# A modest Fall nerd TV guide



## SteveC (Sep 13, 2014)

Hi everyone,
I just wanted to shill for my new blog let you know about a guide I wrote for new fall TV programs for nerds.

The guide is below, but you can look at the original article here.

September and the Discerning Nerd
Fall and what you, the discerning nerd should do about it.






The beautiful fall colors that you won't be seeing because you're busy watching TV

With September comes the beginnings of fall. The happy voices of parents who have children back in school, the arrival of football and the advent of beautiful autumn colors.

At _OnTheDie_ we aren't concerned with any of that.

With September comes the fall TV shows, and gives you a chance to enjoy new programming, some of which will doubtless not make it to Halloween.

There are a lot of new shows coming, and many of them are targeted at the nerd demographic. How can you hear about everything before it’s gone? Well relax: I've done the work for you this year. Take a look at the _OnTheDie Fall Nerd TV preview_.

We’re going to arrange things by night, so that you can plan your week accordingly. Just remember that I’m only going to be talking about new programs here. There’s plenty of existing nerdom out there but this is all of the fresh, new, and exciting stuff that if you’ll miss if you blink.

With some very rare exceptions I’m not recommending any of these programs since they have (at best) a pilot out at the moment. Feel free to comment on what you like or hate, and of course let me know the show that I managed to miss that you just can’t wait for. I'm just the messenger, so please, not the face, not the face.

Sunday
Absolutely no new nerd related shows on Sunday. I believe this is a “Hail to the King for the Ultimate Sunday night nerd program: The Walking Dead. Before the October premiere, I suggest you catch up with all of the Caaarl related statistics first.

Here’s the Season 5 trailer if you somehow have managed to miss it.

Monday
Gotham (Fox)
Alright so this is a new show from Fox and it offers so many opportunities. Even though I’m a Marvel, I still think of the Dark Knight films are some of the best films ever made (actual films, not just “comic book films”), and am an unashamed Chris Nolan fan-boy. I think when he’s done right, Batman is an exceptionally interesting character with room for both drama and comedy (Will Arnett's Batman from *The Lego Movie* was perfect).

Problem: _Batman’s not in this one_, though: it’s only a young Bruce Wayne. What we’re seeing here is all of the surrounding characters in the Batman story, which is interesting. I say _interesting _because, as in Sherlock Holmes, the only reason Batman has to exist is because the normal cops can’t or won’t deal with the Joker. Inspector Lestrade is an idiot, as Holmes points out, and so is that an endorsement for the characters in Gotham? If they're doing their job, we don't have a need for Bats.

Now Batman has a code and doesn't kill people. Got that... I mean who doesn't know that? But the cops of Gotham? Perhaps less believable that the Riddler doesn't end up on the ground in a pool of blood.

But still, Gary Oldman's Jim Gordon (his line, “actually this time I saved him,” was brilliant), and enjoyed Batman Year One from Frank Miller, so we have possibilities here.

It’s Gordon who is intended to be the real star of the show, and it will rise or fall on him, the “one good cop that Gotham has or needs” … or something like that. What we also will get is a series of “origins” for Batman’s cowardly and superstitious enemies. That could be a lot of fun as a way to show more of the lore from the early Batman era.

I think this show has a lot of potential. The chief question is will they treat it seriously or will it be full of jokes like “better be careful, Selena, or you’re going to end up as some _crazy old cat lady!!!_” Har, har, har. We also know that Gordon doesn't just end up shooting any of these crazy future villains because, well, if you just put the Joker down, he wouldn't get to ever be Batman’s foil.

I also wonder if the series is going to go with what I call “Once Upon a Time Syndrome” where all of the villains are villains only because of what someone did and they’re really just misunderstood.

_Wait_, I'm analyzing a TV show based on comic books and asking for realistic characters. I should just stop and say "what the hell." As a result, I’m going to give this series a real shot, and since it’s on Fox, if it’s any good I’m sure we’ll all be crying over its cancellation in January. (Yeah, still bitter Fox).

Here’s the trailer for those of you living in a cave who haven't see it yet..

Now we all know the real reason to watch Gotham: as a warm-up for *Sleepy Hollow*, which will be on right after it! That’s a show that _OnTheDie_ can get behind.

