Do "Golden Boy" and "Cult" make the grade?

The concept for Golden Boy seems interesting enough. A street cop named Walter William Clark Jr. gets promoted to a homicide detective. We then flash forward seen years and find out Clark has become the youngest police commissioner in NYC history. The show will follow his rise to that position.

The opening scene did bring the drama with a shoot out in the middle of the street, but the rest of the episode lacked luster. There was a lot of police room interrogation like so many cop shows on TV right now. The show does have many TV vets including: Chi McBride (Boston Public), Kevin Alejandro (True Blood, Southland), and Bonnie Sommerville (NYPD Blue, Cashmere Mafia). However, with so many highly rated dramas on CBS, this one gets lost in the mix.

Grade: C


The CW has been struggling to find good shows. Gossip Girl just ended its 6 year run and Emily Owens MD was DOA. Even 90210 has gone downhill. Enter Cult. A show that tracks the investigations of mysterious deaths surrounding the tv show-within-a-show of the same name.

What Cult has going for it are its two main stars. Matthew Davis (Legally Blonde) plays Jeff, who in episode one is trying to find his missing brother. Jessica Lucas (Melrose Place) is Skye a researcher for the show who is working with Jeff to find out the truth. It is nice to see Davis in a leading role and Lucas is really talented. She has been on failed show after failed show. Could Cult be her big break?

In episode two, Jeff continues to search for his missing brother. Skye thinks there may be hidden messages found in the "Cult" TV show that may lead them on the right path. If this show were on CBS or ABC, it would be a goner, but it does have a chance for survival on the CW. The network has moved the show to Fridays beginning March 8 which usually is a death wish for TV Shows. Supernatural survived that spot for two seasons and similar genre shows Grimm and Fringe have performed well on Fridays too.

Grade: C+