Fall 2014 Potential Pilots- CW, ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX

I promised to write down a little breakdown of what we can see starting Fall for the pilots, as I was a little thrown off that The CW was turning into Sci-Fi on prime time. 

THE CW

• The 100
•  Directed by Bharat Nalluri (Emily Owens M.D) so based on the director, the show already has a 50/50 shot at surviving (you know since Emily Owens flopped.)
• Starring: Eliza Taylor (Neighbors,) Eli Goree (Emily Owens, M.D.), Henry Ian Cusick (Lost), Marie Avgeropoulos (Cult), Paige Turco (Person of Interest), Isaiah Washington (Grey’s Anatomy), Kelly Hu (Arrow), Thomas McDonell (Suburgatory), Christopher Larkin
• The show is based on a book by Kass Morgan (which usually means the show will do well) in this post-apocalyptic thriller. Basically, 97 years ago a spaceship left the earth with 100 people, actually juvenile delinquints, back to earth in an attempt to re-colonize after a nuclear war emerged. Already, I can see how this could be interesting and potentially an idea that hasn't hit the TV waves yet. The CW has good track records with supernatural shows and this one looks promising, especially when the pilot was written by a writer from the series Chuck.
• Blink
• Michael Weston (House), Johnny Simmons (The Perks of Being a Wallflower), Elizabeth Marvel (Person of Interest)
• Not much said yet about the drama, except that it will be funny and quirky. One the of family members ends up in a coma-like state where he can hear and see everything. Alright, not seeing the humor after that short description nor am I finding coma's funny. I mean this has happened in shows before, people wondering if the person in a coma can hear them or whatever? How can this be a one hour enticing drama? I doubt the success of this one completely. 
• Company Town
•  Gage Golightly (Teen Wolf), Stella Maeve (Golden Boy), Maya Kazan, Merle Dandridge (Sons of Anarchy), Arjun Gupta (Nurse Jackie), Dondre Whitfield (The Event),
• A scandal erupts at a naval base and two best friends are suddenly split apart and kept apart because of the military divide on two different sides of town. Alright I see how the military and navy can make a show and how this could create some tension for a couple of episodes, but it needs to be backed up with a very strong storyline.
• The Originals
• I don't think I have to elaborate. Vampire Diaries spin off following the likes of the originals Klaus, Elijah and Rebekah when they return to New Orleans and run into Klaus's protege Marcel. Could either be a huge hit or a huge miss, depending on what fans expect from the producers. 
• Oxygen
• Aimee Teegarden (Friday Night Lights), Matt Lanter (90210), Malese Jow (The Vampire Diaries), Titus Makin Jr. (Glee), Grey Damon (The Secret Circle), Natalie Hall (Pretty Little Liars), Chelsea Gilligan, Greg Finley (The Secret Life of the American Teenager), guest star/recurring Maggie Elizabeth Jones (Ben and Kate)
• Great cast. A lot of recycled CW cast members from Cancelled shows and series ended shows. Its kind of a romance love story like Twilight only between a mortal and an alien, who comes to earth with eight other aliens. The other aliens who came to earth previously have all been imprisoned. I'm assuming amongst the love story these nine aliens referred to as The Orion 9, will do everything to free their fellow alien friends. Yeah, aliens. Not digging it.
• Reign
• Adelaide Kane (Neighbours), Toby Regbo, Celina Sinden, Jenessa Grant, Megan Follows (Anne of Green Gables), Anna Popplewell (The Chronicles of Narnia), Rossif Sutherland
• Well, the cast isn't exciting and neither is this plot line. It follows Mary Queen of Scots arriving to France as a 15-year-old, with her ladies in waiting and has something to do with the history, sexual intrigue, bad and good people. Basically a younger version of the movie Elizabeth. Yet, in a time where Downton Abbey on PBS is actually getting a lot of viewers, maybe this is the CW's attempt at a "classical piece" with a young twist. 
• The Selection
• Anthony Head (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Louise Lombard (CSI), Sean Patrick Thomas (Save the Last Dance), Peta Sergeant, 
• 300 years in the future, and based on a book, a poor young girl is chosen by a lottery to be in a competition to be a queen of war-torn territory. I don't know about you but it sounds like Hunger Games and what really irritates me is repetition. Sure, TVD sounded like Twilight and it was better and really successful, but this, this could go either of both ways. The cast is also mediocre.
• The Tomorrow People
• Peyton List (Mad Men), Luke Mitchell (Home and Away), Robbie Amell (Revenge), Mark Pellegrino (Lost)
• Based on a 1970's UK series, it brings together 7 people with superhuman powers to fight evil. Yep, I have absolutely nothing to say. 