Ascension (SyFy)
So I have to be honest with you and say that I don’t look at Syfy for anything serious these days. They’re the *Sharknado *channel. Everyone tells me that their series are different, and points to *Battlestar Galactica*. Fair enough, but that was 2004 when they were still called the Sci Fi channel, not "SyFy." when I look at the channel, it shows a lot more *Malibu Shark* Attack than *BG*.

When I saw the trailer for Ascension, I didn't know which channel it was going to be on, and I was really surprised, and I decided you might be surprised as well, so I’m throwing it in here. No Mega Sharks here.

*Ascension *posits that JFK started a secret project to send Americans on a hundred year journey to another world we've discovered in case humanity was wiped out by any of the Dystopian boogeymen of the day: nuclear war, overpopulation, bad Charlton Heston movies…

Some 50 years into the voyage is where we pick up and there’s a murder. Hey, wait a minute, 50 years from the 60s would make it about … now. _Oh I get it_: a juxtaposition of the artificial world of the space voyage against us. It sounds like we've got investigation and police procedural, murder mystery and conspiracy theories on a spaceship out of the 1960s. I’m definitely in to check it out, but SyFy you better take this one a little seriously, okay?

Interested? Check it out here.

Star Wars Rebels (Disney XD)
I've seen a lot of previews for this that basically say “kids program,” but I’m going to include it here because, well Star Wars.. It’s set five years before *A New Hope*, and has a cast of a lot of plucky kids who are going to take down a comically inept Empire. Hilarity ensues.

I was set to set blasters for stun on this one and quietly move on when I saw that the cast looks to be something out of *Star Wars:Edge of Empire*, the RPG from Fantasy Flight Games that I'm playing with my Sunday crew: the same one that I'm running *13th Age* for.

That makes me want to look at what they’re doing here and see if it has any applications to gaming. Oh, and *Star Wars*. Let’s face it, most of us nerds are still in the “please take my money” about it, even if we’re loathe to admit it.

I expect this series will get panned, but I’ll still be able to talk about the story-line with folks who tell me they wouldn't be caught dead watching it.

Check out the trailer here.

Tuesday
The Flash (CW)
Okay, here’s a new show on the CW. Of all the new shows I’m going to talk about, this is one of them that will get me the most flak. Yes, it’s the CW, and that means it’s going to have a lot of soap opera elements. It’s going to have wooden acting and ridiculous plots.

And yet, I give you exhibit A... the comic book. The literary form that is pretty much _a soap opera for adolescent boys_. Oh, did I just say that? And even more: this is a DC show, and the second DC show I’m plugging. Is my Marvel cred in jeopardy?

Okay, I’m granting you all of that, but as someone who watches *Arrow *(also on the CW) I can tell you it’s a much better show at being true to comic books than, say *Agents of SHIELD*. Agents is a dull caper of the week show that, aside from Agent Coulson, has almost nothing to do with Marvel’s cinematic universe.

*Arrow*, on the other hand, is chock full of references to the DC universe that even I (a Marvel, remember?) get. It’s also, for all of it’s faults an actual comic book show. We’re not talking high art here, but it does a very good job of portraying the conflicts that happen in the comics. The first season of *Arrow *even had a huge plot behind everything called _The Undertaking_ that pretty much involved all of the characters at one point or another with bad monologuing. It was a really good example of superhero storytelling.

It also had time for a lot of character exploration and development by way of being an entire season of a TV series. And the second season had crazy crossovers with other parts of the DC universe and all of the characters that they have the rights to (everyone but Supes and Batman are fair game it seems).

About in the middle of *Arrow's *Season Two, they introduced us to *Barry Allen* and we got to see a little of how he becomes the Flash. It was fun. Not so dark and somber, just fun.

Here’s the trailer.

I’m really going to suggest checking this series out of you’re really a comic book nerd. It’s a really interesting contrast with what Marvel has done with their movies, and it’s much better than *Agents of SHIELD*. Beyond that, it seems to have a more positive overall attitude than *Arrow*, which can be dark at some times.

Forever (ABC)
This is one of the few shows where I've already seen an episode. If you check out the show’s IMDB page, you can watch the pilot for yourselves.

