Last week, The Tidings featured assessments of what the U.S. Bishops' Office of Film and Broadcasting called the best of the new fall television season. This week, we present their views on the rest of the new series, most of which have premiered.
ABC
Big Shots, Thursdays, 10 p.m.: Four friends are all high-powered corporate executives with problems at work and home.
The score: The background atmosphere is suitably ritzy, and the confrontational relationship between one friend and his daughter is promising. But in general the humor is off-puttingly bitter and brittle. The lowdown: Sordid doings, including a good deal of sexual activity, adultery, a transsexual prostitute, skimpy clothing, much crass language.
Carpoolers" Tuesdays, 8:30 p.m.: Three businessmen in a carpool invite a fourth member, who learns the ropes of carpooling as the four begin to become friends.
The score: Reasonably good ensemble and intriguing premise, but the potential comic chemistry is stifled by overly sophomoric humor. The lowdown: Occasional crass language and frequent innuendo, a nongraphic husband-wife bedroom encounter, and a male character who, curiously, spends all his screen time in his briefs.
Cavemen, Tuesdays, 8 p.m.: A spinoff of the popular Geico insurance commercials features a modern-day caveman who falls in love with a beautiful Homo sapien, leading to tensions with her parents and a test of her community's tolerance toward these less evolved Cro-Magnons.
The score: Nearly all the humor here is derived from the cavemen being stereotyped by the present-day characters. The lowdown: Implied premarital cohabitation, some crass language and innuendo.
Dirty Sexy Money, Wednesdays, 10 p.m.: The Darlings are one of the richest families in New York, and they're a mess. After the sudden death of his father (for years the Darlings' lawyer and all-around troubleshooter), young, idealistic Nick George reluctantly finds himself tasked with cleaning up the Darlings' messes.
The score: Reasonably intriguing family drama, not nearly as shady as its title would suggest. The lowdown: Occasional crass language, a transsexual prostitute, attempted suicide and a less-than-upstanding man of the cloth.
Private Practice, Wednesdays, 9 p.m. Dr. Addison Montgomery leaves Seattle's Grace Hospital (the setting of "Grey's Anatomy") to begin a new life in Los Angeles.
The score: A mix of interesting and offensive story lines may leave viewers feeling lukewarm. On the plus side, a psychiatric mystery is solved; on the debit side, there's a fight over access to the sperm of a dead man. The lowdown: Implied nudity, some crass language.
Samantha Who? Mondays, 9:30 p.m., premiering Oct. 15: Awaking from a coma as the result of a hit-and-run accident, Samantha finds she has amnesia --- a challenge for her family and friends. The more determined she becomes to change.
The score: Mildly funny outing with some gifted performers. The lowdown: Some sexual references and double entendres, premarital and adulterous sexual relationships.
Women's Murder Club, Fridays, 9 p.m. (Oct. 12): Based on James Patterson's novels, the story concerns San Francisco police detective (Angie Harmon) who, behind the scenes, works with her three buddies to solve murders.
The score: Harmon makes a plausible heroine, but overall, this is an unremarkable police procedural --- with soap-opera elements, a feminist-slant and little depth. The lowdown: Some crass words and expressions; standard but moderate crime-related imagery, sometimes with blood.
CBS
The Big Bang Theory, Mondays, 8:30 p.m.: Brainy but socially awkward physicists loosen up when attractive neighbor Penny, a waitress with screenplay-writing ambitions, moves in next door and becomes part of their lives.
The score: The humor is fairly lame, and not terribly funny, but the platonic relationship between Penny and the guys is rather sweet. The premise of this sitcom strains credulity and the guys are more irritating than endearing, but that may change. The lowdown: Some crude gags, some scatological humor elsewhere, and the usual acceptance of premarital sex.
Cane, Tuesdays, 10 p.m.: Slick soap opera in which rum and sugar magnate Pancho Duque (Hector Elizondo), learning his days are numbered, refuses an offer by the rival Samuels family to buy his sugar fields, and passes on the family business to his adopted son (Jimmy Smits), over the opposition of his real son.
The score: The first hour bodes well for an interesting cliffhanger of a series, while other pluses include the always-compelling Smits and some excellent supporting players including Rita Moreno, Eddie Matos and Polly Walker. The lowdown: Brief violence and some sexuality, but relatively restrained.
Moonlight, Fridays, 9 p.m.: A Los Angeles private detective who also happens to be a vampire gets his blood from the morgue and uses his unique abilities to help investigate murders and abductions. He works in tandem with an Internet investigative reporter.
The score: The concept of a "good" vampire may seem an oxymoron, but the pilot shows promise. The program moves at a good pace, has a sleek atmosphere and manages to be genuinely suspenseful and even, at times, scary. The lowdown: Occasional crass language and innuendo, some New Age mumbo jumbo, and an indifferent reference to the crucifix early on.
