Sneak Peaks of Fall's Pilot Season

Carpoolers

“Gentlemen, let’s carpool.” It may not be your usual male-bonding activity, but carpooling is nevertheless used as a “vehicle” to portray the different lifestyles and ambitions of four entertaining, if somewhat hackneyed, characters: Aubrey, Gracen, Laird, and Dougie. With the absence of a laugh track, Carpoolers comes across as more satiric and self-aware, and thus more watchable, than your Average Joe sitcom.

As expected when male characters are the focus, the script is uncomfortably sprinkled with male-centric philosophies such as the perpetual “My wife makes more money than I do” adage. Frustratingly, this only becomes resolved when the male ego is stroked and assured of the contrary. Thank goodness for the redeeming Aubrey (Jerry Minor). He is a welcome, openly-sensitive counterpart to the other men.

Like any weekly comedy, conflicts dissipate too easily and schemes fall into place effortlessly, but overall the characters are goofy enough to give you a laugh. If you happen to tune into Carpoolers one night, go along for the ride. But don’t reserve time in your schedule for it. —Mollie Lobl

Fugitives of Hell

Fugitives of Hell beware, and citizens, have no fear—a slacker is here. Following the newfound popularity of programs that revolve around atypical heroes, the CW’s Reaper also takes a stab at the trend. The show features a tongue-in-cheek depiction of the supernatural, reminiscent of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, though it delves more into the comedic side than the dramatic.

The main character, Sam Oliver (played by Bret Harrison), is a loser working a dead-end job with no prospects. He discovers on his twenty-first birthday that his parents sold his soul to Satan, and he must now become a bounty hunter who captures escaped souls from Hell. Ray Wise brilliantly plays Satan, who appears to be an amiable gentlemen as well as a truly menacing entity that you do not want to cross.
With Sam’s best friend Sock delivering the show’s funniest lines, there is plenty of witty dialogue and fun to make the hour fly by. —Frank Nestor

Cane

With beautiful South Florida as a backdrop, a handsome cast lead by The West Wing’s Jimmy Smits, and more than enough rum to go around, it would seem that CBS’s new drama Cane would be like heaven on earth. Then, the drama begins to unravel and reveals that murder and infidelity are just as prevalent as the mojitos. This new drama focuses on a successful rum-and-sugar business overseen by the Duque family. The ailing family patriarch (Hector Elizondo) must decide whether to relinquish the company to his devious son Frank (Lost’s Nestor Carbonell), who wants to sell the sugar business to a rival family, or to adopted son Alex (Jimmy Smits), who mistrusts these competitors. With family loyalties crumbling and sex and infidelity rampant, Cane is basically a male-centric television soap. But don’t watch this show with a rum-and-coke in hand—the show introduces so many weaving story lines in its first hour that it takes a sober mind to keep up with the plot.— Russell Kostelak