Justin Burniske?is a writer for FanSided partner?BroJackson.com. For more great content,?head on over to Bro Jackson?and check out Justin?s work.
With May sweeps coming to a close, we now prepare to enter the equivalent of a TV viewer?s off-season featuring lots of reruns and baseball, forced to wait out the long summer until the fall premieres. In this on-demand world, why do we still have to wait for television? I?m not going to stand for this outrage. Instead of waiting, I?m going to provide rash reviews without all the information ? maybe CNN will hire me. To wit, here are my reviews of a couple of the shows premiering this fall based solely on their three-minute trailers:
Marvel?s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D ? ABC
[youtube_sc url="http://youtu.be/MXjoPRvSd7k" title="Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D"]
One sentence synopsis: Super secret government agency is investigating and recruiting people with super powers.
Where have I seen this before? The trailer clearly indicates this is meant to be in the same universe as The Avengers movie that came out last summer, with a little bit of the X-Men franchise (also a creation of Marvel) sprinkled in there as well.
Why it will succeed: In case you missed it, Iron Man 3 came out just over three weeks ago and is already among the top 10 grossing films worldwide of all time, so there?s that.
Why it will fail: Of the Marvel movies featuring characters from the Avengers franchise, only those featuring Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man (Iron Man 1, 2, 3 and The Avengers) have done exceedingly well, and with good reason. Downey brings a nice balance of humor and bravado that makes the scenes between explosions bearable. Without him regularly featured, which seems unlikely, will audiences be willing to wade through a TV series featuring characters the mainstream audience has never heard of before?
Will it make it out of the first season? Between the loyal comic book fan base and the release of two additional Avengers movies in the next year (Thor and Captain America), the show should have enough momentum to last into a second season. Whether or not it will deserve that second season is an entirely different question.
Betrayal ? ABC
[youtube_sc url="http://youtu.be/9zR0A09sYrU" title="Betrayal"]
One sentence synopsis: A female photographer has an affair with a man, only to discover he?s the defense attorney facing off against her husband in court.
Where have I seen this before? While extramarital affairs are not that uncommon on television, finding one that features the female perspective is more uncommon. The 2002 film Unfaithful may be the best example, although I doubt this affair will be resolved via murder.
Why it will succeed: Between Revenge, Scandal, Deception and now Betrayal, there seems to be an onslaught of shows featuring strong leading ladies with interchangeable titles. Plus, given the relative uniqueness of a female-centered affair, there may be an audience drawn in by the concept.
Why it will fail: None of the characters seems likeable. The woman at the center of the affair seems like she?s doing it because she?s bored, not because she?s in love, which won?t make her a forgivable character. Her husband seems overly career-focused, which doesn?t excuse her actions but makes him seem like a prick. And the third guy is an attorney for a crime family. With no one to root for, why would the audience come back?
Will it make it out of the first season? While the premise offers some intrigue and leading ladies are in vogue, this one doesn?t seem strong enough to last past the first half of the season.
The Michael J. Fox Show ? NBC<h/2>
[youtube_sc url="http://youtu.be/SXl-krlLoxg" title="The Michael J. Fox Show"]
One sentence synopsis: Michael J. Fox plays Michael J. Fox, a family man with Parkinson?s.
Where have I seen this before? This is definitely not the first time a comedic actor named a show after themselves. It?s just that most of them don?t have a non-curable disease when they do it.
Why it will succeed: The show tackles the difficulties of disease by reminding us that sometimes laughing at a tough situation is the best way to keep from breaking down crying. Living with a family member who is battling a disease is a struggle to which many Americans can relate and therefore, it may draw in a crowd.
Why it will fail: Many people watch TV to escape their current reality, so watching Fox struggle on camera may cause more discomfort than pleasure, driving viewers away.
Will it make it out of the first season? The trailer seems to strike a good balance between humor and honesty, so I?m going to say yes, it does get a second season. Granted, given my own family history with disease that may just be my personal bias speaking, but for Fox to make this show takes a lot of courage, so I?m also partially betting that no one at NBC will have the heart to cancel after one season even if it doesn?t go well.
The Blacklist ? NBC
[youtube_sc url="http://youtu.be/k9_qgX7pTlc" title="The Blacklist"]
One sentence synopsis: A criminal mastermind turns himself in so he can assist the FBI in catching other bad guys.
Where have I seen this before? Think Silence of the Lambs ? a young female FBI agent working with a criminal mastermind.
