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Labor day is upon us and fall is here! TV Guide still does a nice job laying out the new season. I am a big fan of the printable premiere calendar and of course the grid of what’s on when: http://www.tvguide.com/special/fall-preview-2008/

Sadly as I take a closer gander at scheduling it’s looking a little cramped in a couple of slots. Monday at 8 with Big Bang/HIMYMother, Gossip Girl, Terminator, and Chuck. Then Wednesday at 8 with Pushing Daisies, Old Christine, ANTM, and Bones. I like to limit myself to two shows max per time slot so I’m going to have to make some accommodations. At least CW typically reruns ANTM and GGirl, and of course there’s some stuff online. I mean who could think of dropping a show, for other than enjoyment considerations, but that’s often how it happens for me. And of course I never expect the new shows to all hit so I should be able to drop one of the cramped Tuesday at 9 options of The Mentalist, Privileged, and Fringe (sadly the cute Joanna Garcia may lose to the cuter Simon Baker and of course JJ Abrams newest product).

So poke around and see what’s going to be happening. I will of course continue to note the premieres in the Next Weeks. And as soon as I hear a little more from the critics I’ll let you know what of the new stuff we’re all most excited about.

So some folks were asking about shows that they know I watch but weren’t listed in Fall Favorites… By now folks know I watch and enjoy more shows than a person probably should. In addition to previously noted favorites Bones, Chuck, Dirty Sexy Money, Gossip Girl, Heroes, The Office, Pushing Daisies, and 30 Rock, there are a few other returning shows that typically hit my tivo:

• America’s Next Top Model (CW, Wed 9/3 ) – Yes Tyra is annoying but it’s not really about her, it’s about the annoying wannabe models and this year they promise a transgender contestant.
• Big Bang Theory (CBS, Mon 9/22) – I don’t love this show but Sheldon makes me laugh enough, and Darlene is joining her Roseanne boyfriend as a regular this season.
• Brothers & Sisters (ABC, Sun, 9/28) – I almost don’t even like this show but I can’t help but tune in to see what mess the Walker family is getting into and this season we should see the real illegitimate half sibling.
• Criminal Minds (CBS, Wed 9/24) – I usually actually only catch this special FBi unit cathing the brutal serial killer of the week show in repeats.
• Eli Stone (ABC, Tues 10/14) – This quirky guy with visions that may be leading him along won me over, but did we really leave him in a coma after an operation?
• Grey’s Anatomy (ABC, Thurs 9/25) – Yes Grey herself is totally annoying but maybe as she theoretically sticks with McDreamy this season we can focus on the rest of the good supporting cast.
• House (Fox, Tues 9/16) – Last year’s shakeup to cranky House’s team gave him some new fodder, though they didn’t find a good balance yet of old and new, and what of best bro after his girlie’s death?
• How I Met Your Mother (CBS, Mon 9/22) – This show still has a lot of hilarity, though I don’t care how he met the mother, or whether it is or isn’t Sarah Chalke.
• Law & Order (NBC, midseason) – I dropped this for a few years but found myself tuning back in this last season as the current ensemble seems to be working.
• Law & Order: SVU (NBC, Tues 9/23) – I know this show is all about Stabler and Benson but I don’t love them, though I keep tuning in, this is the one with the sex crime slant.
• Life (NBC, Mon 9/29) – This detective back on the force after being falsely accused amused and interested with his oddball antics though not so much on the conspiracy of his conviction.
• Lost (ABC, midseason) – Well I loved the start of last season but at the end of the day was a little underwhelmed by the Oceanic 6 getting off and having to go back, this season starts a new chapter, I’m very curious and definitely still in.
• My Name is Earl (NBC, Thurs 9/25) – I am still amused enough by Earl and his trashy family getting his karma back in line, though bored by the coma version of Earl and the normally likable Alyssa Milano.
• The New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS, Wed 9/24) - I still think this is a great role for Dreyfus to do broad funny as an crazy and awkward single mom with her misfit family.
• Numbers (CBS, Fri 10/3) – This isn’t a great procedural but the interplay between FBI and math genius brothers solving cases works, though math brother just lost his credentials, whatever will they do.
• Reaper (CW, midseason) – This show started strong last season and almost lost me with its capture of the week but the devil’s bounty hunter and friends found a new rhythm by introducing some additional intrigue, and the devil is fantastic.
• Samantha Who? (ABC, Mon 10/6) – Applegate is winning as her post amnesia persona tries to marry her old bad ways with her new clean slate.
• Scrubs (ABC, midseason) – I was surprised by the network move though I think this show has a great cast and good balance of silly fun, though we’ll see how well they transition to the predicted new young cast additions.
• Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles (Fox, Mon 9/8) – This show grew on me as the cast and intrigue were better developed while Sarah and her son John try to change the future by jumping years with the help of hot chick terminator Summer Glau.
• Two and a Half Men (CBS, Mon 9/22) – This show’s lost its edge a bit for me as the brothers work their odd couple dynamic with lazy kid getting less cute as he grows up, but there are still some good laughs.