Viva Laughlin, Sundays, 8 p.m. (Oct. 21): A self-made convenience store magnate is set to open his dream casino in Laughlin, must eat humble pie when his business partner suddenly reneges on the deal, and he must approach his villainous rival to fund the operation.
The score: Moderately intriguing on first viewing, with sharp and stylish cinematography. The lowdown: Though the plot has the usual romantic encounters (not graphic), including infidelity, and there's a drug reference and some innuendo, there's an admirable selfless act by the magnate's son that figures in the pilot's denouement.
CW
Aliens in America, Mondays, 8:30 p.m.: A friendless high school junior's parents agree to import a role model for him in the form of a Nordic exchange student. Instead, there arrives a devout Muslim from Pakistan.
The score: A promising premise, including an all-too-rare positive portrayal of a Muslim character in this post-9/11 era, is undercut by vulgar and unfunny screenwriting. The lowdown: Uniformly crass humor, including a handful of jokes about sibling incest.
Gossip Girl, Wednesdays, 9 p.m.: The lives of the young and decadent on New York's Upper East Side are chronicled by a secretive blogger.
The score: Slick, engaging, though superficial, soap opera whose young characters' dysfunctional behavior is too often glamorized. The lowdown: Occasional crude language and innuendo, nongraphic premarital sexual activity, underage drinking and drug use.
Online Nation, Sundays, 7:30 p.m.: Collection of some of the most entertaining amateur videos to be found on the Internet.
The score: With some caveats, generally enjoyable homemade nonsense. In terms of potential teen viewership, the content comes without the more serious concerns inherent in surfing the Net. The lowdown: Some vulgar comedy, including double entendres and an ill-advised Britney Spears animated spoof.
Reaper, Tuesdays, 9-10 p.m.: College dropout Sam learns that his parents sold his soul to the devil before he was born, and that he must now assist Satan in returning to hell certain condemned souls who have managed to escape, and are wreaking serious havoc.
The score: A misfire, with an uncertain tone, the comic and dramatic elements never quite meshing. Although not sacrilegious, some might be troubled by Sam's working for the devil being presented as benign and even positive. The lowdown: A good deal of crude language, irresponsible drinking and one gruesomely realistic scene of a character burning in flames.
Fox
Back to You, Wednesdays 8 p.m.: Anchorman (Kelsey Grammer) loses his job in Los Angeles, and must return to the TV station in Pittsburgh where he is reunited with the co-anchor (Patricia Heaton) with whom he previously shared not only a stormy professional relationship, but a brief romance.
The score: Grammer's considerable talents are mostly wasted by a script filled with lazy, sniggering humor, much of it sexual. The lowdown: Occasional crass language, but endless innuendo, themes of premarital sex and questionable paternity.
Kitchen Nightmares, Wednesdays, 9 p.m.: Celebrity chef and restaurant mogul Gordon Ramsey comes to the rescue of ailing eateries in this reality program.
The score: More genuine human interest than most dramas and more laughs than most sitcoms. The lowdown: Though much rough language has been rather obviously bleeped out (with even lip movements obscured), some crass language remains. In one scene, Ramsey makes a mockery of the sign of the cross and of saying grace; in another, he looks on condescendingly as a priest blesses a restaurant.
Nashville, Fridays, 9 p.m.: Unscripted series follows the professional and personal struggles of aspiring country singers who have come to Nashville to seek their fortunes.
The score: A generally sympathetic group of aspirants and the chance to peek behind the scenes of the country music industry should prove appealing for most. The lowdown: Occasional crass language and close views of women in revealing swimsuits.
NBC
Bionic Woman, Wednesdays, 9 p.m.: In this update of the 1970s action series, a government scientist uses top-secret technology to save the life of his girlfriend Jaime, giving her superhuman powers. As Jaime must defend herself physically from the first bionic woman created, she must also learn to adjust to her new life.
The score: Despite talky explanations of futuristic science, this is a solid --- if dark and moody --- drama. The lowdown: Moderate violence, minor crass language.
Chuck, Tuesdays, 9 p.m.: Geeky Chuck, an electronics store clerk who hasn't had a date since college, finds his life take a radical turn when his old school buddy --- a spy, unbeknownst to Chuck --- just before dying sends Chuck an e-mail loaded with all the government's secrets.
The score: Whether this is a comedy with dramatic elements or the other way around, it looks to be a diverting hour with little objectionable. The lowdown: Some action violence with blood, some skimpy costuming, some rear nudity in a locker room with old men, and a fleeting reference to an online porn site used as a gag.
Journeyman, Mondays, 10 p.m.: San Francisco newspaper reporter Dan Vasser keeps disappearing from the present and waking up in the past. As his wife and police officer brother try to figure out what's wrong with him, Dan encounters his former fiancee, who died in a plane crash.
The score: Intriguing and intelligent mystery drama, though not exactly a "Quantum Leap" of originality. The lowdown: Some innuendo, skimpy costuming, brief crass language. ---CNS |