Wilson's Mid-Season Reviews Pt. 1 - New Shows, Fall 2011

Hello SpoilerTV people! It's Wilson here, just forcing my opinion on you and stuff. There's been a lot happening in television this season. I intend for this post to give insight into what I think of the shows I've been devoting my time to this season, and perhaps you can return the favor by letting me know where you stand on fall 2011's best and worst shows.

I'm rating things on a scale of WHY YOU KICK MY DOG (Just don't even think about this series) to OMARGH I HAVE DIED! (Probably enjoy this show TOO much!)

NEW SHOWS

This season, there was a lot--A WHOLE LOT of new shows that all looked so good in previews, or at least interesting enough on paper, that got me to try them out. After watching the first crop of new shows, here are my thoughts on Terra Nova, Ringer, American Horror Story, Grimm, The Secret Circle, Homeland, and Person of Interest.

TERRA NOVA

After hearing about the combination of huge pilot costs, and bringing dinosaurs to television with a family-oriented storyline, I immediately dismissed the possibility of this show's survival. However, I was unable to abstain from at least checking it out. After watching the first 3-4 episodes (then getting tired of it, and not catching it until just last week once more) I can say that the show is exactly what I was expecting: a mildly likable family (by that I mean that the youngest daughter's adorable...ness makes up for everyone else's respective issues) going back in time, over-acting all around, generally meh cgi (which doesn't bother me as much as other people) and overdone, rehashed, boring as stale bread storylines, with the occasional action sequence that tricks the viewer into thinking that perhaps it will end up being a better show eventually. However, at this point I say that unless you're solely in it for the light-hearted (and certainly hair-brained) fun, and you want to be scared of a dinosaur for all of .3 seconds of an episode, then continue to watch. Not all tv has to be smart, and effective storytelling. It's just a shame this one turned out to be so derivative and boring, because it stands for FOX trying to branch out again, and if it fails, sci fi shows and fantasy shows may find that they do not have a place on their network, and they might be scared into going for more cop procedurals or something of the sort.

THAT SPINOSAURUS WAS A P****. (I don't like it very much.)

RINGER

I'm assuming by now everyone has seen the infamous boat scene from the Ringer Pilot. No? You'd best google it, because it's pure ridiculous fun. However, this show has grown since its mildly entertaining yet very undercooked pilot. Over time, it's easy to see how well Sarah Michelle Gellar is becoming more in tune with her characters. The twists are becoming more and more effective, the acting is mostly better and the best part of it is seeing Bridget squirm her way into and out of all these claustrophobic situations. However, the show still has some serious flaws it needs to attend to. First of all, Juliet needs to quit being such a stupid moron. I get that this is a common thing in teenagers, but really? A student-teacher love thing? The only student-teacher relationship I want Jason Dohring involved in is Logan 'gettin' some tail' from the hot librarian and then boasting to all his idiotic friends about it. Jason Dohring is an awesome edition to the show, and I feel like this chance is being cheapened by the awful subplot he's been dropped into. I'm hoping he turns out to be a spy or something ridiculous but fun like that. Also, the show seems to be unintentionally comical at times. They need to either embrace the campiness and get past the "taking itself seriously" phase, or it needs to tie up the ridiculous side plots, draw up some adult drama that digs deep into the characters and become a serious drama. I doubt that will happen, but we are given the occasional peek into what the show could be in both prospective versions of Ringer.

IS THAT THE PSYCHO CHICK FROM SEASON 2 OF DEXTER!?

(Getting good, but has a long way to go)

AMERICAN HORROR STORY

The pilot for this show made me want to just give up on it alltogether. I didn't get freaked out by the overkill references, way overkill camera work, or the shoddy writing of the characters. I didn't respond to the hateful atmosphere that was trying to simultaneously shock me and make it out to be some sort of awesome unique television experience when it was actually a pile of s***. Well, that was the pilot. After that, there was an immediate change for the better. Every episode started to get drastically better, and the scatterbrained story became more engrossing and the characters were more fleshed out, and overall calmed down to be at least slightly less annoying. There's some over-acting here and there, but the actors in this show are top notch. Jessica Lange is fantastic as the creepy, derogatory southern belle neighbor, who seems to be tied into every little thing that goes on in the Harmon's new lives. One moment she's dropping offensive one-liners, the next she's in the middle of a gut-wrenching story of heartbreak. The different ghosts of the house are all great characters, and while I can't see how this show will go past 2-3 seasons, it seems to be taking the anti-Murphy television trajectory. In case you're unfamiliar with that term, that means that the show has gone from bats*** and intolerable to entertaining and strange fun, with the occasional foray into disturbing and grotesque. (Still not as creepy as the glee kids, though!)

