I asked you guys what dramatic shows you might be interested in discussing here recently and Bull came up a lot. CBS describes the show like this, “Inspired by the early career of Dr. Phil McGraw, Michael Weatherly stars as Dr. Jason Bull. Brilliant, brash and charming, he’s the ultimate puppet master combining psychology, intuition and high-tech data to learn what makes jurors and the accused tick.”
I really liked the first episode of this show. It’s a crime drama in the view of Law and Order to some extent. Each week is a different case. However, this series focuses on the trial aspect. Someone has already been arrested and the defense team is working to get the client a not guilty outcome. The clients are always going to be rich. Rich kids, rich adults, perhaps even rich companies. The common link between the rich defendants is that they hire a very high-tech team to profile the jury. The process begins with jury selection, but continues with tailoring the defense to be appealing to the jurors. This includes dressing the defendant. Coaching the defendant on posture and facial expressions while in court. Determining whether or not the defendant to should testify. Those are things we were all mostly aware of from watching trials on TV. Most attorneys do these things.
But not like Bull. Bull is the leader of the team whose sole focus is on the jury and their individual backgrounds and responses to the attorneys. And no one is better at it than Bull.
There were parts of the editing I found annoying. Bull will look over at the jurors during trial and we see them literally speaking to him on the show. I think I would rather see Bull and hear his thoughts, “He’s hungover.” “She hates the lead prosecutor.” Instead we see the jury speaking their thoughts to Bull. It’s kind of cheesy.
But overall I really like the show and I recommend it to you with by saying, “It’s worth a look.” If you watched let me know what you thought in comments. If you didn’t there is a clip below. IF YOU WATCH THE CLIP IT PRETTY MUCH SPOILS THE ENTIRE FIRST EPISODE. So if you want to watch the first episode on demand or have it on DVR you should skip it.
I’d also like to know what other dramatic shows you guys are watching. Please do not spoil the shows when you discuss them. Especially Empire as I have not had time to watch that yet. 🙂
What new fall shows have you seen that you enjoyed?
I have this on the DVR! I already miss Michael Weatherly on NCIS, so I’m looking forward to watching this.
I love Michael and will watch this show. Thanks so much!!
Thanks for your post on this. I wanted to watch it but a friend already did and told me not to bother. I will try to catch it on demand this weekend.
This show was great! Weatherly does a phenomal job!
I just set Notorious to watch tonight on CBS at 9 It’s in the Scandal timeslot until January. I plan to try and check it out. Just an FYI.
Also check your DVRs because there are a TON of shows airing reruns as “New Social Editions” tonight that are fucking things up.
Woot! I now have something to do tonight! Long live Tamra, ever may she reign.
TamAra. Doh. Sorry, menopause fingers.
I really liked Bull. But it may not be for everyone thus my reccomendation is “Give it a shot,” Then come tell me what you think. I like crime dramas a lot, and I love the jury profiling part. Bull is LOOSELY based on Dr, Phil and some of his humor and cockiness comes through that I enjoy,
I have a feeling on this series that the defendant will get off every week. I don’t know that for sure but the tagline is, “He’ll get you off.” So it is odd to kind of know how the trial ends.
HOWEVER. What you don’t know is whether the defendant is guilty or not. At least based on the first episode. And after the verdict, the do let you know if the defendant was actually guilty or not. So you can still have that “Who dun it?” feeling.
They did show “Who dun it.” I love Weatherly, and I’m so glad he’s got a show in a great time slot.
You are so right about the “thought dialogue” going the wrong direction! That would be a huge improvement.
I saw an ad about “Notorious”, but I was still on the fence since we have a couple of episodes of “Queen of the South” waiting. That is a new fav of mine but, it has wrapped for this season. Thanks for helping me decide!
Oh my god, I’m so glad you wrote about this show , I absolutely LOVE Dr. Phil, which is why I gave it a shot, I’m hooked , I’m hooked , I’m hooked . Isn’t that how he got into showbiz as well, Oprah heard of him, & hired him for a trial she was facing . She liked him so much she gave up her seat every Friday on the Oprah Winfrey show,as she sat in the audience & let Dr. Phil have the floor. The rest is history . But anyway , yes looking forward to more episodes of BULL.
