Friday and Saturday: When it is time to get caught up on the DVR

Only one new show. Let’s do this.

Marvel has a new show on ABC called Inhumans. I tried to figure out a Holly synopsis, but I’ve got to cut and past this one. From TVLine: Marvel’s Inhumans stars Anson Mount (Hell on Wheels) as Black Bolt, king of the Royal Family of Attilan, a cloaked city situated inside a crater on Earth’s moon. A society of people whose individual powers are awakened by terrigen crystals, the Inhumans have somewhat peacefully resided in Attilan, but the emergence of the occasional Inhuman on Earth has roused a debate. Black Bolt believes that Earth’s Inhumans can be tracked down by the operative Triton (Mike Moh) and brought to Attilan, while his brother Maximus (Game of Thrones‘ Iwan Rheon) strongly believes the opposite, that it is time for all Inhumans to relocate to(and take over?) Earth. Serinda Swan (Graceland) plays the Royal Family’s queen, Medusa, while Isabelle Cornish is her sister Crystal, the princess. Among the good guys, Ken Leung (Lost) and Eme Ikwuakor play the “visionary” Karnak and guardian Gorgon, while the baddies include Sonya Balmores (Beyond the Break) as Maximus’ ruthless right hand, Auran. Barely glimpsed in the IMAX edit (though perhaps given more screen time in the ABC premiere’s “extra minutes”?) is Ellen Woglom as Louise, a NASA-type wonk who in the early frames gets wind of something being amiss on the moon.

If you followed that and you understood it, then I think you’ve found your show. I love me some Marvel and I’m sure I’ll check it out, but it isn’t a high priority.

Other than that, here are some other notes:

--I’m three season behind on Once Upon a Time

--CBS hasn’t changed much, other than two major characters left Hawaii Five-O. A bit of a scandal behind that one, with some allegations of racism since the two Asian actors weren’t making as much money as the two white leads. And we all know how much I love Tom Selleck. I’ll refrain this year from the Magnum PI story. But as we all know, it involves and epic run with Terri Curtis back when she was a Shield.

--I’ve proudly never watched either show on Fox.

--Oops. Never seen either show on NBC either. Not sure what’s in the 10 p.m. spot.

--Both shows on The CW are well-liked, despite low ratings.

Let’s look at Saturday

Okay, now that we’ve established there isn’t much on, it is the perfect night to catch up on your DVR or watch a lot of true crime stuff.

Believe it or not, I’m going to try and round up the stuff you should be watching from other sources. So we have at least one more blog this fall!

This just in: From long time friend and blog reader Sally, who is often sad and impressed with my new found lack of television watching, she has reviewed both SEAL and Brave. "SEAL was very predictable. Currently watching Brave. So far we like Brave better. John is pretty critical of the acting in SEAL, but they are really the same show. Brave has the better soundtrack!"

Also This is Us...delivered on the season premiere. Em's exact quote was, "I was not prepared for the emotinal rollercoaster this evening."

Happy viewing, y'all.

Thursday? Or is this the best night of TV?

Wow, another night with only two new shows...maybe this will be my shortest blog post of the week?

So Fox has The Orville. To be fair, it had a really early premiere and if you missed it, you probably need to go find it streaming somewhere. Again, a show with some good buzz, but not making the appointment list for me. Starring Seth McFarland, it is a sci-fi comedy with a definite Star Trek: The Next Generation feel to it. It is filled with social commentary and the pilot was directed by Jon Favreau (he did Iron Man) and was super spendy. I’d like to check it out at some point, and not just because Tyra from Friday Night Lights plays a pilot….

The only other new show, well, is not so new. Will and Grace returns...now I know I just ranted yesterday about reboots, and part of my problem with this one is that I was rather satisfied with the original ending. That being said, we’ve been watching the original on Hulu and I am excited for its return. Timely and topical, I think this generation might need this show (I almost added to make America great again...but I refrained. Except I totally didn’t.) So yep, it will be appointment TV in this house, just like it was originally.

I lied. Technically, there is third show--but it doesn't premiere until November. CBS continues to illuminate their genre by having yet another cop show--S.W.A.T. Not sure if it follows its television or movie predecessors, but it does star Shemar Moore--wiping drool off chin now (And for those of you who don't watch Criminal Minds or used to watch The Young and the Restless, he's totes handsome). Buzz is not as strong as SEAL Team, but hellooo...it will do well. You'll know if it is your genre, and if you like Shemar Moore, you're in.

