Only a handful of shows have actually premiered, and I’m already completely exhausted. NBC launches their new, sci-fi-tastic Monday night line up this evening with the return of Heroes and the premieres of Chuck and Journeyman. They can’t all be fantastic though, so let’s break it down real quick.
Chuck (8PM; NBC) – As I mentioned in the summer, Chuck is one of the best pilots out there. It’s worth watching for goofy sweetheart Zachary Levi alone, but there’s potential for a whole tally of reasons. Bloggers agree; Chuck is one to watch.
Heroes (9PM; NBC)– TV’s most awesome show or a whole lot of hype? Somewhere in between, I’d say. As much as I love the show, the first season ended on a seriously questionable note. And after almost an entire summer’s worth of promotions, a pseudo spin-off on its way and a slightly unnecessary Emmy nom, Heroes is almost begging for a sophomore slump. All things considered though, it’s still one of the most entertaining things out there. I’ll be tuning in with an open mind and the highest of hopes.
Journeyman (10PM; NBC) – If there’s a fly in this ointment, it’s most definitely Journeyman. The time-traveling drama is almost as unfocused as it is uninteresting. It’s not overtly bad by any stretch of the imagination, and all of the actors certainly pull their weight, its just not compelling TV. Your evening’s NBC-ing should really end after Heroes.
Yes, yes and no. I really dug journeyman, actually…but I think I’m predisposed to love all things time travely.
Heroes is already into its swing of hour long drama where nothing really happens…except Claire did a back tuck! How about that for suspenseful music? Retarded.
Chuck was spot on. Monday’s are busy.
Oh right…I do have a concern with Chuck:
His knowledge/usefulness/plot maintainability is dependent on essentially outdated information from the moment of the download. Unless they’re going to brainwash him with updates, how long is he useful for solving problems? He’s really just a walking encyclopedia. Not quite the Jake 2.0 of 2007.
Jake 2.0!!!!!!!!
I was totally disappointed by the Heroes premiere last night. I guess it’s hard to fit a decent episode into an hour when there are SO many plotlines to deal with…. would have a been a good candidate for a two-hour season premiere. HOWEVER, I definitely think they wasted a lot of time on stupid shit, like the whole Kensei storyline. As my friend Drew pointed out, it felt like “A Knight’s Tale.” Also tons of little inconsistencies and loopholes that season premieres often suffer from – I like to call it the “As you know, Bob,” syndrome; for example, Angela Petrelli: “Nathan, if only you’d followed the plan that I laid out last season, you wouldn’t have driven away your wife and kids [subtext: WE DIDNT WANT TO HIRE RENA SOFER BACK] and also you’re an alcoholic now!” Hey, thanks for letting us all know in such a nice, subtle way!
Also, why does Hayden Pantyraider have Nathan’s number? Did everyone think that he was dead? Was he like, “Hey, call me in a week after I help my brother explode… hopefully I’ll still be around.”
And tons of other stuff. Though obviously I’m still going to watch it. I fucking watched the OC for years.
I think the only new show I’m watching this season is Bionic Woman.
Let’s not kid ourselves – 85% of Heroes episodes are god awful. Even 50% of the good episodes are bad. The show notoriously explains things as if the audience it caters to are catatonic dullards suffering from amnesia.
Also, it’s already expressive of an writing staff with an inability to let go and move on…the ultimate Achilles heal of Alias. Are we really gearing up for a Silar comeback? Why the Company? What kind of ironclad contract does Sendhil Ramamurthy (Suresh) have?
I also eagerly anticipate Bionic Woman…and Reaper. Oh CW — how you manage to always pull me in…
Omg I laughed at the Sendhil contract statement Garry made. I so want his character to DO something but he’s pretty much been useless from the get go, remaining there only to fill in the look-we-have-colour-range-cast-here quota.
And yes, Heroes was never perfect to begin with and only the overhype from the build up to the finale (which slightly deflated), then the overhype from the summer built it up to what it never was.
I actually liked the comic relief between Hiro and Kensei and the back to school moments of Claire. It brought it back to the characters we loved. Did anybody not miss Nikki/Jessica?
Ugh… there really was so much wrong with that episode. And we didn’t even have to deal with the most frustrating/inconsistent subplot of all: Nikki/Jessica.
I’m deeply saddened that Greg Grunberg isn’t dead. He’s the most annoying shit ever and that little girl is just going to make him even worse. As for “As you know, Bob,” syndrome… it was also a nice way to write out his wife. Though… if memory serves… wasn’t she pregnant? Classy, Greg.
Last but not least… how effing sorry is it for them to introduce Mexican eye-bleedy hero and not even show her do her thing?
I’d also like to offer a sincere thank you to Tim Kring for keeping Claire’s mom and Mr. Muggles. I was almost positive they wouldn’t survive the supporting cast purge.
I feel like the company really dropped the ball on not totally killing them after their little confession eliciting facade last season – and nothing grosses me out more then little dogs licking faces – but they did add a lot to the family awkward.
My friend and I have pinpointed Hiro’s accidental trip through time to be too much like Back to the Future meets Bill and Ted’s excellent adventure to be appreciated, and the longer he stays back there the more irritated I’m going to get. And for being the first guy to fully understand the gravity of his ability, what the fuck is he doing gallivanting through history introducing himself to his childhood heroes and advertising his gift in his introductions to people? A little discretion – and maybe practice – wouldn’t hurt his character.
And memory loss? Seriously? I’m going to have to deal with that for 8 weeks? Apparently no-memory Peter’s Kryptonite is darkness, too, because…ummm…what’s with the chains. The dude can blow up. The first thing he did when we saw him was zap someone – I’d do that about once before I stopped being scared.
I hate this show…kinda