Television Fall 2009 - Page 2

bicker · 08-04-2009, 05:01 AM

Trauma (NBC)

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"Trauma," the first high-octane medical drama series to live exclusively in the field where the real action is. Like an adrenaline shot to the heart, "Trauma" is an intense, action-packed look at one of the most dangerous medical professions in the world: first responder paramedics. When emergencies occur, the trauma team from San Francisco General is first on the scene, traveling by land, by sea or by air to reach their victims in time. From the heights of the city's Transamerica Pyramid to the depths of the San Francisco Bay, these heroes must face the most extreme conditions to save lives -- and give meaning to their own existence in the process.

Hmmm... the blurb writers must have forgotten the old series Emergency! And arguably the series Saved from a couple of years ago probably qualifies. This is another show that we're not planning on watching until we see indications that it is going to be very good. And I feel that way especially because of how NBC seems to be overselling the action-factor of the series. We like Jamey Sheridan, but not enough to overcome our wait-and-see instinct.

bicker · 08-04-2009, 05:03 AM

Hank (ABC)

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Sometimes scaling back is the best way to get ahead. Wall Street legend Hank Pryor (Kelsey Grammer) and his wife Tilly have been living the high life in New York City. That is until Hank is forced out of his CEO job and has to move his family back home to the small town of River Bend.

A self-made man, Hank is used to running the show, but now that he's lost almost everything, can he learn how to hang with his family? The Pryors have had to seriously downsize their lives -- even their king-sized bed won't fit in their modest new home. Tilly's not too pleased to be back in the same zip code as her family -- especially her badgering brother Grady. Hank's offbeat son Henry worries about fitting in with a new crowd and his daughter Maddie would rather talk on her cell phone than be anywhere near her Dad. But every great businessman knows that the key to success is to turn setbacks into opportunities. Hank has big plans to get ahead in business... and to reconnect with his family. It may take a while for an industrial giant to figure out how to mingle with the little people -- like his family -- but Hank's up for the challenge. Like that smaller bed... Turns out that wasn't such a bad idea after all.

To be honest, if Back To You didn't succeed, I have little hope for this Kelsey Grammer showcase. Sorry.

bicker · 08-04-2009, 05:03 AM

The Middle (ABC)

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Forget about athletes, movie stars and politicians. Parents are the real heroes -- but Frankie Heck (Patricia Heaton), well she's some kind of superhero. A loving wife and mother of three, she's middle class in the middle of the country and is rapidly approaching middle age.

Frankie and her husband, Mike, have lived in Orson, Indiana their whole lives. A man of few words (every one a zinger), Mike is a manager at the town quarry and Frankie is the third-best used car salesman (out of the three) at the local dealership. She may not be a high-powered career woman, but when it comes to her family, she'll go to just about any length. And with kids like these, she had better. There's Axel, her semi-nudist teenage son conceived with Guns N' Roses playing a significant role; Sue, the awkward teenage daughter who fails at everything with great gusto; and their seven-year-old son Brick, whose best friend is his back-pack.

So here's the other half of Back To You. Same comment.

bicker · 08-04-2009, 05:05 AM

Modern Family (ABC)

Quote:

Today's American families come in all shapes and sizes. Just ask these three families.

Jay recently married Gloria. Now Jay is trying hard to keep up with his much younger and hotter Colombian wife, along with her passionate pre-teen son, Manny. Claire is having a hard time raising her own family. Her husband Phil is great, except that he thinks he's "down" with their three kids, much to all their embarrassment. And, Mitchell and his enthusiastic partner Cameron have just made a major life change by adopting a Vietnamese baby named Lily.

Shot from the perspective of an unseen documentary filmmaker, this comedy takes a modern look at the complications that come with being a family in 2009. Steven Levitan (Just Shoot Me) and Christopher Lloyd (Frasier) invite you into the sometimes warm and sometimes twisted embrace of modern day families.

We generally don't watch comedies anymore. I think they all suck. But this one looks very interesting and we are going to check it out. I hope I can get past seeing Ed O'Neill as Al Bundy!

bicker · 08-04-2009, 05:06 AM

Cougar Town (ABC)

Quote:

Can a woman of a certain age be a mom, a successful career woman and still be on the prowl? Jules Cobb (Courteney Cox) is about to give it a try.

In a small Florida town, the center of high society is the Cougars high school football team... which is wildly appropriate since this town is the natural habitat for over-tanned, under-dressed divorcées prowling for younger men. Jules desperately doesn't want to be one of them, but with an ugly divorce behind her and 40 staring right back at her, she's longing for a little more action in her life. The available men her own age, like her silver fox of a neighbor, Grayson Ellis, only seem interested in dating barely legal hotties. Egged on by her very married and very irreverent best friend Ellie and her determined assistant Laurie, Jules reluctantly dips her toe back into the dating pool. To her surprise, she hits it off with a nice young guy named Matt -- emphasis on the young -- and discovers this gal still has the goods.

