What I Watched – The Wait Is Over
Posted by kittson on Feb 27 2008 | Tagged as: Television, What I Watched
After some long, cold months of reruns and reality television, new episodes of scripted shows are starting to trickle back into the schedule. In fact, tonight alone, three shows return, including “Men In Trees”.
Below find a list of return dates for most scripted shows (as well as the ones that have been cancelled – good riddance “Caveman” and “Life is Wild”). It’s certainly incomplete and subject to change, so don’t hold us responsible for any DVR programming mishaps.
You will likely notice a glaring omission from the list. It’s true; the fate of favorite drama “Friday Night Lights” is in the air. There are lots of petitions out there and plans to bombard NBC with footballs, light bulbs, and bottles of Clear Eyes, so join the cause before it’s too late.
“24″, FOX, January 2009
“30 Rock”, NBC, Thursday, April 10, 8:30pm
“Aliens in America”, CW, Sunday, March 2, 8:30pm
“Back to You”, FOX, Wednesday, February 27, 9:30pm
“Big Shots”, ABC, Cancelled
“Bionic Woman”, NBC, Cancelled
“Bones”, FOX, Monday, April 14, 8:00pm
“Boston Legal”, ABC, Tuesday, April 8, 10:00pm
“Brothers and Sisters”, ABC, Sunday, April 20, 10:02pm
“Carpoolers”, ABC, Tuesday, March 4, 9:30pm
“Caveman”, ABC, Cancelled
“Chuck”, NBC, Fall
“Cold Case”, CBS, Sunday, March 30, 9:00pm
“Criminal Minds”, CBS, Wednesday, April 2, 9:00pm
“CSI”, CBS, Thursday, April 3, 9:00pm
“CSI: Miami”, CBS, Monday, March 24, 10:00pm
“CSI: NY”, CBS, Wednesday, April 2, 10:00pm
“Desperate Housewives”, ABC, Sunday, April 13, 9:00pm
“Dirt”, FX, Sunday, March 2, 10:00pm
“Dirty Sexy Money”, ABC, Fall
“ER”, NBC, Thursday, April 10, 10:01pm
“Everybody Hates Chris”, CW, Sunday, March 2, 8:00pm
“Ghost Whisperer”, CBS, Friday, April 4, 8:00pm
“Gossip Girl”, CW, Monday, April 21, 8:00pm
“Greek”, ABC Family, Monday, March 24, 8:00pm
“Grey’s Anatomy”, ABC, Thursday, April 24, 9:00pm
“Heroes”, NBC, Fall
“House”, FOX, Monday, April 28, 9:00pm
“How I Met Your Mother”, CBS, Monday, March 17, 8:30pm
“Journeyman”, NBC, Cancelled
“K-Ville”, FOX, Cancelled
“Las Vegas”, NBC, Cancelled
“Law & Order”, NBC, Wednesday, February 27, 10:00pm
“Law & Order: SVU”, NBC, Tuesday, April 15, 10:00pm
“Life”, NBC, Fall
“Life is Wild”, CW, Cancelled
“Men in Trees”, ABC, Wednesday, February 27, 10:00pm
“Moonlight”, CBS, Friday, April 11, 9:00pm
“My Name is Earl”, NBC, Thursday, April 3, 8:00pm
“NCIS”, CBS, Tuesday, April 8, 8:00pm
“Numb3rs”, CBS, Friday, April 4, 10:00pm
“Private Practice”, ABC, Fall
“Pushing Daisies”, ABC, Fall
“Reaper”, CW, Thursday, March 13, 9:00pm
“Rules of Engagement”, CBS, Monday, April 14, 9:30pm
“Samantha Who?”, ABC, Monday, April 7, 9:30pm
“Scrubs”, NBC, Thursday, April 10, 9:31pm
“Smallville”, CW, Thursday, March 13, 8:00pm
“Supernatural”, CW, Thursday, April 24, 9:00pm
“The Big Bang Theory”, CBS, Monday, March 17, 8:00pm
“The Game”, CW, Sunday, March 23, 9:30pm
“The Office”, NBC, Thursday, April 10, 9:00pm
“The Riches”, FX, Tuesday, March 18, 10:00pm
“Til Death”, FOX, Tuesday, March 25, 9:30pm
“Two and a Half Men”, CBS, Monday, March 17, 9:00pm
“Ugly Betty”, ABC, Thursday, April 24, 8:00pm
“Without a Trace”, CBS, Thursday, April 3, 10:00pm





If you’re missing “30 Rock”, check out “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”. Long before single working girl and feisty brunette Liz Lemon was contending with divo Tracy Jordan, Mary was battling dim-witted anchorman Ted Baxter. Mary might have thrown a better cocktail party than Lemon, but she was just as likely to burst into tears in her dispassionate boss’s office and laugh through the funeral of a beloved clown. (Seasons 1–4 available)
If your Thursdays belong to “Ugly Betty”, get “Popular”. Just as “Betty” is a parody of a Spanish soap opera set in the New York fashion world, so too “Popular” is a spoof of night soaps like “Dynasty” set in a public high school. Yet the social commentary is always secondary to the story. Both have bitchy back-stabbing, class struggle (in-vogue vs. ordinary), and hottie nerd Christopher Gorham. (Seasons 1–2 available)
If you’re jonesing for “Reaper”, take a hit off “Joan of Arcadia”. Sam is a young snarky slacker, who finds himself following vague and cryptic instructions from Satan to send escaped souls back to hell, thus helping mankind. Joan was a snarky slacker high school student who followed vague and cryptic instructions from God to help mankind. Sam likes a girl named Andi. Joan liked a boy named Adam. It’s all the same. (Seasons 1–2 available)
Created by two of its stars (Glenn Howerton and Rob McElhenney), “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” has been described as “Seinfeld on crack” (it’s killing me that I didn’t coin this phrase!). The show is back for a third season on F/X, and as a fan since season one, I’m happy to report that it hasn’t lost any of its hilarious offensiveness, and the characters are still warped, egotistical, and f#*&ed up.
