Chase
Chase is about a gaggle of U.S. Marshals in Texas tracking and collaring dangerous fugitives. As one character put it, "It's like hide and seek - with guns."
This cop show was a bit more palatable for me, because it at least breaks away from the usual format a little. Instead of solving a crime and arresting the offender, Chase just spends an hour on trying to do the second part. It adds a little variety to this fall's lineup of cop procedurals, but seems to lead to some repetitive action in the pilot. (He's at his mother's! Oh, we missed him. He's at his girlfriend's! Oh, we missed him. He's at the motel! Oh, we missed him. He's at the Mexican border! etc etc) I don't think it's impossible to get more creative with the show's premise on a weekly basis. There's plenty of ways to chase a crook. I just didn't see it in this episode.
Laying in hints about Annie Frost's (Kelli Giddish) backstory was handled clumsily, as in this exchange:
FUGITIVE
Didn't your mother teach you girls shouldn't play with guns?
ANNIE FROST
My mother died when I was eight, so no.
Didn't your mother teach you girls shouldn't play with guns?
ANNIE FROST
My mother died when I was eight, so no.
Really?
Ultimately, it's just another cop show. 'Nough said.
Raising Hope
Raising Hope is a comedy about a 23-year old (Lucas Neff) who finds himself with custody of the infant he conceived during a one-night stand. He and baby Hope live with his parents (Martha Plimpton, Garrett Dillahunt), so he'll get a little help from them.
It took me almost half the episode to really get into the groove of Raising Hope. It's decidedly not joke-y. There are few laugh-out-loud moments. But once I understood the rhythm of the show, I began to really enjoy it. It's sort of similar in tone to Arrested Development or Juno - quirky, awkward, with heart.
It's definitely not the best place to go for laughs, but this show's got style. I could definitely see myself watching some more of it.
Running Wilde
Running Wilde is about a self-centered billionaire (Will Arnett) and a liberal do-gooder (Keri Russell) living together in his mansion. Maybe they'll learn a few things from each other.
Well, for starters, it's not very funny. But more importantly, it makes no sense. The first episode was dedicated to getting this crazy mismatched pair to a place where they would decide to live together. It didn't work for me. They didn't earn it.
The billionaire wants the hippie to live with him because he has a crush on her. That's okay, I guess (although he's kind of moving a little fast). But why does she agree to live with him? No, I'm really asking you - why? Is it because her daughter doesn't want to live in the jungle anymore? There's other non-jungle places they could live. Is it so the daughter can go to the school in that district? There are other homes in that district. There are other schools. Is it because the hippie thinks she can change the billionaire? Maybe, but it still doesn't work for me. Why does she care? She hates him. None of this adds up to them living together in my mind.
I think she decides to move in with him because she's secretly always dreamed of living in a television sitcom.
I don't like it. Next?
Detroit 1-8-7
Detroit 1-8-7 is about homicide detectives. They fight crime. In Detroit.
Cops. Murders. It's pretty much NYPD Blue or the first half of Law and Order. The only somewhat fresh aspect is that it's filmed in a rough, mock-umentary style.
The climax of the episode involved our standard "out-of-the-box" detective (Michael Imperioli) defusing a standard hostage situation by relating to the criminal with a standard heartfelt monologue.
No, thanks.
Take a break from the cops with tonight's shows about lawyers and spies! Undercovers is on NBC, Better With You and The Whole Truth on ABC, and CBS brings you The Defenders.
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