Fall 09-10 Season: What's on?

September came faster than ever this year, and while that means the end of summer, it also means the beginning of the 2009-10 TV Season! There are and were a lot of good and fun summer series, but now the networks are kicking into high gear. This isn't going to be any sort of comprehensive list of shows this year - just the ones I'm going to watch and possibly write about. As with any season, there could be a lot of surprises that get added to my list later.



Let's start with the premiere tonight that is inspiring this post's kickstart:

Glee, Season 1, Fox, Wednesdays(9/9) 8pm/Central
-This is slightly a weird situation since the pilot aired last spring, but I'm considering this second episode the real premiere of the series. The easy way to boil this down would be High School Musical- The Series. But that's selling the dark edge to the comedy way short. Jane Lynch's evil cheerleading coach is a delight, and her vendetta against show choir even better. The world of Glee isn't completely realistic, but that doesn't take away from the charm or humor in any way. The sense of hope and going for your dreams in the main characters is pretty uplifting, even if the show makes fun of the characters and itself frequently. My favorite line from the pilot has to be "There's nothing ironic about Show Choir!" It sums up what I'm excited for about this show - simultaneously glorifying the musical and high school genre while simultaneously making fun of them.

Fringe, Season 2, Fox, Thursdays(9/17) 8pm/C
-There isn't much argument that the first season of Fringe was uneven. Some of the monsters of the week fell flat, and nothing interesting happened to expand or enrich the world of the Mad Scientist Walter and FBI Agent Olivia. That being said, the season finale was a showstopper, introducing Leonard Nimoy as Walter's foil and Massive Dynamic founder William Bell. If that wasn't shocking enough, the location was some sort of alternate reality. All the weird things on the Fringe (heh, heh) finally came together for the payoff with a completely different universe. Something tells me the first five minutes of this season is going to be incredibly interesting.

Parks and Recreation, Season 2, NBC, Thursdays(9/17) 730pm/C
-I was one of the few fans of this show in its first 6-episode season. A lot of people thought it was The Office-lite and took all the annoying parts of that show. Amy Poehler was also widely not liked for doing a Michael Scott impersonation. However, I thought this show definitely worked, and loved all the goofy characters. By the end of the 6th season, nearly the entire cast felt fleshed out and real. The banality and bureaucracy of small-time government just really struck a funnybone with me. I loved the show as an absurd and irreverent version of The West Wing. I'm glad it got a second season, and definitely hope it continues to be a staple on NBC's killer Thursday comedy lineup.

The Office, Season 6, NBC, Thursdays(9/17) 8 pm/C
-The end of the last season of the Office left me a little cold. It still was funny every week, and had a lot of interesting plot developments. But the Michael Scott Paper Company storyline got a little too stupid and too stretching believability for me. I did love Holly's return in the finale, and those scenes were some of the best of the year. Pam's pregnancy is the most boring and typical direction they can go, and I really hope it's not a big part of the next season. As derogatory as the last few sentences have been, I'm still fairly certain I'm going to watch it every week.

Community, Season 1, NBC, Thursdays(9/17) 830 pm/C
- I don't have much to say about this show, because I haven't even seen the pilot. That's not gonna stop me from going ahead and putting it on my watchlist! It looks like a unique take on a "college show", for once not focusing on freshmen and frat parties. Joel McHale seems like he can definitely pull off anchoring this show, but there are a few great other actors to fall back on. I'm excited to see Chevy Chase actually being funny again, and Ken Jeong has a great track record of being a great supporting comic actor.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Season 5, FX, Thursdays(9/17) 9 pm/C
-If you would have shown me the pilot to this show and told me it would be going for five seasons, I wouldn't have believed it for a second. But here we are, Season 5 of Always Sunny starting imminently. There isn't much else to say about this show, except it's the funniest show on TV. This should be another great season.

Bored to Death, Season 1, HBO, Sundays(9/20) 830 pm/C
- I'll give almost any show on HBO a shot- as a network, their track record speaks for itself. But this show looks very interesting. Jason Schwartzmann plays a recently-jilted NYC writer who decides to become a private eye despite having no license or training whatsoever. The two main supporting players are the most interesting part for me - Zach Gilfanakis and Ted Danson. Being on HBO, and the great cast so far, I can't wait to see this show.

How I Met Your Mother, Season 5, CBS, Mondays(9/21) 8 pm/C
- HIMYM is consistently the best show on TV at milking its premise for all it's worth. It's fun to see them link all of these wacky stories to the central idea of a father telling his children about his single life leading up to meeting their mother. The latest wrinkle in the season finale did a great job at both having a major life change for the main character(going from architect to teacher) and vastly narrowing the possible "mother candidates" to everyone in the classroom with Ted at Season 4's close. But who cares about Ted's lovelife or lack thereof? I just want to get back to more Barney antics and -isms. Even if he might be tied up with Robin.

Castle, Season 2, ABC, Mondays(9/21) 9 pm/C
- There are a billion stupid detective shows and Law & Order clones on TV with a billion murders to solve every single week. It'd be really easy to look at Castle, roll your eyes, and never think about it again. But look again. Title character Frank Castle is hilarious, and the interplay between the two lead characters is better than any on TV right now. The most impressive part of the shortened first season was the meta jokes with the writer pursuing criminals and pondering what motives would make the best story at times. The least impressive? The entirely unfair season finale cliffhanger that seemed to wrap up 5 minutes short. I would have watched Season 2 anyways, promise!

Flashforward, Season 1, ABC, Thursdays(9/24) 7 pm/C
- I was on the fence with this one, but eventually gave in hoping it will be more like Lost than Six Degrees. I'm already interested in the mystery of it just from the show description and basic idea. And I have a feeling the pilot will add a lot more wrinkles before it's over.

Dexter, Season 4, Showtime, Sundays(9/27) 8 pm/C
- This is a great show that I'm hoping can rebound from a pretty lackluster 3rd season. It's a little worrisome that having a child and being married will put a crimp in Dexter's murderous ways, but hopefully the show and the character will meet those challenges head-on. Also, a couple casting spoilers have me very excited.

30 Rock, Season 4, NBC, Thursdays(10/15) 830 pm/C
- NBC is obviously saving the best for last. The latest network premiere that I'm interested in this year also happens to be the best sitcom. Since its first season, 30 Rock has ranked among the smartest comedies on TV. I can't wait to see how they can follow up the hilarious star-studded season finale.


Bubble shows: House, Big Bang Theory, NCIS, NCIS:LA, Modern Family, Cougar Town, Grey's Anatomy, Californication, Nip/Tuck

These are all shows I'm on the bubble about including for whatever reason. Either watching regularly or writing about. Anything that I haven't listed I either have no hope for it being good, or I completely forgot. Here's to a great 2009-10 TV season!