The rest of this list only consists of pilot drama's I think will probably be successful on prime time. I don't mention all of them cause some of them are just really stupid. I also only talk abut drama's and not the comedy, although it looks like comedy will be very prominent next fall. 

FOX

• Boomerang
• Felicity Huffman (Desperate Housewives), Anthony LaPaglia (Without a Trace), Michael Stahl-David (My Generation), Patrick Heusinger (Royal Pains), Rosa Salazar (Parenthood)
• Really good lineup and the plot even in just a few short words is really catchy. It follows the daily life of people, a family business. The business? Assassins for the U.S goverment. Now who doesn't want to watch that?? 

• Delirium
• Emma Roberts (Scream 4), Billy Campbell (The Killing), Daren Kagasoff (Secret Life of the American Teenager), Corey Reynolds (The Closer), Gregg Sulkin (Pretty Little Liars), Jeanine Mason (Bunheads), Michael Michele (ER), Melinda McGraw (Men of a Certain Age)
• Okay, this I know will be good just because its a best selling book and it has the potential of PLL. Although I'm not quite sure if Fox is the best home for the drama, it'll definitely bring them a younger audience and keep them in the competition with ABC Family. I must say I'm excited. The plot focuses on love being illegal, but can be eradicated with a procedure. With 95 days leading up to her procedure, the main character falls in love. What this has is potential, a strong story and the ability to make it last for consecutive seasons. 

• The List
• Jessica Szohr (Gossip Girl), Tamsin Egerton (Camelot), Hilarie Burton (White Collar, One Tree Hill)
• Only because anything with P.Sawyer from One Tree Hill is totally worth it in my book.When members of the Federal Witness Security Program start getting killed, US marshal leads a case to find who stole the file. A mystery? All aboard the mystery express!

• Sleepy Hollow
• Orlando Jones (MADtv), Katia Winter (Dexter), Nicole Beharie (The Good Wife), Tom Mison (Parade’s End), guest star John Cho (Go On)
• The plot description is literally one sentence;A modern-day supernatural thriller based on the legend of the titular Westchester Country, N.Y. town. Yes I do realize its supernatural, but come on sleepy hollow. It has no choice but to be promising and enticing, right? Original is a horror directed by Tim Burton. I doubt someone would create it if they weren't going to do it justice.

NBC

• After Hours
•  Jill Flint (Royal Pains), Brigid Brannagh (Army Wives), Ken Leung (Lost), Freddy Rodriguez (Six Feet Under), Brendan Fehr (Roswell) and Jeananne Goossen (Alcatraz)
• Follows a team of doctors and nurses working the graveyard shift in the ER at San Antonio Medical Center. So I'm going to go with a mix of E.R, Grey's and Desperate Housewives. I'd say its golden. Anything to do with doctors and nurses and a splash of drama or murder mystery is solid for lie 8 seasons.

• Believe
• Kyle MacLachlan (Desperate Housewives), Johnny Sequoyah, Jake McLaughlin (Savages), Delroy Lindo (The Chicago Code), Jamie Chung (Once Upon a Time), Sienna Guillory (Resident Evil), Arian Moayed (The Following
• Follows an unlikely relationship between a gifted young girl and a man sprung from prison who has been tasked with protecting her from the evil elements that hunt her power. Alright the casting is great, the writers (J.J Abrams Lost/ Alcatraz) are pretty good, but you know it'll be heavily serialized. With J.J its always either a hit or a miss, nothing in between. This already has supernatural written all over it and what powers could she have? But see, it already has me wondering. 

