The 2009 Paley Preview Parties

As Louise wrote last week, she attended nearly all of the preview parties held at the Paley Center for Media, screening episodes from the major networks prior to their airing on their regular nights. I, too, had the chance to attend three of the five preview parties: those for NBC, CBS and ABC.

For NBC’s night, most of the cast and major crew from the new comedy Community were on hand for a short Q&A after the pilot episode was screened. Since I am not a fan of half-hour comedies, I will refrain from giving a review of the episode, letting those of you who are interested in the show to enjoy it for what it is. However, I will say that the comedy stars Joel McHale (The Soup) and legendary comedic actor Chevy Chase and chronicles the lives of a unique band of students at a “lowly” community college.

The dramas from NBC that were also featured that night included both new medical series by the network: Mercy and Trauma. Most critics’ reviews for Mercy have been harsh and unyielding. And, unfortunately, I must agree with their assumptions of the show. It is an awkwardly pieced-together series with grand intentions but short-sighted in its delivery. The protagonist, as portrayed by newcomer Taylor Schilling, is a rather unlikeable nurse who served in Iraq. She is now home, unhappy with her life and her job, working with what she feels are inferior doctors and reeling from an affair she had with a doctor while over there.

The other characters such as Michelle Trachtenberg (Buffy, the Vampire Slayer) and Jaime Lee Kirchner (Just Legal) are pale caricatures of what their characters should actually be.  James Tupper (Men In Trees) and well-known movie actor Delroy Lindo are simply wasted in this weak version of what a gripping medical drama should be.

As far as Trauma is concerned, the pilot was a bit stronger than Mercy; but still lacked the right punch to make it a successful show in my opinion. The cast includes Cliff Curtis (Live Free and Die Hard), Anastasia Griffith (Damages) and Derek Luke (Antwone Fisher) as part of a team of first responders who handle emergencies by land, sea and air. The one shining light in the show is Jamey Sheridan (Law & Order: Criminal Intent) as the chief at San Francisco City Hospital. This series has a slightly better chance of succeeding than Mercy.

On the night of CBS’s party, word spread quickly that the network would not be airing the pilot of their new medical drama Three Rivers, but rather NCIS: Los Angeles as well as episodes of Medium, The Good Wife and new comedy Accidentally on Purpose. The entire cast and crew of Medium appeared for the Q&A session that night followed by the season premiere of the series that resolved the cliffhanger ending from its previous network, NBC. NCIS: Los Angeles and The Good Wife aired next, winning the audience over with terrific action and great character chemistry in both. The new comedy, starring Jenna Elfman, aired last.

The final night of the preview parties was for ABC and featured episodes of four new comedies: Hank, starring Kelsey Grammer, The Middle, starring Patricia Heaton, Cougar Town, starring Courteney Cox and Modern Family, starring Ed O’Neill and Julie Bowen (among others). Again, since I’m not a comedy viewer, I will provide no review; but I will say that I was somewhat troubled to see Jordan Hinson (who appears as Zoe Carter in the Syfy series Eureka) appearing as the daughter of Kelsey Grammer’s character in Hank. As a fan of Eureka, that just didn’t feel right to me.

The sole ABC drama to be featured is the highly-anticipated David S. Goyer/Brannon Braga series FlashForward. The hour series that is being touted as the potential successor to Lost did not disappoint, providing plenty of mystery, intrigue and action as well as characters rich with history just waiting to be unfolded. If there is one series that you must watch this fall, it is FlashForward.

Before I forget to mention, the Q&A for ABC‘s night included Busy Phillips from Cougar Town, Sonya Walger from FlashForward, Patricia Heaton from The Middle and Julie Bowen and Ty Burrell from Modern Family as well as the executive producers from each series.

If you would like to see any of the above series when they debut, here is a run-down of their details:

ABC:
Modern Family starts on Wednesday, September 23 at 9 PM
Cougar Town starts on Wednesday, September 23 at 9:30 PM
FlashForward starts on Thursday, September 24 at 8 PM
The Middle starts on Wednesday, September 30 at 8:30 PM
Hank starts on Wednesday, September 30 at 8 PM

CBS:
Accidentally on Purpose starts on Monday, September 21 at 8:30 PM
NCIS: Los Angeles starts on Tuesday, September 22 at 9 PM
The Good Wife starts on Tuesday, September 22 at 10 PM
Medium returns on Friday, September 25 at 9 PM

NBC:
Mercy starts on Wednesday, September 23 at 8 PM
Trauma starts on Monday, September 28 at 9 PM
Community starts on Thursday, September 24 at 9:30 PM