TV Mad Man

I can continue my look at what survived the fall on my DVR, with Tuesday nights, which will only get busier with American Idol (why do I still watch?) in the spring but for know, it is at a tolerable level.

At 8/7c, Glee is that social hit that nobody can stop and I am just riding it till it crashes. I don’t care for Glee, at all, but it is too big to give up and every once and while they deliver in the emotion and in the lyrics. However, ABC is where the real quality is at, with freshman drama No Ordinary Family, which has developed into a nice family show, that is able to relate to almost everyone in a fun and inviting way. Plus, Autumn Reeser kills me every time. So sweet.

At 9/8c, Life Unexpected is saying goodbye (unofficially) and while the sophomore season has not lived up to its promise in season 1, creator Liz Tigelaar and cast/crew are still one smiley bunch and deliver in the soul week in and week out, while Raising Hope on FOX just makes me laugh. Hands down this season’s Modern Family, Hope is a redneck comedy I can enjoy and Martha Plimpton slays me. I am also still watching the DOA Running Wilde purely for the Keri Russell factor. I know I wanted you to return to TV, but don’t make this failure the reason to go back into hiding.

At 10/9c, The Good Wife reins supreme above all other Tuesday shows as a just suburb drama. If you are not watching, what are you even doing watching television. It is THAT GOOD. Over at NBC, Parenthood and the Braverman family still has my back, and on ABC, Detroit 1-8-7 is just there, nothing really against it, nothing really to support it.

What are you checking out on Tuesday nights? Are you watching the Fashion Show on Bravo, or sticking are you sticking with The Biggest Loser on NBC. Speak up!

We all know Glee can throw a bunch a new people at us (speaking of newbie’s where is Charice?), but this one I am actually quite excited for. Tomorrow, Darren Chriss joins the recurring cast as a new friend/love interest for Kurt, in an episode called “Never Been Kissed,” airing at 8/7c on FOX. Below is one sweet moment to the tune of Katy Perry’s addictive “Teenage Dream.”

Thoughts or are you more excited for Gwyneth Paltrow coming next week?

With the new fall season starting, new TV is bring us the good, the bad, and the mediocre, but how do you sort out the good and the bad? Here is what to watch this fall, so you can see the best new friendships, new loves, new action, and new heart. Now, the hype is high, the hate is high, but can the premiere of the smash Glee, making everyone happy….

What FOX Says:

After a tough loss at Regionals, the glee club is back as the underdogs of McKinley High. When the school is faced with even more budget cuts, Mr. Schuester pushes the kids to help recruit new members for the club. Rachel and Finn disagree on new recruits, and aren’t sure they will be able to come together in perfectharmonyin the “Audition” season premiere episode of GLEE airing Tuesday, Sept. 21 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (GLE-201) (TV-14 D, L, S)

Cast: Matthew Morrison as Will Schuester; Jessalyn Gilsig as Terri Schuester; Jane Lynch as Sue Sylvester; Lea Michele as Rachel Berry; Cory Monteith as Finn Hudson; Jayma Mays as Emma Pillsbury; Dianna Agron as Quinn; Chris Colfer as Kurt; Kevin McHale as Artie; Amber Riley as Mercedes; Mark Salling as Puck; Jenna Ushkowitz as Tina; Naya Rivera as Santana Lopez; Heather Morris as Brittany; Mike O’Malley as Burt Hummel

Guest Cast: Harry Shum as Mike Chang; Iqbal Theba as Principal Figgins; Josh Sussman as Jacob Ben Israel; Charice as Sunshine Corazon; Dot Marie Jones as Coach Shannon Beiste; Chord Overstreet as Sam Evans; Lauren Potter as Becky Johnson

I dislike Glee, if you look back a year ago this week, I was praising this creative, inspiring, and all around fun series on FOX, then it gave us a great first 13, then took 4 months off and then something happen. Over-casting, over-hype, and over-exposure, paired with no continuity in the stories and lack of focus, got me uninterested. That is the attitude I went into watching the premiere a couple of days ago, needless to say, things changed.

Glee’s second season premiere is fun, that is what I wanted, and I was pleasantly surprised that we got back to our favorites while smartly introducing three newcomers, Sunshine (Charice), a new Rachel adversary, Sam (Chord Overstreet), a Finn prodigy, and Coach Beiste (Dot Marie Jones), competition of sorts for Will and Sue. The songs featured in the premiere which I won’t spoil here, are new, and I mean playing on the radio 24/7 new, and Sue is on top of her game, while Jane Lynch is. However….

The biggest problems are still there although in a smaller way. There is still too much fluff, and too little character development while we force some of the numbers of down our throats. I can only hope in episode two, they address what happens in episode two. I can only hope this season of Glee features more character exposition, less song-led story, and more story-led songs, plus lots of Kurt and his dad (newly upped Mike O’Malley). Time will tell if Glee, can not suffer from a sophomore slumps, but it does premiere tonight at 8/7c on FOX!

Are you ready Gleeks? September 21st is just around the corner and FOX has just released this new cast photo for year two. It’s the same concept as last year but does it make you happy that Brittany and Santana are now full-fledged members of the team?

Credit: Patrick Ecclesine/FOX

For the rest of the week, I am looking back at the past television season and doing some top 5′s for what worked in a ratings-challenged year. Up first are the new entries that graced the screen this year and in my book there were quite a few success to talk about:

1. Modern Family – For me, the new show that made me love TV more than anything this year was ABC’s truly original family sitcom. No new show was so widely love in my family as it really rang true in so many ways and most of all made me laugh every single week. Nothing can beat that pilot, that I have now most likely watched 50 times, and I just have a truly special place in my heart for it.

2. The Good Wife – My biggest surprise new show was easily The Good Wife because going in to the new year I knew it had a great script but I did not know such a big emotional edge would be present by the combination of great writing and its star Julianna Margulies. A show I looked forward to each week and will continue to for years to come.

3. Parenthood - Parenthood had a rocky life from deaths to recast to cancer, things were getting in the way for a wonderful cast and creator’s little show on NBC, but after the Olympics, Parenthood didn’t care about any of that and they put on one hell of a show. For the past 13 weeks, Parenthood got better and better and without my knowledge it seemed turned into a show I thought about a lot and cared for the characters a great deal.

4. Life Unexpected – Liz Tigelaar and her cast and crew deserve great things and when LUX was renewed at Upfronts I was so, so happy for them. The CW could have easily not believed in the Portland family drama but they did and could not be more grateful for having this heartwarming show on the air next year.

5. Glee – I think most people doing this would have Glee much higher on this list but I think if recent weeks are any indication I am putting it in the right place. When Glee, premiered for real in the fall, I was smitten, my friends and family were smitten, and each week it would be a trip to iTunes to buy the songs, and re watch episodes but now as the season is closing I could almost not care less. Plot holes, continuity, and bad writing have steered me away from a show I still want to be good as I like the actors and the music but I just need more respect to the viewers and I hope Ryan Murphy gives us that.

Just Missed the mark: Cougar Town, The Middle, and The Vampire Diaries - 3/4 of ABC comedy block was a highlight of the season for me and both Cougar Town and The Middle turned into shows I did not think I would like. Cougar Town is a entirely new show that when it started and The Middle reminds me of good old Home Improvement days. On the other hand, something so 2010 like vampires was made new again with Vampire Diaries and it was this year’s biggest guilty pleasure for me.