Fall TV Series Premieres Pt. 3

Here's part 3 of my TV premieres reviews. I just saw that Head Cases has already been canceled, so I can see that there is still plenty of time for others to canceled. I'm also working on writeups for CBS shows, and I will hopefully have those a bit later.


WB

Supernatural
(Tuesday at 9:00 after Gilmore Girls)

Supernatural is the story of two brothers, 1* (Jensen Ackles; Smallville) and 2** (Jared Padalecki; Gilmore Girls), trying to track down their father who’s disappeared. Their father’s pursuit has been the “demon” that killed their mother when they were boys, and they have often joined him on these quests, fighting other spirits and monsters over the years. However, this time he’s gone alone and hasn’t checked in for a while, and 1 needs help. 2 gave up chasing ghosts to live a normal life, is about to go to law school, and lives with a serious girlfriend. 1 convinces 2 to join him for just this one time, and after that 2 can get back in time for his law school interview. They investigate the last case their father was working on, solving it’s mystery while tangling with the local law enforcement and nearly getting killed like 3 times. They also find a clue their father has left, coordinates (“an old Marine trick”), and set back to fulfill the promise of 2’s impending interview. When 2 gets home, he can not find serious girlfriend, and to his horror, finds she has been killed by the same demon that killed his mother. This steels his resolve to find his father and help him defeat the demon.

I really didn’t want to like this show, I thought it was going to be really gimmicky and cheesy, but instead, it was genuinely scary, and had a pretty decent plot. The acting is good by WB standards, and the effects are really cool.

B+

Twins
(Friday at 8:30 after What I Like About You)
Mitchee (Sara Gilbert;Roseanne) and Farrah (Molly Stanton) are “twins” who are taking over as Co-Presidents the company their parents, Cousin Larry, er, Alan (Mark Linn-Baker; Perfect Strangers) and Lee (Melanie Griffith) founded. Their parents are retiring, but that doesn’t mean they can’t interfere. And even thought they’re twins, the girls couldn’t be more different, Farrah, blond, pretty and shallow; Mitchee, smart and “not-pretty”. Haha! Not. It’s just not that funny, I like Sara Gilbert, but neither her nor Cousin Larry can save the show from the lame plot, unfunny jokes, and generally sloppy, lazy and just bad writing.

D+ (plus for Sara Gilbert)

Just Legal
(Monday at 9:00 after The Show That Shall Not Be Named Because On It If You Have Premarital Sex You Will Get Pregnant)

David “Skip” Ross (Jay Baruchel; Undeclared) is a prodigy who at 18 has just graduated law school and passed the bar. He cannot find a job at any law firms because he is so young. Drunky McDrunkard aka Grant Cooper (Don Johnson; Miami Vice, Nash Bridges) is a former hot-shot defense attorney who now works as a public defender and also works insurance cases that the “friendly” local police force passes along to him. He is cynical and jaded. Skip is naïve and idealistic. Drunky lets Skip do some work with him, and even lets him try a case in court, but only because the judge forced him to bring along someone else. Meanwhile, the defendant says she’s not guilty, and Skip enters this plea, against the wishes of Drunky, forcing them to investigate the case and find evidence to prove her innocence. There’s a lot of blah-blah, but in the end, the girl gets acquitted and Drunky realizes the error of his ways and rediscovers his idealism. Skip will continue to work with Grant and we’re left with Grant putting on his sunglasses on the boardwalk outside their hip, beachfront office in a shot reminiscent of Nash Bridges. Generally the show is pretty decent, I like Jay Baruchel, the writing is good, but I think there’s only so far they can take the 2-dimensional-ness of the characters before it gets stale. I’m going to keep watching, and hopefully it develops into something even better.

B-

*Haven’t bothered yet to look up the character’s name
**Ditto above, plus it’s easier to write. And funnier.