Hello everyone, time for another edition of STV's Weekly Round Table. This week I'm (MK) joined by Milo (MI), Samantha (SB), Laura (LS), Donna (DR), Shal (KG), Jamie (JC), Jessica VanWinkle(JV), Jessica Lerner (JL) and Lisa (LM). Hope you had a great weekend and are ready to enjoy this week's edition. So sit back, take a moment and join us in the comment section down below.
1. With The CW shows coming back next week, what return are you most looking forward to/dreading? And what do you think how low will CW's renewal bar go this season?
MK: Really excited for the return of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. The show really peaked with last season's finale and I'm truly excited to see what they will do this season. Meanwhile, Arrow came back strong creatively last year so I hope they keep it up this season. The thing I'm dreading is that Riverdale be unwatchable cause I want to keep up with it cause Sabrina may appear.
SB: Despite my trepidations, I'm looking forward to Arrow coming back. I know it's only been a season, but I've really looked forward to having Katie Cassidy back on screen. She's a fantastic actress who really gets the short end of the stick at times, and even if Black Siren is relegated to minimal screen time & has her butt kicked every week, I'm still excited for what Katie does with the character. Supergirl I'm giving the opening 3 episodes and then I'm walking. There's no point bringing in people like Erica Durance, Odette Annable & making Katie McGrath a series regular, if they really haven't learned from the mistakes they made last year, and unfortunately? With various interviews saying Kara will be going down a dark path and lost without Mon-El? I don't think they have.
I know there are people that like Mon-El & him with Kara, but I honestly think he's one of the worst things to happen to the show & the way Kara/James was shafted after a season of build up was terrible. Kara has lost her planet & family, but losing a guy she's only known a couple of months makes her go dark? Not to mention the show never showed any consequence to Mon-El lying about who he was outside that dreadful musical episode & everything about their relationship is really unhealthy & completely goes against the girl power message the show was promoting in the first season. Kara & Alex's relationship used to be my favorite thing about the show, but they've now been surpassed by Wynonna & Waverly Earp.
It'll also be interesting to see what my favorite messy show Riverdale does with an extended episode order. Will background characters such as Josie get more than 5 minutes of screen time? Will they give Veronica something more to do than daddy issues, and do away with the reformed rich girl thing?
DR: Personally, I'm looking forward to Supergirl's return. In my opinion, they took great strides forward in Season 2, and I don't mind a somewhat more somber tone (I hesitate to use the word darker), as I think it's a natural character growth reaction to the events of last season's finale. In terms of acting, I don't think there is a more talented cast on the CW, and I look forward to seeing what they do with the meatier material. From what I've read it seems as if Family will be a big theme this season. The episode synopses that have been released so far sound intriguing. The show I'm least looking forward to is Arrow, to me Oliver's broodiness and this shows dour tones have gotten somewhat long in the tooth for me and I was not impressed with some of last season's cast editions or storylines.
KG: I'm excited about Dynasty's premiere and SPN's return but I'm dreading Supergirl. Mon-El has personally ruined the show for me, along with them sidelining James so I'm only giving the show one or two more chances.
JC: I'm still rushing to catch up on my CW shows. Just caught up with Supernatural today and still have over 10 episodes to go of Jane The Virgin. Honestly, I don't really have a show that I'm looking forward to most. They're all kind of on the same level. If I had to choose, right now that would be Riverdale but all of that can change after seeing the first episode. The two new show that interested me just happened to be the mid-season ones so I'll have to wait a bit longer for those.
JV: I'm looking forward to Arrow and Riverdale the most and dreading the return of Supergirl. The show took what I loved from season 1 and threw that out the window. I'm nervous about The Flash; hoping the quality is better than last season.
JL: I’m really looking forward to Riverdale’s return, but I’m slightly apprehensive about the storylines being drawn out due to the 22 episode order. Part of what made last season great was fast-moving pace and constant twists and turns. I’m afraid a full season will mean the audience will have to suffer through filler plotlines and drawn-out reveals. I’m also looking forward to the return of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, but I really hope Rebecca’s mental illness is treated with care. Part of the reason I love this show is due to the wacky and “crazy” antics, but I need the show to portray mental illness in a respectful manner. There is so much stigma surrounding mental health, and I would hate to resent the show for failing to realistically portray this issue.
LM: I'm looking forward to Jane the Virgin because it never disappoints. The addition of Kirk Acevedo and Michael Emerson and the return of Manu Bennett are the only things keeping me holding on for Arrow. Supernatural I'm rather neutral on. It's kind of become the show that wouldn't die. I don't have much hope for a decent long season arc - nobody but Kripke has ever managed that! I hope for some decent standalones and maybe a good first half to the season. I am dreading the Wayward Daughters embedded pilot to be honest.
MI: Oh, this is easily a ratings grab. The timelines are so far apart they're going to have to do a time jump or a flashback to get *Fear the Walking Dead* up to date with its parent show, and even then it'll still feel forced. At least *The Walking Dead* had memorable characters that you can actually care about even if I did drop the show (the characters are the only reasons why I stayed as long as I did) but sadly *Fear the Walking Dead* has none of those and is even slower than TWD. This just feels forced and unnecessary and more time should be spent making both shows better rather than coming up with a way to force them together.
MK: As Milo said, thing it is exploitation. They way bring back some TWD viewers back to FTWD and that is just a useless plot. Still, I'm excited to see who and how they will try to mix into the other show. Especially considering the time difference. TWD is at least 2-3 years ahead of FTWD.
LM: The writers are trying to save FTWD which has always sucked. I hope to heavens that this doesn't happen. It's definitely NOT a natural flow.
