Fall TV Roundup, Week 3

It's finally here, the Fall Premier Week for networks. And over the next few weeks we'll get a flood of new shows joining the handful that got an early jump. In these weekly posts I look at the pilot and second episode of new scripted series this fall. Don't see a new show listed below? Check previous weeks.

Monday Nights:
Me, Myself, and I, Mondays at 9:30 p.m. on CBS (Premiered September 25)
About: Sitcoms aren't my favorite genre, but it's hard not to respect what CBS has done the past decade, as they've become a reliable home for certain kinds of sitcoms. "Me, Myself, and I," by contrast, doesn't feel quite like the other sitcoms on the network. It feels like a little bigger swing and an attempt to do something new, so I'll be curious to see how audiences. respond. That being said, I enjoyed the pilot presentation more than I thought. The comedy focuses on a single man, Alex, at three points in his life, at 14 (Jack Dylan Grazer), at 40 (Bobby Moynihan) and at 65 (John Laroquette). It's an interesting idea, and it worked fairly well in the pilot, but it feels like a concept that's hard to sustain. Especially in a 30-minute time frame. The pilot struggled at times because so much plot and exposition was crammed into the 21-22 minutes of actual show time. I like the actors, and I enjoyed the pilot story, but this feels like the kind of sitcom that can get bogged down because you'll invest more in one of the time periods than others, and they all need equal heft at this point. Also, knowing the future saps some of the drama out of the present and past storylines. We know he's a success because we've seen it. That puts more pressure on them to make the journey that much better.
Pilot Grade: C+

The Brave, Mondays at 10 p.m. on NBC (Premiered September 25)
About: This is NBC's new Monday night drama, and given its slot on the schedule behind "The Voice," it feels like this is the new show the network is putting a lot of faith in. Heading into its first episode, I was weary of this show. It felt too cookie-cutter and like something we've seen before in movies and on TV. Watching the pilot presentation, they do a decent job building up some characters, but it does feel overly familiar. And that's a problem. It also felt a little flat. Even the big cliffhanger at the end didn't do much to punch up the narrative for me. Anne Heche is fine in the lead role, as is Mike Vogel. This show comes from the producer of "Homeland" and feels like a paler version of that show. There's not an incredibly compelling reason to watch, and that makes it rough to see this becoming a regular part of my viewing rotation. It's not that it was bad, just that it was average and lacked a defined, compelling hook for me.
Pilot Grade: C

The Good Doctor, Mondays at 10 p.m. on ABC (Premiered September 25)
About: This is another series that I was weary of before it premiered. From the generic title to the been there, done that premise, it was hard to get excited about "The Good Doctor." Yet early reviews suggested it might have some promise, and the pilot bore that out. It has a good cast and they found a way to tell a compelling story in the pilot. That doesn't mean it's a long-term hit, but it has been the pilot that most surprised me thus far. I like Freddie Highmore, and the rest of the supporting cast, and I thought the pilot found a way to make many of these characters come alive. A big concern I have, though, is how to continue with the affectation of Highmore's Dr. Shaun Murphy without it become cliche or an annoying distraction. I loved Hugh Laurie, so that made "House" work throughout its run, but some of its cliches were a lot to take at times. I feel like the set up here lends itself to falling into that territory quickly. Time will tell.
Pilot Grade: C+

Wednesday Nights:
Candle Cove: No End House, Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on SyFy (Premiered September 20)
About: This is the latest season of the SyFy horror anthology "Candle Cove," which debuted last year. This one takes ghost stories floating around the Internet and turns them into six-episode seasons. The first one centered on a creepy kids' TV show last fall, and I thought it was just all right. This one centers on the story of a creepy house that has some young people trapped after they step inside during the pilot. I thought the pilot, though a bit slow at times, was stylistically shot. I'm not sure I've bought into the characters or story, but there's some potential here. This feels like a more nuanced and toned down horror anthology than "American Horror Story," and might be more appealing to our Internet-savvy generation.
Pilot Grade: C

Thursday Nights:
Young Sheldon, Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. (Premiered September 25)
About: The new spin-off from "The Big Bang Theory" finds Jim Parsons' Sheldon at age nine in the 1980s attending high school in Texas. Parsons serves as the narrator while Ian Armitage takes the lead. It's the ultimate fish out of water story, and the show will slip into the 8:30 p.m. time slot behind the original on Thursday nights starting in November. For now, it got a jump start on Monday night. I thought this had the potential to be the most successful new show of the season based on its connection to TV's No. 1 scripted comedy and the trailers I saw, and nothing about the pilot dissuades me from that. I'm not a huge fan of "Big Bang Theory," and don't really watch the show, but I enjoyed the pilot here. I don't think you have to be a "Big Bang Theory" fan to enjoy this story and family comedy, and that could help its numbers swell even more. Armitage is great in the lead role and there's so interesting potential here.
Pilot Grade: C+

Streaming Series:
Star Trek: Discovery, Now Streaming on CBS All Access (Premiered September 24)
About: CBS is really trying to promote its streaming service, and "Star Trek: Discovery," a new series set years before the original "Star Trek," is finally a property that might attract interest. That is if people can stomach paying for another streaming service that doesn't have much of an attractive content library as yet. Still, the network gave the new series a push with an On-Air premier on Sunday after football. I liked what I saw in the pilot and think this series, from Alex Kurtzman and Bryan Fuller, has plenty of potential. I liked Sonequa Martin-Green was great in the lead role and I liked what they did building this world. This was one of the best pilots I've seen so far this year, and I'd be curious to see where the 15-episode season goes from here. The second episode is available now, with subsequent episodes dropping every Sunday. The question is just whether it's worth the investment in CBS All Access. But if you're a "Star Trek" fan, that answer might be self evident.
Pilot Grade: B+