Awake — “Awake” may be my favorite new network drama of the season. The show comes from Kyle Killen, who was responsible for one of the best pilots in recent memory, “Lone Star,” a show that Fox pulled two years ago after only two episodes despite wide critical acclaim. “Lone Star” was about a guy who led a double life: He was involved with two wives/lives and had to shuttle back and forth between the two. “Awake” plays in the same ballpark. It’s about a detective who was in a tragic car accident in which either his son or his wife died. For reasons that aren’t entirely yet evident, the detective lives in one universe where his wife is still alive, but when he goes to sleep, he wakes up in another universe where his son survived the accident. Neither the detective nor the viewer knows which life is real, and despite seeing a shrink in each universe to deal with the trauma, the detective just as soon continuing living both lives, as it means he gets to continue seeing both his son and wife. On the flip side, he also has to deal with their grieving. Naturally, there’s a procedural component to it, as well: The detective uses clues in one life to help solve murders in another life, and vice versa. Kyle Killen had hoped to avoid being burned by the serialized nature of “Lone Star,” so he installed an episodic element to this show.
“Awake” is a little airless — there’s no humor to speak of — and it hews a little too closely to the procedural formula, but it’s intriguing. I want to know which life is real, if either is. Plus, there’s an ongoing conspiracy surrounding the circumstances of the accident that killed his wife and/or son that has me hooked.
Will It Be Renewed — Ratings have not been stellar; in fact, they’ve been downright dismal. The most recent episode scored a 1.2 in the demo, and only 4.6 million viewers overall. But, it is doing better than “The Firm” did in the time slot and no worse than “Prime Suspect.” I’d say there’s only a 25 percent chance that “Awake” returns, but it will depend on whether NBC develops anything good during pilot season. As it is, “Awake” does as well as anything in that time slot for NBC, so they might be smart to let it have some time to pick up some viewers. The compelling premise should eventually snag a few additional eyes.
Life’s Too Short — “Life’s Too Short” comes from Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the guys behind “The Office” and “Extras.” It’s a faux-documentary that follows Warwick Davis — a dwarf — who is a minor celebrity thanks to roles as an Ewok, as Professor Flitwick in the Harry Potter movies and, of course, as the lead in Willow. The thing about “Life’s Too Short” is, if I’d never seen Gervais’ “The Office” or “Extras,” I’d probably like it more. As it is, Warwick Davis is just another Ricky Gervais character, only he’s in the body of a midget. The comedy is uncomfortable and obnoxious, and there’s only so many times I can watch Warwick Davis humiliate himself. However, I’ve watched the entire series (the penultimate episode aired on HBO this week) because of Davis’ brilliant physical comedy, and because the celebrities who have appeared on the show — Liam Neeson, Johnny Depp, Steve Carell, Helena Bonham Carter, and Cat Deeley — have been outstanding. The previews suggest they are a much bigger part of the show, but they typically only fill four or five minutes in each episode, However, they definitely make checking in worthwhile.
Will It Be Renewed — “Life’s Too Short” airs first in the UK, where it has already been picked up for a second season. I suspect HBO will also continue airing it.
Missing — Ashley Judd’s new drama is basically Lady Taken, only it’s not nearly as good as Liam Neeson’s feature film. Judd stars as a former CIA Agent whose husband died in a car explosion a decade prior (he’s played by Sean Bean, so obviously). Ten years later, when her son moves to Europe to attend college, he also disappears unders mysterious circumstances. Ashley Judd’s character travels to Europe to kick a lot of ass in pursuit of her son. Problem is, she’s not that impressive an ass-kicker, and the plot is far more suitable to a film than a television series. It grew stale very quickly, and I bailed halfway through the second episode.
Will It Be Renewed — Maybe. It’s been second in its time slot (Thursdays at 8 EST) behind “American Idol,” but it has been airing against NCAA coverage instead of “Big Bang Theory.” I suspect it will fall precipitously once basketball ends, and there’s not a lot of buzz behind the show, either from viewers or critics. I’d give it a 35 percent chance at renewal.
Bent — “Bent” stars Amanda Peet as a divorced single mother who develops feelings for her contractor, played by David Walton. He’s a gambling addicted womanizer; she’s a Type A lawyer. They hate each other in the way that suggests that they’ll end up banging. Jeffrey Tambor, who plays the contractor’s Dad, is f**king fantastic, and the show overall has echoes of “Cougar Town” or “Scrubs.” Indeed, “Bent,” airing back-to-back episodes at 9 p.m. on Wednesdays on NBC, has a solid foundation for a good comedy. The first two episodes were good, but not great, but it usually takes a while for comedies to find their legs.
Will It Be Renewed — Unfortunately, “Bent” will never get an opportunity to find its legs. NBC shoved it out with little promotion in the worst time slot on television — up against the top-rated comedy on television, “Modern Family” — as as a result, the first outing for “Bent” scored less than a 1.0 rating in the demo. The question is not whether it will be cancelled, but how many episodes we’ll get to see before NBC cans it.
Touch — I had zero expectations for Keifer Sutherland’s new drama on Fox. It comes from Tim Kring (“Heroes”) and the premise sounds dreadful: It’s about a single-father (Keifer Sutherland), who lost his wife on 9/11. He has an 11-year-old autistic son who doesn’t speak, but apparently he can predict future events through numbers. Like, everything is the universe is interconnected to a phone number or something, and he communicates with his father through these numbers, which allow Keifer Sutherland to be in the right place at the right time to change someone’s life for the better. So, basically, it’s “Touched by a Autistic Math Genius’ Dad.”
It sounds moronic, and it shouldn’t work. But hell if the damn show didn’t win me over. It interconnects three or so stories in each episode, and so far, they each have ended with some crazy, stirring feel-good ending. It’s overly sentimental, but I’m a sucker for sentiment where it involves fathers and their goddamn kids. It’s not exactly “Justified,” and the formula may wear thin after a few episodes, but for now, it’s entertaining and emotionally affecting enough to keep me involved for the rest of its shortened season.
Will It Be Renewed — Probably. The ratings have been solid, Fox needs a new drama to fill the void left by “House,” and Maria Bello is set to be a series regular if it is picked up. She’s play an Earth-Mother type who has a daughter with a gift similar to that of the son of Keifer Sutherland’s character.
