On-Season Week 2

WEEK 2

After a solid week from the five shows who returned first (last week's average rating was 8.1), we've got three more making their season premieres this week: Code Black, NCIS: Los Angeles and Quantico. Lucifer is taking a week off, so we've got a total of 7 shows (and 8 episodes) to get through; Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Bull and Hawaii Five-0 will all be looking to continue their fine starts, while I hope MacGyver will up the ante after the creation of the famous Phoenix Foundation at the end of last week's pilot.

Brooklyn Nine Nine - 4x02 "Coral Palms Pt. 2"

"The result of putting the go-kart video online is that Figgis phones to let Jake and Holt know he has kidnapped their WitSec marshal and is coming for them, but that phone call is made to a police precinct after Jake and Holt, trying to be discreet, are arrested for having unlicensed guns and bullets in their car. To save themselves, they instigate a jailbreak. Meanwhile, the new captain of the Nine-Nine causes a stir when he allows the team to do whatever they want."

After the Jake/Holt-centric episode last week, Brooklyn Nine-Nine showed with "Coral Palms Pt. 2" just why having the whole ensemble feature delivers a bucketful of laughs bigger than the bucket of guns Jake and Holt illegally purchased - and definitely more than having Jake and Holt alone. Of course, that isn't to say that Jake and Holt didn't offer some of the best moments of humour (they had plenty, including Jake telling Holt he can urinate in his hottub and the WitSec marshal calling them to a meeting to discuss her sex life) but with the whole cast featuring there was (ironically, given how the extra time with Jake and Holt last week saw their characters played with more closely), more to play around with.

Screenshot of Captain Stentley playing the bongos

   And Ken Marino, who dropped by to guest star as new dim-witted Captain, Jason "CJ" Stentley, acted as the catalyst for most of the Nine-Nine-based gags. Not only was his slowness a great source of fresh punchlines, in his allowing the team to do what they wanted Charles Boyle bought a treadmill desk, Gina got an assistant so she could avoid work and not have to bother insulting Amy herself, Terry got a yoghurt fridge and Rosa built a wall around her desk so Hitchcock couldn't stare at her. Only Amy stalwartly declined CJ's offer of whatever she wanted, so she could try and fight his poor captaincy.

   In the end, their lessons to CJ about saying no to people backfired when he refused to let the team head to Florida to help Jake and Holt, who are on the verge of a visit from the mafia boss, Jimmy Figgis. That was the greatest irony of all, and the writing earned that twist.

   I don't begrudge what was done with CJ's character, but if one opportunity was missed it was seeing him interact with Scully and Hitchcock. It was an oversight not to take that chance, but there is still next week and it didn't detract from the quality of the episode.

   VIEWERS: 2.40 (.01 higher in overnights than last week, continuing its decent start)

   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.0 (Equals its premiere score [before final adjustments]. Performing steadily)

VERDICT: Another fantastic episode. The laughs were there in abundance and the return of all our main characters felt earned after their absence from the premiere. The guest stars were spot on in every aspect - now can B99 wrap up this arc next week with an equally satisfying end? 8.5/10

Bull - 1x02 "The Woman In 8D"

"TAC deals with gender biases towards a female pilot accused of gross negligence."

Bull follows up an incredible (and incredibly Weatherly-focused) premiere with a more balanced and intricate sophomore episode that achieves what I was hoping for: that ensemble feel. I specifically mentioned I wanted to see more of the TAC lawyer Benny, and in his role as the client's lawyer he shone; elsewhere, Chunk provided more support than just wardrobe design and Cable got her fair share of airtime to show her use as the tech geek, too. We also learned insights into Chunk and Bull's lives: Chunk used to be a football (American) player and Bull is a fully qualified pilot - the latter a helpful nugget given the plotline.

Screenshot of Bull and the pilot entering
the flight simulator

   In "The Woman In 8D", a pilot, Captain Taylor Matheson, the sole survivor of a plane crash in which she broke protocol in the middle of a storm and caused 62 deaths, is being sued for gross negligence, and the case is compounded by gender bias because Matheson is female. However, it transpired that she broke protocol because she knew there was nothing she could do to save the lives of everyone on the plane - all she could do was prevent the plane crashing in a populated area and killing more people.

