The Best of Fall TV - Part 7 (Friday Nights)

I’ve got to say it again – check out Life on NBC tonight. Its premiere on Monday was both creepy and funny, and Charlie Crews is one of the best protagonists on TV. Anyway, on to the rest of the Friday night picks…

1. The Ex List (CBS) – (Starts Tonight) Intriguing premise: woman goes to a psychic, who tells her that she has already dated her one true love, and if she doesn’t marry him within the next year she is doomed to the single life forever. The problem for this as a weekly TV series: how many guys did this girl date? If we’re looking for this to be an ongoing story, with one guy per episode at an average of 20-22 episodes per network TV season…

2. Ghost Whisperer (CBS) – (Starts tonight) The show’s been on for years, so I’m assuming you know the basic plot – if not, the title’s pretty self-explanatory. What’s new, though? The fact that Melinda may soon be doing some of that special whispering with her hubbie (Jim) has the internet buzzing and CBS trying to calm fans down…

3. Secret Saturdays (Cartoon Network) – (Starts Tonight) Yes, it’s a primetime cartoon. And why the Saturdays are on the tube on Fridays… No answers for you there. So what’s it about? Well, Doc, Drew and Zak Saturday are a family of world-saving scientists called "The Secret Saturdays". They search out all the legendary “things that go bump in the night”, trying to keep humanity (and the monsters) safe. They travel the world, from ancient temples to the darkest caves – sometimes battling villains the likes of V.V. Argost, who uses his TV show (Weird World) to mask his nefarious plans. This is all set against the backdrop of your everyday family squabbles – just from an extraordinary family…

4. Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Cartoon Network) – (Starts tonight) Set between Episodes II and III, all the major players are back – just in a CGI animated kind of way. The problem I had with this whole project was twofold. First, they released the premiere for this theatrically – I understand the money-making machine that is Star Wars, but was that really necessary? My second issue is that the movie didn’t get released on DVD before the show started. It’s not that I worry about missing plotlines, but from a marketing perspective it seems a bit odd. I’m not expecting great things from this show – I’m slightly jaded from the (lack of) storytelling in Episodes I-III. But George Lucas has had me in his thrall since the seventies, so I can’t turn away now. And who knows, maybe I’ll be as pleasantly surprised as I was when the Clone Wars shorts done by Genndy Tartakovsky (Samurai Jack, Dexter’s Lab) were on a few years ago. I remain hopeful – talk to me after I’ve watched it…

That’s it for now, kids – this weekend, I’ll be unveiling my plans for world domination. Or at the very least, plans for my horror in October crossover event. Stay tuned…

The Best Of Fall TV - Part 6 (Wrapping Up Wednesday Nights)

Not much left for Wednesdays, and one of these almost doesn’t count – you’ll see what I mean…

1. Pushing Daisies (ABC) – (Starts tonight) I’ve gushed enough about this show at the end of the last season (Don’t believe me? Check here.), so I’ll spare the synopsis. So where did we leave off last year? Let’s see – Chuck’s forgiven the Piemaker for accidentally killing her father when he brought his own mother back from the dead. Oh yeah, and a drugged up Lily reveals that she is actually Chuck’s mother. Huh – didn’t see that one coming. Tonight, the unlucky murder victim of the week is Kentucky Fitz, who died in a tragic bee-related incident. It’s a good thing Chuck has that bee-keeping suit then, isn’t it? Don’t miss out on your second chance to jump onboard this show – beyond the fact that it’s one of the most visually stunning shows you’ll ever see, the adult fairytale that’s unfolding is one of the most sweetly funny things on TV. (Oh, and you could just get the Season 1 DVD set here to catch up.)

