The Gates premiere: discussion and grading thread

[Temis the Vorta]

THE GATES (ABC)
(Sundays at 10:00/9:00c beginning June 20)

The network's description: "Nestled inside a private mountain community are The Gates. The image of perpetual suburban bliss, each street is lined with perfectly manicured homes protected by the massive iron gates, but a dark and delicious secret is buried just beneath the surface of this picturesque neighborhood."

Yet another network genre show that falls on its face right out of the ahem gate? Or will the Desperate-Housewives tenor and sexy vampire characters get this one past the initial hurdle?

 

[T J]

Nope!

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Nope to which question?

 

[T J]

Yeah, that was a bit vague...

Nope as in I have no intention of watching it. I won't say it looks dumb... no, wait. I will. It looks dumb. I'll pass.

 

[Greg Cox]

It wasn't bad. Witches, werewolves, vampires, and a snoopy cop . . . what's not to like? Nice cliffhanger, too.

Funny to see Rhona Mitra playing a vamp again, though.

Why does that seem so familiar?

 

[melancholymecha]

I liked it.
Is it just me or were the teens not as annoying as they usually tend to be in these types of shows?

 

[marillion]

I gave it a shot and it interested me enough to come back for the second week. It's kind of like True Blood "lite" in an upscale neighborhood rather than rural Louisiana.

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

I forgot to watch.

(So why am I posting?)

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Eh, mediocre, but good enough to keep me watching during the summer doldrums. It's weird that the most interesting character is the normal human. It's fun to see this exiled cop who can't reign in his aggressive instincts even in a situation where all the signals are telling him to cool it.

As for the rest, maybe they need a wider variety of supernatural types. Vampires and werewolves strike me as too one-note to form the basis of interesting stories. I'm already bored of Vampire Housewife and her struggles with the "hunger." The witches seem at least like they have some nuance that the writers could delve into.

Is it just me or were the teens not as annoying as they usually tend to be in these types of shows?

That was one of the pluses. I think they did a good job on the casting. The cop's son in particular struck me as exactly the type of actor they should have cast for Tyler in V.

 

[Plan 9]

I tried to watch it, but I couldn't make it through the promo at the beginning (why does a premiere include a promo?). Which is odd because I normally love quirky supernatural scenarios.

 

[pigletsgiblets]

I voted mediocre.

I'll watch it all the way through the summer since there is nothing else on.