THE GIFTED:  Monday 9PM on FOX – In the Queue FOX’s THE GIFTED exists in the X-Men region of Marvel’s mythology, which in corporate terms means that it (along with Fantastic Four) belongs to 20th Century Fox rather than Disney.  Fox has been more adventurous in its part of the superhero terrain than Disney, […]

  It seems as though just about all the impact of TV’s May finales has been subsumed into the maw that is Game of Thrones–even including The Big Bang Theory, itself one of the signature hits of the last decade.  One of the victims is HBO’s own VEEP, a multi-Emmy-winning jewel in the network’s crown, […]

  30 MINUTES OR LESS – Watch It At Home:  Doesn’t Deliver   The frustration of 30 MINUTES OR LESS is that of all the R-rated comedies this summer, it was the one with the most original premise and promising credentials:  direction by Ruben Fleischer, the man behind the surprisingly smart and funny hit Zombieland, […]

  TOUCH:  Friday 9PM on FOX Tim Kring’s Heroes is a famous example of a hit series imploding in its second season, but his TOUCH–not nearly as big a success in its first version–is, at least, more intriguing after a Season 2 reboot. Touch started as a sort of New Age “Touched By An Autistic”.  […]

  SATISFACTION:  Thursday 10PM on USA Previously… on SATISFACTION:  The Trumans, Neil (Matt Passmore) and Grace (Stephanie Szostak) have comfortable suburban lives that are breaking apart.  Neil, an investment manager, delivers a diatribe about his life on an airliner marooned on the runway, which becomes a YouTube punchline.  Grace, regretful that she abandoned her design […]

  VICTORIA:  Sunday 9PM on PBS – In the Queue Female British monarchs are certainly having a television moment, with Elizabeth I a regular character on CW’s soon-to-return Reign, her current namesake at the center of Netflix’s The Crown, and now the PBS/ITV VICTORIA.  The newest arrival is far classier than CW’s YA soap, but […]

  VAN HELSING:  Friday 10PM on Syfy – Change the Channel The playwright and filmmaker Neil LaBute has dabbled in genre before, although he may prefer not to be reminded of his disastrous remake of The Wicker Man.  Still, it’s odd to see him as the creator of Syfy’s postapocalyptic vampire saga VAN HELSING.  It […]

  Read All Our Fall Pilot Reports here. HOSTAGES:  Monday 10PM on CBS starting September 23 – Potential DVR Alert HOSTAGES, like this summer’s Under the Dome, finds CBS stretching its legs, expanding its brand into new areas.  The serialized drama will have a limited run of 15 episodes this fall, sharing its timeslot with […]