I watch a lot of TV, like A LOT of TV, like I'm not even sure where I find the time to watch all of this TV, because when I say out loud how much TV it is that I watch I sound like a crazy person. Chances are if it's worth watching I've probably seen it. I just love TV.
One of the great challenges to any new TV season, other than trying to adequately program your DVR to tape everything, is trying to figure out what new TV shows to watch. There are always lots of new options to choose from, but you don't want to hitch your wagon to a show that's just going to end up sucking (Heroes) or to a show that's going to get canceled after a few episodes, you know, right after you decided you love this show and it should be on forever. On the flip side you don't want to NOT watch a new show, only to have all your friends telling you that you should be watching this great new show two months after it started.
So I decided that since I watch a hella lotta TV already, I'd watch as many new pilots as I could and let you kind folks know what I think is worth watching, and what I think is going to end up being a big waste of time. You know, get back to actually writing about stuff on my blog.
The Playboy Club
Despite the producers' insistence that this show isn't a Mad Men ripoff with Playboy Bunnies this sure does feel a lot like a Mad Men ripoff with Playboy Bunnies. I mean, even if you go into watching the show with an open mind and a positive attitude like I did, the first thing you're probably going to notice is how the lead character, a novice Bunny who accidentally kills a mob boss at the club, looks a little like Scarlett Johansson and sounds a lot like January Jones, and the attorney/club key holder who helps her cover the murder up looks kinda like Jon Hamm and sounds EXACTLY like Jon Hamm. I swear to God, at one point I actually thought I was watching a Danish TV show about the Playboy Club that was overdubbed in America by the cast of Mad Men.
So how's the actual show? Well it's a little too soapy and the voice-overs by Heff are lame as can be (note to producers: get rid of the voice-overs ASAP), but the show does have some potential. I mean, where else are you going to see someone frame up a medium shot on a Bunny talking in the background with a none-too-subtle giant breast taking up a fourth of the screen in the foreground? The production value is really good, the writing and dialogue aren't horrible, and all the actors seem to be having a good time, so at least it was fun to watch. The show reminds me a lot of CBS's short-lived Swingtown series, another show about sex that wasn't all that great but was still kind of fun to watch.
So is it worth watching? Too soon to tell. In my heart I want it to get better, but if I were to place money on it I'd bet against that. It has the potential to turn into a really good guilty pleasure show though.
2 Broke Girls
The biggest thing going against this show is that it's a traditional 3 camera sitcom with a laugh track, and I just don't feel like those kind of shows still have any place in the 21st Century. A live audience I can live with, because at least those people are honestly reacting to what's put in front of them, but I hate it when a show tries to tell you what's funny by superimposing a laugh over it, especially when the joke wasn't even funny to begin with.
As for the show itself, the pilot starts off a little rocky, but slowly starts to gain its footing by the end. The show is about a sarcastic waitress played by Kat Dennings who has to deal with an heiress who suddenly lost her trust fund in a Bernie Mardoff type scandal and is forced to take a waitressing gig to make ends meet. A modern day Odd Couple meets Laverne & Shirley, with just as many cliches. The saving grace of the show is that Dennings and Beth Behrs, who plays the former rich girl, really elevate the roles beyond what was written on the page and give their characters a real heart and soul. Behrs especially was a big surprise who I ended up liking a lot more than I thought I would.
Worth watching? If you're someone who doesn't mind a new show with a laugh track, I'd say yes, especially if you are already watching all the other Monday night CBS comedies that it is coupled with like The Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother. For the most part it is really funny. As for me, I'm going to watch it for a little longer but I doubt I'm going to stick with it unless it drops a lot of the sitcom conventions that drive me nuts.
After the jump are my takes on New Girl, Ringer, Up All Night, Free Agents, Charlie’s Angels and The Secret Circle
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