The New Season (2014)

[ClarkKent_DC]

We've done this before (here, here, and here), but now it's time for this year! This is a place for comments about any and all shows, but especially for shows that don't generate their own threads.

[ClarkKent_DC]

I think The Good Wife producers meant the title to be ironic. The original premise of the show, and the opening scene in the pilot episode, are based on a moment we've seen here on Earth-Prime lots of times: the press conference where some slick politician who's been caught in a scandal tries to explain it away, and his wife is silently standing beside him (see: Eliot Spitzer, Mark Sanford, Anthony Weiner, and others).

Since in those situations, the wife is there purely for window dressing, the TV show The Good Wife chooses to explore what she's all about. With her world turned upside down by a mess of her husband's making, was she a "good wife"? Was she a "good" wife? And what's so "good" about being a "good" wife? 

I also think The Good Wife producers, like the producers of Cougar Town, sometimes wish they had chosen a different title, because the show has grown beyond its premise.

[Jason Marconnet (Pint sized mod)]

I watched the season premier of 12 Monkeys on SYFY this weekend. I'm a huge fan of the film but was skeptical of a TV series, especially on SYFY. However, I was pleasantly surprised. This is not a re-tread of the original and makes changes that actually work for the series. I'll be following it for the time being.

[Richard Willis]

Justified returns on January 20 (tomorrow) on the FX network.

[ClarkKent_DC]

Fox renews Gotham and Empire for second seasons and Brooklyn Nine-Nine for a third -- Empire on the strength of only two episodes aired! "Fox renews 'Gotham,' 'Empire' (After Only Two Episodes!) " 

[Detective 445]

Jason Marconnet (Pint sized mod) said:

I watched the season premier of 12 Monkeys on SYFY this weekend. I'm a huge fan of the film but was skeptical of a TV series, especially on SYFY. However, I was pleasantly surprised. This is not a re-tread of the original and makes changes that actually work for the series. I'll be following it for the time being.

I'm with you. Big fan of the movie, had doubts about the series. But I thought they made some interesting choices. Portraying Cole as more heroic and self assured is a smart play for an ongoing series. I also like that the female lead is now a virologist and the Brad Pitt character is now a woman. And it seems like the Army of the 12 Monkeys will now be a real threat rather than a red herring. On the down side, I found some of the plotting and characterization a little weak. And there was that muted tone that seems to accompany some of these lower budget SyFy series. Helix being one example.

[Doctor Hmmm?]

Last night I watched Vinnie Jones playing scary murderous thug Brick on Arrow ... followed by Vinnie Jones playing funny murderous henchman Gareth on Galavant.  That's a little disconcertng.

[Richard Willis]

But he's good at both!

Doctor Hmmm? said:

Last night I watched Vinnie Jones playing scary murderous thug Brick on Arrow ... followed by Vinnie Jones playing funny murderous henchman Gareth on Galavant.  That's a little disconcertng.

[Doctor Hmmm?]

He is!

[ClarkKent_DC]

I just belatedly learned that Benched won't be renewed for a second season ("USA Cancels Benched"). Too bad; it was a really funny fish-out-of-water comedy.

Eliza Coupe was Nina, a high-powered corporate lawyer who, as the story begins, has her fiance tell her he's breaking up with her for someone else just moments before she learns the partnership she was expecting is going to someone else. She responds with an epic hissy fit that not only gets her fired but essentially banned from every other high-powered corporate law firm in town. The best she can do is a job at the public defender's office, which is full of people she would never have noticed even when she's stepping on them on the way to her car -- and that includes the people who work there.

Most of her co-workers are barely treading water, defending a procession of street people, lowlifes, and hard-luck cases facing little of the mercy of the court. But Nina strikes up a friendly rivalry with Phil, who has a little more on the ball then everyone else, but just goes through the motions. He does his best for his clients, yes, but he doesn't invest much emotional energy in what he's doing. He helps Nina learn to adjust to her poorer circumstances, and she learns to be a better person, although she doesn't always keep her rage in check, and encourages him to care about what he's doing a little more.

Here's a review from the TV Club: "Benched Is a Legal Comedy That’s Actually About Something". Too bad it didn't last.

[ClarkKent_DC]

From TV Line:  "NBC Renews Blacklist, Chicago Fire, Grimm and Two Other Dramas"

[Richard Willis]

Interesting that ABC hasn't committed to renewing Agents of SHIELD and Agent Carter, since ABC and Marvel both belong to Disney.

[ClarkKent_DC]

I think the fact that Disney owns ABC and Marvel has meant it has shown more patience with the performance of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Carter than shows produced by some other company would have gotten.