2. Friday Night Lights (DirecTV) – (Starts tonight – for some of us) What pisses me off more: the fact that this fantastic show is on a channel I can’t receive without switching providers, the idea that the show won’t replay on its original home on NBC ‘til Spring, or the knowledge that even when it finally does play on NBC, the episodes will be trimmed down (there are “DirecTV exclusives” in the first airings, essentially extra scenes that won’t show up in the replay)? I’m going to go with “D”, all of the above. Grrrrr – we’ll talk more in the Spring, kids…

3. South Park (Comedy Central) – (Starts October 8th) What hijinks will the kids get into this year? Only time will tell, but let’s hope that the show is ready to take on some of the lousy political and economic situations going on around us. At its best, the show has given us a good look at current topics, simplifying it to a ridiculous degree, and often showing us how stupid it all is. The episode where the kids went to Afghanistan and did the old Bugs Bunny/Elmer Fudd routine substituting Cartman and Bin Laden was a bit of genius. Now if we can just get Parker and Stone to keep away from the dookie jokes and get back to that brand of storytelling, I bet there’s a Roadrunner/Wile E. Coyote gag with Obama and McCain somewhere in there…

The premiere grid, should you still need it, is here.

The Best Of Fall TV - Part 5 (Tuesday Nights)

Okay, so I’ve been slacking on the Tuesday TV schedule – so let’s jump in and get through this quick and easy, like pulling off a Band-aid…

1. Fringe (Fox) – (Started September 9th) J.J. Abrams seems to have a pattern for picking his leads: one cute female (relatively unknown) and one attractive male, preferably from some kind of show that had a teenybopper audience – possibly add in a dash of comic relief to spice things up. In this show, the hot mama in question is Anna Torv (playing FBI Agent Olivia Dunham), the hunkey man-type is Joshua Jackson (formerly of Dawson’s Creek fame – playing super-smart Peter Bishop) and John Noble (playing Dr. Walter Bishop – Peter’s father, also ridiculously intelligent, and nutty as a squirrel turd – thus the comic relief). (If you’re wondering what the parallels are, in LOST their counterparts would be Evangeline Lilly, Matthew Fox (previously of Party of Five) and Jorge Garcia (Hurley – not wicked smaht, but equally funny.)) What you’ve missed so far: melting people on a plane, rapidly aging serial killers and psychic lab experiments – oh, and they pulled the eye out of a corpse to do… oh, I forget, but it was pretty gross. What could sink this show? Right now, Fox is actually doing a pretty decent job promoting Fringe, so they’re not a problem – yet. But if they don’t let Olivia get over her dead ex soon and start to crack a smile? Even the crazytown antics of Dr. Bishop won’t be enough to lighten the mood after a while. We need levity injected into a show with such a serious backstory. Final words: the shadowy conspiracy in this mythology series has a name: The Pattern. Oooooh, the evil pattern. Is it the government? The scary corporate scientists? Needlework designs fom Hell? I’ll never tell - XOXO.

2. The Mentalist (CBS) – (Started September 23rd) Patrick Jane works as an independent detective who uses his honed observation skills to assist law enforcement in solving crimes. Add a spunky sidekick in the pharmaceutical biz, a spunky female cop as a love interest and a head detective nicknamed Lassie? Yeah, isn’t this already a show on USA called Psych? Oh, but this one isn’t supposed to be funny? Okay. Worth checking out, but if you have to choose between this and House – not sure how many will tune in…

3. House (Fox) – (Started September 16th) So, Dr. Wilson may or may not blame House for the death of his girlfriend – but he definitely doesn’t want to be friends anymore, so he’s moved away. A character replacement that seems to be working oddly well? The private detective House hired to get background dirt on his patients – oh, and he hired him to spy on Wilson, but that’s really no surprise. And yes, the new team is still intact (Foreman, Thirteen, that guy from Harold & Kumar and the cranky ex-plastic surgeon). Also still going strong – the weekly lumbar puncture, House’s crankiness/general insanity and a steady increase in the amount of gross and gooey procedures. Bottom line: if you don’t know how good House is by now, we may need a psych consult – or another L.P. just to be safe…

4. The Shield (FX) – (Started September 2nd) Whether or not you agree with Vic Mackey’s strongarm politics, he’s always gotten the job done. Granted, he might’ve burnt some people’s faces off along the way, and maybe he stole a truckload of money from the Russian mob – nobody’s perfect. The thing to remember about this show, though? This is one of the cable network successes that proved that original scripted programs could exist beyond the major networks. AND they could be just as edgy as anything on HBO or Showtime. So give this show some love – it’s the final season, and I’m betting they don’t bow out quietly.

