Fall 2011 TV (part two)

I’m back. I know you’re shocked. Me too.

Before I continue with the new and returning shows that will thrill or disappoint us all this fall I want to make a couple corrections to my previous post. I posted in error that Up All Night will air at 10 on Wednesdays and Free Agents at 10:30 on the same night. They do premiere at those times but their regular timeslots will be 8 and 8:30 respectively. All times I list are pacific because that’s where I am, this is my blog and time zones make my brain hurt.

The Emmys.  Sunday on FOX   9/18 (it’s an all day event to me with early coverage on E! and other channels but I think the broadcast starts 4 ish)

Hosted by Jane Lynch with hopefully very little Sue Sylvester. Some of the wrong people will win and some of the right people will lose. And hell, some of the truly deserving weren’t even nominated. It’s a crapshoot. Take it as a celebration of TV, ignore the miniseries and movie section like we all do and ooh and ahh over the pretty dresses and suits on all the pretty people.

How I Met Your Mother Season 7.  Mondays at 8pm on CBS. Premieres with two back to back episodes on 9/19

I have no idea what to expect from season 7 (has it really been on for that long?) of this show. I’m hoping for more crazy antics from Barney and Robin, crazy pregnancy stuff from Lily and Marshall and absolutely no answers for all the buzzkills who want to know who the mother is. I don’t care. I also don’t need the show to make sense or have any sort of continuity (that is the other kind of buzzkill that gets a special place in hell. 1st shippers, then continuity and plot hole obsessives, then people who talk at the movies). Just be funny guys. I’ll keep tuning in every week.

Two and a Half Men Season 9. Mondays at 9pm on CBS. Premieres 9/19

I’ve never watched a minute of 2.5 Men. Never. I’ve always disliked Sheen and have always disliked the inherent and apparent misogyny of the show and its viewers that glorifies him and his despicable escapades. But now I want it to double in ratings. I want it to succeed beyond everyone’s wildest dreams to prove that anti-semitic misogynistic freaks like Sheen are a hindrance to the industry and not a benefit.  So I’ll be tuning in to see Ashton Kutcher (hopefully) be the anti-sheen. Join me.

Two Broke Girls Season 1. Mondays at 9:30pm on CBS. Premieres 9/19

Here is a new sitcom starring the lovably sarcastic Kat Dennings and some pretty blonde girl and other assorted characters. Kat is great in the version of the pilot I saw and the main reason to tune in. The rest of the characters are all pretty two dimensional and exist for Kat to have someone to bounce jokes off of but it’s a pilot and there is plenty of potential in this odd couple comedy. I hope the rest of the cast steps up to the same level as Dennings as it progresses. I’ll be watching.

Castle Season 4.  Mondays at 10pm on ABC. Premieres 9/19

Is Beckett dead?!!!  Well, what do you think? My guess is ummmm… no. Castle is always a fun romp that early on survived on nothing but Nathan Fillion’s charm and charisma but has developed into a cohesive team of characters with a great straight man (in Stana Katic) to Castle’s silliness. This one isn’t must see TV for me anymore and I really wish it was less of a procedural but that’s probably why Fillion still has a job. Procedurals. sigh. Watch for the pretty men and women, the easily solved cases, or the Firefly references hidden in several episodes per season, just keep your “great drama” expectations low. This is (to blatantly rip off from Mo Ryan) TV to fold your laundry to. It’s needed though. Just imagine all that unfolded laundry.

Playboy Club Season 1. Mondays at 10pm on NBC. Premieres 9/19

I know very little about this new show other than the actors involved. The much maligned (who really cares if a guy cheats on his wife besides, you know, his wife? the whole thing is stupid) Eddie Cibrian who I’ve never seen act his way out of a paper bag, David Krumholtz who I adore from Numbers (and other things like Serenity), Amber Heard who is known mostly for being really pretty and a lesbian. Oh and Sean Maher is in this too on at least a recurring basis. I guess this is set in the 60′s and half the world has decided that it is a sexist piece of crap based on the title alone. Casting Cibrian probably didn’t help that image. I’m willing to give it the benefit of the doubt for a few eps to see if they can subvert very low expectations. Who knows, maybe all the haters are wrong. I would love it if they were since people getting all outraged without all the facts usually annoy the fuck out of me and I don’t have a problem with the Playboy brand even though I’d bathe in Purell after meeting anyone from the Playboy brand.

Glee Season 3. Tuesdays at 8pm on FOX. Premieres 9/20

This show is just a little polarizing. You either love it to little ittle bitty pieces or you have no soul. Just kidding. Kinda. I know the show usually doesn’t make any sense and there is no “continuity” and “people just don’t act that way” and the 5 million other reasons people have for hating every other episode of this show but, you know what, they keep watching. Grumbling and bitching and secretly singing along they all keep watching. I adore this over the top angsty fun drama-filled piece of singular brilliance that is different from everything else on TV. This year there is even more reason to love it because they did something nuts (smart) and hired an actual writers room that includes Ali Adler (Chuck!) and Marti Noxon (so many things I love including Buffy! and Mad Men!). That has to help with the above complaints and I can’t wait to see what happens to the kids this year and what they’ll be singing.

The New Girl Season 1. Tuesdays at 9pm on FOX. Premieres in a primo spot after Glee on 9/20.

There is no way that you haven’t seen or heard the TV and print ads for this show. It’s physically impossible. So we know Fox is 100% behind this comedy but is it any good? Why yes. Yes it is. Its very good. Zooey Deschanel is frighteningly adorable in the way that every boy wants her, every girl wants to be her and every gay wants to be her best friend. It’s a lot of power and I hope she manages to use it wisely. I also hope the writers use it wisely since such a powerful weapon would really be scary if its power got reversed. Don’t make people hate Zooey. Tone down the “adorkable” just a bit and save it for the important moments. Trust me you don’t want to use it all up. I really do think this show is going to be a great hit for Fox and it’s about time they started picking up half hour live action comedies that are actually good (including last year’s Raising Hope).

Raising Hope Season 2. Tuesdays at 9:30pm on FOX. Premieres 9/20

If you didn’t catch this show last year then you missed a brilliant gem. Martha Plimpton and Garrett Dillahunt are crazy funny and the twin babies playing Baby Hope are the best actors on TV. Seriously, these kids are brilliant. Best baby acting EVER! All in all it’s a great family show that is touching, heart warming and gut busting funny every single week. Give it a try for a couple episodes just to see the second most funny old lady on TV run around in less clothes than you would like her to have on doing inspired old fashioned slapstick. We love you as much as BW, Cloris Leachman. We really do.

 

Let me know what you think of the shows above. And as always let me know if I made factual mistakes and where I desecrated the English language. Many many (oh my gods so many) more shows to come…

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Tags: Castle, Emmys, Glee, How I Met Your Mother, Playboy Club, Raising Hope, The New Girl, Two and a Half Men, Two Broke Girls