Freshman Fall Picks
by Alexis M. Dy on November 25, 2011
Skepticism always follows excitement whenever new television shows debut. TV addicts remain apprehensive to devote themselves to a new show, particularly when there’s a tendency for networks to prematurely pull the plug on promising ones.
Some shows that have made the cut, though— jet-setting flight attendants, a vengeful socialite, teenage witches, modern-day fairy tale characters and a wisecracking suburb transplant— are worthy of your loyal viewership. g lets you in on the five must-see new shows of the American fall season.
Suburgatory
When it comes to freshman comedies, often, Zooey Deschanel’s quirky New Girl and the Whitney Cummings-penned 2 Broke Girls starring Kat Dennings are the ones that steal the spotlight. Though such buzz is not unwarranted, Suburgatory is just as worthy of the attention. The show’s title–a portmanteau of “suburban” and “purgatory” –sums up its premise on suburbia: a satirical look at a fictional Stepford-esque community, where a single father and his daughter from New York City become the newest residents.
Viewers are treated to the sarcastic and witty observations made by 16-year-old Tessa Altman (Jane Levy from Shameless) as she gets acquainted with the pristine suburban community. Levy is one of the show’s standouts, holding her own alongside more seasoned actors like Jeremy Sisto (Law & Order), Ana Gasteyer (Saturday Night Live) and Cheryl Hines (Curb Your Enthusiasm). Both her performance and her character are reminiscent of fellow redhead Emma Stone in Easy A, with the same sharp quips, the disbelief at the sheer ridiculousness of the goings-on around her and the banter with TV dad George (Sisto).
The stereotypes of immaculately kept lawns, overly tanned housewives and cliquish mean girls are so over the top that it’s hilarious as it is offensive. Gasteyer, Hines and Alan Tudyk (DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story) play suburbanites determined to get the Altmans settled into the world of endless home improvement projects, country club visits and weekend barbecues.
Though there’s the question of just how much material can be gleaned from poking fun at life in the suburbs (especially since this early in its run, some jokes fall flat), Suburgatory is still good for a quick laugh fix, especially when Deschanel pushes the excessiveness of being adorkable on New Girl and 2 Broke Girls overdoes the crass jokes.
TV FORMULA: Sardonic female lead from Awkward + high school caricatures from Glee + potential neighborhood romances from Desperate Housewives
Pan Am
Cable network AMC is enjoying so much success with the Emmy Award-winning ‘60s period drama Mad Men that it’s no surprise the broadcast networks are trying to get in on the action. NBC’s offering, The Playboy Club, found itself canceled after its first three episodes due to poor audience reception, as well as protests from various conservative and feminist groups. On the other hand, ABC’s Pan Am proves to have the potential to surpass the inevitable Mad Men comparisons and establish a name for itself, thanks to its irresistible mix of espionage, globe-trotting and romantic entanglements.
Writer Jack Orman (ER) and director Thomas Schlamme (The West Wing) bring to the small screen the adventures of flight attendants and pilots from the once-great airline Pan American World Airways, back when flying was a glamorous experience enjoyed only by a privileged few.
The show’s biggest draw is the four undoubtedly beautiful, fashionable and perfectly coiffed stewardesses. There is apparent difficulty when it comes to guaranteeing each of them equal amounts of screen time, so character development is uneven and slow-going, but the more recent episodes attempt to remedy this.
Of the four, it is Christina Ricci’s Maggie who is the least compelling, being no match for the enigmatic Colette (Karine Vanasse) from France or the complicated relationship between sisters Laura (Margot Robbie) and Kate (Kelli Garner). The latter has been the most explored character so far, since her role as stewardess has allowed her to travel the world without suspicion and pull double duty as a CIA operative.
Pan Am boasts great costumes and masterful set design that transports viewers right into the ‘60s, but the socio-political issues tackled is what brings this show to justice. Particularly interesting is the portrayal of women. The stewardesses are strong and independent women who revel in the opportunity to see the world, but this comes at the price of undergoing regular weight checks and getting harassed by drunken passengers. This dichotomy, along with the historical context it draws from, gives the show its real legs.
TV FORMULA: CIA spy adventures from Alias + political issues from The West Wing + wanderlust from The Amazing Race
Revenge
When someone wrongs you, forgiveness may be the right thing to do, but where’s the fun in that? The pursuit for revenge, on the other hand, is ripe for captivating television.
Granted, Amanda Clarke (Brothers & Sisters‘ Emily VanCamp) has a real axe to grind that makes forgiveness a little harder to give. When she was a young girl, her father’s friends had him arrested on trumped up charges of terrorism in order to protect themselves. David Clarke (Grey’s Anatomy‘s James Tupper) died in prison, but left an inheritance to his daughter enough to take down every person responsible. In order to do this, Amanda heads to the Hamptons at the start of the summer as Emily Thorne, her new identity. She attends different society functions, meets the people responsible for what happened to her father, and then proceeds to orchestrate their downfall. The ones she is out to get the most? Conrad (The Tudors‘ Henry Czerny) and Victoria (Madeleine Stowe) Grayson, the Hamptons’ most powerful couple.
