BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – Most TV critics fit in with Beverly Hills about as well as Jed and Granny Clampett did. Nevertheless, here we are – in all our scruffy, cranky glory – ensconced at television’s annual summer press tour being held in the shadow of fabled Rodeo Drive.
The press tour is a ritualistic dancing with the stars (and producers and network execs) that runs for two-plus weeks. Their goal in all of this is to woo viewers to their huge batch of fresh fall programs by going through us. And so they try to sweep us off our feet and endlessly spin us via wall-to-wall press conferences and screenings during the day and swanky, red-carpet parties at night.
Ah, but the stout-hearted and gimlet-eyed among us don’t fall for it. At least most of it. We know that not all is peachy-keen in TV-land. Some networks are mired in horrid slumps – that would be you, NBC – and 70 to 80 percent of the shows the execs will be rhapsodizing over in the coming days will have done the Nielsen crash-and-burn by Christmas.
Our job, then, is to sift through all the rose-tinted hoo-ha and the vast amount of clutter and find the televisual gems. If things go as planned, I’ll be able to steer you far, far away from any potential stink bombs like “Father of the Pride” while excitedly leading you to the next “Desperate Housewives” or “Lost.”
It’s already very clear that the TV programmers, who so often lack creative backbone, are hoping to find success by tapping into the spirit of those two ABC hits. “Lost,” in particular, has inspired a rash of shows that have an eerie, paranormal vibe to them.
NBC, for example, is offering a show about sea monsters called “Surface” (originally called “Fathom”), while CBS has a saga about space aliens in the ocean called “Threshold.” Meanwhile, ABC is doing the alien thing, too, with “Invasion,” which will be paired with “Lost” on Wednesday nights.
But the heebie-jeebies don’t end there. This fall will also give us a strange-looking CBS show called “Ghost Whisperer,” in which Jennifer Love Hewitt plays a woman who can communicate with – and counsel – the dead. Over on the WB, there’s “Supernatural,” a drama that has two brothers chasing spooks all over the country. And then there’s ABC’s rather dreadful remake of “The Night Stalker.” It’s almost as if television has handed over the reins to Stephen King.
As for the “Desperate Housewives” influence, well, there are no blatant rip-offs coming our way, but you will see plenty of shows pegged to a strong female point-of-view. ABC’s “Commander in Chief,” for one, has Geena Davis stepping into the Oval Office. NBC will air a medical show about an infertility clinic, with a cast teeming with women, called “Inconceivable.” And on CBS, there’s “Close to Home,” about a female lawyer who specializes in dealing with suburban crime.
So far, there seems to be no consensus among the critics about a true breakout hit, but for the first time in recent memory there is some genuine excitement on the sitcom front. Not only have “Arrested Development” (Fox) and “The Office” (NBC) – two quirky, critically acclaimed but low-rated comedies-received surprising renewal orders, but a couple of freshman comedies have generated some good buzz.
One is “Everybody Hates Chris,” a hilarious UPN show that offers a “Wonder Years”-like take on the awkward, humiliation-filled childhood of comedian Chris Rock, who doesn’t appear in the show but provides the narration. The other is “My Name is Earl,” an NBC series starring Jason Lee as a low-rent crook determined to turn his life around. The pilot has a deliriously offbeat, “Raising Arizona” feel to it.
Critics tend to admire the offbeat and so, with that in mind, expect to hear a lot of talk about Fox, which looks to have the best overall crop of new fall shows.
Among the potential Fox hits is “Bones,” a crime drama starring Emily Deschanel as a forensic anthropologist who is unwillingly teamed with an FBI agent played by Angel Boreanaz of “Angel” fame. Deschanel is an engaging presence and there’s a certain electricity in her scenes with Boreanaz.
Fox also has a couple of shows that might garner some early attention for novelty appeal alone. One is “Reunion,” a mystery drama that follows six friends over two decades. Each episode represents a single year, beginning back at high school graduation 1986. It could be a great gimmick – if it plays out.
Then there’s “Prison Break,” a thriller about a man who robs a bank to get himself jailed so he can rescue his wrongly accused brother from death row. Yes, it’s an outrageous premise, but the pilot contained plenty of twists and turns and enticing surprises.
And if I remember right, at this time last year that’s the same thing we were saying about “Lost.”
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