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.