This show can best be described as *Highlander *meets *Sherlock*. Since we have already established that *Highlander *is the best movie ever made, that should be enough to get you to watch the pilot at least.

Note that the *Sherlock *aspects are the Benedict Cumberbatch version not the Robert Downey Junior one. Henry Morgan is a forensic pathologist in New York who also happens to be an immortal. And quirky! After watching the pilot, I’m on the fence about the show, but … *Highlander*.

Check out the trailer here, or just go and watch the pilot.

Wednesday
No shows for Wednesday. In looking over what’s currently on Wednesday night TV, I have to assume that TV executives assume we’re all out doing something else this night. Who knows, maybe they heard about my Wednesday Pathfinder card game night, and didn't want to interfere with it. _Thanks TV networks!_

Thursday
Gracepoint (Fox)
Okay, here we go again with Fox. I know, I know, they’ll break your heart, but *Gracepoint *is designed to only be 10 episodes long, so it may actually get resolved.

*Gracepoint *is here for a couple of different reasons: _first_, Mrs. Sith and I have recently binge watched all seasons of The Killing which seems to have some similarities, and *David Tennant*. (Actually, here’s a _OnTheDie_ recommendation: If you have the stomach for some dark TV--and I do mean dark--and don’t mind a lot of smoking in the rain, check out *The Killing* on Netflix. You’ll find saying “I got this,” takes on a new meaning).

Ahem. Back to *Gracepoint*. So _David Tennant_. That's reason number two. Yeah it’s The Doctor here, and that pretty much would get even a new Rom-com a recommendation from _OnTheDie_. In looking at the trailer it looks like this will be a “nothing is as it seems” sort of show where the last person standing will likely be the killer. You also get to see Tennant playing an American, which will be interesting. The original show was quite popular on the BBC, and it’s the same folks originally behind it doing the remake.

So if  you like murder shows with The Doctor, give it a shot.

Check out the trailer here  and remember that it’s only supposed to go ten episodes, so Fox will really have to be on the ball to cancel it. And it’s The Doctor.

Fridays
Constantine (NBC)
Okay, I’m going to admit to being perhaps the only fan of the movie *Constantine *with Keanu Reeves. The movie is a showcase for former Bill and Ted’s star’s acting skills: I’m not saying he’s wooden, but if you’re ever attacked by vampires, grab Keanu's acting for a sure kill.

But I’m a fan of Hellblazer, and Keanu is what we had, so … I have to respect it.What, you don’t know what Hellblazer is? Lose 20 quatloos and go here.

For some unknown reason, NBC has decided to give John Constantine a second shot. I honestly have no idea why at this point, other than they seem to want a certain number of supernatural shows in their lineup, and the rest have largely fallen out. I believe *Grimm *is still on, but I have no idea when. Some guide I am!

The good news is that this John Constantine is actually _British_, and from the trailer here, it looks pretty decent. It’s Friday night, and in the past that always meant *X-Files* for me, so I’m ready for some supernatural TV with (less) wooden acting.

Saturday
Intruders (BBC America)
And speaking of the *X-Files*, Glen Morgan, who wrote a lot of *X-Files* episodes has this new series on BBC America. See how that works? Almost as if I planned it. Now if only I could work a _Chris Carter_ reference into this piece…

But seriously: Intruders is a horror/suspense/conspiracy show (wow, a real stretch there) where the main character discovers that people, including those he knows are having their spirits replaced by members of a mysterious secret society seeking immortality. I think that was originally from *X-Files* season three … wait, it comes from a book?

Okay, doubly serious. This looks like it hits on all the right conspiracy theory buttons. It’s creepy and deals with alienation and the sense of the self. Plus, it’s a BBC production, so hopefully it will have significantly less “cat jump” scares and more real tension.

Check out the trailer here.

Who Knows?
So that’s the week, and we’re done, right? Wait, we’re not? Okay, there are a couple of shows left, including the _OnTheDie_ pick for best guilty pleasure show that will be cancelled.

Mike Tyson Mysteries (Adult Swim)
Of all the shows I've talked about, this one is definitely the most gonzo. The premise: an animated Mike Tyson and his friends, which include a ghost and a talking pigeon played by Norm McDonald, drive around the country in a custom van solving mysteries … with the help of Iron Mike’s magical tattoo. Yeah, Mike Tyson is playing Shaggy in Scooby Doo.

