‘Madam Secretary’
“YOU don’t think outside the box. You don’t know there is a box.”
Elizabeth McCord (Tea Leoni) is a college professor recruited by the US President to be his new Secretary of State after McCord’s predecessor is killed in a plane crash. Along with “The Good Wife,” this show depicts women in powerful positions, this time at the White House.
Though she has left politics in favor of the academe, McCord’s uncanny knack for problem solving, not to mention her understanding of foreign policy, makes her a good fit for her new job.
The pilot is pretty strong, though not as engaging as “The Good Wife” when it first aired. Still, “Madam Secretary” has potential, and it’s nice to see Leoni back on TV, even in a more serious role.
‘Scorpion’
“Brilliant minds working at half-capacity”
This is loosely based on the story of Walter O’Brien, a child genius (IQ: 197), who started his own company when he was just 13 years old.
The show opens with a manhunt in Ireland for an NSA (National Security Agency) hacker, only for the soldiers to discover that the culprit is a kid. He is taken in by special agent Cabe Gallo (Robert Patrick in a badly dyed comb-over).
Years later, as an adult, a cockier O’Brien, now played by Elyes Gabriel, works as Internet repairman. Since birds of a feather flock together, O’Brien’s small company consists of three more geniuses, each with a specific skill set: One is a mathematical savant; another a mechanical engineering whiz; and the third is brilliant at reading people.
The US government calls for help when a problem arises that only the geniuses can solve. The four are helped by a waitress (Katharine McPhee); they end up solving the problem in the most preposterous way (you have to watch the pilot episode just for this).
‘Gotham’
“This is not a city or a job for nice guys.”
In a similar manner that “Smallville” tells the story of a teenage Clark Kent discovering his superpowers, “Gotham” is an origins show on how people around Bruce Wayne evolved into their ambiguous hero/villain personas, and how the city turns into the seething pit of crime that would need Batman’s intervention.
The show’s dark, desaturated treatment is spot-on. Ben McKenzie of “The O.C.” fame plays another tortured soul in the form of Det. Jim Gordon. Jada Pinkett-Smith rocks as Fish, while Donal Logue holds his own as Gordon’s corrupt, cynical partner.
Fans of the Bat will be delighted to see super-villain cameos and to get their fix of baby Batman and Alfred.
‘Red Band Society’
“What hurts is remembering it was ever there.”
The setting of this drama series is a hospital ward full of teens suffering from serious ailments. But this is not like a season-long version of “The Fault In Our Stars.” Not yet, at least.
The story unfolds from the point of view of a comatose member of the Red Band Society, whose all-knowing spirit wanders the halls of the hospital.
‘black-ish’
“If I’m not really black, can someone tell my hair and my ass?”
“black-ish” is about a wealthy black family slowly losing touch with their roots (the Johnsons’ eldest son Andre prefers to play field hockey instead of basketball, and wants to become a Bar Mitzvah). This sitcom tries to recapture the magic of “The Cosby Show,” and with a cast like Laurence Fishburne, Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross, it just might hit the mark.