As is well-known, I likes my comedies. And I've been watching preview episodes on Hulu. What new comedies this year will be the next COMMUNITY or SUBURGATORY for me? Here's what I've got so far:
ANIMAL PRACTICE: I rather enjoyed it! The premise was very cute and the characters were engaging. It had a SCRUBS-esque appeal (only with adorable animals added!).
Prediction: Because of the premise (and the network- NBC), ANIMAL PRACTICE will not make it a full season, which based on the pilot episode is a shame.
THE MINDY PROJECT: While it wasn't the nonstop sheer brilliance I was expecting, it DID have its moments, and Mindy Kaling's appeal to me remains as high as it did on The Office.
Prediction: FOX has built a pretty good comedy block with NEW GIRL and RAISING HOPE, and this should fit in nicely with those shows. Combined with FOX no longer being QUITE as cancellation-happy as they used to be, I think THE MINDY PROJECT will have legs for the full season, especially if the post-pilot episodes grow in quality.
THE NEW NORMAL: The most solid pilot I've seen yet, and I went into this ready to pounce unmercifully on every little thing. A couple of the more stereotypical elements DID seem almost over the top and did grate on me just a tad, but overall, this was VERY enjoyable.
Prediction: This is going to be a hard-sell to many people and an easy sell to others. Ellen Barkin's racist, bigot character will be the breakout star, with the blonde African-American lady (sorry, I don't know names yet!) a close second place. *I* think... this will be NBC's most successful new comedy of the season. Ryan Murphy has a great track record with GLEE and AMERICAN HORROR STORY. I predict THE NEW NORMAL will be yet another gay-friendly notch on his bedpost of successful shows.
Posted by rickshaw1 on :
Animal Practice...Okay. could be a lot worse.
Mindy Project...eh, not so much for me.
New Normal: another eh.
Not seeing a lot of new stuff I'm interested in. Go On with Matthew Perry seems like another dud like Mr. Sunshine. Problem is, he keeps playing a smartass Chandler, but doesn't have the casts around him to take the nasty, sarcastic edge off.
Posted by lowercase mllash on :
There are a couple of NON-comedies that caught my attention when they were announced. One was the country music Dynasty/Dallas night-time soap NASHVILLE and the other, whose pilot episode I just watched:
REVOLUTION: Set in a world where NO POWER exists anymore-- batteries, engines, electric-- nothing. Or DOES it??
This has the potential to wins fans of LOST and THE WALKING DEAD and post-apocalypse fans in general. I was pretty engaged throughout the entire episode, especially with the twists at the end.
Prediction: It's already got a strike against it just being a new series on NBC. But I predict enough fans from each of the 3 shows/genres I named above will combine together to find REVOLUTION a full-season audience.
Posted by Dev - Em on :
Gonna have to check that one out on Demand Lashie...or Hulu.
Posted by lowercase mllash on :
All of these pilot episodes are available on HULU... assuming they still allow free views without subscribing to Hulu-PLUS...
Posted by lowercase mllash on :
GO ON: Matthew Perry must seek therapy to get over the death of his wife; the group contains a lot of lovable people dealing with tragedy to varying degrees.
I found the pilot to be a fairly good balance between moving and charming. Seems to have the potential to become a good ensemble with 2 distinct settings (and groups of castmembers)-- Perry's job and his therapy.
Prediction: It's on NBC (considered by many to be a NOT good thing these days). While I enjoyed the pilot, I am just not sure the idea of group therapy for a tragedy is built to last. I mean, is this still going to be the plot in the hypothetical Season 4 of GO ON? If I'm being totally honest, I don't think the show will last a full season.
Posted by lowercase mllash on :
I noticed today the gays on Facebook are hurling white-hot hatred in the direction of THE NEW NORMAL. I knew having one of the guys be on the nelly side was going to piss off the militant gays.
Here's an example:
Posted by rickshaw1 on :
Go on...can keep going. Sorry, it just didn't seem that good.
Posted by DrakeB3004 on :
"Go On" kinda reminds me of "Dear John" but more Matthew Perry-y. I think the show tries a little too hard to be earnest, (the old blind black guy can "hear the basketball game" better than Perry can see it? ok... life lesson of the day - check!) but so did "Friends" when it started. ...
Assuming the show lasts at all, I think it's going to find a hard time showcasing both aspects of his life - one is going to give. I imagine he'll end up hiring one of the people in his group, maybe living with another and date that group leader. The rest will be gone.
