Winter TV Roundup, Week 14

We're all stuck at home. There's no sports, and we can't go see movies. But there is still TV, and that makes the new offerings that much more important. But are they any good? Let these weekly posts be your guide as I check out the pilot and second episode of new scripted series this Winter/Spring. Don't see a new show listed below? Check previous weeks.

Wednesday Nights:
Motherland: Fort Salem, Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on Freeform (Premiered March 18)
About: This series for Freeform is about a trio of young witches training to be the country's first line of defense. It's set in an alternate United States where instead of the Salem Witch Trials, witches became revered and part of the national defense. Now, years later, they are a special part of society that get called into service, training first at Fort Salem before becoming the front line. That seems like a cool idea, but this didn't really work for me. Granted, the demographic for Freeform doesn't include me, so that could be part of the issue. But there was both too much and too little going on in these episodes. I would be more interested in world building, possibly going back to the beginning, which gets just a few minutes in the pilot. But that larger idea felt more compelling to me than the story we got. Even in desperate times where we're looking for content, this wasn't enough to hold me.
Pilot Grade: C
Second Episode: C-

Thursday Nights:
Council of Dads, Thursdays at 8 pm. on NBC (Premiered March 24)
About: NBC premiered this new drama behind the finale of "This Is Us," but it doesn't return for its second episode until April 30. This is the second new show this Spring that NBC has done this with. I'm not sure it did any favors to "Zoey's Infinite Playlist," but I know it won't help "Council of Dads." The show was a mixed bag of a pilot, focusing on a family with five children where the father gets cancer and doesn't make it. So he recruits a group of male friends to step into his place for his children. As you might suspect, the pilot was a bit of a downer. And yet, there were moments of beauty. But it felt uneven. The pilot spans more than a year, and covers a number of huge events. It felt a bit too fast-paced at times, like it was originally going to be a feature film before the format changed. And having to wait more than a month for it to continue won't help that. There were also some things and characters that didn't quite work, and yet I think it's somewhat promising. So I'd encourage folks to reach out and find the pilot, because we have plenty of time before the season kicks in.
Pilot Grade: B-

Friday Nights:
Vagrant Queen, Fridays at 10 p.m. on SyFy (Premiered March 27)
About: This latest series is based on a Vault Comic property and set in space. It follows a plucky young thief and wanderer who is really a queen, and the desperate forces seeking to stop her. There was a cartoon sort of property about the pilot and it didn't work for me at all. If you like this kind of sci-fi story, and you were a fan of the comic, this might hold more appeal. For now, this was a rough watch and it's hard for me to see it getting any better. That's especially true since my favorite character in the pilot was an odd bear that didn't survive...
Pilot Grade: D-