Reflecting On Each Show - 2016/17

The season is over and the full collections are up, but now each show has concluded it's time to reflect on each of them and just summarise how their seasons unfolded and grew. What were the high and low points? Were there any season-wide trends? What worked and didn't work?

   NOTE: This review will only consist of shows that were reviewed here for the entirety of their season. As such, shows I picked up and quickly dropped (ie A.P.B., Code Black, Powerless and Pure Genius) are excluded and The Walking Dead will not be included as only a half-season was reviewed.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

In my opinion, Brooklyn Nine-Nine had its strongest season yet. It started off with a hilarious bang and stuttered only once in the first 15 episodes (4x10 "Captain Latvia" being the single below average episode in that timeframe). Even the Pontiac Bandit (4x12) was OK. There was a rocky stretch between episodes 4x16 and 4x19, where plots weren't as well-executed as their premises would demand, but with the final plot arc the Brooklyn Nine-Nine we know and love returned.

   What worked:

1. The arcs. Though the precinct-based arcs were often one after the other rather than overlapping previously, they felt stronger because of this. More time was dedicated to singular stories across a few episodes (4x01-4x03 in WitSec; 4x13-4x15 with the precinct shutting down; 4x20-4x22 with Hawkins' bank robbery gang), and while it gives season 4 a scattered appearance on paper, it worked very well with the progression in between.
2. Hallowe'en. Enough said.
3. The guest stars. Brooklyn Nine-Nine has always had good guest stars, but I feel like season 4 has had the best of the lot. To name but a few: Desmond Harrington, Jimmy Smits, Nathan Fillion, Maya Rudolph, Ken Marino.

What didn't work:

1. 4x16: Moo Moo. To parrot what someone said online after the episode aired, the joke density on Brooklyn Nine-Nine is so significant that an episode devoted to a serious contemporary topic with punchlines only sporadically thrown in felt odd.
2. The same thing that did work: the separate arcs. It didn't ever feel like it, but when thinking of season 4 as a whole it's hard to see the flow being quite as easy as previous seasons.
3. An insane lack of Pimento: he appeared in only 3 episodes (4x06, 4x07 & 4x21). Enough said.

But really, an inconsistent third season was turned into a fantastic fourth; episodes 4x16-4x19 represent a significant bump in the road near to the season's end, but having a few subpar episodes bunched together instead of spread out is probably easier in terms of replay value. We hope for more of the good bits in season 5 - and perhaps another very meta plotline similar to Nathan Fillion in 4x13.

Bull

Bull was one of two new CBS shows we reviewed here that got renewals, and neither can be described as anything other than peak CBS. Entertaining, light-hearted and well-cast - but nothing extraordinary was ever put forward. Bull started strongly plot-wise but fell short in terms of character growth; as the season progressed, this almost flipped. The main essence of the show - trial science - became less important and character plots consumed the back half of the season. But it was a generally inconsistent season: no matter what part of the season, there were always great, good and poor episodes and each week was a lucky dip.

   What worked:

1. The trial science. This is what attracted me to the story in the first place: the interesting science behind how to manipulate juries, and it always provides an interesting perspective and good trivia.
2. Liberty Davis. She only appeared in four episodes (1x01, 1x06, 1x11 and 1x16) but she was one of the success stories of the season. She began as a lawyer for the opposition in the premiere and was extremely timid and clumsy; by her final appearance of the season, Liberty was comfortable working against and standing up to Bull.
3. J.P. Nunnelly, played by Eliza Dushku, who challenged Bull at the end of the season and added an extra dimension.

What didn't work:

1. The lessened importance of the trial science. Once the show had set its course it began to experiment with different scenarios for cases, and oftentimes that came at the expense of the trial science aspect. Therefore, when it did show up it was often the most interesting part of the episode.
2. J.P. Nunnelly, whose increasing importance to the back few episodes saw the rest of the cast sidelined considerably.
3. It didn't really know what to do with most of its cast. We learnt bits and bobs of backstory, but by and large a lot of what we learnt stemmed from episode opening scenes where the characters were having fun and ended up in a situation where they took on a case. The characters need to feel more organic than season 1 made them feel; perhaps a new showrunner will see to that.

