New Shows: Chicago Fire, Ben and Kate, and Emily Owens, M.D.

Chicago Fire- Pilot
On of the characters, Gabby, is really cool. She'll be a familiar face if you watched Lie to Me. We wanted to watch this because of her, but sadly, the rest of the characters are so flat we can't remember a name or characteristic about any other one. We're pretty sure this would just make real EMTs and Firefighters laugh. It's dumb, and not entertaining dumb either. We liked seeing Lady Gaga's boyfriend (because he's hot), but what's going on with him on the show is laughable. Steve from Sex and the City is on the cast too. The special effects with the fire are surprisingly good, and so was the first scene. We can see it entertaining people, but we preferred Trauma.
Episode grade: C

Emily Owens, MD- Pilot
We like Mamie Gummer and miss Off the Map. Mamie trying another medical show might be a bad move, especially since the show is so unoriginal and often immature. This is like Grey's Anatomy, Mean Girls, and Scrubs mixed together, only not as good and not as funny. Emily even had a patient code on her first day and had to save her because there were no other doctors around, like in Grey's Anatomy. Something uncommon also happens that puts Emily in surgery early too.

There were a bunch of good reveals in the end and everything came together, but the first half was rough. Emily is a huge, awkward dork, which is a good and funny thing. We like that she's insecure about everyone perceiving her as a loser when she doesn't know the reason she gives off that vibe. That's a realistic thing for a dork to feel and think ("Is there a sign on my shirt that just says, 'I'm different; don't be friends with me?'") We liked one of the patient plots (the one with the brothers).

What kind of dude has a long-term female friend he doesn't want to sleep with? Emily needs to be introduced to a product called Certain Dri. If you suffer from pit stains, let us change your life. Get Certain Dri, put it on before bed every night, and after two weeks, pit stains won't be a problem anymore. One of us wishes she had known about this in high school. Everyone on the show is overly mean and judgmental.

The worst thing about the show is the thing that kept us from picking it up or committing to watching a second episode. EMILY'S VOICEOVER. It's so annoying. It needs to stop. She says the worst things in the worst voice. It's constant. If the voiceover stops, let us know and we might jump back in. The show is okay. We can see the CW viewers really liking it if they introduce a good love story (we already spotted a love interest even though it's relatively subtle for the CW). Check it out for yourself if you're interested. You might not be annoyed by the voiceover and young tone.

Episode grade: B-

Ben and Kate- Pilot and Bad Cop/Bed Cop
We wish Ben were cute. Ben had braces and his teeth are still like that? At least he's funny. He could border on obnoxious for some people. The little girl is extremely adorable and not a bad actress. Too bad she can't be Lily on Modern Family. The woman playing Kate is good. The show can be heartwarming, and there is a truly hilarious scene in the pilot. We almost picked this show up, but we decided that Ben would get on our nerves eventually. Still, there's good stuff here. We understand if you like and watch this new comedy. It's better than most of the new comedies this year.
Pilot grade: B
2nd episode grade: C+