New Fall Shows 2007

Okay, so I have my picks for the new shows I’ll be watching this fall. (Just in time too, two of them premiere this Wednesday!) I’m a little nervous this year. Two years ago I think six of my shows made it to a second season. Last year only two: Heroes and 30 Rock. So we’ll have to see what happens this year. As per usual, I have three criteria when selecting the new shows I want to watch. 1.The overall concept of the show (Lost, Heroes, How I Met Your Mother) 2. The pedigree of its creators and stars (The Office, 30 Rock, Studio 60) 3. The critics’ opinions (Veronica Mars, Weeds) And again, from there I expect a great pilot and a well done third episode (The second installment is usually lackluster). These are pretty much in my order of preference; and away we go:







The Premise: A pie-maker can bring people back from the dead with a single touch and then send them back with a second one.
The Pedigree: Bryan Fuller (Wonderfalls, Dead Like Me). The same fanciful/creepy tone.
The Rest: The pilot looks like a movie. It is so clever and whimsical, I can’t wait to see more. Lee Pace (Wonderfalls) is awesome as Ned, the pie-maker; it’s easy to relate to this character despite his supernatural abilities. The supporting cast includes the funny Chi McBride (The Nine, Boston Public) and charming Kristin Chenowith (West Wing, Wicked). And I love the voice of the narrator. You gotta see this one. Trust me.
Premieres: 8pm Wednesday, Oct 3 on ABC







The Premise: A computer nerd gets all of America’s secret intelligence accidentally downloaded into his brain.
The Pedigree: Created by Josh Schwartz (The OC, Gossip Girl). This one seems just as clever but not as soapy.
The Rest: This show looks like a lot of fun. Zachary Levi who plays Chuck seems like a great everyman. The supporting cast looks great including Adam Baldwin (Firefly) as one of the secret agents.
Premieres: 8pm Monday, Sept 24 on NBC







The Premise: A slacker becomes a bounty hunter for the devil because his parents sold his soul before he was born.
The Pedigree: Stars Bret Harrison who was awesome in The Loop
The Rest: Much like Chuck with it’s 'ordinary slacker given way to much responsibility' premise, this one focuses more on the slacker. Bret Harrison is great, Ray Wise (Twin Peaks) is evilly good as the devil, and although the very funny Tyler Labine hates being compared to Jack Black, you just can’t help it. The premise is kind of Buffy-like with its demon-of-the-week plot, but it sure looks like a lot of fun.
Premieres: 9pm Tuesday, Sept 25 on The CW







The Premise: A pompous,womanizing newsman returns to share the evening news with his ex co-anchor.
The Pedigree: Created by Steve Levitan (Just Shoot Me) and Christopher Lloyd (creator of Fraiser, not Doc Brown). Stars Kelsey Grammer (Fraiser) and Patricia Heaton (Everybody Loves Raymond). Directed by James Burrows (Cheers, Will & Grace and almost every successful sitcom known to mankind)
The Rest: The above should be enough. With pedigree like that, it would take a whole lot of bad judgment to screw this one up. Even the supporting cast of Fred Willard (For Your Consideration) and Ty Burrell (Out of Practice) is stellar. It’s even been given a thirteen episode guarantee from Fox, the commitment-phobe network. This is the best shot at reviving the multi-camera sitcom.
Premieres: 8pm Wednesday, Sept 19 on FOX







The Premise: An idealistic lawyer reluctantly becomes the family lawyer of a rich, eccentric New York family.
The Pedigree: Created by Greg Berlanti (Brothers & Sisters, Everwood) and stars Peter Krause (Six Feet Under, Sports Night) and Donald Sutherland (Commander in Chief)
The Rest: The cast looks pretty impressive and the plot looks sinfully fun. It looks a little soap opera-ish but I don’t mind. I wish I could have gotten a hold of the pilot but I guess I’ll have to wait.
Premieres: 10pm Wednesday, Sept 26 on ABC

The next five shows are the ones I’ll give a chance to but am not quite sure about.







