W: The 2012-2013 Television Season

Photo by: CW

And we end with CW, as we rightfully should. Though we’re probably not too far away from it beating NBC in at least one time slot. Let’s wrap it up.

MONDAY:

8-9 p.m- “90210”
9-10 p.m. “Gossip Girl”
Coming Mid-Season: THE CARRIE DIARIES

Young adult girls engaged in sex and seediness makes this a natural pairing, one that hasn’t been attempted until this season. Though, to be completely honest, my memory of the CW line-up is spotty at best. Additionally, Gossip Girl is celebrating its final truncated season this fall, wrapping up its six season run probably before the close of the 2012. With Gossip Girl definitely ending and 30 Rock presumably ending this year, I wonder if 2012-2013 will bring us the finales of numerous long running shows.

The Carrie Diaries

Photo by: CW

Gossip Girl will be replaced with the Sex and the City prequel series The Carrie Diaries. Starting in 1984, AnnaSophia Robb stars as a 16-year-old Carrie Bradshaw, the character Sarah Jessica Parker made famous in the HBO show. From the first released still (see above), Robb looks like a 14-year-old playing dress up. Nevertheless, it seems like a good paring with 90210.

TUESDAY:

8-9 p.m- “Hart of Dixie”
9-10 p.m. “EMILY OWENS, M.D.”

Lady doctors! What will they think of next? CW Tuesdays puts together two shows about female doctors trying to make it in a man’s world.

Emily Owens, M.D.

No relation to Children’s Hospital‘s Dr. Owen Maestro

A geeky girl turned doctor played by Meryl Streep’s daughter Mamie Gummer, who doesn’t appear to possess lead appeal, begins her clinical training in a hospital where her high school crush and high school nemesis/romantic rival are also working. That must have been one smart high school. Or this is some sort of finale-of-Lost-esque hospital. Nevertheless, Dr. Emily Owens has to deal with cliques while proving herself and learning confidence and love and all that other stuff that apparently young doctors need to contend with. I’m surprised Dr. Owens isn’t giving narration in the clip.

The love interest, Will Rider, is played by Justin Hartley who previously played Oliver Queen/Green Arrow in Smallville, which leads us to…

WEDNESDAY:

8-9 p.m- “ARROW”
9-10 p.m. “Supernatural”

Wednesdays marks a significant change for the CW, and one that actually gives it a relatively strong night. Friday night stalwart Supernatural moves to the 9 pm hour and new series Arrow, based on Green Arrow, comes to television screens.

Arrow

Make your Batman Begins parallels … now.

As mentioned above, this isn’t Green Arrow’s first appearance on the CW. Smallville featured him as a recurring/regular character for a significant portion of its way-too-long (and way-too-stupid) run.

This time, Stephen Amell plays Queen- a playboy by day who becomes a bow-and-arrow wielding vigilante to right society’s wrong at night. The plot description seems to get much about the character right, though the blonde goatee is missing, and the people behind it are not any of the Smallville showrunners (executive producers are Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg, David Nutter, and Marc Guggenheim). It’s been awhile since CW had a male-demo hit, or even a male-demo show, and Arrow might be worth a watch… as long as they avoid love triangles, melodrama, turning him into a Batman knock off, and magical Kryptonite.

Still, any new live action DC product only calls to bring attention to the failure of the DC film division. Yes, Nolan’s Batman series was an incredible success and I still maintain that Watchman is one of the best of the genre, but Watchmen doesn’t have franchise potential and Batman is ending this year. Superman Returns was an ambitious failure and Green Lantern was an unambitious catastrophe. Man of Steel is probably not enough to make ground in a territory that’s been Marvel’s purview for over a decade. DC, on the other hand, has attempted a Wonder Woman series and an Aquaman series (also starring Hartley), both of which never made it to air. This misplaced concentration seems bizarre because no matter how long a show may run, pretty big odds say that it will never have the impact of a solid movie franchise. Especially when it airs on the CW.

THURSDAY:

8-9 p.m- “The Vampire Diaries”
9-10 p.m. “BEAUTY AND THE BEAST”

Beauty and the Beast

Speaking of Smallville, that show’s Lana Lang (Kristen Kreuk) returns to the CW as Detective Catherine Chandler. While investigating a crime, she becomes hot on the trail of supposedly dead Army doctor Vincent Keller who “when he is enraged, he becomes a terrifying beast, unable to control his super-strength and heightened senses.” You wouldn’t like him when he’s angry, and he’s always angry. Moreover, Chandler has to deal with her mother’s mysterious murder from years ago that might be connected to Keller. So they have that to contend with.

Isn’t the entire point of the beauty and the beast story that the beast couldn’t go back to being normal?

FRIDAY:

8-9 p.m- “America’s Next Top Model”
9-10 p.m. “Nikita”

And CW closes with America’s Next Top Model, a former Wednesday night powerhouse, and Nikita, which is entering its third season.

Next…my look at the entire season.

Brett Harrison Davinger

To contact me, e-mail brett.davinger@gmail.com.