Most of the fall TV season is already in place, but a few
stragglers are finally hitting screens this month. We size up two
new shows and tell you if they're worth committing to. Because a
TiVo can only hold so much. (All times are Eastern.)
By Zac
Crain
Big Day
(ABC, Thursdays, 8 p.m.)
As the name (sort of) implies,
Big Day tracks one couple's
march down the aisle. So, basically, it's sort of like
24,
only with wedding planners instead of, you know, terrorists and
stuff. Speaking of
24, it's the first thing we thought of
when we heard this show's concept. Why? Well, apart from
Big
Day's similarone-day-over-one-season format,
24 actually
covered some of this exact terrain a few years ago, when a blushing
bride turned out to have ties to a terrorist plot scheduled to take
place on her big day. Good stuff, right? That's why
24
finally won an
Emmy this year. But back to
Big Day. The
show, created by writers Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa (
13
Going on 30), has three more or less likable leads - Marla
Sokoloff (
The Practice) as the bride-to-be, Wendie Malick
(
Just Shoot Me!) as her pain-in-the-neck mom, and Josh Cooke
(from not much, really) as the groom - and an interesting setup.
Potential problems: Having sat through our own wedding videos on
more than one occasion, we'd agree that there is undoubtedly a fair
amount of drama, but a full season's worth? Not sure. And what will
the producers choose for next season, if there is a next season?
Saving the world? Yeah, we buy
that taking 20 or so
episodes. Getting ready for, let's say, a big promotion? Not so
much.
Verdict: Worth a look, but don't get committed. Yes, that's
a lame joke. We know.
Day Break
(ABC, Wednesdays, 9 p.m.)