My TV Grades for the New Shows so far this Season

Well, one thing can be said for this fall’s crop of new shows~ they’re at least a tiny bit better than last fall’s… In fact, only Raising Hope (which I love) , Hawaii 5-0 (which is pretty to look at but rather pedestrian) and Mike & Molly (which is ok and is greatly benefitting by the amazing Emmy winner Melissa McCarthy) made it to season two from that crop. So far, it looks like several shows could make it at least that and that’s a good thing. Leading the way are the comedies New Girl and 2 Broke Girls and the juicy soap Revenge. However, there is a lot of crap out there too (and after second viewing, pretty much all of the grades remain unchanged). So, check out the grades for the new shows I’ve seen this season…

New Fall TV Show Grades:

New Girl: A- (good comedy with a great lead in Zooey Deschanel)
2 Broke Girls: A-  (Kat Dennings is undeniable in this fun comedy)
Revenge: A- (great soap with a hot cast and scene stealer Madeline Stowe as an ice queen in the Hamptons is delicious)
Up All Night: B (serviceable comedy with the appealing Christina Applegate and Will Arnett, but the standout is the hysterical Maya Rudolph whose crazy talk show host character deserves her own show)
Person of Interest: B (decent procedural that fits perfectly with CBS’s brand and features Jim Cavezial and an impeccable Michael Emerson)
Ringer: B- (it’s a fun mystery thriller soap and it’s great to see Sarah Michelle Gellar back but why am I not thrilled to keep watching?)
The X Factor: B- (it’s an overproduced hot mess and the talent is less than inspiring. But I’m willing to keep watching as it moves past the bad audiitioners and gets to the good stuff. Plus I do love Simon and Paula)
Pan Am: C+ (it’s stylish and could improve, but so far it’s forgettable)
The Secret Circle: C+ (it’s perfect for the supernatural CW, but I don’t need to keep watching these pretty teen witches)
Terra Nova: C+ (the dinosaurs are great, the humans~ not so much)
Charlie’s Angels: C (wow, I wanted to like this. Unfortunately, it’s just average storytelling and execution despite the gorgeous cast)
A Gifted Man: C (Yes, Patrick Wilson is gifted and gorgeous but the show is boring)
Prime Suspect: C- (Maria Bello is good enough, but the show feels dated and worse, it’s annoying despite being decently shot, performed and edited)
Free Agents: D+ (what a waste of Kathryn Hahn and Hank Azaria. I love them but this one’s a stinker. I do hope it improves)
Whitney: D+ (it’s pretty painful)

Up next, I’m planning on watching Homeland this weekend on Showtime. Stay tuned…. Which shows do you like so far?

First Look~ The Amazing Spiderman!

With the annual geekfest Comic Con in full effect in San Diego this week, the entertainment industry has swarmed over the city to pimp their newest and most prized projects. Along with panels for summer movies like Cowboys & Aliens and Fright Night, you’ll get confabs on TV shows like Glee, Dexter, Terra Nova and Fringe. But what may be most exciting is a glimpse at big movies heading our way over the next year and arguably the most anticipated is the rebooted Spiderman franchise pic, The Amazing Spiderman. The first in the new series features Golden Globe nominee Andrew Garfield (The Social Network) taking over from Tobey Maguire as the titular character alongside a great cast including two-time Oscar winner Sally Field (Places in the Heart, Norma Rae) and Emmy and Golden Globe winner Martin Sheen (The West Wing) as his Aunt and Uncle, Golden Globe nominee Emma Stone (Easy A) as his first love Gwen Stacy and Rhys Ifans (Notting Hill) as the villain. They all work under the direction of Mark Webb who is best known for the fantastic indie romantic comedy (500) Days of Summer, and judging from the first trailer that leaked at Comic Con, it looks pretty good. (However, the CGI scenes look a little too video-gamey for me). Take a peak for yourself below and watch as Spidey flies back into theatres July 3, 2012.

The Amazing Spiderman trailer

Check out Fox’s New Fall Schedule

X marks the spot on Fox‘s new Fall Schedule as Simon Cowell’s new talent competition show, The X Factor, leads the network’s new offerings as they attempt to establish an American Idol-size smash at the beginning of the season. The show will reunite Simon with Paula Abdul and run Wed-Thursdays like Idol and looks to be a promising hit. The other big new player is the dinosaur time traveling action drama Terra Nova which will lead into House on Mondays. Take a look at the new fall schedule below with descriptions of the new shows and the network’s plan come midseason. For more on Fox, head here.

MONDAY
8/7c TERRA NOVA (A futuristic/prehistoric family adventure starring Jason O’Mara as a group of people head back in time to Jurassic adventures in hopes of halting the extinction of the human race in the future).
9 pm House (new timeslot)

TUESDAY
8 pm Glee
9 pm NEW GIRL (A comedy starring Zooey Deschanel as a goofy girl who moves in with three single guys)
9:30 pm Raising Hope

WEDNESDAY
8-9:30 pm THE X FACTOR (Simon Cowell’s new talent search series with co-judges music exec. LA Reid, Brit superstar Cheryl Cole and Paula Abdul, hosted by Brit Steve Jones and former Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger)
9:30 pm I HATE MY TEENAGE DAUGHTER (A wacky comedy starring Emmy winner Jamie Pressley and Tony winner Katie Finneran as moms who realize they can’t stand their teenage daughters who are just like they used to be…)

THURSDAY
8 pm THE X FACTOR (Results Show)
9 pm Bones

FRIDAY
8 pm Kitchen Nightmares
9 pm Fringe

SATURDAY
8 pm Cops
9 pm Encores/America’s Most Wanted (Specials)

SUNDAY
7:30 pm The Cleveland Show
8 pm The Simpsons
8:30 pm ALLEN GREGORY (a new animated series about a pretentious 7-year-old voiced by Jonah Hill)
9 pm Family Guy
9:30 pm American Dad

***MIDSEASON SCHEDULE***

MONDAY
8/7c House
9 pm ALCATRAZ (J.J. Abrams new thriller set at the infamous prison starring Sam Neil, Jorge Garcia and Parminder Nagra)

TUESDAY
8 pm Glee
9 pm NEW GIRL
9:30 pm Raising Hope

WEDNESDAY
8-9:30 pm American Idol
9:30 pm I HATE MY TEENAGE DAUGHTER

THURSDAY
8 pm American Idol (Results Show)
9 pm FINDER/Bones (Returning in Spring) … FINDER is the Bones spinoff

FRIDAY
8 pm Kitchen Nightmares
9 pm Fringe

SATURDAY
8 pm Cops
9 pm Encores/America’s Most Wanted (Specials)

SUNDAY
7:30 pm The Cleveland Show
8 pm The Simpsons
8:30 pm NAPOLEON DYNAMITE (an animated show based on the cult hit comedy film)
9 pm Family Guy
9:30 pm Bob’s Burgers

Also coming at midseason, but yet to be scheduled is the drama Touch starring Emmy winner Kiefer Sutherland (24).

So, what do I think of the new sched?

The Good: Fringe got another season!!! Raising Hope and Glee look like they have a fun new comedy companion on Tuesdays and The X Factor and Terra Nova show promise.

The Bad: booo~ they cancelled Human Target… (also canned were The Chicago Code, Lie To Me, Traffic Light and supposedly Breaking In)
The Argh: in the spring Glee will be taking a long break to make way for some other new comedies…