it's fall, and that means the tivo is working overtime

The new television season has begun, people! It's like Christmas for me, as you've probably guessed from reading my previous blog entries. Some shows premiered last week, but the bulk of new shows hits the airwaves this week.

Best new comedy of the fall season? I haven't seen 'em all yet, but I'm already declaring a winner with My Name is Earl on NBC. I thought the show was too overhyped and thus would fail to live up to expectations, but I really enjoyed it. Very quirky humor, so don't go into it expecting a standard sitcom. I'd put it on par with something like Scrubs, only with trailer trash hillbillies instead of doctors. The premise -- a life-long thief gets hit by a car just as he scratches off a lottery ticket worth $100,000. The thief gets sent to the hospital, and the lottery ticket gets sent flying out of his hands. While in the hospital, Earl comes to the realization that his life is terrible because of all the bad things he'd done in the past, and in order to have a better life, he'd need to start doing good things for other people. This concept of karma is fed by Carson Daly (via a random episode of his late night talk show), and Earl sets out to right all the wrongs he'd ever committed, one wrong at a time. Pretty cool concept, right? Add to that the awesome 80's porn moustache on our do-gooder hero, and this show has Emmy written all over it.

Biggest disappointment in the comedy category thus far? How I Met Your Mother on CBS. As much as My Name is Earl defies the standard sitcom format, How I Met Your Mother embraces it. But it's not a sweet embrace, it's more like a Britney and Kevin Federline-type embrace. Just embarrassing and something you'd rather forget. It's not that this is the worst show on television, it's just that I expected this show to be good, and it was oh so mediocre. Wooden acting, cliche punchlines, terrible dialogue and no genuinely funny moments. I'm going to give this show one more chance, but only because Doogie Howser is a cast member. If there's one thing I've learned, you always give Doogie the benefit of the doubt. Which gives me an idea... instead of setting up the show with a man telling his children the story of how he met their mother (which is certain to get tiresome after episode 3 or so), they should just have Doogie's character type on a computer at the end of the show to recap the night's events, pause for a second in a moment of reflection, and then type one final witty line to close it out. It's a recipe for success.

My favorite returning drama? It hasn't even aired yet, but I know it's going to be an amazing Season 2. It's the show about our favorite survivors of a horrific plane crash onto some sort of mysterious island -- something I like to call Lost. Damn, I love that show. So many mysteries to be answered, like what's in the hatch? And where did the "others" take Walt? And will Sawyer, Michael and Jin make it back safely to the island? Oh Lost, we've had our share of ups and downs, and through it all, I know our bond has grown stronger. I look fondly upon the times we've spent together in the past, but even more than that, I can't wait to see what the future has in store for us. Oh my goodness, I'm shaking... I... well I'll just say it. Lost... will you marry me?

My least favorite returning drama? The O.C. It's dangerously close to being removed from my TiVo season pass. I know, I know, I was shocked at the thought too. But the last episode was the absolute worst I've seen by far, and since all of season 2 was no gem, this is really not a good sign. They should rename the show, Chino, because the best word to describe it now is "ewwww". Here's a tip for the writers... STOP MAKING THE SHOW INTO FALCON CREST! I don't give a rat's ass about Seth's dad and mom and the evil lady trying to make Seth's mom a drunkard. Who cares? Why even explore this? Just be a way too witty, snarky teen dramedy again, and we can all be friends. Sound good? Good. I'll be waiting. Waiting on UPN, where I'll be catching the Chris Rock comedy, Everybody Hates Chris instead.

Curious about ALL of the new fall shows out there? Yes, I know you are, and Salon.com has a pretty good breakdown of what to watch and what not to watch, so check it out.

time for a "reunion"

Melodramatic? Yeah. Over the top acting? Sure. Somewhat chessy dialogue? Affirmative. Added to my TiVo season pass? Definitely. What the heck am I talking about? The new Fox show, Reunion, that's what.