My first impression on reading the title of this show was that they were doing a double entendre, making it sound like they were referring to a place where middle-aged women pursue younger men, but instead perhaps the Cougars were the local high school football team. Nope! It's about middle-aged women pursuing younger men. Under other circumstances I'd dismiss this as overdone (including Eva Longoria in the first season of Desperate Housewives), but this is Courtney Cox, and despite its low ratings, I thought Dirt was great. I think this one might be good.

bicker · 08-04-2009, 05:11 AM

Eastwick (ABC)

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In the seaside village of Eastwick, three very different women are about to discover some bewitching talents they never knew they had. And once they get together-- watch out. Something wicked is coming their way.

There was a time when Roxanne, Kat and Joanna didn't get along because of their preconceived notions of each other. Roxie was the extroverted artist, Kat the overworked wife and mom, and Joanna the wallflower local reporter. But after a weird encounter in the park, coupled with a few martinis, these three women have suddenly become fast friends.

When the mysterious Daryl Van Horne arrives in town, he manages to bring the women even closer. His wealth, charisma and bad boy sex appeal are an irresistible combination for the three ladies. What's even more dangerous is that he unleashes their unique powers in ways they never could have imagined. But by igniting their hearts' desires, he might just be opening Pandora's Box.

Eastwick will be turned upside down as these enchanting women come into their own. Although bad for a few locals, it's still the best thing to happen to this small New England town in centuries.

This is on our list, but the more I think about it, the more I think this could be bad. I mean what wasn't covered in the movie?

More specifically: How will this television show pull out from under the shadow of being based on such a big and arguably good movie? We'll check it out, but I'm not going to get my hopes up.

bicker · 08-04-2009, 05:12 AM

Flashforward (ABC)

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A mysterious global event causes everyone to black out simultaneously for two minutes and seventeen seconds, and each person sees a glimpse of their lives six months from now. When they wake up, everyone is left wondering if what they saw will actually happen.

I'm currently reading the novel, in anticipation of this series. They're billing it as the logical next big series for LOST fans. I hope they're right. The premise is good, and it looks like they're investing a lot to get it right.

bicker · 08-04-2009, 05:13 AM

Three Rivers (CBS)

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Three Rivers is a medical drama that goes inside the emotionally complex lives of organ donors, the recipients and the surgeons at the preeminent transplant hospital in the country where every moment counts. However, dealing with donor families in their darkest hour and managing the fears and concerns of apprehensive recipients takes much more than just a sharp scalpel. Leading the elite team is Dr. Andy Yablonski (Alex O'Loughlin), the highly-skilled workaholic lead organ transplant surgeon, whose good-natured personality and sarcastic wit makes him popular with his patients and colleagues. His colleagues include Dr. Miranda Foster (Katherine Moennig), a surgical fellow with a rebellious streak and fiery temper who strives to live up to her deceased father's excellent surgical reputation; Dr. David Lee (Daniel Henney), a womanizing surgical resident who's broken as many hearts as he's replaced; Ryan Abbott (Christopher J. Hanke), the inexperienced new transplant coordinator who arranges the intricately choreographed process of quickly and carefully transporting organs from donor to patient; Dr. Sophia Jordan, the head of surgery and a dedicated medical professional; and Pam Acosta (Justina Machado), Andy's no-nonsense operating assistant and best friend. In this high stakes arena, in which every case is a race against the clock, these tenacious surgeons and medical professionals are the last hope for their patients.

Pulling up the rear, literally. This series will be the last new series of the scheduled fall season to premiere (before, of course, the inevitable mid-season replacements are slotted in). Just because I'm curious that way, I have to wonder why they're waiting to premiere this until October. And why there are so few still photos of this show available to display. Hmmm...

It showcases Moonlight star Alex O'Loughlin and L Word star Katherine Moennig, so of course we'll watch it.

O-O · 08-04-2009, 07:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bicker

Vampire Diaries (CW)

I go back and forth on this one. In the end, it won't fit into our plan. It is being broadcast in the second-most competitive hour of television, all week, Thursday 8PM, and therefore is up against Bones and Flash Forward (as well as Survivor and some NBC comedies). Vampire Diaries does start a couple of weeks before the regular fall season starts (two weeks before Flash Forward starts), so we will catch the first couple of episodes, but small consolation if we like it. We'll put it lower on the Season Pass list, so we might catch the reruns.

Does Nina Dobrev give anyone else a Shiri Appleby (Liz Parker from Roswell) vibe? (Coincidentally, the folks making Vampire Diaries also made Roswell.)

Hmm, good and evil vampires living among us, the plot sounds so familiar.

I could never cheat on True Blood.

Thanks for the update, bookmarked.

bicker · 08-04-2009, 07:21 AM

I think the issue with Vampire Diaries versus True Blood (versus Twilight, versus Moonlight, etc.) is that vampires are "hot" these days, so everyone's different take on them is being considered for presentation. However, we need to be careful about saying who's ripping off from whom: The order in which these different universes are presented to the public via video is different from the order in which they were created (and presented to the public via print media). Specifically, Vampire Diaries actually has the longest pedigree...

(The big 4, post-BTVS)
Vampire Diaries - 1991
Blood Ties - 1991 (television series already canceled)
True Blood - 2001
Twilight - 2005 (feature films, not television)


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