Movie Muse Fall 2024 TV Pre/Review
A lot of our shows have ended (or been cancelled) in the last few years, and we haven’t had a ton of luck adding new ones until this past spring, when we picked up 2 or 3 new ones (still deciding about one of them). This fall, we’re trying several new programs, including a couple that are (thankfully) a bit lighter than some of our previous shows. Here’s what we’ve added to our slate for Fall 2024, and what we think of them so far. Now, if the TV schedulers would do me a huge favor and STOP airing all the shows we want to watch on Thursdays, that would be great. We currently have one show on Mondays, two on Tuesdays, and *six* on Thursdays. Thank goodness for the DVR!! (Yes, we still prefer to do it that way, since streaming in the evenings can sometimes be dicey due to lack of sufficient cable capacity in our old 1960s neighborhood. Plus, we’re getting old and stuck in our ways! LOL)
Matlock – “Yes, Matlock, like the old TV show.” This is a common refrain during the first couple of episodes, though part of the joke is that her Millennial and Gen Z coworkers have no idea what she’s talking about. (A few of their clients and witnesses do, though!) We weren’t too sure about a Matlock reboot, but I love Kathy Bates, so we decided to give it a shot, even if seeing her in this type of role seemed a little sad to me. However, as it gets rolling, the show isn’t *quite* what you think it’s going to be, and the end of the first episode has a WHOPPING twist that makes it *very* much not what you think! They even put a little disclaimer after the pilot aired as a “sneak peek” a few weeks ago, asking viewers to not spoil the ending for others, and I agree completely. If you’re interested in this at all, hurry up and catch at least the first episode, before someone spoils it for you.
High Potential – My husband didn’t think he was going to like this one based on the commercials, and I admit, I was concerned but a bit more hopeful. The pilot was okay, but it was a bit to heavy on the standard tropes that come with shows that follow this premise. I really don’t like the whole “brilliant ordinary citizen has to help the police because the detectives are idiots” thing. It’s fine to have an “outsider” help and have skills and be useful, even dazzling, but I *don’t* like when they have to dumb down everyone else to make it work. Generally speaking, detectives don’t get to be detectives because they’re stupid. I also really dislike the standard “I think you don’t belong here, and I’m going to be a real a**hole about it” dynamic that often comes along for the ride. Thankfully, the writers toned down both aspects for the subsequent episodes (smarter detectives who bring complimentary skills and depth of knowledge, and less animosity but still understandable frustration at her lack of procedural knowledge), and we’re really enjoying it. It is also an excellent example of why chemistry is so important between actors, even if there is no romance involved, and Kaitlin Olson and Daniel Sunjata have it in spades!
Doctor Odyssey – I know, not our typical thing. And I have to admit, watching it, I am reminded exactly *why* it’s not our typical thing. It is just so bloomin’ ridiculous!! I mean everything, all of it. So silly. But I grew up watching The Love Boat, so I have a soft spot for this kind of thing. I also really like Phillipa Soo, though I did *not* discover via Hamilton (which is how most people know her; she was Eliza). She is lovely, as expected. And the show is pretty much as silly as we expected. But everyone is beautiful and charming (as they should be for this type of thing), and it’s nice to have a “no-brainer” fun thing to watch sometimes. Will we be die hard fans? No. I’m not even sure how long we’ll keep watching. But some of our other regular shows aren’t back yet, so I think we’ll keep it around (for now). Side Note: When I saw the original advertisements for it, they kept saying “starring Joshua Jackson,” and I was convinced that I must not actually know who Joshua Jackson is, because this doctor sure doesn’t look like “the guy with the beard.” But it absolutely is him! He just looks so radically different when clean-shaven. (Not better or worse, just different.)
NCIS: Origins – Y’all, I was so hesitant to try this show. The original NCIS lost me with Fornell’s daughter (IYKYK), and I haven’t really enjoyed any of the other iterations besides NCIS: New Orleans. But Mike Franks was always one of my favorite recurring characters, so I decided to give it a shot. Verdict? The whole show – and the entire cast – have been a delight! You can tell Austin Stowell (young Gibbs) and Kyle Schmidt (Franks) really studied their predecessors, both in the broad strokes and in the details here and there. And the little pop-up references that only the die hard fans are going to catch/appreciate have been lovely. But the real cherry on top? The music!! The show is set in 1991; that was early in my high school career. It has been SO FUN revisiting those songs, including some huge hits and some much smaller tunes. If you’re a fan of the original, I’d recommend at least giving it a try through Episode 3, after the two-part pilot. Not sure I love the narration aspect, though it (thankfully) doesn’t come into play super often, but the rest has been a very pleasant surprise, and I can’t wait to watch the rest of the season unfold.