I did see on USA a show I might like, Eyewitness. That starts in early Oct. I believe. Someone recommended Secrets and Lies. Haven’t really checked anything else out yet…..but I am looking to fill in some abandoned housewive hours. I love comedies and dramas. I really do love television. It is one of my many vices.
If anyone has any interesting suggestions would love to hear them too!
Thank you TT, will watch on demand.
Dammit, dammit, dammit! I have been waiting and waiting for this show…then, I forgot to watch it.
I WILL catch it next week.
Thanks for the heads up on “Notorious”. I will watch that tonight.
Tried Designated Survivor last night. I liked it a lot…..in the spirit of full disclosure, I LOVE Keiffer Sutherland. His work tackling the Christmas tree that year cannot be beat.
I saw that as well and also liked it !
Loved Designated Survivor, too, but I kept mixing up characters. Where did the FBI lady come from?
I liked Bull…but I love Designated Survivor.
Sorry to be so off topic and breaking all the news but Tamara I need your update on RHOC drama. I’m so sorry to post in this post about it but I’m seeing tid bits of drama on Twitter and cos I’m in UK I rely on your recaps. I’m so thirsty for some tea.
I have no fucking idea what you are talking about and why you think the post devoted to getting off the Bravo teat is the place to do it.
Sorry I really didn’t mean to cause harm.
This is Us was interesting. I think it is going to make my fall tv schedule. I will try Notorious since I will already be watching Grey’s Anatomy.
I love This is us and Designated Surviver. Both will be on my must watch list.
Better Call Saul!
I really enjoyed this show and tried to image how much harder it must have been to do this prior to all the social media. I found the ending not so predictable and the acting first rate
I am excited for How to get Away with Murder to start again
I also like a show called Motive – they is the victim and killer straight away and then spend the show tieing the two together – I believe it takes place in Canada
I thoroughly enjoyed “This is Us”. First episode was great! I don’t want to say anything else for fear of giving too much away but it’s definitely must see tv
Just finished watching. I thought the first episode was pretty decent, other than that lame thought process. Ugh! I’m not sure how well it will hold up in the long run for me. I am easily bored. Phil claims he never did any interviews regarding this business, but that is not true. I recall reading about Courtroom Sciences Inc., a/k/a CSI, many years ago when he was doing the Oprah show. It’s strange that most days I’m lucky if I can remember my own name, yet, I remember his income was touted as $118,000 per day or mock trial, which may have lasted a full day. Yes, that is a familiar figure! I think that was the first time I truly realized what money could buy in this country. I’m hoping to watch Designated Survivor next but I’m not sure. Hopefully,I will finally get some sleep. It’s been a while. I’m in Charlotte, so there’s that. Oops, rambling. I’ll leave my thoughts if I think it’s worthwhile. Someone mentioned Secrets and Lies. That may be an excellent choice. I read that this year is supposed to be even better than last. If that’s the case, it should be awesome.
I know BULL is loosely based on the Oprah lawsuit about the show saying she wouldn’t eat beef. She hired Dr. Phil for the Texas lawsuit as a jury consultant . The suit was all about how she damaged the Beef industry profit margin. She was so impressed ( Oprah won) that Oprah got him his own show.
When Dr. Phil first aired I couldn’t watch. He had such an eye twitch.
My question is does he have Botox injected to stop the twitch?
My only other bitch is that NO ONE seemed to have a problem with him ( I’m paraphrasing now) saying that he told Robin that she had to ” Had to keep herself UP in order for her to become a stay at home mother.” Was anybody else as shocked & repulsed by his comment?
Sorry for dragging up history, but I’m really interested if anyone else feels this way?
I don’t understand what comment to his wife are you referring to??
I watched This is Us as well. The actor who won an Emmy for playing Christopher Darden is on it. I enjoyed it.
Is this the same guy that was John Creighton in Farscape?
I am looking forward to seeing the new series. I love Michael Weatherly! Can we talk about Vice Principals? OMG Tamara….were you able to see it? Can’t believe it was the season finale and this is how they are leaving us hanging!
I love Vice Principals too!
