The First Week: New Network Shows: The Pilots (Midseason 2017)

Welcome to the second "season" of The First Three Weeks. This is the midseason follow-up to the fall edition, in which I ranked all of the midseason shows for each of their first three episodes. I watched most of the midseason series, but skipped Star, Ransom, Training Day, and Taken. Any show whose pilot I watched at least 50% of will be included.

Unranked: Ransom, Training Day, Taken, Star

#18- Time After Time

When this show was first announced, I was very excited for it. Then the promos came out, and I got less excited for it. They just didn't wow me. This pilot was, simple put, terrible. I almost fell asleep during it, that's how bored I was. There was really nothing special about this pilot, nothing to pull me in. The fact that the premiere included two episodes didn't help any, and I just wanted it to end.
Pilot Grade: F
Pilot Score: 4/10
Note: This score is for the first half of the two part premiere.

#17- 24: Legacy

I have never seen 24, so I won't compare it to Legacy. Because of that, I wasn't planning on tuning in. But since there was nothing else on that night (other than the Super Bowl, of course), I tuned in. And I was disappointed. It bored me, and I didn't enjoy it much at all. While it's not my least favorite midseason entry, it's close. I ended up turning it off halfway into the episode, which was when my TiVo stopped recording it.
Pilot Grade: D+
Pilot Score: 5.5/10

#16- Emerald City

This was just too weird. And boring. And pretty unenjoyable. I had high expectations for Emerald City, as it looked like it could be really good, but it just wasn't. My favorite part about it was that there was a dog in it. Seriously.
Pilot Grade: C-
Pilot Score: 6/10

#15- Powerless

Powerless is the most disappointing midseason show for me, even if it wasn't the worst. With the cast it has, it should have been better than this. I was pretty excited for this, more so than Time After Time or Emerald City. It turned out to be bland, unfunny, and uninteresting. I'll give it a few more weeks before I decide whether to keep watching, though.
Pilot Grade: C
Pilot Score: 6.5/10

#14- APB

What can I say about APB? It wasn't anything special, and I wasn't exactly thrilled by it, but it was better than I expected. Not that that's really a compliment, since I thought it was going to be freaking awful. I'll give it a few more tries before my final judgement, though.
Pilot Grade: C+
Pilot Score: 7/10

#13- Shots Fired

What can I really say about this one? It was fine. It really was. But it definitely did not live up to my expectations. It should have been much better, but it was just an okay episode that wasn't exciting.This really felt like the poor man's American Crime. It was just pretty weak.
Pilot Grade: B-
Pilot Score: 7.5/10

#12- Chicago Justice

This was enjoyable, but it wasn't as interesting as the other parts of the Chicago crossover that helped to establish Justice. It was the weak link in the crossover, which isn't a promising development as I don't even watch Fire and I stopped watching PD early into this season.
Pilot Grade: B-
Pilot Score: 7.5/10

#11- Making History

Considering who this show comes from, and who stars in it, I expected a bit more from Making History. It was an enjoyable episode for sure, but it wasn't all that funny. The ending set up something that could really be great, so I'm definitely sticking with this one.
Pilot Grade: B-
Pilot Score: 7.5/10

#10- Riverdale

This pilot wasn't quite what I was expecting from Riverdale, but it was good. I expected the pilot to be pretty amazing, because the trailer was very good, but it was just good. I am, however, already invested in this show's story, so that's promising.
Pilot Grade: B
Pilot Score: 8/10

#9- Doubt

This was much better than I anticipated it to be. It was certainly better than Heigl's previous series State of Affairs. It's not a groundbreaking show. It's a pretty generic show, but it was pretty interesting and I enjoyed it.
Grade: B+
Pilot Score: 8.5/10

#8- Imaginary Mary

This was really good. Thank God they changed Mary's design because the original was horrific but this was so cute. It wasn't as laugh-out-loud funny as some of the other midseason comedies, but it was still very enjoyable. Jenna Elfman is great as always, but Rachel Dratch as the voice of Mary was my favorite part of this Pilot.
Pilot Grade: B+
Pilot Score: 8.5/10

#7- The Mick

I'm a huge fan of It's Always Sunny, so saying that the Mick felt like IASIP is a huge compliment. Kaitlin Olson was absolutely the best choice for the lead role, nobody could have played Mickey better than her. The rest of the cast is great, too, and this can really be one of the great boundary-pushing sitcoms.
Pilot Grade: B+
Pilot Score: 8.5/10

