Fall 2014 TV Favs!

A lot of us don't have a much time to watch TV shows these days. But if you do decide to hit the couch for a few hours a week, I'd recommend you spend it on these new shows.

Gotham

It's Jim Gordon...Begins. See my Gotham review here.

Scorpion

This light action thriller is about a group of gifted individuals. By gifted, I don't mean mutants or super-powered individuals. They're normal, non-altered, human brainiacs - their "gift" is simply their extraordinarily high IQs. They're called upon by the government to become a special problem solving unit.

The show is smart, fast-paced and fun to watch. And even though most of the time, things get insanely far-fetched, you can't help but be amazed by their skills. It's like Sherlock meets Burn Notice. And the eccentric but loveable geniuses are easy to root for - you've got the juvenile world class shrink, the mechanical prodigy with anger issues, the obsessive compulsive human calculator, and the (textbook) socially inept genius with a penchant for seeing outside the box. (Also, the resident shrink is American Pie's Finch!)

If the succeeding episodes are going to be as good as the first, I can see this being a new cult hit.

How To Get Away With Murder

If I had a penny for everytime I let out a soft "wwwhhhuuuuuuaaaaattttt...." scream while watching this show...

...I'd probably have around 4 pennies. (That's a lot!)

Murder, plotting, agendas, motives, lies, deceit - this show just screams murder mystery. It's a fresh take criminal drama in that it's from the point of view of both the crime solvers and the crime doers. It also employs this seamless flash-forward type of story-telling that makes it feel like you're watching two episodes in one. And unlike other crime shows, in HTGAWM, the line between good and bad is so vaguely drawn.

My only gripe with the first episode is (SPOILER ALERT!!! DO NOT READ BEYOND THIS POINT IF YOU'RE STILL ABOUT TO WATCH!!!!) the big reveal in the end. As the title suggests, the main characters are obviously going to be committing a murder. But who will they kill? In the end, the payoff felt underwhelming. The character in question felt too irrelevant. It got me wondering, "Why him? Why the guy that was barely even shown?" But I guess we'll see his character grow more important as the season progresses.

***

So there is is, my favorite new shows in the first week of new shows. I'll probably talk about a few more in the coming weeks. If they strike me as much as these three did, that is. Happy watching!