Fall Season: Brand New Shows

Unless I want to permanently attach my bottom to a cushion of the couch, there is no way I can watch every new show premiering this season. I can't even watch every new genre-related show this season. NBC, capitalizing on the success of their hit, Heroes, has really upped the ante this season. Besides, there are returning favorites I want to keep up with too. So I need to seriously limit what I'm going to add to my must-watch list. Here's what's on the early version of the list.

Mondays:

Chuck: Premieres Sept. 24, 8 pm, NBC
Perched right before the Heroes juggernaut is Chuck. The idea, as I hear it, is that there's a geek and somehow a national security database is downloaded into his head. If the geek were a stud, it would sound like Fox's defunct John Doe. But the premise has promise so I'll give it a go. For now.

Journeyman : Premieres Sept. 24, 10 pm, NBC
Coming in right after Heroes, and making Monday night sort of sci-fi night on NBC, is Journeyman. Which, the way I hear it, is sorts like Quantum Leap except the guy isn't a scientist and doesn't know why he's moving through time. Again, the idea is right up my alley so I'm gonna give it a shot.

Wednesdays:

Bionic Woman : Premieres Sept. 26, 9 pm, NBC
From one of the guys who re-made Battlestar Galactica, comes another re-make of a 70s sci-fi icon: The Bionic Woman. No Six Million Dollar Man this time (perhaps because it would cost way more than six million dollars these days to do this kind of work). The premise is somewhat the same, although she gets a bionic eye AND a bionic ear (the original had a bionic ear, while Steve Austin had the bionic eye). I'm a child of the 70s and 80s, The Six Million Dollar Man was my favorite show in grade school and I really like the new Battlestar. So I'll check it out.

Pushing Daisies : Premieres Oct. 3, 8 pm, ABC
Probably the most anticipated show of the new season, Pushing Daisies is getting the kind of buzz Lost (one of my favorites, but not returning until January) got before its premiere. The idea is that there's this guy who can bring things (people, plants, etc.) back to life by touching them. The downside is that if he touches them again, said thing dies again for good. The twist is that he brings back his sweetheart... and thus, cannot touch her. At least, that's how I hear it. Lots of possibilities here. The show's success will largely lie with the tone of the show and the likability of the characters. But it's getting a lot of good buzz so I have high hopes for it.

Sorry, every other show. I just don't have time for you. I can only take on so many new shows. I've got returning favorites too (which I'll get to in another post), so I'll probably have to eliminate a couple of these based on the first or second episode.

- Paul