New shows- Not original enough?

The Event features mysterious visitors and is trying to be the next LOST.
Nikita is a remake.
Better with You is from a Friends writer and has a laugh track.
The premise of Raising Hope (a single young man having to raise a child) isn't groundbreaking.
The same goes for Running Wilde. (Liberal vs. conservative love premise)

Call us pessimists, but when watching this fall's crop of new shows, we kept thinking, "Have we seen this show before?" It feels like many of the new shows exist to replace old ones. Are we missing something unique or weird about a show? We've been pretty underwhelmed with the ideas for new shows lately.

We suppose Lone Star and Boardwalk Empire are pretty original. But we expect nothing less from HBO, and Lone Star will get canceled if its numbers don't improve.

We know original ideas only carry a show so far, and the real test is whether it's carried out well. But having a premise that is interesting and good to work with can help writers. Is it just us? Are we wrong? How do you feel about the new shows this season?

Raising Hope Pilot Review

The premise of Raising Hope is simple: a young man has a one-night stand and ends up with a baby. Although his family encourages him to drop the baby at a fire station, he decides to keep it and raise it. He also names it Hope, which is better than the name choice of the mother (Princess Beyonce). The main character has a pair of screwball parents and a crazy grandmother. Once, this blogger’s sister asked her to give her an example of a stereotyped old person on TV, and it is too bad this woman wasn’t yet on air to give as an example. But the stereotype of the senile old bat IS funny on this show.

The young man only met the mother because his family ran out of ice cream, and they had a rule where if you were the last to touch your nose, you had to do it. This blogger’s siblings do that, only it’s more annoying because they shout “NOSE GOES” when they do it.

Other than that relatable moment, the show started out slow and unfunny until the mother showed up. If you haven’t seen it yet, we won’t ruin it for you, but the backstory with the mother is really funny. The supporting cast is good, and this was a pretty funny look at the kid’s first day raising another kid under his parents’ roof.

Many of the jokes come from how unintelligent these family members are. In real life, this would be worrying. On a show, it is just hilarious. This is good for fans of comedies like “The Waterboy” and My Name is Earl.

Episode Grade: B-

Watch the pilot here:
http://www.hulu.com/watch/178543/raising-hope-pilot?c=Comedy#s-p1-so-i0

Requests for more new shows granted, Jersey Shore out.

Some shy, uncommenting readers have emailed requesting coverage of more new shows. Shy or not, they shall be placated. More new show coverage:

*Lone Star- Sept. 20. Mondays at 9:00. Drama about a Texas con man.
*Chase- Sept. 20. Mondays at 10:00 A cop show
*Raising Hope- Sept 21. Tuesdays at 9:00. A comedy about a 23-year-old new single father.
Running Wilde- Sept. 21 Tuesdays at 9:30. A comedy with Will Arnet (from the excellent "Arrested Development) and Keri Russell (from the not-as-excellent, but still nice, Felicity).
*Better with You- Sept. 22 Wednesdays at 8:30 A romantic comedy show
*The Defenders- Sept. 22 Wednesdays at 10:00 A show about lawyers
*Body of Proof- Sept 24. Fridays at 9:00. A medical mystery procedural

Man, we've got a lot of TV to watch now.

So something has to go. Jersey Shore will no longer be covered. The move to Miami takes away the subject, it's just Sammie and Ronnie screaming at each other, and the novely has worn off. We predict this show's popularity will wane in the next year, and we want to be among the first to tune out.