The Foot: Outlaw, Outsourced, Undercovers

Last night, my playstation 2 went into a coma. I bought the system with my 8th grade graduation money in the summer of 2001. This morning, I officially declared the console dead. Nine solid years without any problems until recently. I stated, in the past, that my video game career ends when the PS2 ended. Will I stay true to my word? Let's talk TV.

Today is the final day of looking at new shows debuting this fall on various networks. NBC is the only day split into two parts because they had six new shows and I needed to save material for today. In case anyone forgot, I am evaluating each show based on trailers and premises to determine if an individual show will crack my weekly review rotation. At the end of the entry, I will list every confirmed series that I'll review along with those on the bubble. Here we go:

Outlaw



Premiere Date: September 15, 2010 at 10PM

Creator: John Eisendrath

Premise: (From NBC Press Release) Starring Emmy Award winner Jimmy Smits ("NYPD Blue," "The West Wing"), "Outlaw" is a new drama from executive producer John Eisendrath ("Alias," "Felicity," "Playmakers"). Cyrus Garza (Smits) is a U.S. Supreme Court justice who abruptly quits the high-level position. A playboy and a gambler, Garza had always adhered to a strict interpretation of the law until he realized the system he believed in was flawed. Now that he's quit the bench and returned to private practice, he's determined to represent "the little guy" and use his inside knowledge of the justice system to take on today's biggest legal cases -- and he's making plenty of powerful people unhappy along the way.

Thoughts: This show earned the Friday Night death slot. Barely any shows survive a Friday night time-slot. I wondered why. I saw the list of executive producers. Conan O'Brian is an executive producer. I'll assume that is the answer. This show comes from his Conaco productions. I think NBC is still bitter about completely screwing up the late-night lineup and, naturally, want to take it out on the poor guy who only accepted a promotion. I digress. Outlaw is a show I feel like I've seen a million times. I expected Conan's company to produce a show that isn't so generic. Each episode will have an individual case that Smits' character will either lose or win in the last second or there will be grey area that will result in generic sad/emotional music. The group Smits' character assembled will probably function like the team in Bones or House. They'll get the job done and, on the side, there will be sexual tension. One of the characters will no doubt clash with Smits' methods while another character will be mentored by Smits. The pretty blonde, who Smits says he only hired for her looks, will become the most integral member of the team. Network television is cluttered with these types of shows. I have zero interest in Outlaw.

Chance Of Weekly Review: 0%

Outsourced



Premiere Date: September 23, 2010 at 9:30PM

Creator: Ken Kwapis

Premise: (From NBC Press Release) "Outsourced" is a comedy where the Midwest meets the exotic East in a hilarious culture clash. The series centers on the all-American company Mid America Novelties that sells whoopee cushions, foam fingers and wallets made of bacon -- and whose call center has suddenly been outsourced to India.

Thoughts: Outscored looks awful. I think Kwapis needs to take the Multiculturalism course I did last fall. This is the show that bumped Parks and Recs to mid-season. Critics aren't fans of the show. A common word attached to the show is racist. Dan Fienberg, a critic at hitfix.com, says the show isn't racist, rather, the show is xenophobic. Fienberg thinks the show is just ignorant of the different castes, races and ethnicities that exists in a diverse country such as India. He then adds that the show is probably very, very lazy. I'll agree. The 4 minute preview is awful and the writing hasn't received great reviews.

Chance Of Weekly Review: 0%

Undercovers



Premiere Date: September 22, 2010 at 8PM

Creator: J.J. Abrams & Josh Reims

Premise: (From NBC Press Release) Acclaimed writer/producer/director J.J. Abrams ("Star Trek," "Fringe," "Lost," "Alias") serves as co-writer, executive producer - and also directs - his first direction of a TV series pilot since "Lost" in "Undercovers" with executive producer/writer Josh Reims ("Brothers and Sisters"). "Undercovers" is a sexy, fun, action-packed spy drama that proves once and for all that marriage is still the world's most dangerous partnership. Outwardly, Steven Bloom (Boris Kodjoe, "Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion," "Soul Food," "Resident Evil: Afterlife") and his wife, Samantha (Gugu Mbatha-Raw, "Doctor Who," "Bonekickers"), are a typical married couple who own a small catering company in Los Angeles and are helped by Samantha's easily frazzled younger sister, Lizzy (Jessica Parker Kennedy, "Smallville"). Secretly, the duo were two of the CIA's best spies until they fell in love on the job five years ago and retired. When fellow spy and friend Nash (Carter MacIntyre, "American Heiress") goes missing while on the trail of a Russian arms dealer, the Blooms are reinstated by boss Carlton Shaw (Gerald McRaney, "Deadwood") to locate and rescue Nash. The pair is thrust back into the world of espionage as they follow leads that span the globe -- and Steven and Samantha realize that this supercharged, undercover lifestyle provides the excitement and romance that their marriage has been missing.

Thoughts: I think J.J. Abrams has developed a show for every network besides CBS. I already feel bad for co-creator, Josh Reims, because he will be ignored should the show hit with audiences. For awhile, J.J. Abrams received all the praise during the first season of LOST though Lindelof ran the show himself for six episodes before Carlton Cuse joined the show and co-ran it. I don't get too excited for Abrams' show. I watched the Pilot of Fringe when it aired. I didn't like it. I barely watched Felicity and Alias. Undercovers hasn't captured my interest because I never cared for spy fiction. As this is an Abrams show, the characters will be central to the series so I expect the two leads to be great. The spy stuff will exist to illuminate elements of the two main characters--most notably, their marriage. I'm going to watch the pilot to see how Abrams' return to television directing went. Bryan Burk, longtime executive producer of LOST, is an EP on the show. I'll probably keep watching. Not sure about reviews.

Chance Of Weekly Review: 53%

Allright. The shows are listed and have been discussed throughout the week. It is time to list the actual review rotation followed by the list of bubble shows. I feel like Joe Lunardi.

THE WEEKLY REVIEW ROTATION

No Ordinary Family (which debuts September 28)

The Walking Dead

Hellcats

The Event

THE BUBBLE SHOWS

Detroit 1-8-7

Terriers

Undercovers

Raising Hope has been crossed off the bubble because the show is getting extremely poor reviews. I think I can handle four shows.

Now that the rotation has been set, it's time to preview what's upcoming in The Foot.

Yes, the final season of LOST on DVD hits the shelves on Tuesday. Naturally, I've made sure I'll have the DVD the day of the release. Jacob's Foot returns for the final run on Monday. The duration of this run is undetermined. I've thought about a name change for the final LOST run. Instead of Jacob's Foot, it'd be a suitable name that invovles the character of Jacob. I won't reveal it until Monday.

So, in the upcoming week, plenty of reviews for bonus content on the LOST season six DVD including the last review I'll ever write for LOST original content ("The New Man In Charge"). Weekly Man vs. Wild reviews will continue because I enjoy writing about the show. Don't expect The Quotes section to return in the near future. Non-LOST content will definitely begin September 8th when I write my first Hellcats review.

THE YOUTUBE CLIP OF THE WEEK