Fall Line-Up

Well, as Tiffany noted in her comment, my life revolves around television. It's true. I am not ashamed. I've watched All My Children since I was about 4 years old...actually I have probably been watching my whole life but I don't remember the first 4 years! And it seems like I've been watching Law & Order for just as long, but I believe this is only season 11, and I am 25. So, it is fitting that I give some commentary on the new Fall Season.

First is the BIG disappointment: Joan of Arcadia was cancelled. Joan was the best new show since the West Wing. All the reviews were fantastic and the actors were unbelivable. Add in the fantastic script, and it was just an amazing show. My heart was broken. CBS gave no explanation. I had never heard anything about poor ratings. Instead, they keep crappy shows like Survivor, Yes Dear, and Numbers. But enough of that. Hopefully Joan will be on DVD soon enough and I can cuddle up with the re-runs and feel whole again. Combine that with Homicide: Life On The Streets and My So-Called Life and I will be all set.

Next, is the new shows. The good ones I have found so far are: Bones (Fox), Supernatural (WB), Invasion (ABC), Criminal Minds (CBS), Surface (NBC), and Threshold (CBS). None as good as Joan, but all at least interesting to begin with. Surface was perhaps the biggest surprise...I expected it to be corny, but it is really good & scary. I'm a bit worried that the Sea Monster story won't withstand an entire season...it feels more like a mini-series...but I have faith because the 1st two episodes were so good. Criminal Minds & Bones are classic crime dramas, but the actors are good and so far the stories are interesting...and I always love a good psychopathic criminal. Invasion and Threshold are sprung from the 4400 well. I'm not sure they will be as good as 4400, but they could be. Threshold has great actors, like Brent Spiner (Data from Star Trek), but spends a little too much effort making the lead woman sexy. (Like watching her walk away in a paper gown like she was on a runway, and constant wind blowing thru her hair) But still it's good. Supernatural is probably inspired by Buffy, it's about 2 brothers fighting evil mythological creatures to find their father and vindicate their mother. I only saw the 2nd episode, but it was enough to make me watch again. This week Nightstalker will start on ABC, keep an eye out it promises to be a good one!

Finally, the old faves! Medium is back with a bang! Hopefully her husband will be less whiny this season...but other than that it's a great show. All 3 Law & Orders had fantastic premiers! The most exciting is the return of Chris Noth on Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Noth is an L&O original, he was on before Lenny Briscoe or Jack McCoy! I love him. I am a little upset that they are treating him like the new kid on the block, who doesn't deserve to be in their unit, he was putting away bad guys when these other guys were waiting tables and auditioning for toothpaste commercials! But it seems that he will shock them by staying a step ahead of the game. I can tell his character has a sadness about him, he must miss Lenny like I do. CSI Vegas & Miami are good as always, but nothing shocking. Except that Ava LaRue from All My Children is now on CSI Miami! Worlds are colliding! I am also happy to see Two and a Half Men back, that show always makes me laugh. The only disappointment is the West Wing, which has been disappointing since Aaron Sorkin left, and that isn't going to change. It's even worse to watch re-runs on Bravo, when the scripts were so great, and then watch the real thing and my heart just sinks.

An unusual surprise is DaVinci's Inquest, being shown on UPN. It's a Canadian series that has been on for years, my mom watches it because she gets Canadian channels in Buffalo. It appears that UPN is showing the series from the beginning, which is years ago! I am curious to see how this very Canadian show does on American TV. I don't know if it is showing nationally, so let me know if you have it where you are! Here it is on Tuesday at 8pm.

Well, that's all! That's the new season! Let me know what you all think about your shows!