Ripping Good Yarns: How the New Fall Shows Fall

How have the new Fall TV shows fared so far?

My own ability to sample has been hampered by a busier fall calender, primarily my involvement in writing and directing Young Robin Hood. So although I intended to preview more shows for review here, I have come up short.  Thankfully, I have my fellow rippers, and hopefully you can provide input on other shows.

Each show previewed I have scored on a scale of 0 to 10 for both myself and for Alison.  A score below 5 usually indicates that one or the other of us will not be watching the show regularly.

666 Park Avenue

Set in a hotel in New York City, this show features at it's center the talented actor Terry O'Quinn (Lost's Locke), and has both ongoing stories and self-contained anthology style elements.  It is supposed to be a very scary show, but so far has been pretty mild and unsurprising,  It reminds of shows like Love Boat and Fantasy Island, but with a slightly harder edge.  It is a fragile premise and may be difficult to sustain over time.  Tom - 5.  Alison - 7.  Ratings to date; fair to poor.

Revolution

What if the power went out and didn't come back?  An interesting premise very well told.  It is building an intricate story, with many interesting layers, and some great flashbacks.  There are elements that superficially appeal to conservatives, such as local militia/dictatorship that confiscates firearms and overtaxes, and some have commented on one of the primary villains physical similarities to President Obama.  But I believe the story telling is going to be way more intricate than that.  The characters have to fully develop, and Alison feels the plotting is predictable, but I'm 100% on board - for now.  Tom - 9.  Alison - 6.  Ratings to date: good.

The Mindy Project

A nice little half hour comedy, featuring the infectiously charming and neurotic Mindy Kaling. playing a very intelligent ob-gyn doctor, who is often looking for love in all the wrong places.  They have already done a good job as well of surrounding her with a great supporting cast.  Sometimes comedies have trouble getting their sea legs down, but this one is way ahead of the curve.  Tom - 7.  Alison - 10.  Ratings to date - fair.

Animal Practice

Atrocious storytelling, with humor found (supposedly) with animals at risk, and vets suggesting impractical if not downright dangerous treatments.  Entertaining monkey, though.  Tom - 0.  Alison - 1.  Ratings to date - Abysmal.

Arrow

Based on the DC character Green Arrow, AKA Oliver Queen, this is an interesting show that virtually ignores the Green Arrow character as portrayed in Smallville.  As a long time comic fan, I have unfortunately gotten the constant reboots and do overs.  This one hints at a broader DC universe, including a character named Dinah Lance, whom I suspect at some point emerge into her Black Canary persona.  Not a bed show, but I'm not really used to seeing Green Arrow kill people, so the edge is harder than I prefer.  Tom - 7.  Alison - not watching.  Ratings to date - very good for the CW.

Elementary

This actually is not a bad show.  The premise is interesting if a little exaggerated   Almost like, what if Sheldon was pretending to be Sherlock Holmes.  Ultimately, it falls into the vast pot of crime procedurals that dominate the CBS airwaves.  Good, but not good enough to follow, with everything else we have.  Tom - 4. Alison - 4.  Ratings to date - good to fair for CBS.

Last Resort


Absolutely awesome show, with appeal across the political and storytelling spectrum.  An exciting premise that may wear thin after awhile, but who knows? The writing team behind it are very good, so maybe there are more twists to sustain it than I think.  Excellent characters and writing.  Tom - 10.  Alison - 3.  Ratings to date - poor.


We also have Nashville on DVR but have not seen it yet.  It looks like a lot more like something Alison would like than myself.  But I will let you know.

So that's what I've observed so far.  What about you, fellow rippers?  Be sure to let us know what your opinion is so far!