2017 Fall TV Review

While I love Netflix and HBO, I still have a special place in my heart for the broadcast networks because I grew up with them. Many of the new shows on traditional networks this Fall are the shows I have been looking forward to the most all year. There are five that I was most curious about: The Orville, Star Trek: Discovery, Young Sheldon, Will & Grace, and Inhumans. Time to reveal if these shows were worth the wait.

The Orville (FOX)

As a fan of Seth MacFarlane, I was looking forward to this sci-fi series the most, especially since this was apparently his passion project. It mostly works. It is definitely a homage to Star Trek: The Next Generation, but infused with humor. It is best not to think of this as a comedy, though. The characters are simply human, and human beings always do funny things, which in some ways makes this more down-to-earth than Star Trek. The blend of drama and humor does occasionally feel jarring, but there are just as many flashes of brilliance in the writing. It is not perfect, and MacFarlane isn't the best actor, but the sense of fun in the writing comes through and keeps it watchable.

Star Trek: Discovery (CBS All Access)

The big premiere this season was the new Star Trek on CBS. It turned out to be better than I thought it would be. The pilot, which premiered on CBS (the rest of the series is available on the broadcast network's streaming arm CBS All Access) was a well-written drama, one of the best of this genre on broadcast television in a while. All the characters and their reactions to the conflicts they face are believable, and from what I've seen, this series is on the same level as the films of J.J. Abrams, in that it actually feels better than Roddenberry's Trek.

Young Sheldon (CBS)

As a fan of The Big Bang Theory, I've often thought a show about Sheldon Cooper's childhood would be interesting. Every time the character brought it up, it sounded like a whole other show that sounded very funny. So as the creation of this spin-off is not at all surprising, it is surprising how good it is. The benefit of being unshackled by the constant need to make a studio audience laugh is apparent in the beginning with humor that is a bit more grounded. Sheldon's family and their relationships toward one another are also fleshed out nicely. This may be the biggest crowdpleaser of the season.

Will & Grace (NBC)

Will & Grace was never a masterpiece. The characters would have to be a little bit more believable for that. But the good news is that anyone who loved this show in its original run will most likely enjoy its return, which is just as funny as it always was. The modern references to Trump, Caitlyn Jenner, and terms like "fake news" and "woke" occasionally feel like a marathon of check marks to prove how relevant the show is, but the context of these references are funny enough to make up for how forced they seem. The comedy is broad, and the anti-Trump jokes are cheap, but the saving grace of the show has always been its well-defined cast, its hilariously snappy dialogue, and of course, Sean Hayes, who was always the funniest character.

Inhumans (ABC)

Absolutely the biggest disappointment of the Fall TV season, and perhaps the biggest disappointment of 2017, is this latest offering from Marvel, which refuses to be interesting in any way. It seems like the writers are completely uninterested in these characters, which explains why they are so boring. Every scene either feels like it's there to push the plot forward, or there for no reason at all, but there is never that essential moment that gives us a reason to care about these people. This show should have been fun. It has all the ingredients. But abysmal writing and a lack of connection to the main cast make this feel more like a second-rate X-Men wannabe.