Yay, Life! And Journeyman. Chuck is good, too. Bionic Woman might be redeemable.

dreamlogic | October 12, 07:17 CET

BW might be redeemable, if Ep3 is anything to go by. So much better than Ep2.

Liking Chuck, and Adam Baldwin is great to see again, but I hope they progress the Chuck character as the season goes on. If he's still hopeless by the end of the season it'll get very tiring.

zz9 | October 12, 07:39 CET

Chuck is fun, but after three episodes, it just feels all a bit one joke-y. This feels more like a sitcom than an hour a week show.

Life is great. Journeyman is my new favourite show, I mean, my favourite new show.

crossoverman | October 12, 08:47 CET

Bionic Woman seems to have the ratings to justify this (extremely minimal order), but the others? Not so much. Seems like a bit of writer strike hedging to me.

TamaraC | October 12, 08:56 CET

Way to not let love get in the way of important things, TamaraC.

dreamlogic | October 12, 09:34 CET

Yay, I <3 Chuck! ...and Bionic Woman is getting better...I think.

ShadyLane | October 12, 09:43 CET

Bionic Woman seems to have the ratings to justify this (extremely minimal order), but the others? Not so much. Seems like a bit of writer strike hedging to me.

This happens every year at this time. It's the next step to keeping shows on the air if they get a back nine. If the shows stopped writing after their alotted 13 episodes and then got picked up for the back 9 (of a 22 ep season), they'd be behind schedule.

Journeyman and Chuck have both lost viewers, but so has Heroes - which was last year's breakway hit. NBC is probably going to be less trigger happy this year and see if these shows can build an audience. Journeyman's second week was similar to its first (and dropped less audience than the two shows preceding it) and its third week drop-off was similar to Chuck and Heroes. So unless NBC is ready to drop its entire Monday Night line-up, it's prudent for them to ask for more scripts.

If the writers strike goes ahead, then every scripted drama will be behind the eight-ball. Letting these shows get three scripts ahead won't solve the writers strike problem, if it happens.

crossoverman | October 12, 09:55 CET

Yep, exactly crossoverman, they do this every year as a matter of course, even for shows that go on to be cancelled (as the link on the related .org thread says, the only shows this didn't happen for last year were "Smith" and "Kidnapped", both of which were already effectively cancelled after about 3-4 episodes) but they're even more likely to now with possible strike action looming.

Sadly, it doesn't really tell us much about these shows' long-term chances but it's at least not bad news.

Saje | October 12, 12:30 CET

Other than me not believing the plot itself, Chuck is ok. Adam plays the same characters over and over though. I'd like to see him in a different role. Cane I really like. Bionic Woman I haven't seen enough of to give an opinion and I haven't seen Journeyman at all.

leiasky | October 12, 18:51 CET

Chuck is fun but one-note. Bionic Woman was good on Wednesday because David Eike (sp?) wrote it and Katie Sackhoff was in 1/2 of it. Journeyman.....I'm watching but still don't know. Haven't seen Cane.

The show I love which will be cancelled is Pushing Daisies. :-(

Dietcoke | October 12, 23:36 CET

Pushing Daisies is doing very well in the ratings, Dietcoke.

Why do you think it is in danger?

TamaraC | October 12, 23:41 CET

I'm lovin' Chuck for Adam Baldwin. Yes, he may play the same character, but that is because he is so bloody good at it. Hell, he even sounds like Jayne in the voicework he did for Halo 3.

I'm still not sure about Bionic Woman. The only character I really like right now is Katie Sackhoff's Sara. And I've never even seen BSG . . . Anyway, I'll try and stick through the new scripts and see where that takes us . . .

BrowncoatG | October 12, 23:53 CET

Am I the only one that liked the pilot of Bionic Woman that they showed at Comic con better than what they've aired?

Glad to hear Chuck is doing well, and YAY for Journeyman, which I absolutely love. Favorite new show this season.

Hex | October 13, 03:38 CET

No Hex, I'm right there with you. I thought that the younger sister (the much angrier deaf sister) was a much better actress than the cuter but far less interesting younger sister. And I had hoped that the show would be more about Jamie not wanting to give in to working for the government, as it is it just seems like Alias with super powers.

I think Chuck is brilliant, and I adore Adam Baldwin's character. I think it is fantastic that he is able to create this NSA agent who is both incredibly intimidating and always very funny. I feel that his character is being given some of a growth arc: he started off as a cold blooded killer but we already see a growing friendship with Chuck (plus there is the cool business of taking care of bonsai trees!).

embers | October 13, 04:51 CET

I see character development already in Chuck. He has been set up as a brilliant slacker who will, I expect, be pushed into heroism, like it or not.
And while I initially despaired of Adam's character, it too is gaining depth. My favourite show this fall.