_Let’s just consider the awful majesty of that plot description_. Yes, this is _really a thing_ and I’m _not making this up_. The first person I mentioned this new show to immediately took it to heart: _if a show like this can make it, my ideas can’t be far behind_. Well if you were ever thinking “what would Mike Tyson do to a chupacabra, watch this and find out.

That trailer alone makes the Mike Tyson Mysteries the _OnTheDie_ guilty pleasure pick.


Did I happen to mention this is a magic tattoo?

The After (Amazon)
So with two *X-Files* references, I’m going to go for the Hat Trick here. Chris Carter’s new show has been picked up by Amazon for a season, and he’s talking about a run of 99 episodes. Good luck with that.

The good thing is that if you have Amazon Prime, you can watch the pilot of *The After* right now. The bad news is that I have, and can report mixed results at best.

The show is a post-apocalyptic alien invasion story with a cast of stereotypes. Still, if I want to complete my *X-Files* hat trick, I've got to mention it, and it’s got aliens, lots of swearing and … Chris Carter. I know enough to not judge a show by its pilot, so I’m going to give *The After* a bit of a break as payback for all the Friday nights I found myself staying in watching *X-Files* rather than getting into trouble.

I also want to encourage Amazon to work in science fiction, since they are soon going to be ruling the world, and as a nerd I want to get in early with our new drone-using overlords.

So that’s as lukewarm a review as you’re going to see. Check *The After* out and tell me if I’m right or wrong after you do so. Hah! See what I did there?


The Wrap-up
So that's the _OnTheDie Fall 2014 TV season preview_. As always, tell me what you think, what I missed, and until next week, _Make Mine 20!_

Remember: you can check out the original article here.


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## WayneLigon (Sep 13, 2014)

Gotham is a 50/50 bet. Mundanes might like it because it does seem to have some very nice casting and production values. However, the basic reaction to the first episode at SDCC was 'meh'. It's another of WB's bizarre bait-and-switch shows, like Smallville. Of course Smallville did run for 10 years but that had the strength of the CW teen romance angle to keep it going. At the end of the day, people looking for a Batman show want Batman, not the second stringers. Prediction: death in half a season, if that.

My take is that 'The After' is about demons, not aliens. I thought the first episode was fair but it came down to having one good character in the ensemble cast, and that's not a good sign, because a show like this survives on the strength of it's characterization and casting. Carter's name will sell it for a little bit but unless subsequent episodes really pick up, I don't see it making a second season.


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## Crothian (Sep 13, 2014)

Forever sounds almost like a remake of New Amsterdam.


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## SteveC (Sep 14, 2014)

Crothian said:


> Forever sounds almost like a remake of New Amsterdam.



You know, the funny thing is... as I was writing this, I thought "wasn't there another show on Fox like this?" And then I promptly ignored that thought. You're right. I believe I can officially award you an OnTheDie _No Prize_. It will be in the mail shortly!

Thanks for mentioning that. I have vague memories of New Amsterdam being not bad, so, good luck to Forever.


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## SteveC (Sep 14, 2014)

WayneLigon said:


> Gotham is a 50/50 bet. Mundanes might like it because it does seem to have some very nice casting and production values. However, the basic reaction to the first episode at SDCC was 'meh'. It's another of WB's bizarre bait-and-switch shows, like Smallville. Of course Smallville did run for 10 years but that had the strength of the CW teen romance angle to keep it going. At the end of the day, people looking for a Batman show want Batman, not the second stringers. Prediction: death in half a season, if that.
> 
> My take is that 'The After' is about demons, not aliens. I thought the first episode was fair but it came down to having one good character in the ensemble cast, and that's not a good sign, because a show like this survives on the strength of it's characterization and casting. Carter's name will sell it for a little bit but unless subsequent episodes really pick up, I don't see it making a second season.



I pretty much agree. The problem with Gotham is that there isn't that much room to work with unless you don't care about character canon. Maybe they won't. From what I've seen of it, it looks good, and sometimes that's enough for a while.

On The After, you may very well be right. I didn't get a clear sense at all of where things were going, but with Chris Carter that's to be expected. Similarly, I found that I didn't care about the characters very much, which the show is going to live and die with.

