If this fall TV preview guide looks an awful lot like the one I put out last year, don't look at me. I wrote it from scratch last week, honest! Instead, thank the networks. It's their fault for pursuing a doubly disastrous strategy that resulted in only half as many new series debuting this fall compared with a year ago.
Last November, you may recall, the networks allowed a senseless Hollywood writers' strike to go forward, then refused to stop it even though it was costing them more money than settling would have. Fourteen weeks later, when reason finally prevailed, all scripted TV had been knocked off the air. As for "pilot season" -- the annual behind-the-scenes development of new network shows -- it too had ground to a halt.
Compounding their mess, all networks except for CBS dragged their feet getting shows back on the schedule. Network executives claimed they were "reinventing television" by ditching the whole idea of fall premieres. Something tells me that viewers are about to reinvent the ratings of those networks.
The good news is that a handful of promising shows that debuted last season will get, essentially, a second chance to make a first impression. "Pushing Daisies," "Life," "Chuck" and "Dirty Sexy Money" are all worth checking out (again) this season.
From the new crop, "Worst Week," which will attempt to stage a madcap, "Meet the Parents"-like comedy in 22 minutes each week, gets my gold seal. The show's hysterical first episode had my audience at "Watch the Pilots with Aaron" earlier this month gasping for air. "The Mentalist," Simon Baker's return to CBS, also is worth a look, as is "Fringe" from Fox (which debuted last week but re-airs its hair-raising pilot episode at 7 p.m. tonight on Fox 4).
Below are links to my complete rundown of the fall season. Also, I've included my early take on the dozens of shows on the early 2009 "midseason" schedule. And don't overlook my latest list of shows that are working for me, plus a heads-up on the digital transition that may render some of your TVs worthless next February.
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