2011 Pilot Quickies: My Thoughts on New NBC Shows

By Adam Wright

Disclaimer: The following are not reviews, but merely my quick thoughts on the pilots I’ve seen. Screeners viewed may not be the FINAL versions of the pilot to make it on the air. Pilot Quickies is my way to preview the new upcoming shows to my readers, and give my always entertaining point of view. Enjoy.

Playboy Club

Timeslot: Monday 10 pm ET

The name Playboy comes with a lot of controversy and attention. It will bring curious eyes to the series, wanting risqué programming. Unfortunately, the name is a big tease, and The Playboy Club will make you want to revoke your membership.

One obvious issue is that it CAN’T be Playboy on NBC. It doesn’t work. But the lack of nudity is hardly the only problem.

The pilot comes off as a rip-off of three brilliant cable dramas: Mad Men, Boardwalk Empire, and Treme. It TRIES to be these things, and falls flat.

Eddie Cibrian plays Nick Dalton, but he looks, acts, moves, and even sounds like Don Draper. Well tries to anyways.

The dialogue is another big problem. Funny, I want good writing with something involving Playboy, I know.

I suppose a bright spot of the show is the bunnies, especially Amber Heard. But they have the writing to work it…and I’ve already covered that.

Playboy Club will get people talking because of the name. But the name is a big fat tease. You won’t find pleasure here folks, sorry.

Prime Suspect

Timeslot: Thursday 10pm ET

Prime Suspect is an American version of the UK series by the same name.

Maria Bello stars is the lone female detective on the force. The men, they don’t respect her. Why? Well…she’s a woman. They openly insult her, call her names, accuses her of sleeping to the top, all openly in the office. Even the boss joins in. In one scene with, there’s a kid that says “You can’t have one (a gun), you’re a girl.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: In the “final version” of the pilot, the line with the kid was taken out. 

Now this sexism would make sense…if it was set in the 60s! But nope, despite the unfortunate Fedora Bello wears in the Pilot, Prime Suspect is set in modern-day NYC.

In 2011, she’s the only woman on the force, who openly verbally assaults her every chance they get.

Putting aside the blatant sexism, this show COULD work despite a bad pilot. I assume all the hate towards the Bello’s character will decrease as she earns their respect. (why does she need to earn respect, who knows!). The series also has a gritty feel, much like Detroit 167 had on ABC last season.

Maria Bello is also great in this (despite the fedora, which she takes off at a crime-scene… for some reason?).

This was a bad pilot, but I’m hopeful that given the chance it COULD get better. But with TV already flooded with Cop Procedurals, I’m not sure if it will be given that chance to grow. We’ll see.

Grimm

Timeslot: Friday 9 pm ET

Grimm is a supernatural-horror series that goes against Fringe and Supernatural on Friday nights.

The pilot was genuinely scary. It had a real horror genre feel without the cheesiness. The storyline and writing is decent, and so is the acting.

The series will please Buffy and Angel fans, I think.

The problem of course will be the timeslot. If Grimm succeeds, it will hurt Fringe and Supernatural. But if Grimm fails, it’s really too bad because it’s a great show and deserves its place.

Grimm is one of my favorite pilots I’ve seen so far. If you’re a fan of horror and supernatural, be sure to tune in.

Up All Night

Timeslot: Wednesday 8pm ET

This comedy is headlined by big comedy names and has a lot of potential.

The pilot itself was good. Not great, not bad, but good. However keep in mind that the pilot I saw was shot BEFORE Maya Rudolph was promoted to a Regular. For the time she appeared in the pilot, I thought she was the highlight.

Christina Applegate and Will Arnett are both great, which gives me hope for the comedy.

Comedies usually take time to catch steam, and this has a lot of potential. I say tune in, and keep it alive. I think it’ll be worth it.

Editor’s Note: After viewing the pilot, it was announced that the series will be focusing more on the work, and less on the family. NBC  also announced that Nick Cannon has been added to the cast. Yes, annoying host of America’s Got Talent Nick Cannon. “I’m Married to Mariah Carey and I mention it every 5 seconds” Nick Cannon. Not impressed by the changes. 

