Joe Carroll, a former University professor who killed a bunch of female college students, escapes from jail.  Ryan Hardy, the man who caught him, is brought in after leaving the FBI to team with a Mason, a tough female FBI Agent, to recapture Carroll.  It turns out Carroll had help on the outside from a network of wanna be serial killers.

In an interview with Collider, Kevin Williamson had this to say about his upcoming serial killer show on Fox:

You’ll be routing for the FBI agent who is going to bring him down. It’s very emotional. It’s this huge, big, hybrid show like The Vampire Diaries, where it relies on the twists and turns, and the tears, where you just get so invested in the characters and you’re like, “No, not that one,” and then they die. It’s one of those shows.

The Vampire Diaries is probably my favourite show on TV right now, so a comparison by Williamson to that show piqued my interest.  After reading the pilot script by Williamson I see hints of his description, but I don’t know how it will develop into a “huge, big, hybrid show”.  To me it comes across as a standard kinda dark procedural.  I did experience a “no, not that one” reaction whilst reading the script, and I think if it can generate that reaction in me without any of the sensory factors which go along with actually watching a TV show, I think this reaction may be a common occurrence should the show end up running for a while.

I thought the flashbacks to when Ryan was tracking and caught Joe were done well, as well as the ones featuring other character like the student who survived, and Carroll’s wife, and they helped to introduce some of the characters who I assume will be major players going forward.

Whilst reading the script I couldn’t help but picture Carroll as being played by Jere Burns (Duffy from Justified).  He’s not written in any particularly definitive way, but it was the first actor that came to mind and I couldn’t shake it.  Likewise, I couldn’t help but imagine Robin Tunney playing Mason, in no small part because I don’t like Robin Tunney and I didn’t like Mason.

My initial impression whilst reading was that it will probably need to be toned down a bit.  First of all the language, ‘cos I’m fairly certain Fox doesn’t want a bunch of f-bombs being dropped each episode.  Plus it’s a little bit too gruesome in its depiction of violence against women.  I like violence in movies but I don’t like my TV shows to be too gratuitous.

I can say right now that I’m not going to enjoy the initial feeling that every new character introduced could be a potential serial killer.  That shit will get old real fast.

I’m also not too sure about the potential longevity of a show based in essence on tracking serial killers controlled and motivated by someone behind bars, especially if the authorities do what they should and place Joe in solitary to avoid him influencing people on the outside.  It seems rather limited and a bit freak-of-the-week to me.  Still, it’s just a pilot, and shows typically develop and evolve as time moves on.  The thing I always come back to is Seinfeld, which I thought was pretty damn ordinary for the first season and a half, and then developed into arguably the best TV show of all time.

I think that casting, and a commitment for the show to be something more than an ordinary procedural, will ensure that it develops an audience.  This in turn should keep the notoriously cancellation happy Fox from axing the show prematurely.  If both of those factors are covered then I can see myself losing interest like I did with Prison Break and Fringe.

Like everything on this site it’s for my own enjoyment but feel free to comment.

Again, too much work and FIFA12 for me to watch any decent amount of TV this week, but I will say that my top two shows this week were a much appreciated return to form.  On top of that, I just don’t have the time to post anything substantial beyond what’s here in this draft form.  I wanted to get something up so here it is.

1.  It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia “Chardee MacDennis” (7×07)  - I love these episodes where they never leave the bar.  7.5/10

2.  Community “Horror Fiction in Seven Spooky Steps” (3×05) - Great viewing on the first occasion, good viewing on the second.  7/10

3.  Parks & Recreation “Meet n Greet” (4×05) – It seems like this show can do no wrong lately.  Then again, it’s been like that for pretty much this show’s entire life.  I’m hopeful that the demise of Entertainment 720 will mean that Tom will return to work with Leslie.  7.5/10

4.  The Vampire Diaries “Ghost World” (3×07) – Even average episodes of this show are above average.  If that makes sense.  7/10

5.  American Horror Story “Halloween Part 1″ (1×04) – It continues to be really random and all over the place, yet I continue to enjoy it.  I can’t put into words why.  6.5/10

6.  Whitney “The Wire“ (1×05) – This show is really starting to grow on me, and with impressive considering I don’t like the two other women and the Indian guy.  This show succeeds on Whitney, Alex and Mark.  6/10.

