New Fall TV, Part 2: Dramas

Continuing where I left off yesterday, here are some quick takes on the broadcast networks' new fall offerings.

The Defenders: I wanted to hate this show, mainly because of the presence of Mr. Smarm, Jerry O'Connell. Coming from a guy, this is probably provoking the worst karma possible, but when I saw him preening in the CBS fall preview special, I found myself wishing that he would come down with a massive bald spot in the next few years.

But if you're looking for Jim Belushi hate, look elsewhere, especially since this role and this show seem tailor made for him (the question of why CBS is telling its tailors to build shows around Jim Belushi is a topic for another day). The pilot of "The Defenders" was fast, entertaining, and often preposterous. But I did chuckle a few times, and there were worse ways I could have spent an hour. I won't seek out future episodes myself, but if Mrs. Shark wants to watch it and I'm around, I won't leave the room. I love the fact that she likes Belushi; talk about keeping the bar at a reasonable height for me!

Chase: There wasn't enough in the first hour to keep me coming back. Jerry Bruckheimer wants us to think this is 45 MINUTES OF PURE ADRENALINE, but despite some decent chase scenes, it feels hollow. The lead actress is appealing, but the rest of the cast does nothing for me, and the whole effect is like watching a more intense USA Network show.

Detroit 1-8-7: I had a bad feeling when I discovered the show was rejiggered to eliminate a "we're filming a reality show" angle of this fictional cop show. Perhaps the wildly inconsistent tone of the pilot stems from the scramble to change it. Most of the things that sort of work in this show are "just another cop show" aspects, not distinctive enough to make this a regular watch. I was turned off by the uneasy juxtaposition of lighter moments with the ongoing, often-grim details of a squad of homicide cops. It can be pulled off, as in "Homicide" or "The Wire," both gritty shows which include natural-feeling moments of humor. But the varying tones in the "1-8-7" pilot seemed only to be there to build to a predictable "shock" ending, one that actually irritated me because it felt so contrived and inappropriate except as a device to raise eyebrows. In short, this is no "Homicide" or "The Wire."

More to come this week...