The Mob Doctor Archives

Broadcast Freshmen Grading – How Did I Do With 2012-2013′s New Shows?

Aside from Hannibal, ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, and the CW have made their decisions about which shows are returning next season. How did I do this year on picking which new shows to watch?

ABC

Canceled: 666 Park Avenue, The Family Tools, How to Live with Your Parents, Last Resort, Malibu Country, Red Widow, Zero Hour

Renewed: The Neighbors

I watched more of ABC’s pilots than I typically would for a network since their media site allowed me to preview several shows weeks or even months before they aired. I didn’t like 666 Park Avenue. I thought The Family Tools and How to Live with Your Parents were decent, but by the time they finally started airing I didn’t have time to watch. I loved the pilot of Last Resort, but subsequent episodes lacked the same polish, so I bailed after episode 3, always saying I’d get back to the show, but never actually doing so. The Neighbors was far better than I was expecting, and I watched through the mid-season break, and plan to catch up this summer.

Grade: A+

CBS

Canceled: Golden Boy, Made in Jersey, Partners, Vegas

Renewed: Elementary

I watched not a single full episode of any of the canceled shows, and I loved Elementary right from the start, and it remains one of my favorite new shows.

Grade: A+

Fox

Canceled: Ben & Kate, The Mob Doctor

Renewed: The Following, The Mindy Project

I watched the two new comedies on Fox with a nervous eye toward the ratings. While Ben & Kate was cute, The Mindy Project was far more funny. The drama premises interested me not at all.

Grade: C+

NBC

Canceled: 1600 Penn, Animal Practice, Deception, Do No Harm, Go On, Guys With Kids, The New Normal

Renewed: Chicago Fire, Revolution

I passed on all of NBC’s new dramas, though I did give Revolution two episodes to convince me it was must-see-TV (it failed to), but I was far more willing to try out comedies. The New Normal proved its awfulness in one episode, and I moderately enjoyed Animal Practice while it lasted. I enjoyed 1600 Penn, Go On, and Guys With Kids, but fell multiple episodes behind with each of them quite frequently.

Grade: D

The CW

Canceled: Cult, Emily Owens, MD

Renewed: Arrow, Beauty and the Beast, The Carrie Diaries

I was going to give Cult a chance because of Matt Davis, but the previews turned me off, and I never planned to watch Emily Owens. Arrow is tied with Elementary for my favorite new drama of the year, and I enjoyed Beauty and the Beast but fell behind because of my new job. Initially I didn’t like the idea of The Carrie Diaries at all, but cute promos and a Doctor Who alum has pushed the show into “maybe I’ll check it out someday” territory.

Grade: A

In all, I give myself a B+ for show selection this year – beating my score for last year.

How did you do on picking new shows to watch?

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TNT Orders Legends and The Last Ship to Series, Fox Picks Up Eight Shows, Including Enlisted

TV news for next season is starting to heat up, and I’m back to blogging about it as I try to make sense of what’s going on, share the joy of new projects seeing the light of day, and rant about pilots not picked up.

TNT ordered 10 episodes of two new series I’ve been excited about for a while, thanks to one key role and a decent premise. Adam Baldwin’s The Last Ship features a previously-isolated crew racing to find a cure for a global pandemic. Sean Bean’s Legends has the CIA’s top chameleon operative suffering a break with reality amid his many covers.

I watched both trailers for the new shows (which the above loglines are based on), and both seem slightly different from their original premises. I’m not sure if it’s that, or the fact that my TV watching time has been drastically cut, but I’m less excited about these projects than I was initially. Both are going into my “wait and see the reviews/ratings” box for now, and I imagine they’ll stay there for a while. Now that Leverage is over, the only veteran show I’m watching on TNT is last year’s Perception, which was unique and well done enough to stay on my “to watch” list. (I should really make these into real lists and share them – perhaps after upfronts?)

Fox has ordered 4 dramas and 4 comedies (to add to the already-picked-up Dads, which got expanded from 6 to 13 episodes), quite a lot for a channel that doesn’t program anything from 10-11.

Out of the eight, I’m most excited about Enlisted, a military comedy starring Geoff Stults, Chris Lowell, and Parker Young (who play three brothers). Stults won me over completely in The Finder and I also enjoyed his reoccurring role on Ben & Kate, so I’d be at least previewing almost any new show he would be cast in. I’m sad to see that Young will be leaving Suburgatory, since I love his character on that show, but I’m glad he’ll have more of a starring role in this project. Lowell I know mainly as Piz from Veronica Mars, so I’ll have to get a new opinion of his acting now that he won’t be getting in the way of one of my favorite TV couples.

