I don't really watch a lot of live TV. Mostly I watch movies on Netflix/Amazon or sometimes I'll stream a TV series. But I do watch college football on Saturday night and NFL football Sunday so I end up seeing previews for shows I really don't care about.
I especially hate pretty much anything previewed on CBS. At least this year their shows aren't all NCIS or CSI spin-offs. Just that Big Bang Theory prequel show, which while Big Bang Theory is a traditional laugh track sitcom this for some reason seems done in the newer no laugh track style, which seems weird. Do people really want to watch a show about a 9-year-old going to high school and getting stuffed in lockers and stuff? Probably. America is pretty fucking stupid.
Worst idea for a show: Wisdom of the Crowd. So this guy's daughter dies and he decides to create this thing where people use their cell phones to find criminals. Which violates pretty much all civil liberties. But it's CBS so I assume we won't bother with the ethical concerns. These people are all bad so it's OK! Reminds me of the Black Mirror where this woman wakes up and people are stalking her and taking pictures and video with their cameras. Or also The Dark Knight where Batman creates a device using people's phones as sonar to track the Joker.
Another bad idea: The Good Doctor. It's about a brilliant doctor, but he's autistic! Like the Affleck movie The Accountant, let's use autism as some kind of super power! Yeah...no.
Another morally offensive idea: The Mayor. Seeing the previews for this I had this really bad reaction. I thought: OK, so now that Obama is gone I guess we can treat a black guy running a government like it's a joke. The idea is this young black guy who really knows nothing about government is somehow elected mayor of his city. I don't know, maybe it's fine, but our real government is so inept now do we really need this? Would people think this idea were as funny if it were a redneck white kid into country instead of a black kid into rap?
Questionable idea: Me, Myself, and I: OK, so this kid grows up into a big fat guy and then somehow that big fat guy turns into John Larroquette? I mean, did someone put him in Wonka's taffy pulling machine when he was 40? It's an interesting concept but it's CBS so I have big doubts they'd pull it off.
Worst repeated idea: SEALS. CBS has SEAL Team and NBC has The Brave and they're both probably really fucking stupid. And the thing about CBS' is: didn't they already have that show The Unit about a Special Forces team? Only that had the Allstate guy instead of the guy from Bones & Angel.
Worst retooling: Kevin Can Wait. So his previous wife or girlfriend is being killed off because the actress wanted too much money or hated Kevin James or something, so they bring in Leah Remini, who was Kevin James's wife on King of Queens for however many years. So why not just scrap Kevin Can Wait and do a straight-up King of Queens revival?
Now let's get into two shows I actually watched: The Orville and Star Trek Discovery. The Orville is basically Seth MacFarlane doing his version of Star Trek: The Next Generation. So it's episodic with the eponymous ship and its crew as they tackle various challenges. The first episode had them have to fight off aliens known as the Krill using a redwood seed and a time accelerator. The second episode had the captain and first officer captured and put in a zoo that recreated their New York apartment. The third episode featured one of the alien crew in a legal battle with his mate over forced gender surgery on their daughter. The fourth episode was about a colony ship lost in space so long that the people inside didn't even know they were in space thanks to the religious dictatorship running the place.
Meanwhile I only watched the first episode of Discovery because the assholes at CBS are using it to justify a stupid streaming service no one needs or wants. So it seems the whole thing boils down to the Federation fighting Klingons who look like the ones from the Abrams movie Into Darkness more than any of the TV shows. So does that mean this is a prequel to the Abrams movies not the TV show? I don't really know or care. I guess it was all right. I mean the actors are decent and the production values are good. Kind of stupid we don't even show the eponymous ship except in the credits until what the second episode? The third?
There was an article in Forbes I think that said the same thing I thought watching these two shows: The Orville is more Trek than Trek! It's hopeful, progressive attitude is far more in line with Gene Roddenberry than the grim and gritty Discovery that seems more concerned with cool battles and explosions. At this point in time I think we need a hopeful, progressive show far more than we need a grim and gritty space war. Not to say I don't like that because I loved DS9 and really liked Babylon 5 and Robotech and so on. It's just not the Trek we need in our lives right now. Things are so shitty in the world already that we need some hope things will get better, not that ugly aliens are going to try to slaughter us once we leave the solar system.
Overall I think The Orville is a good show, though as with most of these shows the cast might need some time to gel and for the writers to find the best in those characters. For ST: TNG and DS9 this took 3-4 seasons to happen. I don't think Fox will give the show that much time. I mean they cancelled Firefly after 1 season and Space Above & Beyond after 2 seasons so when it comes to space-faring sci-fi they aren't the most patient. The real flaw I think is MacFarlane casting himself in the lead role. Just like A Million Ways to Die in the West, his limitations in live action become painfully clear when surrounded by real actors. Since you're doing essentially ST: TNG, a funny British guy would probably have worked a lot better. Someone with some gravitas like Patrick Stewart, only younger. I know it's MacFarlane's baby and all, which is why he should have been unselfish enough to do what was best for the show. I mean he's fine voicing a cartoon guy/dog/baby, or a teddy bear, or a talking gas cloud (remember Hellboy 2?), but live action is a different kettle of fish. A voice actor trying to do live action is like a game show host trying to be president.
At some point maybe I'll watch Discovery and think it's great, but right now it's just meh. I never really warmed to Enterprise either. Stop with the prequels! I always liked the Peter David book series New Frontier about the starship Excalibur exploring an uncharted part of space. Something like that set in either TOS or TNG/DS9/Voyager times would be a lot better. Or between TOS and TNG where you have 80 years to operate. I guess technically it'd be a prequel then in a way. Whatever.
So there you go, my thoughts on TV as I wait the 18 months or so for the final season of Game of Thrones.
4 comments:
I've seen Big Bang Theory here and there, and while there is the occasional laugh, I've never understood why it's so popular.
Was all set to give up on The Orville; it isn't serious and it isn't funny, but then the third episode was actually very interesting with the question of sexual preference by a foreign race, and whether or not we should accept their cultural preferences. Very thought provoking. And I liked The Good Doctor.
The first two episodes of Discovery were a prologue of sorts to the main story, which starts with episode 3, which was last night. It was actually a pretty good episode and we finally got to meet the regular ship's crew. It's very much the Star Trek version of Battlestar Galactica for better or worse; and while I don't like the dystopian tone to what Roddenberry set up as a utopian universe for the Federation characters, I will still check it out to see where the story goes, especially now that the main show has begun.
Orville really is a new take on TNG...it's like if you were a fan of TNG and you wanted to make a sci-fi show like it, but you don't have the license to do it so you make your own that is similar but different enough not to piss off lawyers. I agree MacFarlane is the low spot of the series; I really don't like him or his ex, but the other characters are more interesting. I have room in my life for both Orville and Discovery so I am good :)
The Wisdom of the Crowd is a total copy of the movie The Circle from earlier in the year, that one with Tom Hanks and Emma Watson that no one watched...and I doubt it will last long. Most of the new season shows aren't interesting...wonder which will get shit-canned first
I wish I had time to keep up with TV shows these days. I was a huge Star Trek fan, but lost track after Voyager... now it all seems overwhelming. My wife doesn't watch it, which doesn't help. I have to say though, The Big Bang Theory has crept up to become one of my favourite shows. I'll reserve judgement on the prequel.
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