Fall TV

[Udaman]

Well, no thread has been started on this one, so thought I would dive on in.

This week really started the new season of TV. I'll break this into two parts: Returning Shows and New Shows.

Returning Shows:

I'm a little biased here, because I've never been into the Law and Order / CSI / NCI show, so those I won't comment on. But otherwise, the top shows I'm looking forward to seeing are (in my order of enjoyment)

1. Community. I think this is the best show on TV. Great writing and acting. If you don't watch it, you should.
2. Modern Family. Pretty damn close 2nd.
3. Big Bang Theory. Pretty damn close 3rd.
4. How I Met Your Mother. We were thiiiiiis close to cutting the show out, and then last year just knocked it out of the park. By far the best season. Will have to see if they keep it up.
5. Glee. Got a little bit sporadic the last half of the year...but still good.
6. Dead Man Walking. Can't wait for this to come back in October.
7. Survivor. Always a classic
8. 30 Rock. Really kind of lost me this year...but I'll come back when it does this Spring
9. Cougar Town. My hidden delight. Too bad for the title...but I actually like this show.
10. Two and a Half Men. Will have to see if it's any good...I'm guessing no

So this leaves out The Good Wife (just can't get into it), Hawaii-Five-O (might watch now that O'Quinn is on it), Bones, House, Fringe (just never could get into it either). I'm also not including The Simpsons or Family Guy...they are in my Hall of Fame. Just DVR them and watch at my leisure.

New Shows:

1. Ringer. Tried it last night...whew. Might not stick with it for too long. Bad writing. Nice to see Buffy again, but just not very sure.
2. PanAm. Have to watch this, though the previews just look so formulaic.
3. Person of Interest. Another Lost connection...though the early reviews have been less than good.
4. Terra Nova. If only I could get my wife to watch. Doubtful, though.
5. Charlie's Angels. I admit, I'll watch at least the pilot

That leaves off: 2 Broke Girls (love the cast...but probably won't watch), The PlayBoy Club (I think my spouse will only allow one show that depicts women as wanton sex objects), Last Man Standing (looks awful, and incredibly sexist), Up All Night and Free Agents (ughh to both).

Ok, how about the rest of you? Who's watching what?

[Lord Ash]

Ah!

Of the current shows, I only watch a few... 30 Rock, Modern Family, and How I Met Your Mother.

Of the new shows, the wife and I will give Terra Nova a try. She actually gives almost EVERY show a try, and waits for them to disappear... she has a high tolerance for bad TV

I am going to miss Hell's Kitchen and Project Runway when they finish! I love a good yelling at about overcooked scallops!

[OZZIE4DUKE]

I watched Survivor last night and thought it was pretty good and like most of the cast. Go Ozzy!
I was surprised that Coach's team won the immunity challenge, and I'm glad that Cochrane didn't get voted off.

I watched the finale of Big Brother. Rachel deserved to win, but I hope I never have to hear her whiny voice again.

I'm going to give 2 Broke Girls one chance on the DVR. Won't watch it live - it's up against Warehouse 13. Pan Am, yeah, also one shot, but I'm not expecting much. The memory show, what's it called? Oh, yeah, Unforgettable, I'll watch that a few times if I remember to set the DVR. Person of Interest too, because of the Lost connection.

Hawaii Five-O - they had a pretty good season ending last spring. Want to see how McGarrett gets out of it! Bones, House and Fringe are definitely on the list.

[brevity]

A side effect of original summer programming (scripted shows on basic cable, NOT reality shows and competitions everywhere) is that I get less enthused about the fall season every year. I mean, I'll certainly watch The Good Wife and Community when they come back on, but I'm not in eager anticipation.

Also, season premieres are historically kind of lame. For many shows, the previous spring would give the audience a multi-episode arc culminating in a cliffhanger that would be a PERMANENT GAME CHANGER... only to see a reboot in the first 5 minutes of fall.

