Before he was known for acting, Twitter or Demi, Ashton Kutcher was a small-New shows by genre
A few TV shows defy category. This year, they also happen to be the year's best and worst shows - somehow co-existing on one strange network. Here they are; with 0-10 ratings for the two that have pilot films.
"Glee" (10): The series debut, which aired in May, was miraculously good. Depicting a high school glee club, it mixed wicked wit, shiny idealism and upbeat songs.
Can the series stay that good? Almost; two of the new episodes show that "Glee" has a tad less idealism this year and a tad more dark humor. If anything, Sue Sylvester - the satanic cheerleading coach, perfectly played by Jane Lynch - is meaner and funnier than ever. Still, there continue to be good spirits and great music. "Glee" is oddly original and gleefully good. (9 p.m. Wednesdays, Fox; debuts Wednesday)
"The Cleveland Show" (1): This show is every bit as awful as "Glee" is good.
The cartoon character from "The Family Guy" is heading to Los Angeles with his son. First, he visits home to see his former high school sweetheart. Along the way, things happen that are meant to be humorous; usually, they're just blunt and unfunny. (8:30 p.m. Sundays, Fox; Sept. 27)
"The Jay Leno Show": This is the most important show of the season - in quantity and in impact - but we'll have to wait to see what it's like. It airs almost live, trying to deliver an hour stuffed mostly with comedy (plus occasional music and talk) five nights a week. (10 p.m. weekdays, NBC; Sept. 14. Scheduled guests are Jerry Seinfeld on Sept. 14, Tom Cruise on Sept. 15, Robin Williams on Sept. 16, Halle Berry on Sept. 17; also, music by Jay-Z, Kanye West and Rihanna on Sept. 14, Miley Cyrus on Sept. 16, Eric Clapton and Bruce Hornsby on Sept. 17)
COMEDIES
In the giddiest dreams of some TV people, we'll spend entire evenings laughing.
Part of that involves the new Jay Leno show, at 10 p.m. weeknights; part involves a new block of four situation comedies, from 8-10 p.m. Wednesdays.
CBS (Mondays) and NBC (Thursdays) already have such blocks; now ABC adds one. "It was definitely an exceptional year in (comedy) development," said ABC's Stephen McPherson.
By contrast is the CW, which eliminated its comedy-development department ... and Fox, which probably should have. Here are the new sitcoms, starting with the best, with their pilot films rated on a 0-10 scale:
"Modern Family" (9): We meet three wonderfully opposite families. Jay (Ed O'Neill) is old and tired, especially compared to his feisty wife (Sofia Vergara). Phil and Claire (Ty Burrell and Julie Bowen) are trying to be hip. Mitchell and Cameron (the wonderful Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet) are gay parents of an adopted daughter. Yes, they're related. They add up to a sometimes-hilarious comedy.
(9 p.m. Wednesdays, ABC; debuts Sept. 23)
"Community" (8): Busted as a fake lawyer, Jeff (Joel McHale) is back at community college, where he puts together a phony Spanish study group so he can meet a beautiful stranger (Gillian Jacobs). Then the group grows, ranging from a mogul (Chevy Chase) to a 1980s movie buff (Danny Pudi). The result is big, broad and quite clever. (9:30 p.m. Thursdays, NBC, Sept. 17)
"The Middle" (7): Here is middle-of-the-road family life in middle Indiana, shown with wry wit and a human touch. Frankie (Patricia Heaton) is bad at selling cars and OK at being a mom. Her husband (Neil Flynn, the "Scrubs" janitor), is way too frank. Like life, this show is inconsistent, but has its moments. (8:30 p.m. Wednesdays, ABC, Sept. 30)
"Accidentally on Purpose" (5): At 37, Billie has a great job (film critic), a fun friend and a lover who's handsome but noncommittal. Then a one-night stand leads to a pregnancy with a young guy who is still into beer and video games. They're mismatched, but they're fun people, worth meeting for a while. Jenna Elfman, 37, stars with Jon Foster, 25. Ashley Jensen ("Ugly Betty," "Extras") and Grant Show co-star. (8:30 p.m. Mondays, CBS, Sept. 21)
"Cougar Town" (4): Courteney Cox plays someone recently divorced from a handsome lunkhead. Now she's sort of attracted to young guys - in a town where the school mascot is a cougar. She's also angry about how people view her, while her neighbor (Josh Hopkins) keeps casually dating young women. This is an OK series from producer Bill Lawrence ("Scrubs"), who sometimes does better. (9:30 p.m. Wednesdays, ABC, Sept. 23)
"Hank" (4): Kelsey Grammer plays a former business boss, fired from the company he started. Now he's back home in Virginia, with vague plans of finally bonding with his family. That won't be easy. His wife (Melinda McGraw) and daughter have Manhattan minds and don't fit in. The humor is forced in this opener, but Grammer's flawless touch shines through. (8 p.m. Wednesdays, ABC, Sept. 30)
"Brothers" (2): In its first few minutes, this show seems to be re-creating the awful situation comedies of past generations, filled with loud jabs. Eventually, it almost approaches adequacy. Michael Strahan and Daryl "Chill" Mitchell are OK as a former football star and a smart-talking guy in a wheelchair (which both are in real life). Their brotherly relationship seems contrived, however, and their parents are confined to stereotypes. (8 p.m. Fridays, Fox, Sept. 25)
DRAMAS
