It’s time. Let’s see what folks are saying about new fall television. Of the critics picks these are the names that seem to come up.
- Aliens in America (ew) – CW, Mon 10/1, 8:30pm
- Back to You (ew, ms, tv) – Fox, Wed 9/19, 8pm
- Bionic Woman (ew, a, tv) – NBC, Wed 9/26, 9pm
- Cane (ms, tv) – CBS, Tues 9/25, 10pm
- Chuck (a, tv) – NBC, Mon 9/24, 8pm
- Dirty Sexy Money (a, ew, ms, tv) – ABC, Wed 9/26, 10pm
- Gossip Girl (a, tv) – CW, Wed 9/19, 9pm
- Journeyman (ms) – NBC, Mon 9/24, 10pm
- K-Ville (tv) – Fox, Mon 9/17, 0pm
- Private Practice (tv) – ABC, Wed 9/26, 9pm
- Pushing Daisies (a, ms, t, tv) – ABC, Wed 10/13, 8pm
- Reaper (ew, ms, tv) – CW, Tues 9/25, 9pm
- Samantha Who? (ms) – ABC, Mon 10/15, 9:30pm
(a) AOL – Fall Best New Shows, (ew) Entertainment Weekly Pick, (ms) Newsweek/MSNBC – Fall Preview, (t) Time – What to Watch for Fall Arts Preview, (tv) TV Guide – Shows With Buzz (buzz doesn’t necessarily equal best)
Touted as perhaps the worst shows – Viva Laughlin: preposterous murder mystery with folks singing over pop songs at key plot points. Big Shots: four good actors but this ‘sex and the city for men’ show is reportedly painfully bad. Cavemen: updating the bad ad concept of cavemen in society being discriminated against, really?
So I can’t predict what my new favorites will be (I do try to watch all new comedies and dramas) but here’s what I’m most looking forward to:
- Bionic Woman – For nostalgia sake alone I’m looking forward to this. The show is getting a serious update by the creators of Battlestar Gallactica (I haven’t seen but hear nothing but great things). Though not sticking strictly the old plot Jamie Sommers is getting bionic and of course being asked to put her new abilities to use, expect more conflict with the government agency that rebuilt her and more personal struggle.
- Pushing Daisies – I’ve actually heard the most positive buzz about this show. What if you could touch someone to bring them back to life but with your next touch they’d die again? Well of course you’d help a PI solve murders. And of course you’d bring a woman you love back to life and never be able to touch her again. It’s got a good cast and supposedly a great look. It’s being touted as things like whimsical and delightful so it probably won’t be for everyone but it’s definitely worth a watch.
- Dirty, Sexy, Money – Ok so this title is almost so over the top it’s good but it wasn’t until I started hearing positive things about this satire that I started to believe that they might be doing it right. The return of Peter Krause (of HBO’s 6 Feet Under – though I’m only on about season 4 of on dvd) as a reluctant attorney to a powerful and of course scandalous family headed by Donald Sutherland.
- Gossip Girl – So not only is it done by Josh Schwartz (the creator of the OC that at least started with an excellent dose of wit and sudsy drama) but the VO of blogger/narrator is being done by our beloved Veronica Mars’ Kristin Bell. It’s based on a series of books set in uber elite New York private school so hopefully they’ll have enough fodder to keep it lively for at least a couple of seasons.
- Chuck and Reaper – Ok these both just feel similar to me. Likable guy gets thrown into unusual situation. Chuck (also by Schwartz) has been described as The Office meets Alias. Can’t beat that, right? A computer nerd (Less Than Perfect’s Zachary Levi) gets all of America’s intelligence downloaded to his brain. And in Reaper the guy (Brett Harrison of Grounded for Life and The Loop) has to be bounty hunter for Satan since his parents sold his soul to the devil, with the first episode being directed by Kevin Smith. Both are being touted as smart and funny so hopefully at least one of them’s a keeper.
Of the others…
Sitcoms – With sitcoms I’ve learned to adopt a wait and see stance but Back to You and Samantha Who clearly have potential with the casting of Frasier and Mrs. Ray Romano as newscasters and the adorable Kellie Bundy as amnesiac. And I guess Aliens in America could be amusing bringing a Pakistani foreign exchange student to small town America to focus on high-school misfits.
Dramas – Cane has good casting including Jimmy Smits and Hector Elizondo in this Cuban-American family/business drama but I’ve seen about a million previews and am not all that excited. Journeyman shows a man going back in time to change something and again just no real pull yet. K-Ville is a cop show set in New Orleans but I haven’t really heard anything else about it. And Private Practice’s Grey’s spin-off backdoor pilot wasn’t astounding, but we’ll see what they do with it.
6 Comments
procrastinator – thanks for these rockin’ reviews. I never thought i would be looking forward to anything called gossip girl – but you make all the above look compelling. Looking forward to predictable rasism of aliens in america. And by the way i AM looking forward to checking out caveman. Take that sucker.
well, well, well…so much anticipation i can hardly stand it. i like your selects there procrastinator. I, too, am especially looking forward to the guilty pleasure of watching gossip girl and dirty sexy money. i suppose that when you HAVE no $$ yourself, the idea of watching characters awash in it has a certain appeal.
also…as i am spending MOST of my living waking hours on the internet these days, i thought that you may want to check out the first original Web series to debut on MySpace – called “Quarterlife.” I think normally this would be right up our alley – scroungy, attractive young so-and-so’s screwing each other, drinking too much and getting into fights, all against a backdrop of cool indie rock music. It’s created by the same folks who did “My So Called Life,” of which i believe the procrastinator is a fan. http://www.quarterlife.com
kimtastic-just heard an interview with the cat that made quarterlife. It sounds good and forgetable. I don’t know how this tv thing is going to work out for me, but I’m willing to risk it. Also, quarterlife, reminds me of this thing I had with a couple of friends called the “quarterpound blast.” Dont (DONT) ask.
cheers
i can’t quite do original webisodes, which is fine i don’t think this web thing is going to catch on, it’s just a flash in the pan, old school big box in your living room television is where it’s at! (though i’m willing to move to a flat screen)
that “quarterpound blast” is a kick ass name, i can only assume it refers to something equally compelling…
Me no likey Kelly Bundy because she was mean mean mean to my boyfriend Johnathon Schaech.