Watched it and liked it .. interesting to have the Jurors “talk” .. By the time he approached the one woman Juror who he was zeroing in on during the trial – was ready to tune to something else .. a few scenes/outcome were predictable ..all in all – thought the first episode was good
Love Michael Weatherly, loved the show, but got creeped out at the end when I read the credits: executive producer Phil McGraw and one of his sons is a producer too. I don’t know why exactly. He can get sanctimonious and I loathe nepotism, especially in Hollywood.
I wish it was a fictitious character Instead of Dr Phil. I keep picturing him on his show pushing his lousy books, his son’s books, his wife’s books. Maybe I feel Michael Weatherly deserves better than Dr Phil breathing down his neck, micromanaging the episode (I’m guessing) but I did really enjoy it and will watch every episode.
Well, great. At least you let us know how much you hate Dr Phil and don’t want him to profit from a show about him produced by his son’s production company and on which he is a producer before you watch every episode.
I have Bull on my DVR but have not watched it yet. The subject is interesting to me as I served on a jury for 5 weeks. And I do like dr. Phil.
I watched the first episode of This Is Us. It was REALLY good. I watched it because an actor from the soap that I watch is on it. It was a very pleasant surprise. If you are going to try this show out please go to On Demand and watch the first episode. It is really excellent.
*It’s classified as a dramedy, I think. I laughed very hard during a few scenes and shed a tear during another.
I watched Notorious ,,,sort …of tonight. I wasn’t impressed. I’ve been in some sort of funk or sick or something today so I will probably give it another shot if I am feeling better later.
I watched up to the last 15 minutes, or so. Then I got bored and went online.
So, I did watch this because the content is right up my alley. I think the show needs some fine tuning, but was good enough to give it one more shot.
I didn’t like the main character. Dr Phil is likeable, even while being cocky. He can still connect with a person while giving them the scoop. This Bull character was just cocky and condescending. For me, they would have to deal with that a bit.
I’d like to see more technical details and what specific “tells” Dr Bull was seeing. Instead of an ego stroking “I can see everything” type of attitude.
But I’m really glad you are covering this, TT and have hopes it might get the fine tuning it needs.
I liked Bull. I had no idea Dr. Phil had this very successful trial consulting firm in his early days. I was impressed with the show, but this type of crime/drama show is right up my alley. I agree that it will concentrate on the very wealthiest people in America as it is unlikely that most could afford a consulting firm with the credentials of Bull. It always takes me a few episodes to get hooked, but so far, it’s a win for me.
I wasn’t crazy about it. Liked Michael Weatherly on NCIS. Wish he would have stayed there. I really didn’t like him in this show. I think he is too slick and cocky and it got tiring after a while. It worked on NCIS because he had Gibbs and the others to balance the character.
I watched Bull last night. I understand why my friend didn’t like it. There was to much technical stuff for her to follow it. But that’s her.
My problem with the show is that I just saw the movie Snowden and it freaked me out in the show how much information Bull can get on a juror. It really makes me not want to sit on a jury if they can do this. It also makes me glad that I don’t do Facebook.
As to the jury talking to Bull about their feelings, I prefer it over him thinking these thoughts. I feel we get the emotions of the jurors much better. When one of the jurors says he is hungover, I could feel it and imagine how it would feel to be stuck there hungover and not caring and most likely not understanding what half the trial is about. If it was just Bull thinking it, I wouldn’t get any emotions from the jury and just think Bull was assuming these things. But I was forewarned about this particular thing and if I wasn’t, I probably would have reacted differently to it.
The part I did like was how Bull could read the jury that they didn’t like the lead lawyer and the parts that showed it and how he handled it. Probably because that was him actually reading people and not relying on researching people on the computer.
I’ll watch another episode because I figure they had to put so much information in the first episode that it was a bit of overload that was rushed to fit it all in.
I also watched, last night, the show Sleepless starring Minnie Driver. I really enjoyed it. Malcolm in the middle is the closest show I can think of to compare it to, but better. Minnie Driver was really good as the mother. It’s worth checking out if you like sitcoms.
Is it only me who thinks there is a sexual connotation to “He gets you off”?
No. Surely that is deliberate and it makes me giggle every time I open this thread.
