New Shows

Of the midseason shows, so far I've checked out Galavant, Agent Carter and Empire. Other shows I'm waiting for still won't arrive until February or later. Galavant is treading a fine line with its silliness and songs, but I do love Timothy Omundson as King Richard. It's fun enough that I'll see it through to the end.

Empire is pretty good; I'm not usually into soap operas, or hip-hop music. However, I like many of the actors and enjoyed Lee Daniels's movie, so I gave it a shot. I'm most interested in Jamal's story and his struggles with his homophobic father, though Cookie is very compelling too. I'm glad that the gay couple are allowed to be sexy and romantic onscreen, just the same as any hetero couple. The brothers being manipulated and competitive is also interesting. The FBI agent in the limo being named Agent Carter was a nice touch.

As for actual Agent Carter, the first two episodes were promising, but I didn't like the third as much. I still haven't seen Angie the perky waitress do anything worthy of Lyndsy Fonseca, and Bridget Regan was unrecognizable as a blonde neighbor from Iowa. I'm not sure I have the patience for the Leviathan story if it's going to be complicated and/or related to the rest of the Marvel universe, but they do need to finish the plot in only seven episodes; maybe it will be fast, and the writers on this show do seem more competent than the ones on S.H.I.E.L.D. I also like the Jarvis actor, and I hope the fourth episode with Howard Stark will be better.