For the other comedies, Us & Them seems the one I’m most likely to watch, with Gilmore Girls’ Alexis Bledel returning to TV and a fun premise: a long-distance relationship with family and friends butting in. Brooklyn Nine-Nine puts a comedy spin on a cop show, and Surviving Jack stars Christopher Meloni. Dads may also warrant a preview, as Seth Green (Oz from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) plays one of the two guys whose fathers move in with them.

I’m disappointed Delirium didn’t get picked up to series. While the sci-fi premise was a bit hokey (a procedure to remove love?), it reminded me of Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee’s novel Forbidden. And I enjoy Emma Roberts’ acting.

I doubt I will watch any of Fox’s new dramas. I may check out Almost Human (an android/human buddy cop show) if the trailer leans more toward sci-fi than cop drama. Rake has Greg Kinnear, but I’m not piqued by a law drama take on House. The story of Sleepy Hollow never interested me, and Gang Related just seems like another cop show with a conflicted loyalties twist (and medical drama with a conflicted loyalties twist worked out so well for The Mob Doctor).

Do you plan to watch any of these new shows?

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News: No More Emily Owens, MD or The Mob Doctor, ABC Comedies Get More Episodes

The CW has officially canceled Emily Owens, MD – the freshman show will air all of its 13-episode initial order. The Mob Doctor has also coded, but less officially – Fox declined to order additional episodes for the show, and is burning off the final four episodes around New Year’s. Both shows had terrible ratings, so their demise was expected. With Private Practice ending as well, these season has not been kind to medical dramas. The CW will still have Hart of Dixie in the genre, but The Mob Doctor did a poor job at trying to fill the Monday void left by House.

Speaking of House, Hugh Laurie is close to a deal to play Blackbeard in NBC’s 10-episode pirate drama Crossbones. Yes, I could totally see him as a pirate! NBC has also ordered a period pilot, The Gilded Age, from Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes.

Last Resort and 666 Park Avenue have enough time to tweak their final episodes, so fans of the shows will get some closure when the two shows end.

ABC’s two November-debut comedies (sophomore Last Man Standing and freshman Malibu Country) have been picked up for their back five episodes (instead of nine, due to their late starts). Also, Fox’s Touch has been moved to Fridays and will air a two-hour debut February 8th.

Marvel’s S.H.I.E.L.D. has cast the role of Agent Grant Ward, giving it to newbie Brett Dalton. While I’m still hoping some Whedonverse vets make it into the show, I think it’s quite interesting that this guy looks like a combination of Angel (top half of his face) and Spike (bottom half). Am I the only one seeing this?

British historical fantasy show Merlin will come to a close after its currently airing 5th season, with a special 2-hour episode to wrap things up.

And I think that catches me up with at least the most important news (in my mind) that’s cropped up over the past week. What news items have YOU talking?

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Fall TV Verdicts – 2012

Just about all of broadcast TV’s new fall shows have aired at least two episodes now, so I think it’s time for a look at which ones soared, which ones got off to a rough start, and which ones nosedived. I’m dividing this list up into several groups so you can get an idea of what my preferences and interest levels were going in.

Shows I Haven’t Seen and Never Plan To:

Out of the 20 new shows that have debuted so far, the list of those I haven’t seen is pretty small: 7. I hate country music, so Nashville was out. The rest (Made In Jersey, The Mob Doctor, Partners, Emily Owens MD, Chicago Fire, and Vegas) I wasn’t interested in for one reason or another. One is already canceled, two more aren’t far behind, and none of the seven shows has been a breakout hit. I feel pretty happy with my choice not to watch them, and expect maybe 1-2 to reach a second season (not holding my breath, though).

Shows I Never Planned to Watch but Did See the Pilot:

For two shows, I checked out the pilots knowing I’d never commit to watching the show. It was easy to tell from the previews that 666 Park Avenue wasn’t my type of show, but I had a chance to watch the pilot early as a TV blogger, so I tried it out. It seemed well done, but I didn’t enjoy it. The New Normal I watched out of a morbid curiosity to see how awful it would be, and aside from one or two heartfelt moments, it was utterly terrible. I didn’t laugh once.

