2012 Fall TV Preview: the New Shows on CBS

Les Moonves could air a series in which people tie their shoes for 42 minutes every week and average 11 million viewers overnight. Anything Moonves picks up is usually bound for success. Unforgettable was cancelled before it somehow earned a renewal for some random summer run in 2013. A series needs to perform as badly as A Gifted Man to finally be cancelled. Last year's How To Be a Gentleman was cancelled but CBS still aired every episode. The David Spade sitcom got seven or eight seasons. Person of Interest started slowly last season, but, of course, it ended the season as one of the highest rated series on CBS. 2 Broke Girls earned criticism weekly by critics and internet folk; however, the show pulled in great ratings every week and now occupies a valuable Thursday timeslot.

I don't know what the consensus opinion of their development season was. The titles for their new shows are boring. It's like Moonves decided it didn't matter how boring a title was, because 11-15 million people will tune in because of the brand. Elementary was targeted because people thought the Americans were directly ripping off the BBC Sherlock series. Beyond that, I haven't read any buzz about CBS or seen any advertisements. Of course, I haven't watched CBS since Hawaii Five-O's finale. CBS schedules generally lack excitement. So, I might as well get to previewing the four new shows premiering in the fall.

PARTNERS

Created By David Kohan & Matt Mutchnick

Premiere Date: Monday, September 24 at 8:30PM

Premise: (from CBS's press release, May 2012) PARTNERS is a comedy based on the lives of creators David Kohan and Max Mutchnick, about two life-long best friends and business partners whose "bromance" is tested when one of them is engaged to be married.

Thoughts: A joke is made in the middle of the teaser trailer that reminded me why I dislike CBS sitcoms. A doctor in the cardiology wing has a heart on his scrubs, which means he has a heart on, so he asks David Krumholtz if he wants a heart on. Krumholtz responds, 'not even if you tried,' because he's a straight man and the doctor isn't. Comedy is very subjective, though. I think Joe Buck admonishing Randy Moss for fake-mooning Lambeau Field is hilarious whereas any mainstream Hollywood comedy depresses me. The teaser trailer sets up the pilot real well. Beyond the initial conflict between the best friends and business partners, which is about Krumholtz's engagement, I've no idea what the series will be long-term. I assume the main characters will need to balance their friendship with their respective romantic partners, as the last scene of the trailer essentially underlines that. I know I'm not interested in watching these fictional characters figure it out. Also, I'm stunned that Brandon Routh is now the fourth lead on a CBS sitcom.

Chance of Weekly Review: 0%

VEGAS

Created By Greg Walker & Nicholas Pileggi

Premiere Date: Tuesday, September 25 at 10PM

Premise (from CBS's Press Release, May 2012) Dennis Quaid and Michael Chiklis star in VEGAS, a drama inspired by the true story of former Las Vegas Sheriff Ralph Lamb, a fourth-generation rancher tasked with bringing order to Las Vegas in the 1960s, a gambling and entertainment mecca emerging from the tumbleweeds.

Thoughts: No Ordinary Family ruined Michael Chiklis. Whenever I watch him in Vegas, I'm reminded of the goofy character he portrayed on ABC's horrible superhero family drama, which is bad, because Chiklis portrays Vincent Savino, a mob boss who wants to make Vegas his own. The mayor reaches out to a rancher to restore order to Las Vegas once the mob comes to town. Las Vegas is overrun with corruption and bad apples, upsetting the way of life for the citizens. The show doesn't seem bad. I didn't feel any pull to watch the show. The job of a trailer is to push the film or TV show as the best thing ever produced in the history of the world. Ralph Lamb seems like a throwback hero, the classic cowboy, the WW2 veteran; the kind of hero Hollywood or TV doesn't invest in anymore. Some people will enjoy Ralph Lamb's attempt to take his city back, and others will enjoy the mob aspect of the show. The show seems to basically combine old Western tropes with Mob tropes. I'm most interested in the relationship that develops between Ralph and Vince. I feel like that is the key to whether the show works or not.

Chance of Weekly Review: 0%

ELEMENTARY

Created By Robert Doherty

Premiere Date: Thursday, September 27 at 10PM

Premise (from CBS's Press Release, May 2012) LEMENTARY stars Jonny Lee Miller as detective Sherlock Holmes and Lucy Liu as Dr. Joan Watson in a modern-day drama about a crime-solving duo that cracks the NYPD's most impossible cases. Following his fall from grace in London and a stint in rehab, eccentric Sherlock escapes to Manhattan where his wealthy father forces him to live with his worst nightmare - a sober companion, Dr. Watson.

Thoughts: Sherlock Holmes as a recovering addict living in NYC taking on the most impossible police cases is decent reinvention or what-have-you. Dr. Joan Watson, fallen surgeon, is an interesting take on the classic John Watson character. Sherlock continues to be a terrific character. The writers should have a blast writing him. The cases can be absolutely bizarre because Sherlock can handle the bizarre. I have the gnawing feeling that this is only a glorified procedural. The only reason I can't compare Elementary to House is because House borrowed from Sherlock to create the House character. Elementary's an adaptation of the Arthur Conan Doyle books. I'll reiterate what I wrote about Vegas: the Holmes-Watson dynamic needs to work for the series to thrive. Johnny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu need chemistry, not romantic chemistry, just chemistry. Watson is essential to Sherlock, but the dynamic completely changes because of the gender switch. I wonder if any of the episodes cases will be taken from the books or if they'll all be new cases, specific to NYC. I need to watch an episode or three to get a good sense of what the series will be. If I don't like it, I'll always have the BBC's terrific Sherlock to watch.

Chance of Weekly Review: 2%

MADE IN JERSEY

Created By Dana Calvo

Premiere Date: Friday, September 28 at 9PM

Premise (From CBS's Press Release, May 2012) MADE IN JERSEY is a drama about a young working-class woman who uses her street smarts to compete among her pedigreed Manhattan colleagues at a prestigious New York law firm.

Thoughts: LA loves New Jersey. Martina Goretti, Made in Jersey's main character, is a former hair stylist with a thick Jersey accent. I feel like CBS asked Dana Calvo to write a pilot after binge-watching Jerseylicious. TV always needs strong, kick-ass female characters. Martina is strong and kick-ass. She's able to stick out in a law firm full of Ivy League grads. The trailer is full of scenes of Martina telling herself she can do the job, others telling her she can do the job, and her earnestly telling someone that she will fight for her and her family. So, Made In Jersey is a feel-good legal drama featuring a tough Jersey girl who can beat the system and help people. I don't like legal dramas, so I doubt I'll even watch the pilot.

Chance of Weekly Review: 0%

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