A quick synopsis for those of you who haven't heard of this show -- take a group of 6 friends, one of whom has been tragically murdered, and rewind their lives 20 years to figure out what happened. The catch? Each episode of the show is one year in the lives of these friends, so the show starts in 1986 and takes you all the way to the present day by season's end. That's a pretty clever premise, don't you think? Sure, but here's the six real reasons why you should watch Reunion:

1) It out O.C.'s The O.C.! - The O.C. started out as way too smart and witty teen dramedy in season one, and devolved into a lame, cliche night-time soap by season two. Reunion is a solid night-time soap, plain and simple. It's not jokey or witty, but that's not the point. Night-time soaps are supposed to be equal parts drama and cheese. That's the fun of 'em, and damn it, Reunion delivers.

2) Love triangles galore! - Nothing makes for a successful night-time soap like a love triangle. Hold on to your seats, my friends, because Reunion has two, count 'em TWO love triangles. Nerdy Aaron has always loved free spirit Jenna from afar, but lovely Jenna never gave him the time of day. But right when equally nerdy Carla is ready to confess her undying love to Aaron, she finds Jenna giving into Aaron's advances. Gadzooks! As if that wasn't enough, enter spoiled rich kid Craig, who adores his long-time girlfriend Samantha. Problem is, his life-long best friend Will, the son of his gardener, is also in love with her. Even worse, while Craig and Sam were on a break, Will and Sam hooked up, leading to Sam getting pregnant with Will's baby. Zoinks! Does this have something to do with the mysterious murder? Hmmmm...

3) The token Fox Network "hot chick" is on the show! - Amanda Righetti, who played Hailey the hot wayward sister of uber mom Kristin on Fox's The O.C. AND Tessa, some sort of hot character no one remembers on the little seen Fox show North Shore returns to Fox yet again for series number three. Here's hoping the third time really is the charm.

4) Craig is played by a really, really bad actor... and that's good! - Sean Farris is either playing Criag as a wooden robot devoid of any personality and emotion OR he is a terrible actor devoid of the ability to inject a character with any personality or emotion. You know what? I'm really hoping it's the latter, because every worthy night-time soap has it's Ian Ziering or Andrew Shue, and we may have struck gold with Sean Farris.

5) 80's references galore in the first episode! - Look, anytime you can shove florescent colored polos, "Time After Time," "Take On Me," Risky Business quotes, big ass gold watches, and Andrew Ridgeley diatribes into a single pilot episode, it's going to be a winner. Simple as that.

6) There's a hottie who for some reason everyone thinks is mousey and plain! - Nerdy Carla is obviously hot to any viewer with eyes, yet she is cast as the mousey loser. Why? So we can see the ugly duckling turn into a swan. Viewers like that for some reason. Don't believe me? Remember Joey from Dawson's Creek? Or how about the all-time #1 mousey hottie, Halle Berry in Boomerang? I mean seriously, it's Halle Frickin' Berry, and she's supposed to be an ugly loser? Completely stupid and unbelievable, and yet you were rooting for her in the end, weren't you? I rest my case.

So there you go. Probably the worst sell job EVER, but it really is a fun show. Reunion gets 3.5 Salingers on the Salinger scale, where a Party of Five is the highest rating. Check it out -- episode two gets pre-empted by President Bush (yawn) this week, so you can catch it on Sept. 22nd, and every Thursday night at 9pm afterwards.

man, there goes $250 bucks

Apple just introduced the new iPod Nano, which is so tiny, it makes the iPod Mini look like Kirstie Alley by comparison. The new iPod is thinner than a pencil, less wide than a credit card, and has a full color screen capable of displaying pictures. For $199, you can get a 2 GB Nano, but for only $50 bucks more, you can upgrade to a 4 GB device. Not bad, considering the Liliputian proportions.

Damn. I'm sold. I already have an iPod, but I feel compelled to shell out even more cash for the latest in tiny electronic gadgetry. Oh well, such is the price of progress. Although I know I will feel sheepish next year when they introduce the iPod Atom, the first iPod that can fit inside your left nostril.