And Sulu has got to have better things to do than this... (maybe playing 4th fiddle on a sitcom is just a good side-job between Treks...)
Posted by rickshaw1 on :
Takei does, he has a play that's getting off the ground, it's about the Japanese internment of WWII. He's on facebook, and he's effin hi-damn-larious on it. Oh my!
Posted by lowercase mllash on :
The trick will be, apparently, maintaining anywhere near that level.
Posted by lowercase mllash on :
ANIMAL PRACTICE, THE NEW NORMAL and GO ON *all* debut to higher-than-expected ratings, temporarily making NBC the # 1 network (it is usually # 4). But will it continue once ALL the networks are up and running?
I gotta say..I'm not really looking forward to any of the new shoes. And only a very few of the returning ones, like NCIS, Castle, Cougartown, Big bang theory.
Eureka is gone now. Warehouse 13 now seems to be about Artie and Claudia over Pete and Mika. hell, I can't find new eps of Mythbusters. I wouldn't watch the 'reality' shows with a gun to my head.
Just doesn't seem to be much out there for me anymore.
Posted by lowercase mllash on :
Bah! Nonsense-- we will find you some shows! It's Carol who is the Walking Dead fan, right? Not you. Hmm... you don't strike me as the type who would enjoy my new fave supernatural drama The Vampire Diaries, either.
Let's make a deal-- give ANIMAL PRACTICE a shot. Maybe I'm nuts, but I think the potential is great here. I mean c'MON, there's a MONKEY in a lab coat!!! How can this NOT appeal to the SCRUBS/COUGAR TOWN fan in you?? I'm asking you as a friend to at least watch the next new episode with me and we can go from there Posted by lowercase mllash on :
GUYS WITH KIDS: Jimmy Fallon produces; 3 friends/Dads and the kids who make them crazy.
This laugh-track-a-thon seemed almost like a throwback to the 90s to me. I actually semi-struggled to get through the pilot. However-- I did have a major LOL when the character played by Tempestt Bledsoe cracks up with her husband about them not having anything and therefore neither do their kids. It struck me as weirdly funny! I rather disliked a couple of the other main characters.
Prediction: I dunno. It might play with the crowd who has made shows such as 3 and a Half Men and Big Bang Theory (AKA shows that I cannot understand the popularity of) successful. I'm going to give it at least one more episode to hook me, based on the above scene I mentioned.
Posted by lowercase mllash on :
REVOLUTION beats CASTLE in the adult age demo that is so vital (though not in view numbers), and smashed HAWAII FIVE-O in both viewer numbers and adult demo numbers! NBC is likely VERY happy with this!
PARTNERS: I watched last night; this sitcom by the WILL & GRACE people features straight guy/gay guy best friends in business together, and the ensuing hijinks. It can best be summed up with a line from the show itself: There's 4 of them but their are 3 couples (straight guy/his fiance; gay guy/his nurse boyfriend; and straight guy-gay guy BFFs)
I personally think there's a LOT of fun that can be mined from a straight guy/gay guy BFF relationship, as its a relationship you just don't see in media (or, sadly, in real life) very often. I found parts of the pilot very cute and parts a little lame, but I am predisposed towards loving it because I *LOVE* WILL & GRACE... a LOT, and one can see a LOT of WILL & GRACEisms in the pilot.
Prediction: It's kinda too late for me to predict since ratings info is already here; PARTNERS debuted "okay for other Networks but soft for CBS". I personally hope it builds its audience and becomes successful.
Posted by lowercase mllash on :
REVOLUTION episode 2: Some "get-on-my-nerves"-iness began to creep in (much like it did with LOST-- which I have abandoned watching, I'm afraid; I couldn't get past the annoying things), but Charlie's reason for wanting to take down the rifle-wielding warden and the twist at the end allayed that, for the most part. I'm still onboard for now.
Posted by rickshaw1 on :
Sorry, Castle fan all the way. Didn't see revo.
Posted by lowercase mllash on :
Rick- I knew you were a CASTLE fan (and who can't love Nathan Fillion?) but I am posting info that pertains to my predictions.
AND-- hey, didya see on the previous page about my ANIMAL PRACTICE deal with you?
Posted by lowercase mllash on :
ANIMAL PRACTICE and GUYS WITH KIDS came in 4th place for NBC last night, but that can hardly be surprising with competition like X-Factor and the very enjoyable Modern Family.
That they were able to get viewers at all might be enough to keep them around awhile...
