#stultifying

Went through the schedule for the new season on CBS-this time from Deadline and found the other two new shows ordered from them. They are mid-season shows (as is “Cyber”) which is why there were no trailers for them up yet (I’m assuming).

I saw that “Scorpion” tested the highest with its pilot test…which surprised me. Either it’s a LOT better when you see the pilot in its entirety (which is possible) or IDK. It looked very mediocre, flashy with no interesting substance, the characters didn’t grab me at all, they were all broad-stroked archetypes…I just really find it hard to believe that it will really make it. Maybe it will tho. It’s all a guessing game. All I can say is what I, as a viewer in the demo, would actually try and or think might last, giving what I know (which isn’t much…ahaha).

I actually, now that I’m seeing where everything is going and have thought of it a bit more, really think that the odds aren’t high for many of these new series at all (now watch-since I said that, they’ll all survive…ahaha) “Scorpion” has NCIS: LA as a lead-in, which may or may not help. I am not sure how NCIS: LA will fare in its new spot without the mothership helping it out or how it will do for a lead-in for a new drama. Here’s something else…”Scorpion” and NCIS: LA will be going against “The Voice” & “The Blacklist” respectively (which is awesome, and will be on at the 9:00 spot until Feb. of next year), not to mention “Castle.” These aren’t things that will help it.

I see that “Madam Secretary,” which looked like it had potential to me to be a good show, is scheduled in TAR’s spot on Sunday before TGW. Again, launching a new show on Sunday is something I don’t get…we know how that night is. I get that they may have scheduled it there because it’s a political sort of drama with a strong female lead character, so it makes a sort of sense being placed with “The Good Wife,” as it might attract an audience with similar tastes…but it’s still a bad night, and TGW, while still quality TV is not faring so well in the demo this season. Those numbers aren’t helped being aired on a Sunday. Also, I said it looked like it might be a bit better written and more interesting than many of the new shows whose trailers I sampled, but that doesn’t mean it will fare well in the key demo. Though TGW is good TV it doesn’t attract as many younger viewers. What helps it is it attracts higher income viewers. I really think MS has huge odds stacked against it. I will be surprised if it makes it.

I still think NCIS: NO has the best odds of surviving. While I saw nothing spectacular in the trailer, it has NCIS, whose numbers have waned a bit in the demo this season-but is still the most watched drama, as its lead-in and is followed by POI…that’s a nice cushy spot to be launched in. Plus, it’s likely to keep people interested in the franchise watching after NCIS since the audience will have similar tastes, which helped NCIS: LA a bunch, I’m sure. So we’ll see…points against it really are that we really don’t need another version of NCIS, do we? But good characters and decent cases of the week can help it…the best odds in its favor really is the spot tho…

"Stalker" was another one I thought might have potential. Something I might’ve at least given a chance, were I planning to do so this season. It has Maggie Q, who is awesome…it looked like a nice suspenseful series and it is again, placed near a veteran show similar in tone, "Criminal Minds," which is its lead-in. Those are odds in its favor. It is however a Kevin Williamson production. Now, this is just a taste issue (exec. producers have all the power over their shows…for me, they make or break my interest in a series depending on my experience with their shows in the past), but I tried "The Following" thinking it looked good but it was way too dark (I don’t just mean horrific, there’s no comedy or light really at all (and I need at least a spark of it at minimum to give a nice-layered contrast to my shows…) and major angst-from what I saw in the first four episodes or so). Also it was not very-well written, IMHO. So I dropped it. So what I wanna know is, is this gonna be the same? It looked like a dark pilot. Also, how well are they going to do with the same theme, stalking, underpinning every episode? How long will that basic premise stay interesting? That, of course, depends on the writing team. Now this show probs has different writers for it than TF (but the same EP), so maybe they’re better at intelligent, interesting drama and not just horror and angst that is heavy-handed, etc. IDK…I feel it has a better chance than many of the new series, but it’s too hard to tell how consistently good it’ll be from watching a trailer…

"The McCarthys" will have very strong comedy lead-ins, but regardless, unless its pilot was just way less funny than the series will be, I have trouble seeing it lasting. It was so not funny, at all. And I don’t mean, not to my tastes in humor, I mean, not funny.

Then there are the three mid-season new shows… “CSI: Cyber,” “Battle Creek” & “The Odd Couple”… I can read the synopses and see if they sound interesting, but a trailer is a better way to sample any new series…especially a comedy. (And TOC is a comedy). So this is much more speculative than I normally go, wince write-ups don’t tell you much… (Tho I will say, when I saw the EP and write-up for POI, I knew it would be good…it just was THAT good on paper, so sometimes I guess you can tell from a write-up…btw, this season was excellent).

"Cyber" comes in where our good, old TM used to be. (CSI will be there until then ostensibly) I still think it’s one of the worst spots on the schedule and a bad place (and night, but especially time) to launch a new show. Yeah, it’s a CSI spin-off, but the franchise is aging and not much left really except the mothership…I think the night works against it more than it being another spin-off tho. Because CBS is known for procedurals and if it were interesting enough and had good enough characters, it could make it, but Sundays is just…that’s where they killed off the massive audience from "CSI: Miami" from, when they retired it there…it’s also where the retired"CSI: NY" from as well…

"Battle Creek" sounds…well, like another buddy cop show…with two grudging partners who have way different methods which puts them at odds a lot but probs makes them a great team. While it sounds uninspiring, a great deal depends on the writing in this sort of show. Since it doesn’t have a unique or interesting premise, that’s where its strength will probably lie. It’s a procedural, which will help it on CBS…also, the big thing-relating to the writing, it’s produced by Vince Gilligan, David Shore and Bryan Singer. Now I intend to never watch a David Shore production again, unless…well the odds of me doing so is slim to none after my experience with "House." I’m not just talking about how the show mangled itself in its final two seasons, I’m talking about how fans were treated. It was not pretty. I’m also talking about Shore’s worldview which has a great impact on the story he is telling and will tell. So that rules it out for me, BUT that means nothing. "House" was a great show with interesting characters for many seasons…and it was co-produced by Singer (who really had little to do with day-to-day production stuff, from what I understand, after the pilot). Also, and to me this is bigger: Vince.Gilligan. The man is a great writer. He was awesome on "The X-Files" and of course, then there was the little series "Breaking Bad," which you may have heard of. So, from this right here, I think this series has a great shot…now this is without seeing the trailer, but writers/producers make a huge difference to a series.

Then there’s TOC…which I know its premise, but will not say anything about it really till I see a trailer. A comedy doesn’t really need an awesome premise, it just needs to be funny. Plus, this has little impact on us since it’s a comedy. TM will, no doubt, replace a drama that fails, not a comedy…

Meh this thing is huge but I just wanted to write out what I thought now that I have a bit more info. on the new schedule and series…pretty sure no one will read this as it’s incredibly boring/uninteresting…in fact, I wouldn’t read it if it came across my dash. Ahaha…

I swear, I thought this educated, professor lady made up this word, but it's real. It means mind-numbing...

It's on the Laws of Magic page on Narrative Transport, and, well, STULTIFYING. I mean to say.

[Stultify, v.: to incapacitate, render useless, cripple; To cause to appear stupid, inconsistent, or ridiculous.]