Free Agents

Timeslot: 8:30pm ET

This comedy stars Hank Azaria and Kathryn Hahn PR Executives. Azaria’s character is just coming out of a divorce and Hahn’s character is recently widowed. Naturally they find each other…in bed.

With the names involved, you expected it to be funny, which it was. But their supporting characters also does a good job delivering some laughs. It helps that most of the cast are stand-up comics.

Free Agents is paired with Up All Night this fall on Wednesday nights. Like UAN, Free Agents didn’t deliver a hundred laughs in the pilot. However I think that it has a lot of potential. I would even say it has even more potential than Up All Night.

This was a good ensemble comedy and I’d like to see more.

Whitney

Timeslot: Thursday night comedy-block

The following quick-thoughts may or may not be shot in front of a live audience.

Whitney stars Whitney Cummings.

*laugh-track*

And she has a boyfriend

*laugh-track*

She fears their sex life is fizzling out

*laugh-track*

Wait…what’s the sound?

*laugh-track*

STOP IT!

*Laugh-track*

IT’S NOT FUNNY!

*laugh-track*

F*** OFF!!!!!

*laugh-track*

Ok, in all seriousness, as expected this was the weakest NBC pilot of the bunch. If you thought the Whitney promos weren’t funny..well, the rest isn’t either. In fact, the lone laugh out loud moment was shown in the promos.

Awful. I suppose the bright-side of this (if I really search hard for it) is Chris D’Elia who plays Alex, Whitney’s boyfriend. He’s the best performer on the show.

Prediction: NBC will quickly cancel this, Whitney Cummings will go work on her other CBS sitcom “Two Broke Girls”, and hopefully someone picks up Chris D’Elia. Until then, I will weep from the memory that was the Whitney pilot.

Awake

Timeslot: MIDSEASON

The Good – The premise of the series is great and fairly original. One man alternating between two realities, one with his son, one with his wife. The acting in the pilot was good, and it help seeing alot of familiar faces (24, SVU, The Practice, FEZ!). It’s an ambitious series that could have appeal.

The Bad: The procedural part of the show seems added in, just to cater to these fans. I didn’t care for either cases, I would have much rather spent more time with the main mystery. Although I love the premise, I think that it may go over a lot of people’s heads. I had to rewind a few scenes to understand a part. I’m really not sure if Broadcast TV was the best place for it.

Verdict: I liked the pilot and I want it to succeed. I would like it to take a more serial tone and less procedural. But with it being on NBC, I don’t see it happening. It may be TOO ambitious for the mass audience. Makes me wonder if Cable would have been a better home.

Side note: I HOPE the series doesn’t suffer the same fate as the ambitious Journeyman.

Smash

Timeslot: Midseason

I’ll start by saying I’m probably not the target audience for this show. I’m not into musical, so a series about the production of one might not be appealing for me.

However, Katherine McPhee. The former American Idol contestant really shinned through in the pilot as the shy actress auditioning to play Marilyn Monroe. Extremely cute, and she can sing.

Now the show will get a lot of comparisons to Glee. I don’t think that’s accurate. Smash is purely drama. Also the elaborate musical numbers make ALOT more since because they’re part of a musical, and not done in a school. The characters are also better written, acted, and less to the “extreme”. Smash is not Glee.

This midseason show will be a huge hit. It won’t appeal to everyone, but it will be a success for NBC. It also has a chance to profit from their soundtrack (much like Glee).

Bent

Timeslot: MIDSEASON

This comedy premieres in Midseason on NBC stars Amanda Peet as a single mom who hires a contractor to make renovations in her kitchen. (not a euphemism…or is it).

David Walton plays Pete, the hired contractor. The problem, he’s a recovering gambler who sleeps with every girl in sight.

In the pilot, Pete rebuilds his team of contractors to get his life back on track.

Of course we know where this is going.

Walton was good in his role, and his team of contractors are diverse and funny. My favorite character was Pete’s Dad played by Jeffrey Tambour.

Peet’s 10-year-old daughter is also very good in her scenes.

This could be a sleeper-hit in the midseason. Although the pilot didn’t have hundreds of laughs, it could grow.

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Posted by Adam Wright on September 14, 2011. Filed under Features, Preview, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry