Each September, the television airwaves are taken over by new shows with series premieres that aim to captivate audiences. Of all the shows starting this fall, five caught my eye: Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Michael J. Fox Show, The Blacklist and Hostages. From comedy to drama, these five shows offer a range of entertainment and will aid my slow withdrawal from Breaking Bad.

'Hostages'
What I like most about Hostages is how direct the premiere was-they wasted no time laying out the hostage situation and creating tension between the characters. Toni Collette stars as a mother and physician, Ellen Sanders, who has been chosen to perform surgery on the president of the United States. In a twist of events, rogue FBI agent Duncan Carlisle (Dylan McDermott) and his team take the Sanders family hostage within their own home to force Collette into "accidentally" killing the president during surgery. Over the course of the episode, we find out the family's own secrets, such as son Jake's (Mateus Ward) drug deals, daughter Morgan's (Quinn Shephard) pregnancy and husband Brian's (Tate Donovan) infidelity, which left me with a sense that the family is also metephorically held hostage to their own messed-up and dysfunctional lives. Though Collette and McDermott are brilliant in their roles, I doubt this show's premise-how long can the family be held hostage while Ellen stalls on killing the president and no one finds out? The show is only slated for 15 episodes, and each will represent a day in their lives, but I have the feeling that the show could grow stale by then.

'The Michael J. Fox Show'
In 1999, Michael J. Fox announced to the world he had Parkinson's disease and retired from his hit television series Spin City. Now, his new self-titled series follows Mike Henry (Fox) who took a hiatus from his job as an award-winning newscaster because of the illness. To his family's happiness, Mike goes back to work in the first episode and the entire premise of the show seems to be about his perseverance and overcoming of Parkinson's. Some of the most memorable moments from the show are Mike struggling to open a jar of pickles, misdialing on a telephone and attempting to serve scrambled eggs, but spilling them everywhere-all challenges of suffering from Parkinson's. Though touching, this trope did get a bit repetitive by the end of the episode. Otherwise, The Michael J. Fox Show is a typical sitcom-mom, dad, crazy aunt and three kids-and falls into the same category as shows like Modern Family. As talented as Fox is, I don't see much of a future for the show beyond this season given its limited premise, though I do love seeing Betsy Brandt (who also played Breaking Bad's Marie) as Mike's wife. I definitely want to see more raw humor and less of a heartbreaking public service announcement; the cast is talented and the show has a lot of potential to tap into.

'Brooklyn Nine-Nine'
After leaving Saturday Night Live last summer, Andy Samberg has done several projects, but Brooklyn Nine-Nine stands out as his latest comedic endeavor. Samberg stars as the goofy, disobedient cop, Detective Jake Peralta, whose Brooklyn precinct just welcomed a new commanding officer, Captain Ray Holt (Andre Braugher). Holt is constantly on Peralta's case, whether it's for filling out reports incorrectly or not wearing a tie, and the two play off each other flawlessly with Holt's deathly glare and Peralta's constant humorous remarks. Though I was never laughing out loud at the show, Brooklyn Nine-Nine succeeds as a comedy. The writers and actors don't try too hard-everything feels natural, and none of the humor is forced. Along with the comedy, there is also a real plot and diversity of characters, including two female leads, played by Stephanie Beatriz and Melissa Fumero, who are not to be messed with. After watching the first two 30-minute episodes, I also appreciated how the crimes themselves are not very serious-a hidden teddy bear camera that records a robbery and ends up solving a case and a specialty $4,000 ham that was stolen by a greedy shop owner. I will definitely keep up with Brooklyn Nine-Nine this season, though I'm not sure about its longevity, because the comedy sitcom scene is always competitive.

'Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'
The superhero empire of Marvel never stops expanding-and its most recent release has taken on television. S.H.I.E.L.D gives a different perspective on the Marvel world; there isn't a superhero like Captain America or Iron Man saving the day. Rather, the show follows the "regular" agents who save the world from behind the scenes while discovering new "superhumans." As a Marvel fan eagerly awaiting the next Thor release, I was excited to watch the show, which carries on from where The Avengers left off after saving New York City-and I happily embraced my inner nerd throughout the exciting episode. The first episode, which premiered Sept. 24, reintroduces Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg), who was presumed dead in The Avengers, along with his team of agents. Like the Marvel movies, the show is a high-budget work with quality special effects. Though not as enthralling as his typical action project, director Joss Whedon already has a strong fan base, and I'm confident that this ABC show will continue to attract plenty of viewers.
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