Night 1: It Begins!

Welcome!

So tonight, technically last night but let's move on from that....stupid NBC, was the first night of premieres for me.  When you premiere your pilots as "previews" and then show the second episode as the "Premiere", you lose crucial character and plot setup, you big, big morons.  Done now, I swear.

Go On:  A solid followup to the premiere.  I'll say again that the show works best when focusing on the ensemble cast.
The New Normal (the second episode, the premiere is recording tomorrow night): One giant mess with a few sprinkles of intelligence thrown in.
 Parenthood:  The premiere aired but I have not watched it yet. I'll be watching it right after I'm done here but going to bed afterwards so its rundown will be included in tomorrow's post.

Let's begin with Go On.  This was the second episode since NBC aired the Pilot during the Olympics and also last night after the Voice.  I wrote a quick review for the pilot several weeks ago, I'm going to see if I can find it to post up on here.  The cast has a shockingly solid chemistry for only being the second episode.  I think having so many diverse characters right from the start will help open the show up for a lot of different kinds of comedy.  The scenes that focused more on Perry's character weren't as strong and I'm hoping the writers realize that a play more to the group dynamics in the session because I think it can really be great there.

I know the preview during the Olympics benefited from insanely high ratings so we'll see how many of those people tuned in this week.  I think the show will probably last a full season but until I see more numbers, I'll reserve judgement on long-term success.  Unless the show takes a sharp downward turn, this show will probably settle into my DVR schedule nicely.

Now the more complicated review, The New Normal.  As previously stated, I still have not seen the Pilot so I did miss some character setup but I watched the long preview so I think I have the gist.  This show is created by Ryan Murphy and it shows.  He has a very hard time with subtlety, case in point: Glee.  I think the episode I watched had to set a record for gay marriage comments.  We get it!  50% (possibly more depending on your perspective) of the characters are wild caricatures that do nothing but bring the level of the show down.  The racist/homophobic/other -ist and -phobic things I'm sure grandmother is a horrible character.  She was unfunny from the second she walked on screen which is a feat considering Ellen Barkin is the actress.  I'm sure people like this exist, but I don't find them funny, I find them sad.  Nene Leaks should never be allowed to be in a scripted show ever again.  She dragged down Glee as a guest star lower than it already was and she is apparently a regular on this show which is mind-boggling.  There is just so little realness in this show that it makes it sad that Ryan Murphy thinks something like this can show America what a "New Normal" can look like.  A large problem is probably the fact that it seems like he is trying to show people...something but I don't know how long I care to watch him trying.

So the few sprinkles of goodness in this show consisted of a joke about Green Lantern being gay.  For those that don't know, DC Comics rebooted their whole universe about a year ago.  Then after two gay characters in Marvel comics got married, DC announced that they had a previously straight character they were turning gay in the new rebooted universe.  This character turned out to be the Golden Age Green Lantern, Alan Scott.  This announcement dismayed fans of the old characters continuity, particularly his wife and daughter, who was also a superhero pre-reboot.  The joke in the New Normal was about being upset and deflated about the gay announcement.  I found it funny, but I'm a very niche audience for that joke.  The other sprinkles were the occasional instance of wit and funny line deliveries.

In summary, the New Normal is a hot mess and unfortunately not remotely worth the hype it generated before it's premiere.  Unless the ratings do shockingly well or NBC really wants to make a point, I don't foresee this show lasting terribly long.  I'll watch the pilot when it records tomorrow night and maybe another episode or two to see if it can find its footing but I'm not hopeful.  The show has an interesting premise but it's a retreading of jokes made by Up All Night last year except with a gay couple and not nearly as much intelligence or tact.  I'd recommend you pass on this one.

That's all for tonight folks.  Tune in tomorrow night when I'll be review Parenthood from tonight as well as talk about the first episode of The X-Factor.  Join me tomorrow as we watch Britney Spears become the largest hypocrite on the planet by judging other people's singing as if she were an authority on vocal talent.  It'll be fun!

In the meantime, drop a comment down below and let me know your thoughts on what you watched tonight.

Have a good night and please subscribe!