If I compared it with the Walking Dead, I'd say that as soon as I was introduced to Rick, I cared about him. In the scene in the first episode where he goes back to the one zombie he saw earlier and says "I'm sorry this happened to you," I knew I was going to be watching the show.

As the ensemble cast developed, I found that I liked a lot of them. Unfortunately the ones I've liked the most tend to have a pretty short life span (Dale had such a strong moral compass to him that I was really sad to see him go, and Merle, well, he was a good bad guy).

The thing about this season is that there are a lot of shows that nerds might find interesting, but it's hard for me to actually be excited about any of them. Except for the Mike Tyson Mysteries, where I wonder if it is going to be as much of a train wreck as my imagination suspects, or if it will be worse.


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## SteveC (Sep 14, 2014)

With Morrus' comment, I've updated the original post with the article. I promise to get better with image placement as I get more experience with the board's system.

But still: give me any thoughts you might have, and far more importantly, tell me about the great shows I missed.


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## Kaodi (Sep 15, 2014)

Gotham, Ascension, and Star Wars: Rebels are the three I am going to be looking for. You know, and this just a few days after I told my Dad I was going to try and not get into any new series unless they were forward thinking. But I did just watch the entire The Clone Wars. And it is Star Wars we are talking about. Gotham looks interesting, but there is a good chance I will watch one or two episodes and stop (I have yet to watch SHIELD for similar reasons). Ascension... Well, Ascension actually sort of fits into the type of show that I should allow myself to keep watching. And it has Tricia Helfer. Who does not like Tricia Helfer? Especially if you are, like me and she, Canadian.


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## Morrus (Sep 15, 2014)

Gotham, for sure. Wary, but hopeful. And Arrow s2 looks excellent. Capaldi is settling in as the Doctor, and s8 is getting better. SHIELD 2 I'm hoping will improve on s1, which really wasn't strong at all.


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## SteveC (Sep 26, 2014)

So I managed to catch the first episode of Gotham, and it was kind of what I feared. We were introduced to way too many characters right off the bat, and Catwoman, yeah, not really liking that she has a part in Bruce's orgin story.

Yet, I actually liked the show enough to keep watching it, because the two main leads are interesting enough. I have this weakness for characters who are trying to be the good guys in a world of bad. I know it's a cliche, but hey, it's not the worst thing.

Hopefully they'll tone down the number of characters they introduce ... when they get to Killer Croc in season one I'm definitely crying uncle.


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## Hand of Evil (Sep 26, 2014)

The KNICK is a interesting show, it is on Max, it is not science fiction but a doctor drama set in the late 1890.  What makes it interesting, is this was the time all the crazy stuff was going on in medicine, body snatching, x-rays, vacuum pump, etc.  Great material for a Steampunk game.


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## Desdichado (Sep 26, 2014)

Of those, I'll absolutely watch Rebels, and I'll give Flash and Constantine a try.  Anything else that gets solid reviews, I'll catch later on Netflix or DVD (which I'll also get from Netflix, come to think of it.)

As for Rebels being a kids' show; maybe.  Not any moreso than the Clone Wars show, I don't think.  That was good from the start, and only got better (and more mature) as the seasons progressed.  I give major props to Dave Filoni and the rest of the Clone Wars crew who--along with some help from BioWare--rehabilitated the Star Wars franchise enough that I can be cautiously excited about Episode VII again.


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## Desdichado (Sep 26, 2014)

Of those, I'll absolutely watch Rebels, and I'll give Flash and Constantine a try.  Anything else that gets solid reviews, I'll catch later on Netflix or DVD (which I'll also get from Netflix, come to think of it.)

As for Rebels being a kids' show; maybe.  Not any moreso than the Clone Wars show, I don't think.  That was good from the start, and only got better (and more mature) as the seasons progressed.  I give major props to Dave Filoni and the rest of the Clone Wars crew who--along with some help from BioWare--rehabilitated the Star Wars franchise enough that I can be cautiously excited about Episode VII again.