Why it will succeed: James Spader plays the Hannibal Lecter-ish character, and Spader always seems very comfortable playing the smartest guy in the room (i.e. Boston Legal, The Office)
Why it will fail: Everything not Spader. It?s only a four-minute trailer, yet I?m not that interested in any of the other characters. Let?s just say that the female counterpart is no Jodie Foster.
Will it make it out of the first season? While Spader?s performance will likely be enjoyable, the action scenes shown were less than spectacular, making this a hard sell for the general public. It will likely end up on NBC?s blacklist of shows canceled in the first season.
The Millers ? CBS
[youtube_sc url="http://youtu.be/-UOkcqYl6po" title="The Millers"]
One sentence synopsis: Will Arnett is a recently divorced TV reporter whose parents, upon learning of his separation, decide to take a similar course of action.
Where have I seen this before? Imagine Everybody Loves Raymond, except instead of putting up with their marriages, the couples are all divorced as they probably should have been.
Why it will succeed: Arnett has shown he can play a likeable character with redeeming qualities as he did in Up All Night.
Why it will fail: Arnett isn?t strong enough to carry this show by himself, and there doesn?t seem to be much else of interest here.
Will it make it out of the first season? Unless this show manages to find something incredibly unique, The Millers will be lucky to last as long as We?re the Millers lasts in theaters. Then again, studio audience sitcoms continue to thrive.
Intelligence ? CBS
[youtube_sc url="http://youtu.be/f-nqhGQeniM" title="Intelligence"]
One sentence synopsis: Government puts a microchip into a super soldier making him a super-super soldier.
Where have I seen this before? Think Bourne Identity if Matt Damon hadn?t gone AWOL.
Why it will succeed: It?s a cop show, and given that 90 percent of the dramas on television feature some kind of detective/cop component, that gives Intelligence at least a fighting chance.
Why it will fail: While building a little more sci-fi into a cop show doesn?t have to be a bad thing, if the show becomes just about the gimmick and not the characters, the audience may as well watch MythBusters. At least that show is grounded in reality.
Will it make it out of the first season? If there is a second season of Intelligence it will be largely due to CBS?s past success with crime dramas. Unfortunately, that won?t be enough to carry the show, so on the over/under one season, I?ll take the under.
Dads ? FOX
[youtube_sc url="http://youtu.be/_yeLSEd8Ts4" title="Dads"]
One sentence synopsis: Two adult friends have dads who embarrass/torture them ? let the shenanigans begin.
Where have I seen this before? It?s from Seth MacFarlane, the creator of Family Guy and the movie Ted, so it?s likely to have a lot of the same humor.
Why it will succeed: MacFarlane has somehow managed to keep three shows on Fox for multiple seasons, so why not give him a fourth?
Why it will fail: Unlike his other shows, this one is not a cartoon, so many of gags that work so well for Family Guy won?t translate to Dads. Additionally, people seem much more forgiving when a cartoon says something incredibly offensive. With Dads they will likely have to soften the sting, taking all the punch out of the show.
Will it make it out of the first season? While the humor of Ted found an audience, 80 percent of those jokes will not make it on network television. If MacFarlane is serious about creating a sitcom, he should look to make something for cable. Good news is that he?ll probably find he has the time to pursue such an endeavor since Dads is unlikely to last five episodes.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine ? FOX
[youtube_sc url="http://youtu.be/D1UzmW77F30" title="Brooklyn Nine-Nine"]
One sentence synopsis: A new captain takes over a police precinct in Brooklyn that features a band of misfit detectives.
Where have I seen this before? Feels a little like a cross between Parks and Recreation (with the ensemble cast) and Psych (a police detective who doesn?t want to grow up).
Why it will succeed: Former SNL performers Tina Fey and Amy Poehler both had brief stints on the big screen before staring in successful TV shows, so why couldn?t Andy Samberg follow that same path to stardom?
Why it will fail: This ensemble does not look as strong as either 30 Rock or Parks and Recreation, leaving doubt that Brooklyn Nine-Nine will have any chance of success.
Will it make it out of the first season? FOX tends to have a relatively short leash with their primetime slots since they only show two hours in comparison with the other networks who all show three, so don?t bother setting your DVR ?cause 9-9 won?t last.
Source: http://fansided.com/2013/05/27/fall-2013-tv-show-trailers-snap-judgment/
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