The New Season (2016)

[ClarkKent_DC]

It's that time of year again!

We've done this before (here, here, 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.

I'm remiss in starting this thread so late this time around, as we're about a month into the new season. We've already seen the return of The Flash (see "Flash Season 3 -- SPOILERS"), Gotham (see "GOTHAM SEASON 3 !!SPOILERS!!"), and the welcome debut of Luke Cage (see "Luke Cage Season 1 (Spoilers)" ). We're also looking forward to the return of Supergirl at its new home on the CW (see SUPERGIRL SEASON 2 !!SPOILERS!!)

For my part, I was glad to have Suits over the summer to tide me over until Chicago Fire, Empire, and Grey's Anatomy came back.

I'm still following The Big Bang Theory, which started off pretty well -- Leonard and Penny had a renewal of the vows ceremony so their families could attend, which meant we met Leonard's dad and Penny's mother, father and brother. Apparently, they forgot that Leonard also has a brother and sister, who went completely unmentioned in the episode.

I've become a belated convert to New Girl and to Superstore, which is a lot like The Office, but in a more downscale setting -- a big-box store much like Wal-Mart or Kmart or Target. The manager and assistant manager are direct clones of those characters from The Office, but I don't mind.

I gave a try to The Good Place, but it didn't bowl me over.

[ClarkKent_DC]

One new show I'm liking a lot: Pitch. It's a drama about The First Woman Major League Baseball Player, starring Kylie Bunbury as Ginny Baker, rookie starting pitcher for the San Diego Padres. The story is that her dad was a career minor-league player so he wanted to push his son to make it to the bigs ... except his son wasn't interested and his daughter was. Oh, well.

They don't pretend Ginny can throw heat -- her fastball tops out at 87 mph -- but Dad taught her a screwball and a curveball, and she makes it work.

The show's done a good job with all the conflicting elements of this situation: Ginny's instant fame, jitters at living up to Dad's expectations, people cheering for her and against her, little girls seeing her as a role model, etc. The manager's an old dinosaur who doesn't know what to make of it, and an old TV interview he gave resurfaces and gives everybody heartburn -- and puts his job at risk. Ginny does have one friend in the clubhouse, and he encourages the catcher, who is the team captain, to mentor Ginny. The catcher is a journeyman player hoping to get a World Series ring before he retires, and thinks the hoopla over Ginny doesn't help.

Major League Baseball is fully behind this project -- the show is allowed to use real team names and logos, and it appears to film in real ballparks. It's a good ride, well told.

[ClarkKent_DC]

One nice development about the move of Supergirl to the CW: There's a superhero show on Mondays (Supergirl), Tuesdays (The Flash), Wednesdays (Arrow) and Thursdays (Legends of Tomorrow).

And in November, there will be a crossover of all four!

[ClarkKent_DC]

A month into the new season, and The Cheat Sheet flags early losers: "8 TV Shows Failing Miserably"

[Richard Willis]

The only one of the eight shows we are watching is Bull. It's OK. Michael Weatherly does a good job but his character's line of work is somewhat distasteful, and the Dr Phil connection doesn't make it better.

[Richard Willis]

We just watched the first episode of Timeless, and enjoyed it.

[ClarkKent_DC]

Speaking of crossovers, next week, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and New Girl will have one: "New Girl, Brooklyn Nine-Nine Crossover: Jess Is In the (Station) House"

This, you have to admit, makes a lot of sense. These shows are a great fit with each other.

[Richard Willis]

I haven't seen this week's New Girl or Brooklyn Nine-Nine. I made a point of catching up with both series over the summer, and really like them both.

[Joe Sherrod]

.....SPOILERS.....Of the 8 shows I have seen MacGyver and Bull and liked them both!  Usually if the Critic says a show is bad then I usually wind up really liking it!  MacGyver was criticised for not being a fresh approach....well since the original series was from the 1980's and early 90's I doubt that the younger audience tuning in would know that!?  Also his girlfriend being killed in the first episode and then she shows up later being a renegade/traitor was a really big twist from the original show!  I liked Bull since it was a different approach to the standard Law and Order type shows!  It basically shows a lot of what is going on behind the scenes....like what are the jurors really thinking about and how their life experiences will influence them on whether a person is guilty or innocent!
ClarkKent_DC said:

A month into the new season, and The Cheat Sheet flags early losers: "8 TV Shows Failing Miserably"

[Jeff of Earth-J]

THIS IS US: This is Us has been recommended to us. We've recorded the first two (or perhaps three by now) episodes, but haven't wached it yet.

[Richard Willis]

Jeff of Earth-J said:

THIS IS US: This is Us has been recommended to us. We've recorded the first two (or perhaps three by now) episodes, but haven't wached it yet.

If you or someone else has watched this I would be interested in your opinion. From the promos it seems like a throwback to the old family shows, and doesn't seem that interesting. Am I wrong?

[Jeff of Earth-J]

Reportedly, it's supposed to appeal to people who liked Parenthood, and Tracy and I liked Parenthood. We'll likely watch it over the weekend. (Tonight is Rocketship X-M for Bob's MST3K discussion.)

[Jeff of Earth-J]

THIS IS US: Watched episode one last night and loved it! I can't tell you why I loved it without spoiling it, so just give the first episode a try. It does have a Parenthood vibe, so anyone who liked Parenthood may like This Is Us as well.