We’re making our way through Fall TV pilots to give your first impressions!
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Ten Days in the Valley on ABC (Sundays at 10/9c)
What Samantha thinks: My preface here is that I was a huge fan of The Closer and have a probably minor not huge crush on Kyra Sedgwick. She brings a likability to Jane right away with moments such as her dancing with her daughter. This is good because we are not going to like some of Jane’s behaviors and decisions throughout the rest of the episode. She makes this character likable (ish) even when she’s not being likable. Erika Christensen, another actress I like, plays her sister Ali, and it was already enjoyable to watch their dynamic. Overall I really liked it, would definitely watch episode 2.
My two complaints are that it felt like it was trying to be two shows at once. One part edgy tv writer injects real police plot into her show and upsets people. One part kidnapping mystery. The two didn’t mesh together great this episode so I could see that becoming difficult if the two big plots don’t merge, eventually. I also didn’t love the “twist” at the end involving her assistant. A super bummer trope that felt annoyingly unnecessary. Also, her ex is garbage probably. Boo.
A-
What Mari thinks: I think this pilot did some things well. Sedgwick sold her role really well and out of the gate, I was so stressed out about everything that was happening. The dancing scene at the beginning between mother and daughter is probably the only happy moment we get in 45 minutes. It was hit after hit after that, and it definitely felt that way to watch.
Apart from that, I also think this episode did a bunch wrong. I agree with Sam that it didn’t do a good job of meshing the real life kidnapping with the fictional (fictional) police procedural Sedgwick’s character produces. There is a scene, after the daughter is missing, during which Sedgwick is explaining why she’s going to work, and it felt like the writers were trying to convince the audience more than anything else. There was a certain gravity to the kidnapping storyline that didn’t play well up against the TV stuff. If that’s going to happen all season, we’re going to need to know why we should care about the TV stuff and soon.
At the end of the day, this really seems like it’s going to be 10 episodes of people making bad decisions and lying a lot. I tend to get really frustrated with those kinds of shows, so I’m not sure if I’ll keep watching. It is a limited run (if ABC airs them all. It premiered to abysmal numbers) and I do like Sedgwick. I’m just not sold on what this show is trying to juggle.
C+
Overall Grade: B
Wisdom of the Crowd on CBS (Sundays at 8/7c)
What Mari thinks: Things flow way too easily here, helped along by quite a number of cliches. Everything procedural about this is just what you would expect it to be– skeptical cop is skeptical, tragic backstory of jerk billionaire is tragic, there’s even a hacker living in his mom’s basement for crying out loud. The idea of SOPHE, and crowd-sourcing justice comes with a lot of nuance and, like, red flags. None of it is addressed with any nuance, of course, but just a general glee at the idea of spying on people, but like, socially. I watched this entire thing with a furrowed brow, and while it wasn’t the worst thing I’ve watched this season, I’m not jazzed about giving it another chance.
C
The Gifted on FOX (Tuesdays 9/8c)
What Dani thinks: I can’t tell if this show is really good, or if it just seems really good because I’ve been watching Marvel’s Inhumans. Stephen Moyer brings the same sort of conflicted morality/righteousness he deployed so well in True Blood, and Amy Acker is so earnest and honest it’s impossible not to root for her. The pilot did a good job of making their kids likable, which isn’t always easy with teens. The sibling dynamic was a good mix of petty bickering and having each other’s backs when the chips were down.
The only part I was a bit meh on was the Mutant Underground. Some of those characters seemed overly dramatic, but I’m hopeful that will level off in a couple episodes. Pilots are hard, but this one did a good job of establishing the world, the characters, and the conflict fairly seamlessly. Best of all? They didn’t treat the audience like a bunch of morons who need plot points repeated and obvious clues spelled out. Even the action sequences were good, with several scenes that were impressively intense. Overall, I have to say this is one of the best new shows I’ve watched.
A
What Catherine thinks: I had a feeling I was gonna like this and I did. It was basically what ‘Inhumans’ should have been. Everyone has mutant powers, stakes are high, powers are introduced in a cool way. I’m not the biggest fan of Stephen Moyer if I’m being honest, but that might just be a hold over from motherfucking Bill Compton. Basically everyone else was great and Amy Acker was fantastic as per always.
The writing was good, the dialogue wasn’t cringy and forced. Overall, if you like the X-men in general you’re probably gonna like this.
B+
What Mari thinks: Like, I hate to keep comparing this to Inhumans but… not really because this was markedly better. I think one of the main things it did well and right out of the gate was invest us in the primary family. From the meeting at school, to watching Amy Acker glow like only Amy Acker can, to the way sister and brother protect each other, I was in pretty early on and it made the action and tension become real for me. It was a really great pilot in terms of a balance between introducing world, concepts, key players and throwing us knee-deep in high stakes. I was on edge the entire last portion of the episode and it’s the only pilot I’ve seen this season so far that made me immediately certain that I wanted to keep watching.
A
Overall Grade: A-
The Mayor on ABC (Tuesdays at 9:30/8:30c)
What Dani thinks: This was cute! It’s not like you can get very deep with a half-hour sitcom, but the pilot established the set-up and characters while providing decent laughs. I thought the end resolution was pretty predictable and perhaps unrealistically tidy, and Courtney’s friends were a lot more forgiving than I would have been … but again, it’s a half-hour sitcom. I’m not expecting miracles. I had the same reaction to this show as I did to the pilot for Brooklyn Nine-Nine: I adored the supporting cast and characters and felt the main character, while very funny, might grow to annoy me with his immaturity/lack of responsibility. That didn’t happen with BNN, thanks to excellent writers and surprisingly good acting from Andy Samberg, and I’m hopeful this show will pull off the same feat. My only negative comment would be that I feel like the side characters are more memorable than the MC, but that just makes me want to watch another episode and get to know Courtney’s character better. Overall, this was a fun show. I’ll watch it again.
B
What Samantha thinks: Yeah, I mostly loved this. The cast is DELIGHTFUL. I already love Yvette Nicole Brown and Lea Michele but everyone was truly funny and enjoyable. I agree with Dani, I’d need Courtney to not be quite so immature to love this long term. When he wasn’t making terrible-for-his-friends decisions he was charming and fun. I also screamed really loud when DAVEED DIGGS was suddenly rapping on my screen, so added bonus. This was a pretty solid for a pilot that had to do a lot of setup.
A
Overall Grade: A-
Next time: Dynasty and Kevin (Probably) Saves the World!
