This is the post where I’m supposed list the new fall shows I’m looking forward to, but after watching clips of the five networks’ 28 newcomers over at Zap2It (scroll down the list to find the pages for each network), I can’t say that anything really jumped out at me.
Some shows look less bad than others. ABC’s “The Deep End” is about lawyers (yawn), but at least it has Tina Majorino of “Veronica Mars” and “Napoleon Dynamite.” Another Alphabet show, “Happy Town,” features Sam Neill doing his “Jurassic Park” thing, only this time he’s after a kidnapper, not a kid-eating T-rex.
NBC’s “Community” explores the wide array of personalities at a community college, from kids seeking direction to an older guy seeking meaning — and it stars Chevy Chase, who (if you think back a couple decades) used to be a fun actor to watch. And Fox has “The Cleveland Show,” a “Family Guy” spinoff — frankly, they should’ve just made twice as many “Family Guy” episodes per year, but I’ll take it.
Overall though, it’s mainly just the same old medical and crime dramas.
Adding a bit of joy to the mix, at least, is Fox’s “Glee,” which isn’t among the 28 shows listed because it technically already premiered with a sneak-peek episode last week, but it’ll return in the fall.
It’s from “Nip/Tuck” creator Ryan Murphy, and it’s a savvy piece of marketing. “Nip/Tuck” brought fans of makeover shows to traditional TV, and “Glee” hopes to capture “American Idol” fans. Throw in The CW’s upcoming “The Beautiful Life” (a real-world “Top Model”), and I suppose we better get used to the idea of scripted shows using reality TV’s winning premises.
At the end of “Glee’s” pilot episode, the Glee Club knocks Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” out of the park, and it’s kind of awesome. A rival school also does a ridiculously professional job with Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab.” It might be all downhill from here for the musical numbers, but I’m not complaining so far.
Between the song-and-dance numbers, we get to know the singer/dancers. “Glee” has a lead you can root for in Will (Matthew Morrison), who volunteers to coach the Ohio high school’s club. It’s his passion project: He actually has to pay $60 out-of-pocket just to hold every practice. He’d be perfect for adorable fellow teacher Emma (Jayma Mays) — and Emma knows it — but Will is married to a woman who wants him to take up accounting. Tension should ensue.
Finn (Cory Monteith) is the star quarterback who happens to be a tremendous singer, and the first episode rushes through clichéd scenes where he deals with his clique conflict — but I’m glad it went fast; I didn’t intend to sit through “High School Musical” as a TV series. Rachel (Lea Michele) is the girl who is so focused on becoming a star that everyone hates her; she’s worthy of pity, and possibly of Finn’s affections. But I noticed that she’s about half his height, so that seems kind of weird.
Rounding out the Glee Club are the gay kid, the black girl, the kid in the wheelchair and the stutterer.
I’m not jumping for joy over “Glee,” but it does look like the strongest of a very weak fall crop, and I’ll be looking for it when it returns.
What did you think of the first episode of “Glee?” And am I being too hard on the new fall shows? Are there some gems hidden in there?