Monday, September 6, 2010

Fall TV Preview – 2010 – Part 5: The CW

LeapBackBlog’s Fall TV Preview gives you a rundown of the good stuff that is out there – and there is so much of it, too much really. It is broken down by network – ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, The CW, and then shows on Cable. Finally, I list the top five shows most worth your time this fall.
Here is the stuff worth checking out:

Part 1: ABC - No Ordinary Family, Grey's Anatomy, Modern Family

Part 2: CBS - The Big Bang Theory, Blue Bloods, Hawaii Five-O, How I Met Your Mother, $#*! My Dad Says

Part 3: NBC - Chuck, The Event, Undercovers, Friday Night Lights, Community, The Office, 30 Rock

Part 4: Fox - Bones, Fringe, Glee, House, Lonestar, Running Wilde

Part 5: The CW - Gossip Girl, Nikita, Supernatural

The CW

Gossip Girl (season 4 premiers Sep 13, 9PM)
Synopsis: The show is about a group of early 20’s/late teens who all attended the same high school in the Upper East Side of Manhattan and their parents. As the show goes forward, many of the characters have past from high school to college at NYU and Yale. The show primarily deals with the flirtations, relationships and other exploits, good and bad, of these characters.
Why Should You Watch: Gossip Girl is really a guilty pleasure type of show. The drama is often ridiculous and every character seems to end up dating one and other at some point, and yet it is a lot of fun to just partake and enjoy it too. The characters just get themselves in so much trouble and constantly make bad decisions, but would we still like it if they were straight-arrows? The show is highlighted by the performances of its women – Blake Lively (The Town) and Leighton Meester (Surface) are quite good as off and on friends – while Ed Westwick (Son of Rambow) is deviously well cast. Season four is scheduled for guest appearances from Clemence Poesy (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) and the awesomely great (in her past appearances on the show) Michelle Trachtenberg (Buffy the Vampire Slayer).
Potential Issues: The show is really inconsistent at times. It has wonderful moments, but often gets lost in the ludicrous nature of itself. This season will probably be no different.
Verdict: Definitely not for everyone, but highly enjoyable in the right light.


Nikita (premiers Sep 9, 8PM)
Synopsis: Like the two movies and TV series before it, the show is about a troubled youth that is taken in by a special organization known as Division. They take care of her, while at the same time train her to be a killer. She thrived and became one of their best assets only to be double-crossed. Now, known as Nikita, she is on one mission – revenge – she plans to take down her former bosses and stop them from erasing the lives of other young people like their latest recruit – a girl named Alex.
Why Should You Watch: The cast is pretty decent and it should be interesting to see how action veteran Maggie Q (Mission: Impossible III) handles a starring role. Lyndsy Fonseca (Kick-Ass), Shane West (ER), Aaron Stanford (X2), Melinda Clarke (The O.C.), Xander Berkeley (24), and Ashton Holmes (The Pacific) fill in supporting roles. Co-creators David A. Levinson and Craig Silverstein have a very mixed resume. Silverstein last worked on Bones while Levinson has been a writer on the soap As the World Turns for the last nine years.  Action-movie director McG (Human Target and Supernatural) is an executive producer on the show as well and has a better track record on TV than on the silver screen. There are not too many action roles for females on TV so this certainly fills a void. The pilot has a lot of good action sequences, but…
Potential Issues: …It is being compared to the pilot of Dollhouse (one of the worst episodes of that series). Dollhouse never garnered good ratings and that was on Fox, what chance does this show have?
Verdict: Has a lot of potential to be cool, but if you only have time for a few shows – this certainly is not one of them.


Supernatural (season 6 premiers Sep 24, 9PM)
Synopsis: The horror show is about two brothers, Sam and Dean Winchester, who go across the country tracking, fighting and killing demons, spooks and other supernatural entities.
Why Should You Watch: Stars Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles have really grown into their characters and, like the show, blossomed. The show itself has gone from a sort of one-dimensional horror procedural to one of the best dramas on TV. The stuff with the angels is all brilliant. Frequent guest star Jim Beaver (Deadwood) is also really good on the show.
Potential Issues: The show was mapped out to be five seasons. Season six represents a restart for the show and it will be interesting to see how the writers handle it. Especially after creator Eric Kripke said he did not want to do more than five seasons and is stepping down. Can new showrunner Sera Gamble do the show justice?
Verdict: If you like horror, sci-fi or just good TV this is a must watch, but jumping in now would be really hard.

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