One small exception is Two and a Half Men. I am among those who have a morbid curiosity about where that show is going -- it was already one of the darkest comedies on television, when it wanted to be. (The show worked because it was about three male blank slates who took on the tone of whatever Alpha Female was around. If it was Berta, the tone was raucous and scatalogical. If it was Evelyn, the tone was mean-spirited and traumatic. If it was Rose, the tone was creepy and jaw-droppingly hysterical.)

I tried Ringer. My main problem was not the premise, or the writing. It's that we're supposed to find Sarah Michelle Gellar pretty. She isn't. Maybe she used to be, a long time ago, but Hollywood anorexia has wasted her away. No one seems to notice because the fans wearing Buffy-colored goggles are talking the loudest. I normally don't try to call out someone as being miscast solely on looks, but the many closeups and mirror reflections (and wall-sized photo) require you to spend a lot of time examining her face. Oh well. It's a show with limited appeal, and my kind wasn't invited.

[mph]

If we're not restricting our lists to the networks...

Returning

1. Sons of Anarchy
2. Modern Family
3. 30 Rock

New

1. X Factor (very curious to see how Simon Cowell plans to compete with Idol)

Would be included if they premiered in the Fall

1. Breaking Bad
2. Justified

[DevilAlumna]

Maybe it's because I'm sleep-deprived with a 4-month old, or because I think Will Arnett can be comedic genius, but I found "Up All Night" to be Tivo-Season-pass worthy. And I adore Hank Azaria, so gave "Free Agents" a chance, and it was far better than I would have thought -- will give it a couple more weeks.

Of returning shows, I'm probably most excited about 30 Rock, Office (just to see how Spader does), and Psych.

[camion]

Psych is just full of silly sophomoric humor.

I'll watch.

[DevilWearsPrada]

Dancing with the Stars (Fall Season) will air on Monday, Sept 19. Some very interesting Stars, or Wanna Be Stars on this season.

I don't know how CBS will spin Two and a Half Men, since the show was about Charlie! The reruns are always great to watch.

And loved the finale of Big Brother! Rachel deserved to win this season. And Jeff was voted America's favorite House Guest.

[UrinalCake]

Archer is great, though it only appeals to a limited audience. One of the few shows that I'll actually laugh out loud to.

[Matches]

I'm in for Community and Modern Family. Also Bored to Death and Boardwalk Empire are about to start back up on HBO.

[devilish]

Anyone watch this show? Thought it was a pretty good Pilot with lots of potential. Actually kind of realistic too, for a Sci-fi crime drama.

[NashvilleDevil]

Parks and Rec, Community and Boardwalk Empire are the only shows I am looking forward to. Although I thought The Office started strong last night.

[jimsumner]

Of the new shows, I kinda liked "Whitney."

[HaveFunExpectToWin]

Of the new shows, I kinda liked "Whitney."

I had the exact same reaction. I kinda liked it. Parts made me chuckle and others were a bit too "hey this was a funny joke from my standup routine". I'll keep watching.

I liked the 2nd episode of Up All Night more than the first.

Community and Modern Family are my top 2 shows again this season. Nothing else was as entertaining so far. The Office was not funny, the planking stuff is old news and just made the show seem out of touch. It's Always Sunny had a great first episode to start this season. I am looking forward to the bizarre storyline that comes from one of the actors gaining 50lbs b/c he thought it'd be funny.

[Rogue]

ESPN had Thurs Night Football,, the wuffies got spanked.... AGAIN.. 0-2 against div I teams in Sept,,

This is new fall programing.. I ended up watching some of Charlies Angel instead of the wuffies, it was bad..

[JasonEvans]

As ya'll probably know, I watch a ton of TV. It is a disease.

Among new shows --

I kinda liked the first 2 eps of Free Agents, but I am biased because I adore Hank Azaria. The ratings for ep 2 were down like 40% from the pilot and I doubt this one is gonna survive beyond December.

I watched the pilot of Up All Night and even though I really, really want Will Arnett to find a show, I could barely stomach this thing. I am starting to think that Will Arnett's style works great in a supporting role (Arrested Dev and his guest shots on 30 Rock), but not as a lead. Up All Night's ratings were also poor this week. It too seem fated for cancellation.