3. With new projects started to be developed for next year, and with everything under the sun being either remade, rebooted, or revived, are there still any original pilot ideas out there? It just seems like we've reached a plateau in the era of peak TV with any new pilot ideas.
MI: Remaking old stuff has always been a thing but every now and again there are some original hits, like *How to Get Away with Murder* for example for Shondaland. Network shows like to play it safe in order to draw in ratings but if you look away from network shows there are more original ideas out there - case in point, Netflix's *Mindhunter*, dropping on October 13, looks absolutely incredible and not just because David Fincher is involved.
MK: I think there are Original ideas out there, the networks are just too busy playing it safe with known executives and writers. They need to step out of their comfort zone and try new stuff.
SB: Remaking old stuff has always been something that the industry has done, but it really does feel more prevalent this year than before. It's almost as though Networks see the low ratings that original concepts get, wet their pants, and decide to go back to tried and tested. Nothing wrong with that in theory, after all, you've gotta make money. However at a point, I think Networks need to look at why the original ideas fail; is it bad casting, bad writing, misguided promotion? You can only piggybank off remakes, reboots and reviving for so long before your audience get bored (and in the case of the superhero & legal genre that has already happened), and then you're back at square one.
DR: I was beginning to wonder about original ideas, but there have been a couple of new shows this season that has given me hope. I mean seriously, there is only so many cop, doctor and lawyer procedural's out there and I'm also a little tired of the anti-hero hero trope with so many unlikeable characters. The brightest spot for me so far this season has been The Orville, the space geek in me had planned on watching it anyway, but it has far exceeded my expectations with a good cast and willingness to tackle some tough subjects with an offbeat sense of humor. It also has a great cast. I also enjoyed The Gifted very much. But I am seriously dismayed at what passes for sit/coms these days, I just don't find the juvenile sometimes bathroom humor funny. Maybe I'm jaded having grown up with the likes of Bob Newhart, Dick Van Dyke, and Mary Tyler Moore. Nothing, I've seen in recent years will, in my opinion, match up to the quality of these classics.
JC: It does seem like everything these days is either a reboot/revival or based on a book. I don't think we've reached the end of original ideas but I do think they'll no longer be in the majority. A show based on an original idea will have more trouble gathering a fanbase so this could be a contributing factor.
JV: Original ideas do seems few and far between these days, but every once and a while there's something different. I don't think rebooting something or doing another procedural is a bad thing as long as the shows have strong characters and writing.
JL: There definitely aren’t as many original pilots being developed in recent years. I’m not sure whether it’s because people are genuinely having trouble coming up with something new or it’s just easier to redo something that’s already been done. By rebooting and reviving TV shows, there is the added benefit of a loyal fan base, but most of the times, these rebooted or revived series just feel like former shells of what they were at their peak. It’s like the shows are trying to recapture the magic that is no longer there. I’m not as opposed to remaking television series with a different cast or adapting movies and books because the series can take some liberties and make changes without having to stick to strict confines of past source material. I also think due to the increased number of television shows out there that people aren’t spending as much time developing one good idea; they’re just trying to develop as pilots as they can so it increases the number of pickups.
MI: I don't watch *NCIS* so have nothing to comment there, but CBS will probably be fine - there's plenty of *NCIS* spinoffs floating around and they can always keep the main show or introduce another spinoff. Unfortunately, if it does go, I don't see that being enough for CBS to break from their tried and true formula. The formula may bring some gems once in a while like *Person of Interest, Limitless* and *Elementary*, but they're few and far between.
SB: I've only ever watched a handful of NCIS episodes, and as much as I think Pauley is important to the show, I think it could go on just fine without her. NCIS lost Michael last year and whilst there was a period of mourning, the show has kicked on from there. Plus I don't think we know the renewal status for NCIS yet so they could decide to make this the final year anyway. If they did, CBS will just ship a new procedural out of the factory. To be honest I will be more upset when Criminal Minds does eventually finish. It's a show I dropped into around 10 years ago now, caught up on the old episodes and love the team, but even with all that love, the show has been going for 13 years, and it is starting to feel stale.
LS: I’ve said that Criminal Minds should’ve ended YEARS ago. It already starting repeating itself and running out of steam when I was still reviewing it. It needs to go.
KG: I stopped watching NCIS once Michael Weatherly left but Pauley's exit still surprised me. I think the show's got a season or two left at this point (they keep hitting series lows) - the ratings are likely going to get worse, just like they did after Michael's departure.
JC: I had no idea Pauley was leaving (once again behind on the NCIS news) but I do think the show should start to think about their endgame. Shows can't last forever.
JV: I love Abby on NCIS, but I think the show will continue as long as Mark Harmon is there. That being said, I think it will go another season or two and then wrap up. I definitely think this could be the final season for CM with the ratings like they are. I think CBS needs some new hits. Hopefully, Seal Team and/or S.W.A.T. will work out for them.
JL: CBS has basically been putting out copycat “case of the week” TV series for years but each with a slightly different take or twist. I feel like most of them have fallen flat, and while there have been a few gems like Person of Interest and Limitless, but those shows are too few and far between. What makes it worse it that these shows are not treated with the respect they deserve. The final season of Person of Interest basically aired as an afterthought, and Limitless was cancelled after one season. I definitely think the network could in trouble in terms of dramas, but luckily, it has The Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon on the comedy side to potentially tide them over.
That's another wrap on STV's Weekly Round Table. Hope you enjoyed our little discussion and feel free to share your thoughts and opinions in the comment section down below. Till next week.
