THE LIBRARIANS:  Sunday 8PM on TNT – If Nothing Else Is On… TNT’s THE LIBRARIANS is a reboot, of a sort.  It’s based on a trio of Indiana Jones-ian original movies the network aired starting in 2004 (when it was more currently a knock-off of the National Treasure franchise), toplining Noah Wyle as a […]

> 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 […]

  MR. ROBOT:  Wednesday 10PM on USA – Potential DVR Alert There are networks, especially in the pay-TV universe, that play the instant-renewal game, announcing as soon as a new show has premiered, or sometimes even before, that another season has been ordered.  It’s a PR move, for the most part, and sometimes only semi-legitimate, […]

  THE WHISPERS:  Monday 10PM on ABC – If Nothing Else Is On… What would the horror genre do without its creepy children?  Whether possessed by some sinister entity, born to be supernatural embodiments of evil or simply homicidal, the mix of presumed innocence with wicked actions has always been a fundamental thriller trope, no […]

> See A Word About Busted Pilots The word was that Stephen Gaghan’s pilot METRO was in serious consideration for NBC’s schedule until the very end (conventional wisdom has it that the final choice came down to Metro vs. Awake, and the latter made the cut).  That’s too bad:  the pilot is an impressive piece […]

  I’M DYING UP HERE:  Sunday 10PM on Showtime – If Nothing Else Is On… A stand-up comic’s set, especially if the comic is a newcomer, has to make its mark immediately if the audience’s attention isn’t going to wander.  That’s a lesson that Showtime’s new dramedy series about 1970s stand-ups I’M DYING UP HERE […]

> 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 reviews, but rather as a guide to the general style and content of the […]

>See A Word About Busted Pilots On paper, EXIT STRATEGY looked like one of the hot FOX pilots this past season, a high-profile (Ethan Hawke’s first TV project) espionage thriller in the vein of 24 that could inherit that show’s Monday night slot and its House lead-in.  It didn’t happen:  the network chose Terra Nova […]