Because I want to try to get the polls back onto some sort of schedule, and also, because I want to get these polls about how the new shows "sound" to people out of the way before I have to deal with the Emmy nominations are announced (the "For Your Consideration" screeners are available online but not for such poor wretches as we; the nominating ballots will be posted online on this week with the nomination process closing on June 20, and the nominations announced on July 17, and the big disappointment big show on ABC on September 21). So I figure that two weeks should be enough time for you to digest the CBS shows.
Here are the poll results. Twelve votes were cast. In a tie for fourth place, with no votes are The Worst Week, Project Gary, The Ex-List, and Harper's Island. In third place, with two votes (17 %) was The Mentalist. In second place with three votes (25%) was Eleventh Hour. But the big winner, with seven votes (58%) – and no big surprise to me – was "They all sound like a big steaming pile of poo."
Sorry, but I think that's just a touch on the harsh side. I agree that the two comedies – I mean The Worst Week and Project Gary, just to be absolutely clear – are weak entries from a network that usually does situation comedy rather well. As for The Ex-List (the show that I thought you might mistake for a situation comedy) the concept seems dire and the clip they posted seems even worse. As someone who became a Moonlight fan after initially panning it, I am shocked that they replaced that show with... with...this.
So that's three out of the five shows, but that leaves us with The Mentalist, Eleventh Hour and Harper's Island. And I have to say that, to me at least, all three look like they have potential to be good. The Mentalist takes the concept that started as The Medium (a person claiming "psychic abilities" helps the police), was morphed into the comedy Psych (a person with extraordinary powers of observation claims to be a psychic and helps the police), and takes it full circle by making the lead characters a man who formerly claimed to be a psychic, but came clean by admitting that his "abilities" were "merely" his extraordinary powers of observation. It may be a basic CBS procedural that breaks little in the way of new ground but I'm not sure there's that much wrong with that. As for Eleventh Hour I suppose you could say that it loses points for being an American adaptation of a British original that starred Patrick Stewart, but it makes up points by not adapting a British series that has a sort of finite quality that would be eaten up by American TV very quickly, along the lines of Life On Mars or (dare I mention it?) Blackpool (which became Viva Laughlin). The premise of Eleventh Hour could very easily continue for years if the ratings are strong.
That leaves us with Harper's Island, which is intended as a mid-season replacement, although I have a suspicion that mid-season will come very quickly if (when) The Ex-List tanks. I wasn't able to put a clip up for the show, but I have one now. It's got a spooky, claustrophobic feel to it that is helped by being shot in what looks to be coastal BC. The commenters on YouTube have been hostile to it, mainly because they think it is a direct replacement for Moonlight. I don't think it's meant as that (but when The Ex-List dies...). Personally I'm not sure it can draw an audience but it certainly looks good.
New poll up shortly, meanwhile have a look at the Harper's Island clip.
No comments:
Post a Comment