Reviews of this season’s pilots in five sentences
By Owen K. Craig
Cane
Tuesdays at 10pm on CBS
Given that everything I knew about this show came from subway advertisements featuring the lead character’s face, the show’s title, and the line “I’m the one you will deal with now” (which led me to assume it was another damn cop show), Cane ended up being a pleasant surprise. It looks like they’re trying to get another The Sopranos going here, except instead of Italians we’ve got a Cuban family. With a well-set up family aspect, violence, intrigue, and a dynamite lead performance by Jimmy Smits, there is a lot of potential here. Recommended.
Reaper
Tuesdays at 9pm on CW
After a pretty darn enjoyable pilot episode, I’m left wondering which way this show will go. It has a great premise with lots of possibility, but will the show capitalize on that potential by exploring more interesting themes and characters, or will it start to feel like a weekly Kevin Smith-esque monster movie? Will that Kevin Smith feeling even remain once we get past the pilot (which he directed)? Both possibilities seem equally feasible, but if I get a hint of this show becoming an episodic lame-fest, I’m dropping it fast. Try it on a trial basis.
The Big Bang Theory
Mondays at 8:30pm on CBS
This was not quite as painful as I had thought it would be. Some lame and obvious nerd jokes (they play Klingon Boggle! I get it!), on top of some lame and obvious dumb blonde jokes (she believes in astrology! I get it!), but it could have been a whole lot worse. There were a couple of laughs tossed in amongst the many groaners and a couple of mildly sweet moments. Nothing special here, but with expectations as low as mine were it’s hard to be let down. You could do worse if you’re desperate for something to watch. Also, cute theme song.
Bionic Woman
Wednesdays at 9pm on NBC
On the opposite end of the spectrum, here’s a show where expectations were high and I was let down significantly. It’s hard not to feel bad for a show that, despite having everything going for it, just does not click. The show seemed over-written, giving the badass character played by the badass actors all sorts of badass lines, showing the sympathetic character feeling sad in the rain as the weight of the world is on her shoulders, etc. When you can feel the machinations of the show’s creation working as you watch it, it’s tough to connect. I wasn’t so much watching this pilot as I was getting a sense of what the creators wanted me to see. You might even say it was a bionic experience. Weird review? Sure, but that’s how I felt. Miss it, there’s much better sci-fi out there these days.
