Last Friday I reviewed and rated the new TV shows that aired that week based on their potential to take time away from me watching
Mad Men on Netflix. I enjoyed
it, so I'm going to keep doing it for premieres in the foreseeable future and making adjustments whenever there's a change in a show's rating. Eventually I will finish
Mad Men and move on to a new show on Netflix like
Scandal or
Farscape or
Friday Night Lights, at which point the rating system will change. Try to contain your anguish.
Quantico
It sure was nice of
Quantico to put an anonymous sex scene in the first five minutes to let everyone know that these aren't just spies; they're sexy spies. They're not like all those impotent spies running around all over the place. Sarcasm aside,
Quantico really does look like a solid drama set in the famous FBI training facility. The show takes a page from
How to Get Away With Murder in order to subvert spoiler-phobia. We know what will happen, the mystery is in the journey. The focus is on Alex Parrish, played by Bollywood megastar Priyanka Chopra, as she enters the FBI Academy in the past and in the present she tries to figure out which of her peers was a terrorist the whole time and clear her own name. I'm far from the first to compare
Quantico to a Shonda Rhimes show and the way I see it, until such time as Rhimes deems to give us a sexy spy show this will do just fine.
Mad Men threat level: 7/10
Brooklyn 99
The Jake and Amy romance has been a long time coming and now that it's here it works just fine. I don't foresee any
Moonlighting problems from the 99. There'll be the typical on-again-off-again stuff but this show is so consistent it probably won't slow down for a second. The real danger is Captain Holt's departure for the PR department. Every episode Holt and Gina spend apart from the rest of the cast is a risk. Admittedly, it's still a relatively small risk because every episode Holt spends sparring with his nemesis Wuntch is a boon.
Mad Men threat level: 8/10
Last Man on Earth
How a comedy about the absence of people will sustain itself for even one more episode is one of the best mysteries on TV. The first season built an impressive cast from almost nothing then burned it to the ground with a surprising amount of literalness. Now Phil Miller has lost the last person on his side (again, quite literally), leaving Phil and Carol alone on Earth while Phil's brother drifts alone in space. We don't know for sure how or if they will come together but whatever happens, we probably won't see it coming.
Mad Men threat level: 8/10
Life in Pieces
 |
This if from the first episode because the second one
doesn't have Jordan Peele so it really doesn't matter. |
In its second episode the focus can shift from introductions to actually exhibiting the characters in
Life in Pieces which is much to its benefit. However, it still feels stale even with vivid performances from James Brolin and Dianne Wiest.
Mad Men threat level: 3/10. Down from 4/10.
Blindspot
As with any good serial mystery, the more that is exposed the more questions arise. In the second episode of
Blindspot the enigma is a little less about Jane Doe and a little more about the agent with his name on her back, Kurt Weller. We learn about his family and get a hint of why his name might be on Jane's back. However, Jane doesn't exactly disappear. She continues to struggle with what little she knows of her past and
Blindspot continues on a strong start to an enormously promising new drama.
Mad Men threat level: 8/10. Up from 7/10.
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
The Daily Show has a long history as a kingmaker. It launched the careers of dozens of comedy stars so it was surprising to me that so many people doubted the successor Jon Stewart anointed himself. What makes
The Daily Show great is smart writing and a trustworthy face; only one of those has really changed at all. However, what made Jon Stewart a beloved icon was his passion and despair. It was comforting to end the day knowing that someone so smart and dapper on the outside was just as baffled and frustrated on the inside as everyone else. That can and probably will come with time, or maybe Noah will develop an entirely different appeal, but for the next few years at least he shouldn't count on winning
every Emmy like Stewart did.
Mad Men threat level: 8/10
Grandfathered
Somehow John Stamos wasn't the first result when I Googled "aging lothario" but I don't know any other way to describe any character he has played in the past decade. What makes this particular silver fox stand out is that he doesn't just find out he has offspring, but his offspring has offspring. Likewise,
Grandfathered is more than just a gimmick. The writing is smart and the pace is quick. Also, Stamos is joined by a great cast including millennial TV icon Josh Peck as Stamos' son and Paget Brewster as the baby grandmama.
Mad Men threat level: 8/10
The Grinder
I've long been impressed by Fred Savage's TV directing work but it's nice to see him back in front of the camera. He plays an unassuming lawyer overshadowed by his charismatic brother who played a very assuming lawyer on TV. Savage is a believable everyman and Rob Lowe is Rob Lowe, which in this case thankfully means more
Parks and Rec Lowe and a continued separation from douchey early 90's Lowe. What remains to be seen is how long the show can rely on mocking legal procedurals before the family aspect takes over completely and what kind of show it will be then.
Mad Men threat level: 7/10
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Going into it's third season
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is the most confident it's been since it peaked in the end of season one. The show is strongest when it has a clearly defined enemy so it was a good move to introduce a big baddie in the season opener. It's less obvious how Constance Zimmer's mysterious Rosalind Price will fit in but she looks like she could turn out to be the most interesting sparring partner Director Coulson has ever had. The bigger question is where Simmons is but hopefully the answer won't come with the end of Fitz as the cool customer he's become tracking her down.
Mad Men threat level: 8/10
Minority Report
I haven't read the short story or seen the movie that inspired this show. It should not feel as familiar as it does. The dialogue is too stiff and the characters aren't interesting. That's why I will no longer watch
Minority Report. It is no longer a threat to
Mad Men but it can rest easy knowing it inspired the title of this blog post and the one before it. Surely that will do something to ease the pain of losing one viewer and his meaningless reviews. Farewell
Minority Report.
Mad Men threat level: 0/10
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