And before you ask, current cable faves include: Battlestar Galactica (behind but catching on dvd), Breaking Bad, Burn Notice, The Closer, Dexter (dvd), Eureka, Flight of the Concords, Greek, Project Runway, The Riches (yet to be renewed), and Saving Grace.

Well I just saw a promo for Gossip Girl and it reminded me of how much I enjoyed the campy trashy show. What else am I most eagerly awaiting? Funny you should ask.

• Bones (Fox, Wed 9/3) – Currently my favorite procedural because not only do they have fun cases with an anthropological science twist, but the leads Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz are good on their own but their chemistry is great, and the the quirky supporting cast works so well, I’ll forgive them for the weak wrap-up of last year’s serial killer.
• Chuck (NBC, Mon 9/29) – Seeing Geek Squad Best Buy Nerd Herd Buy More employee, and accidental keeper of government secrets, forced into the spy world as well as the spy world stuck into Chuck’s life creates not only plenty of action but plenty of humor as well as a little potential romance with his CIA handler (the pretty one, not the hilariously stiff Adam Baldwin).
• Gossip Girl (CW, Mon 9/1)/Dirty Sexy Money (ABC, Wed 10/1) – Who can pick between the two trashy campy soaps? Good thing you don’t have to as we catch the richest of rich families, and their lawyer who is trying to help out and not get sucked in, to more trouble each week than most folks do in a lifetime, unless that is you’re a bunch of rich private schoolers, being fashionable and popular and deceptive is such hard work.
• Heroes (NBC, Mon 9/22) – Currently my favorite of the involved conspiracy shows, though it’s been uneven, we have followed our cast favorite regular folks who got special powers like time travel, indestructibility, and mind reading, and have to deal with other heroes, secret organizations, and of course saving the world, this season as they struggle with their own right and wrong actions it looks like they take on some real villains, but typically good and evil aren’t so clear cut.
• Pushing Daisies (ABC, Wed 10/1) – Every aspect of this show was magical and captivating as I somehow fell for two characters who are so sweet and in love normally I couldn’t stand them, but I lament every moment they aren’t able to touch because what brought her back to life would take her from him forever, so in the meantime he and his supporting cast run the pie shop and solve crimes, who better to help out than a guy who brings the dead back to life for a minute.
• 30 Rock (NBC, Thurs 10/30)/The Office (NBC, Thurs 9/25) – Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin just made me laugh a lot last season as they found a good rhythm with Fey running a late night sketch comedy show, her mess of a life, and keeping a crazy supporting cast together while the season finale of the Office made me appreciate how far this show has come from one that I saw more as a placeholder in the lineup to one I tune in for, because just when you think they’ve pushed the wackies too far in one direction they remind you to care.

Well we’ve had a week to wrap up the up fronts where networks tout their fall and onward tv seasons for advertisers, so let’s take a look at what looks like it will look like:

ABC

New:

• Life on Mars - David E Kelley’s version of BBC series where cop transports back to 1970s
• Opportunity Knocks – Game show where they knock on your door, or something

Returning: 20/20, America’s Funniest Home Videos, Boston Legal (final season), Brothers & sisters, Eli Stone, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Dancing with the Stars, Desperate Housewives, Dirty Sexy Money, Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, Pushing Daisies, Samantha Who?, Supernanny, Ugly Betty, Wife Swap
Midseason returns: According to Jim, The Bachelor, Lost, Scrubs (New from NBC)
Noteworthy not returning: Men in Trees, Miss Guided, October Road, Women’s Murder Club

CBS 

New:

• Eleventh Hour – Jerry Bruckheimer’s latest, adapting from the british 4 part sci fi series dealing with mysterious cases
• The Ex List – This one is based on an Israeli show where a psychic tells a woman she has already met her true love and so she revisits the exes
• The Mentalist – Simon Baker uses his powers of observation to solve crimes
• Project Gary – Comedy starring Jay Mohr as a recent divorce, and contractor which might explain the ‘project’ part
• Worst Week – This comedy of newly engaged couple is another BBC show made over american style

