BENCHED:  Tuesday 10:30PM on USA – If Nothing Else Is On… BENCHED, USA Network’s latest attempt to broaden its repertoire beyond its core of light-hearted procedurals, doesn’t have much of a pilot, but there’s some potential for growth.  The pilot, written by series co-creators Michaela Watkins (better known as an actress–she was the dippy […]

  ROGUE:  Wednesday 9PM on Audience Network (DirecTV only) – Change the Channel Remember when the phrase “cable drama” only implied a cheaper, racier version of a network cop show?  Subscribers to DirecTV can relive those years with ROGUE, its newest original programming and a series that gives Red Widow a run for its money […]

  HELIX:  Friday 10PM on Syfy – If Nothing Else Is On… Just about every network, cable and broadcast, is in the science-fiction business these days in one way or another, and weirdly enough the only one that seems to have been left behind is Syfy, which has been waiting a long time for its […]

  PERCEPTION:  Monday 10PM on TNT – Change the Channel   A man stands on a chair in the middle of a police station, earphones fastened to his head, and frantically conducts the symphony he’s listening to.  Yes, we’re in Eccentric Genius Detective Territory, Psychiatric Disturbance Subdivision, aka Monk-Land.  The new series PERCEPTION is essentially […]

  GREAT NEWS:  Tuesday 9PM on NBC – If Nothing Else Is On… NBC’s latest disposable sitcom GREAT NEWS hails from the House of Tina Fey, who serves as one of its Executive Producers.  Series creator Tracey Wigfield was a writer/producer on 30 Rock, and Great News, which is set behind-the-scenes at a local TV […]

  BETTER CALL SAUL:  Monday 10PM on AMC – Potential DVR Alert Spin-offs used to be an regular part of the TV landscape, even for the most celebrated shows–Norman Lear created a virtual tree of comedies originating with All In the Family, from Maude and The Jeffersons to Archie Bunker’s Place and Good Times, and […]

> See A Word About Busted Pilots The pilot for HOMEGROWN, produced for CBS by Warner Bros Television, seems determined to hit as many dysfunctional-but-loving-family cliches as it can.  We have one grouchy alpha male in a household of women (here played by Gerald McRaney), the multiple generations living in one sitcom (huge living room!) […]

> Disclaimer:  Network pilots now in circulation are not necessarily in the form that will air in the Fall.  Pilots are often reedited and rescored, and in some cases even recast or reshot.  So these critiques shouldn’t be taken as full TV pilot reviews, but rather as a guide to the general style and content […]