• The Blacklist
• James Spader (The Office), Megan Boone (Law & Order: LA), Ryan Eggold (90210), Diego Klattenhoff (Homeland), Harry Lennix (Dollhouse)
• The world’s most wanted criminal suddenly turns himself in and offers to give up anyone he’s ever worked with. The catch: He’ll only work with a new FBI agent, one with whom he has no known connection. Alright, so he knows everyone in the world, I'm guessing and this will be a thriller in some twisted but totally worth the watch way. I'm getting hooked. As long as they can keep all the characters in check without weaving the web too far.

• I Am Victor
• John Stamos (The New Normal, Glee), Megan Dodds (CSI:NY), Matthew Lillard (Scream), Terry Kinney (Oz), Lorenza Izzo (Hemlock Grove), McKaley Miller (Hart of Dixie), Josh Zuckerman (90210)
• As much as I want to be game for anything Uncle Jessie, I just can't do this really sad pilot description. Really, a show about a divorce lawyer who has a unique view of relationships? What X-ray vision??

• Wonderland
• No cast just yet.
• The project will use Lewis Carroll’s 1865 novel as a point of origin, but will be built around a new character named Clara. Alice will have assumed the role of Wonderland’s evil queen, and thus will be the woman Clara wages war against. I'm intrigued. Alice the little blonde-y becomes evil and everything breaks loose. Definitely an attempt to catch up to Once Upon A Time and I see the success already.

ABC

• Big Thunder
• Ed MacLiam (EastEnders), Pierce Gagnon (One Tree Hill), Ana De La Reguera (Eastbound & Down), Zahn McClarnon, Alex Hassell, Alex Meraz, Ruth Bradley, Spencer Locke
• Sold because of Pierce Gagnon, but in all honestly I think this plot sounds interesting and a little different than everything we've seen thus far.A late 19th century New York doctor and his family relocate to a frontier mining town run by a powerful, but mysterious tycoon. Unfortunately, they quickly realize that not everything in the titular city is as it seems. (Inspired by the Disney Parks ride Thunder Mountain Railroad.) Plus Melissa Rosenberg has been writing and although she's got a bad rep cause of Twilight, I'll stick up for her. 

• Gothica
• Raza Jaffrey (Smash), Chris Egan (Kings), Tom Ellis (Merlin), Janet Montgomery (Jersey Girl), Tracie Thoms (Cold Case), Emma Booth (Underbelly), Seth Gabel (Fringe), Melissa George (Hunted, Alias)
• A modern-day Gothic soap that weaves together the mythologies of Dracula, Jekyll and Hyde, Frankenstein and Dorian Gray, among others. Honestly, modern and gothic do not go well together. This sounds disastrous.

• Once Upon A Time In Wonderland
• Sophie Lowe, Peter Gadiot, Michael Socha (the UK’s Being Human), Emma Rigby (Hollyoaks)
• The presentation/potential spin-off features Wonderland both post- and pre-curse. Wait what? More Once Upon A Time? Is ABC merging with NBC on this one? Like I said when to much is overdone, it becomes boring and therefore less viewers tune in.