Returning: 48 Hours, 60 Minutes, Amazing Race, Big Bang Theory, Cold Case, Criminal Minds, CSI, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, Ghost Whisperer, How I Met Your Mother, NCIS, New Adventures of Old Christine, Numb3rs, Survivor, Two and a Half Men, The Unit, Without a Trace
Midseason returns: Rules of Engagement
Noteworthy not returning: Moonlight, Shark

CW 

New:

• 90210 – The next generation, as a new brother and sister move and start at West Beverly High, including pop bys by Jennie Garth as Guidance Counselor
• Surviving the Filthy Rich - With Reba’s JoAnna Garcia as nanny to rich kids, based on a book series
• Stylista – New reality from Tyra Banks where folks compete to work at Elle

Noteworthy note: Contracting out Sunday nights to production finance company Media Rights Capital who will be responsible for two dramas and two comedies and selling the ad time.

• FAT City, IM Valentine, Book of Murphy, Surviving Suburbia

Returning: ANTM, Everybody Hates Chris, The Game, Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, Smallville, Supernatural
Midseason return: Reaper
Noteworthy not returning: Aliens in America, Girlfriends, New Amsterdam

Fox

New:

• Fringe - JJ Abrams latest starring Joshua Jackson teaming up to investigate unexplained phenomena, I wanna say like the x-files
• Do Not Disturb – Comedy starring Jerry O’Connell working at one of NY’s uber hip hotels

Returning: American Dad, America’s Most Wanted, Bones, Cops, Don’t Forget the Lyrics, Family Guy, House, King of the Hill, Kitchen Nightmares, Moment of Truth, Prison Break, Simpsons, Smarter than a 5th Grader, Terminator, Til Death
Midseason return: 24, American Idol, Hell’s Kitchen.
Noteworthy not returning: Back to You

NBC

New:

• Crusoe – As in Robinson…
• Kath & Kim – Molly Shannon and Selma Blair in remake of Australian sitcom about mother and daughter living together again
• Knight Rider – If you caught the ‘hit’ tv movie you’re familiar with this remake
• My Own Worst Enemy – Christian Slater as a gov agent/normal guy whose two lives start to blur
• Thursday Night Live – Special SNL shows leading up to the elections

Returning: The Biggest Loser, Chuck, Dateline, Deal or No Deal, Heroes, E.R. (final season), L&O:SVU, Life, Lipstick Jungle, My Name is Earl, The Office, 30 Rock
Midseason returning: Friday Night Lights, L&O, Medium
Noteworthy not returning: Bionic Woman, Journeyman, Las Vegas 

Additional Notes:

Tons of new shows scheduled for after fall, but we’ll chime in later once those become more solid, other than the fact that I should note there’s an Office spinoff scheduled as well as the new Joss Whedon show Dollhouse with Eliza Dushku, scheduled for midseason. I miss the Grr Arg.

And if you want to see the current stab at the schedule you can check it out at TV Guide.

Not much to report on tv shows themselves this week so I thought I’d just check in on a few things of note.

NBC released its year round upfront to the upfronts. Although I actually try not to pay much attention to these since everything changes or disappears before it goes live but, worth noting are a ‘The Office’ spin-off, the surprising return of not great ‘Knightrider’ and ‘Lipstick Jungle’ but also another shot for ‘Life’ which I just told someone wasn’t coming back.

As for the other networks we’re not official yet but I might be a tiny bit excited about Joss Whedon’s (Buffy!) expected ‘Dollhouse’ show starring Eliza Dushku (Faith!) and trepidatious about Rob Thomas’s (VMars) ‘90210′ the next generation (Donna has expressed interesting in playing a milf though it sounds like they’re courting Kelly to round out the older generation on the show).

‘Project Runway’ is slated to move from Bravo to Lifetime, not this next season but the one after, though NBC has something to say about that. People with Tivos will follow but will this impact the show or the networks? Wait do I get Lifetime? And if I hear correctly ‘Scrubs’ is moving to ABC. So what one more season?

‘ANTM’ is getting busted for showing some full frontal – albino Anya’s nudie shoot with Nigel was deemed by some to be inappropriate for evening eyes. I actually watched this and thought she was wearing little coveries but I guess they just blurred her out, really it was all fine, but conservative parental organizations are still arguing about Dennis Franz’ butt on ‘NYPD Blue’ so perspective is not something these organizations have.

