Fall TV: Part 3

     It's a little delayed thanks to power outages and lack of time, but here's the final installment in my run down of all the fall television shows that ended up on my Tivo...

American Horror
     I'm a big Connie Britton fan, so I was more then a little excited to see Mrs. Coach coming back to TV now that Friday Night Lights is over.  Of course, anytime you're excited about something you're bound to be let down.  This is a show that benefited a little from my delay writing this because if I had written after the pilot I would have slammed it, now it's just going to get a modest slapping.  The pilot was way over the top and seemed to just be perverse just to be perverse.  I was more then a little stumped why Britton would be involved in this show at all after coming off such a work of genius.  Things have gotten a little better, the plot is more fleshed out and the stupid needless sex has been way toned down.  I'm going to keep watching, but I'm ready to turn off if things go back to what the pilot suggested.
     VERDICT: It will stay on my DVR... for now

South Park
     There really isn't much to write about this show now in it's 15 season.  South Park is the Pearl Jam of TV, they've found a successful formula for cranking out quality work and are just going to stick to that formula as long as it stays fun or people will let them.  South Park is by far the best satire of our society out there, nobody or no thing is left untouched.  Hopefully it will keep going for another 15 years.
     VERDICT: Stays at #14 on my season pass

The League
     This show has quickly become one of the funniest shows on TV as long as they follow one rule.  Oddly enough, that rule is to stay away from the premise the show was started on, fantasy football.  The show has developed funny entertaining characters that are almost as hilariously evil as those on Always Sunny..., but it just seems to lose all it's funny the minute they start dealing with football.  I'm fine with it staying in the background, with functioning as a reason for the characters to get together, but they need to keep the plot lines separate from fantasy football.  They also need to make Raffi a regular and not just a reoccurring character.  I don't remember a scene he was in that didn't end with me rolling on the floor with laughter.
     VERDICT: Stays at #16 on my season pass

The Walking Dead
     Since I like to write about this show on an episode by episode basis, there really shouldn't be much doubt that it's one of my favorites on television.  What I really enjoy is how the writers try to focus on how people would deal on an emotional level with a zombie apocalypse.  Not that there isn't as much gore as cable television will allow, but the human element is what separates it from other zombie fare.  As far as I'm concerned, it's up there with other AMC all-stars, Mad Men and Breaking Bad, in the best show on TV conversation.
     VERDICT: Moves to #5 on my season pass

Man Up
     I didn't have very high hopes for this show, but it had a few funny people involved, Dan Fogler, Terri Polo, Amanda Detmer, and I'm always willing to give a sitcom a try.  And after watching a few episodes... there's not really much to say.  I'd be surprised if the show makes it through a whole season, but it doesn't offend me enough that I'll stop watching.  It's a had a couple funny moments, so I'll stay on board for now.
     VERDICT: Stays on my DVR... for now.

Chuck
     I feel like I'm just playing out the string watching this final season.  I am certainly going to miss watching Yvonne Strahovski on a weekly basis, but the show just feels over played at this point.  Making Morgan the Intersect is just silly and I would day it was the Chuck writer's jumping the shark if I didn't feel like they jumped the shark by giving Chuck kung fu powers a few seasons ago.  This was a great show and has become mildly entertaining.  It feels right that this be it's final season.
     VERDICT: stays at #22 on my Season Pass

Grimm
     I can't help but compare this to Once Upon A Time, which I'll get to next, since both are shows about fairy tales coming to life.  The premise of Grimm is much more solid then the other, it's police procedural structure lends to a much longer shelf life, but the writing and acting are so awful it's embarrassing.  Also, I couldn't help but think of Supernatural.  Someone fighting monsters, protecting a public that would never believe what he knows to be true.  It's been done before and done much better and much scarier.  I got through the pilot and half of the second episode before giving up.  I groaned one too many times at the horrible writing.
     VERDICT: Erased from DVR after one and a half episodes

Once Upon A Time
     Another fairy tale turned real drama, this one from the creators of Lost.  It's much better then Grimm, but I'm not sure how long the premise can go on.  You are only going to be able to delay the characters return to fairy tale land so long before viewers get tired of the delaying and then what?  For now, the writing is pretty clever, the acting is spot on and even though it gets a little confusing at times (what would you expect from Lost writers), it's pretty entertaining.
     VERDICT: Staying on my DVR

Hell On Wheels
     Nothing like a western, but I'm not sure if this one is going to keep me watching.  It seems to want to be as edgy as Deadwood but not being on HBO kind of hurts in that category.  Even so, the characters are interesting enough and nothing says western more then a good revenge story.  AMC has a pretty good track record so far, so while I wasn't blown away by the pilot, I'm going to keep watching with interest.
     VERDICT: Staying on my DVR