5. Eli Stone (ABC) – (Starts October 14th) A mid-season replacement from last year that came out with a success story – a pickup for season 2! And there are few shows as deserving – the quirky dramedy about a lawyer whose George Michael-centric hallucinations turn him into a modern-day prophet is funny, well written and populated with a fantastic cast. Jump on board when it starts up again – I’m sure the “Previously On” voiceover guy will tell you anything you missed – just a hunch.

See you soon for more – but not much more, we’re almost caught up. Again, for the full premiere grid go here.

The Best Of Fall TV - Part 4 (Wrapping Up Monday Night's Schedule)

For a full synopsis of the shows I'm recommending here, use the handy time-travel feature to the right (the archives, silly). I did promos for most of these programs in May and June. For now, let’s focus on what’s coming up for the new season.

1. Chuck (NBC) – (Starts tonight) Here’s the one I’ve been waiting for – just an amazing blend of over-the-top action with zany comedy thrown in. So where did we leave off? Oh yeah, Casey was ordered to kill Chuck once the new Intersect was complete. Jeez, I hope they don’t kill off the main character, huh? On the bright side, it looks like Chuck may get to go on a real date with Sarah tonight – and she doesn’t even have to wear the Wienerlicious outfit. Dang. (For a better description, check out my previous post here.)

2. Life (NBC) – (Starts tonight) Okay NBC, let’s hope you know what you’re doing. They’re taking this sophomore drama, a complex conspiracy theory show interlaced with a weekly procedural, and pumping out two episodes a week for its first two weeks. One episode on Monday and one on Friday, until it switches to Fridays full time on October 17th - where it will hopefully not die a slow death in that dead zone of a night. For now though, a strong premiere episode featuring a new serial killer. This one lets his victims suffocate in trunks, strategically places them around town, and sends a riddle as to their location. Sounds like we might need Batman for this one – or Charlie Crews, since this is his show. (Check this out for a better show description.)

3. Prison Break (Fox) – Okay, this one has been on for nearly a month now, but I’m just getting around to checking things out on Tivo. While it is most certainly a guilty pleasure of a show, Prison Break has done a pretty good job of reinventing itself this season. We’re finally starting to get a glimpse of The Company, the uber-mysterious organization that has been trying to kill Michael and friends from day one. But now, with Michael “officially” leading his team to take down The Company? It’s been a fun ride so far, let’s hope they can keep it up…

4. My Own Worst Enemy (NBC) – (Starts October 13th) Guess what’s taking Life’s spot in the Monday rotation? Yep, this Christian Slater vehicle. I’m sure you’ve seen the ads – Slater plays a character who is unaware that he is leading a double life as both a suburban nobody and a secret agent. Is it schizophrenia? Hypnosis? Will one of the personalities sound oddly similar to Jack Nicholson? I guess we’ll find that out together…

5. Samantha Who? (ABC) – (Starts October 13th) Chronicling the life of an amnesiac (Christina Applegate) who used to be a bitch, but is now (at least temporarily) a sweetheart. This sitcom was a wonderful departure from the usual crappy formula, largely due to the phenomenal cast. Hopefully the second year can live up to the promise of the first. (And obviously, we’re very happy about Applegate’s full recovery this summer.)

Maybe tomorrow I can actually get to the Tuesday schedule. Or maybe I’ll sleep in again. Time will tell…