Stragglers

Sometimes, the reviews waiting in the queue just don't have much in common.  I suppose I could hold these two in abeyance until I had something more meaningful or profound to say about them...but it's not clear that either of these shows lend themselves to the meaningful or profound.  With that in mind:

@Midnight (Comedy Central, new.  Stand-up comedy/Game show)

Watched: first four episodes (1 week's worth)

Premise: Chris Hardwick hosts a comedy “lightning round” panel in which standup comics compete to ring in with funny jokes on topical subjects from Twitter and the Internet

Promise:  It’s like a cross between Jeselnik’s "panel" and NPR’s Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, featuring stand-up comics with name recognition and, generally, some degree of nerd cred. The whole thing goes down quickly, easily, and amusingly.  Any given episode's level of hilarity depends heavily on the comics, however—when the panel is a funny bunch with good chemistry, it works; if not, it can easily fall flat.  I’m not sure how they’ll manage to keep the stable full for it—it’s a daily show, rather than a weekly one—but assuming they’re able to keep the stream running, it’s a good format.

Verdict:  light, fast-moving, generally entertaining, comedy.  I'll keep watching.

 

Ravenswood (ABC Family, new. Supernatural drama.)

Watched:  Pilot (and I could barely get through that)

Premise:  Teens explore the mysteries of a cursed town.

Promise:  If only this had aired in time to be included in the spin-off wrap-up.  This one is a spin-off from Pretty Little Liars.  It has little to recommend it, at least to non-fans of Pretty Little Liars (and I must admit to not being a fan).  Its exposition and world-building are even more stilted and wooden than The Originals—a feat I didn’t think was possible.  It attempts to be “creepy,” but comes off as self-conscious and affected.  The characters are about as multi-dimensional as characters in advertisements.  The result is that, although it sets up a credibly spooky mystery, the mystery holds little interest.  For fans of PLL, there may well be something to enjoy here—it apparently continues a story that began in a Halloween episode of that show—and so, to the extent people want to explore more about what that episode set up, they can get it here.  But I can’t help but think that might have been a gap better filled by fanfiction than by a whole series of television.

Verdict:  Happy this won’t be clogging up my DVR.

On the DVR:  Lucky 7 (canceled), Sean Saves the World, Witches of East End, Reign, Strike Back: Origins, Dracula.