Thursday's News & Notes

--ABC. Nothing new here...move along. And yes, Grey’s is probably the one thing we watch in real time. Scandal is on its last season. I’m only slightly worried about Josh Malina finding new work once this is over. But if you loved him in West Wing, know that he does a podcast about that show. And if you love The West Wing, I'd encourage you to listen to the podcast. It does make me love government... Last ABC note: I know, I know...I’ve never gotten into “How to Get Away With Murder.” My bad.

--CBS will continue to do well once football is over and their regular schedule returns.

--As much as I’m a comic book nerd, Gotham has not been my jam.

--If you didn’t watch The Good Place, you really should’ve. Only 12 or 13 episodes last season, it is easy enough to get caught up. The first two episodes have already premiered this season, and I’m not sure if I love it as much, but I’ll give it time because it was so much fun last year.

--I need to find the time for Great News. If only because of my college major.

--Hey look! Chicago Fire moved to Thursday night!

--Man, those CW shows have been around forever. On the plus side, enough of my students watch Supernatural that we had a moderately intelligent discussion about purgatory.

--I, sadly, am several seasons behind on Arrow.

I'd like to take a brief moment to lament the loss of my other favorite show from last year. Only 13 episodes long, Emily and I loved Pitch. The first female pitcher in the majors delivered as a solid drama. Super sad it didn't last. If you have a way to stream it, watch it and enjoy.

Happy Thursday viewing, y'all.

Wow! Wednesday already! (And shout out to my girl--happy birthday!)

With only two new TV series to write about, maybe this will be my shortest blog of the week!

CBS has their show that I say is guaranteed to do so very well. SEAL Team stars David Boreanaz (Angel, Booth...sigh), the leader of a Navy SEAL team. While yes, they will go on missions every week, the catch behind the show is that it focuses on their personal lives and the problems their intense job brings to trying to have one. I mean, with the CBS demographic, this is going to be ginormous. Slam dunk. And totally J+.

The only other new show is a reboot. Which I might have to go on a rant about at some point. Okay, now is that point. I love TV, I really do, but I’m not sure why everything has to have a reboot. Some are more worthy than others, and I’m thinking a retelling of the Colbys and Carringtons isn’t the most appointment TV around. I’ve read some critical pans and one positive gotta watch it review, but I’m going to skip it, even though they’ve modernized the show a lot and moved it to Atlanta. My guess is that it won’t do well, but you never know in this crazy Kardashian obsessed world.

Wednesday's News & Notes:

--We enjoyed Speechless last year, but didn’t stay too loyal to it through the course of the entire season; we are huge Modern Family fans--that's not going to change any time soon. I tried Designated Survivor, but I got bored with the story--even though it was intriguing, I thought it moved a little slowly overall. I mean, other than when they blew up the US Capitol.

--Survivor. I know what a lot of you will be watching. Same with Criminal Minds.

--Everything else on Fox and NBC is coming back, so if you’ve enjoyed previously, continue to do so….

--We probably need to take a minute to talk about Riverdale. Em and I binge watched it last spring--there were only 13 episodes--and we loved it. This season it is back with a full 24, so it will be interesting to see if it does as well this year. For those of you not in the know, it is a dark and twisty version of the Archie comic world. And it is good--VERY GOOD--. Especially for those of you who might be missing 90210 or something like that...and yes, Luke Perry plays Archie’s dad, thus sealing the deal for some of us of a certain generation.

Happy Viewing--enjoy the mid-point of the week!


Update on Monday viewing:
While the new Sheldon show will have huge numbers, and the kid who plays young Sheldon is very good, they are messing with the cannon behind The Big Bang Theory. Might be a tough sell for hardcore fans. I wasn't that impressed, but it also isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Currently watching The Good Doctor. Initial impression is that it will be worth some of the effort. I'm enjoying...

Tuesday? Best night of TV?

Get out the hankies, ya’ll, it’s Tuesday and you know what that means...This is Us is on.

We’ve only got three new shows tonight, so this is going to be fairly straight forward. They are all looking pretty good though, so make sure you have the hopper on your DVR.

