The Excelsior: The TV List: The Future of the Fall’s New Arrivals

Original Article

Pilot season is upon us once again: In the last two weeks, series and season premieres were all over TV. The Excelsior presents three shows, their virtues and vices, and what we think will become of them.


My Generation
(ABC, airs Thursdays at 8 pm)

This remake of a Swedish show portrays the life of a group of young adults ten years after their high school graduation. We see what became of them and how they live today, including flashbacks to their teenage years.

The Good: The concept of showing the life, love and struggles of an entire generation personified through a handful of 28-year-olds has a lot of appeal: While we meet the characters, we identify with them and their problems. It is also a very novel idea, at least on American TV. And while the mockumentary style has become common in comedies (The Office, Modern Family), the way My Generation employs it to drama is refreshing.

The Bad: The show’s novel concept could just as well be its downfall: The documentary style is being used to its extremes, with characters telling the cameraman to turn away and whispering to each other so the camera cannot pick up on it. While this makes it more realistic in a way, it gets increasingly irritating over the course of the episode; not only because it leads to logistical problems (like not hearing or seeing a character at a crucial moment), but also because it decreases the authenticity of scenes (if a character really didn’t want the camera there, they wouldn’t have the most important conversations in front of it in the first place). Plus, the actors are much prettier than they are capable of acting.

The Prognosis: No likeable characters, no good acting, too convoluted a concept – this one won’t survive.


Hawaii 5-0
(CBS, airs Mondays at 10 pm)

A group of special agents, Alex O’Loughlin and Daniel Dae Kim among them, track down organized crime in beautiful Hawaii in this remake of the successful 60ies show.

The Good: Surprisingly, the strongest suit of the new Hawaii 5-0 are the characters and their interactions. Alex O’Loughlin plays the very matter-of-fact leader of the team Steve McGarrett, and his dynamic with sidekick Danno occasionally leads to comedy gold. When they storm into an elevator, in full body armor and guns drawn, a little boy is scared of them. McGarrett, brazenly: “Don’t worry, we are cops.” After Danno consoles the crying child, he turns to his partner: “You are really great with children.” A beat. McGarrett, confused: “What?”
Plus, Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park’s sexual chemistry has potential for some good storylines.

The Bad: The storylines are generic and forgettable. While there’s some mystery throughout the episode, it eventually always comes down to cops chasing down a bad guy – something we have seen millions of times over on TV an in movies.

The Prognosis: Action-packed, interesting characters – unless Hawaii 5-0’s storylines get even more familiar, this has a good chance of becoming a crowd pleaser.


The Whole Truth
(ABC, airs Wednesdays at 10 pm)

A new take on crime shows: Every episode, we see a court case from the perspective of both the prosecution and the defense. In the end, the truth is revealed – but only to the audience.

The Good: The Whole Truth’s structure is interesting and new, even with some overlapping scenes a la Vantage Point or Elephant. The show’s pace is fast, and leaves the viewer breathless and wanting more. There is never a dull moment here, even though there are no high-speed chases or global threats. A major plus of the show is its ambiguity: There’s no clear-cut good guy or bad guy here; both parties are just trying to do their jobs the best they can. The evidence is contradictory and unclear at times, which makes this probably the most realistic courtroom drama to date. And the chemistry and implied history between the leads (Maura Tierney as the hard-boiled prosecutor, Rob Morrow as the somewhat slick defense attorney) is promising.

The Bad: For all its inventiveness, The Whole Truth is essentially another crime/court drama, with only minor variations to the formula of shows like Law and Order. It might get old.

The Prognosis: Intriguing premise and characters, and the audience loves a well-written courtroom drama. So unless this is lost among its similar peers, it will last.