Thu, September 13, 2007

The 2007 primetime fall season starts next Monday with Fox's K-Ville, at which point this year's Annual TiVo Gauntlet of New Fall Programming kicks into gear, as well. I've reviewed the EW fall guide (published on-time this year) and remarkably none of the time slots or premiere dates have changed since my guides were published weeks ago.

I did learn a lot about the new fall shows though. Like, apparently Reaper and Chuck strike a lot of people as being extremely similar. Not me. Both shows have potential, and must navigate a tricky balance of action and comic tone, but I don't categorize my shows by where the lead character works, so I don't think I'd have put these in the same column if TV writers weren't beating me over the head with it. Also, evidently Back to You is an unstoppable comedy juggernaut which will reinvigorate the studio audience sitcom format by showing us all how to do it right. And Kelsey Grammer is a "sitcom supercomputer that can instantly calculate the funniest possible permutation of any situation." If true, it's a shame he hasn't been doing this on television much.

Having watched a few clips of the show, I remain less convinced than EW that it harkens to "ye olde days of Must See TV" or is likely to remind me of Mary Tyler Moore or Murphy Brown. Instead, I see bland, predictable jokes, too many characters, and a laugh track cranked up to 11 on even the smallest gags. There's certainly formidable talent behind the show, with Grammer, Patricia Heaton, and Fred Willard surrounded by able supporting performers and experienced sitcom writers (Christopher Lloyd of Wings and Frasier co-created the show with Steven Levitan of Just Shoot Me). But we've been burned by a seemingly infallible phalanx of talent before. Have you forgotten Studio 60? I can guarantee you I never will.

We'll have to see, I guess. That sentiment, after all, is what initially birthed the ATGoNFP – the idea that there are surprises lurking out there among the dismal new shows, you just have to give them a chance. Without such faith, I'd never have discovered favorites like Criminal Minds or How I Met Your Mother, nor beloved bygones like Wonderfalls, Threshold, or Joan of Arcadia. Not to mention Veronica Mars, for which you all can go right ahead and keep thanking me.

With that in mind, let's look at the rest of EW's "picks," in order of how much I expect them to suck:

Aliens in America (CW, Mondays)

This is a single-camera comedy about a geeky high school loner who gets paired with a Pakistani exchange student and has to suffer the ignorant reactions of his classmates who assume the new kid to be a jihadist. I'm not one of your oversensitive weepy-eyed liberals, and the last thing I value is political correctness, but I was pretty offended by the clips I watched. I've seen this show on a few "top picks" lists; maybe there's something I'm missing. If that something is "a flawed but noble attempt to skewer our cultural foibles" or "hilarious non-sequitur goofiness like Dad's alpaca farming," I don't expect my rating to go up.

Dirty Sexy Money (ABC, Wednesdays)

I'll admit this is a bit of a wild card. At the time I was handing out my pre-ratings for this season, ABC wasn't offering much in the way of Dirty Sexy Money clips on its site. We barely saw any of Krause, and he has the potential to swing things around quite a bit. (Also, EW champions supporting sexpot Natalie Zea. I suppose anything is possible.) My general sense is that this show has a citified Desperate Housewives vibe, and I grew weary of that about half a dozen episodes into its first season.

Bionic Woman (NBC, Wednesdays)

There are some solid possibilities to this one (despite the mixed signals it sends to the gay community). Michelle Ryan seems delightful, the cyborg element is good for some interesting thrills, and people in general seem to like Katee Sackhoff about as much as I detest her. However, it seems like every time we update one of these campy '70s actioners, we add in all this dreary black-ops intrigue. Maybe that'll add to the allure like the early years of Alias, or maybe it'll wear thin. All I'm saying is, it would've been a lot easier to get behind a Bionic Woman rehash if it seemed more fun.

Reaper (CW, Tuesdays)

This show surprised me. I've learned to expect very little from the fledgling CW network, and the premise seemed pretty uninviting. But the cast and the writing grabbed me, especially Ray Wise as Satan. He's always been a Hey, It's That Guy! contender, usually as a shifty senator or stern CEO – but here he cuts loose with a sinister swagger that made me smile. I do not share the hostility of most critics for Tyler Labine's similarities to Jack Black – be they intentional or otherwise.

EW picks are a tricky thing. In the past, they've picked Invasion and Jericho, two shows I found resoundingly awful and misdirected. However, they also picked Arrested Development and Alias, two shows I hadn't otherwise planned to watch. Let that sink in a minute. I read their page-long write-up on my favorite sitcom in television history, and said "Meh. Not for me, but EW calls it a 'pick,' so we'll see." So you understand why I can't totally shrug off these EW picks.

My own picks are still these:

Life (NBC, Wednesdays)

Damian Lewis and Sarah Shahi are a vision to watch, separately and together. I love this show's approach to the ex-con lifestyle. Lewis is bouncy, wide-eyed, and excited to be back in the open air. (The multi-million-dollar settlement can't have hurt.) He's got a unique approach to solving crime, and he's got a fun banter with his partner (Shahi) – and even more fun banter with his prison buddy-turned-financial advisor (Adam Arkin). I'm in love with the idea of a cop show that is more about the characters than the crimes. But the buzz on this one seems pretty flat; maybe I'm experiencing another Studio 60 blind spot.

Pushing Daisies (ABC, Wednesdays)

I still give this show a tremendous amount of credit, just for being god damn unique. Like Life, EW's take is that this show will polarize people. Maybe I'll love it and you'll hate it. Or perhaps vice versa. But its sweet tone seems to be cut with an appropriate amount of irony, and the performances I've seen are engaging.

Carpoolers (ABC, Tuesdays)

This one is even more of a crapshoot, but I laughed aloud at its brief clip, which is more than I can say for most of this year's comedies. I'm willing to give the show's creator, Bruce McCullough, a fair amount of leeway. He's always charmed me. "Shim! Sham! Sha-kam! Cattle explodes! Cow shrapnel drips off tree..." One of you will know what that means.

Of course, it'll be a week or two before we can see how those shows turn out. For now, we're stuck with an abysmal offering from CW (with its Kristen Bell voiceover, a bittersweet reminder of what might have been); the aforementioned Back to You (with that title's clever double meaning); K-Ville, which is stirring some controversy for depicting cops in post-Katrina New Orleans; and Kid Nation, stirring even more controversy for skirting child labor laws and allowing teenagers to drink bleach.

Also, Kitchen Nightmares from Gordon Ramsay. I generally give myself a pass on reality shows during the ATGoNFP. I put Kid Nation on this year's list because it will be so easy to make fun of, but that's all. Something in the EW write-up for Kitchen Nightmares caught my interest, even though I've purposely avoided Hell's Kitchen. So I may watch an episode, but not in an official Gauntlet capacity.

Premiering Next Week

K-Ville: Fox, Monday at 9:00
Back to You: Fox, Wednesday at 8:00
Kid Nation: CBS, Wednesday at 8:00
Gossip Girl: CW, Wednesday at 9:00

Unofficially:
Kitchen Nightmares: Fox, Wednesday at 9:00

Returning Next Week

Update: I forgot that my ATGoNFP weeks run Monday-Sunday, since new columns are usually posted Mondays. Thus, here are the returning premieres from Sunday 9/23, the night before the next ATGoNFP update goes up.

The Simpsons: Fox, Sunday at 8:00
King of the Hill: Fox, Sunday at 8:30
Family Guy: Fox, Sunday at 9:00 (full hour)
Shark: CBS, Sunday at 10:00

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