TV and Burgers

I am taking today to take a look at the offerings from The CW.  Now, The CW is not offering much in the line of new shows this fall, but a look we will take nonetheless.  Let’s see what we can expect to see on The CW this fall… Arrow – As much as I enjoy superhero movies, superheroes on TV have always been a tough sell for me.  I could never get into Smallville; Heroes had a great first season, but quickly declined in quality and The Cape was The Crap from the first episode.  However, I actually think that Arrow looks pretty good.  Arrow is actually The Green Arrow, a DC comic character whose name has been shortened for reasons I do not know.  Canadian actor Stephen Amell will be playing the main character of Oliver Queen/Arrow and he looks pretty good for the part.  I liked the preview and I feel this could be a fun show.  I also realize that superhero shows can go into an irreversible decline very quickly so I must be cautious....

Found footage.  That’s what we are said to be watching at the beginning of The River, a new eight episode series on ABC.  Who found the footage and how they found it is a mystery, but then again just about everything on The River is a mystery at this point.  Here is the premise: Dr. Emmet Cole is the host of a popular and long running wildlife show called The Undiscovered Country.  The show also features his wife, Tess and their son Lincoln as they travel the globe on their ship, The Magus.  Emmet ends each episode with the same tagline of “there’s magic out there”.  But six months ago Emmet disappeared in the Amazon.  His ship and crew were never found and he was declared dead.  Then suddenly his emergency beacon goes off and the search for him begins.  We got little more than that in the first 15 minutes of the show when the crew was hastily put together and we learned that Emmet had been estranged from his son, who was al...

“On March 21st, 1963, Alcatraz officially closed. All the prisoners were transferred off the island. Only that's not what happened. Not at all.” – Emerson Hauser By now everyone should know that I am a huge fan of the works of writer/producer/director J.J. Abrams.  For the uninitiated Abrams was the director of Star Trek & Super 8 and is the producer of the latest (and best) film in the Mission: Impossible series.  Abrams is the co-creator of Lost & fringe, which loyal readers know as two of my favorite shows of all time.  The latest show from Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions is Alcatraz and after three episodes I am hooked.  Alcatraz stars the delightful Sarah Jones as San Francisco homicide detective Rebecca Madsen, Jorge Garcia as historian/author/comic book store owner Doc Soto and Sam Neill as FBI agent Emerson Hauser.  When you have a show with a cute blonde, Hurley and Dr. Alan Grant produced by the brilliant Abrams you have a winne...

So it's time to look at the shows that will be coming to us this fall and mid-season on the Fox broadcasting network.  When Fox started out that put out a lot of crap and I do mean a lot of crap.  Since then they have been just like any other network with their hits and misses.  Well, I can already tell you that there are some hits and misses coming up so let's stop chattering about it and take a look. Allen Gregory:   With the exception of Family Guy I have never been particularly impressed with the animated offerings from Fox.  I watched The Simpsons once and when I stopped vomiting I vowed never to watch it again.  With that in mind I was delighted by the trailer for Allen Gregory.  Allen is a seven year old child who is somewhat of a genius.  He has composed operas, written novels and is a fan of pinot grigio.  Allen lives with his father, Richard, and his life partner, Jeremy, whom Allen does not particularly care for.  Until now ...

Okay, let's pick up with the shows that will be on in late fall/mid season, shall we? Apartment 23:  A quirky little comedy in which James Van Der Beek plays himself is interesting enough, but throw in the deliciously sexy Dreama Walker and the very attractive and talented Krysten Ritter and you have the makings of a good comedy.  Walker plays a barista named June looking for a place to live.  She ends up moving in with Chloe (Ritter) a con artist who rips off June as soon as she moves in.  As it turns out, June is adept at the con as well.  It's kind of like an Odd Couple remake, but with sexy women trying to outdo each other.  Chances of me watching?  Very good. Apartment 23 Good Christian Belles:   This snoozefest is about a woman named Amanda (Leslie Bibb) who was a bitch in high school now returning to her home town 20 years later after a divorce.  As it turns out Amanda is nice now, but everyone else is a bitch.  Do they wel...

As a general rule I do not like medical dramas.  I never cared for ER, I despise Grey’s Anatomy and I can’t stand House.  Most of my dislike for medical dramas comes from the fact that I hate hospitals and I ironically get sick just walking into one.  Note to friends and family: please do not get sick to the point where you have to be hospitalized as I will be in no hurry to come and visit you.  And while Body of Proof is listed technically as a medical drama/police procedural it does not feel like a medical show per se because it does not take place in a hospital and, much like Bones, deals specifically with the dead, not the sick and dying.  I’m better with that in a drama. The forever young looking Dana Delaney stars at Dr Megan Hunt, a one time brilliant neurosurgeon now working as a medical examiner.  She had to give up the neurosurgery after an auto accident left her unable to perform surgery.  As the story goes she now has some sor...