Comedies I Thought Would Be Awful but Didn’t Mind:

Another show I got a chance to watch early was The Neighbors, which wasn’t as terrible as the previews made it out to be. I’ve seen the first two episodes, and might watch more if I’m caught up on most of my other shows and in the mood for a comedy. Guys With Kids I didn’t intend to see, by my siblings said it was pretty good, so I watched a few episodes. Both shows are more family-oriented comedies, which usually bore me, and I don’t really laugh during them, but I like having extra comedy shows to watch on dreary days.

Comedies I Like but Wouldn’t Cry Over Their Cancellation:

Every new comedy not in the above lists fits in this section. Many of them are great, but I haven’t gotten attached to any comedies so far this season. That’s probably a good thing, as Animal Practice has already been canceled. Go On is probably the best of the lot, and I expect it will return for a second season, but The Mindy Project (my pilot review here) and Ben and Kate (pilot review here) are far from out of danger despite their full-season orders. These shows are heartwarming and humorous, but they’re not laugh out loud funny. Plus, none of the characters grip me in that “I would hate to see them go” way. It could come with time, and I’ll keep watching these shows until they get terrible or get canceled.

Dramas That Didn’t Wow Me In Their First Two Episodes:

Revolution was hyped to be awesome, Beauty and the Beast was critiqued to be terrible. I was disappointed by Revolution’s pilot, but enough was done right that I gave the show another episode. When Miles was still the only character I enjoyed watching, and the rest of the show failed to interest me, I decided to stop watching. It’s too bad, because from the premise it seemed like exactly the type of show I would enjoy.

I just watched the second episode of Beauty and the Beast, and really noticed the terrible, terrible dialogue people were complaining about in the pilot (my review of it here). I so want to love this show, but the writers are making it very hard. I’m still not sure if I’ll watch a third episode. I want it to pull a Vampire Diaries and start getting really good after a few episodes, but I don’t know if there is enough backstory for the mythology of the show to grow. Also, in the second episode, several procedural issues bugged me (Don’t uniforms clear buildings? Are detectives allowed to be present during the autopsy of someone they killed?), and Cat had a sister appear out of nowhere. The first episode got good ratings for the CW, but the second quickly dropped, so it might not get time to improve. Might be better to replace it with the midseason Cult, to bring over Matt Davis (Alaric) fans from The Vampire Diaries. (I know I had no plans to watch the show, but after marathoning through The Vampire Diaries, Matt Davis has become one of my favorite actors, so I definitely plan to give Cult a few episodes to impress me.)

As I was writing this, I kept thinking, I wonder what Revolution and Beauty and the Beast would have been like with Joss Whedon in charge? Can’t wait for S.H.I.E.L.D.!

Dramas I Love:

The three drama shows I was most looking forward to turned out to be the ones I loved most this season. My favorite pilot episode, Last Resort (my review here), hasn’t quite lived up to its potential in subsequent episodes, but it still keeps me glued to the screen almost every minute. Its low ratings don’t signal much hope for renewal, but ABC shows regularly do poorly in that timeslot. ABC did order 2 more scripts for the show, so it’s unlikely to get pulled from the schedule immediately (I was starting to worry about that), but that may be just to give the show some sort of resolution. All the same, I’ve tried to temper my attachment to the show and just enjoy it while it lasts.

Elementary (my review of the pilot here) has been just as awesome as I hoped. I’ve been completely won over to the idea of a female Watson, and it’s been nice watching their friendship slowly grow over the past few episodes. Both annoy each other like crazy, yet their respect and admiration for each other is beginning to build. The cases seem to have an extra twist compared to most crime drama shows, which fits well with the need to bring in a consultant. I’m really sorry for the people who have a hard time understanding Jonny Lee Miller’s brisk British accent, but I feel the speed helps convey Sherlock’s fast mental process. Oh, and the opening credits are amazing:

Last but not least, Arrow has been amazing so far. While the pilot (my review here) had a good deal of the plot revealed in preview clips and therefore wasn’t quite as engaging, the second episode (my review here) had everything I was looking for: great action sequences, insightful character moments, and hints at series-long mythology-building. The second episode got the exact same excellent rating as the first (double that of typical CW “steady performers”), so I’m looking forward to this show being around for a while.

