Yesterday, the first half of our fall TV preview explored Monday through Wednesday's
upcoming series premières, from their familiar origins to their theoretical
demises. Today, we move on to the second half of the week, which doesn't look much better.
THURSDAY
Kath & Kim
When and where? NBC, 8:30 p.m. (premières
10/9)
What's it about? Kath and Kim are a tacky
middle-class mother-daughter team played by Molly Shannon and Selma Blair.
After splitting from her dim-witted young husband, Blair's bratty princess
moves back in with divorcée mother Shannon, who vows not to put up with her
daughter's excesses any more.
Where does it come from? NBC is unusually open
about the fact that Kath & Kim originated as a hit Australian sitcom, and the
network intends to do for it what it did for the BBC series The Office. Considering that Kath
& Kim
attracted some of the highest ratings ever on Australian TV, it's a tall order.
Odds of it outlasting what it's ripping off: By placing it smack-dab
in the middle of its prime must-see comedy Thursday, NBC is showing a lot of
confidence. We'd put even odds on it outlasting the original show's
four-season, 32-episode run.
SNL
Weekend Update Thursday
When
and where: NBC, 9:30 p.m.
(premières 10/9)
What's
it about? Election
years tend to be good for Saturday Night Live. This year's primary
season certainly was, even earning a mention from Hillary Clinton in a debate.
Hoping to take full advantage of the moment, SNL is starting its season on
September 13 and dropping three half-hour, election-oriented Weekend Update
specials into the slot normally occupied by the SNL-inspired 30 Rock. (Rest easy: 30 Rock returns October 30.)
Where
does it come from? We're
pretty sure that Saturday Night Live is the main influence on this show, though it's
hard not to think that SNL mastermind Lorne Michaels, having tasted the
attention and influence normally enjoyed by The Daily Show, wants a bigger bite.
Odds
of it outlasting what it's ripping off: It's only scheduled for a three-episode run, but
if all goes well, expect more of these down the line.
Eleventh Hour
When and where? CBS, 10 p.m. (premières
10/9)
What's it about? From producer Jerry
Bruckheimer comes this series about a brilliant government biophysicist (Rufus
Sewell) who gets called in to investigate various scientific crises,
specifically cases in which advances have been abused. (And yes, that means 19
cloned fetuses in jars!)
Where does it come from? It sounds like CSI meets The X-Files, but Eleventh Hour actually comes from a
2006 British series of the same name (with Patrick Stewart in the starring
role), notable mainly for the episode length (90 minutes) and
then-unprecedented budget. The creator also dropped out because the producers
mucked with his vision, which makes it perfect for Bruckheimer.
Odds of it outlasting what it's ripping off: Barring total catastrophe,
it's a near-certainty that the American Eleventh Hour will outlast the British
series, which was just four episodes long.
Testees
When
and where? FX,
10:30 p.m. (premières 10/9)
What's
it about? Two
slackers earn cash by letting pharmaceutical companies use them as test
subjects; each episode follows their attempt to get through their everyday
lives while dealing with the side effects of the new drugs.
Where
does it come from? Created
by South Park
writer (and Kenny Vs. Spenny star) Kenny Hotz, Testees might—just
might—offer an original spin on the "dudes hanging out" sitcom genre.
Odds
of it outlasting what it's ripping off: FX is pairing this up with the cult-comedy hit It's
Always Sunny In Philadelphia, and if the sensibility matches up, Testees could quickly find a cult
of its own.
FRIDAY
Crusoe
When
and where? NBC, 8 p.m.
(premières 10/17)
What's
it about? Robinson
Crusoe (Philip Winchester) is a 17th-century sailor stranded on an island for
28 years with only his wits, his good friend Friday (Tongayi Chirisa), and the
chance he'll be reunited with his wife to keep him going.
Where
does it come from? Daniel
Defoe's 1719 novel Robinson Crusoe. The 13-part series promises to "combine for the
first time the pace and energy of network television while remaining faithful
to the author's original classic story." That poorly phrased vow seems
unreasonably ambitious, especially if the creators want to include all of
Defoe's detailed descriptions of Crusoe's goatkeeping.
Odds
of it outlasting what it's ripping off: Bad. Defoe's original is still being read nearly
300 years after it was written. Even if this series is great, it likely won't
make the leap to the neural-implant entertainment systems of the 24th century.