Why CoBe, why ever would you think that? I’m certain our Belle of the Blog, Tamara, would never be so indelicate. Bless your heart.
And to answer Anna’s question, Dr. Phil meant by negotiating with Robin to keep herself UP meant not letting herself GO. Gain weight, clean hair, body, no sweats, etc. But, Im not Southern so maybe Tamara knows better than I do what a Texas man means when he negotiates with his wife to keep herself UP, if she wanted to be a stay at home mother.
thanks for the reply, that’s what I thought.?
It means just what you think it means. I admire his forthrightness. Most men just think that.
Thanks for the recommendation TT, loved it. It seemed to have similarities to Lie to me in the scientific aspects to crime/trial dramas which i love. Anyway so great to find a great new show that i didn’t even know about, cheers ?
Haven’t watched Bull yet, it’s still on the DVR, but I did watch Designated Survivor. I loved it! Which probably means it will be cancelled. LOL.
Also have, This is Us, Notorius, Lethal Weapon and MacGuyver (airing tonight) to watch. I usually record as many of the new shows as I can, then decide what to keep. There’s just too many good shows on!
Would love it if we could get back to discussing The Blacklist. Spader’s timing is still impeccable, and Tom is hot, hot, hot!!!!!!!!!!!! Mr. Kaplan and Dembe had bigger and more interesting speaking parts last night. Still don’t care for the actress playing Liz, but that’s more than offset by the scorching hot Tom.
My guilty pleasure is Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders .I don’t know if it’s the music or karma When I was in the marching band we used to get pushed away from the mirror, so the drill team could fill all of the breathable air with their hair spray. Meanwhile, my sweat soaked hair looked greased to my head when I took my hat off to go sit in the stands. Band girls’ assigned seats were near the top of the bleachers where the wind and 20 degree temperature made us sick. Of course, the drill team members had jackets and their own blankets ,so they could stand near the team. It’s karma when Kelli says to a bodacious blonde,” you’re a beautiful girl, but you’re vanilla to watch” I do root for and have feel good moments when the small town girls who have overcome personal obstacles make the team.
I actually was able to DVR The Blacklist last night! I have missed quite a few episodes because I wasn’t able to record it do to stupid shit I had to recap here. And I hate On Demand and Charter Communications SUCKS about updating their On Demand shows.
In other news, 10 million people tuned in to Designated Survivor so I am going to try to catch that this weekend if Charter bothers to put it up.
I forgot to DVR Bill so I’m hoping it’s either on demand or on Hulu. Watched This Is Us, first episode was good. Also watched Designated Survivor, definitely has me interested. I watched Notorious and think it will be canceled. It just didn’t work for me. It’s too forced.
I guess I have to come out and admit that I like Dr. Phil. I do watch his show almost every day.
Sometimes, though, his questions seem silly to me. But I find that with a lot of people on tv, so I guess that’s MY issue. 🙂
I watched Bull and suspected early on who the real killer was, but I was wrong about the motive for the murder. I did NOT see that coming!
Anyone giving the exorcist with Geena Davis a shot? Premieres tonight (Friday)
Not me! I’m a fraidy cat!
Thank you, TT & all who recommended new shows on this thread & the Dr. Phil thread!
I was feeling empty since BB18 is over with no idea how I was going to fill my fall tv time, aside from HTGAWM. (I also miss the days of court tv)
I had an on demand binge today & watched most all of the shows mentioned…. And liked them all!
Now I have full DVR settings for:
Bull, Designated Survivor, This is Us, Secrets & Lies, How to Get Away With Murder.
I stopped watching Survivor a couple of years ago. But, after deciding to watch the premeire because of the “millenials vs gen x” premise, I am back in on this, too!
Yay! Lots of good shows to watch! Thanks to all who made suggestions. ?
I forgot to mention how much I LOVE Queen Sugar on OWN. It’s a great binge if you need one this weekend. We are four or five episodes in!!!
Thanks for the tip! Will put it on my list. I’m going to try out “Making of a Murderer” or whatever the actual title is on netflix first. Evidently, Nancy Grace is part of the show. (Not sure in what capacity) Will see if it lives up to the hype.