Fall TV: Part Two

   Here's part two of me going through all the season premiers on my DVR...

Modern Family
     I know this is everyone's favorite sitcom and the winner of numerous Emmys, but for me it's incredibly hit or miss.  When it's a hit it's fall off the couch funny, but when it's a miss it's hardly worth watching.  The season premier, set at a dude ranch, was a huge miss.  I know the show has more to offer so it's not going to hurt my thoughts about it, but this was an extremely auspicious start for "the best comedy on TV."  I think the cast is wonderful, especially Julie Bowen, who I would watch on anything, so any short fall on the laughs side of things must come from the writing staff.  As uneven as the laughs may be, it's still a must watch.
     VERDICT:  Staying put at #8 on Season Pass Manager

Community
     This show gets my vote for the funniest show on TV.  It's the perfect blend of off beat comedy, pure silliness, culture references and your typical sitcom fare.  Every cast member is hilarious in their own style, from the main characters like Jeff and Brita right down to the bit players like Star Burns and Dean Pelton, which makes the show a true ensemble effort.  I'm not sure where the writers are going with the whole Jeff and Annie thing, but the show is always best when it's not focusing on the soap opera aspect of sitcoms, something I think the writers are aware of, so I'm not to concerned.  If there is one thing I would like to see going forward it would be Chang returning to his first season form.  He became awkward and annoying after being one of the funniest parts of season one.  I'd love to see him gain some credibility and power back and in the process get more funny.
     VERDICT: Due to other shows slipping, moves up from #3 to #1 on Season Pass Manager

Charlie's Angels
     Not sure how long a show that pisses me off in the first 15 minutes is going to last.  In this age of female empowerment, this seemed like an obvious choice for a reboot and could be a big hit.  But the show runners proved they didn't know what they were doing when they killed off the one Angel, Nadine Velazquez, with any personality or appeal.  Don't get me wrong, I think Minka Kelly is gorgeous, but the other two ladies are nothing special and neither of the three could act their way out of a paper bag.  Add to that a couple of lack luster mysteries for the girls to solve in the first two episodes and I'm having a hard time finding reasons to keep tuning in.  I had high hopes for this one, but the writers and producers seemed to have dropped the ball with both the casting and stories.
     VERDICT: Deleted from Season Pass Manager after two episodes

The Office
     At one time this was appointment television, but things have changed and while it still has it's great moments, it just doesn't pull me to my TV like it once did.  Whether this is just due to familiarity and staleness after so many years or a downgrade in the writing, the loss of Michael Scott, aka Steve Carell, doesn't help.  Andy as boss just doesn't work comically like Michael did.  As much as I love this show and hate to see it go, without Carell it's just a shell of what it once was.  I can't see it lasting much more then another season unless someone is brought in to fill the void Carell left.  For now, it's still a must watch, more out of loyalty then anything else, but that could change very easily if it slips anymore.
     VERDICT: Slips from #2 to #12 on Season Pass Manager

Whitney
     Another old school multi-camera sitcom.  This season is riff with new additions in this genre.  And oddly enough, this is another good one.  As much as I dislike the canned laughter and the set-up/joke, set-up/joke writing style, I couldn't help but find myself laughing.  Whitney Cummings may be the name sake of the show and it's main character, but for me the show is all about Chris D'Elia.  The way he plays off Whitney's odd behavior and messes with her is what has me excited about the show.  The show is far from perfect, I could do without the Mark character, he's just stupid and annoying, but I think it has promise.  So far, it's probably the third best new sitcom this season behind New Girl and Suburgatory (which I will get to).
     VERDICT:  Added to Season Pass Manager

Fringe
     The last couple of seasons of this show have been phenomenal.  Unfortunately nobody has been watching and the show has been moved around in an attempt to find a spot on the schedule for it, leading to it being dumped on Friday nights (television purgatory) and altered to appeal to a wider audience.  I have no idea where this show is going, which is usually a good thing, and feel like it has lost everything that made it special.  It feels more like a police procedural and less like an X-files style sci-fi show.  But I still have faith.  The oddities that made the show different are still present, even though they are down played, and the writers still have to explain what happened to Joshua Jackson's character and find a way to bring him back.  Something tells me it's at that point that the show will pick up again, for now I'm just watching and waiting for one of my favorite shows to return to form.
     VERDICT: Stays at #3 on Season Pass Manager (for now)

Pan Am
     The second of the network Mad Men rip offs and a much better one at that.  Pan Am, unlike Playboy Club, feels a lot more like it's own show then a rip off.  It also seems to actually accomplish much better what Playboy Club claimed to be about, a story of women empowerment.  Pan Am is much better written and much better acted.  I do wonder how fresh you can keep a drama set in an airplane, though.  How much time can you spend in the cabin telling new and interesting stories?  At the moment, it's working and this show is my favorite new drama of the season so far.  Hopefully it can keep up the intriguing storytelling.
     VERDICT: Added to Season Pass Manager

Family Guy
     This was one of my favorite shows when nobody, and I mean nobody, was watching.  Then it got canceled.  Then it came out on DVD and suddenly it was everyone's favorite show.  Then it came back.  Not much has changed about Family Guy over all that time.  It's still crass.  It's still apologetically inappropriate.  And it's still funny as hell.  This isn't some people's cup of tea.  I get that, but for me it's hands down one of the funniest shows ever made.
     VERDICT: Stays at #9 on Season Pass Manager

Terra Nova
     One of the most expensive shows ever made, with a ad budget to match.  Easily one of the most talked about shows of the new season.  I'm not sure the hype was warranted, but it's not a huge disappointment either.  Basically, it's a family drama masquerading as a science fiction/action show.  For all the special effects and action sequences, it's really just a show about a family that was pulled apart trying to put the pieces back together.  This show would have been a staple Sunday night show when I was growing up.  Sci Fi fans might be tricked into tuning in, but I doubt they will keep watching.  So the questions becomes, will fans of family drama tune in or will they be scared off by the sci fi stuff before giving it a try?  I like it enough to keep watching, but I'm not sure it's going to find the right audience to keep going.
     VERDICT: Added to Season Pass Manager

Suburgatory
     This show is great!  A must watch!!  If it wasn't for New Girl and Zooey Deschanel, this would be the funniest new show and my favorite of the new season.  The writing is amazingly sharp and witty and the acting is great.  Jeremy Sisto, Cheryl Hines, Jane Levy, Rex Lee, Ana Gasteyer, Allie Grant.  They may not be big time names, like those in Up All Night, but they are all quality actors who have great comic timing.  The depicting of suburbia is more cartoonish then satiric, but once you realize that you can't help but fall in love with the humor and the well written characters.
     VERDICT: Added to Season Pass with a bullet

Happy Endings
     This was billed as the new generation Friends and although it has it's funny moments, it far from lives up to it.  I like the cast and the situations the writers put them in do feel new and fresh.  The humor is much more absurd then anything Friends tried to do and because of that it's much more hit or miss.  At the moment, the misses are much more frequent then the hits, but the hits have been strong enough for me to keep viewing.  I'm slightly upset that it got renewed because I loved Damon Wayans Jr. on New Girl, but while it's on, I'm watching.
     VERDICT: Stays at #19 on Season Pass Manager

I'll be back in a couple of weeks with the third and final installment of my Fall TV review.