Thursday, September 20, 2007

Fall TV Preview

These days, I'm looking forward to the new TV season nearly as much as I was the football season. As someone said earier this year, we're living in a golden age of TV right now. You can have the 50's, I'll take the current slate, and I don't even have HBO. Here's a rundown of what I plan to watch this TV season.

Heroes - What a great show. It's shows like this that make me nervous about dismissing any new stuff. I almost didn't Tivo this one last year. I have to say I wasn't wowed by the finale, but the quality of the scripts and characters would have to drop quite a ways before I would stop watching. The previews for the new season look great.

CSI:Crime Scene Investigation - The original. Still a great show. Good characters and plots. They still come up with new twists, e.g last season's miniature killer. Hard to believe the Europeans like CSI:Miami better. I watched quite a few of those, but I couldn't stand David Caruso and his head tilt and sunglasses anymore.

Numb3rs - Yes, I know the spelling is stupid. But this is a good show that has risen above it's gimmick. I started watching it because the premise sounded interesting - applying math to crime. They've done a really good job with that, but the show, like all good shows, has blossomed because it has good characters. The relationship between Charlie, Don and their Dad is believable and compelling. The supporting cast is good too, particularly Peter MacNichol as Larry. If you haven't watched this in the past, I would recommend watching it on DVD.

My Name is Earl - Jason Lee plays the white trash good-hearted Earl perfectly. He looks like a completely different person with his mustache. Jaime Pressley nearly steals the show as Joy.

The Office
- I haven't seen all the British episodes, but from what I have seen, I like this one better. I'm really looking forward to this season, but I'm a little concerned about where the Jim/Pam thing goes from here. Michael is funny, but I cringe a lot watching him. I watch more for the rest of the cast than for Steve Carrell.

Scrubs - One of my 3 or 4 favorite sitcoms of all time. I've seen every episode multiple times (they're great to watch while working out) and I love them every time. The gags are funny and clever, the characters are interesting, and I love the fact that there's no laugh track. It doesn't get the ratings it deserves.

Family Guy
- This is a really fucked up show, but I do really like it. It's definitely show that people love or hate. Look for some Family Guy threads on google and you'll see what I mean. I'm amazed that it's now in syndication in the evenings. I'm pretty lax and I won't let my kids watch it.

South Park
- I used to think this show was great. I've started to get a little tired of it, but they still have a few gems every season.

The Simpsons - The word has been for several years has been that The Simpsons has lost a step, if they haven't jumped the shark completely. I think there's some truth to that. It's not as consistent as it once was. Some of that is just nostalgia and familiarity though. And I think the movie showed that they still have a lot of life left in them.

Unfortunately, my two favorite shows, Battlestar Galactica and Lost, don't come back until January.

That's it for returning shows. I've set up my DVR for a crop of new shows which I'll just run down - Bionic Woman (this one looks like it could be really good), Back to You (I've always liked Kelsey Grammer), Journeyman, Reaper (I'm taking a look at this one because of Kevin Smith), Chuck, Pushing Daisies and The Sarah Silverman Show (I know this isn't new, but I wanted to watch it. She's funny and nice to look at).

Some of these will certainly either lose my interest(Prison Break)or be canceled(Studio 60), but hopefully a couple of them will be good enough to make the rotation. So what are you watching this year?

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12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Same starting rotation as last year: Heroes, House, Survivor, The Office, Smallville, and Supernatural are all starting soon. We're going to watch the first week or so of Dancing With The Stars to see if there's anyone we like enough to stay with it. Can't wait for Amazing Race to come back, and we were very happy to see that Friday Night Lights got renewed (I guess Coach stays in Dillon). In addition to waiting for Lost and BSG, we'll keep an eye out to see if HBO comes through with their 4-hour Deadwood wrap-up. If time permits, I too would like to check out Bionic Woman and Journeyman (starring Vorenus from Rome).

michelline said...

we were very happy to see that Friday Night Lights got renewed

I'm sure you read Bill Simmons begging people to watch this one.

Watched the pilot of Back to You last night, and it was very standard sitcom fare. If it doesn't get considerably better, I'll be dropping it soon.

CSI is still in your rotation, isn't it?

Angelos said...

Yeah, Back to You worries me.

I like Grammer and Heaton, but it looks very generic and laugh-tracky.

I'm down to Everyone Hates Chris, Scrubs, and Ugly Betty. That's more the wife's thing, but I do enjoy it too. Well-written characters and dialog.

New South Park starts in two weeks. I'm seriously looking forward to that.

I've seen a couple Numb3rs episodes here and there. It's fine, and I'm kind of a math geek, but it disn't stick. I just can't be bother much any more.

Angelos said...

Also, I can't type...

maurinsky said...

The new shows I plan to watch are Reaper, Pushing Daisies, and Dirty Sexy Money. They will be joining Heroes, The Office, My Name Is Earl, Scrubs, 30 Rock, Robot Chicken and How I Met Your Mother.

I'm also Tifauxing Torchwood on BBC America, and I may tune into Without A Trace because I have a compulsive need to follow the careers of people who used to be on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

I watch way too much TV.

John Howard said...

I really hope some of these shows suck, but like you said with Heroes, I'd hate to miss a really good show.

I added Bionic Woman, Journeyman, Chuck, KVille (which doesn't look to be around long already), Dirty Sexy Money (mostly because of Peter Krause). I've got 5 shows on Monday alone, so I'll have to watch Monday Night Football on another TV or something. Someone should really let TV people know that the week has more days than just Sunday and Monday.

What is Reaper? I hadn't heard of that one. And I meant to set up Pushing Daises, but I can't remember when or where it's on, and haven't bothered to look yet.

Oh, and Toast, the last article I read said it didn't look good for the Deadwood movies. I think that project is all but abandoned and I have a suspicion that it was only even suggested to make sure people weren't too pissed off with HBO to prevent them from watching that piece of crap, John from Cincinnati.

michelline said...

I like Grammer and Heaton, but it looks very generic and laugh-tracky.

Yeah, I thought so too. I can deal with the laugh track if the jokes are good, but these were a little predictable. Hopefully they'll find their stride.

Tifauxing Torchwood
Tifaux refers to a non-Tivo DVR?

Pushing Daisies sounds interesting, but it must start a few weeks later in the season since I can't find it on my satellite schedule.

Angelos said...

Jeez, I forgot all about 30 Rock. That's very good.

And I plan on giving Dirty Sexy Money a shot. That dude's 2 for 2 with me (Sports Night and 6 Feet Under), so I owe it to him.

And of course, I forgot Curb on HBO.

That's fucking comedy.

maurinsky said...

Tifauxing Torchwood
Tifaux refers to a non-Tivo DVR?


Yes.

I actually have Back To You in my fantasy network lineup at Television Without Pity. I'm slightly reassured to know it is standard and familiar fare - Everybody Loves Raymond was a huge hit with the same level of quality.

michelline said...

I actually have Back To You in my fantasy network lineup at Television Without Pity.

I've never heard of a fantasy TV league. That sounds interesting.

chosha said...

Heroes and My Name is Earl are not only entertaining, but I find them to be really positive, too (unlike watching, say, Desperate Housewives). Looking at the rest of your rundown, I think we could easily watch TV without fighting over the remote. The one thing I will disagree on is Sarah Silverman. I don't find her brand of humour funny at all. Any humour based on deliberately being offensive (mock or otherwise) just turns me right off. the only person I really love that does this kind of humour is Stephen Colbert, but he's genius at it and gets the real point across every time. Sarah Silverman just relies on shock value and people who'll laugh at anything that isn't PC.

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