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SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2010 the new season What do you like? B
As fresh comedies and dramas arrive amid the constant multi- sorts through the new season and tries to match the
The Giggler
He still watches “Friends” and “King of Queens” reruns whilst astride the gym stationary bike. He watches “Golden Girls” reruns. He cheered when “Melissa & Joey” got new work. He just wants to chuckle, the way he did in the 1990s. He likes edgier comedies (“30 Rock,” “Community”) but what he really likes is the sound of studio-audience laughter (“The Big Bang Theory”). If he’s still laughing and Hulu-ing his old favorites, then how can the sitcom format really be kaput?
Premieres Monday, 9:30 p.m., CBS. Grade: B-
Try these: “Mike & Molly”
I’m thinking the sitcom format still has some life left. CBS still reliably concocts sturdy, filmed-before-a-studio-audience situational comedies that last long enough to reach the brass ring of syndication. This one’s about fat people: In “Mike & Molly,” an obese Chicago cop (Billy Gardell) meets and falls for an obese grade-school teacher (“Gilmore Girls’ ” Melissa McCarthy) who lives at home. This show is totally sweet, likable — and there’s no danger of Jillian Michaels barging in to force Mike and Molly into five sets of stomach crunches.
Premieres Wednesday, 8:30 p.m., ABC. Grade: B “Better With You”
After some sitcom disaster (“Hank” — koff-koff ), ABC finally lands on something surprisingly charming and precise with “Better With You.” I’m almost willing to say it’s funny. A cohabiting couple (Jennifer Finnigan, Josh Cooke) have been together nine years and don’t feel the need to get married. Then her younger sister (JoAnna Garcia) announces she’s getting married to a slacker dude (Jake Lacy) she’s known for seven weeks, and all neuroses break loose. What do you want? It’s got snappy retorts and giant Manhattan apartments. The chemistry is right and the actors (including “That ’70s Show’s” Debra Jo Rupp) make it seem like a good time, instead of like sitcom assembly work.
Premieres Thursday, 8:30, CBS. Grade: B “$#*! My Dad Says”
As for “$#*!My Dad Says,” you can read my deeper thoughts on page 7. The recomboobilated new version of the initial (mediocre) pilot shown to critics this summer is much improved, with Jonathan Sadowski now in the part of the son. I want it to work, mostly because I always give a [bleep] about William Shatner.
And mayyyyybe these: “Outsourced”
Premieres Thursday, 9:30, NBC. Grade: C+
“Outsourced” is NBC’s “Aren’t brown people funny?” addition to its Thursday night comedy lineup and it is not the global recession-era humor catharsis I’d hoped for. A Kansas City novelty manufacturer sends “normal” guy (Ben Rappaport) to oversee its customer call center in India, where cross-cultural hilarities (and diarrhea jokes) ensue. If you liked “Community” — which sort of left me cold when it debuted, but did improve as it progressed — then “Outsourced” will suit you just fine.
ABBOT GENSER/HBO VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS Michael Pitt, left, and Steve Buscemi in “Boardwalk Empire.” Premieres Sunday, 9 p.m., HBO. Grade: B “Boardwalk Empire”
Of course, the Friendly Elitist will slobber all over HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire,” the Prohibition-era drama set in Atlantic City, from “Sopranos” writer Terence Winter and auteur Martin Scorsese. Everything about this marquee series evokes a super-serious quality — and frankly, near critic-proof — work, but it can also be a lot to gnaw on, even for mob fans. We plumb the dark depths of the soul of Steve Buscemi’s Nucky Thompson, a corrupt county treasurer, but it’s easy to lose track of what we’re supposed to feel. The lavishly (and expensively) reconstructed Jazz Age boardwalk is precise in every way and somehow too . . . wooden, if you catch my drift. But if the pace picks up, we’re in the money, honey.
Airs Wednesdays, 1o p.m. (began Sept. 7), FX. Grade: A “Terriers”
“Terriers” is FX’s new dramedy, about which I raved earlier this month. I’m a tough sell on crime shows, but sharp-witted Donal Logue and lovably mutty Michael Raymond-James make this private-eye saga much more than a low-rent Rockford file. The writing is strong and the setting — gritty, Great Recession-era Southern California — feels spot-on.
Premieres Sunday, Oct. 31, 10 p.m., AMC. (No grade yet) “The Walking Dead” RAY MICKSHAW/FOX Lucas Neff, left, and Garret Dillahunt in “Raising Hope.” Premieres Tuesday, 9 p.m., Fox. Grade: C+/B- “Raising Hope”
“Raising Hope” is Fox’s comedy about a 23-year-old part-time poolboy (Lucas Neff as Jimmy) suddenly thrust into caring for Hope, his baby daughter (the mother is in prison), and it’s done in that quick-edit, slapstick style of “Malcolm in the Middle” and “Cougar Town.” The good news is we are in a golden era of Martha Plimpton, who is suddenly back in our lives with parts on HBO’s “How to Make It in America” and CBS’s “The Good Wife” and shines here as Jimmy’s mother, ticked off to find herself a grandmother at 38. Still, “Raising Hope” lacks a certain spark. Secret weapon? Cloris Leachman as trash-talkin’ Maw Maw — because we know how American viewers love dirty old ladies right now.