Oh and Kathie Lee Gifford took up residence in the last hour of ‘The Today Show’, I haven’t watched this in ages but maybe she can put some life in what I recall was nearly dead air.

Well almost everything has started and until they cancel more stuff, move stuff around, or we get to midseason changes. Here is where things seem to be settling in for me for watching, or at least tivo backlog. (I do try to narrow things down to no more than two shows per time slot.)

Monday

• 8pm NBC - Chuck (CBS - How I Met Your Mother)
• 9pm NBC - Heroes (CBS - Two and a Half Men/Samantha Who?)

Tuesday

• 8pm Fox - Bones
• 9pm Fox - House (CW - Reaper)
• 10pm NBC - L&O SVU

Wednesday

• 8pm ABC - Pushing Daisies (CW - ANTM or in repeats Sun 9pm)
• 9pm CW - Gossip Girl (NBC - Bionic Woman)
• 10pm ABC - Dirty Sexy Money

Thursday

• 8/8:30pm NBC - My Name is Earl/30 Rock
• 9/9:30pm NBC - The Office/Scrubs (ABC - Grey’s Anatomy)

Friday

• 10pm CBS - Numb3rs

Sunday

• 5pm CW - (encore) Girlfriends
• 10pm ABC - Brothers and Sisters

And for a full grid of the current listings check out a couple of sites that I find helpful:

• http://epguides.com/grid/
• http://www.tvpicks.net/grids/fall-2007/
• http://www.tvguide.com/magazine/pdf/FallPreview.pdf
• http://tv.msn.com/tv/fall07/schedule
  

Separating the wheat from the chaff, watching the cream rise to the top, see what’s floating your boat… I can’t stop. Ok so here’s what I’m liking:

• Pushing Daisies (Wednesdays at 8 on ABC) – So I’ve only seen one episode of this so far, but I love it when a show tries to be innovative in some way and is successful. And this is! The visual style of the entire show is done in such a fanciful way that it completely compliments the fanciful context. Ned found out early in life, by touching his dog, that he could bring things back to life. Unfortunately when he tried it on his mother he found out the two cons, 1) it was a one time deal and if he touched them again they would die and 2) if someone stayed alive for more than a minute someone else would die. Our weekly stories seem to involve his work with a PI in solving murders. Why not just ask them what happened? And our overarching story should entail the untouchable love of his life, childhood sweetheart, and now back from the dead, Charlotte/Chuck. The show and the cast are in fact delightful.
• Dirty Sexy Money (Wednesdays at 7 on ABC) – They have struck the right cord in this over the top richest of the rich, spoiledest of the spoiled family drama. We’re following ‘normal’ guy Nick George who has inherited the post of family attorney, and solver of all problems, when his father was killed. Was the family somehow involved? Our patriarch Tripp Darling is trying to hold it all together, but did he know about the affair his wife Letitia was having with papa attorney? Their eldest, Attorney General Patrick, has greater political aspirations that may or may not be thwarted by the presence of his tranny mistress. Next up is the daughter Karen who is onto her fourth(?) marriage-to-be with some tennis pro, but is clearly still in love with Nick. Then there’s Brian, the man of the cloth who is hiding his illegitimate son from his family as a foreign exchange student. Rounding out the brood are the twins, wannabe actress Juliet and wannabe everything/playboy Jeremy. Not only is there tons of hilarity with all their foibles but I’m actually interested to see the story unfold and find out what happened to dad.
• Chuck (Mondays at 8 on NBC) – Alias meets The Office, as dude from the Nerd Herd at Buy More (a la Geek Squad at Best Buy - who are totally lame) gets all the world’s secrets downloaded into his brain, all from receiving an email from his girlfriend-stealing college roommate turned rogue CIA agent. That was his roommate’s last move. So now said roomie’s partner, and paramour, CIA kick ass gal and NSA’s kick ass guy have set themselves up in his pitiful little life to protect, monitor and use him on what will undoubtedly be a new case a week. And of course he isn’t sure who he can trust and he can’t tell any of his friends and family. It’s got good feisty action and a tongue and cheek humor about things, and so far our crew is a hoot in their fish out of water situations.
• Reaper (Tuesdays at 9 on CW) – Ok I’m still a little on the fence about declaring my deep like for this show but it has some real potential. I really dug the first episode, slacker guy Sam, whose parents dote on him, turns 21 and he finds out that they sold his soul to the devil. First we have some amusing escapades with the well played, both enticing and frightening devil forcing him to be a bounty hunter, returning souls to hell. He learns quickly that this isn’t a job he can blow off. He has some assistance from some random super abilities (they seem to be bounty specific), a vessel for storage (first week was as dustbuster), and the thrown in typical sidekicks and big crush. And then we have some actual touching moments with the family where they truly regret what happened, but of course Dad was sick and although they planned not to have kids after the deal was done, the devil made them do it. Sam and his buddies are likable, there is a great dynamic between Sam and Satan, but we’ll see if our hunt for the bounty of the week can keep us as engaged as we are at the start.  