   "The Woman In 8D" felt much fuller than the premiere: there was a closer examination of the trial sciences at work, a better balance of the main cast and plenty of heavy, emotional scenes around the female pilot and her personal repercussions.

   The opening credits were disappointing, however: Weatherly's words were either a hash of phrases from the actual premiere ("scary in its predictive efficiency") or laughable puns ("the verdict you get depends on me - and that's no bull").

   NCIS nugget? #1: Cable, an unapologetic casually-dressed woman great with computers, whose drink and straw is modelled in a similar manner to Abby's Caf-Pows?

   VIEWERS: 13.48 (I predicted roughly a 2m hit in this area. Still a cracking turnout)

   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.9 (Down 3 tenths of a point from last week's overnights. Nothing unexpected or catastrophic here either)

VERDICT: "The Woman In 8D" was emotionally resonant, fair to its main cast and, importantly, more prominently focused on TAC's technological and psychological capabilities. Another winning 9/10

Code Black - 2x01 "Second Year"

"New army medic Colonel Ethan Willis causes a stir by pulling the Resident Director Mike Leighton into the field to deal with shark bite victims, and Mike is badly wounded when he falls 20 feet from the helicopter. Jesse and Savetti oversee the new interns, one of whom creates a stir when disobeying Savetti's orders saves a patient's life. Dr Campbell is revealed to now be the Director of both the ER and Surgery departments."

Code Black's second season premiere opened in the same rip-roaring fashion its first did: fast. The ER was overrun: among the rush of patients were a woman recently cleared for sexual intercourse after a hysterectomy who had free air in her chest, and a deadbeat father whose hospital visit ruined his son's wedding day. The interns furiously tried to keep up with the influx while learning their way around the hospital, until they were forced into action by Savetti's misdiagnosis.

   However, Code Black couldn't keep up the furious pace as the back ten minutes, when Angus was stuck by his brother's side, the sisters involved in the shark bite storyline made up and the son forgave his father for ruining his wedding day, became almost a test for the writers to see how many emotional, plot-closing scenes could they draw out. As such, Hawaii Five-0 will retain its status of "Quickest Show Off The Mark". For now.

   I had my reservations over Boris Kodjoe's upgrade to main cast status and they aren't assuaged yet as he had barely any screen time. The character of Malaya also suffered, with the interns, Marcia Gay Harden's Dr Leanne Rorish and Rob Lowe's Dr Ethan Willis taking centre stage. The storyline that put Mike Leighton in a coma disappointed me, as the sibling bond between him and Angus was always a great part of the first season.

   VIEWERS: 6.37m (Only 2 episodes in season 1 got overnights worse than that; for a premiere, it's an awful start)

   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.2 (Below last season's average, but not by much)

VERDICT: Too many emotional scenes disrupted the flow of the episode, which wound down much too early. There was not enough of Malaya for my liking, although Drs Hudson and Lorenson's departures didn't play a factor in determining the quality of the episode 7/10

Hawaii Five-0 - 7x02 "No Ke Ali'i' Wahine A Me Ka Aina/For Queen and Country"

"Five-0 chase a rogue MI-6 agent who has stolen diamonds from an Egyptian businessman."

It was going to take something quite special for Hawaii Five-0 to replicate the quality of its premiere, and "For Queen and Country" couldn't manage the task. It was certainly big enough to match the premiere, plotwise - the murder of a model hired to pretty up Lucky Morad's (the Egyptian businessman) shindig evolved into a search for a hacking key that would allow terrorists to control nuclear reactors across Europe - but the episode just lacked a little finesse.

   Langford, as the charming British spy, uses stereotypical British phrases such as "old chap", phrases Americans like but that have actually been outdated for like 70 years or something (normally I don't mind, but since Langford's a badly written character the phrases are automatically more jarring). Even more jarring was the final scene, where the Queen awarded Danno, McGarrett and Langford medals in recognition of their service. None of that was excused by the plot's evolution from common murder to a Europe-wide Chernobyl event, which just didn't reach its potential; a shame because the concept itself is highly intriguing. I think it would have worked better as a two-parter, since neither side of the plot - the murder nor the nuclear reactor hack - got enough airtime.

   Meanwhile, there was plenty of overspill from the premiere as McGarrett and Danno visited a retired FBI profiler to ask for help finding the serial killer who had been dropping the bodies of other serial killers. They now have a lead in a dead police officer who had been unofficially conducting investigations into all 3 serial killers who died in the premiere - and that will be expanded on in the next episode.

   VIEWERS: 9.62m (Barely lost any overnight viewers: solid)

   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.3 (Down one point from the premiere, but a 1.3 is a safe score.)

VERDICT: Although the good work continuing the serial killer arc improved the bog-standard episode, it wasn't enough to excuse the filler feel that oozed from the main storyline. 7/10

MacGyver - 1x02 "Metal Saw"

"An American reporter is detained by the Venezuelan government on suspicion of being a spy."

MacGyver's premiere was about MacGyver and Nikki; this episode was about Jack and a woman from his past, and while the premiere underwhelmed, this second episode did not. In fact, when they finally reached the "gather round, here's this week's job" scene about 14 minutes in, I sat up and paid real close attention. That American reporter being held on suspicion of being a spy (spoiler, she actually is a spy) was played by Amy Acker. Root from Person of Interest, for those who don't know.

POV shot of MacGyver looking at Agent
Adler through night-vision goggles

   It transpired that Acker's Agent Sarah Adler was undercover in Venezuela trying to bust an international arms dealer, had been captured and was now being held in a sort-of black site; while Phoenix Foundation were hired simply to retrieve Adler and the incriminating ledger, after rescuing Adler they naturally threw themselves into helping her crusade. The arms dealer, Barios, was eventually apprehended, but the emotional focus was clearly on a previous romantic relationship between Adler and George Eads' Jack Dalton.

   Eads' casting as tough comic guy Jack Dalton is still so far the best thing about MacGyver, and although the age difference between him and Acker made it difficult to believe they were at the CIA's training facility together, both actors sold the squandered relationship beautifully. There is also the potential for Acker to make a return, as the character's connection to Dalton and field proficiency could prove useful to Phoenix on occasion (that's also some wishful thinking on my part).

   Elsewhere, the Nikki storyline is set to continue as MacGyver continues to return to her apartment until he finds evidence that might help him track her down - a hidden passport.

   VIEWERS: 9.09 (Nearly 2m down on its premiere, but an expected drop.)

   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.4 (Three tenths of a point lower than its  premiere; won't trouble the show's chances just yet.)

VERDICT: While I have reservations about MacGyver's first two episodes, so close in subject, being back-to-back, this was no less a cracking episode for its positioning. Also, MacGyver's makeshift devices were much more impressive than the premiere. An 8.5 alone, I have to give it an extra half point for Acker's guest star appearance. 9/10

NCIS: Los Angeles - 8x01 "High Value Target" & 8x02 "Belly of the Beast" (two part season premiere)

"Undersecretary of Defence Corbin Duggan takes over the Office of Special Projects when they fail to find a mole, and one of the team is injured on a mission to Syria."

NCIS LA returned and it was - to rehash that phrase I've stated I'll surely use on a regular basis - "comfortingly familiar". That staple of crime dramas, the introductory cut scene involving the crime taking place, was followed up by NCIS LA's typical 2-3 minute scene of all the cast just bantering the subplot topic for the day. Such banter did produce many wonderful quotibles (and we even got to see Deeks' homeless outfit again, a role Eric Christian Olsen plays a little too convincingly), but the overlying issue with both episodes is I can't help but feel that they were misrepresented. I was under the impression from other posts about the upcoming premiere that the mole would take something of a centre stage and the story would drastically change the Office of Special Projects' future; while the latter is true, the former certainly isn't.

   Because the show was drastically changed - potentially. The first episode left me with questions over whether Hetty would retire for good this time (seeing as the actress Linda Hunt is getting older and Hetty's airtime has therefore been cut down over the past couple seasons), only for her to claim to be the mole and sacrifice herself to Duggan in the second part. While Hetty is promptly arrested, the outcome of Duggan's purge of OSP staff is unanswered: Duggan wasn't likely to be satisfied by Hetty's sacrifice without continuing to dismantle everything else, and the rest of the team was in Syria avoiding him (oh, I mean, er, doing a mission).