The trailer for AMC’s six-episode series “The Walking Dead” hints at being a high-quality zombie saga for the discerning viewers’ braayiiiiins, though the main gist (a lawman played by Andrew Lincoln wakes up in a hospital to a world that’s been overrun by zombies while he was comatose) feels a bit lifted from “28 Days Later.” Still, my eagerness to lay hands on a preview copy is through the roof — and the walls. You now have plans for Halloween.
Premieres Tuesday, 10 p.m., ABC. Grade: D+
But skip: “Detroit 1-8-7”
As for “Detroit 1-8-7,” nothing to see here. Let the pros be the ones to tape off the crime scene, snap on some latex gloves and poke around at the discovered remains of ABC’s much-revised, no-longer-a-faux-documentary ensemble series about some very busy homicide detectives in Motor City. The show stars Michael Imperioli (“The Sopranos”) as an emotionally inscrutable yet highly skilled veteran of the department.
on
washingtonpost.com
FALL TV 2010 To get a sneak peek of the new television season, read critics’ reviews and join live discussions, visit
washingtonpost.com/falltv.
ONLINE DISCUSSION Wondering which new show is worth your time? Post TV critic Hank Stuever breaks down the fall season at noon Monday at
washingtonpost.com/tv.
The Friendly Elitist
Like “everyone else” who pays for premium service, the Friendly Elitist still grieves “The Wire” and “The Sopranos,” but has readily taken to “Mad Men,” “Sons of Anarchy” and “True Blood.” The only network show he follows is “Modern Family.” Anything “worthwhile” (his word) this season?
Try these: Wonder Woman
She loves nothing more than to come home, nuke a Lean Cuisine and watch shows where women are smart and kick butt. She’s still shopping for an “Alias” replacement and has often settled for stuff like “Covert Affairs,” “The Ghost Whisperer” and “Real Housewives” catfights. In her spare time she’s an ardent Gleek and likes “The Good Wife.” Got anything?
Airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. on CW. Grade: C
Try these: “Nikita”
“Nikita,” CW’s update of “La Femme Nikita” debuted to pretty strong ratings Sept. 9, thanks to a lot of fanboy panting, which is to say hype.Maggie Q is steely and graceful as the assassin out to get revenge on the government agency that trained her and now wants her dead. I like that the revenge scheme will be the long arc of the series, which is executive-produced by actionmaster McG (who directed “Terminator Salvation”). The martial-arts ballet is always impressive, but the show also has too much edge. Revenge is best served cold, but “Nikita” is downright icy.
Premiere date pending, will air Fridays on ABC. Grade: B+ “Body of Proof”
ABC hasn’t set a firm premiere date for “Body of Proof,” in which still-smokin’ Dana Delaney (huzzah!) stars as Megan Hunt, a former top Philadelphia neurosurgeon who became a medical examiner after a car accident caused unpredictable numbness in her hands. As a forensic coroner, “I can’t kill anyone,” she reasons. All right, so it’s “Quincy, M.E.” in heels — one look at a stiff and Megan can determine time of death and possible weapons. But she’s also got issues: Her resentful ex-husband is keeping her away from her tweenage daughter, because, well, they don’t like her. Nobody likes her, really — especially homicide detectives. But the corpses like her. Her hunky assistant (Nicholas Bishop) likes her. Designer shoe salesmen must like her, judging from her stiletto collection. And I like her.
ART STREIBER/NBC Boris Kodjoe and Gugu Mbatha-Raw in “Undercovers.” Premieres Wednesday, 8 p.m., NBC. Grade: B “Undercovers”
Supersexy “Undercovers” stars Boris Kodjoe and Gugu Mbatha-Raw as married caterers Steven and Samantha Bloom, who used to be secret agents and have the continual hots for each other. By the way, in case you missed all the press, they’re also black. (I know! And the show is not even a sitcom!) The CIA begs the Blooms to come back on a case-by-case basis, which they do, but this romaction series is sort of thin when it comes to a fresh take on espionage. The Blooms are, like all modern spies, dependent on the dreaded “whatever” technology of the genre, namely, never-crashing laptops that make all things possible. But it’s got high kicks and cleavage and six-pack abs, and Kodjoe and Mbatha-Raw are irresistibly watchable as a couple. This is NBC’s strongest offering this season, which isn’t saying much.
Premieres Monday, 10 p.m., on NBC. Grade: C-
Take a jog with this: “Chase”
The Jerry Bruckheimer machine brings us “Chase,” starring Kelli Giddish as tough and lissome U.S. Marshal Annie Frost, based in Texas. The show certainly lives up to its name. Annie runs her rear end off pursuing the worst of fugitive criminals, joined by Cole Hauser and others, including “Desperate Housewives” lawnboy Jesse Metcalfe as a rookie marshal. Despite the dusty Texas vibe, all the running around doesn’t amount to a hill of beans. The stunts are impressively executed, though. It seems like everyone gets a good workout.
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