Ok now we’re cooking with gas (I’ve never used that expression before in my life)…

Monday:

• Deal or No Deal (NBC, Mon 9/17, 8pm) This is the one with Howie Mandell and the chicks with briefcases, I’ve never cared enough to figure out how it really works.
• Prison Break (Fox, Mon 9/17, 8pm) Ok I loved, loved, loved this show the first season and I could write an entire post on how bad it was in season 2. I watched the first 17 minutes, or whatever they showed online, and am not, I repeat, not going to watch another season.
• K-Ville (Fox, Mon 9/17, 9pm) Pilot - I guess it’s just wait and see about whether this is more than an average cop show set in a less than average recovering from Katrina New Orleans setting.

Tuesday:

• Beauty and the Geek (CW, Tues 9/18, 8pm) I have watched an episode or two of this show and was mildly amused by the fish out of water challenges that make people look dumb.

Wednesday:

• *America’s Next Top Model aka ANTM (CW, Wed 9/19, 8pm) There is a true addictive quality to this and although I can’t for the life of me remember who wins from year to year I dig the journey. The first episode isn’t the best because there are just too many girls to get a real sense of who’s who, so stay tuned.
• Back to You (Fox, Wed 9/19, 8pm) Pilot - This has decent buzz, and I like a decent sitcom, but it is opposite ANTM and Pushing Daisies so it might just get a week or two to woo me.
• Kid Nation (CBS, Wed 9/19, 8pm) Pilot - So if kids ran their own town would it break child labor laws? That seems to be the question put to courts. Is the show interesting enough to merit the pain CBS is going through? Time will tell.
• ‘Til Death (CBS, Wed 9/19, 8:30pm) This show about two couples, one newlyweds and the other not, with Brad Garrett, wasn’t quite funny to me, paired with Back to You it could get a fresh wind.
• *Gossip Girl (CW, Wed 9/19, 9pm) Pilot - I have mentioned that I’m looking forward to this show so hopefully it’ll have enough trash as we meet our previous queen bee, who spent a mysterious year at boarding school, when she returns to of course find her old best friend has taken her place.
• Kitchen Nightmares (Fox, Wed 9/19, 9pm) Pilot - It looks like mean guy who had reality show where he tormented wannabe chefs might now just torture full restaurants, not interested.
• Plus they are doing a recap show for Grey’s Anatomy that focuses on Addison before she moves on to Private Practice (ABC, Wed 9/19, 9pm)

Thursday:

• Survivor: China (CBS, Thurs 9/20, 8pm) I watched this show for the first few seasons and am actually kind of a fan. They have a really good formula of alliance building and challenge winning to keep the outcome up in the air, and since the decision is really up to the other contestants there’s no weird judge or America votes thing.

* procrastinator’s picks

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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.

Well full fall’s still not quite upon us but the shows are trickling out, here’s the premieres you can catch this week:

In case you missed it some new reality returned with Cops (Fox, Sat 9/8, 8pm) and America’s Most Wanted (Fox, Sat 9/8, 9pm). I don’t think I’ve even watched an episode of either of these. And we ramp up the week with the return of The Biggest Loser (NBC, Tues 9/11, 8pm). Since it started after I made the decision to drop reality I can’t vouch for this weight loss challenge, but I know folks who are addicted to the competition that offers a little less backstabbing and a little more hope for folks to change their lives. Then there’s new show Nashville (Fox, Fri 9/14, 9pm) that’s a reality show following wannabe music stars, that I’ve heard are attractive and actually talented. Since it’s by the producers of Laguna Beach think more docu-soap than competition. And this next weekend brings us Mad TV (Fox, Sat 9/15, 11pm) and Talk Show with Spike Feresten (Fox, Sat 9/15, 12am). I’ve never watched these and I’d like to say it’s because I’m always out on a Saturday night, so I will, that’s what I’ll say.