Worst new show of the TV season
Oct. 27th, 2009 07:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ghost2I love the mad rush of shows during the fall TV season: returning favorites, a bunch of stuff I don't care about and will never watch, and a slew of new series.
Every fall, I watch all of the new broadcast TV dramas (I usually don't watch comedies), and every fall, I pick the worst one. Last year, my choice was the extremely dull Crusoe. It even had pirates in the first episode, and managed to make them boring. The worst show of the entire season, though, was midseason replacement Dollhouse, which bored and offended me with its rampant and disgusting sexism. The only thing that makes me feel better is looking at its weekly Nielsen ratings, which redefine the term "crash and burn."
Anyway, I have now seen all of the new fall dramas, save V, which premieres on Nov. 3. The extended preview for that one looks good. And it would have to work awfully hard to be worse than the series I consider to be the worst new one of this season:
Three new medical series this season (Trauma, Mercy, and Three Rivers), and not an original thought among them. ER must be rolling over in its grave. These shows all make Private Practice look like genius in comparison.
Three Rivers is an earnestly predictable organ-transplant drama that follows the same pattern in every episode. "Oh, no, someone needs a transplant!" *crash/gunshot/accident* "Wah, my child/parent/friend/spouse is dead, but donating their organs will save # lives and is the Right Thing To Do. Take them. *sobs*" Cue dramatic music. *transplant goes well, patient lives, name of donor is added to wall*
Intentions are good; execution sucks. I've watched every episode, not because they're any good, but because they each have been stunningly awful.
Then we have Mercy. It's the most watchable of this trio of shows, though by no means should that faint praise be taken to indicate that it's a good series. It isn't. It's mawkish and bizarre and awkward. However, I like how the three lead characters are all women, and there's an attempt at characterization deeper than that of a puddle.
Such is not the case with Trauma, the worst new show of the season. At one point when I was watching the pilot, I thought surely the hour must be almost over. I glanced at my watch, and only twenty minutes had passed. In fact, I've experienced that same sensation during each episode of this show. The pacing is always glacial, the dialogue is always wooden, the characters are always stupid, the acting is always bad, and the plots are always stiff. Hey, at least the show is consistent.
As a bonus, Trauma features this season's most annoying new character: "Rabbit" the paramedic. No, I don't know why TPTB gave him such a stupid nickname, either. Of course, even a decent name wouldn't have saved this obnoxious character.
And again, I've watched every single episode. This show is fascinating in its sheer terribleness. I'll even be a little sad when it's cancelled, because something this bad doesn't come along every day.
Congratulations, Trauma, on being named my Worst New Show!
Every fall, I watch all of the new broadcast TV dramas (I usually don't watch comedies), and every fall, I pick the worst one. Last year, my choice was the extremely dull Crusoe. It even had pirates in the first episode, and managed to make them boring. The worst show of the entire season, though, was midseason replacement Dollhouse, which bored and offended me with its rampant and disgusting sexism. The only thing that makes me feel better is looking at its weekly Nielsen ratings, which redefine the term "crash and burn."
Anyway, I have now seen all of the new fall dramas, save V, which premieres on Nov. 3. The extended preview for that one looks good. And it would have to work awfully hard to be worse than the series I consider to be the worst new one of this season:
Three new medical series this season (Trauma, Mercy, and Three Rivers), and not an original thought among them. ER must be rolling over in its grave. These shows all make Private Practice look like genius in comparison.
Three Rivers is an earnestly predictable organ-transplant drama that follows the same pattern in every episode. "Oh, no, someone needs a transplant!" *crash/gunshot/accident* "Wah, my child/parent/friend/spouse is dead, but donating their organs will save # lives and is the Right Thing To Do. Take them. *sobs*" Cue dramatic music. *transplant goes well, patient lives, name of donor is added to wall*
Intentions are good; execution sucks. I've watched every episode, not because they're any good, but because they each have been stunningly awful.
Then we have Mercy. It's the most watchable of this trio of shows, though by no means should that faint praise be taken to indicate that it's a good series. It isn't. It's mawkish and bizarre and awkward. However, I like how the three lead characters are all women, and there's an attempt at characterization deeper than that of a puddle.
Such is not the case with Trauma, the worst new show of the season. At one point when I was watching the pilot, I thought surely the hour must be almost over. I glanced at my watch, and only twenty minutes had passed. In fact, I've experienced that same sensation during each episode of this show. The pacing is always glacial, the dialogue is always wooden, the characters are always stupid, the acting is always bad, and the plots are always stiff. Hey, at least the show is consistent.
As a bonus, Trauma features this season's most annoying new character: "Rabbit" the paramedic. No, I don't know why TPTB gave him such a stupid nickname, either. Of course, even a decent name wouldn't have saved this obnoxious character.
And again, I've watched every single episode. This show is fascinating in its sheer terribleness. I'll even be a little sad when it's cancelled, because something this bad doesn't come along every day.
Congratulations, Trauma, on being named my Worst New Show!
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