Ask Matt: Is It Too Late for ‘9-1-1′ to Come Down to Earth? The New ‘It’ & More

Welcome to the Q&A with TV critic — also known to some TV fans as their “TV therapist” — Matt Roush, who’ll try to address whatever you love, loathe, are confused or frustrated or thrilled by in today’s vast TV landscape. (We know background music is too loud, it’s the most frequent complaint, but there’s always closed-captioning. Check out this story for more tips.)

One caution: This is a spoiler-free zone, so we won’t be addressing upcoming storylines here unless it’s already common knowledge. Please send your questions and comments to [email protected]. Look for Ask Matt columns on most Tuesdays.

Has 9-1-1 Finally Gone Over the Top?

Question: I’ve been watching (and mostly enjoying) 9-1-1 ever since it debuted several years ago on Fox. But this year’s multi-part opener on ABC about two of the cast members blasting off into space has been the most ridiculous, contrived, idiotic, and, frankly, completely unbelievable plot I’ve ever seen.

The writers have already angered loyal fans of the show by killing off one of its most beloved characters, Peter Krause‘s Capt. Bobby Nash, in the final episode last season. But this is a step too far. What’s next? A firetruck that blasts off to rescue the people adrift in the space capsule? When a program jumps the shark this severely, it’s often hard to win audience members back. This awful, disastrous beginning to the year is tempting me to call the real 9-1-1 to have some TV doctors try to rescue this thing. But I fear not even a “Bobby-Ewing-in-the-shower-it-was-all-a-dream” twist can save them now. If they don’t go back to what made this show work, I’m prepared to call it in the field: DOA, with no hope of survival. — Aaron F.

Matt Roush: Thanks for giving me an intentional laugh — as opposed to the unintentional idiocy I’ve been observing since this “lost in space” storyline (apologies to the late June Lockhart) blasted off. You’re hardly alone in complaining. Lorraine L. from Naples, Florida wrote in to wonder: “Why are so many procedural dramas (that I used to enjoy) creating Irwin Allen-type disasters that are not realistic?” She didn’t provide examples, though I’m pretty sure no other show is going as overboard as 9-1-1 is currently doing. (I’m not the biggest fan of “jump the shark” reactions, but in this case, I wouldn’t be surprised if Athena and Hen encountered a Sharknado upon reentry, which can’t come soon enough.)

This is basically an extreme case of can-you-top-this-ism, not new to this franchise, but rarely played out at such length and with such unabashed cheesiness. Aaron makes an excellent point that the show’s greatest challenge this season should have been earning back the audience’s trust and affection after the shocking (and to many fans, unnecessary and unwelcome) death of its appealing series lead. This is not the way to do it.

Overruns Are Bad Sportsmanship

Question: One of viewers’ biggest pet peeves is having TV shows delayed because of sports programming. With all the channels and streaming available now, why do the networks insist on airing sports events when they know that they will run overtime, delay the entire nighttime schedule, and infuriate fans of the TV shows following it? — JL

Matt Roush: As JL notes, it’s as inevitable as the changing of the seasons (at least in my neck of the woods) that people will complain about sports overruns, especially in the fall when new shows return — CBS on Sundays is always the best example — only to have their start times altered when a game runs long (East and Central time zones in particular). But it surely can’t be lost on most viewers that scripted TV is no longer the engine that fuels the industry. Look at how few new shows premiered this fall on the broadcast networks. Sports is king, and the revenue these live events generate (even when taking into account the hefty rights fees) outweighs the annoyance factor of having lineups delayed sometimes by almost a full hour. We’ve all been watching TV long enough to know that on Sundays or whenever there’s a live event preceding a show you’re intending to watch, you need to set your recorder for at least an hour beyond the listed showtime. This dilemma isn’t going away and is likely to get even worse as the balance continues to shift. Streamers and the network’s streaming platforms are investing heavily in sports, it’s true, but the broadcast nets have no incentive of getting out of the game. The exact opposite, really.

With It, It’s a Matter of Taste

Question: In your review of HBO‘s new It: Welcome to Derry series, you wrote, “It’s not even the best It.” Which begs the question: Which one is? Happy Halloween! — Ryan

Matt Roush: This is probably a copout to suggest that no adaptation has surpassed the original: Stephen King‘s mammoth novel, which, when I reviewed it for USA Today way back in 1986, I referred to the book as a “funky, junky monster mash.” I also have a special nostalgic fondness for the more restrained chills of the 1990 miniseries, which arrived during the peak of Twin Peaks mania and about which I wrote (also for USA Today): “If Twin Peaks is a midnight movie for prime-time, then Stephen King’s It is the miniseries equivalent of those Saturday-matinee shockers that merrily warped a generation before Freddie and Jason began staking their more graphic turf.”

