Have I really not written about TV since last fall’s premieres? I get more response from movie reviews, but I really should be posting more about TV — my first love — especially when there is so much more to watch these days!

Anyway … after years of gradually spreading out the fall premiere period, this year networks are trying to kick things off with a whack of premieres at once. This past week I’ve watched new episodes from seven sitcoms (some already had two episodes) and two dramas. Frankly, I am not excited about the new shows coming out, but at least some of my favourite returning shows are already back.

Last Man Standing

I was surprised that I liked this show, but after binge-watching all six seasons on Netflix, I really got to like the Baxter clan. I was a bit sad when the show was cancelled, and very happy to see it given a second life on Fox. The premiere has a lot of obvious winks to that whole situation as well as the recasting of middle daughter Mandy. While producers have declared that they aren’t trying to replicate Molly Ephraim’s version of Mandy with new actress, Molly McCook, I think they have a way to go before recovering some of the magic that they lost with Ephraim’s departure. Old Mandy had the wonderful shallow-girl charm of Justine Batemen’s Mallory from the sitcom Family Ties. New Mandy is more like the ditzy airheadedness of Suzanne Somers’s Chrissy on Three’s Company (I know. These references are really dating me, so shout out to you, my 80s-loving friends). It’s going to take some time for me to get use to the switch. The rest of the episode was mostly about liberal son-in-law Ryan dealing the aftermath of the election of the-president-who-shall-not-be-named. Political dissension causes family tension until Mike (Tim Allen) saves the day. Even if it’s mostly more of the same this season, I think I’m going to like it.

Murphy Brown

Another show that is back (but this one’s after 20 years), the show seems oddly familiar and comfortable. I was not a huge fan of Murphy Brown when it aired, but I watched enough to know the characters. This reboot picks up with the same main characters two decades later as Murphy starts a new morning show to give voice her liberal viewpoint in the current political climate. Not shying away from naming the president, Murphy even gets into a bit of a Twitter fight with Trump on the air. The premiere has a lot of fan service and callbacks to the original series, but it really did feel like the show is still relevant and will be a nice breath of fresh air to all the viewers who related to it 20 years ago. With new, younger characters such as Murphy Brown’s son Avery (who is now also a broadcaster doing a competing show) and Pat Patel (the social media director for Murphy’s new show) I just hope that the show doesn’t lean on the “old folks don’t understand today’s slang or media” joke too much.

Young Sheldon

Surprisingly this show was my favourite new series from last year, and I was looking forward to its return. CBS decided to air two episodes within premiere week, so we got one episode of Sheldon doing a crazy-genius thing where he dismantles a fridge to get rid of a buzzing noise that only he can hear (then gets a paper route to pay his parents back for the damage), and another episode where he meets a rival 10-year-old genius (I love that idea). The whole cast is still pretty great, especially Ian Armitage as Sheldon, and Annie Potts as Mee-maw.

The Big Bang Theory

Paired with Young Sheldon, the parent series also aired two new episodes this past week that proved that Sheldon and Amy are the brightest part of the show. The first episode had a dreary storyline where Amy’s dad was hiding from her mom by living at hers and Sheldon’s apartment. Obviously the parents on the show are all broader caricatures than the main characters, so why the writers decided to draw comparisons between Amy’s parents and Leonard and Penny is lost on me. The only saving grace of the episode was Sheldon and Amy on their honeymoon at Legoland. The second episode again got most of its laughs from Shamy. Watching them go on a treasure hunt, convinced that Leonard and Penny’s mysterious crystal wedding gift was the first clue, was a riot. The B plot about Stuart and Raj’s sad love lives was depressing. I don’t mind that this is the last season of the show. I still enjoy it, but the new story ideas seem to be dwindling.

Modern Family

On that note, this is a show that seems way past its sell-by date. I have not related to these characters in a while. I liked it best when they found wonderful humour in the simple things in life and how they enjoyed those moments together as a family. I feel like ever since most of the kids grew up they have been trying to turn back the clock on the characters, but it’s just not working. Can’t they also move forward? What do adult couples do after their kids have moved out or grown up so they spend less time with their parents. Is this show suffering from having to contractually involve all the ensemble cast in every episode? Figure it out before this show becomes even more ridiculous!

The Good Place

I really like The Good Place, mainly because it’s so unique. I’m not sure that I am still as invested in the fate of the main characters as I was in season one, but it’s still interesting to see where things go with each episode. At the end of last season the four main humans were returned back to Earth and Michael (Ted Danson) is busy pulling the strings to make sure that they can get into “the good place”. We get to see the various complicated circumstances that bring the four together. Plot-wise it’s kind of interesting, but also it’s a bit confusing to keep having all these machinations going on rather than these characters just moving forward. Rather than all the flashing back and forth, I want them to get to a place with a normal narrative again. Paradoxically, this interestingly constructed universe of good place and bad place and all the rules are getting in the way of my enjoyment of the show. In any case, the lead actors are all still great and they wonderfully inhabit their characters. The writing continues to be clever and witty. I’m just a bit lost in the plot.

American Housewife

I’m not sure if this is just concept fatigue as the third season of the story of this sassy housewife living in the upper-crust Westport environment seems played out. I think the series needs to get past that premise and show more about these characters’ lives moving forward. In an attempt to get there, they’ve giving Katie a job — she’s now a party planner after last season’s successful spring gala — but I’m not sure that is really going to be enough. For some reason, her boss is a disembodied voice (so she can’t really interact well), and her job puts her face to face with the Westport housewives again, just like the PTA did. If we don’t get to know Katie’s life more, we should at least get more into the family’s life. This is a family sitcom, so let’s see more of the family.

This Is Us

Still love this show, and the characters. The season premiere dealt with some great milestones that will lead to more story arcs throughout the season. Toby and Kate are trying to get pregnant, and obviously her weight will be an issue and challenge again. Randall is trying to get to adopt Deja officially, so that’s big. What I didn’t enjoy so much was that Beth got very annoyed with Kevin for dating her cousin Zoe. They are both adults, what’s the big deal? (She does explain in the end, but it’s kind of a distracting storyline). Finally, it was great to see the story of Jack and Rebecca’s first date. It was a very sweet episode and nice to see focus on the main characters again (albeit a bit marred by a frustrating twist at the end).

Manifest

Despite the lack of an island, I’m struggling to see how this is not another pale, too-late copy of Lost. The premise is that a plane full of passengers experiences some strange turbulence en route and when they land, five years has passed in the rest of the world, but not for them. The story focuses on a family who has a sick child and their possibly being able to have more time with him. However, there’s also a slightly ridiculous aspect to this story where the passengers are also hearing voices in their heads (their own voices) telling them to do things that apparently serve some kind of greater good. It took a very complex and elaborate story to set up and justify all the weirdness and wonderfulness that was Lost. This show does not feel like it’s up for the challenge. Plus, I don’t really like many of the characters.

In any case, the fall 2018 season is coming at us fast and furious. Stay tuned for more updates after next week.