LITTLE ROCK — NBC has waited rather late in the new fall season to bring back one old favorite and introduce another series inspired by Grimm’s Fairy Tales.
The brothers Grimm — Jacob and Wilhelm — sure knew how to spin a tale. Most were dark and violent and wholly unsuitable for children. It took Disney to sanitize many of them for kiddie consumption.
The network no doubt delayed the debut so that Grimm, its new high concept fantasy thriller, could get a fair shot at an audience. The network also knows the competition is easier on Fridays, and if Grimm has success, it can always be moved to a better night.
NBC is pairing Grimm with the final season of Chuck, premiering at 7 p.m. Friday. The geeky spy series has somehow made it to a fifth season despite barely hanging on in the ratings since the beginning.
What Chuck delivers for NBC is a loyal audience of young men (credit the smokin’ hot presence of Australian co-star Yvonne Strahovski for that), something advertisers covet.
NBC is hoping the dark adventure of Grimm will further attract those young male viewers who have nothing better to do on Friday nights.
Grimm may deal with fairy tale creatures, but don’t get it confused with ABC’s marvelous, family-friendly Once Upon a Time. That new series debuted Sunday and has a much more fantasy quality. If anything, Grimm is closer to a horror tale. Here’s the poop.
David Giuntoli stars as Portland, Ore., homicide detective Nick Burkhardt. He’s planning to pop the question to his girlfriend (Bitsie Tulloch) when he begins seeing the faces of some people briefly turn into monsters.
The dying aunt who raised him comes to visit bearing grim news. Make that Grimm news.
She reveals to Nick the family secret. He is, in reality, the latest in a long line of Grimms — ancient fighters charged with keeping humanity safe from the evil beasts in fairy tales.
Yep. In Grimm, the creatures are real and they can change their appearance to look like us.
The pilot episode has Nick and his partner, Detective Hank Griffin (Russell Hornsby), hot on the trail of a vicious killer who preys on young girls wearing red hoodies (get it?).
Nick tries to keep his newly discovered mission a secret from those around him and soon becomes the confidant of reformed big bad wolf Monroe, played by Silas Weir. Monroe, who brings much needed comic relief, helps Nick track down the local unreformed big bad wolf who’s preying on girls.
The show has body parts, blazing guns and little girls locked in cellars, so keep your young ones in the back watching Disney Channel.
I give Grimm credit for taking the mundane police procedural to another level, but I’m only going to give it a couple more episodes to win me over. It looks like it could get more interesting because there’s the hint that some of Nick’s acquaintances are not what they seem.
Brains!: Syfy is cashing in on the current craze with its latest cheesy original movie. Ving Rhames stars in a gore-soaked Zombie Apocalypse at 8 p.m. Saturday. Will our heroes make it safely to Catalina Island?
No brains: Beavis and Butt-Head return to MTV at 9 p.m. today. It’s all new stuff.
Finale tonight: Project Runway holds its big fashion throw-down and crowns this season’s winner at 8 p.m. today on Lifetime.
Bell is back: Catherine Bell (Army Wives) stars in The Good Witch’s Family at 8 p.m. Saturday on Hallmark Channel. It’s Hallmark — the whole family can watch.
Facing fears: Animal Planet has a new series titled My Extreme Animal Phobia that addresses the dysfunctional fear some folks face when dealing with critters. The series airs at 9 p.m. Friday and features psychologist Robin Zasio.
AETN chat show: Tune in at 6:30 p.m. Friday for AETN Presents: On the Same Page With Mark Spitzer. Spitzer will discuss his latest book, Season of the Gar: Adventures in Pursuit of America's Most Misunderstood Fish, with host Tommy Sanders.
More ordered: ABC Family has ordered another season of the gymnastics drama Make It or Break It and ordered additional episodes of The Lying Game.
The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. E-mail:
mstorey@arkansasonline.com
Weekend, Pages 32 on 10/27/2011