But first, let’s talk about my ability to accurately prognosticate the TV season. I did say “This is Us” would be the winner of last year’s TV--and while, believe it or not the numbers/ratings don’t show that it was--it certainly was appointment television for a good portion of the country. There are several scenes that brought out the ugly cry in me--and not necessarily the ones you’d expect. As a matter of fact, let’s all have a moment for hands down my favorite scene of the entire series last year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xh-Tof_QxKU        U.G.L.Y. C.R.Y.

All that being said, Sterling K. Brown is on my official husband wish list. Man. That man. Phew. Seriously. I’d probably put up a poster of him if I thought I could get away with it, much like I did Shaun Cassidy from 1977-79.

But back to the TV of it all. If you, for some unknown reason, didn’t watch This is Us and your soul is not dead and black inside, go get caught up. Go ahead. We’ll wait.

Alright. The new stuff.

ABC has two new shows. In their TBD spot is a show called The Mayor, which is getting great reviews. I’ll definitely tape it. Lea Michelle (Glee), Yvette Nicole Brown (Community--shout out to Seattlite Joel McHale) star with Brandon Michael Hall about a rapper who runs for mayor of his town in a PR stunt and wins. So you know, he has to govern. I could say something about how it is refreshing that he actually tries to learn the job for which he is not qualified and is earnest about it, but this isn’t a political blog. ;)

The other show on ABC is called Kevin (probably) Saves the World and stars Jason Ritter (shout out to Jack Tripper, his dad, may he rest in peace). Anyway, this show is also getting some positive reviews. If it can get past its niche premise...Kevin is not having a good run. Totally in the middle of the ick of life. That’s when a woman only he can see tells him he’s one of 36 righteous souls responsible for keeping hope alive and he needs to go find the others. Hijinx ensues as he tries to go on his various missions. Dramady seems like an apt description.

Our final new show has Clarkie, Kari Jo and Terri H. written all over it. Eddie Falco stars as Leslie Abramson, the lawyer who represented the Menendez brothers in their murder trial. Before news was the 24 hour cycle that it is today, this was THE TRIAL OF THE CENTURY as it played out on Court TV. With the Law and Order franchise behind it, I can’t imagine this isn’t going to be anything but fabulous. Also, side note: while doing research, I read that the Menedez brothers found women to marry them while they’ve been in jail. One of them twice. They play chess via the mail. Huh. Go figure.

Your other Tuesday news and notes: 

--The other three ABC shows are returning. blackish is genius. I don’t watch it often enough, but it is good.

--Anything with Mark Harmon for 15 seasons...hello...you don’t mess with that. Also as I predicted last year, Bull did well. And what is a network without three NCISes?

--Lethal Weapon did well last year, and I just didn’t find the time to watch that. Nor did I find time to watch The Mick--but it is looking like I need to find some, for the reviews are good. And we laugh heartily at Brooklyn Nine-nine--a great show.

--The CW has The Flash, which I used to love and haven’t watched in a long time. Maybe it will get back on my radar. I also never started DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. Comic books are part of The CW’s brand and one of my favorite genres, so I'm a little surprised with myself.

This night is in contention for best night of the week--Happy Viewing!

It's here. The Fall TV Season in all of its glory....

To quote the immortal words of Tone Loc, let’s do this…

Okay, before we begin, it might be time for True Confessions: The Television Edition.

We’ve established for well over two years now that there is too much good TV out there. Now add to the fact that streaming is everywhere...Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO Go….and CBS All Access….and there’s On Demand for most networks, I’m fairly certain no one actually watches TV in real time anymore. I know I don’t. I also know I try to watch as much as the new stuff as possible, but (and I can't believe I'm saying this) it is way too hard to watch it all. My teenage self just died at those words...But it is good to know when to set your DVR, so let’s give this our best shot.

There are three new shows airing on Sundays, two of which have received the critic's’ seal of approval, while the third gets a solid, sure, why not?

First up is Ten Days in the Valley, starring Kyra Sedgewick. This show has some solid buzz and an intriguing premise. Sedgewick plays a TV crime drama show runner who’s daughter is abducted in the middle of the night. Many a famous person in the cast, solid pedigree of creators, so if this is your genre, I’d watch it.

The sure why not show is Wisdom of the Crowd, starring Jeremy Piven. Piven has a lot of TV in his background, and with the exception of his role of Ari Gold in Entourage, he’s got a rep for being a little like Christian Slater--a well known name without a huge breakout hit to his starring name. While I still think his best role was as Cupid in the show aptly titled Cupid, this time around he’s a tech wizard who develops a crowd sourcing platform through social media to catch criminals (his daughter was murdered). Anyway, an interesting premise, with a crime of the week feel.

