new tv

[jlh]

For the 07/08 and 08/09 seasons, I refused to watch any new scripted shows.* In the spring of 09, I picked up Castle and found a little hope. Last season I picked up Community and Glee and White Collar and felt a lot better. I just really like upbeat things, often not the kinds of things that fandom or TV snobs like, and have to follow my own star.

So looking at the fall TV schedule, here's what I've got:

• Monday
  
  • HIMYM. If you're worried after last season, read this recap of Craig & Carter at the TCAs, and thanks to mardia for the link!
    
  • Dancing with the Stars. So cheesetastic! I started watching for the SYTYCD alums but stayed because I adore Bergeron—he's really the one who should be winning Emmys instead of Probst—and Brooke Burke is a huge improvement over Samantha Harris. Last season was kinda eh—Kate was bad in an unfunny way (Free Tony!), Nicole wasn't that interesting though I'm glad she won, and I don't like Lysacek. But this season has a great cast, so I'm actually kind of excited!
    
  • Mike & Molly. I'm going to try it. I know the pilot is mostly fat jokes and I'm hoping they can get past that. If not, I'll drop it like a hot potato. But guys, Molly is Sookie from Gilmore Girls! I love her!
    
  • Hawaii Five-0. I loved the original! Plus Boomer is in it. (Seriously, the best thing about BSG was the cast and it's fun to follow them around.)
    
  • Castle. Natch. I said in mardia's post that Castle is like a USA show with better writing and higher production values. It's just light and fun and frequently the mysteries are quite good.
  
  
• Tuesday
  
  • No Ordinary Family. Could be good! Could be a train wreck! Let's find out!
    
  • Glee. Which I don't talk about online.
    
  • Raising Hope and Running Wilde. Both on "check it out and see" status. Could be really funny and charming. Could be lousy.
    
  • White Collar whenever it returns to finish the season.
  
  
• Wednesday
  
  • Undercovers. HELL YEAH. It's got a rough time slot, but then again, it's not opposite anything similar, so it will grow its own audience.
    
  • Top Chef: Just Desserts. I cannot wait for this! All Gail all the time, plus Iuzzini is a hottie, plus totally intricate pastry and not just cakes that look like race cars. (Love Ace of Cakes. Do not need 25 shows like Ace of Cakes.)
  
  
• Thursday
  
  • Community. Love this show!
    
  • Nikita. I'm of two minds on this one, as I loved the movie, and I'm really not digging the premise of the new show at all.
    
  • Project Runway. It's a super great season, isn't it?

I don't know about Idol in the spring, though. In the absence of Rymon all I have is interesting contestants, and they are in such short supply I don't think they're enough to keep me slogging through the endless weeks of this show. We'll see!

*For the why, read how serial fiction broke Clio's heart, also on LJ.

Comments

[lindermere]

The casting agents at DWTS are GENIUSES. Every time I promise myself I'm not going to watch, they add some glorious trainwreck (The Hoff???)

Good idea on Hawaii Five-O. Selfishly I hope it's decent because imagine how lovely it would be to write fic set in Hawaii? Especially in the winter?

[jlh]

They are really good, aren't they? And people actually do get little boosts to their careers from being on the show, like naked guy from the sex and the city movie ending up on Brothers and Sisters and now we know his name is Gilles, so I think it's easier for them to get people to come on the show.

You need for DWTS some trainwrecks, some surprising improvers, and then some that are good out of the gate. The problem was that last season's trainwreck was far too much of a trainwreck—like, she couldn't even move at all and she kept yelling at Tony, which, don't yell at Tony. If you have Maks you can yell at him because he's kind of a dick, but don't yell at Tony. The good out of the gate people were either kinda robotic (Evan) or just super competent and therefore a little dull (Nicole). Really what got me through last season was watching Pam be surprisingly awesome.

Audrina will suck, because pretty young girls who are not entertainers always suck, because they don't have to dance. They're used to just standing and looking pretty, and then playing a sport in a cutely awkward way. And then the audience is unimpressed and dumps them in like, the third week. I always get worried for the 40+ ladies, because they are either surprisingly awesome (Pam, Lisa Rinna) or they are completely stiff and go out the first week because no one cares about 40+ ladies. The sports guys sometimes loosen up and sometimes don't and you never know which way that's going to go. But The Hoff, man. Kym Johnson will be great with him. (EW posted really good commentary on the matchups.)

I love that Kona is a girl. LOVE. I'm really looking forward to that show. Also it's from Kurtzman & Orci! They're like, taking over Hollywood.