Overall, Bull had an OK first season - and that's good. I'm hesitant to write off any show after OK first seasons given Person of Interest's progression thereafter, but I don't expect Bull to change much. The formula might not work completely, but it's good enough and it gets good ratings. And three more OK seasons still means syndication for CBS.

Conviction

The early ratings flop of the season, ABC's Conviction, was supposed to be the Mondays at 10pm replacement for the long-running Castle. A cop drama in reverse, Conviction sought to free innocents rather than incarcerate the guilty. It only received 13 episodes, but my average episode rating was 8.6, which is impressively high, and shows not only consistency but also that the quality of writing never dipped from start to finish. Honestly, I'm gutted this show had to die (I'd swap it for Bull or MacGyver any day), because it had so much going for it.

   What worked:

1. Hitting the high notes on some pretty controversial topics: police and race; campus rape; Muslim hate etc. Conviction didn't shy away from anything and it was the perfect premise with which to explore such topics openly.
2. Hayley Atwell. The perfect woman to play Hayes Morrison, and she played her to perfection. And of course she's gorgeous.
3. The writing. Not only did the characters work and their differences really elevate each case, but the main romance was treated so differently to most network TV romances (Hayes and Wallace were off and on and off and on again every other episode which was mightily refreshing), and the episode-to-episode consistency was beyond anything I've seen in a cop procedural.

What didn't work:

1. Jackson Morrison, Hayes' brother. Appeared in one or two scenes every two or three episodes. Not enough of him. End of.
2. The final scene. It wasn't a cliffhanger as such, but it didn't wrap things up quite as nicely as I'd wanted. Perhaps if Wallace hadn't witnessed Hayes defying his orders to fire Sam by kissing him so he could claim sexual harassment then their relationship would have ended on strong grounds and Hayes would have gone out on a high note, doing what she does best.
3. More of Frankie. There wasn't really much call in some episodes for forensic re-examinations, so Frankie's USP fell by the wayside a little.

Given the strength in writing quality, Conviction's tendency to tackle tough subjects with appropriate heart and an examination of all the arguments, and a top cast, for me there's no doubt this show burned among the brightest this season - perhaps only behind Quantico. It's a shame it won't be coming back.

Elementary

Elementary is a very inconsistent show, season-to-season, but often to extremes. When the show is on form, it's exceptional. When it's bad, it's utterly dire. I found that season 5 fitted into the latter category. It still retained the show's trademark ability to produce convoluted murder plots that exceed most other CBS shows in their cleverness, but, much like Bull, the chance of getting a very good Elementary episode or a very bad one, even in a season as disjointed as this, was a lucky dip. That following a bright start to the season, with what I felt was one of the most complete Elementary episodes they'd ever produced.

   What worked:

1. The murder plots. Nine times out of ten, even in this season, episodic writing wasn't terrible; in fact, it was very good. The question of quality lay with whether the episode was gripping enough, but the murders often cleverly fused more intricate storylines with either trivia or ideas not usually seen in similar shows (see the Inuit episode, or SBK using Nazi encryption devices to encode messages).
2. Shinwell actually committed the murder Sherlock investigated him for. I presumed they would do the obvious thing and find him innocent, but to be fair to Elementary the most unexpected part of Shinwell's story was that he genuinely did commit his friend's murder.
3. Kitty's return. While I found Kitty the worst part of season 3, her return in season 5 for a 2-parter just worked. Not only did the impetus for her return make sense, but the 2-parter was intriguing and well-written, and Kitty's send-off was actually very sweet too.

What didn't work:

1. Shinwell's arc. He walked into the show basically doomed and wasn't particularly interesting before he met his bloody demise. It was simply a far too typical storyline (criminal gets out of prison, wants to reconnect with his daughter and do good in the world), but stretched across 22 episodes, and amounted to an anaemic simplicity that I don't normally associate with Elementary.
2. The lessened importance of Sherlock and Joan's crucial dynamic. This should be the first thing any writer ensures is prominent in their script, but too often Sherlock and Joan were split up, either by plot necessity or Shinwell.
3. It wasted the opportunity to see Sherlock in a relationship. Something Elementary has often shrugged at is giving main characters visible relationships. Sherlock and Fiona's unique relationship spanned a few episodes in season 4, but her only appearance in season 5 was to break them up. Sherlock in any relationship would have been brilliant; Sherlock in a relationship with an autistic woman was even more fascinating. But it was frustratingly short-lived when it could actually have received a significant focus throughout the season.

