Rueben's Ramblings

Last weekend the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills held its 10th Annual Fall Preview Parties where the folks at The CW and CBS presented some of their new dramas before the 2014-2015 Fall TV Season gets underway.

The CW has two new dramas set to debut next month – Jane the Virgin and The Flash – and both shows were represented by cast members and the creative minds behind both new dramas in one panel.

On the panel were The Flash executive producers Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg and cast members Jesse L. Martin and Candice Patton, who will play Detective Joe West and his daughter Iris West (respectively) in one of the most-talked about new dramas of the fall. The Flash, of course, is a spin-off of the hit series Arrow that will tell the story of Barry Allen (series lead Grant Gustin) a brilliant, yet socially awkward, forensic scientist for the Central City Police Department, whose obsession with his tragic past (the murder of his mother) causes him to become an outcast among his peers. Allen tries to uncover the truth about his mom’s murder and clear his father’s name, which leads him to Harrison Wells’ particle accelerator. When the accelerator causes an explosion, Allen is struck by lightning, and enters a coma for nine months. When he wakes up 9 months later, he learns he has the ability to move at superhuman speeds, though he is not the only meta-human created in the wake of the explosion. As the violence related to meta-human criminals escalates, though still keeping the promise of finding out why his mother murdered, Allen vows using his gift of speed to protect Central City with the help from a few close friends and associates who share his secrets.

Also on the panel were Jane the Virgin executive producers Ben Silverman and Jennie Snyder Urman and cast members Gina Rodriguez and Jaime Camil, who play title character Jane Villanueva and telenovela star Rogelio (respectively) in one of the most-unexpectedly charming dramedies of the fall. Jane the Virgin tells the story of Jane, a hard-working, religious young Latina woman whose family tradition and a vow to save her virginity until marriage is shattered when a doctor accidentally artificially inseminates her by mistake during a checkup. And to make matters worse, the biological donor is a married man, a former playboy and cancer survivor, who is not only the new owner of the hotel where Jane works, but was also her former teenage crush.

I had the opportunity to see the pilot episode of The Flash at Comic Con in July and thoroughly enjoyed it then; and seeing it a second time at the Paley Center was just as pleasurable. There is plenty of action and Easter Eggs for the comic book fans, plenty of laughs because of Barry Allen’s congenial personality and a great villain for Barry and Detective West to chase.

As for Jane the Virgin, I was extremely skeptical before seeing the pilot, but after the screening I had to admit I was pleasantly surprised by how charming, entertaining and just damn fun the pilot episode was. If you liked Ugly Betty and the narrator-style of Pushing Daisies, you will – more than likely – enjoy Jane the Virgin. It is filled with plenty of over-the-top situations straight out of a telenovela – and there is also a popular telenovela contained within the show too – plenty of family drama, a little bit of intrigue and a crazy stories of romance.

I highly recommend that folks check out both shows when they premiere next month. The Flash will debut on October 7 at 8 PM and Jane the Virgin will debut on October 13 at 9 PM.

As for CBS, there was only one panel for the new drama Scorpion, which included cast members Elyes Gabel, Robert Patrick, Katharine McPhee, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Jaydn Wong and Ari Stidham and executive producers Heather Kadin, Scooter Braun, Alex Kurtzman, Nicholas Wootton and Nick Santora as well as Walter O’Brien on whom the show is based.

Scorpion is loosely based on the true story of eccentric genius Walter O’Brien (Gabel) and his team of brilliant misfits who comprise the last line of defense against complex, high-tech threats of the modern age. As Homeland Security’s new think tank, O’Brien’s “Scorpion” team includes Toby Curtis (Thomas), an expert behaviorist who can read anyone; Happy Quinn (Wong), a mechanical prodigy; and Sylvester Dodd (Stidham), a statistics guru. Pooling their extensive technological knowledge to solve mind-boggling predicaments amazes federal agent Cabe Gallo (Patrick), who shares a harrowing history with O’Brien. However, while this socially awkward group is comfortable with each other’s humor and quirks, life outside their circle confounds them, so they rely on Paige Dineen (McPhee), who has a young, gifted son, to translate the world for them. At last, these nerdy masterminds have found the perfect job: a place where they can apply their exceptional brainpower to solve the nation’s crises, while also helping each other learn how to fit in.

Scorpion was screened at Comic Con in July and I was really surprised by the positive response by the packed audience of proud geeks and nerds; and the response by the folks at the Paley Center was nearly as positive. I suggest that viewers not judge the series only by the description or any trailers that have aired but rather check out the debut on September 22 at 9 PM.

The other new CBS dramas that screened that night included Madam Secretary and Stalker as well as the already aired second part of the NCIS episode that introduced the spin-off series NCIS: New Orleans.

Madam Secretary stars Téa Leoni as Elizabeth McCord, the shrewd, determined, newly appointed Secretary of State who drives international diplomacy, battles office politics and circumvents protocol as she negotiates global and domestic issues, both at the White House and at home. A college professor and a brilliant former CIA analyst who left for ethical reasons, Elizabeth returns to public life at the request of the President following the suspicious death of her predecessor.

Stalker stars Maggie Q (Nikita) and Dylan McDermott (Hostages and American Horror Story) as detectives who investigate stalking incidents, including voyeurism, cyber harassment and romantic fixation, for the Threat Assessment Unit of the LAPD.

NCIS: New Orleans focuses on the local field office that investigates criminal cases affecting military personnel in the Big Easy.

I recommend that folks DVR Madam Secretary, watching it when you have time; skip Stalker as it is disturbing unless you are a fan of Criminal Minds then this series is right up your alley; and if you like both NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles, you will enjoy NCIS: New Orleans.

Madam Secretary debuts on September 21 at 8 PM (with an encore at 10 PM); Stalker debuts on October 1 at 10 PM and NCIS: New Orleans debuts on September 22 at 9 PM.

The following are photos by staff photographer Dominick Dusseault for The CW and CBS panels:

The CW Dramas: The Flash and Jane the Virgin

The CBS Drama: Scorpion

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