Oh, Johnston

In an effort to prevent another instance of Firefly, Arrested Development, Wonderfalls, or Stark Raving Mad I decided to try and watch every new show in the fall lineup that even sounded partially interesting so as to contribute, if at all possible, to the success of good shows prior to their cancellation. (The unfortunate truth is that I fell in love with almost all of the above after their DVD release, sigh.)

And so, here is my take on the new shows of the season.

Uhem.

Jericho
Oh boy. Let me begin by explaining why this concept (post nuclear attack as experienced by a small town in Kansas) sounded so fascinating. The concept of great trial to expose not only the worst in people, but the best, the most ingenious, the survival instinct, can lead to some wonderful storytelling. Take for instance the film 28 Days Later. Don't scoff! This film was an excellent demonstration of character study under extreme extenuating circumstances. It was beautiful, and most of you know how much I hate Zombie movies. (The Zombie Game is NEVER FUNNY!) Or, for you literary types, how about books such as Blindness or Alas, Babylon (which, consequently, seems to be the inspiration for Jericho.) Fascinating tales of the human condition under duress, where the ugliest element thrives and the beauty of humanity is caught in small acts of kindness, courage, and selflessness.
The writer's of Jericho must not have seen 28 Days Later or read Blindness or Alas, Babylon. Alas. If there is nothing else to hang your hat on when writing a story of this nature, you should at least be able to draw from the nations personal experience of 9/11. It is the true example of what I have been discussing. It is something that we all experienced and handled in our own way. Even mentioning it I'm sure brought memories flooding back to you. Let me ask you this, did any of those memories include you fretfully turning to your spouse as saying "Oh, dear!" Alas I give you Jericho. After the mushroom cloud appears, a very talented (I am not being sarcastic here, he is probably the best actor so far on the show) five-year-old boy runs to his grandmother(?, not well established) weeping with fear and the grandmother turns to her husband as he walks down the stairs and says "Oh, Johnston!" when he inquires what the trouble is. This would be when I decided that the show was all hype and no substance. It seems as though the writers, actors, directors, and producers have forgotten their own personal emotional response to the threat of terror, or perhaps they have no emotional responses, who knows.
Positive Elements - As previously mentioned, the five-year-old boy featured in the pilot (sadly not seen since) is very talented and was a bright spot in an otherwise dingy series. Also, there is a young deaf woman who so far has been very intriguing and I wouldn't mind watching her again in something more apt to her talents.
Overall rating - D-

Heroes
I was interested in this from the beginning before I read any of the critics' reviews. The critics panned this one pretty harshly which disappointed me because I wanted to see it. (Admittedly partially because of Milo, yum!!) Uhem, but I digress. I really liked the premier. I thought it was well handled as an introduction to a robust cast, intriguing, well directed, well acted, and overall very interesting. I know that the concept is thick everywhere (with other shows such as The 4400 and movies like Zoom! and even a very similar concept in Shayamalan's Unbreakable, but so what? If something is well done, I will be the last to undermine it for it's apparent lack of originality. I think it still has a lot of potential and is going to be really good.
Possible Bad Element - It does, however, appear as though the bad guy might be a stereotypical evil villain. I hope that it doesn't lean that way because the "good" characters are very interesting so far with weaknesses and hubris, and a singularly evil villain would be a disappointment in the grand scheme. But, we don't know that for sure just yet.
Overall rating - B+

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
Where do I begin? Within the first ten minutes of the pilot all of my feelings, concerns, judgments, and frustrations with modern television were relayed back to me, from television, in monologue form. I was speechless. I was stunned. And, most importantly, I was impressed. And the show only got better from that point on. I have nothing bad to say about this show. Nothing. There wasn't a single instance in either of the first two episodes that made me begin to think there might be a flaw with this show. So far I have laughed so hard I had to pause Tivo and go back several frames several times to catch the following line. I have also paused the show to think and have a discussion with SPF about the greater implications of a concept or line from the show. And I have watched the "cold open" from "Cold Open" (the second episode) probably five times because it was so well done. If you want to add any show to your lineup this season, it should be this show. This is how all shows should be, forever and always, and I hope that the bar is raised.
Overall rating - A++ (I am not being frivolous here. They certainly blow the curve.)

And that, my darling readers, is that.