The best and worst of the fall TV pilots

Every September we get a new crop of fall TV pilots, bringing a unique mixture of of hope and futility.  This years' group errs more on the side of futility, but never fear!  There are a few diamonds in the rough.  And you won't have to waste your time deciding what's worth your attention, I've already done it for you! (You're welcome).  So to save you time, here's the best and worst of the fall TV premieres.

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Image courtesy of wikipedia

Best new drama: The Blacklist, NBC

The number one reason you should watch this show?  James Spader.  Spader is excellent as usual, and his performance as Raymond ‘Red’ Reddington is immensely fun to watch.  It’s a procedural with several fantastic overarching mysteries and many interesting characters.  The Blacklist has already been picked up for a full season by NBC and if the show maintains its current quality and viewership, it’s going to be around for a long time.  If you watch one new show this year, make it The Blacklist.

Honorable mention: Sleepy Hollow, FOX

Best new comedy: Brooklyn Nine-Nine, FOX

This year has been especially week for comedies.  Making this list was fairly difficult, as there really is no good choice as runner up for this category.  However, one comedy does stand out from the rest, and that’s the Andy Samberg-led cop comedy.  Also starring Andre Braugher (Men of a Certain Age) and Terry Crews (Everybody Hates Chris) along with a host of other talented comedians, this program has some staying power.  It’s been picked up for a full season and hopefully it stays on its current path and earns a second.  The cast has major chemistry together and their play off each other and roles in the workplace are reminiscent of the fantastic FX series Archer.  Brooklyn Nine-Nine is the only new comedy worth checking out.

Honorable mention (sort of): The Goldbergs, ABC

Worst new drama: Lucky 7, ABC

Lucky 7 is about a group of gas station employees who pool together to buy lottery tickets, then unexpectedly win.  What happens after that?  No one will ever know.  The show debuted to the lowest ratings in ABC history and was so horrendous  that it became the first show of the season to get the ax (after only two episodes).  This show is the quintessence (lowlight?) of a season filled with unimaginative pilots that should, with few exceptions, be ignored.

(Dis)Honorable mention:  Ironside , NBC

Worst new comedy: Dads, FOX

There is absolutely nothing redeeming about Dads.  This misogynistic and racist disaster is offensive to everyone who watches it.  It’s unfunny, and genuinely unbearable.  Despite solid leading men (Seth Green and Giovanni Ribisi) and writers (Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild, Family Guy) Dads has nothing going for it and should be avoided at all costs.  If FOX has any sense of decency it will cancel this show immediately, but they won’t, they only like to cancel good shows (Still bitter about Lie to Me and The Finder).

(Dis)Honorable mention: Super Fun Night, ABC

Most anticipated show:

Almost Human, FOX

J.J. Abrams has some great shows to his name, such as Lost, and he also has some failures, like Alcatraz.  His new show Almost Human, starring Karl Urban (Star Trek, Dredd) and Michael Ealy (Common Law, Underworld: Awakening), is a cop drama set in the future where detectives (Karl Urban) are given highly advanced androids (Michael Ealy) as partners.  This show looks to similar to the Star Trek reboots in tone and should have the usual Abrams flare (pun intended).  The leading men are great and the premise is intriguing, so I’ll definitely be giving it a look (and you should too).

Honorable mention: Crossbones, NBC

Biggest disappointment: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., ABC

This was billed as the best new show by a landslide.  It had everything:  Joss Whedon (JOSS WHEDON), Clark Gregg, Marvel Studios and a rabid fan base.  So what went wrong?  To put it plainly, it’s boring.  The characters (besides Gregg’s Agent Coulson) have yet to develop into anything moderately interesting, despite plenty of potential demonstrated in the pilot, and the individual episodes and generally slow moving an unexciting.  Although, it has been picked up for a full season despite declining ratings and its latest (fifth) episode was genuinely entertaining, so there’s hope yet.

(Dis)Honorable mention: Dads, FOX