Fall TV 2013 Preview: ABC’s ‘Wonderland,’ ‘S.H.I.E.L.D.’ & More

ANASTASIA PHILLIPS, ISIAH WHITLOCK JR., LORRAINE BRUCE, MATT LONG, STEPHEN LOUIS GRUSH, SUMMER BISHIL, LUIS ANTONIO RAMOS

With the crisp autumn air comes the new fall season. As you sip your apple cider and rake those beautiful auburn and gold leaves, what new TV show will you watch and get addicted to? Here’s a rundown of five new shows for the Fall TV 2013 season on ABC.

CHECK OUT: Premiere Dates for New & Returning TV Shows (which shows should we recap?!!)

LUCKY 7 (premieres Tues., Sept. 24, 10 p.m. ET). This show follows seven lucky winners of a lottery and how the win changes their lives. The seven are gas station employees who drop some of their hard earned money into a weekly lottery pool. Stunned when they win, they know their lives are going to change, but will it be for the better?

This show holds absolutely no interest for me. I’m a fan of Matt Long, who plays one of the winners, since his breakthrough role on “Jack & Bobby” with Logan Lerman, but I didn’t find any of the characters very interesting, nor did they strike any sort of emotional chord with me.

TRICIA HELFER

KILLER WOMEN (midseason premiere TBD). After seeing her “Battlestar Galactica” alum Katee Sackhoff score a hit with her role as Deputy Sheriff Victoria Moretti on A & E’s series, “Longmire,” Tricia Helfer decided she might have a go in a uniform as well. Instead of being one of Absaroka County’s finest, Helfer takes on the Texas Rangers (as in the law enforcement officers, not the baseball team).

Helfer plays Molly Parker, the only female Texas Ranger. In a playing field of men, many want to see her fail, but she’s determined to be the best ranger out there – male or female.  Molly’s brother, Billy (played by another “Battlestar” alum, Michael Trucco) and his wife Nessa support her all the way. Molly’s estranged husband, Jake (the handsome Jeffrey Nordling) makes her life hell, but she seeks solace in the arms of Dan Winston (the equally handsome Marc Blucas), a DEA Agent.

According to the official site of the Texas Rangers, there is only one active duty female Ranger (though it’s unclear when the page was last updated).

This show has promise and I’m a sucker for a procedural crime drama, but there are so many out there that this might get buried amongst the better ones. Of course, once they have Parker go undercover as a cliche hooker or a stripper, I’m out of there.

Here’s a thought: Have a crossover episode with Katee Sackhoff’s Deputy Moretti visiting her old college buddy in Texas and they solve a case together. That’s ratings gold!

CLARK GREGGMARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. (premieres Tues., Sept. 24, 8 p.m. ET). As of this posting, ABC has yet to show a full episode of this show to journalists, though they did preview the pilot for fans at Comic-Con this year. This is a show I’m dying to see because I adore Clark Gregg. He’s just perfect in the role of Phil Coulson, an agent back from the dead to lead a team of “highly skilled” agents as they investigate the paranormal events and people around the world.

The show takes place where the movie “The Avengers” left off. Superheroes and aliens are common knowledge and everyone is adjusting to the change. Agent Coulson (who died in the movie) comes back to assemble a task force for S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division). Their mission, should they choose to accept it, is to “investigate the new, the strange and unknown around the globe, protecting the ordinary from the extraordinary.” Sounds like “The X-Files” meets “Heroes.” Ok, I’m down with that.

It’s amusing to me that no critic has complained about the annoyance of having to type out S.H.I.E.L.D. when the very same spelled the demise of “E.A.R.T.H. Force,” a 90s TV series that starred “Prison Break’s” Rob Knepper and “Buck Rogers’” Gil Gerard.  Of course, S.H.I.E.L.D. has a built in fan base with Joss Whedon at the helm and the entire Marvel fanboy universe behind them. Yeah, I went there.

Cobie Smulders will reprise her role as Agent Maria Hill on the show as time permits from filming the ninth season of “How I Met Your Mother.”

Disney/ABC is clearly trying to get the most bang for their buck after purchasing Marvel Entertainment, and the audience gets to reap the benefits. This show will easily be the runaway hit for ABC’s fall schedule.

READ: Connie Wang’s Preview of ABC’s Betrayal

ONCE UPON A TIME IN WONDERLAND (premieres Thurs., Oct. 10, 8 p.m. ET). I’ve enjoyed the original series, “Once Upon a Time,” with all its lovely twists and turns, so I’m excited to see what “Once Upon a Time in Wonderland” brings us.

While they’ve only released the first act of the pilot, it’s enough to whet your appetite for more. Read my review of the show here.

BACK ROW: HAYLEY ORRANTIA, GEORGE SEGAL, TROY GENTILE; FRONT ROW: SEAN GIAMBRONE, JEFF GARLIN, WENDI MCLENDON-COVEYTHE GOLDBERGS (premieres Tues., Sept. 24, 9 p.m. ET). If you wondered whatever happened to the props and wardrobe from shows like “Punky Brewster” and “Blossom,” never fear – they have all found their way onto the set of “The Goldbergs,” an 80s era sitcom where boomboxes and console TVs were king and no one had ever heard of parenting blogs or organic free range chickens.

This show is trying desperately to be “The Wonder Years” circa 1980, complete with narration from the adult version of the young lead. In this case it is Patton Oswalt as the narrator. I guess Daniel Stern was otherwise occupied.

It looks like they spent the bulk of the budget on licensing 80s clips like “Knight Rider” and “ALF” for the opening instead of spending it on writing. It’s not as bad as “The Neighbors,” but hey, how wrong was I about that show? ABC picked that up for a second season and if this show follows suit, it’ll run for five seasons more, but not because I’m watching, that’s for sure.

Looks like Tuesday night on ABC is an odd mish-mash of shows with “S.H.I.E.L.D.” (I’m going to get tired of typing that soon), “The Goldbergs” and “Lucky 7.” None of the shows pair well with one another.

I can see ABC pushing “S.H.I.E.L.D.” (yep, getting tired of typing that) to the 9 o’clock hour, possibly pairing it with “Killer Women” or even “Resurrection” (slated for a March premiere) following at 10 p.m. and moving “The Goldbergs” into the 8 p.m. slot.

ALSO READ: Kimberly Strand’s 5 Most Anticipated Fall Premieres

Tell us: What shows are you excited about for the Fall TV 2013 season?

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