• The Returned
• Omar Epps (House), Kurtwood Smith (That ’70s Show), Devin Kelley (Covert Affairs), Frances Fisher, Samaire Armstrong (The Mentalist)
• The potential series asks the provocative question, “What happens when the people you have mourned and buried suddenly appear on your doorstep as if not a day’s gone by? The lives of the people of Arcadia are forever changed when their deceased loved ones return.” I say yes only cause that question really made my brain churn and I started imagining and I got tweaked out. So yes, go for it ABC. Give it a whirl!
• WestSide
• Jennifer Beals (The L Word), Odette Annable (House), Luke Bracey (Home and Away), Bruce Greenwood (The River), Michael Graziadei (The Young and the Restless), Lincoln Lewis (Home and Away), Dean Winters (30 Rock)
• The Romeo and Juliet-esque soap focuses on two rival families living in “California’s most seductive ‘city,’” and the forbidden and dangerous romance that emerges between them. All I can say is, I love me some California and some Romeo and Juliet. 

CBS

• The Ordained
• Nestor Serrano (Blue Bloods, Dexter), Charlie Cox (Boardwalk Empire), Jorge Garcia (Lost), Audra McDonald (Private Practice), Emmanuelle Chriqui (The Mentalist), Sam Neill (Alcatraz), Hope Davis (In Treatment)
• The son of a Kennedy-esque family leaves the priesthood and becomes a lawyer to prevent his politician sister from being assassinated. Awesome cast lineup and the storyline seems fresh and promising. Sold.

I used the help of http://tvline.com/2013/01/24/pilot-season-abc-cbs-cw-fox-nbc-2013-2014/4/ for all of this information. Give credit where its due, I just put in my two cents!!! 

The Vampire Diaries- Bring It On

"I don't know maybe this is the better version of me."

Today's episode felt like I was watching an edition of Vampire Gone Wild! I always knew the cheerleaders had pep in their step, but Elena had an overload on tonights episode of The Vampire Diaries. This is a huge change from the emotional and needy Elena that we are accustomed to seeing every Thursday night. This girl had edge, spunk, and she was just a little scary. Didn't you think so? Her level of aggressiveness and spontaneity exceeded Katherine's a bit, and that's saying something. But of course, she doesn't like being compared to Katherine, despite her desperate attempt to drop her clothes in front of her ex and her current boyfriend. Who could blame her she's living young, wild and free.

As always Stefan wanted to control the ripper that was seeping through Elena's seams. As a ripper himself, he knew exactly what would happen the minute she turned off her humanity. But I don't think he understands that at this point, Elena has got nothing. She's lost her whole family, including her brother and burnt her whole house down. Girl has nothing keeping her down anymore, no pun intended. Yet when you start seeing worry lines on Damon's face, thats when you know things are getting slightly out of control. Being a badass vampire is one thing, but abusing those privileges, especially do the people that have been by your side through everything is another. Don't bite the hand that feeds you. Yeah, I know how dumb that sounds in context but go with it.

Now, I like Caroline. I believe that in all honesty she has progressed relatively well as a character. This weeks Elena was like that friend that tells you the truth when she's drunk; no boundaries. She rejoined the cheerleading squad, per Caroline's help. Who knew Caroline still had time for the cheer squad? Than she fed on the competition, followed by a deliberate attempt at dropping Caroline on her "thick head" before revealing that this was all part of her master plan. She than hurt Caroline's mom and almost bit her. Than when she Caroline was trying to find her and help her, a girl fight escalated; a complete 360 for Elena. She threw jabs at Caroline trying to convince her to turn it off so she doesn't feel the pain of Tyler leaving her or doesn't feel guilty for thinking about Klaus. You know, as much as I hate to say it someone finally did tell blondie the truth. And if it wasn't for Stefan and Damon, she would have staked her own best friend. Isn't that exactly what Elena hated about Katherine and the vampires? How they killed the people she loved with no remorse? Well at least I thought so until Elena cleared up her behavior for me by justifying her actions with the fact that Damon tries to kill Stefan in pretty much every episode.