7.  2 Broke Girls “And the Disappearing Bed” (1×06) – Meh.  6/10

8.  The Secret Circle “Masked” (1×07) – Cassie has power outside of the circle.  That’s good news because I didn’t want the development of the character to be hindered by the drama of the rest of the group.  6/10

9.  How I Met Your Mother “Noretta” (7×07) – More lameness.  5.5/10

10.  Survivor (23×07) – Poor.  5/10

11.  Once Upon a Time “Pilot” (1×01) – The real world stuff was far better than the fantasy land stuff.  I don’t have high hopes for this show moving forward, despite the presence of two Lost writers.  5/10

12.  Beavis and Butthead (8×01) – I knew there was a reason I never got into this show back in the day.  Because it’s annoying.  5/10

13.  Grimm “Pilot” (1×01) – So very very lame.  4.5/10

Like everything on this site it’s for my own enjoyment but feel free to comment.

Too much work and too much FIFA 12 led me to watch very little TV this week.  It was good that a bunch of shows weren’t on this week as it meant I didn’t miss too much.

1.  The Vampire Diaries “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (3×06) – No Klaus but Rebeka is still around so that’s a bonus.  Stefan still sucks, whether he’s a good guy or a bad guy.  I like that Vicky is back but it appears that storyline is over with now.  Shame.  Looks like ghost Mason is back, and hopefully for a while, because I actually like him.  7.5/10

2.  It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia “The Storm of the Century” (7×06) – Rickety Cricket returns, and it’s another glourious appearance by David Hornsby.  I liked Dennis’ weird zoning out when he spots the news lady.  Plus Charlie was absolutely right when he said Dennis was a little too dark talking to those two chicks.  7/10

3.  American Horror Story “Murder House” (1×03) – The show continues to be really random and all over the place, but I continue to like it.  Although I’m at a loss to explain why.  I liked that I got a little more of the back story for Constance and Moira.  6/10

4.  2 Broke Girls “And The ’90s Horse Party” (1×05) – It wasn’t that great and it wasn’t that bad.  It’s just a standard multi-camera sitcom.  I will say that Beth Behrs is certainly growing on me.  6/10

5.  The Secret Circle “Wake” (1×06) – Thinking back on the episode it wasn’t that memorable.  In fact all I can remember was that Nick’s brother turned up, so did a girl that wanted Cassie’s blood, and Diana broke up with Adam.  Still, I know I enjoyed the episode while I was watching it.  5.5/10

6.  How I Met Your Mother “Mystery vs History” (7×06) – Lame, as the show continues to be.  5.5/10

7.  South Park “Bass to Mouth” (15×10) – If the episode had been solely about Cartman either getting people to kill themselves or helping that kid who shit himself to not kill himself it would of been much better.  Instead we got a lame throwback episode to Lemmiwinks.  5.5/10

8.  Suburgatory “Don’t Call Me Shirley” (1×04) – Jane Levy is still awesome and hot, but the show really isn’t that funny.  It’s amazing what I’ll watch just to see an attractive girl.  5/10

9.  Survivor “Free Agent” (23×06) – Mykayla is gone (to Redemption Island at least) and it’s fucking bullshit.  4/10

Here are three new posters for the show, which in my opinion do not convey the tone of the show one little bit.  A get a real LA vibe from these posters and that certainly doesn’t represent the small town feel of Chance Harbor.  Also, Cassie doesn’t even look like herself in the third one.

Like everything on this site it’s for my own enjoyment but feel free to comment.

This week has again been dominated by FIFA 12, with the added bonus that I got the new iPhone 4S on Friday and didn’t watch any TV.  This has led to a reduction in the number of shows I watched this week.

