Television Fall 2009

bicker · 08-04-2009, 04:54 AM

This is an up-to-date view of the fall broadcast network schedule (with selected cable offerings added in), by time slot:

Sunday
7:00-8:00 pm
__________ABC: America’s Funniest Home Videos [10/4] $75,893
__________CBS: 60 minutes [9/27] $93,772
__________Fox: The OT (NFL Post-Game) [9/13] (mid-season: Animation Domination Encores / American Dad)
__________NBC: Football Night In America [9/13] $108,275 (mid-season: Dateline NBC $21,200)
8:00-9:00 pm
__________ABC: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition [9/27] $136,743
__________CBS: The Amazing Race [9/27] $109,736
__________Fox: The Simpsons [9/27] $201,920 / The Cleveland Show [9/27] $158,701 (mid-season: Sons of Tucson)
__________NBC:Football Night In America into NBC Sunday Night Football [9/13] $339,700 (mid-season: The Marrage Ref)
__________ABC Family: Lincoln Heights [9/14]
9:00-10:00 pm
__________ABC: Desperate Housewives [9/27] $228,851
__________CBS: Three Rivers [10/4] $95,633
__________Fox: Family Guy [9/27] $214,750 / American Dad [9/27] $136,388 (mid-season: The Cleveland Show)
__________NBC: NBC Sunday Night Football [9/13] (mid-season: Celebrity Apprentice)
__________HBO: Curb Your Enthusiasm / Bored to Death [9/20]
__________Showtime: Dexter [9/27]
10:00-11:00 pm
__________ABC: Brothers & Sisters [9/27] $140,445
__________CBS: Cold Case [9/27] $99,595
__________NBC: NBC Sunday Night Football [9/13] (mid-season: Celebrity Apprentice)
__________Showtime: Californication [9/27]

Monday
7:00-8:00 pm
__________Syfy: Ghost Whisperer (synd) [9/7]
8:00-9:00 pm
__________ABC: Dancing with the Stars [9/21] $178,687 (mid-season: The Bachelor $139,500)
__________CBS: How I Met Your Mother [9/21] $145,106 / Accidentally On Purpose [9/21] $107,817 Continuing into the winter
__________CW: Gossip Girl [9/14] $59,316
__________Fox: House [9/21] $183,298
__________NBC: Heroes [9/21] (mid-season: Chuck)
__________ION: Ghost Whisperer (synd) [continuing]
__________Syfy: Ghost Whisperer (synd) [9/7]
9:00-10:00 pm
__________ABC: Dancing with the Stars [9/21] (mid-season: The Bachelor)
__________CBS: Two and a Half Men [9/21] $226,635 / The Big Bang Theory [9/21] $191,900
__________CW: One Tree Hill $55,636 [9/14]
__________Fox: Lie To Me [9/28] $128,105 (mid-season: 24)
__________NBC: Trauma [9/28] $75,958 (mid-season: Day One)
__________ION: Criminal Minds (synd) [9/8]
__________Syfy: Ghost Whisperer (synd) [9/7]
10:00-11:00 pm
__________ABC: Castle [9/21] $92,700 Ordered for the full season
__________CBS: CSI: Miami [9/21] $140,065
__________NBC: Jay Leno Show [9/13] $53,640
__________ION: Durham County [9/7]
__________Syfy: Ghost Whisperer (synd) [9/7]

Tuesday
8:00-9:00 pm
__________ABC: Shark Tank [8/9] $67,960 / "V" [11/3] $110,450
__________CBS: NCIS [9/22] $133,304
__________CW: 90210 [9/8] $53,605
__________Fox: Hell's Kitchen [summer] (mid-season: American Idol)
__________NBC: The Biggest Loser [9/15] $128,295
__________ION: Ghost Whisperer (synd) [continuing]
9:00-10:00 pm
__________ABC: Dancing with the Stars (Results Show) [9/22] $172,570 (mid-season: Scrubs and Better Off Ted)
__________CBS: NCIS: Los Angeles [9/22] $106,508 Ordered for the full season
__________CW: Melrose Place [9/8] $49,019
__________Fox: So You Think You Can Dance [9/9] (Performance Show) (mid-season: Past Life)
__________NBC: The Biggest Loser [9/15] $128,295 (mid-season: shorter The Biggest Loser, into 100 Questions)
__________ION: Criminal Minds (synd) [9/8]
__________Syfy: Scare Tactics [10/6]
10:00-11:00 pm
__________ABC: The Forgotten [9/22] $97,527 Continuing into the winter
__________CBS: The Good Wife [9/22] $126,882 Ordered for the full season
__________NBC: Jay Leno Show [9/13] $65,678
__________FX: Sons of Anarchy [9/8]
__________ION: Criminal Minds (synd) [9/8]
__________Lifetime: Sherri [10/5]

