Arrows in the Hearts of Couch Potatoes

Arrow, the CW's new superhero drama

          I  realize  I have a major problem when I sit down to watch new network shows this season.  None of the new crop of series capture my attention enough to make me sit and watch the whole thing.  I end up bouncing around several shows at once, committing to none.  Yesterday was no exception.  I mostly watched the premiere of Arrow, a series about former playboy billionaire Oliver Queen, who after being stranded on a mysterious island for five years returns and takes on the vigilante role of Arrow.   The series has potential, though it feels a little like Smallville trying to be The Dark Knight in its strange hodgepodge of moody lights, brooding billionaires, and light characters.  There was a twist at the end of the episode which may bring me back, but I'm not 100 percent sold on it yet.

         The same goes for Nashville, the new soapy drama about an aging country star played by the always wonderful Connie Britton.  (She was the pillar in Friday Night Lights.  Truly the show wouldn't be half as good without her..)  Britton's character must battle it out with a new up and coming country brat played by Hayden Panettiere as they are forced to go on tour together.  The show feels a little like Revenge if Revenge were twangier and filled with obnoxious tarts.  I didn't stick around for the whole episode.  I may try to watch it again, but I just don't think it deserves the hype it has received.  Lauded as "the best new show on television," Nashville certainly wouldn't get that description from me, at least not yet.  I'll reserve judgement, if I decide to give it another chance that is.  I feel more inclined to watch Arrow over it.

        What then, should a television lover do if new shows are failing?  Turn to tried and true shows, give a few of the new shows a chance to gain momentum and improve, and sample a bit of everything.  Oh, and check out one of my favorite new comedies, Ben and Kate.  You won't have trouble committing to the adorable (and only thirty minute) show about a sweet (only moderately strange) brother/sister relationship.

           At all costs, avoid the competition trap on television.  I can't handle another X Voice Dancing Idol Star.  Give me stories.  Demand them story lovers, and they will come.