2013 Midseason Preview: NBC

NBC continues to stumble down streets like a drunk; NBC's the town drunk of network TV. Community's supposed to air Fridays in the fall. NBC delays it until February. Grimm was scheduled to return in January, and it won't return until January. I'm convinced they don't know what works anymore. How else does one rationalize the choice to order Deception to series? There's NO WAY that show will be remembered in April. Below you'll find previews for new and returning shows on NBC in the coming weeks. Happy New Year!

DECEPTION

Created By Liz Heldens

Premiere Date: Monday, January 7 at 10PM

Premise: (from NBC's press release, October 2012) The new drama "Deception" - starring Meagan Good ("Think Like a Man"), Victor Garber ("Alias"), Tate Donovan ("Damages") and Katherine LaNasa ("Alfie") in a dark family murder mystery.

Thoughts: Is Deception NBC's attempt to have their own Revenge? The premise of Revene was different, but Deception has the trappings of a night time soap opera. Beautiful people do bad things. Someone's dead and no one knows who. Getting to the truth is dangerous. The elements come together to form a generic, dull and bland looking series. NBC has promoted the series heavily, which suggests a powerful executive feels strongly about its drawing potential. We shall see if people will watch. I'm amazed by what I overhear at work when people discuss their favorite shows. The James Van Der Beek medical drama, Trauma, was remembered the other day. So, what the hell do I know? Deception might catch on.

Chance of Weekly Review: 0%

1600 PENN

Created By Jon Lovett & Josh Gad

Premiere Date: Thursday, January 10 at 9:30PM

Premise: "1600 Penn" stars Bill Pullman ("Independence Day"), Jenna Elfman ("Dharma and Greg") and Josh Gad (Broadway's "The Book of Mormon") - and concerns a typical American family who just happen to live in the White House.

Thoughts: 1600 Penn premiered already. NBC chose to launch it under the 'Sneak Preview' umbrella that worked out for Go On, and not so much for Animal Planet. 1600 Penn is a typical family sitcom set in the White House. I don't know if it works. I didn't watch the "Pilot." It's inspired to set the family sitcom in the White House until one recalls the Sinbad White House comedy and the Will Friedle rom-com about a normal dude who is love with the First Daughter. The comedy ceiling for White House comedy seems low. Secret service hijinks, and what else? I have a Bill Pullman Independence Day action figure. I used to do wrestling shows with my figures weekly, and Pullman was one of the greatest heels no one but me knows about. I missed his 1980s comedy roles; however, Independence Day is basically a comedy. 1600 Penn is worth checking out one week for Bill Pullman.

Chance of Weekly Review: 0%

DO NO HARM

Created By David Schulner

Premiere Date: Thursday, January 31 at 10PM

Premise: (from NBC's press release, November 2012) In "Do No Harm," Dr. Jason Cole (Steven Pasquale, "Rescue Me") is a highly respected neurosurgeon who has it all - a lucrative career, confident charm, the gift of compassion. But he also has a deep, dark secret. One morning when he wakes up disoriented in a wrecked hotel room amidst several near-naked women he's never seen before, he knows one thing: it's happening again.

Thoughts: NBC succeeded in bringing Grimm stories to network procedural, so it's trying again with Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde novella. The trailer I watched depicted Jason Cole rushing away from a bar, where he'd been chatting up a pretty woman, to his apartment. He's undergoing a change. TV writers have gotten to do their take on this story over the years. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Do No Harm is an intriguing show. I listened to a podcast with one of the writers. I'm always more interested in a show, comic, movie, etc. after I hear someone involved discuss whatever the project is. Cathryn Humphries, a former Ringer writer, nearly convinced me I'd been wrong about the show, because she had glowing compliments for her time. I then remembered her experience versus mine is so different. If I wrote for According to Jim, I'd be defending the show as misunderstood and a rare treasure. So, I need to watch Do No Harm. I read positive stories about the show, heard it, too, so I'm going to check it out.

Chance of Weekly Review: 24%

SMASH

Created By Theresa Reback

What Season? 2

Premiere Date: Tuesday, February 5 at 10PM

Thoughts: Smash changed show runners and dropped characters in hopes the quality improves, that people like it a bit more. I did not watch Smash past its second episode. Season 1 became a talking point because Emily Nussbaum popularized 'hate-watching' it. I listened to a May episode of On The Media, featuring various TV critics discussing the business of TV and the habit of watching TV. I won't get into the existential crisis it drove me into.

COMMUNITY

Created By Dan Harmon

What Season? 4

Premiere Date: Thursday, February 7 at 8PM

Thoughts: This is what I wrote in August: I read an article about what Dan Harmon would've done with season 4; this doesn't help my preview, because NBC fired Dan Harmon. The new show runners will use the 'Jeff meets his dad' storyline because the executives were excited about it. The Community story I'm invested in ended in May. It officially ended when NBC fired Dan Harmon. I'm going to watch the new season to see what's done with my favorite characters. I hope the charm of the show remains, but it'll never be the same as it was when Harmon ran things; if the season sucks, no worries, because the first three seasons are terrific. The cast offered nothing about the new season during comic-con. They sat around and sang for awhile or told inside jokes.

Time has passed. Fan anger lasts about two weeks, or two days, or two hours. The show runner drama will resurface in February. More nonsense happened with Community. Chevy Chase left and won't appear in two episodes. I haven't read any more about the fourth season. I just know there's going to be a Halloween episode on in mid-February.

Tomorrow: ABC & The CW

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