Strip away all the fantasy and medical shows and you'll still find plenty of new dramas this fall. Here's a round-up. For the first two shows listed, the pilot films are rated on a 0-10 basis; the others didn't have completed pilots available:
"The Good Wife" (7): This starts with the moment we've seen too often lately: After sexual abuses, a politician is losing his job and going to jail; his wife looks stoic. Stick around, though. This wife has rage, compassion and a law degree. "Good Wife" is mostly a standard court drama, with a great cast. Julianna Margulies is backed by Josh Charles, Christine Baranski and (in a sharp role as the firm's detective) Archie Panjabi. Alongside the court case, we see a "good wife," in a life she'd never imagined. (10 p.m. Tuesdays, CBS, debuts Sept. 22)
"Melrose Place" (5): The old Melrose apartment complex still attracts beautiful and ambitious people. Now we revisit it, a decade after the original series ended. The old-timer is Sidney Andrews (Laura Leighton), now seducing her second generation of hunks. The newcomer is Violet (Ashlee Simpson-Wentz), who seems to bring small-town innocence. Infused with the turbo-drive energy of young Los Angeles, "Melrose" often teeters toward soap-opera excess. Bringing it back to the ground is a sweet couple (Jessica Lucas and Michael Rady). (9 p.m. Tuesdays, CW, debuts Tuesday)
"NCIS: Los Angeles": On the outside, this is an old Spanish-mission church. Go to the second floor, however, and you'll find a dazzling array of high-tech equipment, all designed to catch terrorists, gun-dealers and more. CBS grabbed this on the basis of a two-part "NCIS" that showed promise. Chris O'Donnell and LL Cool J return as stars, with Linda Hunt taking over as their boss. (9 p.m. Tuesdays, CBS, Sept. 22)
"The Beautiful Life":town Iowa kid, working as a big-city model. Now he's producing - but not appearing in - a drama filled with beautiful people. The partial-length pilot film left a lot of questions. It did, however, offer a convincing turn by Mischa Barton as a former star with a bad attitude and a big secret. (9 p.m. Wednesdays, CW, Sept. 16)
"The Forgotten": Here's a crime show that skips cops. Intense volunteers tackle cases the police abandoned. Led by a former police detective (who quit the force after his daughter disappeared), these people try to attach names to John Doe and Jane Doe bodies; with luck, they'll also catch a killer. The pilot was re-shot after being re-cast with Christian Slater. It's from producer Jerry Bruckheimer, whose shows - "CSI" and "Cold Case" and more - have propelled CBS. (10 p.m. Tuesdays, ABC, Sept. 22)
» Also: The old Pax network is gone, but its replacement (Ion) is launching its first original show. "Durham County" (10 p.m. Mondays, beginning Monday) is a Canadian co-production, with a cop entangled in a murder mystery, after moving to the suburbs. Hugh Dillon stars in this 12-episode season, while continuing to co-star in "Flashpoint," CBS' mid-season show. "Durham" - dark and unsettling - is mixed; on the basis of the first two hours, we'll give it a 5.
MEDICAL SHOWS
For the first time since 1993, a TV season is starting without "ER."
Now others are trying to fill the void. NBC (the "ER" network) has two shows; CBS has one.
Two of these depend on boom-bang action in their openers; helicopters collide, cars crash, a plane heads into a fierce storm. The third - and best - one depends on a beautifully developed character.
This adds up to a medical mini-trend, especially when you add in two new cable shows this summer ("Hawthorne" and "Nurse Jackie") and the syndicated "Dr. Oz," which reaches stations Sept. 14. Here are the new network shows, with their pilots rated on a 0-10 scale.
"Mercy" (7): This may be the best new character on TV, one with rich contrasts and layers. Veronica Callahan is torn between the blue-collar New Jersey world she grew up in and the hospital where she's a gifted nurse. She's torn between her current life and the Iraq year she can't shake. Her husband cheated on her, she cheated on him. This story, like life, is complicated: The husband's mostly a good guy; Veronica wobbles between strength and fragility, saintliness and sin. Taylor Schilling is perfect in the part, with strong support from Jaime Lee Kirchner, Michelle Trachtenberg, James Tupper and more. (8 p.m. Wednesdays, NBC; debuts Sept. 23)
"Trauma" (5): Remember the big-deal stories that have occasionally sparked "ER" or "Grey's Anatomy" - the ones with helicopters and ambulances and fierce energy? That's sort of a typical week for these people. Two key characters are a pilot (Aimee Garcia) and the hot-shot medic (Cliff Curtis) who rides in her 'copter. The opening scenes are fierce in their energy and violence. Once we get beyond that, we have an emotional drama with a mixed batch of characters. The best is Anastasia Griffith as a strong-willed paramedic. (9 p.m. Mondays, NBC; Sept. 28)
"Three Rivers" (4): Each week, we meet two people headed for tragedy. One could become an organ donor, the other an organ recipient. There are possible detours, of course, and the show uses many of them in its hectic first hour. It has some great casting, led by Alex O'Loughlin ("Moonlight") and the intense Katherine Moennig (who was Shane in "The L Word"); still; it stretches wildly to fill that opener; we'll have to see what happens from here. (9 p.m. Sundays, CBS; Oct. 4)
FANTASY
For fantasy fans, this seems to be a big year.
