Fall TV Preview: Day Five 2006

Thursdays are killing my DVR box...

Psyched about this season’s new shows? Looking forward to your old favorites coming back? Don’t know what to watch? These are important decisions, people! Read on…

Last time, I checked out Wednesday’s broadcast lineup. Jericho was the best looking of the new lot. How can you not love a good apocalypse? Today, I examine the overbooked hell that is Thursday night.


Thursday’s New Shows: What’s Hot?
Stick with the old stuff, folks -- trust me on this.


Thursday’s New Shows: What’s Not?
Ugly Betty (ABC, 8 pm). This series is based on the popular Colombian telenovela Yo Soy Betty la Fea. It’s so popular, in fact, that I knew of it before this American version even existed. (For the record, I’m not Columbian. I stumbled across the original some years ago and couldn’t quite believe what I was seeing.) This show is about a very ugly girl named Betty -- hence the title -- who gets a job at a big time fashion magazine in New York. Comedy, apparently, will ensue. I’m not entirely sure this will work as an hour-long show -- at least not here in the States. The premise is the stuff of sitcoms, and that’s not something easily sustained for an hour -- but lean too far toward the dramatic, with the absurdly homely Betty as the central character -- and the whole thing falls apart. It might be worth checking out as a novelty, but that’s about it.

Six Degrees (ABC, 10 pm). Here’s the premise. A bunch of people are running around New York, living separate lives and having separate storylines. Some of them know each other, but for the most part, they just pass each other on the street, eat at the same restaurant, or drink at the same bar. John knows Mary. Mary knows Oscar. John doesn’t know Oscar, but they rode the same bus together yesterday. It’s like that. This is mildly interesting, and the pilot was okay, but the whole thing is rather pointless. Besides, we’re essentially getting the same experience in the flashbacks on Lost (also produced by J.J. Abrams), except there, the random encounters are backed up with, ya know, dirty tribes of lunatics and giant, man-eating smoke monsters. Six Degrees won’t last six weeks.


Thursday’s Old Shows: What’s the Deal?
My Name is Earl (NBC, 8 pm). This off-the-wall sitcom is best taken in small doses, but it’s almost always entertaining. Jamie Pressly never fails to steal the show as Earl’s trashy ex-wife, but the rest of the cast does a solid job of portraying a colorful collection of nitwits. This season, expect the usual hijinks, as Earl continues to balance the scales of Karma.

The Office (NBC, 8:30 pm). Without a doubt, this is the funniest sitcom on TV right now. Hilarious characters, terrific dialogue (some of it improvised), and a fantastic cast. This show works on so many levels. Sure, if you worked in an office for any length of times, you can relate to the various archetypes, but on a human level, you can probably find people like this in your family or in your circle of friends -- so the environment is incidental. Another great thing about The Office? You have to watch it. With your eyes. It’s not the kind of show you can turn on and listen to while you make dinner or check e-mail. Much of the comedy comes from the actors’ facial expressions and physical movements. As the camera pans across the room, you’ll pick up bits of visual business that you’d otherwise miss. I can’t recommend this show enough. It’s the only series that I actually watch reruns of -- the episodes already hold up to repeated viewing -- and that hasn’t happened since the early days of Seinfeld.

ER (NBC, 10 pm). There was a time when an hour of ER was an engrossing,  emotional experience. That was back in the days of Clooney, Margulies, and Edwards. In recent years, however, the producers have become enamored of the tired concept of the Very Special Episode. Here’s Dr. Carter, helping the suffering masses in Africa. There’s Ray Liotta, as The Unfortunate Drunk. Check out Sally Field as The Bi-Polar Mother. The less things had to do with the hospital and the actual emergency room, the less I began to care. Luckily, we’re being told that the show is going back to basics this season, meaning that every Thursday, people will show up hemorrhaging, tumor-ridden or semi-decapitated (hopefully, all three). They’ll get fixed -- or die -- and we can move on to new business. Less pretension and more blood-letting? I can deal with that.

Survivor (CBS, 8 pm). Much fuss has been made about this season's tribes being divided by race. Here’s what I have to say about that: nobody fussed when the contestants were divided by sex, here or on The Apprentice. What the hell does that say about people? It seems to me that we would rather not explore racial issues in any regard. It’s better for cultural differences to be ignored, I suppose, than to acknowledge those differences and learn something about each other. So suck it, America. Get over yourselves. That said, this season of Survivor is much like any other. The overweight and the elderly (translation: over thirty) contestants will go first, then the tribes will merge and some hot-headed “leader” will make it through to the end. And for yet another season, nobody will kick Jeff Propst in the nuts. If you’re a fan, you’re already there. Otherwise, it’s a tough sell, race card or not.

Smallville (The CW, 8 pm). I have a love/hate relationship with this show. I love the concept. I love its potential. I love Tom Welling’s dreamy blue eyes and vacant expression. But I hate the stupid storylines. I hate watching the characters make the same mistakes over and over again. I hate it that the very existence of Lionel Luther makes it impossible for Lex to be truly evil (unless, of course, he’s possessed). I hate Kristen Kreuk’s whiny, self-righteous Lana, and even more, I hate that we’re supposed to be rooting for Lana and Clark. Still, this show gives very good season finale, and it’s always enough to bring me back for the opener. This season introduces Oliver Queen (a.k.a. Green Arrow) and the beginnings of the Justice League. Jimmy Olsen will be featured, as well. And if this show isn’t gay enough already, Clark gets super-breath so we can giggle every time he blows.

Supernatural (The CW, 9 pm). You don’t hear a lot of talk about this show, which is surprising because the rating are solid. It’s dark and creepy, but doesn’t take itself too seriously -- and while it incorporates elements reminiscent of Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, The X-Files and even the classic Kolchak: The Night Stalker, it’s still very much its own thing. Supernatural is about two hot brothers (Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles) who drive around the country killing monsters and demons. There’s an ongoing sub-plot involving a search for their father and the demon that killed their mom, but that looks to be wrapping up soon (which is good, because their dad is pretty frickin’ annoying), but otherwise, it’s very much a “monster of the week” show. In the past, the brothers have confronted urban legends like the Hook Man and Bloody Mary, been abducted by nutty Texas Chainsaw Massacre-types, and even dealt with a gang of vampires. This season: killer clowns! Watch it with the lights off.
 
Grey’s Anatomy (ABC, 9 pm). In the beginning, I liked this show a great deal. It was the story of a group of young interns, learning the ropes at a major hospital. There was a fair balance of humor, romance, and medical drama. The scripts were witty. Then, almost without warning, it became a Ladies Show. The characters began whining all the time. “My feelings…my emotions…our relationship…” Just watching it, I felt like I was going to have a period. So I walked away. Can’t say I miss it.

And that’s Thursday. Better get a bigger TiVo.

Up next: Fridays!