New TV shows, Part II

Here's where I talk about all the sci fi/fantasy/paranormal shows I've watched so far this fall.

Reaper
Grade: A

I'm starting with this show because I liked it the best. You'd think a show about a boy whose parents sold his soul to the devil before he was born would be depressing, but Reaper is laugh-out-loud funny. It's the only new show I've watched this fall that made me forget all about the fact that I was watching the first episode of a new show and trying to decide if I liked it. Instead I got all caught up in the characters and what was going to happen to them. My favorite part of the show is Tyler Labine, who played Uncle Dave in Invasion a few years ago. He always plays jerks and always manages to make them completely lovable. I guess the rest of the cast is great, too, since I didn't notice their acting and instead just thought of them as being their characters. Here's hoping that future episodes are as funny as the first one was.

Chuck
Grade: A-

This show was not quite as perfect as Reaper in my book, but it was still quite enjoyable. The premise is much the same as Jake 2.0, but it seemed a bit faster and flashier than that show. Chuck is a computer specialist at a big electronics store, and he has had government secrets downloaded into his brain in a thoroughly unbelievable manner. Now he has to deal with the fallout from that while still living his normal life. There were some exciting moments and some gentle humor, but this was a classic "first episode" that set up the premise and didn't do much else, so I'm not exactly sure what to expect from future episodes.

Journeyman
Grade: B

I really, really wanted to like this show, because everyone was calling it the new Quantum Leap, and I loved that show. Well, I'm going to call it the anti-Quantum Leap. It takes everything from that classic and turns it on its head, and not in a good way. While our main character (whose name I can't remember and won't be bothered to look up) does leap into the past to help people, he does it in a very uncaring, mechanical way that would have appalled Sam Beckett. He seemed to see the people he helped as pawns to further his goal of getting back home and nothing more. I'm going to watch this for a while just because I'm so loyal to the genre and the memory of Quantum Leap, but unless it improves a lot, I don't expect to enjoy it.

Bionic Woman
Grade: B

This show was slick and sophisticated and ultimately hollow. You'd think that we'd feel something for a girl who was almost killed in a car crash and instead was re-engineered against her will, but I didn't. They just tried to cram too much into this hour, and I don't know what to expect from future episodes, but I don't think they'll be much fun.

Moonlight
Grade: B+

This is another show that I didn't expect much from, but it was surprisingly good in a low-key way. It's the story of a vampire who solves murders, and it reminded me a lot of The Dresden Files. Too bad it's on at the same time as Friday Night Lights, which starts next week. Still, I'm intrigued enough that I'm seriously considering taping it. We'll see.