Wednesday
8:00-9:00 pm
__________ABC: Hank [9/30] $91,167 Cancelled / The Middle [9/30] $97,812 Ordered for the full season
__________CBS: The New Adventures of Old Christine [9/23] $80,106 / Gary Unmarried [9/23] $79,986
__________CW: America's Next Top Model [9/9] $93,343
__________Fox: So You Think You Can Dance [9/9] $105,421 (Results Show) (mid-season: American Idol)
__________NBC: Mercy [9/23] $91,172 (mid-season: Parenthood $99,417)
__________ION: Ghost Whisperer (synd) [continuing]
9:00-10:00 pm
__________ABC: Modern Family [9/23] $130,388 Ordered for the full season / Cougar Town [9/23] $103,314 Ordered for the full season
__________CBS: Criminal Minds [9/23] $116,553
__________CW: The Beautiful Life [9/16] Canceled 9/23; replaced by Melrose Place reruns $31,070
__________Fox: Glee [9/9] $127,350 (mid-season: Human Target $145,536; then spring: Glee)
__________NBC: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit [9/23] $101,632
__________Bravo: Top Chef [summer]
__________Discovery: Mythbusters [10/7]
__________Syfy: Ghost Hunters [8/19]
10:00-11:00 pm
__________ABC: Eastwick [9/23] $101,558 Ending
__________CBS: CSI: NY [9/23] $127,941
__________NBC: Jay Leno Show [9/13] $62,012
__________ION: Criminal Minds (synd) [9/8]
__________FX: Nip/Tuck [10/14]
__________Syfy: Destination Truth [9/9]

Thursday
8:00-9:00 pm
__________ABC: Flash Forward [9/24] $175,724 Ordered for the full season
__________CBS: Survivor [9/17] $152,246
__________CW: Vampire Diaries [9/10] $38,966 Ordered for the full season
__________Fox: Bones [9/17] $107,942
__________NBC: SNL Weekend Update Thursday [9/17] $122,000 / Parks And Recreation [9/17] $119,990 (mid-season: Community $120,000 / Parks And Recreation $119,990)
__________ION: Ghost Whisperer (synd) [continuing]
9:00-10:00 pm
__________ABC: Grey's Anatomy [9/24] $240,462
__________CBS: CSI [9/24] $198,647
__________CW: Supernatural [9/10] $32,928
__________Fox: Fringe [9/17] $120,062
__________NBC: The Office [9/17] $191,236 / Community [9/17] $120,000 (mid-season: The Office $191,236 / 30 Rock $159,674)
10:00-11:00 pm
__________ABC: Private Practice [10/1] $175,450
__________CBS: The Mentalist [9/24] $140,940
__________NBC: Jay Leno Show [9/13] $57,295
__________FX: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia [9/17] / The League (later: Archer) [TBA]

Friday
8:00-9:00 pm
__________ABC: Supernanny [10/16] $52,050
__________CBS: Ghost Whisperer [9/25] $78,047
__________CW: Smallville [9/10] $33,090
__________Fox: Brothers [9/25] $54,157 / 'Til Death [10/2] $57,413
__________NBC: Law & Order [9/25] $59,953
9:00-10:00 pm
__________ABC: Ugly Betty [10/9] $65,055
__________CBS: Medium [9/25] $71,541
__________CW: America's Next Top Model (rerun) $17,961
__________Fox: Dollhouse [9/25] $55,270Ending
__________NBC: Southland [was 9/25 then 10/23 then canceled before broadcast] -- replaced by Dateline $55,270
__________Syfy: Stargate Universe [10/2]
__________USA: Monk [summer]
10:00-11:00 pm
__________ABC: 20/20 [9/11] $62,410
__________CBS: Numb3rs [9/25] $85,007 Ending after 16 episodes
__________NBC: Jay Leno Show [9/13] $48,803
__________ION: Criminal Minds (synd) [9/8]
__________Syfy: Sanctuary [10/9]
__________USA: Psych [summer] / White Collar [10/23]

Saturday
8:00-9:00 pm
__________ABC: Saturday Night College Football [9/5] $140,080
__________Fox: Cops [9/12] $45,505 / Cops [9/12] $46,120
__________CBS: (rerun of a crime drama) $22,040
__________NBC: Dateline [9/26] $23,962
9:00-10:00 pm
__________ABC: Saturday Night College Football [9/5] $140,080
__________Fox: America's Most Wanted [9/12] $44,729
__________CBS: (rerun of a crime drama) $32,529
__________NBC: Trauma (rerun) $20,705
10:00-11:00 pm
__________ABC: Saturday Night College Football [9/5]
__________CBS: 48 Hours Investigations [9/26] $38,047
__________NBC: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (rerun) $29,004

Mid-season (with no time slot allocated yet)
__________ABC: Lost
__________CBS: Arranged Marriage, Miami Trauma, Rules of Engagement, The Bridge, Undercover Boss -- Flashpoint will be back later (that is in addition to the nine episodes being presented in Summer 2009).

bicker · 08-04-2009, 04:55 AM

Pre-season premieres:

Week of August 30

Monday, August 31
Greek (ABC Family) "The Day After"

Saturday, September 5
Saturday Night College Football (ABC)

Week of September 6

Monday, September 7
Durham County (ION) "What Lies Beneath"

Tuesday, September 8
90210 (CW) "To New Beginnings"
Melrose Place (CW) "Pilot"
Sons of Anarchy (FX) "Albification"

Wednesday, September 9
So You Think You Can Dance (Fox)
Glee (Fox) "Showmance"
America's Next Top Model (CW)
Destination Truth (Syfy) "Haunted Forest/Alux"

Thursday, September 10
Vampire Diaries (CW) "Pilot" *
(Sunday) Night Football (NBC)
Supernatural (CW) "Sympathy for the Devil"

Friday, September 11
20/20 (ABC)

Saturday, September 12
Cops (Fox)
America's Most Wanted (Fox)

Week of September 13

Sunday, September 13
Football Night in America (NBC)

Monday, September 14
Monday Night Football (ESPN)
Lincoln Heights (ABC Family)
One Tree Hill (CW) "4:30 a.m. (Apparently They Were Traveling Abroad)"
Gossip Girl (CW) "Reversals of Fortune"
Jay Leno Show (NBC)

Tuesday, September 15
Biggest Loser (NBC)

Wednesday, September 16
The Beautiful Life (CW) "Pilot" *

Official start of the fall season:

Thursday, September 17
Bones (Fox) "Harbingers in the Fountain"
Survivor (CBS)
Parks & Recreation (NBC) "Pawnee Zoo"
Fringe (Fox) "A New Day in the Old Town"
The Office (NBC) "Gossip"
Community (NBC) "Pilot"
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX)

Friday, September 18
Crash (Starz)

Week of September 20

Sunday, September 20
Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)
Bored to Death (HBO)

Monday, September 21
Dancing with the Stars (ABC)
Heroes (NBC) "Orientation / Jump, Push, Fall" (2 hour premiere)
House (Fox) "Broken" (2 hour premiere)
How I Met Your Mother (CBS) "Definitions"
Accidentally On Purpose (CBS) "Pilot"
Two and a Half Men (CBS) "818-Jklpuzo"
Big Bang Theory (CBS) "The Electric Can Opener Fluctuation"
Castle (ABC) "Death in Deep"
CSI: Miami (CBS) "Out of Time"

Tuesday, September 22
NCIS (CBS) "Truth Or Consequences"
NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS) "Identity"
The Forgotten (ABC) "Pilot" *
The Good Wife (CBS) "Pilot" *

Wednesday, September 23
Mercy (NBC) "Can We Get That Drink Now?" *
The New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS) "Bahamian Rhapsody"
Gary Unmarried (CBS) "Gary Has a Dream"
Criminal Minds (CBS) "Nameless, Faceless"
Law and Order: SVU (NBC) "Unstable"
Modern Family (ABC) "Pilot" *
Cougar Town (ABC) "Pilot" *
Eastwick (ABC) "Pilot" *
CSI: New York (CBS) "Epilogue"

Thursday, September 24
Flash Forward (ABC) "No More Good Days" *
CSI (CBS) "Family Affair"
Grey's Anatomy (ABC) "Good Mourning/Goodbye" (2 hour premiere)
The Mentalist (CBS) "Redemption"

Friday, September 25
Brothers (Fox)
Ghost Whisperer (CBS) "Birthday Presence"
Law and Order (NBC) "Memo from the Dark Side"
Smallville (CW)
Dollhouse (Fox)
Medium (CBS) "Déjà Vu All Over Again"
Numb3rs (CBS) "Hangman"

Saturday, September 26
48 Hours Mystery (CBS)
Saturday Night Live (NBC)

Week of September 27

Sunday, September 27
60 Minutes (CBS)
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC)
The Amazing Race (CBS)
The Simpsons (Fox)
The Cleveland Show (Fox)
Desperate Housewives (ABC) "Nice Is Different Than Good"
Dexter (Sho) "Living the Dream"
Family Guy (Fox)
American Dad (Fox)
Californication (Sho) "Wish You Were Here"
Brothers & Sisters (ABC) "The Road Ahead"
Cold Case (CBS) "The Crossing"

Late season premieres:

Monday, September 28
Lie To Me (Fox)
Trauma (NBC) *

Wednesday, September 30
Hank (ABC) *
The Middle (ABC) *

Thursday, October 1
Saturday Night Live: Weekend Update (NBC)
Private Practice (ABC)

Friday, October 2
'Til Death (Fox)
Stargate Universe (Syfy)

Week of October 4

Sunday, October 4
America's Funniest Home Videos (ABC)
Three Rivers (CBS) "Tick-Tock" *

Tuesday, October 6
Scare Tactics (Syfy)

Wednesday, October 7
Mythbusters (Discovery)

Friday, October 9
Ugly Betty (ABC)
Sanctuary (Syfy)

Later

Wednesday, October 14
Nip/Tuck (FX)

Thursday, October 15
30 Rock (NBC)

Friday, October 16
Supernanny (ABC)

Friday, October 23
White Collar (USA)
Southland (NBC)

Saturday, October 31
Legend of the Seeker (Syndicated)

Tuesday, November 3
V (ABC)

Note
Summer series Mad Men continues through November 8.

Preemptive Specials
These programs, in addition to preempting programming on their own networks, often also result in other networks counter-programming reruns.

Sunday, September 20
Emmy Awards (CBS)

Friday, October 16
MLB ALCS Game #1 (Fox)

Saturday, October 17
MLB ALCS Game #2 (Fox)

Monday, October 19
MLB ALCS Game #3 (Fox)

Tuesday, October 20
MLB ALCS Game #4 (Fox)

Thursday, October 22
MLB ALCS Game #5 (if necessary) (Fox)

Saturday, October 24
MLB ALCS Game #6 (if necessary) (Fox)

Sunday, October 25
MLB ALCS Game #7 (if necessary) (Fox)

Wednesday, October 28
MLB World Series Game #1 (Fox)

Thursday, October 29
MLB World Series Game #2 (Fox)

Saturday, October 31
MLB World Series Game #3 (Fox)

Sunday, November 1
MLB World Series Game #4 (Fox)

Monday, November 2
MLB World Series Game #5 (if necessary) (Fox)

Wednesday, November 4
MLB World Series Game #6 (if necessary) (Fox)

Thursday, November 5
MLB World Series Game #7 (if necessary) (Fox)

Wednesday, November 11
CMA Awards (ABC)

bicker · 08-04-2009, 04:55 AM

New Dramas

The Beautiful Life (CW)
Durham County (ION)
Eastwick (ABC)
Flash Forward (ABC)
The Forgotten (ABC)
The Good Wife (CBS)
Melrose Place (CW)
Mercy (NBC)
NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS)
Stargate Universe (Syfy)
Three Rivers (CBS)
Trauma (NBC)
V (ABC)
Vampire Diaries (CW)
White Collar (USA)

New Comedies

Accidentally on Purpose (CBS)
Brothers (Fox)
The Cleveland Show (Fox)
Community (NBC)
Cougar Town (ABC)
Hank (ABC)
The Middle (ABC)
Modern Family (ABC)

bicker · 08-04-2009, 04:57 AM

Here's an interesting one. I'll throw it in here early, since otherwise it might get lost in the dust of the broadcast network series:

Durham County

Quote:

What you don't know about your neighbors could kill you. That's just everyday reality in "Durham County" ... the Award-Winning "Durham County" series follows the troubled world of Homicide Detective Mike Sweeney (Hugh Dillon, CBS' "Flashpoint") who moves his family to quiet suburbia for a fresh start after his partner is killed and his wife Audrey (Hlne Joy) is diagnosed with breast cancer. While Durham County seems like the perfect place to begin again, Sweeney soon discovers that his neighbor Ray Prager (Justin Louis) may be a serial killer. What's more, Prager is not just a random stranger he is Sweeney's arch high school nemesis. As events unfold and young women begin disappearing, an intense showdown develops between the two complex men and their families.

The show is produced in Ontario (and Quebec), for Canadian television (TMN in the East, and Movie Central in the West), and its first season of six episodes earned the show three "Gemini Awards" (for Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Direction).

I think they're only broadcasting the first six episodes, at least at this point. I like Hugh Dillon, but I don't think I would go out of my way to watch this show: I find that often the PR term "complex" in blurbs about television series means that they don't seem to care about making the series entertaining or otherwise enjoyable.

What I will be interested in seeing is whether ION broadcast this show widescreen or pillar-boxed. We do have ION in HD here, but I don't know if they have ever actually broadcast anything in HD. I'm pretty sure this series was produced in HD, so maybe it'll be broadcast in HD.

For those keeping score, it is on up against Castle (ABC) and CSI: Miami (CBS) -- and of course Leno (NBC). Who knows? Maybe Leno gives this show a chance to make a dent?

bicker · 08-04-2009, 04:57 AM

Vampire Diaries (CW)

Quote:

Four months after the tragic car accident that killed their parents, 17-year-old Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev, "DeGrassi: The Next Generation") and her 15-year-old brother, Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen, "Everwood") are still trying to cope with their grief and move on with their lives. Elena has always been the star student; beautiful, popular and involved with school and friends, but now she finds herself struggling to hide her sadness from the world. As the school year begins, Elena and her friends are fascinated by a handsome and mysterious new student, Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley, "Army Wives"). Stefan and Elena are immediately drawn to one another, and Elena has no way of knowing that Stefan is a centuries-old vampire, struggling to live peacefully among humans, while his brother Damon (Ian Somerhalder, "Lost") is the embodiment of vampire violence and brutality. Now these two vampire brothers - one good, one evil - are at war for Elena's soul and for the souls of her friends, family and all the residents of the small town of Mystic Falls, Virginia. Based on the series of books by L. J. Smith.

I go back and forth on this one. In the end, it won't fit into our plan. It is being broadcast in the second-most competitive hour of television, all week, Thursday 8PM, and therefore is up against Bones and Flash Forward (as well as Survivor and some NBC comedies). Vampire Diaries does start a couple of weeks before the regular fall season starts (two weeks before Flash Forward starts), so we will catch the first couple of episodes, but small consolation if we like it. We'll put it lower on the Season Pass list, so we might catch the reruns.

Does Nina Dobrev give anyone else a Shiri Appleby (Liz Parker from Roswell) vibe? (Coincidentally, the folks making Vampire Diaries also made Roswell.)

bicker · 08-04-2009, 04:58 AM

Melrose Place (CW)

Quote:

In an elegant Spanish-style apartment building in the trendy Melrose neighborhood of Los Angeles, a diverse group of 20-somethings have formed a close-knit surrogate family. Sydney Andrews (Laura Leighton, the original "Melrose Place") is the landlady, still beautiful at 40, and a central figure in the lives of all her tenants, especially handsome and rebellious David Breck (Shaun Sipos, "Shark"). Sydney started an affair with David despite her turbulent history with his estranged father, Dr. Michael Mancini (Thomas Calabro, the original "Melrose Place"). Both father and son learned through experience that Sydney was not above using blackmail to control people. Another tenant, high-powered publicist Ella Simms (Katie Cassidy, "Supernatural"), once considered Sydney her mentor, but their friendship was destroyed by betrayal, and Sydney threatened to evict Ella and ruin her career. Sydney also played a pivotal role in the career of Auggie Kirkpatrick (Colin Egglesfield, "All My Children"). After they met at an AA meeting, she became Auggie's sponsor and encouraged his dream to become a chef. Now a successful sous chef at the trendy restaurant Coal, Auggie has been avoiding Sydney since she began drinking again. The other tenants include Lauren Yung (Stephanie Jacobsen, "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles"), a medical student in desperate need of money to pay her student loans, and Jonah Miller (Michael Rady, "Swingtown"), an aspiring filmmaker who has just proposed to his live-in girlfriend Riley Richmond (Jessica Lucas, "Cloverfield"), a first-grade teacher. The newest tenant, 18-year-old Violet Foster (Ashlee Simpson-Wentz, "7th Heaven"), has just arrived in LA with her own secret connection to Sydney. When a bloody body is found floating in the courtyard pool, David is the leading suspect. However, as the police are soon to discover, almost everyone living at Melrose Place had a reason to want the deceased out of the way. An updated version of the popular 1990s series

Did we really need a reboot of that series so soon?

I won't be watching.

bicker · 08-04-2009, 04:58 AM

The Beautiful Life (CW)

Quote:

The life of a high-fashion model appears glamorous and sexy, but as every new model quickly learns, behind the beautiful faade is a world of insecurity and cutthroat competition. Two teenage models who are about to discover this world for themselves are Raina Collins (Sara Paxton, "Last House on the Left"), a stunning beauty with a secret past, and Chris Andrews (Benjamin Hollingsworth, "The Line"), a strikingly handsome Iowa farm boy. When Raina makes an unforgettable impression at a show introducing the new line from designer Zac Posen (appearing in a cameo role), she steals the spotlight from her friend Sonja (Mischa Barton, "The O.C."). Sonja has been out of the country for mysterious reasons and is now desperate to reclaim her standing as the reigning supermodel. While Raina and Sonja live at the top of the fashion food chain, Chris is starting at the bottom, having just been discovered by agent Simon Lockridge (newcomer Dusan Dukic) of the Covet Modeling Agency, which is owned by former supermodel Claudia Foster (Elle Macpherson, "Friends"). At his first photo shoot, Chris' inexperience almost derails his career until Raina comes to his rescue, showing him how to relax and work the camera. That afternoon, Raina brings Chris to the "models' residence" where she lives along with other young hopefuls, including Marissa Delfina (Ashley Madekwe, "Secret Diary of a Call Girl"), Egan (Jordan Woolley, "As The World Turns"), Issac (Corbin Bleu, "High School Musical 2") and the current alpha-male-model known as Kai (Nico Tortorella, "Twelve"). At an exclusive industry party that night, Chris is again impressed by Raina's generosity when she steps aside to make sure Sonja lands a job that will resurrect her career. However, after an ugly scene with Simon, Chris is left to question whether he can survive in this world of dangerous excess and fleeting fame.

There are some questions, now, with regard to this series, due to star Mischa Barton's illness. Details here. I wouldn't have watched either way. :wink:

bicker · 08-04-2009, 04:59 AM

The Forgotten (ABC)

Quote:

Gone but not forgotten. That's what they say. But what if a killer took your life -- and your name? Every city has its share of unidentified murder victims. When standard police procedure fails to give them a name, that's when the Identity Network steps in.