MHHHMMMM THIS RAW BRAIN TASTES GOOD! (Good fun, go-for-broke attitude, some characters coming into their own nicely)

THE SECRET CIRCLE

Another show that's gone from mediocre in the pilot to generally enjoyable. However, that mainly depends on if you're a fan of those abc family shows that have ridiculous titles and even worse casting/writing/acting/everything. By that I mean it's heavily focused on a very forced love triangle, the characters are written to act one way a moment, and then another way the next moment, and overall it feels like a teenage soap opera. Which is exactly what it is. I don't mean to sell it short, it's much better than I expected, but it's just so...boring compared to the show it is paired with (The Vampire Diaries) and its witchcraft (which is a main aspect of the story) isn't developed well enough for me yet (as opposed to shows like Supernatural who do witches well).

I LOVE BRITT ROBERTSON BUT I'M 4 EPISODES BEHIND

BECAUSE THIS SHOW BORES ME (It has potential, but it really needs to get there...soon)

GRIMM

This show has only aired 4 episodes as of this post, and I've only seen 3 of them, so there's not as much content to grade as there are other shows on this post, so I've kept that in mind. Overall, it's at the point where it's just ok. It's got a lot of good ideas, it's definitely got traces of the old Buffy and Angel in its DNA (I LOVE ridiculous monster fight scenes with scythes!) and it could really go places with its plot. I particularly enjoyed the episode about the 3 bears. I hope the main story arc of this show is a good one though. The Hexxabeast(?) is very intriguing, and the background struggle between forces of monsters seems to be a good direction. What I don't like: the partner cop. I think he could be a good buddy-cop partner, but all his jokes and lines make me CRINGE and want to just change the channel. Everything is so forced with that character. Add that to the fact that he's useless in a Grimm case, and he's immediately replaced by the big Not-so-bad Wolf character for the sidekick routine, and I'm trying to figure out what he's even doing in this show...

OMG IT'S A BROABUSLFHALAZX! WHAT, YOU NEVER HEARD OF A BROABUSLFHALAZX? IT'S NOT LIKE I JUST MADE THAT UP!

(It'll take more time for me to decide, but for now it's decent)

PERSON OF INTEREST

This one started off as a mixed bag. I happened to enjoy the down-played (and stoic) performances of the main characters, but like others, having people save other people who are sometimes the bad guys, while being soft spoken, or some would say "wooden" can leave my fingers itching for the "channel UP" button (except who actually uses that anymore? It's all about the 'GUIDE' now, right?). However, after a couple of decent and mildly entertaining shows, we're introduced to the Elias story arc, and since then the intrigue has caught up with the story, and the weekly stories themselves have become very entertaining and even sometimes unpredictable. I think that at this point, Person of Interest is my favorite new network television show of this season.

JIM CAVIEZEL WILL KILL YOU IF YOU DISLIKE

THIS SHOW, FAIR WARNING! (It's good, and getting better!)

HOMELAND

I originally wasn't even really that excited about Homeland. The posters, images, etc. I saw didn't really appeal to me, and the story didn't really grab me from the descriptions. However, the pilot was posted online early by Showtime, so I decided to watch. Oh my good word, what a show. This show started with the best pilot I've seen in years, and has only become better and better each week! The characters, oh the characters...I can't help but get lost in Claire Danes' obsession with Lieutenant Brody, and Damian Lewis is equally as mind-breakingly fantastic as Brody himself. I can never truly figure out from the pensive looks on Brody's face if he's being sincere, or if he's making everything up and wearing the face of a disturbed American veteran. On top of that we have a great story full of twists and turns that are both heartbreaking and pulse-pounding. Every episode is set in a slow burn that seems to gain momentum as the characters are fleshed out and the narrative moves along. This is most definitely the best new show of the season. I HIGHLY recommend you get addicted as soon as possible.

AN AMERICAN HAS BEEN TURNED...INTO A HUGE FANATIC OF THIS SHOW! (You had best be watching this show, or you're dead to me!)

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And now, for my next act, I will speak on my thoughts of the returning shows of this season!

However, I've run out of time and I know you've run out of attention span (c'mon! admit it!) so I will post my thoughts on the following shows in my next post: Supernatural, Fringe, The Good Wife, The Walking Dead, Dexter, and more!