Pilot Roundup, Week 6


We're almost through October, and the new shows keep coming. Here's a look at the updates this week.

Monday Nights:
Hart of Dixie, 9 p.m. on the CW
Synopsis: This isn't really much of a medical show — though that could be said of most medical shows on TV with the exception of "House." This show reminds me, in some ways, of "Gilmore Girls" with its quirky small-town feel. Rachel Bilson is decent in the lead role and they have populated the show with some colorful characters to go alongside her. This isn't the deepest show, but it's entertaining and kind of fun. If you like lighter entertainment — you know the kind of show where there are no cops, no murders, and no unexpectedly dark plotlines — this is the kind of show for you.
Pilot Grade: B-
Second Episode: B-

Enlightened, 9:30 p.m. on HBO
Synopsis: This show had one of the worst pilots I've ever seen. The second episode was mildly better, in that I thought a couple moments were mildly amusing and was finally able to decide that the show is supposed to be a comedy. I read one review that suggested the show doesn't really hit it's stride until the third episode. If you have a fascination with the development of bad TV shows, then by all means, hang in for tonight's third episode. If you're fairly certain you would like your comedies to be funny and your characters to have at least some redeeming qualities, then this just isn't the show for you. I think this is easily the worst of the new shows I've seen, and that's saying something.
Pilot Grade: F
Second Episode: F+

Tuesday Nights:
Last Man Standing, 8 p.m. on ABC
Synopsis: Tim Allen hasn't been on TV on a weekly basis for years, but he slips into this role on this show easily. If you missed "Home Improvement," this will likely fill that void. It feels like a comedy throwback in a lot of ways. It's not the greatest show, but there are some amusing moments. This is an old-school, traditional sitcom. It's better than I expected it would be, but it's not something that's going to set the world on fire.
Pilot Grade: B
Second Episode: B-

Man Up, 8:30 p.m. on ABC
Synopsis: And then there's this comedy that follows "Last Man Standing" on ABC... It just isn't good. Someone I read posted that it was like "The Hangover." It isn't. Others said it was funny. It wasn't. This show makes the Tim Allen sitcom look like Emmy-winning gold. There are mildly amusing moments in this show, but it felt a bit like a mess. And that was the pilot episode... Hard to see how this is going to get a lot better. People keep saying this has been a renaissance year for sitcoms, but with shows like this it's hard to agree with that.
Grade: C-

Sunday Nights:
Once Upon A Time, 8 p.m. on ABC
Synopsis: This show comes from some producers of "LOST" and also has one of the most unique premises of any show this fall. It's set in a fairy land and in the modern era. It basically posits that the evil queen from "Snow White" trapped the classic fairy tale characters in the modern world to deny them happy endings. It posits that all the fairy tales are true, and the characters are real. The show features flashbacks to their fairy tale stories and then shows them trapped in the modern world in the town of Storybrook. I wasn't sure what to make of it. I thought the whole thing was weird, but at the same time I was still intrigued. I wasn't sure how the show could work, but I was oddly drawn to the characters in the pilot. In other words, this isn't "LOST," but it certainly offers some of the conventions of that formula in a really unique way. Time will tell if it's good enough to make it a season or more.
Grade: B

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