Fall season 2006: New Shows

It's almost the end of October - a pretty good time to review all the new shows of this season, and a great time to sieve through the shows and see what's left. I have to be somewhat selective now, since I'm clocking in around 20 hrs of TV per week. At least. Probably more. (Further discussion of sad life in another post.) Anyhoo, on with the shows...

A-grade TV

This is a hard category. If you'd bother to read my profile, since I'm so darn interesting, those listed would belong in this A Grade category (btw, watch Veronica Mars!) These are shows I wouldn't miss for pretty much anything. They are my staples, and they are awesome.

DEXTER (Showtime, Sundays)

With merely four episodes in, the only new show to have made the cut, DEXTER takes the cake this year. It has everything I love - a quirky premise (in a nutshell, a forensics expert who's also a serial killer), great acting(especially Michael C Hall of Six Feet Under fame as the title role), good supporting cast and crew (always glad to see Julie Benz(of Buffy/Angel) on TV, as well as Jennifer Carpenter as Dexter's sis, Erik King, David Zayas, and more. Director Michael Cuesta's from Six Feet Under as well and the movie LIE. So he's used to creepy stuff here), witty dialogue (Dexter could go from talking about killing his prey and eating bananas all in one go), and an underlying mystery that you actually care about behind all this (Who's the Ice Truck Killer? It can't be Dexter himself, right?). It's great to see a sociopath on TV these days, especially one so loveable. He truly is a monster, yet you still like him. How good is that? Ooh, and beginning with 1X2, awesome credits. You're never think of your morning routine the same again. I love pilots that wow me, and subsequent episodes that wow me as well. Me love. Me hooked. So go watch it.

P.S. If you live in the states, HUGEASS campaign for it. I see them all over the subway.

P.P.S. The show is based on books by a Jeff Lindsay, of one which I am in possession of, and am resisting quite unsuccessfully to read the thing to find out what happens.

P.P.P.S. This entire post is really just a blatant attempt to promote Dexter. It's great. Go watch it.

B TV

They show promise, and I like them, but not to the point of obsession. Which probably is a plus for them.

Heroes (NBC, Mondays)

I hated the pilot. HATED. So frakking scattered, with really one dimensional characters, a la comic book characters. But I stuck through it because everyone's like oh, it's great, blah blah blah, and now after 6 episodes, it's not half bad. I still think the plot is uneven, and I don't have any one character who I could root for (or even like. They're a bit stereotyped. I have yet to find great personalities in them), but the story seems to be building towards something better and bigger, and I don't want to miss THAT payoff. Oh, btw, it's a show about a bunch of people realizing their superpowers(which are all different from person to person, and ranges from flying to teleporting/timetraveling to ones we have yet to find out exactly what) and coming together to defend the world and themselves from some ominious baddie group who (and who knows who the who is yet? Say it fast three times) are made up of possibly the cheerleader's dad, the creepy bald black guy and the really gorgeous pixie haired girl who hangs with that hot Indian guy whose dead dad studied the biology behind these superheroes. Or something. Heesh, what a long sentence. Comic book lovers would probably LOVE this. And that Japanese guy Hiro. People seem to really like him. Anyhoo, it does its job of being intense and interesting, and keeps me on my toes. Pretty darn good.

The Nine (ABC, Wednesdays)

Hostages (guess how many?) held up in a 48/52? hr bank robbery deal with the aftermath of it. Apparrantly some weird stuff happened during the robbery (which we only find out bit by bit each episode), and the nine people, who were strangers mostly prior to the holdup, become closer and bond because of it. Kinda 24-ish, and I say this only because you see Audrey Kim Raver here. (Don't worry, I'm pretty sure she's still Jack Bauer's girlfriend this coming season.) But it's an interesting premise with a good plot, and the characters are likeable with interesting progress - albeit some cheesy ones. I worry about it dragging too much of the mysterious holdup that we only see tidbits of each episode. It's only been 4 episodes, and I'm already a little tired of not knowing. The lack of funny tidbits/dialogue is a problem as well. I like my dramas with a bit of comedy.

Ugly Betty (ABC, Thursdays)

Ooh, campiest thing on primetime TV right now. It's silly and cheesy to the point of being ridiculous, but America Ferrera makes it all good with the heart she brings to Betty. She really is the star of the show, and I just want to see more and more of her in the show instead of the silly soap opear style mystery behind all the cheese.  Ben Silverman's (who also adapted the popular The Office from its British counterpart) adaptation of a Spanish soap opera from telemundo/univision (Please say it with a spanish accent) is about a girl "Ugly" Betty who takes the job as an assistant to the editor-in-chief of MODE (read: Vogue or the like) magazine. She's Latino, working class from Queens and hired because the boss wants to make sure his son(the editor-in-chief) would not sleep with his assistant. Hilarity ensues. And it really does. And you even feel a little warm inside. It's guilty pleasure.

C TV

They're OK, as the C suggests. Average.  Fun to watch, nothing fussy, nothing great. Don't think too much, and you'll be fine. 