I have a couple of questions regarding Elena's sudden abandonment of feelings and humanity. For one, is this how you break the sire bond? It seems to work like compulsion and although Elena listened to Damon, it was like she was pretending so she could go through with her plan and feed on cheerleaders that didn't have vervain in their systems. But than later on, she ended up listening to Damon anyways. Is she just following his lead because of her own free will or does this sire bond really exist? Second of all, she has no feelings, but she does feel? She gets angry, she feels amazing, she still has feelings for Damon, she gets jealous. She told Stefan that he needs to move on because she feels nothing for him but than got jealous when he was having fun with Caroline, while denying her jealousy. She technically still has feelings, she's just pretending not too. Putting that aside, how will they turn her feelings back on and bring her back to the old Elena? Stefan still has hope for her and even possibly for the relationship that they had, by getting the cure for her.

Which was Damon's job. On his hunt for the cure or should I say the hunt for Katherine (whose gotten exceptionally good and running and staying hidden) he encounters Rebekah, who also wants the cure for herself. By the end of the episode neither of them really care to find it anymore. With Damon's help, Rebekah realized that being a vampire was better than being a mortal and getting fat and old. And obviously Damon will not be doing his job since Elena has convinced him that he actually likes her better this way. When she explained that he always wanted to be with her but was scared of what she would think about the bad things he was doing and now she didn't care cause she did them too, I almost jumped in the van with them. So of course, they run away to New York to have some fun, far from brooding and fun sucking Stefan. See, alone crazy vampire Elena scares me, but paired up with Damon I'm buckling up for the ride. This power duo is bound to be a whole other level of excitement. Go team Delena! But I must wonder who is Will and why is he so important to Damon that he referred to him as one of life's biggest mysteries. I guess we will find out next week.

So while the love birds are leaving their problems behind to go live life, Stefan has made the discovery that the empty blood banks in the hospitals surrounding Mystic Falls must be the doing of Silas. I hoped that when Rebekah told Damon she found Shane dead on the island, he would make some connection to the Shane that was brainwashing Bonnie, but than I remembered what does Damon care? As of right now Bonnie is in grave danger and no one knows it. No one is even worried about her absence from school.

Since Tyler's on the run and his mother and father are both dead, he left the house to Matt. In the care package he sent, he wrote a letter to Caroline saying that he won't ever be coming back as long as Klaus is alive. Which basically means forever, since he's you know, immortal. This might be a motive for Caroline to try and find Katherine and get the cure. Meanwhile, Klaus is playing house with werewolf Hayley. She's the reason that Katherine has the cure (making deals with the devil is her strong suit obviously) and since Katherine want's to use to cure on Klaus, he needs Hayley's help to find her.  This story line also allowed us to see Klaus get nakey nakey and do some dirty for the first time ever! About time!! We've seen the intensity of vampire sex, now its time for some hybrid-werewolf sex. I'm going to assume this is happening sans the emotions since Klaus still wants to be with Caroline and Hayley has her eye out for Tyler. She also wants to find her family and Klaus happens to know a werewolf brood that was located in Louisiana that had the same identical birthmark as Hayley. Obviously, this family will play a role in the new spin off show- The Originals, which Klaus and Hayler are both going to be a part of.  So than maybe they will actually become a real couple. Who knows?

Memorable Quotes

• Stefan: We're going to loose her Damon.
• Stefan: Her humanity is off. She's basically numb to everything that makes her who she is. 
• Damon: She's a vampire.
• Damon: Being undead gets you down? Voila! Vampire prozac.
• Damon: I know its controversial Stefan but people actually like to have fun.
• Damon: I can't believe your making me say this. Show some restraint.
• Damon: I just made a list called things you suck at.
• Elena: As soon as the queen backs off everything will be fine.
• Rebekah: You're like Sherlock Holmes with brain damage.
• Stefan: When in doubt manipulate people with sex. You know thats the same trick Katherine used to pool.
• Elena: Look at you, your whole world revolves around me. Maybe your the one who needs to turn it all off.
• Stefan: They'll drink all the booze and get bored or Damon will come home and kill all of them.
• Damon: Life sucks when your ordinary.
• Damon: Under any other circumstance this would be a major turn on.
• Stefan: Even when I was at my worst Elena didn't give up on me, so we can't give up on her.