So, this week is premiere week for many new shows as well as returning shows from the spring. Among those returning are Hawaii Five-0 and NCIS, with a new show (Vegas) having its series premiere on Tuesday. Hell on Wheels second season began in August and is rolling along (no pun intended) to its season 2 finale on AMC. First, I'll start off with the new shows this week, and end with my thus-far review of Hell on Wheels' sophomore season on AMC.
Hawaii Five-0: La O Na Makuahine (3x01)
Season 2 ended with a cliffhanger: Kono was thrown into the ocean bound and gagged, Malia Kelly was severely wounded by a gun, Frank Delano was out of prison, and McGarrett's mom *gasp* was revealed to be Shelburne! With the appearance of Joe (Terry O'Quinn) this season, I had a feeling that either he or someone else close to Steve would be revealed as Shelburne, the person who killed Wo Fat's father. I was so sure of this fact that I even joked to myself that it would probably be either McGarrett's mom or dad. I was shocked when the season finale rolled around and I had been on the right track. Crazy! Season 3 opened with as much suspense and adrenaline as season 2 left us with over the summer. (Spoilers ahead, so stop reading now if you don't like 'em!) Malia ends up dying in Chin's arms. This came as almost no surprise, but I had been hoping that Chin would get her help in time and she would make it. I will admit, I was crying when Malia died, and even more so as Chin was looking over her body at the morgue. Even though it's partially Chin's fault that Malia did die, I still felt sorry for him. oh yes, and Kono lived (no surprise there) since she was rescued by Adam Noshimuri (sp?) who was called by Chin (what's up with that?!). Anyway. I'm starting to like Adam, and only hope he keeps clean this season. I also hope to see more of Christine Lahti (Doris McGarrett) in future episodes this season as she was entertaining to watch. Her cargument with Danny was absolutely hilarious; pretty evident where Steve gets the talent to argue in the car! But, as revealed in the last two minutes, Doris let Wo Fat go even though he had come to kill her in the safe house. This is leading some to wonder if perhaps Wo Fat and Steve aren't half-brothers, and Doris knew this and Wo Fat discovered it upon holding a gun on her. Who knows? It will be interesting to see where they take season 3 from this point.
4/5 personal rating
Viewers: 8.06 million according to Nielsen
NCIS: Extreme Prejudice (10x01)
NCIS also ended its 9th season with a bang: Harper Dearing, a man who lost his son to supposed Navy flaws on ships targeted NCIS, leaving the building in shambles. Ducky, while in Florida for Palmer's wedding, suffers a heart attack on the beach, where the season 9 finale blacks out. Season 10 opens up basically where it left off: Ducky is in the hospital recovering from his heart attack with Palmer by his side every minute, while the team is left to pick up the pieces in Washington. They do pick up the pieces, however slowly, and end up chasing Dearing only to miss him twice. This leads to a man-to-man showdown between Gibbs and Dearing, which, if you know anything about Gibbs, leaves Dearing dead. In comparison to the H50 premiere the night before, I felt like the season opener to NCIS was flat, predictable, and 2D. The Tony/Ziva elevator scene: pitifully misleading. The implication that the team was in more danger than they actually were: pathetic, considering even McGee didn't get seriously injured while being next to glass windows that exploded!!!! I'm glad we know what happened to Dearing, but I felt like they built up to this whole "Dearing is the most wanted man in the U.S." and then they dropped it in the premiere. Maybe they couldn't stretch it out past the first episode, but it was just a very flat episode and not one that stood out much.