The
Ex List
When
and where? CBS,
9 p.m. (premières 10/3)
What's
it about? A
psychic tells a young woman (Elizabeth Reaser) that she's destined to marry
someone she's already dated. Also, she only has one year to find out which one,
or she'll never get married. (Crafty psychics: always putting weird, arbitrary
time limits on things for maximum wackiness.) So Reaser goes back through all
her past discarded boyfriends, looking for "the one."
Where
does it come from? It's
based on the Israeli dramedy series Mythological X, "The romantic comedy
that will get us all thinking again!" Presumably, we'll all be thinking about
the last time we saw High Fidelity.
Odds
of it outlasting what it's ripping off: Friday is a tough night, especially considering
that the target audience for this show (young women in their 20s and 30s who
love shows about dating) are probably out, you know, dating on Friday nights.
Then again, maybe it's been a long time since we've all seen High Fidelity?
Crash
When
and where? Starz,
10 p.m. (premières 10/17)
What's
it about? The
melodramatic, highly cinematic ways that people of different races interact
with each other in L.A. Starring, for some reason, Dennis Hopper.
Where
does it come from? Paul
Haggis' Oscar-winning L.A. race-relations big-screen melodrama, Crash. Also, presumably, the
incredibly cheestastic Crash race-relations ballet of the 2005 Academy Awards
ceremony.
Odds
of it outlasting what it's ripping off: The show is airing on Starz—the number-one
premium cable channel that ends in a "z"—and premium channels never
cancel series mid-season, so Crash has a guaranteed run. But at least it can't win
another Oscar, right?
Sanctuary
When and where? SCI FI, 10 p.m. (premières
10/3)
What's it about? Sanctuary is an innovative show in
two ways: It began life as a series of short webisodes, and it's photographed
almost exclusively against a green screen, with computer-generated backdrops.
The new-fangled TV series brings back all the cast members, including Amanda
Tapping as a 157-year-old "terrologist" (a monster-studier) who gives creatures
evolved from mankind a safe haven. But not all of them want or deserve it.
Where does it come from? The webisode-to-TV concept
was also tried with Quarterlife, a series by thirtysomething creators Marshall
Herskovitz and Edward Zwick. It garnered the worst ratings NBC had absorbed
since its XFL experiment, and was pulled after one episode.
Odds of it outlasting what it's ripping off? 100 percent. SCI FI has a
13-episode order, and enough of an online fan base to justify it.
SATURDAY
Nothing
new here, folks.
[pagebreak]
SUNDAY
In
Harm's Way
When
and where? CW,
7 p.m. (premières 9/21)
What's
it about? Survivor washout Hunter Ellis
hosts a weekly look at the men and women who run into burning buildings, sweep
for mines, or in multiple other ways risk their lives to keep the rest of our
wimpy asses safe and secure.
Where
does it come from? Mix Rescue 911
with Dirty Jobs,
add a dash of Queen For A Day, and voilà!
Odds
of it outlasting what it's ripping off: Unless it gets relocated onto A&E;, Discovery, or
some other cable channel better-suited to this kind of sensationalist
docu-series, In Harm's Way will quickly be scuttled off the air, perhaps to
be replaced by a show about the brave network space-fillers that allow
themselves to get slaughtered in the ratings on Sunday nights.
Surviving Suburbia
When and where? CW, 7:30 p.m. (premières
11/2)
What's it about? Bob Saget [Shudder. —ed.] stars as a
typical suburban dad, with a stable 20-year marriage, three children, and a
two-story home in a manicured subdivision. Only his daughter thinks she's an
Indian princess, her son is smitten with the twice-pregnant teenager down the
block, and Saget can't stop leering at his new neighbor's 17-year-old daughter.
Where does it come from? From the ninth circle of
sitcom hell. Or to be specific, veteran producer Kevin Abbott, who is pitching
it as a male version of his hit show Roseanne.
Odds of it outlasting what it's ripping off: Impossible. The CW as a
network may not survive another year, and it's highly improbable that Americans
will tolerate Bob Saget for nine seasons. Full House placed the Saget
threshold at eight.
Valentine
When and where? CW, 8 p.m. (premières
9/21)
What's it about? Forget about Millionaire
Matchmaker:
The Greek gods Aphrodite and Eros (among others) are alive in contemporary
Hollywood, and they've opened a dating service. Since they have an oracle
handy, they know exactly who a person's soulmate is, but getting couples
together isn't easy.
