TCA Press Tour: What's on the Fall Sked?

I almost took a shot at this back at upfront time but decided to wait until press tour time so I had a little more info on what's happenin' this fall that I'm excited about. As it turns out, nothing much has changed - as the summer's gone on, I'm more pumped about my early favs and the less thrilling ones I'm finding even...less thrilling. I'm only going to talk about the ones that stand out...either really good or really, really bad. I'm more going to talk about my opinions, rather than give a summary of the show, because if you don't know what they're about, then you must live under a rock - or at least not watch tv. And if you don't watch tv, why the hell are you reading this in the first place?

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip - These first three are the shows I pretty much can't wait for this fall, but I'm gonna go ahead admit that Studio 60 edges the other two out. Maybe its the fact that its about television or that it stars Matthew Perry...either way, I'm pretty sure its gonna be awesome. The combination of Sorkin's negative stigma from West Wing and the fact that its on, well, NBC, has left critics unsure, but I'm not. I don't care about the hype, this show looks fan*friggin*tastic. As far as the main players go, I'm not a huge fan of Amanda Peet but she actually looks okay, I have no opinion of Bradley Whitford, and well, I'd pretty much have Matthew Perry's babies if he asked...so that's that. All in all, I think this will be a favorite of mine. As far as how well I think it will do ratings-wise...first, its big competitor is CSI:Miami, which I also like, but lets face it, its not Grey's. I think its got a shot. The hype is big, so its got a lot to live up to, but Sorkin is good. I can only hope it grows slowly, because those tend to do better than instant hits. I think it will have a popular fanbase, rather than a cult one though.

Six Degrees - JAbrams. Enough said. Okay, I'll say a little more, but just to be clear, there'd be no need. Every thing the guy touches turns to gold. Seriously. And for the critics (aka Matt Roush) who think the idea is lacking, consider "What About Brian". You were positive that was dead in the water too, and you were wrong, and I was right. As far as this show goes, I'm just surprised it took someone this long to make a show out of this concept. (Yes, I know there's a movie), but if anyone can do it right, JJ can. The question now is, with his WB deal, what happens when he jumps ship, as is inevitable with every show he starts.

Heroes - Okay, Greg Grunberg...don't know what it is about that kid, but I love him. And he plays a telepathic cop - how cool is that?? We watched all six of the 'what power do they have' spots on youtube (LOVE youtube, by the way) the other day...and it is...intriguing. Another favorite in the making. Oh yeah, and its got Milo, and he's sexy. All kindsa potential runnin' around here. I sort of love that all six of these powerpeople exist in completely different parts of the planet...I see so much potential for story its ridiculous. Matt Roush hates this one too. Okay, he doesn't hate it, but he doesn't see the gem that I do. I'm calling it again though, its gonna take off...slowly but surely. And this one's on NBC too...say what you want, I see a comeback in the making!

Justice - This is the only thing I find even mildy amusing on Fox's new list, but amusing it is. Two words: Garber and Bruckheimer. Its like CSI but with lawyers. Sounds good to me! And not that I don't love love love Michael Vartan, you know I do, but if I had to pick one Alias alum to get to keep watching right away, it would SO be Victor Garber. That guy rocks. And I love anything lawyery, this we know. I'm a little iffy on the 'how will it do' factor - its on Friday nights...but who knows. Either way, I'll take it for as long I can get it.

Smith - Okay, I'll say it...at first, I was like - cheap Alias (to which Kel said 'Alias was cheap Alias', which I still don't fully understand), but now, I have to say, I'm gonna give it a shot. I think it might be the bad ass music at the end of every promo. Or the fact that I see a promo every single day after Y&R. Either way, the shit got me. And I like the Ray Liotta promos better than the Amy Smart ones...psa: watch those.

Shark - I am totally NOT sold on this one, but hey, lawyers, right? And in the promo, James Woods already has a quotable line, "truth is relative, pick one that works." That's classic...and worth at least giving it a chance, at least I think so. Did I mention its about the law? Hey, I'm easy.

The Class - Okay...I don't know if this is gonna be good, but I NEED A NEW FRIENDS. Hey, Crane's a part of it...I can hope, right? I'm thinkin' it looks not too Friendsy, but just Friendsy enough. I'll take it. But seriously, I haven't been really addicted to a comedy since May 2004, and that bums me out. I need this to work!

30 Rock - After watching the promo, the confusion surrounding this and Studio 60 is well earned, especially since they're on the same network, but hey, its Tina Fey, and she's cool, I'll give it a go. The trailer made me laugh, and it is about television, so it can't be all bad right? I don't see it being a legend on a Friends or Seinfeld level, but whatever.

On to the iffy, if not outright bad.

The Nine - This is the show Matt Roush is picking above Heroes...I can't figure it out. It seems messy at best, boring at worst. Premise: fallout of a hostage situation. Umm...what? Maybe I'm being very short-sighted, but I don't even see where you'd go with that. Okay, maybe I can see it a little, but it still sounds incredible boring, and I don't see the longterm potential.

Friday Night Lights - Okay, its a little mean of me to pick on this one, seeing as its about (at least the movie) my own little West Texas town, but come on. This has boring written all over it, and nothing like it before has ever survived. This kind of premise classically makes great movies and bad tv shows, and I don't see any reason why this one's gonna change that.

Kidnapped - I just picked this one randomly, but I'm using it to make the point that there are about 5 shows coming down the pike that are exactly the same. I seriously can't tell the difference, and too similar a premise is not gonna bode well for any of them. And that isn't even my main problem, with this, someoneskidnapped someonesmissing wehadtorunaway story, much like Reunion, what happens when that gets resolved, likely at the end of the year? Where do we go then? Too many ifs. Again, great movie plots, not so great for the small screen. Seriously guys...leave the tv shows that should be movies to JAbrams.

Jericho - Here's the deal. This could be great, it could be horrible...I have no idea. I think I'm gonna hate it, but I see it being one of those that everyone loves and I have no idea why. I'm just really unsure. Cult following is my best guess. I want no part of it.

So there's my wacky, unorganized, mildy insulting views on what fall has to offer. Take it, leave it, use it. Because really, aside from maybe Studio 60...nothing will top finding out what the hell is in that briefcase and what Logan and Rory are gonna do with the Atlantic between them. Let's answer those cliffhangers!