TVSquad

Another fall, another new fall season. Not all of the new shows can survive, of course, and it usually takes a few weeks to figure out what shows are in trouble of being canceled (or, as they say in network-speak, "on hiatus"). We'd like to see new shows get more time to catch on, but thems the breaks. One show has already been pulled from the schedule, FOX's Nashville, but what about other new shows?

I'm trying to decide on my feelings about Aliens in America, the new comedy premiering Monday at 8:30 on the The CW. When I first reviewed the show back in June as part of a preview of The CW's new shows, I said that it actually had some potential However, after reviewing the re-shot pilot and the episode following it, I'm not too sure anymore. Oh, as a coming-of-age comedy about a boy just trying to make it through high school it has its moments. But, there are just some elements to the show that leave me uneasy. More about that uneasiness later in the review. For now, let me talk about the premise of the show, which you can see after the jump.

(S04E01) Man, I'm having a hard time finding an opening for this review. I want to say that the season premiere of Atlantis was so much better than any episode of SG-1 that aired in its final season. However, that will probably piss off the SG-1 fans who say that Atlantis doesn't hold a candle to the original series. I want to say that, despite the standard science-fiction storyline that was the plot of this episode, the writers and producers did a great job of making it different, interesting, and a bit suspenseful. Yet, fans of science-fiction might get angry and say its all been done before and better.

(S01E01) Los Angeles and Toronto -- two cities that I will probably never end up moving into or near. Why? Because of the dense population of vampires that make those cities their home. I could understand Toronto: it's cold and gloomy in the winter and you can transverse the city through a myriad of underground passageways. But, Los Angeles? The place is sunny for most of the year. Why the hell would a vampire want to move there? Frankly I would think Seattle would be a better city to live in, or one of those towns up in Northern Alaska. I mean, those places don't see the sun for months at a time. What a perfect location for a vampire to live!

Now that I got that out of my system let's talk about the first episode of the new CBS supernatural drama Moonlight. If you read my early look of this show you could see that I wasn't really enamored with the program. Besides the fact that the acting was sub-par and the featured crime was something you would see on any standard criminal procedural, the whole thing just left me empty.

(S14E01) So, here we are.

After 13 years, numerous cast changes, various relationships, and a number of staff deaths, we come to what will probably be the final season of NBC's medical drama ER. This show has come a long way since Doctors Greene, Lewis, Benton, Carter, and Ross (and Nurse Hathaway) entered our Thursday nights. Some of the journey has been rocky (Season 7 was one of the rockiest, in my honest opinion). But, for the most part the trip has been a very good one.

Even more series and season premieres rule Thursday...

• At 8, NBC has the one-hour season premiere of My Name Is Earl, then the one-hour season premiere of The Office and the season premiere of ER.
• ABC has the season premiere of Ugly Betty, then the season premiere of Grey's Anatomy and the series premiere of Big Shots.
• CBS has a new Survivor: China, followed by the season premieres of CSI and Without A Trace.
• There's a new Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader on FOX at 8, then a new Don't Forget The Lyrics.
• The CW has the season premiere of Smallville, then a repeat of the Reaper debut.
• At 9, PBS has a Political Forum with Republican candidates, hosted by Tavis Smiley.
• At 10, AMC has a new Mad Men.
• Food Network has a new Ace of Cakes at 10.
• FX has a new It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia at 10.
• Also at 10: Bravo has a new Tim Gunn's Guide To Style.
• At 11:30, STARZ has a repeat of the first episode of Richard Roeper's series STARZ Inside, focusing on "Fog City Mavericks" such as George Lucas, Clint Eastwood, and Francis Ford Coppola.

Check your local TV listings for more.

(S01E01)"I guess that makes me your landlord." - Jonas Bledsoe, explaining to Jamie Sommers who he is and all the money he spent on her

Sometimes I really hate first episodes of TV shows. They have to have so much exposition and explain everything and set everything up so fast. In the first 15 minutes of Bionic Woman, the following occurs: we meet the evil killer bionic woman, who is killed by one of her cohorts after a rampage; we're introduced to Jamie and her job as a bartender; we meet her kid sister and see them argue about their absent father; we meet her boyfriend the professor/scientist; and we find out that Jamie is pregnant.

(S01E01) After posting my early look at this new NBC procedural crime drama, reading your comments, and thinking about Charlie Crews in general, I have come to the belief that Life may actually have a chance this season. Not because of the crimes he and Detective Dani Reese solve -- hey, a murder is a murder is a murder. Not because of Charlie's mix of innocence and quirkiness. I think what is going to keep people tuning into the program is the whole sub-plot of the series: trying to find out who the heck framed Charlie for the murder of three people.

Okay, here are the similarities between Mick St. John, the vampire private detective of the new CBS drama Moonlight, and Angel, the vampire private detective of Angel: both are vampires (which I said already), both live in Los Angeles, both need blood to survive, both drive classic convertibles (which, being unable to use during the day, boggles my mind), both have long coats that flap in the wind while they stand on rooftops, and they are both fighting for the innocent person.

Here are the differences: the show that Angel was in was so much better than the show that Mick St. John is in. That, and Mick sleeps in a freezer instead of a bed.

Here are the weekly cable ratings, by number of viewers.

1. Monday Night Football (ESPN)
2. Hannah Montana (Disney)
3. WWE Monday Night RAW - 10pm (USA)
4. Burn Notice (USA)
5. WWE Monday Night RAW - 9pm (USA)
6. College Football (ESPN)
7. Freaky Friday (Disney)
8. Holes (Disney)
9. Saving Grace (TNT)
10. Cory in the House (Disney)

(S04E01) Look to your left. Now, look to your right. By the end of the six weeks one of you will be gone . . . as well as 28 more of you. Wear a cup. -- Dr. Gregory House

With that ominous statement I welcome you to House 2.0, otherwise known as season four of the medical drama. As you all know by now there was a bit of, er, housecleaning (wait for groans to subside) during the season three finale. That's when Doctors Foreman and Cameron resigned and Dr. Chase was fired (don't worry, they begin to return in other roles as the new season progresses). This has left House quite alone. And, while he's quite content about it the rest of the administrative staff at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital wants to see old Greg establish a new team.