- Journeyman. Mondays, 9 p.m., NBC. I started watching this one because it came on immediately after Heroes. I had seen a bunch of commercials for it and I thought it looked pretty cool. I'm sorry to say it wasn't. I actually thought it was kind of boring and changed the channel to MNF by the second commercial break. I think my problem with it was that I just didn't find the characters or the dialogue to be engaging or interesting. For future reference, my rule of thumb for judging a TV show is whether or not I'm able to do other things while its on. With some shows, e.g. Lost, Grey's, Heroes, I won't move while it's on and the other people in the room aren't allowed to speak while I'm watching. With others I'll fold laundry but still try to follow the plot. With this one, I made a couple phone calls while checking my e-mail. I'm interested to find out whether anyone else liked this one and if they have some reasons why.
- Back to You. Wednesdays, 8 p.m., Fox. This one definitely falls into the folding laundry category. I've been a big fan of Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton from their previous shows (I swear that Debra from Everybody Loves Raymond is an alternate version of my mother). Plus, given the proliferation of single-camera comedies over the previous few years, I enjoy seeing a show making the multi-camera format work. It feels comforting and safe. (Did I just it makes me feel safe? I'm thinking I need to start taking advantage of my mental health benefits.....I digress.) I thought the pilot was solid but a little cheesy (apparently the two leads had a one night stand about ten years ago that produced a child that Grammer didn't know about, blah, blah, blah) but it's worth watching just to see the two of them snark back and forth at each other. Plus, there's not much else on at this time that's worth watching (although I may change that opinion once I see the Pushing Daisies pilot) so I'd recommend giving it a look.
- Private Practice. Wednesdays, 9 p.m., ABC. Now it kills me to admit that I watched this show (which I will henceforth refer to as PP because I am an overgrown child and think saying PP is funny and will make an excuse to do so whenever I can) for several reasons. (1) It's bad enough that I watch Grey's Anatomy, and if my friends found out that I watched this one too I think may not be able to show my face in public again. (2) I was completely dead set against the idea of taking Kate Walsh off Grey's because I thought she was one of the bright spots on the show and it would certainly suffer from her departure (which may not actually be the case given the Grey's premiere from last week, but you've already heard my opinion on that one). It kills me even more to admit that I actually enjoyed watching it, especially given all of the bad buzz surrounding it. Kate Walsh is definitely able to carry a show on her own and her scenes are what make this show worth watching. I don't really like Amy Brenneman's or Audra MacDonald's characters (although watching the latter eat cake while crying in the bathroom was pretty amusing). I think that Addison's character is quite different here than it was on Grey's, but I chalk that up to her trying to change her life (moving away, dancing naked, blah, blah, blah). I'm willing to give this one a chance, and I think you should too, although there is a secret part of me that hopes it gets cancelled so Addison will return to Seattle.
- Gossip Girl. Wednesdays, 9 p.m., The CW. Much like the last entry, I am horrified to admit that I watched this show. I have no idea why. I am also embarrassed to admit that I liked it, since it is clearly targeted at teenage girls and I'm neither teenage nor a girl. I do, however, know exactly why I like this show and will list the reasons for you now (1) Kristen Bell is the narrator. Enough said. (I'm still holding off on my complete declaration of love until her first episode on Heroes, which is now only three weeks away). By the way, I had to rewind her saying "fuster cluck" a few times because I was sure I had just heard the f-bomb getting dropped on national television, which would have been a-w-e-s-o-m-e. (2) It reminds of the girls I knew in high school and how bitchy and conniving they could be while pretending to like each other. There's just something about a bitchy girl that I find intriguing. (3) It makes great use of the ironic background music, which doesn't surprise me since it was created by Josh Schwartz (I think that's how it's spelled). I'd say definitely watch this one, but only with the door locked and curtains closed so no one catches you.
- Dirty Sexy Money. Wednesdays, 10 p.m., ABC. Pretty. Freaking. Good. All I have to say. Awesome cast (Donald Sutherland, Peter Krause, and Samaire Armstrong (Anna from the OC) just to name a few), exaggerated plot lines, fairly funny dialogue, what's not to like? Watching rich people act crazy always makes for great television in my book. Highlights from the pilot: Karen telling her fiance that the family's new layer Nick was the one who "deflowered her." Father Brian whispering "I hate you" at Nick every time he walks by. Furthermore, I'm absolutely convinced that Nick's father is not dead, following the time-honored soap opera tradition of no body = not dead. This is one that I'll be adding to my DVR. (Although the DVR told me I had to add it or else.......yeah I think it's time for the shrink.)
- Big Shots. Thursdays, 10 p.m., ABC. For now I'll be placing this one into the folding laundry category. I thought it was funny, but not that funny; engaging, but not engaging enough to stop from wondering what I had to do tomorrow. I've always like Dylan McDermott since he was on The Practice (one of the better ABC shows in recent memory) and Michael Vartan was on Alias (One of my top 3 shows ever), so I knew I had to watch this one. Plus, the commercials all had that Frank Sinatra-music playing in the background. I think the thing that drew me most was my secret hope that one day I would be in my late 30s, and rich, and have an awesome life and play golf all the time. I think the "Sex and the City for men" description I've seen used for this show is fairly accurate, although I think quality-wise it's not quite there yet. But I think it could be and I'm interested to see where it goes.
So to sum up: Dirty Sexy Money and Gossip Girl, definitely yes. PP, yes but maybe no in the future, Big Shots and Back to You, yeah but do something else at the same time, and Journeyman definitely not. I'm sorry I have nothing to report on Chuck or Reaper, both of which I've heard good things about. I'll try to watch them sometime this week and let you know if they're worth a look.