#6- The Blacklist: Redemption

I have never seen the Blacklist, so I can't compare the two shows. What I can say is that I thoroughly enjoyed this show. The cast was really good, the premise was interesting, and the show as a whole was fun. The best part was that I just decided to watch it the day it premiered. So it really shocked me when I loved it so much. The order of Redemption and its fellow top 6 shows could easily be reversed. I enjoyed them all about equally, but in the end, Redemption couldn't top the others.
Pilot Grade: A-
Pilot Score: 9/10

#5- When We Rise

I didn't go in to When We Rise with very high expectations. The promos certainly did it no favors. But it was excellent. The acting was incredible in this premiere episode, and the storylines were fascinating. It's incredible (and very sad) that these events actually took place.
Pilot Grade: A-
Pilot Score: 9/10 (Note: This grade is for "Part I", which aired back-to-back with "Part II". "Part II" will be covered in next week's post)

#4- Superior Donuts

Superior Donuts is a very different kind of CBS sitcom. By that, I mean it's not just entertaining for me to watch, but I actually think it's a quality show. The cast is certainly very good, and the characters are entertaining to watch. It's not going to win any Emmys, but it's still an enjoyable show to watch, with characters that are funny and relatable.
Pilot Grade: A-
Pilot Score: 9/10

#3- Downward Dog

This was just so sweet, so funny, and so good. The cast is pretty freaking amazing, I adore Allison Tolman because of Fargo and Ned the dog is just so adorable. As a dog owner, this just pulled at my heartstrings so much and I adored it. It was a breath of fresh air.
Pilot Grade: A-
Pilot Score: 9/10

#2- Great News

Great News was on of my most anticipated show of the season. Luckily, NBC learned of how excited I was and decided to wait until late April to premiere the show. All joking aside, this show did not disappoint. I'm a huge fan of Andrea Martin and think she's one of the funniest people alive. I think the same of Tina Fey. So having Andrea Martin starring and having Tina Fey behind the scenes makes for an immensely entertaining show. It gave me serious 30 Rock vibes, which is seriously the highest compliment I can give a show.
Pilot Grade: A-
Pilot Score: 9/10

#1- Trial & Error

I was expecting greatness from Trial & Error, and I definitely got it. This was just so strangely funny, interesting, and wonderful. One episode in, I'm already invested in this show. I want to know who the killer is and if Larry was guilty. Also, John Lithgow is amazing in this and it's his best work since 3rd Rock from the Sun.
Pilot Grade: A-
Pilot Score: 9/10
(Note: This grade is for Chapter 1, which aired back-to-back with Chapter 2)
You can check out my full review here.

Network Averages:

#5- Fox, 7.2, Grade of C+

This was a rough midseason for Fox, which had just one Pilot that I loved, that being the Mick. Every other midseason entry for the network ranged from just okay to snoozefest.

#4- ABC, 7.62, Grade of B-

This was a solid midseason for ABC, with three fantastic shows and one big stinker. If it wasn't for Time After Time, ABC would have been much stronger.

#3- NBC, 7.83, Grade of B

While NBC placed in the middle of the pack, three of their shows took spots in the top 6, which is nothing to shake a stick at. However, I can't say their midseason was entirely successful, as their remaining three shows were all pretty meh. All in all, NBC was a mixed bag this midseason.

#2- The CW, 8.0, Grade of B

With just one new show, the CW comfortably takes second place. While Riverdale isn't perfect, it's pretty freaking entertaining.

#1- CBS, 8.75, Grade of A-

The clear winners, with absolutely nobody near them, is somehow CBS. Despite taking a massive beating in Fall, taking 4th place in the fall edition of the First Three Weeks, this was a very successful midseason for the Tiffany Network. This time around, they lived up to that prestigious name. They had two midseason shows (that I watched), both were solid.

Pilot Superlatives:
Most Surprisingly Good: The Blacklist: Redemption
Biggest Disappointment: Time After Time
Funniest: Trial & Error
Tugs At Your Heartstrings Most: Downward Dog
Strangest Concept: Emerald City
Most Unnecessary: 24: Legacy

Poll: