Lots of complaints are made about how terrible television is these days. A common statement overheard in TV talk is, “All those channels and still nothing is on.” But if you really search for something you are interested in, then chances are you will find a show that interests you.
I for one am a big fan of television right now. For the past decade or so television has become a quality medium that rivals what is seen in movie theaters. Budgets have increased, the talent level has improved , and writers are actually putting forth effort in telling season-long stories, as opposed to shows in the past where each episode’s focus was simply to entertain for that time slot and had no bearing on the next week’s plot.
In the next year, I will already be setting aside precious life hours for 14 television shows, so adding new shows each season is something I have to take seriously and can’t allow every new show that is slated for the fall season to be downloaded to my DVR. If I am going to commit to a new show, I have to be sure it is going to be something I am interested in and will entertain me for the entire season. I don’t want to get caught in a trap like I did with the CW’s Smallville where I felt obligated to continue watching until the end, long after it got bad. Although, I have become a bit more resolute with my television standards as recently I gave up on The Event and V after half a season of the former and a full season of the latter.
My current roster of shows that I will stop down for each week includes Mad Men, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, Dexter, Community, The Office, Parks and Rec, 30 Rock, The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Justified, Supernatural, and psych.
Premiering this fall are six new shows I will give some attention in order to see whether they make the rotation. These include FX’s American Horror Story, AMC’s Hell on Wheels, CBS’s Person of Interest, Fox’s Terra Nova, and NBC’s newest comedies Up All Night and Whitney.
The synopsis for American Horror Story isn’t overly intriguing, which is basically that a family moves in a new home that is haunted and creepy things follow, but it is FX and they have hosted some pretty great programs in the past. Therefore I will give it a look on network cred alone. American Horror Story premieres October 5 at 10/9 central.
Hell on Wheels has been touted as a reincarnation of HBO’s Deadwood, which is the next completed series I plan to watch on DVD after I finish the one I’m currently working on. Hell on Wheels would fall under the western genre, which I love, and is on AMC, which is a network new to original programming but has already put out great ones like Mad Men and Breaking Bad. The Walking Dead is also fantastic, but after only one season I want to give it a little time before giving it the same acclaim that Mad Men and Breaking Bad have garnered. Given AMC’s recent track record for programs, I will give Hell on Wheels some consideration. The program premieres November 6 at 10/9 central.
The only reason I’m willing to check out Person of Interest is because of Michael Emerson, who played Benjamin Linus on Lost. The premise is a lot like Philip K. Dick’s Minority Report, where future crimes can be prevented with technology provided by the wealthy character Emerson will portray. The series also stars Jim Caviezel as a former CIA agent hired to help stop the crimes before they happen. Person of Interest premieres September 22 at 9/8 central.
Jurassic Par … Oh, I mean Terra Nova has been in the making for a long time and will finally see the light of TV day when it begins September 26 at 8/7 central. The Shannon family is sent back in time to a colony of humans who must flee from the year 2149 due to overpopulation and poor air quality. What the Shannon family will soon find out is the colony is placed in the middle of a group of carnivorous dinosaurs.
Being a new parent myself and able to relate a little to Up All Night, Christina Applegate and Will Arnett star in this comedy as parents with a newborn baby trying to juggle work and home life. The premise isn’t too original, but the previews look funny, I am a fan of both stars, and I feel like a lot of the jokes will have been written with me in mind specifically since I am only a few months from going through the same situations. Up All Night will start September 14 at 10/9 central.
Whitney is the wildcard show for me. It probably has the shortest leash and will need to get me laughing in the first few episodes and keep it up all season long if it is going to make the cut. The show stars comedienne Whitney Cummings and will be about her real-life experiences and stand-up routines. Whitney premieres September 22 at 9:30/8:30 central.
I would also like to add Boardwalk Empire to the list, which is in its second season already, but without HBO it makes it difficult.
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