Power Twins Comics

Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris: This is a sort of variety show aimed at being a kind of games party live on stage. We call this “the NBC’s other shows advertisement” because each episode highlighted other unscripted NBC programs. After two episodes, we removed this from our schedule. The activities for the first half of the show didn’t hold our attention, and the co-hosts had all the chemistry of award show presenters. It’s a shame, because we really like Neil’s other work.

Blindspot: It’s cliché; the writers need to read a police procedural manual; the plot is linear; and this is one of the better and more interesting shows this season (despite all that). Someday, I want to see a show where someone shows up under strange circumstances with total memory loss and everyone just assumes she must be some kind of special ops superhero—because that’s what she is in every show.

Heroes Reborn: It helps to have seen the original series. Several characters are used or referenced that we only know from the original. If you were a fan, you probably will be again. If you didn’t watch it before, you might want to check out the first season (at least) on Netflix.

Limitless: This series is set as a sequel to the movie starring Bradley Cooper of the same title. Ultimately, this is a show where police (the FBI) gain a super capable asset and make exceptions to allow him to solve otherwise unsolvable cases. The super agent is a somewhat relatable “everyman” and loser, so this makes for a fun show, so far. Though it does run the risk of becoming repetitive.

Minority Report: The pilot rehashed the movie, but without the explanation about why the pre-crime division failed. It does take a better spin on one of its problems—the human rights of the precognitives. This makes me hopeful for the series, but the second episode seemed to pepper the world with gadgets. Like a ridiculous Bat-Utility Belt, the cop seems to have a different device for every obstacle she encounters. If that keeps up, the series will run out of tension and become internally inconsistent.

Moonbeam City (Comedy Central after South Park): What if the characters from the Duran Duran album covers were animated police officers in a cyberpunk-esque world? It’s ridiculous and over the top, totally absorbed with their own efforts to be cool, and funny if you get the joke. This is probably too high concept but silly in execution to be successful, but I enjoyed the one episode I’ve seen.

Scream Queens: I hate slasher “horror” movies. This is the story of the girls of the Kappa Victims Tau sorority house on the campus of Murder U. It is completely tongue in cheek and hilarious in moments. Jamie Lee Curtis as the dean of the college complaining about how hard it is to hide a murder on campus these days (because it was easier to do so before Twitter and Facebook) was a delightful high point.

The Grinder: Rob Lowe isn’t a lawyer, but he played one on TV. Surely, that qualifies him to make legal arguments in this thirty-minute sitcom. Fred Savage plays the brother who is actually an attorney (in true sitcom logic). This opened strong and ridiculous, but I don’t know if it will have legs for more than a season.

The Muppets: Kermit and the gang are producing a new television program. Instead of being a family friendly variety show, it’s a chat show hosted by Miss Piggy. It’s all updated for the times, including the use of “confessional cameras.” Aimed at a more mature audience, this is a “workplace comedy” with a side of ex-relationship tension.