Spring TV Roundup, Week Four

In these weekly posts I look at the new offerings this Spring, reviewing the pilot and second episode of each new series. If you don't see a new show from this Spring below, please check previous weeks.

Monday Nights:
Star Talk, Mondays at 11 p.m. on National Geographic Channel (Premiered April 20)
About: This is the latest talk show, mixing a fusion of science and pop culture. Neil DeGrass Tyson, America's astro-physicist, hosts the show, which is a take off on his long-running radio show. If you take it for what it is, "Star Talk" is an interesting way to fuse science with pop culture, and maybe get more people interested in science. The first episode took a hard look at what we can learn from the world of "Star Trek." But this is a bit dry for a TV show. It feels very much like a radio show that's being filmed. That means it will live of die by the subject and the guests. The pilot episode had interesting moments, but it was a dry watch.
Pilot Grade: C-

Friday Nights:
The Messengers, Fridays at 9 p.m. on the CW (Premiered April 17)
About: This apocalyptic drama is the first D.O.A. new show for the CW this TV season, and for good reason. The pilot was, in large part, non-sensical. It's hard to understand how it got green lit and how it made it on the air. But for as much as I was baffled, bored, and confused by the pilot, I thought the second episode was a vast improvement. This is a show more in the vein of "Supernatural" than a sci-fi adventure, and the development of the characters and story was much more clear in the second episode. It wasn't great, but you can see some of the potential and promise of the idea in the second episode, which makes me mildly curious to see how this show develops.
Pilot Grade: D
Second Episode: C

Saturday Nights:
Tatau, Saturdays at 10 p.m. on BBC America (Premiered April 18)
About: This was about the worst pilot I've seen this season. The show didn't make a lot of sense, wasn't interesting, and seemed to drag throughout the hour. By contrast, the second episode was an improvement. The premise of the show is more clear, some of the characters have been better developed, and you get a sense of where this show might be going. But that doesn't make it good. The second episode was still uneven, and the show suffers from a complex premise and lack of likable characters. There's just not enough here to keep an audience hooked.
Pilot Grade: F
Second Episode: D-

Sunday Nights:
Happyish, Sundays at 9:30 p.m. on Showtime (Premiered April 26)
About: Showtime offered the pilot for this show early, so I reviewed it a couple weeks ago. Here's a snapshot of what I said about the pilot:  "Happyish," the long gestating Showtime comedy that was originally developed as a starring vehicle for Phillip Seymour Hoffman doesn't officially premier for a couple weeks. But Showtime gave the pilot a preview behind the season finale of "Shameless" on Sunday night. Steve Coogan is in the lead role now, but the show has it's own off-beat sort of humor. It wasn't great, but it was oddly compelling at times. The show has a great cast, and there is potential in looking at a sour puss adult who is trying to re-make himself to succeed in his career. Coogan is a great talent, and he's got some good people to work with in this show, including Bradley Whitford and Kathryn Hahn. This also feels like a premise worth exploring — that real life for most people isn't the idyllic dream we have in our youth. The pilot was rough around the edges, but there is something here that could be worth exploring, especially with this cast.
Pilot Grade: C+

Streaming Shows:
Chef's Table, Now Streaming on Netflix (Premiered April 26)
About: This is the first Netflix documentary series, and it focuses on chef's around the world. Each episode tells a story — not just about the food and how it's made, but about the people that make it. I loved the way the pilot told the personal story of Massimo Bottura, and how his journey and family experience inform his food and his passion for making it. For those who love cuisine and love good stories, "Chef's Table" is a slow-moving, in-depth look at that process. They are fascinating to watch, and best viewed on a full stomach.
Pilot Grade: B-