Fall TV Preview: Day One 2006

What's hot, what's not, on Sunday nights...

Psyched about this season’s new shows? Looking forward to your old favorites coming back? Don’t know what to watch? Then you’ve come to the right place.

Starting today, I’ll be taking a look at the 2006/2007 TV-season, weeding through the good and the bad.

What do I consider good TV? A show that entertains (or has the potential to entertain). I don’t care if it’s 24-level high quality or Fashion House-level crappity crap. If it’s fun, it gets a thumbs up from me. What are my credentials? I watch more TV in a day then you probably watch in a week. Think about that.

Let’s get this party started, eh?

Sunday's New Shows: What’s Hot?
Wow…not a thing. That was easy.

Sunday's New Shows: What’s Not?
Brothers & Sisters (ABC, 10 pm) is a primetime soap. I should be jumping up and down with big gay glee. So why don’t I care? This series has already been through the ringer, with last minute recasts, rewrites, reshoots, and restructuring. And there’s one more “re” to go: rehash. The patriarch of a rich California family dies and the family must struggle to move on. They love each other, but have problems. Boring people doing boring things. It’s great that Sally Field and Balthazar Getty are getting work, but there’s not a thing about this show that makes it sounds fresh or innovative. Pass.

Sunday's Old Shows: What’s Worth the Time?
Everybody Hates Chris (The CW, 7 pm) has landed on Sundays. It’s a cute little show about a young Chris Rock and his awkward childhood in the 1980s. The first season was pretty good. It’s not the sort of show that knocks you over with laughter, but it’s a light sitcom that doesn’t treat the audience like we’re idiots. And it’s family-friendly without being sickeningly sweet. Check it out.

The Simpsons (Fox, 8 pm) is back for its 18th season. Just think. The kids who were born the year this series premiered are going to college, getting married, and having sex. This show has been on for their entire lives! Amazing! Anyway, while not as reliably hilarious as it once was, The Simpsons still manages to get a good chuckle out of me at least a couple of times an episode -- and every so often, they sneak out a really good show that can stand up to repeat viewings. It’s not dead yet.

Family Guy (Fox, 9 pm). All those people who think this show is a ripoff of The Simpsons just haven’t given it the time. It’s foul, irreverant, fast-paced, ridiculous, shocking, topical and never, ever dull. Sure, there are similarities between Homer and Peter Griffin -- but both owe their existence to Fred Flintstone -- and there’s no one on TV as unique as Stewie. Watch it with an open mind (and a nun, just for kicks).

The Amazing Race (CBS, 8 pm). This show has seen some highs and lows (Family Edition, anyone?), but it’s almost impossible not to get caught up in the non-stop race around the world. This season, I’m sure we’ll get the usual couples-on-the-brink racing against the usual love-em-or-hate-em old people. But there’s also a girl with one leg, which…come on, the girl has one leg! If you like reality TV, you’ll love it. If you’re a reality TV snob, then this one’s for you.

Desperate Housewives (ABC, 10 pm). I admit, I dropped this show last year. I started off loving it, as I had Season One, but a few episodes into S2, I was tuning in for just a few minutes every couple of weeks, then nothing till the season finale. I found myself hating the show not because of its S1 overexposure, but because the characters had become hateful, annoying, shrill and, occasionally, stupid. This show has always suffered from an identity crisis. Is it a comedy? Is it a drama? Is it a soap or a parody of the genre? Who knows? At any rate, we’ve been promised by series creator Marc Cherry that this season, things get better. The characters and their relationships will be better defined, the storylines more intriguing. He’s calling it “dramatic unity.” Based on those buzzwords, and the sheer magic that was Season One, I’m giving this show one more shot -- but just one. Season Three, Episode One, airing on September 24th will make or break this show for me. Watch it and sit in judgement.

And that’s my look at Sundays this Fall. If I didn’t mention a show, it means I don’t watch it or it’s not worth discussing (I’m talking to you, Cold Case!).

Up next: Primetime Monday!