My Take On….ABC’S SELFIE: it’s almost great

JOHN CHO, KAREN GILLANLet’s make this known: while Tennant is my Doctor (and will forever be), Amy Pond is my companion.  She was my favorite – with Rory, without Rory, in general, etc. So I’m a big fan of Karen Gillan. As a fan of KG, I was pre-disposed to be a fan of her new show, SELFIE, which premieres tonight at 8/7c on ABC.  Gillan plays Eliza Dooley, a vapid, self-obsessed woman, who is “insta-famous” but who has no real friends.  When she realizes that a “like” on FB isn’t exactly equivalent to a handshake or a hug in person (and after a pretty disastrous plane ride), she heads on a fairly downward spiral.

Her coworker, Henry Higgs (you see…it’s based on “Pygmalion” on which “My Fair Lady” is based….hence the character names, and some of the rhyming we’re dealt in the pilot), is a branding genius.  She decides to hire him to help her re-brand.  He decides to use her to impress his boss and for the challenge of it all.  He has to turn Eliza from a hashtag / texting-acronym spouting tart into a real human being.

And to a certain degree, I DO like the show.  There is a solid foundation for what could be a really great show.  I like John Cho in just about everything he does (and really enjoy when he pops up on SLEEPY HOLLOW when his neck is in tact…); I think he is very charming and it’s great to see him essentially playing the romantic lead in this off-beat romantic comedy.  Karen Gillan is very funny – she’s dealt some really weird situations to stumble through in the pilot alone, and she handles them very well. And as a positive, on a second viewing, I didn’t notice much of what I had initially thought was the worst American accent ever attempted.  The supporting cast was used well – not too much, not over the top, and it’s nice to see Eliza forming new friendships.

While performances are good, and I definitely #LOL’d (I had to…), there is something ever so slightly “off” that just didn’t fully click enough for me to call it my new favorite show (or favorite new show). I also have concerns about how they’ll make this into a weekly series that doesn’t grow stale quickly. Overall, they are minor issues that I don’t think will impact my long term viewing.  On the MToT arbitrary-rating scale that we sometimes use, this ranks a 7 out of 10 with potential for an increase!

Check out SELFIE at 8/7c on ABC – let us know what you think after you watch!