I mostly liked the big-screen version as well — the first half in particular — but wasn’t thrilled that it was split into two movies. And the HBO version also has its moments, especially in that wild first episode, but may be overreaching with its military subplot. (I’ll reserve final judgment until we see how it sticks the landing; HBO only released the first five of eight episodes for review.)

Grey’s Is Better with Meredith

Question: What do you think of Grey’s Anatomy so far this season? I really liked the Meredith storyline this week. We got to see her in surgery, and the parallel between the patient’s fathers and Meredith’s kids seeing Nick as a parental figure was really well-drawn. The last few episodes have demonstrated how effective the show is when Meredith is a central part of the action. The ensemble is a deep bench of talent, but I don’t think the show has ever really figured out how to be the best version of itself in her extended absences.

However, I’m not sure why we needed multiple scenes of Teddy helping Jo buy a car. I get that it was about Teddy reflecting on the state of her relationship with Owen and their kids, but the way they executed it didn’t really work for me. It was too predictable and obvious. Also, Jo and Teddy have never really been particularly close. I don’t remember them having significant storylines together. The choice of Jo to be the one to convey the message that you can be happy after a divorce to Teddy might not have been the most effective. The same point could have been made with Bailey, who shares her first son with her ex-husband from the beginning of the series. — Jake

Matt Roush: And therein lies the Grey’s paradox. For every beat that really works, which tends to be the medical stories that often reflect a character’s current emotional storyline, there are others that make your eyes roll: Jo’s outing with Teddy (what a sorry character she is lately) definitely qualifies, so in the same episode did Lucas quarreling with his intern Wes, right in front of Bailey in the OR. (Honestly, kids today!) But there’s no question that the show is better when they’re writing well for its core character, Meredith, which means grounding her in the business of the hospital — and not sending her to Boston so Ellen Pompeo can sit out part of the season. I used to think Grey’s would never survive her departure, but it was much worse when Meredith was neither here nor there, so I’m hoping what we’ve seen so far this season is a determined course correction.

The Saving Graces of Task

Comment: With your constant referring to Task as grim, or downbeat, or whatever adjective you used weekly, I was expecting watching it to be more of a, well, task. I waited to binge, so it should have had an even bigger cumulative effect on me, but I found it to be quite the opposite. Yes, it was violent, yes, people had major burdens from tragedy in their lives; but they also had people they loved and who loved them — even the worst of them. I really didn’t think the show wallowed in darkness or especially dabbled in sadism the way some shows do with their villains. All in all, I found it to be rewarding and redemptive and one of the best realized miniseries of the year. Like sitting down and reading an excellent novel. — David F

Matt Roush: If you go back to my original review, even the headline noted that Task pays emotional dividends, and I freely admit to getting weepy (hardly a rarity for me) in the latter sections of the series, in regards to Mark Ruffalo‘s Tom and his relationship with his troubled adopted son and, later, with the briefly fostered and adorable little Sam. But I keep coming back to that pivotal scene where Tom and the ill-fated antihero, Robbie (Tom Pelphrey, great), finally share space together, and Robbie calls Tom “the world’s most depressing human being.” He wasn’t wrong, though ultimately the show leans into grace and hope after depicting so much sorrow and death.

I had no trouble recommending Task with a four-star review (a half-star less than I gave the same creator’s Mare of Easttown four years ago), but I also felt it was important to caution people, maybe too stridently as the weeks wore on, that the tone was decidedly dark — with occasional flashes of light. I wasn’t surprised when most of the feedback in my mailbag complained about the show’s dourness and (Martha Plimpton excepted) its lack of humor. I’m glad to hear from someone who leaned into its more positive aspects.

And Finally …

Question: Beyond the Gates, a daytime soap opera that has been doing well for CBS as of late, is set in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. Capitol, a daytime soap opera that ran on CBS from 1982 to 1987, was also set in the Washington, D.C, metropolitan area. Do you think there is even a ghost of a chance in Hades that any characters that were featured on Capitol could turn up on Beyond the Gates? I do admit that John Conboy, who served as executive producer of Capitol for its entire run, is now deceased. — Chris

Matt Roush: It seems unlikely, in part because so much time has passed and Gates has such a different racial demographic, and from what I’ve seen (admittedly not much), is a bit more removed from the D.C. political scene than Capitol. But wouldn’t it be fun if they slipped in an “easter egg” style reference at some point to the feuding Clegg and McCandless families who ruled the roost in Capitol? If that sort of tip-of-the-cap moment ever happens, I hope someone notices.

That’s all for now. We can’t do this without your participation, so please keep sending questions and comments about TV to [email protected]. (Please include a first name with your question.)