For my article this week, I decided to take one for the team and binge-watch a bunch of pilots for television shows that premiered this fall and tell you which ones work and which ones don’t. It was hard, grueling work, but the job had to be done.
Super Fun Night, CBS, Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m.
Roommates Kimmie, Helen-Alice, and Marika have had a “girls’ night in” every Friday for the past 13 years, and decide that it’s time they switch things up.
I really, REALLY wanted to like this one. I loved Rebel Wilson in Pitch Perfect and Bridesmaids, and was looking forward to it since the Australian tweeted about it last year. It ended up being, however, almost too terrible to watch. The dialogue was awkward, the jokes were poorly timed, and Rebel has put on a horrible-sounding American accent. I’ll always love Fat Amy, but Super Fun Night will only get 2 out of 5 donuts.
Sleepy Hollow, Fox, Mondays at 9 p.m.
Sleepy Hollow is a modern retelling of Washington Irving’s classic short story, where Ichabod Crane is frozen in time for 250 years, until he is awoken in the 21st century. He must join forces with local sheriff Abbie Mills to help stop the murders surrounding the recently awakened Headless Horseman.
This show had the perfect mix of scary, mysterious and funny. I mean, dropping a cute, colonial English guy into the future to solve crime is an instant recipe for success in my book. I can definitely see it getting confusing in the future, but for now they’ve captured my attention and I can’t wait to see how it plays out! Based off the pilot, Sleepy Hollow gets 4 out of 5 donuts.
Trophy Wife, ABC, Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m.
Reformed party girl Kate finds herself surrounded by 3 manipulative stepchildren and two very opinionated ex-wives when she marries the much older Pete.
I thought this show was going to be more of a “how-to” guide to becoming a trophy wife, so at first I was pretty bummed out that it wasn’t (I’m kidding, unless a rich, older gentleman is interested…) Really, though, don’t let the horrible, awful name keep you from watching this show because it is amazing. It’s hilarious and heartfelt and there’s a cute little Chinese stepson that’s constantly saying weird things and spitting out Yiddish expressions.
http://25.media.tumblr.com/b2506bb0147ca8543385ab305604f9eb/tumblr_mu67i12fhs1sknv3ho1_400.gif
Overall, Trophy wife gets 4.5 out of 5 donuts.
Dads, Fox, Tuesdays at 8 p.m.
Two thirty-something year old videogame designers’ lives change when their dads move in with them.
All right, I’m not going to beat around the bush with this one. Dads is terrible. Like most of producer Seth Macfarlane’s other work, it’s racist, sexist, and all around offensive, but it’s missing the key piece that’s brought Macfarlane so much success with Family Guy and Ted, and that’s humor. I was too busy rolling my eyes and punching the stationary objects nearest to me to laugh at their toilet humor and off-colored jokes. Here are five things I would rather do than watch another episode of Dads:
- Have one of those “show up to school naked” nightmares happen to me in real life.
- Marinate myself like a piece of meat and throw myself into a lion pit.
- Drink an entire bottle of Sriracha.
- Watch the Super Fun Night pilot on repeat for the rest of my life.
- Have Mike Tyson bite my ear off.
Needless to say, Dads gets 0 out of 5 donuts from me.
Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, ABC, Thursdays at 8 p.m.
Soon after returning from Wonderland, Alice finds herself in an asylum due to the crazy tales she tells of talking rabbits and magic. The Knave of Hearts and the White Rabbit save her, and jumps right back down the rabbit hole to the world she couldn’t be convinced was made up.
I wasn’t the biggest fan of the original Once Upon a Time, so I had my reservations about this spin-off, but I was pleasantly surprised. Even though I’m pretty sure my dog could come up with better computer graphics than what I saw on the show, I was intrigued by the storyline, and really liked this feisty version of Alice (and how she singlehandedly took down like 6 guards—while wearing a corset). The Knave of Hearts and Cyrus also weren’t too displeasing to the eye, if I do say so myself.
All in all, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland gets 3.5 out of 5 donuts.
And that’s it for this week’s edition of Sydney Considers! Remember to tweet (@sydschaefer) any comments or suggestions about what I should consider next week. Until next time, stay classy Tallahassee.