(I enjoyed the second episode of Animal Practice... it's so dang cute! ---but haven't watched the new Guys With Kids yet)
Posted by lowercase mllash on :
THE NEIGHBORS: A family moves into a nice community on a golf course and discovers that all of their neighbors are aliens from outer-space. Yes, really.
The word that best fits this comedy: ODD. Aliens in sitcoms are nothing new (Mork & Mindy, Alf, 3rd Rock From the Sun) but this one really really struck me as just... ODD. No *lol* moments from me but I was strangely fascinated, and will watch again next week.
Prediction: Initial ratings info is already out, and NEIGHBORS scored an impressive 9.3 million viewers, 3.3 million of which were the coveted 18-49 age demo. That says "hit"... though nowhere hear the amount of MODERN FAMILY's 14.5 million viewers. Seems like America is ready for the next alien sitcom. We will have to see how many of those viewers return next week. I predict of those 9.3 million, 5-6 million will return. Having MODERN FAMILY as its lead-in sure doesn't hurt.
Posted by lowercase mllash on :
NBC orders full seasons of REVOLUTION, NEW NORMAL and GO ON:
I was dead-on with Revolution and New Normal, but missed the boat with Go On, as it fared better than I predicted.
Posted by lowercase mllash on :
2nd episode of THE MINDY PROJECT was a lot of fun! More what I was expecting from it than the pilot was. Also, I am quite happy to see my longtime crush Ike Barinholtz (from MAD TV) join the cast!! He may not be Chris Carmack-style good-looking but I've always thought he was a doll! *dreamy sigh*
Posted by Dave Hackett on :
quote:Originally posted by lowercase mllash: THE NEIGHBORS: A family moves into a nice community on a golf course and discovers that all of their neighbors are aliens from outer-space. Yes, really.
The word that best fits this comedy: ODD. Aliens in sitcoms are nothing new (Mork & Mindy, Alf, 3rd Rock From the Sun) but this one really really struck me as just... ODD. No *lol* moments from me but I was strangely fascinated, and will watch again next week.
Prediction: Initial ratings info is already out, and NEIGHBORS scored an impressive 9.3 million viewers, 3.3 million of which were the coveted 18-49 age demo. That says "hit"... though nowhere hear the amount of MODERN FAMILY's 14.5 million viewers. Seems like America is ready for the next alien sitcom. We will have to see how many of those viewers return next week. I predict of those 9.3 million, 5-6 million will return. Having MODERN FAMILY as its lead-in sure doesn't hurt.
I thought it was so-so, but my wife and kids LOVED it. It will be interesting if they can keep it family friendly but funny enough to keep people coming back.
Posted by lowercase mllash on :
2nd episode of THE NEIGHBORS:
Still ODD (in all-caps) but I think I'm officially onboard. It's not so much "HA HA" funny as it is very charming. I like it.
2nd episode of PARTNERS:
Still very WILL & GRACE 2.0 but with a cast that lacks much of the charisma of W&G. I'm going to continue watching though.
3rd episode of ANIMAL PRACTICE:
I don't care what anyone says... so far this is my favorite of the new batch of comedies. The 3rd episode was LOL funny and also so sweet. And the animals are all adorbz. If you don't like this show, you are a soulless monster, there, I said it. Just watch episode 3 if you haven't tried it yet-- and watch all the way to the very end!
Posted by lowercase mllash on :
DEATH WATCH 2012! LOL, EW is so hyperbolic
See what already-bowed new shows they predict will LIVE-- MARRY-- GET FAT-- GO BALD-- and DIE!
ANIMAL PRACTICE & THE MINDY PROJECT have firmly established themselves with me. Thumbs way up on both shows!
I am still enjoying THE NEIGHBORS, GO ON, NEW NORMAL and PARTNERS. GO ON in particular is evolving very well and has major ensemble potential I think it might actually realize.
I never did watch the second episode of GUYS WITH KIDS. Eh.
Posted by MLLASH on :
Shucks, ANIMAL PRACTICE is cancelled after it runs out the last 3 episodes already made. I blame all of you who did not watch it.
WHITNEY will take its place, which separates it from COMMUNITY at least.
Although the ANIMAL PRACTICE cancellation makes me a bit sad, I can't say it was unexpected. Here was my prediction from earlier:
quote:Originally posted by lowercase mllash:
ANIMAL PRACTICE: I rather enjoyed it! The premise was very cute and the characters were engaging. It had a SCRUBS-esque appeal (only with adorable animals added!).
Prediction: Because of the premise (and the network- NBC), ANIMAL PRACTICE will not make it a full season, which based on the pilot episode is a shame.
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