Alright, I gave a couple of the shows I already looked at another try.
Shows I Watched The 2nd Episode Of:
Modern Family - Y'know, it's really not that bad. It's not must-see TV, but it's got a real appeal to it. The problem is that it follows three differen't families, and only one of those families is consistently funny - Ty Burrell's family.
Really, it's just that Burrell is great on that show, and that makes it worth watching. He never got enough credit in the vastly underrated "Back To You."
The Cleveland Show - Still underwhelming, I have to say. Not terrible, just not exciting. This week's episode also featured a "black-centric" commercial for Couple's Retreat, which is a movie that features three white couples (of all famous actors and actresses), and then a black couple (of two actors no one's ever heard of). However, this commercial tried to make it seem like they were the main characters of the movie, so that black people will go see it, as long as they missed the thousands of other commercials that let them know that this commercial was a lie. Naturally, this commercial was placed in the middle of "The Cleveland Show," which is a cartoon about black people written and voiced by white actors doing black stereotypes.
All that to say, in just two episodes this show has managed to take race relations in this country back about three decades.
FlashForward - I might as well make this a weekly post where I go over everything that worked and didn't work in each episode. This show is that problematic. I've never seen a show with this much promise and this much difficulty putting all the pieces together since... "Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip." Or maybe Season Two of "Heroes."
This doesn't count as spoilers because the show's only in its second episode. But, if you're one of those people who needs this, SPOILER ALERT.
What Worked: The show has started out at a torrid pace, and that sort of forward momentum masks a lot of problems. Also, I loved that they went right out and dealt with the fact that John Cho didn't see anything in his flash forward, which means he's probably gonna die before then - someone called and told him that yes, he's definitely gonna die, and then gave him the exact date (it'll happen in the spring sometime, assuming that the show will move at real time). Now, that's some legitimately inventive showrunning right there.
What Didn't: Alright, fine, so John Cho didn't see anything in his blackout. He's worried that it means he might die. So when he runs into a female Ranger who also didn't see anything, it's supposed to be a good sign for Cho, right? Maybe he's not gonna die in the next year. The viewer is supposed to be filled with hope Except for the fact that everyone watching this show has seen a television before and knows what's happening. Five minutes later, naturally, this character is dead.
Show runners: we've seen television before. We don't need you to keep flashing back every time someone mentions something to know that a character is "haunted" by the vision he saw. Once a show is enough. Ten times a show is way, way too much.
Bottom Line: I'm about of the same mind I was at the end of the pilot - it looks like the show will be good and entertaining, but it's not must-see TV the way "Lost" is. As shows go, it looks like it'll be about a "B," with the potential to swing up to maybe "A-", and always the worry that the whole thing could fall apart. I'm hoping it pulls it together as time goes along, the way "Fringe" did last season.
New Shows:
Eastwick - I thought I'd give it a shot, in case it turned out to be great. I hadn't heard anything about, but then there's always five or six shows that enter the fall season with no fanfare and one or two of them turns out to be excellent.
It ain't this one. I made it 4 minutes in. It's clearly not worth my time, your time, or anyone's time - best case scenario, it's a cross between "Desperate Housewives" and "Charmed", with less clever writing.
Considerably less clever writing.
No, really, that's the best possible outcome.