Where does it come from? Greek gods or no, any
hourlong dramedy about matchmaking owes something to Cupid, the short-lived but
vastly influential (and soon to be remade) series by Rob Thomas (Veronica
Mars),
that bridged genres and embraced a cinematic style that's more commonplace now
than it was back in 1998.
Odds of it outlasting what it's ripping off: Better than average. Cupid only lasted 14 episodes,
and The CW is generally not quick with the hook. When your network is already a
ratings bottom-dweller, how much lower can you go?
Easy
Money
When
and where? CW,
9 p.m. (premières 9/21)
What's
it about? A
young man (Jeff Hephner) takes over his strange family's business: a highly
successful, possibly shady, short-term payday loans outfit.
Where
does it come from? Apart
from the payday-loans part, that plot could easily describe Arrested
Development.
But Easy Money
is an hourlong dramedy instead of a half-hour comedy. Also, it takes place in
New Mexico.
Odds
of it outlasting what it's ripping off: The producers of Easy Money also produced Northern
Exposure
and The Sopranos,
so they know how to do eccentrics and strange family businesses right. Also,
the show's cast—namely Laurie Metcalf and Judge Reinhold—is
certainly more than able to put the "edy" in "dramedy." So Easy Money at least has a chance at
becoming a beloved show that's cancelled far before its time.
True Blood
When and where? HBO, 9 p.m. (premières
9/7)
What's it about? The new series from Six
Feet Under
creator Alan Ball takes place in a world where synthetic blood has allowed
vampires to come out of the shadows and join rather than feast on humankind. In
the Louisiana town of Bon Temps, a waitress (Anna Paquin) who can hear people's
thoughts embarks on a relationship with a tall, dark 173-year-old stranger.
Where does it come from? The model for any
super-hip vampire TV series will always be Buffy The Vampire Slayer, which Ball professes to
have never seen. Perhaps if he had seen it, he wouldn't have lifted Paquin's
special talent from "Earshot," a classic Buffy episode from season
three.
Odds of it outlasting what it's ripping off: Six Feet Under lasted five seasons. Buffy lasted seven. Given that
inertia isn't as big a factor in HBO series as it is in network shows, True
Blood
probably won't go that long. Then again, given HBO's programming woes of late,
success of any kind will surely lead to an endless run.
Summer
Heights High
When
and where? HBO,
TBD (premières 11/9)
What's
it about? All
the soaps, reality series, and documentaries about scandalous teenage lives get
a good lampooning with this mockumentary about freaks, geeks, and rich kids at
an Australian public school.
Where
does it come from? HBO
is importing this one intact from Australian television, where it generated
high ratings and some small measure of controversy due to its snarky take on
real teen problems.
Odds
of it outlasting what it's ripping off: It is what it's ripping off.
Little
Britain USA
When
and where? HBO,
10:30 p.m. (premières 9/28)
What's
it about? The
American spin-off of the popular UK sketch comedy series promises to bring
"class, culture, and dignity to America." No doubt through vast quantities of
wigs, spirit gum, fat suits, and sharp characters.
Where
does it come from? Ahem.
Britain.
Odds
of it outlasting what it's ripping off: It's from Little Britain creators Matt Lucas and
David Walliams, and it features a number of the same characters; it's
essentially an extension of the original. Since it's on HBO, it won't have as
wide or as mainstream of an audience as the BBC's Little Britain, but its new characters
alone should position Little Britain USA for inclusion into the cult-comedy canon.
The
Life & Times Of Tim
When
and where? HBO,
11 p.m. (starts 9/28)
What's
it about? Tim
works in an office, lives in New York, and thrives on awkwardness. He's also an
animated character.
Where
does it come from? Tim's crude, rigid animation
is reminiscent of Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist (it's like Squigglevision without
the squiggles) and since it's rooted in awkwardness, a lot of the humor is too.
Odds
of it outlasting what it's ripping off: Dr. Katz had very funny comedian Jonathan Katz behind it,
but Life & Times Of Tim has Steve Dildarian, best known for writing
Budweiser's "Lizard" campaign. Still, some of the Tim previews are worth a few
laughs—and since it's on HBO, the series should get at least a season in.