I enjoyed New Girl and am a big ZD fan. I am far from convinced this concept can work long-term and am worried that the show is going a bit over the top on the silliness already, but the debut got excellent ratings and was the highest rated show of the night in the crucial 18-49 demo. That's huge! so long as it does not tank in the next few weeks, it would seem to be the new comedy hit of the season.

Whitney seemed forced to me and I was not a fan. I don't think I will be watching any more as Thursday is packed with shows I watch, especially sitcoms that are waay better than this one. The pilot did ok in terms of ratings, down about 20% from its leadin (The Office).

I have not had a chance to watch Person of Interest yet (it is on the DVR) but the ratings were an interesting story. It won the 9pm time slot in total viewers, very impressive considering it was up against Grey's, The X_Factor, and The Office. But, it was 4th in the 18-49 demographic. Yup, it is a true CBS show because it seems to be skewing old. Still, so long as the audience does not erode too much CBS would appear to have another old-skewing but solid drama in their stable.

Among returning shows...

Parks and Rec just gets better and better. If there is a better start to a season than Ron Swanson breaking stuff so he can find his hidden emergency pack to flee from his first wife then I will be stunned. Someone is going to have to explain to me how Nick Offerman has not gotten at least an Emmy nomination so far! I want me some Entertainment 720 Swag! Leslie running for office should be fun. This has become perhaps my favorite show on TV.

The Office was fine, but not a classic episode. It is going to take some time for the show to figure out how to use James Spader. I thought he was largely wasted last night. I am not getting that he is CEO but works out of the Scranton conference room... that's not working at all for me. By the way, in case you did not know, planking is a real thing, not just an invention of the show.

HIMYM is solid, as always. It is a great example of a show the network let stick around despite so-so ratings that is now rewarding the network with very solid ratings. I like that they are making NPH's Barney a bit less of a caricature and giving him a tad more depth. Should be fun.

Big Bang was funny, as always, but I really wish they had let the "Penny may move back to Nebraska" story-line play out longer. We could have had Leonard re-examine his feelings for Penny over the course of a few episodes as he deals with her moving away. Then, give her the acting gig at the last minute as she is packing up to leave or something.

Have not had time to watch Modern Family yet, but I am sure it is the funniest show on TV as it has been the past 2 years.

--Jason "that's enough (too much??) for now... eager to see the debut of Fringe tonight and Terra Nova down the road!" Evans

[DevilWearsPrada]

I enjoyed Dancing with the Stars on Monday night. The cast already has some good ballroom dancers after the first week. Ron Artest (Metta World Peace) was voted off. I also flipped the station back and forth to Two and a Half Men on Monday night. I do NOT care for Ashton Kutcher, and never have. It was also offensive to see him run around the Malibu Beach Home, in the nude. Of course, it was pixaled out. 2.5 was about the life of Charlie.

[Udaman]

I have to say I was massively disappointed in Modern Family...and it started with the season finale from last year. The whole ,"we need a boy, so I can do manly things with him" / "I'm not manly enough to have a son" is...well, in a word its pathetic. A gay couple would never act like this. It's stereotyping through and through. And it simply didn't seem to work with either of their characters before they brought it up last year. I mean, truly, I pretty much despised most of that episode.

We'll see, as the show has been amazing for me up until now. But yeesh!

[JasonEvans]

Possibly my most anticipated show of the year comes back tonight. The Fringe producers say they are not going to just solve the "Where is Peter Bishop" mystery in the first week or two, but they are not going to drag it out forever either.

I am really looking forward to where they take the program.

-Jason "worth noting, the actor who played Lincoln Lee last year becomes a series regular this season" Evans

[HaveFunExpectToWin]

By the way, in case you did not know, planking is a real thing, not just an invention of the show.

Planking was mildy amusing earlier this year, but became annoying when people like Gilbert Arenas were tweeting pics of themselves. Internet memes recycled months later on The Office (like wedding dance used in the Jim-Pam wedding episode, the single shot musical used last season, the Dwight and Michael jumping off buildings, etc) are getting tiresome. I'm guessing that making fun of this week's facebook changes might be next? Ugh.