Elementary lives on for a shortened season six despite horrendous ratings. I'm less hype after the slog that was season 5, but I find that Elementary's even seasons tend to be of much higher quality than the odd seasons, and the season 5 finale set up what could be a riveting arc: Sherlock losing his deductive faculties.

Hawaii Five-0

Hawaii Five-0's seventh season is the first not to contain any sort of character mythology arc, following Gabriel's death in the season six finale and, like most shows when their mythology arc(s) end(s), the season suffered a little in terms of quality. The over-large cast (Grover and Jerry have never needed to be main characters), tends to impact this too. Even very well-executed stories such as the short arc with the serial-killer-killing-serial-killer Dr. Madison Gray proved that the show has left the ground a little without a proper central villain. But the show was pretty consistent in terms of quality.

   What worked:

1. Bringing Danny's story full circle. I'd rather have seen this as a send-off for Danny since it seemed perfect, but 7x23 "Prelude" showed us Danny's final case before he was discovered by McGarrett and joined Five-0 - and it was ridiculously enthralling to get a window into Danny's past when he was unsettled and isolated on O'ahu. A high point.
2. That finale. A more action-packed episode wasn't reviewed anywhere this season, as the finale took a car chase around the island of O'ahu to brilliant extremes. Proved that a lack of mythology arc didn't mean a bad season finale would be produced instead.
3. The serial killer arc. A serial killer who uses other serial killers to do her dirty work? Now that's thinking outside the box, and it was riveting.

What didn't work:

1. Episode 150. Supposed to tie up loose ends from McGarrett's past and properly conclude his mythology, the episode ended up not really making any sense at all.
2. Abby not being present. Chin's girlfriend appeared in only 7x01 and 7x25, due to Julie Benz getting cast in Training Day. But Hawaii Five-0 should have had her locked in as a recurring character for the season, since her and Chin in season 6 was really the only relationship arc bar Steve and Catherine that has ever got any proper screentime.
3. Didn't really hit the reflective theme that much. The writers wanted the season to be a season of reflection for the characters on their pasts, but only Danny ever really saw that theme written into his story. Kono did, but only through her husband Adam.

Hawaii Five-0 was the most consistent cop procedural reviewed this season. It continues to be inviting and beautifully shot, and over 7 seasons has built up a rich universe of characters. It will be back for season 8, but much longer than that might depend upon Alex O'Loughlin's health.

Incorporated

We'll never return to the world of Incorporated to discover how the story ends, but it was a very enjoyable show while it was around. There's little to say about it in terms of trends: a 10-episode serial doesn't make them as easy to pin down as a 22-episode procedural, but there's plenty good and bad about what happened in those 10 episodes.

   What worked:

1. The cast. Sean Teale, Allison Miller, Dennis Haysbert, Julia Ormond, Damon Herriman. Fairly well-known names in the TV world and all perfect for their roles.
2. The richness of the dystopian world. In 10 episodes, Incorporated created a past, present and future for a world divided into Green (wealthy) and Red (poverty-stricken) Zones; it created a world run globally by companies, refugee camps, escort services, and a horrific business hierarchy, among much, much more. And into this world it packed a richly complex story. This is how TV should be done.
3. That cliffhanger. It works as a fairly satisfactory ending for the show: Ben reaching the fortieth floor. Yes, we don't see him rescue Elena, but reaching the fortieth floor was the first step in achieving that goal, and we the audience can presume a happy ending from this achievement.

What didn't work:

1. Theo's side story. Theo, brother of sex-slave Elena, went his own route to rescue her: prize fighting. But this was one story that never really worked, and seemed to be shoehorned in just to include an extra dimension to Ben's mission.
2. Not enough Ian Tracey as the evil villain Terrence who forced Theo to prize-fight.

