Did Someone Say Cop Rock?

Yet another fall television season is upon us, and with more than two dozen new series set to debut, the broadcast networks are out to prove that prime-time is still the place to be for destination, must-see programming. Top trends for the 2007 season include both high concepts and big-name stars.

But even with big names and big concepts, the majority of the new shows are destined not to make it back for a second season. Let’s face it: for every new Heroes (last season’s breakout hit), there are plenty of clunkers such Happy Hour and The Nine (admit it: you’ve forgotten them already, haven’t you?). With this in mind, here are a few shows that I think are worth a look, and a couple that you should take great pains to avoid at all costs.

DON’T MISS…

Chuck
Mondays, 8:00pm, NBC

This comedic spy thriller finds its unlikely hero in Chuck Bartowski, a Nerd Herd (think Best Buy’s “Geek Squad”) representative who finds himself catapulted into a life of espionage when he unwittingly downloads a server-full of sensitive government information into his brain. Far-fetched? Without a doubt. But does it work? You’d better believe it.


Pushing Daisies
Wednesdays, 8:00pm, ABC

You see, there’s this guy named Ned… and it seems that Ned has the ability to bring the dead back to life by just through a simple touch. Ned, being the nice guy that he is, has decided to use his gift for good, so he teams with an investigator to bring murder victims back to life so that they can identify the person who murdered them. Now here’s the rub… if Ned has already brought you back to life through his touch, but then touches you a second time, you die again… but permanently this time. I know, I know – it sounds gloomy. Except that it’s anything but gloomy (and it'll likely win some kind of award for cinematography - visually the show is beautiful). This one is most definitely worth a look.


Dirty Sexy Money
Wednesdays, 10:00pm, ABC

For those of you who’ve been awaiting the return of the lavish, outrageous prime-time soap (think Dynasty), then wait no more: Dirty Sexy Money is here. It’s fun, it’s frothy, and it’s sinfully over-the-top… in other words, don’t miss it!



DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME…

Cavemen
Tuesdays, 8:00pm, ABC

Have you seen the GEICO Insurance commercials featuring cavemen? Well, the powers-that-be at ABC have decided that these cavemen characters are fascinating enough to have their own sitcom. But you know what? They’re not. Sorry ABC, you’re exhibiting true stone-age programming mentality. Take my advice, gentle viewer: stay away… FAR away… from this one.


Viva Laughlin
Sundays, 8:00pm, CBS

For some reason, musical drama never plays well on prime-time television. Never. If you don’t believe me, then please allow me to cite two words which should help to cement my argument: Cop Rock. Remember that little gem (that is, unless you’ve specifically gone out of your way to try to forget it)? Well, Viva Laughlin is yet another attempt to marry musical numbers with a prime-time drama… and as with Cop Rock, it ends up being just one long sad song. Score one major black eye for CBS.

TV Boy Goes Legit

I have some TV Boy news to share.

First, some history. While many people believe that my foray into writing began (and some think should end) with his blog, the fact of the matter is that a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, yours-truly penned a weekly column for a newspaper. And before you get to thinking that I was simply printing up copies of a neighborhood pseudo-paper in my basement to satisfy some egocentric desire to see my name in print, you should know that my column was published for several years by a actual, real, honest-to-god, ink-on-your-hands newspaper; in other words, the legitimate press. Doesn’t say much for the legitimate press, now does it?

Anyway… it looks as if history is about to repeat itself. You see, your old friend TV Boy is going to be writing for a regional arts and entertainment magazine.

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

I’ll be contributing a regular column to the magazine… a column which is likely to focus much of the time on the world of television (but you probably already guessed that much, now didn’t you?). In the near future I may also be conducting interviews with folks from the world of entertainment, and if the mood should strike I may even throw in a movie review once in a while. But for now I’ll be sticking to my column, which will begin with the magazine’s October edition.

Now, to spare the magazine and its publishers any premature humiliation I’ve purposely omitted the publication’s name from this post. After all, there’ll be more than enough embarrassment to go around for them once they actually associate themselves publicly with my name, my words, and my photograph.

See you on the newsstand!

I Still Love New York

Ladies and gentlemen... allow me to give you your first look at the cast of I Love New York 2...

I'll give you one guess as to which of the new castmembers goes by the name of "Midget Mac."

I Love New York 2 premieres October 8 on VH1.