I am not much of a television watcher as I am horrible at remembering what nights shows are on and what time. So Hulu is a great tool for me and finally it has enabled me to keep up with the new shows this Fall that sparked my interest…
The Secret Circle
Summary: When Cassie’s mother dies she goes to live with her grandma in her mother’s small home town. She soon discovers that her mother, along with a small group of parents were all once in a coven of witches. Something went wrong and some of them were killed. Now, their children are discovering their powers and Cassie seems to be the key to give them more power then they ever dreamed… as long as something bad doesn’t happen again.
My thoughts:
As a young teen I loved the books by L.J. Smith. They were perfect, supernatural adventures aimed at teenagers with the protagonist being someone who could be easily identified with. This series, based on a series of three books by the author, is already starting out much better then the CW’s previous try with The Vampire Diaries, so I’m hopeful.
Cassie is exactly as I remember her in the books. She’s blond (which Vampire Diaries messed up) and she’s hesitant with her newly found powers and trusting the odd little town and its residents. But right away in the first episode she comes off as intelligent and someone you want to like. The other members of the town are interesting too, including Faye: the dark haired bad girl, who really isn’t so bad when she forgets that people are watching.
My biggest complaint is the missing of an iconic scene from the books right off the bat. I remember in the books, when Cassie goes to school for the first day, there are two lunch rooms. One is the main lunch room and then there’s a smaller lunch room just off that where the ‘special kids’ eat. This scene was forgotten. I can see how they were trying really hard to keep it as a small town, so the school scenes would kinda clash, but in the books it gave you a feeling right away of who these kids were and what the town thought of them. This time, that feeling is a bit less distinct, so hopefully they will make up for it in future episodes.
Overall the show feels like a long, drawn out version of The Craft, but that isn’t necessarily a bad
thing. If this show plays its cards right, it could be quite good and that potential is there. However, in no way do I expect this to be anything like the last really good CW show Buffy the
Vampire Slayer. Then again, it may surprise me.
Pros:
Like-able main character
Potential!
Cons:
Missing iconic scene
Could be dull and forgettable
Verdict: I’ll keep watching and keep my mind open
***
The Playboy Bunny Club
Summary:
Maureen is the newest bunny at the Playboy Club and really only wants to fit in and keep her head down. But circumstances have other ideas when she’s attacked by a man in the back room and the next thing she knows she’s dumping a body with one of the most well known lawyers in town. Now she has to deal with that secret, how she feels about the lawyer and the new ‘Mother Bunny’ who is great at smiling while she aims that knife at your back. And who said that the Playboy Mansion was all fun and games?
My thoughts:
I admit I turned on this show expecting nothing. I read the gripes about it over glamorizing the
60’s and making the Playboy Mansion look like one big game. What I found was a show that actually grabbed me and pulled me in.
Maureen is like-able. In spite of her doe-eyed innocence there is a backbone and a self confidence that makes you warm up to her. She’s not just a piece of eye candy, she does have a personality and a confidence that shows itself in a very realistic manner.
Aside from her, the other characters we are introduced to are surprisingly three dimensional. The big time lawyer is struggling to distance himself from the mob that got him where he was; the oldest bunny is struggling to keep her place in the mansion; and there’s even an African American bunny that aspires to something better. The biggest surprise was that at least one of the bunnies is part of a secret society of homosexuals, just trying to survive in that time period. Now that was a plot twist I didn’t see coming!
Overall, I’ve found enough things to keep me interested and this one is the biggest shock for me.
I’ll definitely be watching this!
Pros:
Three dimensional characters
Surprising plot beginnings
Cons:
The setting
Verdict: I’m surprised and impressed. Count me in!
***
Revenge
Summary: Emily Thorne is the new girl in the Hamptons, but her money and looks make her fit right in. What her rich neighbors don’t know is that she’s out for revenge and has what appears to be the perfect plan to slowly destroy all of their lives, one by one.
My thoughts:
I was hoping for a beautiful train wreck. Turning on this show I wanted to see an intelligent young woman who was wronged in the past and slowly took out people one by one who really deserved what was coming to them. This show? Could still be that, but after episode 1 I’m not too optimistic.
Mainly, its the pacing of the show. In the beginning we’re shown an engagement party that introduces us to the main girl and the rich Hamptonites around her only to find out that her fiancee is now dead. Then we’re whisked back to when she came into town to start the story from the beginning and peppered in are flashbacks to why she is doing all of this in the first place. This whole idea could have worked, however the show seems more concerned to gear you up to watch her revenge without telling you anything about her victims aside from their two-dimensional personalities.
I don’t completely believe the main character is as devious as they make her out to be. If the fiance’s death is the main thing we’re building up to, then I don’t see how that is nearly as evil as ‘ruining their lives’. It all seems very fantastical and dull. I want to see some action, I want to hate these people she’s going after and I want that feeling of Yes they deserved that! when all the pieces start to fall into place. This series is not delivering and after this first episode, I’m not sure they can correct their pacing and character mistakes.
Pros:
Interesting concept
I want to like this plot!
Cons:
Too much given away in the first episode
Not enough character development for me to care.
I don’t believe in the main character’s abilities
Verdict: I’ll give it a couple more episodes, but only because I really want the idea to be executed well.
***
I’ll be writing at least one or two more of these. So look for future articles about Pan Am, Terra Nova, The New Girl, Once Upon a Time and Charlies Angels…. and if there’s any others I should look at, let me know!