Another year, another attempt to win the Ted Marshall Open TV Dead Pool. Here's my entry, in order of bonus points I get if the show is cancelled/does not air after the end of this season (you get 20 points if the show is cancelled plus whatever bonus points you assign to the show):
10: How I Met Your Mother. Probably the easiest pick in the bunch, as it's been no secret that this is the show's final season.
9: Nikita. Also an easy choice, as this show is also in its last season.
8: Dads. Chosen because I don't think I've read a single positive word about the show. The ratings tend to reflect this, though Fox's Tuesday night seems to be tanking across the board.
7: Sean Saves the World. Also got very little positive press, though its premiere outpaced Parks and Recreation, which makes me sad.
6: Lucky 7. ABC's lottery winner drama was the first show to get cancelled this season, which I think makes this the first time that a show was cancelled before I could write about my entry.
5: Betrayal. The third time is not the charm for ABC's single-word named prime time soaps, as the rating suggest that this show will meet its end well before Revenge or Scandal.
4: Super Fun Night. I went with this as the description sounded ridiculous, although it's not exactly a show meant to appeal to my demo. As it stands reviews have been mixed at best, and ratings for its debut were disappointing given it had Modern Family as a lead-in.
3: We Are Men. This show should be something I'd gravitate to, but I'm wary of sitcoms based around men being manly men, as they all tend to suck and get cancelled. This attempt may go the same way, as its debut landed it in 4th place for its timeslot.
2: Back in the Game. My entries usually get taken out by a sitcom renewal, and this may be the one that gets me this season. I thought the story seemed kind of light, but the show seems to be settling in behind The Middle.
1. Enlisted. A military-based Fox sitcom about brothers serving on the same base while most of their unit is serving abroad. I don't often take mid-season shows, but this one seems like something that would get stuck somewhere to fill time and then get cancelled. On the other hand, I should have trusted my instinct and gone with the Ironside reboot here, as that seems terrible.
In fact, Ironside was one of the three shows that were among the top 10 shows picked by entrants that I did not pick. The other two are Trophy Wife and The Goldebergs, both on ABC's doomed Tuesday. It was an odd night to begin with, trying to balance Marvel's The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. with these two sitcoms and Lucky 7. And now the whole night seems to be imploding. Maybe ABC should have held on to the Dancing with the Stars results show?
Tuesday, October 08, 2013
Monday, October 07, 2013
Catching Up
So with summer gone and the new TV season starting up, a quick look back on what I wasted my time with over the past few months:
Under the Dome - we're about halfway through this, and I'm not particularly impressed. Too exposition-heavy, odd moments of illogic (a meningitis outbreak that can be cured in hours using one dose of antibiotics, no one finds that strange?), and not particularly great acting (though the guy playing James "Junior" Rennie could probably make a career out of playing sociopaths). But it's interesting enough for a summer series, I suppose. It is picking up a bit now that the thing that's apparently causing the dome has been discovered.
Hell's Kitchen/MasterChef - I found the former more watchable this time around if only for the casting of perhaps the most incompetent group of one gender in the show's history (the men, who proved almost incapable of winning a team challenge). The latter is much more watchable this time around, not sure if it's the contestants or the (relative) streamlining of the tryouts. It's not the Walmart product placements or the Glee-themed episode, which pretty much proved that Jane Lynch will appear in anything (as if Celebrity Game Night didn't do that already).
Masterpiece - after working through Mr. Selfridge (kind of not worth it, unless 14 episodes of Jeremy Piven given license to overact is your kind of thing), we got what appears to be the last season of Inspector Lewis (boo) and the first season of Endeavor, a Morse prequel series that I've enjoyed quite a bit. Neither have particularly long runs (3 and 5 episodes respectively, I think), so easy to cover if you're so inclined.
The Killing - you may have noticed that I tailed off of the weekly coverage, thanks in part to a move and in part to the show not really having three characters who have an "up" episode every week. Turns out the show's been cancelled (for good this time), which isn't helping me finish the season. Don't think I'll miss the show per se, but I will miss Joel Kinnaman's performances as Stephen Holder. Here's to hoping he gets the higher profile role he deserves, but soon.
American Ninja Warrior - modeled after a Japanese show, it features a variety of folks (many of whom are either rock climbers or devotees of Parkour/freerunning) trying to conquer obstacle courses in the hopes of conquering the final one (which has never been done). It's not something we'd have tuned into, but the oldest boy found it one rainy weekend afternoon and it quickly became his program of choice. I fear future trips to the park will be ruined as he finds that none of them have a salmon ladder or warped wall. Also problematic is the change from G4 to Esquire Network, as the show went off air for a few weekends, but it appears to be back, for better or worse.
Under the Dome - we're about halfway through this, and I'm not particularly impressed. Too exposition-heavy, odd moments of illogic (a meningitis outbreak that can be cured in hours using one dose of antibiotics, no one finds that strange?), and not particularly great acting (though the guy playing James "Junior" Rennie could probably make a career out of playing sociopaths). But it's interesting enough for a summer series, I suppose. It is picking up a bit now that the thing that's apparently causing the dome has been discovered.
Hell's Kitchen/MasterChef - I found the former more watchable this time around if only for the casting of perhaps the most incompetent group of one gender in the show's history (the men, who proved almost incapable of winning a team challenge). The latter is much more watchable this time around, not sure if it's the contestants or the (relative) streamlining of the tryouts. It's not the Walmart product placements or the Glee-themed episode, which pretty much proved that Jane Lynch will appear in anything (as if Celebrity Game Night didn't do that already).
Masterpiece - after working through Mr. Selfridge (kind of not worth it, unless 14 episodes of Jeremy Piven given license to overact is your kind of thing), we got what appears to be the last season of Inspector Lewis (boo) and the first season of Endeavor, a Morse prequel series that I've enjoyed quite a bit. Neither have particularly long runs (3 and 5 episodes respectively, I think), so easy to cover if you're so inclined.
The Killing - you may have noticed that I tailed off of the weekly coverage, thanks in part to a move and in part to the show not really having three characters who have an "up" episode every week. Turns out the show's been cancelled (for good this time), which isn't helping me finish the season. Don't think I'll miss the show per se, but I will miss Joel Kinnaman's performances as Stephen Holder. Here's to hoping he gets the higher profile role he deserves, but soon.
American Ninja Warrior - modeled after a Japanese show, it features a variety of folks (many of whom are either rock climbers or devotees of Parkour/freerunning) trying to conquer obstacle courses in the hopes of conquering the final one (which has never been done). It's not something we'd have tuned into, but the oldest boy found it one rainy weekend afternoon and it quickly became his program of choice. I fear future trips to the park will be ruined as he finds that none of them have a salmon ladder or warped wall. Also problematic is the change from G4 to Esquire Network, as the show went off air for a few weekends, but it appears to be back, for better or worse.
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