We also have two outstanding shows for which we need final scores.
Reaper (25) – Tuesdays at 9pm on the CW
The three shows below can be summed up together: they’re more painful than funny, so don’t waste your time or brain cells.
Women’s Murder Club (ABC) – Based on a series of books by James Patterson, this show is not, as it may sound, about a pack of homicidal females, but rather involves a detective, a DA, a medical examiner, and a reporter (yes, all women) who work unofficially as a team to solve murders. It isn’t ground-breaking, but it’s fairly entertaining television. Of course, it airs opposite “Friday Night Lights”, so if you watch it, do so by DVR or download. Score: 7
Jean Smart (“Designing Women”), Jennifer Esposito (“Spin City”), and, my favorite, Melissa McCarty (“Gilmore Girls), it could prove to be a solid sitcom. Don’t forget, “30 Rock” had a disappointing first two episodes. Score: 6
Bionic Woman (NBC) – Remember two weeks ago when I said the premise of the show was plausible – that within the boundaries of this sci-fi world, the technology was believable? That’s over. We discover this week that not only have they installed GPS in Jaime (not likely), but they’ve implanted a video camera in her brain that records everything she sees (unbelievable). She can turn it off – hack herself, as she calls it – simply by imagining doing so (really unbelievable). However, this makes her right nostril bleed (I guess that could happen). First Week’s Score: 7. Last Week’s Score: 7. Score: 6. Final Total: 20
Life (NBC) – Banter is big this fall. Doctors, detectives, magnates, and superheroes alike are brandishing their most dangerous weapon, a razor sharp wit. The repartee between Charlie Crews and his pint-size partner Dani Reese on this dramatic series is among the best and is as brisk and comical as that of the doctors at Seattle Grace. First Week’s Score: 8. Last Week’s Score: 8. Score: 7. Final Total: 23
Life is Wild (CW) – This drama is no doubt the CW’s attempt at replacing the long-running “7th Heaven”. In an extreme effort to unite his family, a veterinarian from NYC moves his new wife and their four children (a modified “Brady Bunch”) to South Africa. However, this is no Poisonwood Bible. With plenty of teenagers around for romance and jealousy, “Life is Wild” is a typical teen show, but not a good one. Still the frequent footage of giraffes, elephants, and baby lions not only creates a family-friendly innocence, it also provides a break from the awkward acting and forced plot. Score: 5
Island”. The real problem is the romance conundrum. How long until Chuck gets the girl, and how long after that until the show self-destructs (“Moonlighting”, “Scarecrow and Mrs. King”)? Or he never gets the girl and the show gets frustrating and self-destructs (“Remington Steele”, “X-Files”). Still “Chuck” is kind of fun, so we can enjoy the ride down. First Week’s Score: 6. Last Week’s Score: 7. Score: 7. Final Total: 20
Carpoolers (ABC) – Let me quote this week’s episode. Aubrey: “I turn down the sound on the TV, and I make up funny stuff for the people to say.” So you see the problem here – the writers think it’s the audience’s job to create the comedy. Last Week’s Score: 3. Score: 3
Pushing Daisies (ABC) – This highly stylized drama about a pie-maker who brings people back to life by touching them is the first show this season that seems to be pushing the art of television forward. The pilot is a vibrant cinematic confection reminiscent of Edward Scissorhands. How they plan on maintaining such quality week after week is a mystery (who could forget the letdown after “Studio 60”’s amazing pilot last year). Still, this episode is one everyone should check out. Score: 9
Gossip Girl (CW) – At last, a show bravely exposes the outrageous pressure on private school students to go to the same Ivy League schools as their fathers. It’s no wonder they drink so much. First Week’s Score: 7. Last Week’s Score: 7. Score: 8. Final Total: 22
ortunately the unbelievable and annoying story about Karl’s mistress befriending his wife is only a small portion of the show. I’ll look past it for the sensitive and bruised James and the chipper and newly waxed Brody…for now. Last Week’s Score: 8. Score: 7
Aliens in America (CW) - Ultimately this show feels like propaganda. “Oh, you closed-minded Americans with your fear of dirty bombs and Anthrax, the truth is Middle Eastern kids are just like your kids. No, they’re better. Even if they do dress and pray funny. Ha ha.” It’s not unlike when Mr. Drummond brought that wacky Arnold home. Score: 4
K-Ville (Fox) – During this week’s episode, a perp refers to our NOPD partners as Crockett and Tubbs. This is supposed to be ironic. Boulet and Cobb are scrappy, certainly not glamorous. Yet this show with its melodrama and its law enforcement clichés feels a lot more like “Miami Vice” – maybe even “CHIPS” – than “NYPD Blue”. First Week’s Score: 6. Last Week’s Score: 7. Score: 6. Final Total: 19
Cane (CBS) – If I get hooked on this show, it’ll like be due to “Lost’s” Nestor Carbonell. There’s something intriguing about him, and I’m not just talking about the natural eyeliner. Still I wouldn’t underestimate the fascination of alligators fighting over a rotting corpse in a Florida swamp. Perhaps this is where people will go from now on for their gangster TV fix. Last Week’s Score: 7. Score: 8