Most of the old shows are back, including some - "Dollhouse," "Medium" - that were wobbling. The former Sci Fi Channel (now called "Syfy") is growing. And four new shows arrive, each with a big-budget visuals and interesting characters. Here they are, with their pilot films rated on a 0-10 scale:
"FlashForward" (10): In one stunning instant, the entire world - everyone, everywhere - shares the same experience. Why? What can be done about it? The opener offers no answers, just some fascinating questions. David Goyer (the "Batman Begins" screenwriter) co-adapted this from the Robert Sawyer novel, then directed it beautifully. His surprising cast ranges from Joseph Fiennes ("Shakespeare in Love") to John Cho (usually seen in goofy "Harold-and-Kumar" comedies). Yes, this sometimes feels like a "Lost" copy, from the opening shot to the addition of Dominic Monaghan, after the pilot was shot. Let's consider it "Lost"-plus. (8 p.m. Thursdays, ABC; debuts Sept. 24)
"V" (7): Hovering above every major city are giant space ships. The aliens are here; their leader (Morena Baccarin of "Firefly") is soothing, telegenic ... and thereby kind of dangerous. The original "V" was a terrific 1983 NBC miniseries, turned into a disappointing '84 series. Now a new version, from talented director Yves Simoneau, focuses on key Earthlings. Elizabeth Mitchell ("Lost") stars as an FBI agent, with Scott Wolf as an ambitious newsman, Joel Gretsch as a priest and Morris Chestnut as a skeptic. This story works in any era when people distrust powerful promises. (8 p.m. Tuesdays, ABC; debuts Nov. 3)
"Eastwick" (6): One of the highlights of "Gilmore Girls" was the make-believe New England town. Now that same movie-studio backlot has been transformed into Eastwick, past and future home of witches. We meet a gorgeous, free-spirit widow (Rebecca Romijn), a diligent newspaper reporter (Lindsay Price) and a diligent nurse (Jaime Ray Newman) with lots of kids and a lazy husband. Then comes a magical - and maybe evil - newcomer (Paul Gross). Life changes in fascinating and sometimes funny ways, in this variation on the John Updike novel "The Witches of Eastwick" and the 1987 movie. (10 p.m. Wednesdays, ABC; Sept. 23)
"The Vampire Diaries" (4): Forget the sly sophistication of "True Blood." This one is a teen soap opera, overlaid with vampires. The show's strength is in its small-town settings and in the duel insight of two diaries. One is written by the beautifully shy Elena (the terrific Nina Dobrey), the other by Stefan (Paul Wesley), a vampire trying to behave. They provide some depth to an otherwise ordinary tale. (8 p.m. Thursdays, CW; Sept. 10)
WAITING IN THE WINGS
Even while proclaiming the best new shows ever, networks are careful to prepare some back-ups.
Here are a few that were available for an advance peek. We'll rate them on a 0-10 scale, but keep in mind that they could change sharply before airing:
» "Life UnXpected" (7): Tossed around the foster-care system for 16 years, Lux wants to be legally emancipated. First, she must find the birth parents who gave her up. Surprisingly, this is done with warmth, humor and immensely likable actors. Britt Robertson ("Swingtown") is a delight as Lux; Shiri Appleby and Kerr Smith are excellent as two people suddenly nudged into adulthood at 30. (CW)
» "Parenthood" (4): Ron Howard's 1989 movie tried to balance a broad range of comedy and drama stories, with mixed success. Now the series sometimes turns surprisingly downbeat. Fresh from her brilliant work in "Rescue Me," Maura Tierney is just as good here as a single mom, groping for a new life. When Tierney needed time for surgery to remove a breast tumor, NBC took the show off its fall schedule and will bring it back later. (NBC)
» "Human Target" (4): On one level, this is a standard adventure, sleek and fast. Chance (Mark Valley) is handsome, smart and omni-talented; he protects people. Still, there are so many offbeat elements that we can't tell if it's supposed to be straight drama or superhero adventure. All we know is that it has the season's best supporting character; a super-tough little computer geek, played by Jackie Earl Haley. (Fox; currently planned to borrow the "Glee" spot on Wednesdays in January)
» "Sons of Tuscon" (3): Tyler Labine has already been terrific in "Invasion" and "Reaper." Now he plays a schemer and slacker with a chance to be the fake father of three boys whose real dad is in prison for white-collar crime. The pilot was so-so, but it's being reshot and has potential. (Fox; currently planned for 8:30 p.m. Sundays, at mid-season)
» "Undercover Boss": There are no new reality shows on the big networks this fall, but this one offers wonderful potential: Each week, we'll see a company chief go undercover, trying different jobs. A brief sample indicates there will be humor, drama and some social significance. (CBS)
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