Fall Shows So Far

I can't remember the last season of television where there were multiple shows I was anticipating. And so far, the results are good.

Monday night* was the premiere of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (NBC) -- Aaron Sorkin's return to television and if the rest of the season is as good as the first episode, it'll be hard to pry me away from the television. (*Note: in Canada, Studio 60 also runs on Sunday nights on CTV) Matthew Perry and Bradley Whitford have great buddy chemistry going and both can easily handle Sorkin's rapidfire writing style.

I also checked out The Class on Monday, the new lead to CBS's sitcom block (The Class, How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men, The New Adventures of Old Christine); it was watchable, but there were no laugh-out-loud moments. I fully expect a mid-season replacement in that timeslot.

Last night, we watched House on autopilot (it started stinking last season and shows no sign of improving this season) which is followed on Fox by Standoff which so far is shaping up to be pretty enjoyable: good cast, fun technology, and 'capital D' Dramatic tension. At 10:00 we ended up watching Smith (CBS; CTV Mondays), which really hadn't flown into our radar, but wow! I was surprised at the cast (all film actors, led by Ray Liotta) and the show played out like Ocean's Eleven -- I have a weakness for heist films, so if the whole season is planning and executing heists, I'll be watching.

Tonight is the premiere of Jericho (CBS/Space), the only other new show I've been waiting to see. Then we have to wait until next month for returning seasons of Dr. Who (October 9) and Battlestar Galactica (October 7) and new comedy 30 Rock (October 11) with Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin.


tags: television, fall season, reviews.