A group of dedicated, amateur detectives, the members of the Identity Network attempt to reconstruct the pieces of these John and Jane Doe's lives from what little evidence is left behind. Each episode is narrated by a "body" who watches the team as they pursue the tantalizingly difficult challenge of figuring out who this victim once was. Why would anyone volunteer for such a grim task? As new recruit Tyler Davies quickly discovers, each of the members of the team has his or her own reasons for volunteering for the Network. Alex Donovan is a former cop. Linda Manning, the woman who runs the network from her home, has a husband who is a convicted murderer. Walter Bailey does stake outs -- when he's not blowing his cover. Candace Butler hates her day job. She also happens to have a special gift for putting people at ease -- even the prickly Tyler, a talented sculptor with a background in forensics. Follow these committed amateur investigators as they race against time to piece together the stories of these dead people's lives -- and ultimately, hopefully, their murders.

This show started out on my "can't wait for" list, and dropped pretty substantially as time went on and more news leaked out from the set. It's been rocky. They've recast one lead and are still working to recast the other -- a very bad sign. Especially since that second lead they're recasting is Reiko Aylesworth.

We'll probably watch the first couple of episodes (though perhaps a week or two after they are broadcast) and then decide whether to continue.

bicker · 08-04-2009, 05:00 AM

The Good Wife (CBS)

Quote:

Starring Emmy Award winner Julianna Margulies as a wife and mother who must assume full responsibility for her family and re-enter the workforce after her husband's very public sex and political corruption scandal lands him in jail. Pushing aside the betrayal and crushing public humiliation caused by her husband Peter (Chris Noth), Alicia Florrick (Margulies) starts over by pursuing her original career as a defense attorney. As a junior associate at a prestigious Chicago law firm, she joins her longtime friend, former law school classmate and firm partner Will Gardner (Josh Charles), who is interested to see how Alicia will perform after 13 years out of the courtroom. Alicia is grateful the firm's top litigator, Diane Lockhart (Christine Baranski), offers to mentor her but discovers the offer has conditions and realizes she's going to need to succeed on her own merit. Alicia's main competition among the firm's 20-something new recruits is Cary (Matt Czuchry), a recent Harvard grad who is affable on the surface, but will use any means to ensure that he, not Alicia, secures the one full-time associate position that's available. Fortunately, Alicia finds an ally in Kalinda (Archie Panjabi), the firm's tough in-house investigator. Gaining confidence every day, Alicia transforms herself from embarrassed politician's scorned wife to resilient career woman, especially for the sake of providing a stable home for her children, 14-year-old Zach (Graham Phillips) and 13-year-old Grace (Makenzie Vega). For the first time in years, Alicia trades in her identity as the "good wife" and takes charge of her own destiny.

This one I am looking forward to, quite a lot. The cast is stellar (and not being screwed around with by recasting), and the production team (Scott Free -- the folks who bring you Numb3rs) as well.

bicker · 08-04-2009, 05:00 AM

Mercy (NBC)

Quote:

"Mercy," a new medical drama with a unique point of view, portrays the lives of the staff at Mercy Hospital as seen through the eyes of those who know it best -- its nurses. Nurse Veronica Callahan (Taylor Schilling, "Dark Matter") returns to Mercy from a military tour in Iraq -- and she knows more about medicine than all of the residents combined. Together with fellow nurses Sonia Jimenez (Jamie Lee Kirchner, "Rescue Me") and Chloe Payne (Michelle Trachtenberg, "Gossip Girl"), Callahan navigates through the daily traumas and social landmines of life and love both inside the hospital and out in the real world. The cast also includes: James Tupper ("Men in Trees") as Dr. Chris Sands, a new doctor at the hospital who complicates Veronica's life; Diego Klattenhoff ("Supernatural") as Mike Callahan, Veronica's husband; and Guillermo Diaz ("Weeds") as Nurse Angel Lopez.

Part of the problem I have with Mercy is that I am going to have a hard time thinking of Buffy's little sister as a nurse.

Seriously, we're going to record Mercy, and we might even watch one or two episodes, but we are unlikely to watch this show week after week, until it has established itself as a good show. It just seems to me that these characters are just too-deliberately created as arch-types, perhaps even stereotypes. Or perhaps I'm simply feeling that, with ER finally over and Grey's Anatomy entering its twilight years, perhaps it is a time to give the hospital drama genre a rest of a while.


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