Lioness | October 13, 06:25 CET

I am loving Chuck so much. In the last few years there are only a few shows that have grabbed my attention like that, and become shows that I can't miss.

Everyone on the show, from the actors to the writers to the editors who turn that dialogue into rapidfire awesomeness, is incredibly talented and, so far, can do almost no wrong.

Bionic woman, I am just so disappointed in. I think the writing (and a lot of the acting) is just awful. There was a weird spot in the last episode where, in the middle of an action scene, it seemed like they were trying to imitate Buffy style light dialogue. The relationship with the little sister, too. But it all just feels so contrived.

dispatch | October 13, 06:38 CET

Bionic Woman, I will be tuning in every week.

People had made comparisons to Buffy but I didn't think a similarity was there -- until this week. Firstly, there was dialogue that sounded serious unless you realized the opportunity for stress-relieving giggles that it was affording. Which was like what Joss would do, except Joss would put it front and center. Eick provides it as an option if you need it.

Secondly, the first bionic woman - the "evil" Sarah Corvus - described herself in this episode as having died and been revived by the bionics, and said that she felt she had lost her emotions when she came back. In Whedon's world Corvus would be a demon or vampire who'd lost her soul. Like any of Whedon's "evil" characters, Sarah Corvus is someone who may be evil but who we care for and who we hope will find her soul and regain her humanity (and cause some mayhem along the way to finding it).

I am really appreciating Bionic Woman. And I am glad that even with the similarities to Buffy, it is not copying Whedon's style exactly.

will.bueche | October 13, 07:33 CET

Everyone should be watching "Journeyman".

I wanted to try making a comparison to Joss' television shows, but really that would be too much of a stretch. And television doesn't need to be like Joss' shows to be good.

What I love about it is the science fiction concept entrenched in the mundane, every day world. Buffy and Angel were already a little more fantastic because of their lead characters being not-quite-human. "Journeyman" is so much about how real people cope with one extraordinary thing happening in their lives - Dan begins traveling through time with no explanation.

The show is so grounded in reality, it makes the science fiction/fantasy part of it feel almost inconsequential. And like Buffy/Angel (hey, I found a comparison!), it's all about the metaphor. As Buffy was about "fighting your demons", Journeyman is about "confronting your past". Except, of course, in both shows the characters do it literally as well as figuratively.

crossoverman | October 13, 09:18 CET

Yep, loving "Journeyman", the scripts and the acting are just fab and I too like the way that the "gimmick" provides a way into some very resonant, personal stories while also being an interesting mystery in its own right.

That's some good stuff re: Bionic Woman willbueche. My take on Corvus is that it's actually her animal side that's taken over, despite the "dehumanising effects of technology" metaphor. She's become purely about survival, feeling (or rather not feeling ;) like she has nothing else left to her and that strikes me as very animalistic (in much the same way that Buffyverse vampires, demons etc. were "just" animals, with no capacity to act as moral agents).

The show frustrates me a bit right now because there're some really great ideas in there and a lot of potential but implementation wise it's not quite making the grade for me yet, hoping that'll change and they'll find their groove soon.

Saje | October 13, 15:58 CET

I am really happy to hear about Journeyman! I've seen every episode so far and I absolutely love it. It really captured my attention and I love character driven shows. The storyline about the main character's own life and past is what got me hooked.

I wasn't sure about Chuck at first but I'm really starting to warm up to it.

As for Bionic Woman, it still hasn't completely peaked my interest and the writing isn't as good as it could be. I've noticed some half-ass attempts at Buffy type humor but the actress just doesn't pull off the quips successfully.

Weeza | October 14, 00:29 CET

Cane must have flown beneath my radar as I have never heard of this new show. Is it any good?

Simon | October 14, 01:45 CET

Simon, it is an updated version of Dallas set in Miami. I watched the pilot and then deleted it from my Tivo.

TamaraC | October 14, 01:51 CET

I'm watching Cane and enjoying it somewhat even though I'm not a fan of Jimmy Smits. Dallas in Miami is sort of accurate.

Bionic Woman's pretty good, but I'm not keen on the Corvus character and the way the actress is hamming it up. Impressed with Michelle Ryan - not a glimmer of Zoe Slater left in that performance. But I may be alone in thinking so.

Caroline | October 14, 12:04 CET