Our last show stars two of my favorite comedy guys--Craig Robinson (The Office) and Adam Scott (Parks and Rec) play paranormal investigators. Robinson plays Leroy Wright, a LAPD detective now working as a mall cop, and Scott plays Max Jennifer, a Stanford professor that now works at a bookstore.  Two solid funny guys during Fox’s comedy night. Can’t be a bad deal.

Other items from Sunday:

--If you aren’t watching Last Man Standing, you probably should. I know it is on my list. I saw the first few episodes and haven’t gotten back to it yet.

--The Toy Box is a game show starring Eric Stonestreet, the actor who plays Cam on Modern Family.

--I still love Madam Secretary. It is time for my yearly shout out of love to Timothy Daly.

--Has NCIS Los Angeles always been on Sunday?

--Not on the list, but you’ve all heard about PBS’ Vietnam documentary, right? I know I haven’t watched it yet, but I know I should.

And now let’s chat about Monday!

Monday, as always, has much going on. We’ve got six new shows to talk about, not including Young Sheldon, which premieres tomorrow night but then moves around later.

The critics give The Good Doctor two thumbs up. Between Freddy Highmore as the doctor and Richard Schiff as the president of the hospital who supports the “brilliant young surgeon with autism and savant syndrome” as he moves to San Jose for his residency, I'm in. Anything with a West Wing pedigree automatically gets a watch.

9JKL on CBS is being critically panned. It’s my official guess for a CBS cancellation, but it will hang around for a bit longer than it should because it is on CBS and it has a great cast--Linda Lavin (Hey, Alice, how are ya?), Elliot Gould (Ross and Monica’s pop), and Mark Feuerstein (Dr. Hank, anyone?). The premise is basically Feuerstein’s life. He plays himself (I think) from a time in his life when he lived in the apartment between his parents and his brother. Seriously. It is on everyone’s UGH list.

Me, Myself, and I is getting some solid reviews. It stars three different actors playing the same character--as a middle schooler, a current 40 year old, and a 65 year old. With John Larroquette and Bobby Moynihan, it has a good enough pedigree to check it out.

Fox has The Gifted, a show about people with “special” abilities (think X-Men) on the run from the government who wants to round up everyone with a talent. It has a Marvel pedigree, and a few cast members worth noting: Stephen Moyer (Vampire Bill, True Blood) and Amy Acker (Fred from Angel in the Whedonverse).

NBC has The Brave, which is a military series--basically a workplace drama with an undercover mission show vibe. You’ve got a covert-ops unit going out and saving the world under the Defense Intelligence Agency, led by Anne Heche (shout out in her bio to Another World, where we all thought she was the bomb...then she went a little crazy and wandered the desert for a bit...and eventually was in one of the worst Hallmark movies ever). I’m hearing meh, so not sure if it will last that long.

The CW is also joining the military drama with The Valor, which is about a female army helicopter pilot. Never fear, since it is on the CW it is going to be one soapy military show. Since this isn’t their type of show historically, it will be interesting to see if it sticks around.

Young Sheldon premieres tomorrow night, and according the the TVverse, you can’t miss it. If you are part of the bajillion people who watch “The Big Bang Theory,” then you know that this is about Sheldon being a genius when he is a young boy in Texas. We get lots of backstory, and possibly a little revision from TBBT cannon.

Also worth noting:

--How can Dancing with the Stars be in its 25th Season? Seriously. This time around it does have Nick Lachey…

--Did you hear that they killed off the wife on “Kevin Can’t Wait” and brought in his former TV wife Leah Reminy? If you haven’t and you were a fan of his old show, then you’ll probably want to be sure to watch.

--I still enjoy Scorpions, but just don’t have the time. Because why? You have to have CBS All Access to stream it. Rat Turds.

--Lucifer is on season 3. I’ve still never seen it.

--Somehow, Miley Cyrus became my favorite judge on The Voice. Obviously there’s Adam and Blake, but Miley’s got a lot of heart and soul. She is an earnest coach and her approach is fun to watch. This year they’ve also added Jennifer Hudson as a new judge--she worked on the UK version of the show.

--Supergirl. Not going to lie. Loved it at first, but when it moved to the CW, it fell off my radar. I feel like you could check in and be good to go fairly quickly.

So that is your Sunday and Monday...happy viewing everyone!