I Judge the TV season

We watch a lot of TV. We don't apologize because we get a ton of other things done too. I mean, we don't clean the house or anything, but we play with our kids, cook good food, pursue hobbies, and go out on date nights. So TV isn't it's all we do. And, okay, fine, sometimes we clean, but I don't like to brag.

We like to try out a lot of the new shows to see if there's anything we just HAVE to add to our schedule. Not very many things make the cut because we can only add so much, so unless something else has been cancelled, etc. we just don't have room to add a ton of shows. But this is what I think so far:

Revolution: I really like this but I think I'm in the minority here. It's got problems, yeah, but I like the whole set up. Imagine the world fifteen years after we lose all electricity. The show has gone a different direction than  I expected, but for me it's a good thing. It really is about a revolution (I know, I should have figured that out from the title) against the forces who seized control during the power vacuum after the outage. It's about how power corrupts and how evil is sometimes nuanced (<--this is the word of the day). I don't know. I think it's pretty cool, but it doesn't offend me when other people aren't feeling it.

The Mob Doctor: We watched about fifteen minutes of this and were over it. Flat characters, very formulaic. Nothing hooked us. Very meh.

Vegas: This has a great cast, but after two episodes now, I'd say the potential is lost on CBS. First, they're trying to cash in a little on the Mad Men luster by working in the same era, but the CBS version lacks subtlety. These actors play their parts well but they're being given some pretty lame material to work with. The characters are drawn as caricatures and this is very nearly always a death sentence for me. I think we're done with this one.

Elementary: I love the concept of Watson as a woman and both of these actors are great, but the plots are wildly convoluted and depend too often on coincidence to where it bugs me. Sherlock is better than what they're giving him to do. A lot of people whose opinions I respect really like this show, so I'll keep an eye on the buzz to decide whether to drop back in on it, but as of right now, I'm moving on.

Last Resort: This is a "submarine goes rogue in the name of principal" drama. I liked it. Kenny really dug it. Great cast including Andre Braugher who is awesome in everything, so I think we're "on board" for at least a few more episodes. Bwahahaha!

Nashville: This premieres tonight so I have no opinion yet, just hope, because I like Connie Britton a lot.

Arrow: Also premieres tonight, and it would not normally be my thing, but it got great reviews and since I'm already dropping a couple of other shows, I'm willing to give it a shot. (Bam! Another pun! I'm en fuego, baby!)

Go On: I want to love it because I really like Matthew Perry, but the first group therapy scene was painful. Comedy for the sense-of-humor impaired, maybe. I just like nuance because it requires craft and talent, not formulas. This was formulaic.

The Mindy Project: My favorite new show of the season. Mindy Kaling from The Office is hilarious here. Even the over the top stuff works. Actually, a lot of it is over the top but it's done with subtlety and I dig it and I laugh a lot when I watch it.

And that's where I'm at so far. Maybe next week I'll tell you what's returning that you should TOTALLY be watching if you're not.

And if you're over TV, and you want to read, you can pick up my new book Smart Move and read a review about it at Amie's blog, Getting Your Read On, to find out why. (Hint: I think it's pretty good.)