Fall TV Preview: Intro and Monday/Tuesday

A sure sign that you are aging is the amount of new TV shows you’re willing to add to your Fall schedule. An even bigger sign is when you start cutting shows out that are still airing. Last year I dropped Family Guy and The Simpsons. While I’ll still catch them every so often and certainly in reruns, neither show was worth my time or my TiVo’s time any longer. With that in mind I’m splitting my Fall preview up into three categories this year: New Shows, Returning Favorites, and On Thin Ice. The thin ice category features shows that might be this year’s casualties of Fall. Remember these certainly aren’t every Fall TV show, just the ones that catch my lazy, lazy eyes.

Monday
New Shows: None

Returning Favorites:
Gossip Girl, 8pm CST, CW, Premieres September 14th
Gossip Girl fought through the typical second season doldrums and went out strong last spring. The return of Georgina was just the thing to spice up the kids’ lives and make the audience forget about the multiple episode arc with Dark Jenny. Sadly Georgina’s portrayer, the awesome Michelle Trachtenberg, is starring in some kind of medical drama for NBC so we’ll only get bits and pieces of her this year. Also the show faces the challenge of keeping Chuck and Blair fresh now that they’ve gone all Sam and Diane on each other. Point of fact, anyone who uses a Cheers reference when writing about Gossip Girl should probably not be writing about Gossip Girl. Oh well, that’s why it’s a guilty pleasure I suppose.

On Thin Ice:
Heroes, 7pm CST, NBC, Premieres September 21st
This is it. I swear if Heroes doesn’t start making logical plot lines and better use of their quality cast I’m out. Sadly the outlook is dim as we’ve been promised more time travel which means more plot lines that never get resolved. Also the show is going to the circus and I can’t say that sounds like a good idea either. Watching the actors do their press this summer at the comic conventions it seemed most of them are losing patience as well. Hard to believe this show once had such promise.

Tuesday
New Shows:
Melrose Place, 8pm CST, CW, Premieres September 8th
I tried 90210 last year and was quickly turned off by the awkward mix of the new and old cast. I hear the show found its legs toward the end of the season but by then I was long gone. I’m hoping Melrose Place watched and learned. More than likely the show will be a colossal waste of time but my nostalgia bone is tingling and I think it won’t hurt to give it a shot.

V, ABC, Premieres November 3rd
Speaking of nostalgia it doesn’t get any more geektastic than a new version of the 80’s classic V. I still remember watching the mini-series, sequel, and short lived series like it was yesterday and while it was full of cheese it was also great fun. The new version looks less cheesy and that could be its downfall. Production was just shut down for a couple of weeks while ABC retools the series and that’s never a good sign. On the plus side I'm looking forward to seeing Elizabeth Mitchell get a starring role after her Lost run.

Returning Favorites:
The Hills, 9pm CST, MTV, Premieres September 29th
Not only is this in my returning favorites category because I still got much love for The Hills gang but also because it’s got one of my favorite returning reality stars in Kristin Cavallari. Sure I’ve always been solidly on Team LC but that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate the drama that Team Kristin brings to the table. Meanwhile I’m hoping the LC’s departure opens up more time for my favorite Lo and that we get to see more Stephanie dysfunction. Sadly we’ll also be getting more Speidi but I guess you take the good with the horribly horribly bad.

On Thin Ice:
The City, 9:30pm CST, MTV, Premieres September 29th
When Whitney Port left The Hills for her own spin off last January I thought it was genius. Other than Lo I couldn’t think of anyone that would be interesting enough for their own show (sorry Audrina). Unfortunately the execution was just not there. Whit Whit did not play the fish out of water well and you could just see she had a tough time dumbing herself down every week. Her supporting cast was mostly bland and that didn’t help. BFF Erin was quite possibly the weakest Laguna/Hills/City character ever and boyfriend Jay was a not so bad boy. The best “character” was Neville the cousin of Whit’s coworker Olivia. Neville was a gigantic ball of drugs, alcohol, self importance, and oddly enough, wisdom. Unless Neville starts dating eating disorder model Allie, the show’s prospects appear dim.