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## WayneLigon (Sep 29, 2014)

*Gotham *was a very _pretty _show, and it gave us an absolutely stunning view of the City of Gotham that the last two Nolan movies never bothered with. All of the cast is amazing, and the whole dynamic is pretty darn good. It's still an exercise in futility though, and the only thing that would really make it palatable would be for second season to follow the _Arrow _idea of ramping up the fantastic elements after getting people used to the characters, and start off with 'Ten Years Later...', ending with adult Bruce jumping off a gargoyle in full costume for the first time. Then season three is 'Batman: Year One', and ends with the death of the Flying Graysons.  

*Forever*. I watched the pilot and wasn't really impressed. I try not to be nit-picky, but it seems... a little strange. I like the medical angle, and I like the fantastic element that not only is he just long-lived but that he gets _resurrected_. And it's kind of fascinating that because of this, he has no fear of death - he's pretty much willing to 'commit suicide' to do what needs to be done. Then we have to tie that all up with my single most hated trope in all of fiction: Boo Hoo, I Have Superpowers, I Hate Them So. You're good-looking, rich, AND you can't die or age. What kind of complete moron is this idiot that he wants that to end? Even the whole '200 years' is a little annoying - if he'd been doing this for a couple of thousand years, yeah, maybe I can see him hating the idea of losing yet another lover to Time, but 200 years seems far too short for him to develop some of the ideas he has. Speaking of those: OK, apparently the body vanishes when he resurrects. That means everything he's carrying on him, every time, vanishes. Now, I can see him preparing for this eventuality but we should have seen it in the pilot, with him having a box of identical ID's, credit cards or pre-loaded debit cards, etc, etc. It seems... odd to have him in such a public job. I may catch a couple more episodes to see if they develop this idea any more.


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## Tonguez (Sep 30, 2014)

SteveC said:


> So I managed to catch the first episode of Gotham, and it was kind of what I feared. We were introduced to way too many characters right off the bat, and Catwoman, yeah, not really liking that she has a part in Bruce's orgin story.
> 
> Yet, I actually liked the show enough to keep watching it, because the two main leads are interesting enough. I have this weakness for characters who are trying to be the good guys in a world of bad. I know it's a cliche, but hey, it's not the worst thing.
> 
> Hopefully they'll tone down the number of characters they introduce ... when they get to Killer Croc in season one I'm definitely crying uncle.




I'm still trying to get over the shock of an Australian Alfred!!! oh and I fell asleep


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## Morrus (Sep 30, 2014)

Tonguez said:


> I'm still trying to get over the shock of an Australian Alfred!!! oh and I fell asleep




Huh? Sean Pertwee? He's not Australian. Neither was his dad, Jon Pertwee, the third Doctor.


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## Homicidal_Squirrel (Sep 30, 2014)

SteveC said:


> The Flash (CW)
> Okay, here’s a new show on the CW. Of all the new shows I’m going to talk about, this is one of them that will get me the most flak. Yes, it’s the CW, and that means it’s going to have a lot of soap opera elements. It’s going to have wooden acting and ridiculous plots.
> 
> And yet, I give you exhibit A... the comic book. The literary form that is pretty much _a soap opera for adolescent boys_. Oh, did I just say that? And even more: this is a DC show, and the second DC show I’m plugging. Is my Marvel cred in jeopardy?
> ...



Flash is really the only show I'm going to try and check out. The trailer looked good. The ads they keep running look pretty good, too. I'm just hoping it's not like Arrow. I wanted to like it, but it got boring rather quickly. Hopefully Flash doesn't do the same.


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## SteveC (Oct 1, 2014)

Morrus said:


> Huh? Sean Pertwee? He's not Australian. Neither was his dad, Jon Pertwee, the third Doctor.



Yeah, I think it will keep me watching for a while based on this alone. I trust we'll get to know more about Alfred pretty soon.


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## Ryujin (Oct 1, 2014)

"Gracepoint" is the Americanization of a truly great UK show "Broadchurch", which also co-starred David Tennant. Hopefully it won't end up getting the "Red Dwarf" treatment in translation.


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## Morrus (Oct 1, 2014)

Ryujin said:


> "Gracepoint" is the Americanization of a truly great UK show "Broadchurch", which also co-starred David Tennant. Hopefully it won't end up getting the "Red Dwarf" treatment in translation.