It's definitely a shame Incorporated was cancelled. It hit its first marker - the fortieth floor - and left the story there (although it's a happy enough ending that we can fill in the gaps). It had a few problems, but by and large Incorporated did very well with just 10 episodes, and I would have liked to see it return.

Lucifer

Lucifer has, in two seasons, gone from strength to strength, and season 2, in heightening the focus on Lucifer and the divine family, created a uniquely mind-boggling, captivating and unusual story that was often unpredictable minute-to-minute, never mind episode-to-episode. Relationships changed at the whim of every new revelation, but there was extremely good work done tying the ground characters (Chloe, Dan, Ella) to the overall storyline. It was exactly what I'd hoped for.

   What worked:

1. Charlotte Richards. Lucifer's mum was the single best part of season 2, elevating it from a grounded procedural to a divine serial. And everything they did with her was clever as hell (pardon the pun).
2. Humour. Lucifer is one of the funniest shows around. Whether it be Lucifer wilfully misunderstanding Dr. Martin's advice or Chloe interacting with Maze, it was a riot from start to finish. As we expect.
3. Professor Jason Carlyle. It's hard to create fresh motives for crimes these days - they're almost always variants of love, money, revenge or to cover up another crime - but with the designer poisoner, it was to prove the point that humanity was flawed and he was being unfairly shunned for letting someone die when he could have saved them. And that was uniquely interesting.

What didn't work:

1. The back five episodes. It lost the Lucifer/Chloe spark it had before - even purposely, this did detract from their quality.
2. The cliffhanger. Not that it was bad, but Lucifer randomly waking up in the desert with his wings back in the final seconds of the episode was such a disconnect from the rest of the season. It just didn't give me any reason to invest in it.
3. Killing Uriel. It worked in a plot sense - in fact, the story doesn't work without his death - but Uriel's penchant for patterns and the butterfly effect was gripping, and it was lost far too soon.

Lucifer's second season took a big step up from season 2. Now, it has to keep pace with that. I believe that if there's one show that can, it's Lucifer, but I'm wary of how often I tend to find third seasons of broadcast network shows of a lower quality than the others. Fortunately, that issue tends to stem from comfort: usually, shows getting a full third season will get a fourth by default, and so they take their foot off the gas. Lucifer has no such luxury, and so it will have to pull off a fantastic third season to stay on our TVs past that.

MacGyver

The final piece of CBS's Friday night line-up, the MacGyver reboot couldn't reimagine the magic of its original quite like Hawaii Five-0 could seven years ago. Instead of MacGyver working alone, there's an entire team built around him in this version: a hacker, a hitter, a best friend and a boss. It was a successful if typically lowkey CBS entry: it didn't shine in what it produced but it never flopped in ratings either.

   What worked:

1. Introductory cut-scenes. Most episodes opened with a 2-4 minute segment where Mac, Jack and occasionally Riley would have to escape from some dire situation unrelated to the  main plot. They were funny and interesting and I always looked forward to them.
2. Jack Dalton's humour. It's good to have humorous characters, but I'm yet to see someone so central to the humour of a show. Jack is almost the lone source of comic relief, and while that in itself isn't a great thing, the fact that he is so funny really is.
3. A willingness to learn from mistakes. Whether it be a reimagining of Thornton that was poorly received or the jarring voiceovers where Mac explained the creations he was making, the show course-corrected later on in the season. And that's something you don't see in most shows.

What didn't work:

1. Stakes were never really raised. This could be argued for almost any CBS show, but with MacGyver this felt even more noticeable. No one is ever in any real danger and attempts to make this feel so never come off.
2. There were few really memorable episodes. Linked partly to the fact that there was never really any high stakes to speak of, few individual episodes elevate themselves beyond being average.
3. Not as much trademark ingenuity as expected. This is MacGyver for God's sake. Scorpion is more creative with its unique situations than this, and this is MacGyver's trademark.

The things that don't work about MacGyver are more serious than lots of other shows this season. It's an extremely light show for one based around a supposedly secret agency that takes on missions the government can't/won't, and that is to its detriment a little. But there's a lot of heart, some great acting and a very good guest cast. MacGyver will make it to season 4 and syndication much like Bull, and by then I've no doubt it will have built some rich storylines and an even richer universe.

