What's on TV: new and returning TV shows for October

Today is October 1st, which means a whole new month has begun.  And, for us TV addicts, it means that a number of new and returning series are coming back this month.  So, like I did for September, I've made a list of what's premiering this month.  Enjoy your TV watching!

Wednesday, October 1st

Pushing Daisies: 8pm, ABC

Friday Night Lights: 8pm, DirecTV 101 (will air on NBC in 2009)

Private Practice: 9pm, ABC

Dirty Sexy Money, 10pm, ABC

Friday, October 3rd

Wife Swap: 8pm, ABC

Ghost Whisperer: 8pm, CBS

Everybody Hates Chris: 8pm, The CW

The Game: 8:30pm, The CW

Supernanny: 9pm, ABC

The Ex List: 9pm, CBS

Numb3rs: 10pm, CBS

Monday, October 6th

Samantha Who?: 9:30pm, ABC

Thursday, October 9th

Kath & Kim: 8:30pm, NBC

CSI: 9pm, CBS

SNL on Thursday Night: 9:30pm, NBC

Life on Mars: 10pm, ABC

Eleventh Hour: 10pm, CBS

Monday, October 13th

My Own Worst Enemy: 10pm, NBC

Tuesday, October 14th

Eli Stone: 10pm, ABC

Friday, October 17th

Crusoe: 9pm, NBC

Wednesday, October 29th

Stylista: 9pm, The CW

Thursday, October 30th

30 ROCK: 9:30pm, NBC

"Fringe" - TV review

Last night I watched the 1-1/2 hour series premiere of "Fringe," the new sci-fi series on Fox that was created by J. J. Abrams, who is also responsible for "Lost," which I think this is best show currently on television.  Considering that I had been severely disappointed with the most recent new series I'd tuned in to see (that would be "90210"), I was hoping "Fringe" would be a success rather than a bust.  And good news; it most definitely is a success.  In fact, if it keeps up the quality of the pilot, I could easily see this being a show we'll be watching for some time.

The series centers around Olivia Dunham (newcomer Anna Torv), an FBI special agent who gets drawn into a series of strange events happening all over the world that people are calling "the Pattern."  In the first episode, she is brought in to help investigate what happened to the passengers and crew of an international flight that landed in Boston airport with no signs of life (Abrams sure seems to have a thing for problems involving airplanes, doesn't he?).  After the life of her partner is put in jeopardy, she tracks down Dr. Walter Bishop (John Noble from "Lord of the Rings"), a scientist who was once famous for conducting experiments involving "fringe science" (teleportation, mind control, etc), but has been rotting away in a mental hospital for 17 years.  In order to get to him, Dunham is forced to find and bring in his estranged son, Peter (Joshua Jackson, whom some of you may remember as Pacey on "Dawson's Creek").

Although there are some similarities in tone and style to "Lost," "Fringe" most closely resembles "The X-Files," as it seems to focus more on mystery-of-the-week plot-lines rather than a series-long mystery (which should make it much easier for people to get into and follow).  Thankfully, the makers of "Fringe" focus just as much on the relationships between the characters as they do on the science-fiction elements.  Torv, Noble and Jackson all have great chemistry together, and the show doesn't look as if it'll get bogged down in conspiracy theories and such (as many people believe "The X-Files" and "Lost" did in later seasons).

If you missed the premiere last night, Fox will be re-airing it at 8pm on Sunday, and new hour-long episodes will air Tuesdays at 9pm.  Whether you're a fan of sci-fi or just great television, you absolutely owe it to yourself to check out "Fringe."  It's easily the best new series of this year.