Studio 60 on Sunset Strip  (NBC, Mondays - for now)

Oh what a let down. Such a mess. I had this pegged for an A grade show before it started, with Sorkin and big name cast and everything. But it tried way too hard to be a 'smart' show, and it ended up being a meh show. Not smart, and not in touch with television trends much anymore. I only watch it because the dialogue is still good (I'll give Sorkin that) and I love seeing Matthew Perry get work other than as Chandler, but give it up Sorkin - sometimes it's smart and funny, and sometimes it's downright boring, unfunny, and NOT smart. Also, this super expensive show is not getting the ratings it should, and I doubt it'll last more than a season, if they're lucky.

Men in Trees (CBS?, Fridays)

Chick TV. But it's pretty good. For those who liked Everwood, this show is also set in some dinky small town - here it's Elmo, Alaska, and lots of men work as loggers or something, get it? - where Anne Heche, a New York relationship guru (kinda like Carrie Bradshaw, only smarter), moves to in an accidental way when she found out her fiance was cheating on her. Of course, there's a guy in town who she's immediately attracted/connected to, and stuff happens. Anne Heche is the person to watch for here, but I like the supporting cast as well. It's cute, but nothing too special. I'll watch it, but it's ok if I don't see it.

Brothers and Sisters (ABC, Sundays)

Ally Mcbeal's in it. Along with a ton of famous actors. Sally Field, Rachel Griffiths? (six feet under), Ron Rifkin, etc, etc. The pilot sucked - way way too depressing - but the later episodes are a ton more light hearted. And that is what I like - dramas with a bit of humor in it. Anyway, huge huge family. 2 sisters, a gay son, a straight one, and a high(on drugs) one. They're picture perfect family. Dad passes away, family grieves then finds out Dad is not such a nice guy, what with his mistress of 15 years and taking tons of money out from the family business and all, and while they fight they get through it all together. Something like that. I think Justin (the high on drugs bro) is adorable. He's really cute, but I can't put my finger on where he's from. It's another OK show that's not half bad, but not great yet either. Could go either way.

EH TV

It's not that these are all hugely poor shows that never should have been made (at least not all of them). But they are shows that I either have given up entirely because I actually watched them, shows that I haven't gotten around to watching because the subject matter bores me, or shows that I really see no reason to add to my TV list.

Or they just suck.

30 Rock (NBC, Tuesdays)

Basically all the SNL people - Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan, Rachel Dretch(who got demoted by NBC and now does some random roles on it. I hope she gets a better show on another network.) - are in the show. Plus Alec Baldwin and Jane Kra-can't spell her name-sinski?. who took the role from Rachel Dretch. It's a 'show within a show' comedy about the behind the scenes of 'The Girlie Show'(? something like that). Sound familiar? It's Tina Fey's version of Studio 60, I guess. The show's just not too funny.

Six Degrees (ABC, Thursdays)

Watched it, given the whole JJAbrams thing. But man, suckfest. Too frakking contrived. Tons of famous actors in it though. The stories are a dime a dozen, and the six main characters are one-dimensional. I just don't care enough to watch on. Plus, I'm not sure if it'll survive even a season. LAME-O.

Shark (CBS, Thursdays)

James Woods. It's HOUSE with lawyers. Woods is great as the asshole Dr. House/district attorney guy, but his minions are way less interesting than Foreman, Cameron or Chase. Not to mention the cases are way less interesting than House's crazy convoluted tse tse fly malaria infected corpse cases. Eh. I'm dropping this for now.

Justice (ABC, Tuesdays?)

It's Spy Daddy from Alias. Hey, and Jack, the only gay dude from Dawson's Creek. Anyhoo, some law procedual. Yawn. Very stylized, but the episodes are always in the same freaking format. And that's just after 3 episodes. Double Yawn.

The Class (Dunno. Looks like CBS, probably Mondays)

Watched 4 mins of it. It's supposed to be the FRIENDS of this decade or something. Eh. Typical traditional style sitcom.  I don't know. Didn't like anyone on screen, didn't like the jokes. LAME! Please just go away.

Help Me Help You (Dunno. ABC? Tuesdays?)

I haven't watched this yet, and it's because it's Ted Danson aka Becker aka Sam Malone. I do like that Jane Kra-whatever (Macolm's mom in Macolm in the Middle) is in it though, and it's not in a single camera non traditional sitcom format. But anyhoo, haven't watched it, maybe later. I think it's about a psychiatrist or something. Hence the help me help you Jerry Maguire bit.

Friday Night Lights (NBS, Tuesdays - for now)

People say this is great. Very family TV. Like Everwood, and WAY WAY WAY better than 7th Heaven. Kyle Chandler's in it, and I've heard it's probably one of his greatest roles on TV yet. So please watch it if you're into the whole Everwood thing, this show would need the support to last. I can't watch it, because I just can't watch something with football as a theme. (But I have been told the theme isn't really football. We'll see. I just don't want to watch it.)

And there are more of course. If I can't even name them, they obviously do not matter at all. To me, that is. If I'm missing any cool shows, do tell.

And that's that!