NCIS: Los Angeles

NCIS LA has had a very up-and-down season, but some of that is largely due to Daniela Ruah's pregnancy dictating a certain amount of writer self-control. What it has done, even in a fairly inconsistent season, is keep its rich universe going and add to it with even more incredible storylines. And it's done so reinvigorated in an early timeslot on Sundays.

   What worked:

1. That episode. We all know what episode I'm talking about - or we do if you've followed these roundups. I've run out of superlatives so ... simply stunning.
2. Callen and Anna's romance. Callen's been hard of luck lately in the romance department, but not only is Anna Kolcheck a fantastic character but her relationship with Callen was one of the best things about season 8. Go Calann.
3. More Hetty. Her airtime was dwindling the past few seasons, but she recovered slightly here. This was of course partly due to Miguel Ferrer's death and exit from the show, but we always needed more Hetty and we got it.

What didn't work:

1. Kensi's arc prior to its conclusion. Kensi being forced into a coma and a long recovery simply to keep Daniela Ruah out of any heavy stuff during her pregnancy I understand - but it wasn't interesting.
2. Same old tired "Hetty threatens to retire" plot. Over the course of the show, Hetty has now threatened to retire from NCIS so many times and not gone ahead with it that it undermines her conviction each following time. Not to mention it's annoying now.
3. Callen's father continuing to appear. Some mythology arcs need to end when we have the answers. Yes, we still lack a few of them, but the direction is unclear and it's a little frustrating.

It was a decent season for NCIS LA: average without going too far into excellence. But it's done one thing it didn't really do last season, which is shore up a few character arcs for next season. With Sam's wife dead, a Densi proposal and the suggestion of a Neric relationship too, there's a lot to come in season 9.

Quantico

Quantico. ABC's second flop of the season, and completely written off for cancellation by basically everyone (and it defied that universal belief by the skin of its teeth - not that I'm complaining). Quantico was definitely one of the best shows this season. With its engrossing multiple timeline story and a timely switch to a procedural format, the season almost felt like it was split in two, but it maintained a sense of mystery and dire stakes throughout. What's most impressive is it matched the 8.6 average episode rating I gave to Conviction, but over a longer span of episodes (22 vs 13). That's not something I imagine many shows will achieve.

   What worked:

1. The shift from multiple timelines to procedural. There's something to be said for how engrossing the multiple timeline format is, but the shift to procedural came at the right time, and allowed for the plot to progress in the present as the final endgame approached.
2. The smart use of old characters. Quantico has only had 2 seasons, but has one of the best character bases on this roundup: old season 1 cohorts in Caleb, Will and Iris all showed up at some point, along with others - just when they were needed. It really fleshed out the world.
3. The complexity of the story pre- and post-multiple timelines. I can't explain the story here because of its complexity (and if you've followed along or watched the show you know already what happened), but the writing was so superb that a spy thriller carried across 22 episodes and two formats - amazing.

What didn't work:

1. The shift from multiple timelines to procedural. At the same time as this benefited the show, having multiple timelines has been Quantico's trademark. The shift felt like a piece was now missing, no matter the necessity of it.
2. The exits of Harry, Sebastian and Dayana. I like Russell Tovey, but perhaps his character Harry should have exited earlier to save the ridiculous ending he received; Sebastian simply vanished without explanation and Dayana's exit, while explained, was poor too.
3. Nimah and Raina being separated almost all season. Not having to play twins for another year must have been a relief for Yasmin al Massri, but for fans who missed their unique dynamic, their almost season-long separation was disappointing.

Besides Conviction, Quantico was my favourite show of the season, and in terms of complexity it stands heads and shoulders above the rest. There's a case to be made that some of the negative aspects of the season could have been avoided with an extra episode or two, but given the low ratings that was never likely. And yet there's still money to be made for ABC, who have greenlit a third, shortened season. I've no doubt the show will continue to amaze.