Conclusion:

Three great dramas. Three good comedies. That’s my haul from broadcast TV’s new fall shows, and I managed to find a show I liked on every single network. I think 3, maybe 4, will stick around for a second season.

Which new shows will you keep watching?

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Renew/Cancel News: Private Practice Ending, More Scripts for Last Resort and Park Ave, More Castle, Mob Doctor Still Alive

Private Practice creator Shonda Rhimes and ABC have decided to let the show end after finishing up this season’s thirteen-episode run. Sister show Grey’s Anatomy will get two additional episodes, however.

ABC is also giving Castle one extra episode this season, while comedies Modern Family and The Middle have been granted two extra episodes. They’ve also ordered two additional scripts each for struggling new dramas Last Resort and 666 Park Avenue.

Fox also has joined “extra episode Friday,” bumping The Mindy Project’s recent full season order from 22 to 24 episodes. While many have anticipated the network would pull low-performing new drama The Mob Doctor from its Mondays-at-9 slot any day now, Fox recently announced the show would air 3 out of 4 Mondays during November sweeps.

As I mentioned earlier, Animal Practice has been pulled from NBC’s schedule and replaced by Whitney. There’s still no news about when Community will return – I’d expected to hear something by now, so I’m beginning to fear it won’t return until midseason. I’m also starting to get a sneaking suspicion that NBC knows how rabid Community fans get when something happens with their show, and are using the uncertainty to build buzz. Further cementing the idea that they want this schedule change to increase anticipation for new episodes, this awesome clip was released the day the season premiere was supposed to air:

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New Fall 2012 Shows – Which Pilots Do You Plan to Watch?

(Uber-cool photo above from TheInsider.com)

Thanks to sneak peaks and early releases, the fall broadcast TV season is well underway, even if most shows don’t premiere until next week (or later). Into the bunch are thrown 21 new scripted shows – which of these do you intend to check out?

Please vote in the poll for all the shows for which you plan to see (or have already seen) the pilot episode. Then leave a comment and let me know which shows you’re most excited about!

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Fox Fall Preview – Watch Trailers for 5 New Shows, including Ben & Kate, The Goodwin Games

Fox has unveiled trailers for its five new shows, three which debut fall 2012, and two that are being held for midseason.

On Monday nights at 9/8c (the spot currently occupied by House) comes new medical drama with a mafia twist, The Mob Doctor:

This preview makes me a little more interested in the show than I was originally, but I think it will still fall into the “probably is worth watching, but I watch too much already” pile. I like how they highlighted the initials of the show, MD, at the end of the trailer.

On Tuesdays at 8:30/7:30c will be new comedy Ben & Kate, about two very different siblings:

This show sounds funny and heartwarming. I don’t know that it will be up to the level of some of the other comedies I watch, but I think it’s something I’ll enjoy as long as it lasts.

On Tuesdays at 9:30/8:30c comes Mindy Kaling’s new project, dubbed The Mindy Project, about an OB/GYN navigating life and love:

From the trailer, it looks like this show might become too self-indulgent, focusing on Kaling instead of building an ensemble cast around her (something its lead-in show, New Girl, suffered from at the beginning but quickly fixed). It was nice seeing the Ed Helms cameo, though.

During the midseason comes The Following, about a retired FBI agent brought back in to catch the serial killer he put away once:

I was impressed by how this trailer interested me, but I still doubt I’ll watch it. Interesting twist about the serial killer training other serial killers that the FBI now has to go after.

Also midseason will be The Goodwin Games, from How I Met Your Mother creators and starring HIMYM’s Becky Newton, about siblings competing for the family estate:

The board game premise of the show might be a little flimsy if this wasn’t about siblings, but I think they will make it work.

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New Fall TV Shows 2012 — Full List With Preview Photos – TVLine

The reason that I link to TVLine so often is because they are so awesome at what they do – for example, this planned-to-be-updated slideshow on the fall TV pickups. They do miss out on one thing, though – personal commentary. Which I’m happy to provide. I don’t treat shows with their evenhanded professionalism – I have my favorites, and I’m not afraid to talk about them more, bash (kindly) crappy shows, and outright ignore TV that I don’t think is worthy of attention.

While it’s hard to judge a potential show by a cast list, description, and possibly a cast photo (especially comedies), here’s my first thoughts on which shows I’ll be checking out next fall.

