My Fall TV Line-Up
I confess – I’m a tv addict. Always have been. Each year since forever I’ve had my list of shows. I never miss them if I can help it.
For decades the Special Fall Season TV Guide was my playbook. (Remember when the TV Guides were small and user-friendly? No grids.) I compared the new shows to each other and figured out their timeslots. In the pre-vcr days, I had to choose between competing shows. I was partial to dramas. Still am.
I tried to give each new show a look. It used to be that all shows were on at least a half year before being cancelled or moved to a new day and time – so with a little organization I could sample a couple of episodes of each before settling in with my favorites.
Not so any more. Some shows are cancelled after two or three episodes. If you want to see the new shows, you have to hurry!
I still subscribe to the TV Guide, but I don’t get my tv program planning from it. I get lost with all the channel listings.
I’m left with commercials. Yep, commercials are good for something! When I see a commercial for a new tv show that looks interesting, I take note of the name, then look it up on-line. Every self-respecting tv show has a webpage or maybe even a whole website dedicated to it.
My returning favorites are:
Medium – saved by CBS from cancellation. Shame on you NBC. It’s a wonderful drama.
Dancing With the Stars – good fun.
NCIS – CBS – love the whole ensemble cast.
Criminal Minds – I’ve been watching the repeats and I’m beginning to like it very much.
The Mentalist – CBS – Simon Baker is so cute.
House – Fox (It took awhile for Dr. House to grow on me but my co-author loved the show, so I kept watching.)
Ghost Hunters – Syfy (Why in the world they changed the network name from Sci-fi, I’ll never understand.)
New shows I want to see:
The Good Wife – CBS – stars Julianna Margulies – loved her on ER
The Forgotten – ABC – my prediction – I love the premise, I’ll probably love the show, and it will probably be cancelled before midseason.
NCIS – Los Angeles – CBS – rarely are sequels as good as original but I’ll give it a try.
Mercy – NBC – love nurse shows – this looks to be a good one. Does anyone else remember Nurse with Michael Learned? I absolutely adored that drama.
Eastwick – ABC – probably too campy for me, but might be fun.
FlashForward – ABC – interesting – not sure what it’s about but I’ll watch once or twice since with BattleStar Galactica gone I have an opening on my science fiction dance card.
Trauma – NBC – I used to love the old Emergency series and ER was a long time favorite. Maybe this one will be good too.
What new shows are you planning to watch?
Evelyn David
http://www.evelyndavid.com/
I also poured over and even kept a library of TV Guide as a kid (up until into high school, I'd say), and I knew other kids who did the same. Interesting cultural snapshot/phenom.
I lean toward comedies.
Very unhappy that Reaper was canceled.
Love Psych, Daily Show, and . . . really, not too much else.
Saw last night Modern Family, which was funny but sort of subversive and discomfiting.
Looking forward to Kelsey Grammar's new show on ABC, Hank. I think he's just great and hope he can find another long-running show of any type.
My husband is very eager for the new SyFy programs to start: Battlestar Galactica, et al.
The older and busier I get, the less TV holds for me. I think, except for news/talk shows, we only watch about about 6 hrs of "entertainment" TV per week. Even good new shows just sort of have a tough time making it onto our roster. Case in point: Scrubs. Friends recommend it, I've caught it once or twice over the years and thought "hey, this is pretty funny", but it never seemed to make it into our routine.
And, I have to mention that the constant advertising, especially via those stupid little bugs and banners and jumpy items that get laid over the bottom of the screen piss me off no end. They ruin the program that I'm actually watching, I think. Maybe we were better off without DVR tech because that drove advertisers to spill over from actual commercial breaks into the programming. It sucks and I get fed up getting hit in the face all the time with sales pitches.
My husband and I feed each other's tv addiction. (I worry now that we have The Boy. I would like to help him avoid becoming a tv junkie.) Still, here is a quick list of the shows we enjoy – along with those we're looking forward to giving a try.
Castle
Closer
Daily Show
Flash Foward
Royal Pains
Trauma
Warehouse 13
Wipeout (no redeeming value at all, but does it make us roar with laughter!)
Happy viewing!
RosieLB
I love these three reality shows:
Dancing with the Stars
Amazing Race
Survivor
And NCIS, not sure about the new one, Medium, so glad it got saved, The Mentalist, but anything that comes on at 10 I'll fall asleep before it's over. I've watched a lot of first half hours of Numbers.
A show I wish would come back is Friday Night Lights. Loved that show.
And movies–I love movies. We subscribe to Netflix and we also go to movies.
Marilyn
http://fictionforyou.com
I cancelled my subscription to TV Guide after they went to the big format. (I hate change.)
I admit I watch a lot of reality tv: love "Survivor," love "Top Chef," and love every iteration of the "Real Housewives" franchise if only to make me feel better about myself. I really like "New Adventures of Old Christine" and can watch "Gary, Unmarried." I watch tv to laugh and escape. As I mentioned yesterday, I'm not much of a PBS gal. Maggie
And I thought I was the only one who hated the big format tv guides. I know with the number of tv shows airing now the small one made no sense but still … loved the old ones. I'm not much on change either – especially with some thing.
Rhonda
The Southern Half of Evelyn David
http://www.evelyndavid.com
I do TV Guide online now, which must piss them off that I don't pay for a subscription. My mother raised me in front of the TV, just the way Nature intended. I now watch Castle, NCIS, Criminal Minds, CSI, CSI: NY, Medium, the Mentalist… is it me, or is there a trend here?
Caught the first NCIS:LA. Clever plot, love the actors, I think it'll grow on me.
Gayle
http://gaylecarline.blogspot.com
Call me an enabler, but has anyone pointed you at http://www.hulu.com? You can usually catch the last 5 episodes of a show – and a lot of the new season's shows are on – Castle, Flash Forward, Mercy, etc – can be found on Hulu on YOUR schedule – for FREE!
I love it for trying out shows to see if I'm going to like them.
Most recently, I've been watching past seasons of "Wire in the Blood" via netflix instant – and it is really quite good. The writer, Elizabeth Bear, said it was her new addiction as well…so it seems I'm in good company.
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