It’s that time of year again…the time of year when I seem to open every post by declaring it to be that time of year again…again. Apart from Football, Hockey and sponsored gaming marathons for charity it’s also the time of year when American TV Networks unleash their biggest new TV shows. Because we don’t have enough awesome shows to choose from that we can’t use a few more (actually we could use a few more after the mini-culling of last year). Here’s a list of ones to look out for.
Almost Human
Best to start with the show I’m most looking forward to this fall; Almost Human. Created by J.H. Wyman, one of the Executive Producers of Fringe, and Executive Produced by JJ Abrams, it’s set in 2048 where cops are partnered with androids and it looks freakin’ awesome. In interviews Wyman has said that although it will have a case of the week format that each crime has to have only been possible through the use of future technology, or basically is something that wouldn’t be possible in the present. A lot of the shows appeal is going to come from the interaction between Karl Urban and Michael Ealy, who play damaged Human and a one-of-a-kind synthetic respectively, and from the trailer their interplay looks excellent. But the fact that the series is lead by Karl Urban, who has been excellent in everything he’s been in, is reason enough to be excited.
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykwxg534yAw
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Avengers Assemble was one of my favourite movies last year, Joss Whedon is one of my favourite creators and in the struggle between DC and Marvel, Marvel wins out every time for me. So it’s probably little surprise that a S.H.I.E.L.D. based TV series overseen by Joss Whedon would have me excited. Aside from being a part of the excellent Marvel Cinematic Universe the main reason to keep an eye on Agents of SHIELD (I couldn’t be bothered with the constant period use anymore) is Whedon’s unparalleled talent for creating ensembles. Although the show is obviously headlined by the fantastic Greg Clark look for each member of the cast to shine.
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3T-evQZiQo
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Truth be told I hadn’t even heard of this show until an ad break while watching the Seahawks-Panthers game, so I know very little about it other than that it is created by Dan Goor and Michael Schur who have previous with the brilliant Parks and Recreation. Both writers have previous experience being funny and the trailers I’ve seen make the show look like a funny cop comedy, something that is sorely needed since the swift demise of The Good Guys, and which comes as a welcome antithesis to the endless parade of NCIS and CSI spin-offs and other copy-paste crime shows. If nothing else the fact that it’s not another murder mystery show makes it stand out. And it kind of reminds me a little of Chuck, which is just a surefire way to get me to watch something.
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1UzmW77F30
Believe
In all honesty Believe sounds quite a bit like Touch, and we already had one of those. Touch had an interesting premise but always felt tedious, kind of like Kiefer Sutherland was laying low and on autopilot after so many years being this generations Chuck Norris on 24. But there’s one thing that makes Believe stand out; it is created and Executive Produced by Alfonso Cuaron. It may just be me but Cuaron is a favourite director of mine, having directed (and written) the fantastic Children of Men and the best shot of the Harry Potter films. The plot does sound like an interesting backbone for a good mythology based series, following a former prisoner who is tasked with protecting a small girl with unusual abilities (telekinesis, levitation, the ability to predict the future and more) from shadowy bad guys looking to abduct her. It definitely has legs, but it’ll need to hit the ground running to avoid being cut down before it has a chance to get anywhere.
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYbN5WgRhC0
Rake
I wasn’t sure whether I was going to add this to the list. Yeah it looks pretty funny, and yeah Greg Kinnear will absolutely kill it. But so did Nathan Fillion as Castle and as with that show there’s only so far an entertaining character can carry you through a formulaic, case-of-the-week procedural. If Rake is going to be something for the long haul it will need to not lean on Kinnear, who we both know will be awesome. It’s on this list because whether or not it does get old, in the short term it’ll be an entertaining piece of television.
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIf6MgnY9_I&noredirect=1
WORDS ABOUT GAMES 