With the networks' big premiere week now in the books, the fall season is officially underway. Let the cancellations begin.
Today we look at returning reality and comedy series. If you missed my survey of the new shows (Sept. 10) and returning dramas (Sept. 17), go to TVBarn.com and click on “Fall season.”
All times Central.
“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” returns at 7 p.m. Sunday on KMBC-9 to kick off a 50-state tour that starts at the top (North Pole, Alaska) with a family that's hit bottom (13 people crammed in a 900-square-foot shack). It's a story so heart-tugging that ABC couldn't possibly be expected to confine it to one hour. Yep, it's a two-parter.
Also on ABC, “Dancing with the Stars” (7 p.m. Tuesday, results show 7 p.m. Wednesday, KMBC-9) is off to a great start. Not only did 20 million people tune in to the debut, but on the next night they voted off MSNBC nitwit Tucker Carlson.
Over on CBS, “Survivor” (7 p.m. Thursday, KCTV-5) did not fare quite so well, as 18 million tuned in for its Sept. 14 premiere. Still, that's more than were watching it this spring, and the division of teams along racial identities certainly renewed interest in the granddaddy of reality TV shows.
“The Amazing Race” is off and running in a new time period (7 p.m. Sunday, part of CBS's “Race-Case-Trace” lineup on KCTV-5). Unfortunately, the team that got the most attention this summer -- Sa'eed and Bilal, two all-American guys from Ohio who happen to be practicing Muslims -- were eliminated mere minutes into last week's opener.
On last week's premiere of “America's Next Top Model” (7 p.m. on the CW, airing locally on KCWE-29, or Channel 7 on most cable systems), a contestant from Kansas ably upheld the stereotype of Kansans as Bible-thumping prudes when she all but refused to pose nude. First, has she ever watched “Top Model” in her life? Second, has she ever picked up a fashion magazine? She was eliminated.
Other returning reality shows include NBC's “Deal or No Deal” at 7 p.m. Mondays and 8 p.m. Thursdays and “The Biggest Loser” at 8 p.m. Wednesdays (KSHB-41), ABC's “Wife Swap” and “The Bachelor” at 7 and 8 p.m. Mondays (KMBC-9) and “Nanny 911” at 7 p.m. Fridays on Fox 4, with “Trading Spouses” joining it at 8 starting Oct. 6.
As for comedies, I hope I don't sound like an old coot when I say this, but I can remember when “The Simpsons” (7 tonight, Fox 4) was good for some laughs. Now all it's good for is setting the table for “American Dad” at 7:30. Fox's Sunday also includes “Family Guy” at 8 and “The War at Home” at 8:30.
The CW network was formed out of the ashes of the WB and UPN networks, which signed off earlier this month. And it's pinning an entire night on four urban comedies, starting at 6 p.m. next Sunday (Oct. 1) on KCWE-29 (Channel 7 on most cable systems).
The most common reaction to people watching “Everybody Hates Chris” for the first time is: Where's Chris? Behind the scenes. Since this sitcom is set in 1984, when comedian Chris Rock was a kid living in Brooklyn, he's a writer and narrator on the show, not a star.
This season, though, some familiar faces will be showing up to augment the no-name cast. Whoopi Goldberg appears in the first episode, and Wayne Brady will show up later. But the jokes remain as un-“Wonder Years” as ever (here's one told by Rock in next week's show: “It used to take years to become a junkie, but crack cut that down to 37 minutes!”).
That's followed by “All of Us” at 6:30 and two sitcoms from Kansas City's own Mara Brock Akil. “Girlfriends” (7 p.m. starting next Sunday on KCWE-29) returns without one of its leading ladies, Jill Marie Jones, who declined the network's contract renewal. It's paired with a new comedy, “The Game,” about pro football players and the women who love them, at 7:30. (Look for my profile of Akil and review of “The Game” here next week.)
Comedies that debuted last week included NBC's “My Name Is Earl,” in which Earl (Jason Lee) did a good deed by finally agreeing with something his ex-wife had to say (7 p.m.), and “The Office,” in which a gay employee was accidentally outed (7:30 p.m., both on KSHB-41).
CBS's dependable Monday-night lineup of “How I Met Your Mother,” “Two and a Half Men” and “Old Christine” airs at 7:30 p.m., following newcomer “The Class” (7 p.m., KCTV-5).
In late night,
“Talk Show with Spike Feresten” began airing after “MADtv”
at 11 p.m. Saturday on Fox 4 last week. Feresten, a former comedy writer,
looked smooth in his debut, but the opening bit was DOA and other parts
were shaky as well. I've seen this week's edition, featuring “24”
star Mary Lynn Rajskub, and it's a big improvement. I never thought
I would say this after Feresten stunk up the room at Fox's upfront in
New York earlier this year, but there's potential for “Talk Show.”
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