So Wednesday night three new TV shows premiered Arrow on The CW, Nashville on ABC and Chicago Fire on NBC. Overall I thought it was a pretty good night for pilots as all three shows had their own appeal but the stand out for the night for me personally had to be Nashville which I thought was great. Read on after the jump to read my reviews of Arrow, Nashville and Chicago Fire...
Arrow - Pilot
Arrow was a lot better than I expected. The story follows Oliver Queen played by Stephen Amell who is a billionaire playboy who is presumed dead after being lost at sea. Five years later he is found on an island and comes back home to Starling City, a changed man. Many people are there to greet him home some more positive than others, his mother Moira (Susanna Thompson), sister Thea (Willa Holland), best friend Tommy Merlyn (Colin Donnell) and his ex girlfriend Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy). Things don't appear to be as they first seem as the pilot reveals some hidden secrets that I am sure will be the focus of much of the season. Oliver is driven by the desire to be a better man and to save Starling City from the corruption that has taken over the city. In flashbacks to the accident that stranded Oliver on the island we see his father give a dying declaration of the part in the corruption and beg his son to make it right. I do not know much about the arrow story from the comics and other mediums but from the pilot I have deduced it is a new take on a Robin Hood style story of a rich man trying to do right by the people and keep the rich in line. The pilot shows promise and Stephen Amell did well with his portrayal and he is pretty easy on the eyes too which never hurts. The show has enough intrigue to keep me interested for at least the first few episodes so I'll continue with it and see where it takes me for now at least.
Verdict: Wait and See - A few more episodes to make up my mind.
Chicago Fire - Pilot
Chicago Fire follows the lives of firefighters and paramedics in a Chicago firehouse. The trailer highlights the fact that the firefighters and paramedics in question are extremely attractive and it would be easy to write it off as a superficial exploration into the lives of the characters. This however does not appear to be the case as the cast is made up of some talented actors that I have seen in previous roles. Jesse Spencer plays Lieutenant Matthew Casey who heads up Truck 81 and is best known for his role as Dr Chase on House and who I fondly remember as Billy Kennedy years ago in Neighbours. The second male lead I am less familiar with is Taylor Kinney who I have only seen in the cancelled series Trauma. Here Kinney plays Lieutenant Kelly Severide who is in charge of Squad 3, a special rescue squad. There is tension between the two as at the beginning of the episode the team loses a firefighter that they have both been friends with since childhood. They seem to both blame each other and likely themselves for his death. The rest of the cast is made up of Monica Raymund from Lie to Me, Lauren German from the 2012 film The Divide, David Eigenberg who played Steve in Sex and the City and the brilliant Eamonn Walker from OZ. The narrative has more depth than first expected too as each character has their own issues to sort out whether it's financial troubles or physical pain. The pilot sets up these personal issues for each of the characters and I expect they will be explored in greater depth as the series progresses. One thing that did surprise me was the outing of one of the characters as gay within the first episode and the way it was done was very matter of fact which in this day and age is the way it should be. This is only surprising as NBC have not exactly been a network that has had shows with many homosexual characters and when they have it has either been incredibly subtly suggested or they have been written out of the show as with Serena Southerlyn in Law and Order. Interestingly Dick Wolf, the Executive Producer of the Law and Order franchise is one of the Executive Producers on this show too and this adds to my interest in the show as I have consistently enjoyed Dick Wolf produced shows such as Law and Order SVU, Criminal Intent and Deadline. Hopefully the show will get given a chance and not be cancelled after a few episodes which NBC is known to do as the network can be quite cut throat with new shows.
Verdict: Enjoyed the first episode and look forward to seeing what happens.
Nashville - Pilot
Ever since it was announced I have been looking forward to Nashville as before the promo was released I was pretty certain I was going to love it and I was not disappointed. The series follows two country music singers, Connie Britton plays Rayna James a legendary country music star who is trying to hold on to the spotlight. The other singer is a rising teen star Juliette Barnes played by Hayden Panettiere and is the new it girl of the country music scene. The biggest selling point for me was the shows creator the superb talent that is Callie Khouri who won the Academy Award for her screenplay for Thelma and Louise. The show has a great depth in its plot and authenticity in its portrayal. Connie Britton is great in her quiet moments of contemplation in which she conveys so much, this is no great surprise to me as Britton was great in Friday Night Lights. Hayden Panettiere is pretty good too and although at first appears to be a heartless bitch she is given a back story that may explain her hardened shell. Panettiere holds her own in a show of heavyweight actors such as Powers Boothe who just dominates the frame of every scene he is in as always. I am really hopeful for this show and am excited to see what direction Khouri takes the show but I feel it will be safe in the hands of the lady who penned Thelma and Louise.
Verdict: As I expected Nashville is a winner for me and I will be tuning in each week to see how Rayna deals with her Nashville troubles.
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