I’m a TV watcher. I admit it. To quote Arlo Guthrie, “I’m not proud. Or tired.” At the end of the day I like to prop the ole 10 and a halfs up on the ottoman and simultaneously flick the TV on and the exegesis-addled brain off.
Well, tonight officially begins the new fall season. (Fox began a few weeks ago due to their baseball coverage in October and a couple of lame reality shows have already tipped.)

Fox has already unveiled most of their new shows. Most of them reek with two exceptions: Justice, starring Victor Garber as a Defense Attorney counterpart to House. This show is worth watching for Garber’s performance alone.
‘Til Death starring Raymond‘s Brad Garrett is a hilarious look at marriage.

In addition to my staples on the TV landscape (Gilmore Girls, Lost, The Office, etc) come a bevy of new shows. Looking at each night, there will be much to choose from. Here are the new shows I am most looking forward to, in order:

Studio 60 on The Sunset Strip–Aaron Sorkin is a genius. And what better show possibility than a mashup of Sports Night (Greatest.Sitcom.Ever) and The West Wing? This show is a must-see. An interesting tidbit: there is only one show on TV that rivals Sorkin’s dialogue. The Gilmore Girls. In a bit of casting genius Lauren Graham will appear in a two episode arc in November.

Jericho–Premiering Wednesday night, this nuclear holocaust drama is risky. But a strong cast and an intriguing pilot means I’ll be coming back for repeated viewing. The ultimate question is how they will be able to sustain this over the length of a series. How many cities have been attacked? How will the fall-out affect them in this tiny Kansas town?

The Nine (Oct. 4)–Nine different people are held hostage during a bank robbery. 52 hours later they emerge, changed and scarred. This show deals with the aftermath of the ordeal as these characters find themselves forever bound to one another. As they strive to piece together their lives and make sense of what took place inside the bank, more of what happened will be revealed. This show could be a break-out hit. It’s tight and compelling and it follows a little show called Lost.

30 Rock (Oct. 11)–I love Tina Fey.

Friday Night Lights (Oct. 3)–I didn’t love the pilot as much as many critics do but I still intend to give it a shot when it bows in a couple of weeks. The game scenes were realistic but I have the feeling that will be secondary to the off-screen dramas. If they focus on that it could be a hit. Otherwise, the female demographic will tune out in droves.

Heroes–(Sept. 25)–Don’t we need a good super-hero show? No, not really. But I’m intrigued none-the-less.

What shows are you looking forward to?

If you are looking for a good TV blog this is the best one.

And if you missed “The Lost Experience” then you need to watch this. It explains Hurley’s numbers and what the Dharma initiative is all about.