Fall 2016 Review

I thought I’d shake things up a bit and review the new TV shows I’ve seen so far. I took a review writing class in college and I’m pretty sure I got an A in it so I kinda know what I’m doing. I do remember the instructor telling me I needed to “prune” because I was very wordy. Guess what, lady? This is my blog and I’ll be as wordy as I wanna be! Be prepared; I watch almost all of the first episodes and decide whether or not to continue from there.

First up is Bull on CBS. It stars Michael Weatherly and is loosely based on Dr. Phil’s earlier career as a jury consultant. Now, I’ve only seen one episode so far but I liked it. If you’re not a fan of the procedural it probably won’t be your cup of tea. It’s always hard to tell with first episodes though because you see the previews so many times and they always seem to contain the best lines. I’m going to continue to give it a try. Should I rate these? Oh why not? I’ll give it an 8/10.

I’ve watched 2 1/2 episodes of NBC’s The Good Place, starring Kristen Bell. For those of you who don’t know it’s about a woman who dies and ends up in “the good place” by mistake. I’m a fan of comedies and I really liked this one. For some reason the DVR didn’t record the pilot episode, which was actually 2 back to back episodes. I watched the second half of the second episode, caught the pilot on a later showing, and saw the third episode this week. All in all I think it’s pretty funny. I like Kristen Bell’s character and the supporting cast and I’ve been liking the twists. I especially like her version of cussing since apparently you’re not able to do so in Heaven. What a bench! I’ll give it a 9/10.

One of the most talked about series this fall is This Is Us also over on NBC. I wasn’t all that impressed with the previews but watched it anyway due to all the hype. I heard other people raving about it, saying they cried even. I thought it was an okay show. It didn’t make me cry. Mostly I thought it was blah. Not so horrible you wanted to tune out but also not so spectacular that you’re thinking, “Wow! I can hardly wait until next week!” Neat twist at the end; I’ll give them that. I’m not sure how they’re going to sustain the story though. It did have a few moments that made me laugh so I’ll watch again but I have a feeling this one isn’t going to be on my DVR much longer. I’ll give it a 5/10. There’s nothing wrong with it but I wasn’t enamored by it.

I really liked the new comedy Speechless over on ABC. It stars Minnie Driver as a mom fighting for her son with special needs. I didn’t think I was going to watch it but it got good reviews so I decided to give it a shot. I’m already watching the other three comedies on that night so what the hell? I thought the first episode was really funny; Minnie Driver’s character is a trip and I loved the older cop counseling the younger cop: Nope! Not worth it. I was impressed by all three of the kids. I’m glad I gave it a chance. I will give it a 9/10 as well.

Also on ABC on Wednesday night is Designated Survivor starring Kiefer Sutherland. I was looking forward to this one probably more than any of the others for some reason. I think it’s a fascinating concept. It took off straight out of the gate with plenty of action. I’m looking forward to seeing more. There were a few parts that dragged (the First Son comes to mind) so I’m going to give it an 8/10. Update: I just watched the second episode and I’m going to up that score to a 9/10. I always love the underdog that ends up surprising everyone. The second episode was also fairly fast paced and didn’t give us too much of the First Kids which was nice. Is anyone else wondering why there’s like a 10-year age gap between the kids? I know it happens in real life sometimes but it almost seems like they crafted the little girl to showcase her cuteness and then gave us the teen boy to gin up some teen angst controversy (like selling drugs). I could do without the whole FBI angle, or at least speed that storyline up!

I decided to give MacGyver over on CBS a shot. I don’t know why. I didn’t watch the original. Was that the 90s when it was on? I easily figured out the original plot twist. How? Easy. There are just certain things you don’t do on MacGyver and that was one of them; therefore, I was easily able to foresee the twist. I will say the ending was a nice little surprise. Ah, the student becomes the master. Interesting. I did find parts funny. I’m not sure if I’ll keep watching it or not. I’ll award it a 5/10. If nothing else is on I might watch it. I’ll give it one more shot but if it doesn’t impress it’s off the DVR.

I LOVED Lethal Weapon over on Fox. I think Clayne Crawford is a total hottie and I love the accent. Then again I’m a sucker for a southern accent. I wasn’t going to watch this. Why bother watching a ripoff of a popular yet very old movie franchise? What could they possibly do? They did everything! I thought it was funny and heartbreaking at the same time. Riggs’s grief over losing his wife is palpable. I loved the chemistry between him and Damon Wayans. I’m glad I gave it a chance because I will definitely be watching again. I’ll give this one a 10/10 just because I went in expecting nothing and I ended up loving it.

On the other end of the spectrum is The Exorcist, also on Fox. I (sort of) like a scary show. Granted, I have to watch during the day because I’m a big ol’ baby but nonetheless… I was really disappointed with this one. I thought it moved very slowly. It did pick up towards the end and, here’s that word again, I was pleasantly surprised by the twist at the end. I hope I’m not giving anything away (SPOILER ALERT) by saying you think one person is possessed and it ends up being someone else. Nicely done! I will give it another try but for now I’m giving it a 2/10.

And thus concludes my Fall Tv Review, at least for now. There are still several shows yet to premiere. Maybe I’ll come back and let you know how I liked those.