DISCLAIMER: These initial impressions are based on the clips (usually 3-5 minutes) released by the networks to use in their Upfront presentations and for promos. They're chosen to sell the show, not to accurately represent it. So take the reactions below with a large satchel of salt--we may well feel differently about these shows once we see the full pilots. That being said, it's also true that these clips are carefully selected to give the best impression possible of a show--if it still doesn't look great, that may not bode well. 
Clips are available, among other places, at ABC.com.
CHARLIE'S ANGELS (Thursday 8PM): I think we could all cut a promo for this one, couldn't we? This time, the 3 hot girls are Minka Kelly, Rachael Taylor and Annie Ilonzeh, and they wave guns, crack open safes, blow things up and solve crimes for the unseen Charlie. The trailer makes clear that the show is slickly produced and will provide eye candy; whether writers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar (the Smallville team) can bring it appeal beyond the obvious is unclear.
REVENGE (Wednesday 10PM): Since this show is written by Mike Kelley, who created the high-quality (if short-lived) Swingtown, one assumes (hopes) there must be more here than what's in the trailer. The network is selling a very one-note soap, with Emily Van Camp of Brothers and Sisters on a mission to destroy the rich family (headed by Madeline Stowe) who ruined hers when she was a child. As appealing as Van Camp is, watching her scheme and never quite succeed every week (or the show would be over) could grow tiresome quickly. It has the feel of other female-skewing serials ABC has tried in this slot before, but there's some genuine talent involved here, which will hopefully become more evident in the series.
PAN AM (Sunday 10PM): The period soap about gorgeous young women in the 1960s that isn't set at the Playboy Club. The network has cut a very appealing trailer, seemingly more stylish and classy than NBC's version of the era (the Pan Am pilot was directed by Thomas Schlamme of West Wing fame, which doesn't hurt). Christina Ricci is part of an ensemble cast of stewardesses and pilots, and the show (written by Jack Orman of ER) appears to have more on its mind than Playboy about the times in which it's set. There's an obvious flow with Desperate Housewives on Sundays.
ABC ANALYSIS CBS ANALYSIS NBC ANALYSIS FOX ANALYSIS CW ANALYSIS
0 comments:
Post a Comment