Scorpion

I don't know what it is about broadcast network shows and their third seasons - maybe at this point I expect it and am thus influenced - but they almost always seem to be of poorer quality than the preceding two. Even with a very respectable 8.0 average rating, Scorpion had quite an uneven season. Its chosen character arcs weren't as thrilling as the previous two seasons or as interesting, often necessitating the ultimate endgame rather than providing anything in the moment (see Happy and Walter's marriage, Tim and Paige's relationship, Paige's mum showing up etc). But the quality of individual episodes remained mostly high independent on these arcs.

   What worked:

1. Character continuity. Scorpion has been the best at this recently. Traits such as Sly's comic love, as one example, are never forgotten or simply mentioned in a single episode, but carried through. The show recognises the weight these traits lend its characters better than most I've seen.
2. Character payoffs abound. #Waige, #Quintis, Ralph getting to dick on Walter and even Cabe got a girlfriend. A good way to go into season 4.
3. Walter improving his emotional quotient. The most fun arc of the season, and one that was timely: Paige pushing Walter to communicate more normally with normal people. It was another necessary push towards then having them come together, and it was devilishly fun.

What didn't work:

1. The writers' penchant to make episodes about rescuing main characters that won't ever be killed off. This is a typically CBS thing to do: put main characters in peril without ever intending to kill them off. And that gets tired after a while; we know you aren't going to kill a beloved main character, so why does an entire episode need to be devoted to saving Cabe's life, or rescuing Paige and Happy from a gondola?
2. Arcs were weaker than usual. I've mentioned this previously, but the arcs' weakness came from their obvious inclusion simply to push the characters towards the endgame without producing in the moment. And that stunted the quality of episodes when arcs affected them.
3. Family dramas. Happy's dad randomly going to prison was stupid, Paige's con artist mother wasn't very interesting ... Whenever family popped up for any of our characters in season 3, it didn't work.

Despite an uneven season, Scorpion completed the year in exactly the position it wanted to: the two main relationships brought together, and a semi-happy ending for Cabe, leaving only Sly without something proper to drive him into season 4. But that doesn't matter, for we can expect much more from this show in the future.

Westworld

If you've followed these roundups or know me you know Person of Interest is my favourite TV show. So when its creator's next project was another look at artificial intelligence from a different angle, hells yes I was excited for that. What was produced was instead a rather slow-burning, lowkey but powerful storyline about consciousness and humanity wrapped inside a clever mythology and a rich world. I've always maintained hour-long episodes don't suit a TV show and Westworld was no different: it felt like it lacked pace. But over 10 episodes, it was an incredibly written, if not mind-blowingly enjoyable, show. 

   What worked:

1. The writing of the season as a whole. So complex was the writing that it's so hard even to summarise in a few sentences, but the complex and unmarked multiple timeline story, along with the other storylines included, were phenomenally written, cleverly paced across the season and brought to a head at just the right time.
2. The fan engagement. I've never seen a show that demands such engagement from the fans. So deep and complex is Westworld that fan theories spread all over the Internet. It was crazy but astounding to see.
3. Graphics. A $100m budget for 10 episodes ensured Westworld had some film-worthy graphics, from holographic maps of the park to a boy whose face opened to show his robotic workings. Stunning.

What didn't work:

1. The writing of individual episodes. While the season's story was divided and paced well across 10 episodes, each individual episode, at an hour or more, was poorly paced, slow and didn't exactly pull you in.
2. The fan engagement. I've never seen a show that demands such engagement from the fans. So deep and complex is Westworld that fan theories spread all over the Internet. And that can be a little too much.

Westworld made a stunning start to its television lifespan with a uniquely unpredictable season that fluctuated through timelines without any hint. But it's being written to fit an hour of TV and that lack of pace is affecting its overall quality. Jonah Nolan's knocked it out of the park plot-wise, but he needs to improve the episodic pacing.

Final thoughts

Apologies for taking this long to get this out there - I've been working on a few other things in the meantime. But it's interesting to see the sheer amount of good and bad produced this season. Here's hoping we have more of the good next season and less of the bad! (And for shows that only have 2 bad points, I'll update in the future if any other negative points come to mind.

Thanks for reading everyone!

Sam