News & Notes
Over on cable, A&E has the second season premiere of Duck Dynasty and Discovery Channel has a Ted Nugent’s Gun Country special.
Prime Picks
Arrow (The CW): Series Premiere. Playboy Oliver Queen is found five years later after being shipwrecked. He survived on a remote island, where he had to learn all kinds of new skills to be able to do so. After he returns home, he takes on a secret vigilante persona to try and take back his city from those that have taken advantage of it and the people who live there. This is a very good “Pilot” episode. Sets up a few ongoing stories and how the weekly story will work. Had a couple of minor annoyances with the first episode, but things that even if not explained that I will be able to overlook going forward. But, they made it seem as though the premiere should have been two hours instead of just one. Arrow is more like a Batman superhero, in that he doesn’t have any actual super powers. He is just highly trained from the time on the island and uses those skills. This is my third favorite premiere episode of all the fall dramas behind Nashville and Last Resort. Can’t wait to see more. Will you be watching tonight?
Modern Family (ABC): New. Phil and Claire take Haley to college and end up embarrassing her. Lily has some problems on her first day of kindergarten. Runs 31 minutes.
Modern Family (ABC): New. Jay and Gloria differ on whether to find out the sex of the baby. Mitchell is hinting at Cam taking a part-time job. Starts a minute after the half hour and runs 29 minutes.
Nashville (ABC): Series Premiere. A country singer who’s having trouble selling out her tour is asked to open for an up and coming singer on her tour, which she doesn’t take kindly too. Meanwhile, her husband is being backed by her politically connected father for a run at mayor of Nashville. This show is fantastic. Phenomenal cast with Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights), Hayden Panettiere (Heroes), Eric Close (Without a Trace), Powers Booth (Deadwood) headlining the show, but there are some lesser known names doing some great work too. I want to note that I am not a country music fan, but still loved the “Pilot” episode of this show. Also, ABC is advertising it as Britton’s character versus Panettiere’s character and while that is a main component of the premiere, there are many other interesting stories taking place. The political side with Booth and Close is one of them and another storyline about a young song writer and a waitress at a local club is outstanding. I can’t wait to see more of this one, as the first episode was my favorite premiere episode of all the new fall dramas. I really can’t recommend this more highly. Will you be watching tonight?
Solid Selections
The Middle (ABC): New. The school therapist thinks Frankie and Mike should get Brick some kind of pet to help his people skills, but things don’t go as planned. Runs 30 minutes.
Criminal Minds (CBS): New. The team starts to think that a killer duo is working in San Diego and Los Angeles after victims are found in both cities.
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (CBS): New. The CSIs head to their favorite diner only to find a gruesome murder scene.
Other Options
- Chicago Fire (NBC): Series Premiere. Firehouse 51 is dealing with the loss of one of their own. Two of the firefighters each blame each other, which cause problems. A new fireman has his first day. This is a pretty mundane drama. It’s not terrible, isn’t just not special in any way. I will say that the fire stuff is quite impressive, but the characters don’t really spark. Will you be watching tonight?
- Copper (BBC America): Repeat. This past Sunday’s episode, “Better Times Are Coming,” replays.
- Homeland (Showtime): Repeat. This past Sunday night’s episode, “Beirut Is Back,” replays.
- Key & Peele (Comedy Central): New. Sketches include Steve Jobs’ successor and Chris Brown and Rihanna reconciliation. Runs 30 minutes. Plays again later.
- Strike Back (Cinemax): Repeat. Last Friday night’s episode replays.
- Supernatural (The CW): New. Sam and Dean find Kevin’s mother is surrounded by demons.
Sports Notes
- MLB has MLB Playoff action early.
- TBS has doubleheader MLB Playoff action.
- TNT has MLB Playoff action tonight.
Late Night
- Dexter (Showtime): Repeat. This past Sunday night’s episode, “Sunshine and Frosty Swirl,” replays.
Wednesday TV Marathons
ION has six episodes of Flashpoint today.
TNT has seven episodes of Castle today.
TV One has 12 episodes of Living Single early.
USA Network has seven episodes of NCIS today.
What will you watch on Wednesday night?
Arrow
Two episodes of Modern Family
Nashville is being critically acclaimed but I’m not particularly a fan of musicals. I might check out the season premiere.
Balaji K, Nashville isn’t really a musical, like say Glee or Smash, but more of a drama with music. There are songs sung, but the story isn’t told in song.