mostly because her abrasive personality and accent reminded me of The Office’s Nellie (Catherine Tate). Also, the only thing I’d seen Lucy Punch on before was Ella Enchanted, where she plays an evil stepsister (which probably didn’t help my opinion). I think I’ll warm up to BJ, and when a show leans on the heartwarming side, it’s good to have a character or two who bucks the status quo.
The humor in the pilot was more of the smiling type instead of laugh out loud, but the show feels genuine and organic. I definitely plan to stick around for a few more episodes. Since Fox is the only broadcast network with an 8PM comedy block, there’s a good chance this show will get ignored by most people who don’t watch its lead-in, Raising Hope (which is a pretty compatible show to pair it with). At least the premiere will be sandwiched between two new episodes of New Girl, but most viewers will typically be watching NCIS, Hart of Dixie, The Voice, or Dancing with the Stars results during that hour. Ben and Kate will have to keep improving to survive, but it’s off to a solid start.
A voice of reason amid all the cries of “Why even watch season 4?” “This is the darkest timeline,” and “Community won’t be Community without Dan Harmon,” this article looks at all the very plausible explanations for why he was fired.
While the show started out as an accessible, though quirky, sitcom, over the past few years it has evolved into a very niche show. I still love it, but occasionally there are episodes that try so hard to parody something that they forget to be funny (“Pillows & Blankets” was the latest offense – I think I laughed once during the entire episode).
The article linked below focuses on what good might come out of the change in showrunners. I for one am hoping the changes will be reminiscent of Mark Ruffalo playing the Hulk instead of Edward Norton in The Avengers. I know comparing actors to showrunners is a bit like comparing apples to apple trees, but both Norton and Harmon have a reputation for being difficult to work with. Bringing in Ruffalo was far from the only thing that made The Avengers a success, but I believe it helped. (Side note, since I’m already talking about The Avengers, wouldn’t it be awesome if Joss Whedon had become Community’s new showrunner? I know it’s completely different from his own shows – though not from ones he’s worked on – and unlikely to have worked out, but can you imagine the fan craziness that would have ensued?)
Found this right after I finished this post, and thought it was amazing! (And very fitting to add.)
But what I don’t understand with this move to make Community more mainstream, is why NBC still plans to air Community on Fridays, a timeslot usually reserved for niche shows. It seems like they’d do one or the other (fire Dan Harmon or move the show to Fridays), not both. How is the show expected to pick up new viewers that way? Far better to air the final season of 30 Rock there instead. I would have put Community on at 8 on Wednesdays, followed by Animal Practice (giving the new show the benefit of a veteran lead-in). Then Thursdays could have started with sophomore Up All Night at 8, followed by the similarly-themed Guys With Kids. I do hope some executive at NBC is smart enough to figure that out before fall, and if not, that a new show bombs quickly and NBC rearranges things.
The Hard Truths Behind Dan Harmon’s Community Ousting — Vulture.
Continue reading The Hard Truths Behind Dan Harmon’s Community Ousting and My Thoughts
I think I first heard something about NBC’s Bent almost a year ago when the 2011-2012 season pick-ups were announced. I didn’t recognize any of the actors on the show, and the premise sounded bland. An uptight lawyer falling for her contractor? Yawn.
I didn’t come across another word about the show until my brother asked my opinion on it. Surprised that there was a broadcast scripted show I knew nothing about, I looked up a preview trailer. And liked it. The two leads had great chemistry, there was an excellent supporting cast, and there was a perfect balance of wit and situational comedy. And then I got mad.
NBC had utterly failed this show when it came to promotion. If I, someone who kept up with dozens of shows and looked for all the latest news on TV, barely knew this show existed, how would everyone else know? That meant the premiere episodes would rate low. And by airing back-to-back episodes every week, Bent’s abbreviated 6-episode season would only have 2 weeks to build word-of-mouth. The show was doomed before it aired its first episode.
And I was right. The show was everything I hoped it would be – heartfelt, hilarious, zany. The contractor’s father and crew, along with the lawyer’s daughter and sister, rounded out the cast in unexpected ways, creating a “family of misfits” vibe right from the start. Fortunately for me, the show aired at a time when I didn’t have other plans, so I was able to watch every episode live.
But just as I predicted, the ratings were terrible, even by NBC’s standards. This was Free Agents all over again – a badly promoted show with a premise that sounded terrible and gave no hint of the show’s true nature. At least Bent was able to air all its filmed episodes, and the season (and almost certainly series) finale wrapped up a few loose ends to give the show a bit of closure.
Here’s part two of the animated Community webisode – where Abed learns that absolute power corrupts absolutely (and makes Lord of the Rings references):
It looks like NBC is pulling out all the stops when it comes to bringing Community back! Here, in all its glory, is the epic trailer that premiered tonight on The Soup.
Community is coming back in 8 days! To help build buzz for the return, NBC is releasing a special three-part animated web episode. In this short, Abed takes on the role of the Dean’s assistant. You can watch part one below!
The fall season of Community has ended with a great musical bang, and I’m a little sad, but also a little disappointed. I was hoping this final episode of 2011 would be something amazing. There were moments of brilliance, but I felt the episode as a whole didn’t quite hit all the right notes.
More on the highlights and low points of the episode in a bit, but first, don’t forget to enter my Community giveaway. You don’t even have to visit that page to enter – just leave a comment on this post (since you’re here already!) before the end of December and you’ll be entered! But if you want more chances, check out the giveaway post. Continue reading Community – Regional Holiday Music
The beginning of this episode made me gasp. I decided about halfway through it that it was amazing. And the ending simply blew me away, earning it a perpetual place in my top 10 favorite How I Met Your Mother episodes.
Plenty of spoilers below, so please, go and watch the episode if you haven’t yet already. Then come back. Even you people who like to read the end of books first. (Especially you people.) Continue reading How I Met Your Mother – Symphony of Illumination
This month, I’m giving away a season of Community! Winner will receive his or her choice of either a season DVD set of the show (season one or two) or a $15 Amazon gift card! See rules below for how to enter by leaving comments, sharing on Facebook, linking on Twitter, and more!
Easy-peasy rules (more details and ways to win below, but if you want to enter and move on, this is what you need to know): Leave a comment, get an entry. Post link to this page on Facebook, get entries. Post link on Twitter, get entries. Simple as that. Continue reading Community – Giveaway!
I just made a list of all the shows I’m behind on (it’s getting to be quite a few), but I quickly realized there is one type of show I haven’t put off watching – comedies! Of course, their usual 20-minute length makes them a bit more compatible with a busy schedule than a 45-minute show, but I believe it’s also because I’ve been in the mood to laugh. Continue reading Fall 2011 Comedy Verdicts
