ZOEY'S EXTRAORDINARY PLAYLIST
NBC, 10:00 p.m. ET
SERIES PREMIERE: Actually, this is a sneak preview. The first one-hour episode is shown tonight – but the next episode of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, the one that really propels the series forward and reveals its true emotional core, doesn’t show up until February 16, five weeks from now. That makes no sense to me. But the premise of this series doesn’t make much sense either: After an earthquake tremor hits while Zoey (Jane Levy) is listening to piped-in music while getting an MRI brain scan, she emerges with the ability to hear other people’s inner thoughts, as expressed in song and occasionally dance. You have to just accept it and go – and it takes a while to win you over. But with Peter Gallagher and Mary Steenburgen as Zoey’s parents, and Lauren Graham as Zoey’s boss, it gets likable, and relatable, fairly quickly. American TV has tried this sort of music-from-within-and-without thing before, with ABC’s Eli Stone and the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but this new series reaches for the drama as well as the music. For my full review on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross, listen to today’s Fresh Air, or visit the Fresh Air website later this afternoon. And for a full review here at TVWW, see David Hinckley's All Along the Watchtower.