‘Krypton’ a Superdud; ‘Station 19’ unessential
Parceling out a prequel TV series’ plot is one of many daunting tasks: Move too slowly and it feels like a show is running in place; move too fast and you reach the end point/beginning of the saga it’s a prequel to too soon.
As a comedy, CBS’s “Young Sheldon” doesn’t have the weight of a drama series on its shoulders. Fox drama “Gotham” often gets around being Batman-less by focusing on the villains rather than that saga’s eventual hero.
AMC’s “Better Call Saul,” a “Breaking Bad” prequel, probably does the best job of any prequel series because the focus shifted away from the lead on “Breaking Bad” to a secondary character whose world has been built out in interesting ways.
“Smallville” worked as a Superman prequel because it had high school teen drama as a story engine. “Smallville” was also unique when it premiered; now superhero series predominate on TV and at the movies.
TV’s latest Superman prequel, Syfy’s “Krypton” (10 p.m. Wednesday), brings to mind Syfy’s unsuccessful “Caprica,” a “Battlestar Galactica” prequel, because both “Caprica” and “Krypton” rely on the ancestors of characters the audience knows.
“Caprica” was just a generation removed from “BSG.” “Krypton” goes back two generations to focus on the grandfather of Superman, Seg-El (Cameron Cuffe, “Florence Foster Jenkins”), when he was a bar-brawling 20-something.
“Krypton” spends a lot of time establishing Kryptonian politics of the era, which is convoluted and not dramatically engaging. Sometimes it feels like there’s an effort to parallel real-world politics, but the show also features a cheesy, multifaced religious character who muddies attempts at allegory.
Seg gets a helping hand from Adam Strange (Shaun Sipos, “The Vampire Diaries”), a space-and-time-traveling character who journeys from 21stcentury America, where Superman is a big deal, to tell Seg how important his great descendant will be. Elements from the familiar Superman story include the Fortress of Solitude and Superman’s cape, which is used as a sort of intergalactic doomsday clock.
The show’s initial story engine is Seg saving Krypton from world-eater Brainiac (Blake Ritson, “DaVinci’s Demons”), which brings up another problem: Viewers know Krypton has to survive long enough for Superman to be born so there are no stakes in a plot that puts the planet in peril.
“Krypton” also suffers from plot-revealing casting and obvious plot turns.
Audiences are smart: If you cast distinguished actors — Paula Malcomson, Rupert Graves — in guest starring roles as Seg’s parents, their status as guests stars gives away plot. If you introduce a series regular in episode one and then have her engage in a “duel to the death” in episode two, it’s pretty obvious how that fight will turn out. Why waste our time? (Find another way to show the character’s merciless streak.)
Ultimately, dull, dreary “Krypton” does feel like a waste of time.
‘Station 19’
It’s easier to see how “Station 19” (9-11 p.m. Thursday, WTAE) will appeal to fans of “Grey’s Anatomy.”
“Station 19” is a direct spinoff — the fire station is three blocks
from Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital — and the first hour features drive-by appearances from “Grey’s” regulars Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) and Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson). Plus, “Station 19” co-stars former “Grey’s” actor Jason George, whose Ben Warren ditched surgery for firefighting.
The feel of this spinoff will be familiar to “Grey’s” viewers: Firefighter Andy Herrera (Jaina Lee Ortiz) is the show’s lead character, narrating episodes in the same occasionally laughable, trying-to-sound-moreimportantstyle as Meredith does “Grey’s.” But in the first hour, Andy’s a lot less likable than Meredith, chewing out just about everyone who comes into her orbit, including her hospitalized fire chief father (Miguel Sandoval), her boyfriend (Grey Damon) and her ex-boyfriend (Alberto Frezza).
Some of the supporting characters, including Victoria Hughes (Barrett Doss) and Dean Miller (Okieriete Onaodowan), make decent first impressions. But the whole enterprise feels so similar to “Grey’s” — coworkers as family, love triangle, heroics on the job — as to be unessential, which programming in the Peak TV era cannot afford to be.
Kept/canceled/rebooted
Starz renewed “Power” for a sixth season. Season five premieres July 1.
ABC renewed “America’s FunniestHome Videos,” “The Bachelor,” “Child Support” and “Dancing With the Stars” forthe 2018-19 TV season.
USA ordered a Gina Torres-starring “Suits” spinoff.
TNT canceled “The Librarians” after four seasons.
CNBC ordered a new season of “Deal or No Deal” starring Howie Mandel. The show previously aired on NBC from 2005-09.
‘Bundle-Up Auction’
About 350 items — including sports collectibles, electronics and restaurant gift cards — will be part of the 31st annual “WTAE Project Bundle-Up Auction,” which has begun online at WTAE.com andruns through April 6.
The auction, a partnership with the Salvation Army of Western Pennsylvania, raises money to purchase new outerwear for local children and senior citizens.
Tuned In online
Today’s TV Q&A column responds to questions about “The Middle,” “Last Man on Earth” and local weather forecasts. This week’s Tuned In Journal includes posts on “Deception” and “For the People.” Read online-only TV content at http://communityvoices.post-gazette. This week’s podcast includes conversation about “Rise” and “Timeless.” Subscribe or listen to Pittsburgh Post-Gazette podcasts at iTunes or at https://soundcloud.com/pittsburghpg.