Skip to main content

PILOT REVIEW: No Tomorrow

NO TOMORROW











Starring: Joshua Sasse, Tori Anderson, Jonathan Langdon, Sarayu Blue, Jesse Rath, Amy Pietz

Developed by Corinne Brinkerhoff
Teleplay by Corinne Brinkerhoff, Tory Stanton & Scott McCabe, Directed by Brad Silberling

In the CW universe, there are two types of shows for the most part with the vampire shows disappearing: action heavy superhero shows and light and frosty romantic comedies. No Tomorrow is decidedly in the latter category. This is my first ever review for a CW show and there are none of them that I watch regularly but No Tomorrow could become my first. Its sunny, lighthearted take on an apocalyptic story is unique and the pilot was very enjoyable.

Evie (Tori Anderson) is stuck in a bit of a rut with her monotonous job and an on-again, off-again relationship with nerdy Timothy (Jesse Rath). In the midst of this rut, she has a chance meeting with Xavier (Joshua Sasse) who has reason to believe there are only eight months and 12 days before the world ends. He encourages her to let loose and live carefree and they set out to accomplish bucket list items and life changes before the coming doomsday.

At the heart of this show and what made it work is the relationship between Sasse and Anderson. They had genuine chemistry and they were so enjoyable to watch together. Anderson was such a likable lead to root for and Sasse had a lot of charisma. Their relationship wasn't the only element that worked though. The family scenes were enjoyable even with noted show-killer and recurring guest star Ted McGinley. The work scenes were probably my least favorite part because I found Amy Pietz a little bit annoying, but even they were decent.

This hardly felt like an apocalyptic show and I wonder what it will look like as we get closer to the impending doomsday. But it was a freeing feeling, it was probably the most feel-good show of the year so far with a relentlessly optimistic outlook and a Parks and Recreation level brightness that is missing in a lot of shows including many dark dramas and many cynical comedies. I don't think it was the best new drama of the season but it was certainly strong on many levels. I hope it can find an audience that is acceptable to CW standards.

WILL I WATCH IT AGAIN?
Yes. As I said before, this might become the first CW show I watch regularly!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

EPISODE GUIDES: That 70s Show Season Seven

On Thursdays, I go through classic series with a critical look at each season. Today I am looking at Season Seven of  That 70s Show ! THAT 70s SHOW: SEASON SEVEN 2004-2005 25 episodes The seventh season of  That 70s Show  is the final season with Topher Grace as a series regular and also the final full season for Ashton Kutcher. Despite still having both of those cast member, the show finds itself flailing especially with Topher Grace's Eric, who is stuck in a terrible arc for most of the season. The show also brings many characters back at one point or another but everything just feels tired. This season actually graded out the worst for me. Even worse than the often maligned final season (more on that next week). Every title this season is named for a Rolling Stones song. Starring Topher Grace as Eric Forman  (25 episodes) Mila Kunis as Jackie Burkhart  (25 episodes) Ashton Kutcher as Michael Kelso  (25 episodes) Danny Masterson as Steven Hyde  (25 e...

EPISODE GUIDES: Rhoda Season Five

On Thursdays, I go through classic series with a critical look at each season. Today I am looking at Season Five (the final season) of  Rhoda ! RHODA: SEASON FIVE 1978 13 episodes Rhoda' s final season was a truncated one as the show was cancelled in December 1978 after only 13 episodes had been produced (and only nine had aired). This feels like a continuation from season four in many ways except with the ill-advised split between Ida and Martin (more on that below). While  Rhoda  has an occasional good moment and even a couple decent episodes, it is a show that seems so wildly different from season one and not in a good way.  Rhoda  could never figure out what it fully wanted to be and only made it four and a half seasons as a result. Starring Valerie Harper as Rhoda Morgenstern  (13 episodes) Julie Kavner as Brenda Morgenstern  (13 episodes) Ray Buktenica as Benny Goodwin  (11 episodes) Kenneth McMillan as Jack Doyle  (9 episodes) Nancy Wa...

SCHEDULES OF THE PAST: 1995-1996 Thursdays

On Tuesdays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Thursdays in the 1995-96 season! ABC 8:00 8:30 9:00 10:00 Sep Charlie Grace The Monroes Various Programs Oct Murder One Nov Various Programs Dec Various Programs Thursday Night Movie Jan Feb World’s Funniest Videos Before They Were Stars! Mar Apr May NBC was the powerhouse on Thursday nights but ABC still gave it the old college try in the Fall of 1995 with a trio of new dramas that they hoped would help them cut into the Peacock's dominance. Headlining their night was Murder One , a high profile new show from Steven Bochco that received much of the network's attention before the season started. The series focused on one murder case for an entire season, whi...