Beauty and the Beast

Now that TIFF is winding down, I’ll be resuming my regular blogging soon. Be sure to check out @jen_mcdonnell and MSN.ca for all my TIFF updates – including my review of Smashed.  (And no, Aaron Paul didn’t show up to the premiere, which is odd since he was spotted all over Toronto in the days leading up to it. Guess he had to head back to L.A. early? I don’t know how he’s ever going to fall in love with me if this keeps up…)

In the meantime, my BFF Nicole and I have been IM’ing about the buzziest fall TV shows. Check out our previous conversations about Elementary, The Mindy Project, Last Resort, The New Normal and Arrow. Today, we wrap up by tackling the rest.

Jen: So out of five shows we talked about, I’m probably going to give every one except Elementary a shot. Oh man, I can already hear my PVR groaning.
Nicole: I’m in for Mindy, Elementary and Arrow for sure. The others are on probation. Scott Speedman better spend a lot of time shirtless in Last Resort…
Jen: I’m already starting the ‘Shirtless Scotty’ letter-writing campaign.
Nicole: You mean re-starting?
Jen: Ha – you got me.
Nicole: I’m looking forward to 666 Park Avenue as well. I love Vanessa Williams.
Jen: Yeah, it looks intriguing. I’m not sure I can handle another horror TV show, though.
Nicole: What? It’s a horror? I just thought they lived on Park Ave! Damn. I don’t watch horrors.
Jen: Dude, it’s about a Park Ave building that’s haunted.
Nicole: Oh. I’m not in. I thought they just did mean things to poor people.
Jen: Vanessa Williams and Terry O’Quinn play landlords trying to lure young couples to live in their scary, haunted place – I think. I haven’t watched the first episode yet.
Nicole: I thought that a stereotypical Park Avenue couple who behave like typical rich people would actually turn out to be the devil. Someone should make THAT show.
Jen: Also, keep an eye out for Nashville. The pilot for that one charmed the hell out of me. I’m also (embarrassingly) going to give Beauty and the Beast a shot. I didn’t hate the first episode.
Nicole: I’ll give Beauty and the Beast a few more episodes, but that pilot was cringe-y!
Jen: It was cringe-y but in the best CW way. It had bad acting, ridiculous casting (Kristin Kreuk as a dectective – ha!), but an amazing soundtrack and great chemistry.
Nicole: I like the back story, but not really buying the Kristin Kruek cop bit at all.
Jen: Agreed! Also, they need to make the Beast look actually, you know, beastly.
Nicole: The Beast is not scary enough! Totally.
Jen: Any other shows you’ve seen you want to give a quick shout-out to?
Nicole: Well, not much of a shout-out, but Made in Jersey is a non-starter.
Jen: That’s my pick for the first show to get canned.
Nicole: I love, love, love lawyer shows, but that was the worst!
Jen: I also think Mob Doctor is DOA, even though it costars Zach Gilford. I love Saracen, but no.
Nicole: Haven’t watched, no interest.
Jen: There are a lot of really strong mid-season shows (The Following, Save Me, Carrie Diaries), so I’m hoping a lot of these crappy shows will disappear quickly to make room for the good stuff. And yes, I just admitted that I liked The Carrie Diaries pilot. Deal with it.
Nicole: Carrie Diaries is totally happening. Patricia Fields better be styling it.
Jen: I don’t know who’s styling it, but the costumes are on point! And the girl who plays Young Carrie is great.
Nicole: I thought the Carrie Diaries book was adorable. Very Footloose. Save Me is a no-go for me, though. I only got through half before I turned it off.
Jen: It’s a comedy about a woman who hits her head and begins hearing voices (possibly God’s), so might be a little too on the nose, with its star Anne Heche being a former crazy and all.
Nicole: Maybe I just don’t like Anne Heche? I mean, I used to like her on Another World.
Jen: In any case, it looks like we have some heavy duty TV watching in store for us this fall.
Nicole: Indeed.
Jen: Happy couch potato-ing!