Honorable Mention:
The Cape (NBC): One could argue that it is easier now than it was before to put a superhero themed show on the air, but the truth still remains. Despite some success on the small screen, a hero show is hard to pull off, and can be a dicey prospect at best.
So it’s encouraging to see NBC stick with the genre with their new show The Cape. The show follows a police officer and family man who is framed for crimes that he didn’t commit and almost killed. To find justice and to protect his family from retribution, he becomes a costumed crime fighter. Corny, sure. But I’m a sucker for anything that resembles a superhero show, so I’ll at least be curious to check it out. Assuming, of course, that it actually shows up mid-season and doesn’t fall completely off the radar.
The List:
5) Mike and Molly (CBS): I both like and dislike the premise of this new sitcom. On one hand, both of the primaries look like they’ll deliver plenty of laughs as a pair of average (and above average sized) people who fall in love. On the other hand, what does it say about our culture that we have to be bludgeoned with the point that these are “average joe” type people that we can relate to? Please stop acting like you’re tossing us a bone on this one...
4) Outlaw (NBC): I can’t think of a single person that was sitting around saying to themselves, “Boy, I hope Jimmy Smits will come back to television this year...” And yet, this was how NBC decided to market Smits’ new show. It’s shades of Benjamin Bratt in E-Ring, only hopefully someone will actually remember this show in two years.
But despite the folksy, forced feel good that a Supreme Court justice who resigns from the highest judicial level in the land to fight for the little guy is supposed to bring, I still feel like this could be a pretty good show. Because it’s not like there are a ton of procedural dramas based around courtrooms already out ther... oh, yeah...
3) Top Chef: Just Desserts (Bravo): Yes, I promised that this list would be relatively free of reality shows (who should probably have their own list... hey, there’s an idea...). But after catching snippets of Top Chef here and there and following a mini-marathon or two, I know that I usually enjoy the show when I can. So hopefully this new incarnation, based entirely around everyone’s favorite meal course, should produce some truly sweet (pun intended) moments. Now if only it wouldn’t lead to excessive late night dessert munching...
2) No Ordinary Family (ABC): It’s the show I’ve heard described as a “real life Incredibles” by people who probably don’t realize that that film is pretty much an homage to the Fantastic Four. It’s a much better comparison overall, even if it does end up giving the impression that Michael Chiklis is being typecast.
The show centers around Chiklis as the father of a rather ordinary family (at first) that, after suffering a mysterious accident during a plane trip, all discover that they have developed superpowers. And while I’m usually a sucker for any old superhero story, I feel like this show might have enough quirky humor topped with a dash of heart to endear it to any audience. But good luck winning any big numbers in that Tuesday night timeslot…
1) The Event (NBC): By all rights, this is the show that NBC is banking on to create the same kind of buzz that Heroes did when it premiered way back when. But after months of teasing and buildup, can discovering what “the event” really is possibly live up to all of the hype?
Of course it can’t! But with any luck, the storytelling will manage to hold people’s attention long enough for it to build a fan base. But I swear that I will rage profusely if people start to complain about it “not being enough like Lost”. Or anything Lost related for that matter. Seriously, folks, let the show go. It’s over now...
And speaking of over, so is this list. But stay tuned, because when I come back, it's all about the new shows that aren't giving me a buzz. Although oddly with some, I feel like they should be...
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