VanCamp shines in this soapy drama with her cold and calculating looks, as she sets her manipulative plans in motion. What stands out in her performance are those fleeting moments when her aloof façade falters and her vulnerability arises – especially when she realizes that falling for the Graysons’ favorite child Daniel (Joshua Bowman) was not part of the plan.
Though Emily’s voiceovers at the end of each episode are overly dramatic and cliché-ridden, the show’s writing isn’t all that bad. Victoria and Emily’s seemingly meaningless conversations are veiled barbs at each other. The plot moves quickly, with plenty of close calls and complications to keep viewers rapt in attention.
With suspicions arising from those around Emily, it’s hard to tell just how long she can keep her façade. This may also apply on the show’s future plotlines, but with the guilty pleasure it brings, it doesn’t seem that important for now.
TV FORMULA: Social calendar from Gossip Girl + cunning cons from White Collar + disgust for the rich and powerful from Leverage
The Secret Circle
It’s difficult to avoid comparisons between CW’s The Secret Circle with The Vampire Diaries. After all, the two teen supernatural dramas are both based on L.J. Smith’s book series and were adapted for television by Kevin Williamson (a.k.a. the creator of Dawson’s Creek).
Still, Williams has mentioned in past interviews that there are no plans for a crossover special, since the two shows don’t exist in the same world. While The Vampire Diaries deals with everything from vampires to witches to werewolves, so far, The Secret Circle is exclusively about witches.
After Cassie Blake’s (Britt Robertson, last seen in Life Unexpected) mother dies under suspicious circumstances, she moves to a fictional town in Washington to live with her grandmother. She meets five other teenagers and upon learning that they are all descended from witches, forms a coven with them.
In true Williams fashion, the complications arise quickly. To begin with, the six teens don’t always get along. Golden couple Adam (Heroes‘ Thomas Dekker) and Diana (Shelley Hennig) hit a rough patch as Adam becomes attracted to Cassie. Power-hungry Faye (Phoebe Tonkin) finds delight in antagonizing everyone in the circle – including her timid best friend Melissa (Jessica Parker Kennedy), who is falling for aloof bad boy Nick (Louis Hunter).
Each member of the circle has lost at least one parent to a mysterious accident years ago, but what they don’t know is that two of those still alive (specifically Faye’s mother and Diana’s father) are scheming to get their lost power back – even if it means betraying other people to achieve it.
While the acting of the six teenagers can be wooden and the disparity of character development is evident, the show really picks up after the first few episodes. And if The Vampire Diaries is anything to go by, The Secret Circle is only beginning to work its magic.
TV FORMULA: Intrigue and mystery from Pretty Little Liars + magic from David Blaine + teenage angst from One Tree Hill
Once Upon a Time
Fairy tales offer a wealth of material for a television show to draw from, but adapting them for the adult audience to appreciate can be tricky. This fall season brings us two shows with this exact same scheme: Grimm and Once Upon a Time. What gives the latter the edge is the attempt to update beloved childhood favorites, and the fact that the show is produced by the Disney-owned network ABC certainly helped.
Time is frozen in Storybrooke, Maine. Every resident is a fairy tale character, but due to a curse unleashed in the fairy tale world by the Evil Queen (24‘s Lana Parilla), no one can remember their identities – except the Evil Queen, who serves as the town mayor.
Her adopted ten-year-old son Henry (Jared Gilmore) runs off to find his biological mom Emma (House‘s Jennifer Morrison) in Boston. He insists that everything in his book of fairy tales is real and Emma is the key to breaking the curse, given that she is the daughter of Snow White (Something Borrowed‘s Ginnifer Goodwin) and Prince Charming (Joshua Dallas from this summer’s Thor), she was saved by being placed in a magic cupboard created by Geppetto and Pinocchio.
One of the best parts about Once Upon a Time is discovering people’s fairy tale identities: a security guard who falls asleep at the job is Sleepy, one of the seven dwarves; the wealthy Mr. Gold with shady intentions is the creepy Rumpelstiltskin (Robert Carlyle), who gave the Evil Queen the curse that started it all. Additionally, the show’s impeccable editing allows smooth transitions between the fanciful fairy tale world and real life.
So far, only four episodes have aired but Once Upon a Time looks to get even better, as viewers get acquainted with more fairy tale characters. Expect to see big name stars like Alan Dale and Emilie de Ravin in the coming weeks.
TV FORMULA: Whimsicality of Pushing Daisies + twists and turns of Lost + high fantasy of Game of Throne