   And that's really the root of the problem: Sam, Callen, Deeks and Kensi ran off to Syria to focus on the mission and left Hetty, Nell, Eric and Granger to deal with Duggan. Which was never going to succeed, hence Hetty offered herself up to keep OSP intact. And while in Syria, Kensi received massive injuries in a helicopter crash that will land her in the ICU for the foreseeable future. In effect, what this premiere did was not actually raise the stakes, but spend two hours writing Kensi into a medically induced coma so that Daniela Ruah, who portrays her, can have a little time off to deal with her real-life pregnancy. It also revisited the whole "Hetty threatens to retire" and "Hetty goes to Washington under massive scrutiny" plotlines (suggesting perhaps that the writing team is running out of ideas for the characters), and finally, it's worth mentioning that the episode's conclusion itself was horribly sudden. Callen, Sam, Deeks and the injured Kensi brought the terrorist to a Navy marine base - and that was it. Job done? There was no real resolution here, which rather summed up the premiere overall.

   VIEWERS: 9.44m (Incredible ratings given its position and the effect of overrunning sports coverage.)

   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.4 (Marginally above season 7's average - a decent opener)

VERDICT: A thoroughly underwhelming start for a show that needs to excel to succeed in the deathly Sunday at 8pm slot. Although the overnight viewers for the premiere were way above what I expected, on the face of the writing my hopes for a well-promoted season are rather dashed. 6/10

Quantico - 2x01 "Kudove"

"Alex enters the CIA's training facility The Farm, only to find Ryan has had the same offer. Now they must work together in secret at the behest of the FBI to uncover a suspected mole. In the future, terrorists plant bombs around Federal Plaza, and take hostage the President and First Lady, along with the ex-trainees."

Screenshot of the bombs exploding in Federal Plaza

Alex Parrish's name is cleared but there's a new threat, as Federal Plaza is sieged by masked terrorists. The alternating timeline structure continues, although "Kudove" (understandably) chooses to focus much more on positioning its characters for the season and simply teases the future threat. One of The Farm's trainees, crime author Jeremy, is revealed as part of the terrorist group before he jumps out of a window to his death. Another of the trainees, Lydia, is revealed to actually be the trainees' co-instructor, and was put undercover to test them all; this twist was developed further when Lydia was revealed to be the daughter of Owen Hall, the main instructor. Hall, portrayed by Blair Underwood, is appropriately shady, although I don't imagine Quantico would be brazen enough to have the instructor be the terrorist twice in a row.

   The surviving cast from season one seems principally comprised of Quantico Director Miranda Shaw, Shelby Wyatt (now a businesswoman) and Ryan Booth (still working for the FBI). Considering Shelby and Miranda will barely affect Alex and Ryan undercover in The Farm, they'll play heavy roles in dealing with the terrorist threat later on. On the other hand, Wikipedia suggests Caleb Haas won't be returning - which is a huge shame.

   The final standout part of this premiere was Ryan's proposal, which was botched by his and Alex's calls to The Farm. When he later admitted he had been about to propose Alex told him to wait until after the mission. As such, I'm calling Ryan will die by the end of season 2.

   VIEWERS: 3.61 (Matches the back end of season one. When this figure drops later on, I'll worry.)

   DEMOGRAPHIC SHARE: 1.0 (Down a quarter from the season 1 average: not good.)

VERDICT: Pacing issues stunted the episode as a whole and despite a plethora of plot parallels, "Kudove" was never going to be as explosive as Quantico's series premiere. But neither issue heavily impacted the high quality of the writing. A spot on, intriguing return. 8/10

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

Quantico - Keyes: "Calling this a challenge is the understatement of the century."

LAST WEEK'S ROUNDUP: On-Season Week 1NEXT WEEK'S ROUNDUP: On-Season Week 3

Final thoughts

Bull and Brooklyn Nine-Nine managed to continue their thumping starts, while Hawaii Five-0 couldn't match its premiere's suspense. MacGyver improved on an adequate premiere with a juicy plot and more innovative creations, and surprised me by booking one of my favourite actresses for a guest starring role. The Monday hole left by Lucifer wasn't filled by NCIS: LA the prior Sunday, which struggled to live up to the hype. Quantico returned with another explosive, multi-faceted storyline but couldn't bag a winner in the ratings, with Code Black suffering the same fate.

Next week, Bull drops out but Lucifer returns. Elementary and Scorpion return for their fifth and third seasons respectively; Conviction and Westworld both debut. That means next week we'll have 11 shows to roundup! I look forward to it!

Thank you everyone for reading and I'll see you next time!

Sam