666 Park Avenue – ABC – possibly, want to check out the preview to see whether this leans toward horror or supernatural fun, more likely to watch if the latter.

1600 Penn – NBC – the fact that this is a comedy and stars Bill Pullman (who’s played a president before) makes me more likely to watch this.

Animal Practice – NBC – not feeling this comedy of about an antisocial vet. If the previews make me laugh and it’s a good timeslot, I might check it out, though.

Arrow – the CW – definitely will try out this one, superhero shows were notably missing on TV this past year.

Beauty and the Beast – the CW – the fact that Jay Ryan only sprouts his beast-like qualities when angry gives this a bit of a Grimm feel, and improves its less-than-impressive 80s pedigree.

Ben & Kate – Fox – could be fun, could be a disaster, waiting for previews to decide whether I’ll take it for a spin.

The Carrie Diaries – the CW – nope. Not gonna watch, no matter how much I like Annasophia Robb. The CW passed on The Selection for this?

Chicago Fire – NBC – how can a cast photo make me less interested in a show? Don’t know exactly, but this one does, and I wasn’t too hot about the show in the first place, despite enjoying Jesse Spencer on House. Thinking it may be this year’s Trauma.

Cult – the CW – high-concept show that has a description which bores me. A favorite actor might have reeled me in to try it, but I think the show-within-a-show aspect will eventually kill it.

Do No Harm – NBC – medical shows usually generate a pass for me, but the dark alter-ego thing might pull me in, if the previews wow me.

Elementary – CBS – I know this won’t live up to the awesomeness of BBC’s Sherlock, but since I enjoy most Holmes reimaginings I’ll give this a try.

The Family Tools – ABC – not really interested, but if the previews make me laugh, I might spare a half hour to give it a fair shot.

First Cut – the CW – pass. Medical meets high school drama sounds boring.

The Following – Fox – no serial killers for me, thank you.

Friend Me – CBS – checking this comedy out solely for Gupta (aka actor Parvesh Cheena)

Golden Boy – CBS – one guy’s journey from police officer to commissioner? Yawn.

The Goodwin Games – Fox – I like How I Met Your Mother, so if this show can make me laugh too, I’m in.

Go On – NBC – now this is a cast photo that works! I couldn’t have cared less about this show, but the tone set by the photo (above) makes me think it will be worth checking out.

Guys With Kids – NBC – sounds like a companion show for Up All Night, and since I don’t watch that . . .

Hannibal – NBC – did I mention no serial killers? Pity that Hugh Dancy will be in it, since I actually like his acting.

How To Live With Your Parents For the Rest of Your Life – ABC – could be fun, but shorten the title, please.

Infamous – NBC – intriguing undercover premise. I have a feeling I may pass on this out of sheer busyness, but I’ll let the previews make up my mind.

Last Resort – ABC – premise of a nuclear sub that refuses orders was enough to hook me, the additions of Dichen Lachman (Dollhouse) and Autumn Reeser (No Ordinary Family) to the cast made this a project I was rooting for.

Made in Jersey – CBS – not much info, but lawyer shows usually indicate a pass for me.

Malibu Country – ABC – if you knew my tastes in music, you’d understand why this is a huge NO.

The Mindy Project – Fox – curious to see what Kaling can do as not-Kelly, so despite the medical theme (boy, a lot of networks are trying to fill House’s place!), I’ll probably watch the pilot.

The Mob Doctor – Fox – I mean it, enough with the medical shows already! Ha, I have a feeling she’ll be digging a lot of bullets out of people.

Nashville – ABC – yes, country music is the genre I hate, so NO.

The Neighbors – ABC – a gated community of aliens? I have to see where they’re going to go with this.

The New Normal – NBC – pass.

Next Caller – NBC – another case of the cast photo working, plus Jeremy Tambor was great on Bent. This just moved from pass to checking out the pilot!

Partners – CBS – pass.

Red Widow – ABC – premise doesn’t pull me in enough.

Revolution – NBC – a few actors I’m familiar with and a decent premise make this a “see if the previews are any good” maybe for me.

Save Me – NBC – this just looks like a blend of creepy and blah. Huge pass.

Vegas – CBS – what is with networks and the 60s? Wanting the next Mad Men? Pass.

Zero Hour – ABC – need more info on what conspiracy they’re featuring, but this is leaning towards a pass.

New Fall TV Shows 2012 — Full List With Preview Photos – TVLine.

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