1.  Breaking Bad “Face Off” (4×13) – An absolutely fantastic conclusion to the season and one which will hopefully set up next season (being the shows last) to be the one where Walt faces the possibility of actually getting caught by Hank.  It’s a shame that Gus is gone but this was an amazing episode.  9.5/10

2.  The Vampire Diaries “The Reckoning” (3×05) – When Klaus snapped Tyler’s neck I was happy.  Not because I thought for one second that he was actually dead, but because I knew there was gonna be another change in the dynamics of the show.  Either Tyler was going to die or he was gonna be turned into a hybrid.  Good stuff.  Plus we also got some info on the guy who’s chasing Klaus.  His name’s Michael and he’s a vampire who’s also a hunter.  Like I said, good stuff.  8/10

3.  Community “Remedial Chaos Theory” (3×04) – I really enjoyed the alternate timelines, each one telling the same short story differently.  It reminded me of the multiple endings to Clue, one of my favourite films of all time.  7.5/10

4.  Parks and Recreation “Pawnee Rangers” (4×04) – Ron was awesome, as he always is, plus every episode where Ron and Leslie compete with each other is good.  7/10

5.  American Horror Story “Home Invasion” (1×02) – It continues to be kinda weird and random, and I like it.  This episode also benefited from the fact that Dylan McDermott wasn’t around much.  He’s the week link for me so far.  6.5/10

6.  2 Broke Girls “And the Rich People Problems” (1×04) – Finally, the girls are starting to develop a friendship.  6.5/10

7.  How I Met Your Mother “Field Trip” (7×05) – Kal Penn was wasted again, but this was certainly a better episode than last weeks.  6.5/10

8.  It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia “Frank’s Brother” (7×04) – Some of it was good, but the gang did just about nothing for the entire episode.  That’s a letdown.  6/10

9.  Whitney “A Decent Proposal” (1×04) – I don’t think this is as good as previous episodes based on the fact that Whitney’s friends were sort of pushed to the foreground.  I like that Mark was more involved this week though.  6/10

10.  South Park “The Last of the Meheecans” (15×09) – This episode was so average I stopped watching after 5 minutes and went and made dinner.  Chicken and pasta for those wondering.  5/10

11.  Survivor “Taste The Victory” (23×05) – It continues to be average, but most seasons of Survivor usually are.  5/10

Like everything on this site it’s for my own enjoyment but feel free to comment.

NBA 2K12 and FIFA 12 have taken up a great deal of my free time this week so I’m gonna do my Best of the Week Twitter style.  140 characters or less.

1.  Modern Family “Door to Door” (3×04) – A really great episode of Modern Family.  Sometimes this show blows my mind with how good it is.  8.5/10

2.  Parks and Recreation “Born & Raised” (4×03) – Ron and April should always be together.  Plus another good appearance of Joan.  8/10

3.  Breaking Bad “End Times” (4×12) – Not as good as last week, but impressive nonetheless.  8/10

4.  The Vampire Diaries “Disturbing Behavior” (3×04) – I love how this show moves at such a brisk pace.  Klaus is back in Mystic Falls.  7/10

5.  American Horror Story “Pilot” (1×01) – It’s a weird, freaky, retro, David Lynchian horror drama from the creators of Glee.  And I really liked it.  I just hope they keep it weird.  7/10

6.  South Park “Ass Burgers” (15×08) - Wow.  This has to be the darkest episode of South Park I’ve ever seen.  It wasn’t necessarily that funny, but it was pretty damn good.  6.5/10

7.  Community “Competitive Ecology” (3×03) – Chang was completely unhinged and Todd was cool.  Much better than last weeks episode.  6.5/10

8.  2 Broke Girls “And Strokes of Goodwill” (1×03) – Kat Dennings is still awesome, and Beth Behrs is growing on me.  6/10

9.  It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia “Sweet Dee Gets Audited” (7×04) – Definitely a step down from the last couple of weeks.  6/10

10.  Whitney “Silent Treatment” (1×03) – I just don’t get the high level of criticism this show get.  It’s far superior to The Big Bang Theory in my opinion.  6/10

11.  New Girl “Wedding” (1×03) – Another poor choice of having the guys support Jess by doing something dumb. You don’t need to force “heart”.  Just be funny.  5.5/10

12.  Suburgatory “The Barbecue” (1×02) – Meh.  It was OK but that’s it.  5.5/10

13.  How I Met Your Mother “The Stinson Missile Crisis” (7×04) – Lame.  So very lame.  5/10

14.  Survivor “Survivalism” (23×04) - Mykayla is still around so that’s good.  5/10