May 31 – June 6, 2015
* New series in CAPS
* Reviews May Contain Spoilers
Note: I won’t be reviewing Extreme Weight Loss as every episode has the same emotional resonance as the last so to save time, I won’t be repeating myself.
Also, I will be going on a Summer TV Week in Review hiatus but stay tuned for occasional individual reviews!
Photo Credit: James Dittiger
UNREAL (Lifetime) – “Return” (Series Premiere)
So far, Unreal is the best new series this summer. Within the first few minutes of the show, you can easily determine if this is the show for you. And by that I mean it knows no boundaries. It’s limitless in its provocative nature and politically incorrectness. It’s funny, it’s sad, it’s thrilling…it’s good TV. Props to the writers for killing it and delivering one of the most well executed Pilots I’ve seen in a long time and easily the best Pilot for Lifetime ever. It is so completely grounded in its world and its characters and the direction of the story. It’s so unbelievably good right out of the gate. Wow. Congratulations, Lifetime. You’ve got a hit!
I love the cast. I’ve been a long time fan of Shiri Appleby and I’m so happy to see her killing it on this show. It’s also great to see Constance Zimmer, Ashley Scott, and Arielle Kebbel among other familiar faces. Great casting. Great writing. I am really looking forward to the next nine episodes of the season. My only complaint? Ten episodes for its first season? Definitely not enough. I’m already hooked.
THE WHISPERS (ABC) – “X Marks the Spot” (Series Premiere)
Simply put, I definitely can’t commit to watching this show weekly this summer. It starts off strong but not strong enough and unfortunately, this summer I have to be more picky since I won’t have a lot of time (busy busy!) to watch my shows. If there were more hours in the day, I’d watch this easy each week but it just doesn’t hit the mark enough on any level really to make this must watch TV.
The Whispers is very intriguing and mysterious and has such a fantastic tone but I just don’t see myself watching in a timely manner to review it each week. Like a handful of other shows, I may just let the episodes pile up before I get back to it. If I hear that it gets better. Because I can’t stress enough how good this is…it’s just not a show I’m itching to watch and talk about. So as of now, I’m watching, but not in a way that matters in regards to ratings and talking it up with other TV addicts and on social media. Are you watching?
Photo Credit: ABC Family
STITCHERS (ABC Family) – “A Stitch in Time” (Series Premiere)
The series premiere was solid. It doesn’t make for must watch TV but the premiere was fascinating enough for me to continue to watch this show and see how more of the story plays out and see more of the arcs from the characters we’ve been introduced to. I’m super pumped that Allison Scagliotti (Warehouse 13) and Salli Richardson-Whitfield (Eureka) are on the small screen weekly again and together! How cool for us Syfy fans. Though I didn’t really connect with the lead played by Emma Ishta but if you read this blog, you know that I give chemistry reads more than one episode. So, I’ll give this show a few more episodes to really ground itself and then I’ll make a decision on whether or not to continue.
It’s fun, it’s thrilling. But I’m not as connected as I want to be to the story and the lead that we’ll be following for the entire series. So. Only time will tell. I think I might be a bit jaded to the concept as I feel like I’ve seen and read similar concepts executed much better so this is not really leveling up but I’ll keep watching for now. Give it a fair chance. What did you think?
AQUARIUS (NBC) – “Everybody’s Been Burned” (Series Premiere)
I was anticipating watching this and after watching it, I don’t even remember why. I really have no words for this. I can’t really elaborate because I didn’t even finish watching the series premiere. Simply put, it was boring. It wasn’t captivating at all. Like on any level. I’m sure someone out there will connect with this series but that someone isn’t me. Unfortunately. All the best to the series though!
Photo Credit: Ken Woroner
BETWEEN (Netflix)
“School’s Out,” “Who’s the Boss,” and “Crossing Lines”
Between is a sci-fi series that you can’t binge on Netflix. Because it’s a Netflix original that releases a new episode once a week. At first, I didn’t know how I’d feel about Netflix doing a complete 180 here and if I’d even remember to watch but after coming back for the second and third episodes, I think it’s safe to say I had nothing to worry about. I was intrigued by the series premiere as the adults began to mysteriously die off and we began to get to know the main characters of the series.
Honestly, I debated on whether or not I would watch the second episode because while I enjoyed the series premiere, I wasn’t necessarily itching to continue. But I’m so glad I did because the second episode is even better than the first and I can really see the pot stirring now as the government quarantine on the small town begins to really affect the townspeople (who are all under the age of 22 years old) and I understand and appreciate the pacing of the show now and absolutely love the evolving tone. So if you liked the first episode, be sure to continue watching because it only gets better from there.
As for the third episode, while it wasn’t necessarily as captivating as the first or second, it moved the story along and had its purpose which I understood and appreciated. I did like the episode and really, it was during the second episode that I decided I’m in this for the long haul so I’m looking forward to checking out the next three episodes of the season which I believe are also the final episodes of the season. It’s been great to see Jennette McCurdy in a dramatic role but round of applause to the entire cast because they’re all great, all compelling in their own ways and I’m looking forward to more!