2.5/5 personal rating
Viewers: 20.2 million (2nd largest premiere opening in the show's history, biggest since 2009)
Vegas: Vegas (1x01)
No, that's not a stutter. The "Vegas" pilot episode is named "Vegas" (clever, huh?), and premiered after NCIS and NCIS:LA. "Vegas" is, well...about Vegas in the 1960s, and is loosely based/inspired by the real life story of Sheriff Ralph Lamb, "a fourth-generation rancher tasked with bringing order to Las Vegas in the 1960s, a gambling and entertainment mecca emerging from the tumbleweeds.Ralph Lamb wants to be left in peace to run his ranch, but Las Vegas is now swelling with outsiders and corruption which are intruding on his simple life. Recalling Lamb's command as a military police officer during World War II, the Mayor appeals to his sense of duty to look into a murder of a casino worker - and so begins Lamb's clash with Vincent Savino, a ruthless Chicago gangster who plans to make Vegas his own. Assisting Lamb in keeping law and order are his two deputies: his diplomatic, even-keeled brother, Jack, and his charming but impulsive son, Dixon. Ambitious Assistant District Attorney Katherine O'Connell, who grew up on the ranch next to the Lambs, also lends a hand in preserving justice."(CBS.com)
So, how was it? I'll put it this way: I hate judging things by their pilot episodes. Heck, had I quit watching NCIS after seeing the pilot episode last year, I would have missed out on a great show. Vegas was slow, I'll admit, and I found the plot to be a little underwhelming. However, I'm pretty sure I said that about Hell on Wheels' pilot, and when I kept watching, the show got better and less snooze-inducing (more on that later). And I will also admit, the main reason I even wanted to watch the show was because of Gil Birmingham's guest role in the pilot (which was also underwhelming, though I credit this to the writers and not the actor). I even was able to get 4 replies from Gil during the premiere, which was the highlight of my Tuesday night and made me kind of forget about the rest of the episode! Haha. "Vegas" apparently wasn't too bad; it had an opening of 14.7 million viewers, sweeping in all demographic (age) categories. Will the series improve? Or will it continue to play on worn out cliches and stereotypes of cowboys vs. bad guys? Time can only tell. I'll keep watching for the forseeable future at least.
2.5/5 personal rating
Viewers: 14.7 million
Hell on Wheels: Season 2 (episodes 1-7)
I never imagined myself writing what I'm about to write in regards to Hell on Wheels. Season 1 left me wanting another season, made me want to know what would happen to these characters that grabbed my interest. Season 2 made me want to know if the writers would continue to go against Hollywood type and expand the roles of Native actors like Eddie Spears (Joseph Black Moon) and Wes Studi (Chief Many Horses). I will be honest, the only reason I even started watching HoW was because of Eddie Spears and Wes Studi, and it's the only reason I've been watching season 2 thus far (Studi has not made an appearance yet in season 2, and it doesn't look like he will). So the show is rated mature. It's not for the weak stomachs, and sometimes I even cringe at the violent nature of the show. I guess what got me intrigued by season 1 was all the diversity and complexity of each character, and the promise by the writers to flesh all that out in season 2. But from episode 1, I've been disappointed in this season so far. We're only 2 episodes away from the end of the season (episodes 9/10 have been combined into one 2 hour finale), and I have yet to be wowed or impressed by a single episode. This isn't good, folks. Apparently, Nielsen is saying so as well, since last Sunday night's episode only had 0.6 million viewers in the 18-49 demographic range; to give you a comparison, Keeping up the Kardashians had 1.8 in the same range on the same night. 'Nough said? Or, you could compare season 2's ratings with those of season 1: episode 2 of season 1 had 1.5 million viewers, double that of season 2's 7th episode. I find the ratings to be a little odd, since most first seasons of shows have lower ratings than those of following seasons! And, we're not talking about the 2nd episode of season 2 here; episode 8 is just around the corner, and ratings are low. I mean L-O-W. Granted, season 2 premiered much earlier in the fall compared to season 1, which premiered in November 2011 (maybe the low ratings are Breaking Bad's fault?). But it kind of makes me wonder: if episode 7 has numbers like these...what in the world will season 3 have going for it? I guess I should explain why I've been so disappointed in the second season. Erratic writing. Plot holes. Character incongruity. Character turn-arounds that are so sudden they don't make sense at all. Characters going crazy/insane to the point of death. The show having a more odd tone to it than season 1. The show being considerably more bloody ("Slaughterhouse" anyone?) and more foul. I'll say this: the main focus of my fan anger is because of the horrible way the Joseph/Ruth relationship has "evolved" over season 2. When I say evolved I really mean "imploded." The writing behind Ruth's character is so all over the place I don't know what she's up to anymore. I've also felt lost timeline wise from episode 1 because time elapsed in-between the two seasons.
And let me tell you folks: It's never good to begin a season feeling so disoriented you can't get your bearings on anything. It's sloppy and messy, and will be the death knell of this show if they don't correct it. The fantastic writing of season 1 has been discarded in favor for something masquerading as quality writing. I'll keep watching season 2 to see how it ends (and I'm curious to see Durant's wife on the show as well), but if there's a 3rd season, well. I seriously doubt I'll be dedicating Sunday nights to the show.
Personal rating: 1.5/5
