Saturday, August 15, 2009

Fall TV preview

Does anybody remember how back when there used to be Saturday morning cartoons they would have a primetime preview of the upcoming cartoons. I loved that. Often they would use a current primetime show to pimp their cartoons. For example:



Ah. "Perfect Strangers." I miss the Dance of Joy. I wish that clip hadn't edited out the cartoons.. oh well. I also wish Saturday morning cartoons were still around. This current generation doesn't know what it's like to get up before six in the morning to watch cool cartoons. Sigh.

Anyways, my point. Primetime shows don't often have a preview show. So what I would like to do with this column is look ahead to the upcoming primetime sci-fi shows.

See, here's the thing.... "Lost" will be on it's last season in January... so I need to find a new show to possibly replace it. There seem to be big three sci-fi shows coming up this season. I want to know what you think I should give a try.

First up is the one I think looks the most promising: "V"... Really one of the reasons I think it looks cool is because it has two "Firefly" alums in the cast as well as a "Lost" cast member. It's a remake of the 80's miniseries.. that was apparently pretty popular. I have never seen the original but I hear one of the aliens eats a live rodent.. so that's cool. Also the executive producer is Jeffrey Bell who exec-produced the last few seasons of "Angel" and "Alias." Take a look. Tell me what you think.



Next up is "Flash Forward." It's based on a novel.. and comes to us from David Goyer (Batman Begins) and Brannon Braga (Star Trek: The Next Generation). The premise seems really cool. And I like the cast here as well... another "Lost" star is in this one. As far as previews go I think this one is my favorite of the three. What think ye?



And finally we have "Day One" which actually doesn't premiere until midseason on NBC. It's about apartment residents that survive an unknown world-wide cataclysm that destroys modern infrastructure.... or something like that. This one come's to us from Jesse Alexander who did some good work on "Alias" and "Lost" but from what I understand is one of the people who got fired from "Heroes" after it started sucking. I don't know that much about the show except I know the TV critic at Aint It Cool News says it's his favorite of the three.



So there you have it... a sneak peak at what's ahead on primetime... at least what's ahead that's not a medical show, a cop show, or dumb sitcom. In the end I may just wait to see what sticks. There's nothing worse than starting a great show only to have it canceled. Besides, right now I'm really looking forward to the second season of "Dollhouse" after having seen the lost DVD episode (it rocked).

One more thing of note.. AMC is making a TV show based on the graphic novel "The Walking Dead"... the show will be written and directed by Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, Green Mile).. So maybe I should just hold out for it.

Till next time.

5 comments:

Nemesis said...

"...so I need to find a show to possibly replace it."

Ooooooor, wacky thought, you could NOT replace Lost with a new show and that could just be one less hour a week that watch TV.

I know. It's crazy.

Nemesis said...

Woops, typo: one less hour a week that YOU watch TV.

Calvin Smooth said...

Thanks for the preview. I will probably choose only one of those to invest time in. Which should it be? That day one thing looks the most intriguing to me. Aliens? I think so.....

Miskatonic said...

I remember getting up super early on Saturday mornings. I'd run upstairs and turn on the TV only to be greeted with the "we're currently off the air" rainbow slide and the sustained tone. I'd keep it on until the cartoons started (I'd actually stare until the cartoons started[not my finest moment]). Then I'd watch until my parents yelled at me to start my chores.

V - I loved V when I was a kid. It was the coolest thing on TV...ever! I watched it again last year. Besides the nostalgia quotient, it was really bad. Really hard to watch. I even tried to watch the series. Couldn't do it. That trailer kinda fell flat for me. It just feels like a bunch of rehashed ideas. I remember liking Diana's long hair. Why'd they cut her hair? I guess that's the best update they could come up with.

Flash Forward - Now, there was some tension! This premise obviously sets up some great mysteries. Just because you know what will happen in the future doesn't mean you have to let it happen. I've always enjoyed the Sci-Fi trope. If the character's are good, this could be a fine show.

Day One - I'm always intrigued by a post-apocalypse. This could be good.

The Walking Dead - Zombie apocalypse stories are the greatest of the post-apocalypse type stories. This comic has needed to be a TV show, for just about, ever. I've heard that AMC did a great job with Mad Men, but I'm worried they won't be able to provide enough gore to attract zombie lovers. I always wanted HBO to do it. If this were to be on HBO, I would go buy some confetti from my favorite party supplies store (Zurchers, of course) and toss it all over the place yelling hip, hip hooray! As it is, I'm concerned...

Nells-Bells said...

LOVED saturday mornings. i could never get up as early as clint...but still, it is something i loved doing. and perfect strangers was such a good show. right up there with little wonder.

V was INSANE!! i remember watching it as a kid and now i think, "did my parents know i was watching that?" it scared the pants right off me but now, it doesn't look as scary. it also looked a little district 9-ish in the beginning. plus, juliet (from lost) totally bugs me. i don't know why! she does this weird thing with her mouth when she talks.

the others look totally cool too. i'm excited for primetime TV to return...especially the office and that new show community. what do you think of community? i think it looks funny.