The Premise: The trials and tribulations of rich New York kids attending an elite school.
The Pedigree: Created by The OC’s Josh Schwartz. Same issues, but this time on a different coast.
The Rest: What kind of got me interested was that Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars) does the narration and the fact that I enjoyed watching The OC.
Why I’m Worried: Fox tried to use the same premise with a show called Manchester Prep that didn’t even make it to air. That and the fact that it’s on The CW can’t be helping it all that much.
Premieres: 9pm Wednesday, Sept 19 on The CW







The Premise: A male Sex in the City, with four businessmen dealing with their wives, mistresses and golf.
The Pedigree: Stars Dylan McDermott (The Practice) and Michael Vartan (Alias)
The Rest: Rounding out the male foursome is Christopher Titus (Titus) and Joshua Malina (West Wing, Sports Night). The reason I’ll watch is to see Josh Malina in action, he such a fun actor to watch. I’ve heard that Rob Thomas (Veronica Mars) is going to help write the show which could make this drama all the more appealing.
Why I’m Worried: I’m not sure people are going to go for the premise. Male bonding is very different from female bonding. Also, the fact that it’ll be going up against Without a Trace can’t be helping it any.
Premieres: 10pm Thursday, Sept 27 on ABC







The Premise: A shallow, materialistic liar loses her memory and tries to be a good person to make up for all the bad things she used to do.
The Pedigree: Stars Christina Applegate (Married with Children)
The Rest: It does have a good supporting cast of Jean Smart (Designing Women, 24), Jennifer Esposito (Spin City) and Kevin Dunn (Hot Shots). Applegate was very funny as Rachel’s self-centered sister on Friends, and apparently we’ll see clips of the pre-amnesia bitchy Samantha character throughout the show. Although if you ask me, this show ia a female upscale version of My Name is Earl.
Why I’m Worried: I haven’t seen too many clips promoting this show since ABC is foolishly plugging Cavemen and Carpoolers non-stop instead. I haven’t been impressed with ABC’s comedy line-up lately with its According to Jim crap. They did have Knights of Prosperity but quickly cancelled it. I blame the network.
Premieres: 9:30pm Monday, Oct 15 on ABC







The Premise: Jamie Sommers gets a new eye, new legs and new arm that make her a bionic woman. Of course, now the government want to use her.
The Pedigree: Created by David Eick (Battlestar Galactica) Another remake? Why not?
The Rest: To be honest I wasn’t too impressed with the first pilot, but apparently a lot of things got changed including the “un-deaf”ing of Sommers’ little sister. The special effects were not that great but maybe they have improved in the re-taping of the pilot. The reason to watch this show is the brilliant Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica) who plays a rogue bionic subject. I’m going to give it another chance.
Why I’m Worried: Maybe my first instincts were correct and nothing has been changed for the better. I’ll have to wait and see.
Premieres: 9pm Wednesday, Sept 26 on NBC







The Premise: A vampire moonlights as a private detective. Hmmm, sounds an awful lot like Angel.
The Pedigree: Speaking of Angel, producer David Greenwalt used to be in charge but left all of a sudden
The Rest: Jason Dohring who was awesome as Logan on Veronica Mars and the beautiful Shannyn Sossamon (Knight’s Tale, Rules of Attraction) have joined the cast.
Why I’m Worried: Except for the lead (Alex O’Loughlin), the entire show got recast. Also three producers have come and left the show for various reasons. This does not seem like a stable show. It’s also in the deadly Friday night slot.
Premieres: 9pm Friday Sept 28 on CBS

Oh, and the shows that don’t interest me in the slightest are Cavemen, Carpoolers and K-Ville. The first two seem incredibly stupid and low-brow, so middle America will probably love them. K-Ville looks over-produced and boring, and it’s on Fox so it should be counting down the days.

And if you seriously doubt my opinion, here's what the critics voted on concerning the best and worst.

Best _______________ Worst
63% Pushing Daisies __________ 51% Cavemen
15% Reaper _________________ 15% Viva Laughlin
12% Dirty Sexy Money _________ 13% Big Shots
05% Bionic Woman ___________ 13% K-Ville
05% K-Ville __________________ 05% Carpoolers

Yup, K-Ville is in both lists. That's how divided people are about it. Some think the show is making money off the Hurrican Katrina tragedy. Some thinks it's pretty good.

So there you have it. What shows are you looking forward to this season? Have I missed one? I’m ready with my opinions. Let's hear it.