Welcome back to our Fall TV Preview series! Mandy, Emily, Rosemary and I are trying out shows featured in our TV Preview: New Friends post, and letting you know what we think you should be watching, and what you shouldn’t.
Warning! Possible spoilers ahead.
MacGyver
Premiered: Sept. 23 on CBS (Watch online.)
Twitter Pitch
Reboot of the #retro classic explosion show, with hot young #millenials, and updated #tech. Adventure and covert ops ensue.
Familiar Faces
Lucas Till as Angus MacGyver
George Eads as Jack Dalton
Sandrine Holt as Patricia Thornton
Tristin Mays as Riley Davis
Justin Hires as Wilt Bozer
Redeeming Qualities
Kandis: I definitely didn’t watch enough of the original MacGyver to have anything to compare this to. But I didn’t find much to redeem it. The George Eads character is more charismatic and interesting than the lead. And at least there are women on this show?
Mandy: I don't remember watching much MacGyver when I was young, but I adore Richard Dean Anderson (#Stargate). So even though he has nothing—so far?—to do with this new MacGyver, there's a level of RDA nostalgia that makes me want to watch it. (I know that doesn't make any real sense.) This new show was a fun mix of action and budget spy intrigue, and Lucas Till pulls off the Mac swagger decently well. And I'm always down to watch Vinnie Jones as a villain.
It's Not Me, It's You
Kandis: The voiceover is terrible. Mac’s hair is terrible. Also, Lucas Till is 26. And I don't care if he went to MIT, that is just too young for me to buy how knowledgable and experienced Mac is supposed to be. I assume that we were supposed to care about the geek girlfriend who “died” and betrayed him, which I did not. The exposition is clunky. And is Bozer, the roommate, supposed to be a complete caricature?
Mandy: Please, for the love of people who get motion sickness easily, no more shaky cam. I honestly had to look away a few times because I was starting to feel sick watching Mac run around. And the fact that his ex was in on the initial plot was pretty glaringly obvious. Plus, the show felt very CBS, which isn't always a good thing, and I can see myself getting annoyed with George Eads' attempts at being the charming good ol' boy super quickly.
Let's Do This Again
Kandis: I don’t think I’ve ever been less invested in a show, and its characters. I was more moved by the Paper & Packaging ad during the commercial break. Honestly, I cannot imagine this show surviving.
Mandy: I can see myself watching this show on the weekends when I'm catching up on chores or non-work work. The pilot wasn't great, by any means, but I am an unabashed fan of terrible action movies/shows. If there continues to be a reliance on shaky cam in future episodes, however, I'm out.
The Exorcist
Premiered: Sept. 23 on FOX (Watch online.)
Twitter Pitch
#GeenaDavis thinks her teen is possessed, and is probably right. #HotPriest attempts to exorcise the #demons. #Horror ensues.
Familiar Faces
Alfonso Herrera as Father Tomas Ortega
Ben Daniels as Father Marcus Keane
Hannah Kasulka as Casey Rance
Geena Davis as Angela Rance
Brianne Howey as Kat Rance
Alan Ruck as Henry Rance
Redeeming Qualities
Kandis: Dark, moody, and creepy. The special effects with the Casey possession in the attic were genuinely disturbing. The cast is uniformly good. And they made good use of employing the original score at the end. No good can come of the priest being hot, though.
Mandy: There was a good amount of suspense to the pilot, and I'll admit to being intrigued by why Father Tomas was dreaming of Father Marcus. I also didn't see that ending twist coming, and h/t to the showrunners for using the movie's score to carry the episode out.
It's Not Me, It's You
Kandis: The graphic kamikaze bird flying in the window thing? And Father Marcus' Mexico exorcism? NOOOPE. So gross. Kat is a horrible nightmare daughter, and I’d assume demon possession, too. What the hell is wrong with Henry? It would have been nice to have that explained.
Mandy: I'm just not a fan of the horror genre. And I'm especially not a fan watching children and teens be possessed by demons and spit blood/break their own necks/walk around in nightgowns all jittery like.
Let's Do This Again
Kandis: No, thank you! When it wasn’t creepy and gross, I was mostly bored. This one is not for me.
Mandy: Like I said, I'm not a fan of this genre. I think the episode was well done, but it's just not something I want to watch. So I'm not gonna.
Did you watch? Join us in the comments!