We’re reviewing the new fall network TV season night by night all week, and no night has more new primetime broadcast titles than Tuesday. The big marquee item is the strangely under-promoted superhero return for Joss Whedon. Two other dramas are lower key but might bring small pleasures. And there’s just a lot of new comedies, none great but some managing to get to the level of actually OK.
NEW SHOWS
“Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” (ABC, starts today, 8 p.m.). Joss Whedon’s third attempt back at TV since “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” might actually work, but only inasmuch as it connects with the successful interlocking Marvel superhero movies (which still get the most attention, and even on premiere night, some of the promotion, as the show will make room for a sneak peak at “Thor”). There’s no central caped hero here, but more of a bureaucracy of crime fighting. And it begins with a big leap of faith – that the obviously killed agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) is actually alive again. It’s a slick production for TV, but too complicated for grownups to follow. It’s nice when action slows enough for some witty Whedon dialog, but it doesn’t necessarily fit in with the rest. Does the early time slot means kids will make it a hit? It seems to have more vim so far than, say, “Heroes.”
“Lucky 7” (ABC, today, 10 p.m.). Here’s a concept that’s been used before: following a series of lottery winners and how their good fortune changes them. It’s not only based on a British series, “The Syndicate,” it includes one of its stars, Lorraine Bruce, who is also one of the most engaging members of the cast. The locale has been hanged to Astoria, Queens, and the cast is appropriately diverse including some familiar faces such as Isiah Whitlock Jr. from “The Wire.” Because it’s one of the few shows to concentrate on the working class and the performances are strong, it seems to transcend its well-worn format. It uses a cable favorite format, flash forwards, as a way to keep your interest.
“The Originals” (The CW, starts Oct. 3, 8 pm.) isn’t a bad spin-off from “The Vampire Diaries,” shifting the action to New Orleans, where siblings Klaus, Elijah and Rebekah fight for their turf in a community where a vampire named Marcel reigns over the werewolves and witches. The creators know what they’re doing, involving dark intrigue among very good looking characters. It won’t be a disappointment for those who are attracted to supernatural fare.
“Brooklyn Nine-Nine” (Fox, started Sept. 17, 8:30 p.m.) looks like a star vehicle for Andy Samberg, as a cop who can’t adhere to rules in the precinct whose new leader is a no-nonsense type played by Andre Braunger. But from the team that created “Parks & Recreaction,” it looks like it will succeed as an ensemble workplace with a swell cast that includes Chelsea Peretti, Terry Crews, Joe Lo Truglio. Mostly due to the competition, it emerges as one of the better comedies of the season.
“The Goldbergs” (ABC, today, 9 p.m.) is a traditional family sitcom whose twist is that it’s set in the 80s. So if the jokes aren’t working, zoom to the legwarmers. The show creator may have hewn too close to his own family, which he annoyingly videotaped (with a huge camera) the way the central kid in this comedy does. And while that helps points out oddball traits of his clan, it also may be a crutch. Still, I find Jeff Garlin’s exasperated yelling funny in most situations and Wendi McLendon-Covey is pretty sharp comically as well. George Segal as the crazy coot of a grandpa may be too far on the stereotype.
“Trophy Wife” (ABC, today, 9:30 p.m.) may be an example of a sitcom that works on the strength of the cast — Malin Akerman who has shined in “Childrens Hospital” and “Burning Love” stars as the young third wife of lawyer Bradley Whitford; the ex wives include a cooky Michaela Watkins and hardline Marcia Gay Harden. It’s from Sarah Haskins, whose “Target: Women” was a highlight of the old “InfoMania.” So if any comedy has potential this season, it’s this.
“Dads” (Fox, started Sept. 17, 8 p.m.). Already skewered by critics, the comedy from the Seth MacFarlane team isn’t so much an affront as a wasted opportunity, with Peter Riegert and Martin Mull enlisted to do doddering fogie roles to callow, videogame-making sons Seth Green and Giovanni Ribisi. The late addition of Mike Scully (“The Simpsons”) to help out the scripts may not be able to save it.
RETURNING SHOWS
“NCIS” (CBS, returns today, 8 p.m.), “The Biggest Loser” (NBC, Oct. 8, 8 p.m.), “NCIS: Los Angeles” (CBS, today, 9 p.m.), “New Girl” (Fox, returned Sept. 17, 9 p.m.), “The Mindy Project” (Fox, returned Sept. 17, 9:30 p.m.), “The Voice” (NBC, today, 9 p.m.), “Supernatural” (The CW, Oct. 8, 9 p.m.), “Person of Interest” (CBS, today, 10 p.m.) and “Chicago Fire” (NBC, today, 10 p.m.).
Here are the Fall TV lineups for Mondays and Wednesdays.