I understand the reasoning behind some remakes.  It's rarely because the foreign audience won't understand it, or the accents, or will reject anything that doesn't look exactly like the street outside their houses, as folks often like to say, but it's because of show formats and lengths; the US has different season lengths and the like, and often wishes to continue a series for longer than the story told in the original in multiple seasons of 12 or 24 episodes.  That's cool.  It makes sense.  Being Human made sense as a remake for that reason, for example. 

Why did I say all that?  Because this, as a choice, seems weird to me. I know True Detective has done well, and there's a market right now for realistic cop dramas (just look at The Bridge/The Tunnel, The Killing, and all that stuff, which is what has prompted this recent trend - a trend I thoroughly approve of because it's resulting in some really good TV). But remaking Broadchurch?  I dunno.  It seems kinda pointless to me. Especially since they're using David Tennant in the exact same role as the original.  I assume they're changing the ending?


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## Ryujin (Oct 1, 2014)

Morrus said:


> I understand the reasoning behind some remakes.  It's rarely because the foreign audience won't understand it, or the accents, or will reject anything that doesn't look exactly like the street outside their houses, as folks often like to say, but it's because of show formats and lengths; the US has different season lengths and the like, and often wishes to continue a series for longer than the story told in the original in multiple seasons of 12 or 24 episodes.  That's cool.  It makes sense.  Being Human made sense as a remake for that reason, for example.
> 
> Why did I say all that?  Because this, as a choice, seems weird to me. I know True Detective has done well, and there's a market right now for realistic cop dramas (just look at The Bridge/The Tunnel, The Killing, and all that stuff, which is what has prompted this recent trend - a trend I thoroughly approve of because it's resulting in some really good TV). But remaking Broadchurch?  I dunno.  It seems kinda pointless to me. Especially since they're using David Tennant in the exact same role as the original.  I assume they're changing the ending?




Tennant's American accent is good, but rather jarring when you've seen his previous work.

Given that most American series now do a 'mid season break', the length of series is beginning to look more and more like the UK 10-12 episode model. There may be be 22 or 23 shows in their 'season', but there's a definite split in the middle. Some shows are even doing the 12 episode model, over here in North America. With how long some rather good American series have been dragged out, to the point at which they've become caricatures of themselves (ER and House, to name two, with Castle being in danger of going the same way), I'm beginning to envy how many UK series have a beginning, middle, and end that resolves the lot.

Odds are they won't make any changes to the original story, despite some already having seen the original on cable. In fact I believe Broadchurch is currently running in the US. That makes the choice of remaking it even more odd. I saw if several months ago, on Canadian cable.

And I mentioned Red Dwarf for a specific reason. When they made two separate pilots, for the American audience, they tried to retain much of the English slang that's part of what made it so funny. The majority of North American viewers had no idea what they were saying and hearing the expressions said with a Mid-Western American accent, except for the lines delivered by Jane Leeves (I could have sworn that she called herself 'Jan' when she first got over here), made them make absolutely no sense. 

Unfortunately North American television and film making has become largely moribund. They're casting around in all directions for the ideas of someone else, that have already been successful, because they have none of their own left. They're even going to be making a movie based on the old "Man from Uncle" series, that's slated for release next year. To be frank I expected that back when "The Avengers" (Patrick MacNee, not superheroes) was released, some years back, but they've waited until now.


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## trappedslider (Oct 1, 2014)

Gracepoint however has been slated only for 10 episodes, and I haven't heard them extend it beyond that


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## Morrus (Oct 1, 2014)

trappedslider said:


> Gracepoint however has been slated only for 10 episodes, and I haven't heard them extend it beyond that




It's not that unusual not to commit that far in advance.  If it does well, it'll get more!


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## trappedslider (Oct 1, 2014)

Morrus said:


> It's not that unusual not to commit that far in advance.  If it does well, it'll get more!




yeah, like under the dome..started out with CBS calling it a minseries and then extending it....


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## Ryujin (Oct 1, 2014)

Typically I believe that it's 6 episodes that go into the can, if there's no commitment for a full season. Broadchurch only ran 8 episodes but given that the UK runtime of each show was somewhat longer than the usual US 42 minutes, that would effectively make Gracepoint about the same length as the one UK season of Broadchurch.


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