Previewing the 2004/2005 Television Season: Part 2

Posted by: Dean Kish  •  March 29, 2005 @ 12:00am

Filed under: Special Coverage

Okay, so this is a little late. Back in October, I took a look at the emergence of the new 2004-2005 television season. There has been a lot of interesting developments since I wrote that article. Matter of fact, two of the shows I spoke highly of have yet to debut.

Since one of those shows finally breaks into the TV schedule this week, I thought I'd continue with my series. The show I am speaking of is Eyes, which debuts on Wednesday on ABC at 10 pm, after an all-new Lost and Alias. If you watch one new show this month, watch Eyes.

As I said back in September, Eyes stars Tim Daly of Wings as Harlan Judd, a slick, top-notch risk management firm owner. Judd's firm goes to the edge of law and beyond to help clients in civil and criminal matters.

What makes this show stand-out is the continual interweaving plots and schemes brewing within the heart of the show. There is so much going on in a single episode that it hardly gives you a chance to breathe.

In the pilot, Judd has to thwart a takeover of his company, uncover a company mole, and keep his cool. If the writing stays as top notch as the pilot, this one is sure to be a winner and cult favorite.

I haven't seen this kind of deliciously despicable people since the brilliance of the long-lost series Profit. Surprisingly, Profit will be making its DVD debut on August 9th.

The TV season thus far has seen a resurgence of the drama, which makes this critic giddy with excitement. Fueled by Desperate Housewives and the genre-titan Lost, the landscape of television seems to be slowly shifting. Other than ABC, other networks are having moderate success with the resurgence of the drama, with surprise hits like Fox's House and NBC's Medium.

On the other hand, genre TV continues to struggle on the television platform as we finally see the cancellation of Fox's sinister and clever pseudo-soap Point Pleasant, which has been replaced with the second season of Tru Calling after Thursday's The O.C.. Calling it a second season is kind of laughable, since there are only 6 episodes.

Having watched the first 3 episodes of season 2, Tru Calling continues with the momentum it had when season 1 concluded, but who cares? The writing and characters are more interesting and there are a lot more underlining elements that seem to be bubbling to the surface.

The biggest problem is that the series only started getting good about episode 14 of season one, with the debut of Jason Priestley. It probably should have debuted Priestley in episode 4 -- then maybe the audience would care about the show. It's too bad that Priestley's whole persona and element on the show was an after-thought.

Point Pleasant episode #8 was probably one of the best genre episodes so far this season and it really is too bad that we will never see what the outcome is on such a wacky, intelligent, and sinister show.

We have seen the debut of other new shows, including Jake in Progress, Blind Justice, and just this week Grey's Anatomy. I am not sure what fates these shows face, but Grey's is probably the most likely one to be a hit, with it following Desperate Housewives and having such a likable young cast. Only time will tell.

With the new power of the drama on the dial, maybe will see the return of great genre shows like The X-Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and other classic genre shows.

The only certified hits in genre television have to be the Sci-Fi Channel's launch of Battlestar Galactica and Stargate: Atlantis, which have been huge cable hits and look to be around for years to come. Hopefully other networks will take the success of Galactica and maybe networks will allow genre shows to grow before falling to the axe.

Aside from Sci-Fi's success, The USA Network is pumping out great genre TV as well, with a full season The 4400 and renewing The Dead Zone for a 4th season. The Dead Zone is probably one of the most underappreciated shows on television and thank goodness it's on USA and not Fox.

It isn't a genre show, but HBO's Deadwood is probably the best written show on television and with the debut of season 2, there seems to be no slowing down for the rascals, cutthroats, and outlaws of the west. It is such an amazing show.

There is hope in the world of television for great programming and maybe, if we are lucky, we will finally see the return of the great genre show. Stay tuned. So Says the Soothsayer.

Tags: pilots, preview, TV season, Eyes, Tim Daly, Deadwood, The 4400, Grey's Anatomy

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