"90120" review & Matty G's September TV viewing schedule

So, last night was the premiere of "90210," the new and very hyped CW remake/relaunch/revamp??? of the classic "Beverly Hills 90210."  I watched it, and, well, it was terrible.  Keep in mind that I loved "The OC" and liked "Gossip Girl" for a little while.  But yeah, this show is unbelievably dumb; it makes me miss "Veronica Mars" even more.  The cast is bland and boring, with the exception of the returning "BH90210" cast (Jennie Garth and Shannen Doherty) and Jessica Walter, who some of you make remember as Lucille Bluth on "Arrested Development," as the alcoholic grandmother; unfortunately her limited presence just makes one miss "Arrested Development" even more.  And they keep using slang that I’m pretty sure hasn’t been used by anyone since the original "BH90210" aired (have you heard anybody say “dope” lately?  EVER!?!).  I predict this show will die pretty soon... if you like this kind of stuff (and, honestly, who doesn’t enjoy faux-tawdry high school exploits?), I strongly advise you just watch "Gossip Girl" instead (or re-watch "The OC," or even better, go check out "Veronica Mars" on DVD!).

But it gave me an idea: now that all the television shows are coming back, I’ve decided to compile a list of what I will be watching on TV this month (this will change a bit in October, as some other series won’t be returning until then - and I will update you all when it comes time).  Plus, I’ve even added the other series returning, just in case they might be of interest to some of you.

(note: I only marked "90210," "America's Next Top Model" and "Bones" as having two-hour premiere episodes because they are the only ones I'm aware of.  You may want to keep in mind that some of these other shows maybe having longer premieres as well)

Sunday

What I’ll be watching:

• Mad Men - 10-11pm, AMC  (currently airing)
  

What I’ll be watching on DVD (because I don’t get HBO, unfortunately):

• True Blood - 9-10pm, HBO (premieres 9/7) (it's a new series about hot vampires, so naturally I'm interested)
• Entourage - 10-10:30pm, HBO (premieres 9/7)

Monday

What I’ll be watching:

• Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - 8-9pm, FOX (premieres 9/8)
• Heroes - 9-10pm, NBC (premieres 9/22; will start re-airing at same time on Tuesdays on G4)

What I’m considering checking out now: 

• Life - 10-11pm, NBC (premieres 9/29)
  

What I’m considering checking out someday eventually:

• How I Met Your Mother - 8:30-9pm, CBS (premieres 9/22)
• One Tree Hill - 9-10pm, the CW (premiered this week)

What I won’t be watching:

• Gossip Girl - 8-9pm, the CW (premiered this week)
• Prison Break - 8-9pm, FOX (premiered this week)
• Dancing With The Stars - 8-8:30pm, ABC (premieres 9/22)
• Big Bang Theory - 8-8:30pm, CBS (premieres 9/22)
• Two & A Half Men - 9-9:30pm, CBS (premieres 9/22)
• America’s Toughest Jobs - 9-10pm, NBC (currently airing)
• Worst Week - 9:30-10pm, CBS (premieres 9/22)
• Boston Legal - 10-11pm, ABC (premieres 9/22)
• CSI: Miami - 10-11pm, CBS (premieres 9/22)
• Chuck - 8-9pm, NBC (premieres 9/29)

Tuesday

What I’ll be watching:

• Fringe - 8-9pm, FOX (premieres 9/9)
  

What I’ll be watching on DVD (because I don’t get BBC America, unfortunately):

• Gavin & Stacey - 8:40-9:20pm, BBC America (currently airing)
  

What I’m considering checking out now:

• The Mentalist - 9-10pm, CBS (premieres 9/23; never heard of it before, but looks kind of interesting)
  

What I’m considering catching up with on DVD eventually:

• House - 9-10pm, FOX (premieres 9/16)
• The Shield - 10-11pm, FX (premiered this week)

What I won’t be watching:

• 90210 - 8-9pm, the CW (premiered this week, two-hour premiere)
• Privileged - 9-10pm, the CW (premieres 9/9)
• Biggest Loser - 8-9pm, NBC (premieres 9/16)
• Opportunity Knocks - 8-8:30pm, ABC (premieres 9/23)
• NCIS - 8-9pm, CBS (premieres 9/23)
• The Secret Life of the American Teenager - 8-9pm, ABC Family (currently airing)
• Greek - 9-10pm, ABC Family (currently airing)
• Without A Trace - 10-11pm, CBS (premieres 9/23)
• Law & Order: SVU - 10-11pm, NBC (premieres 9/23)

Wednesday

What I’ll be watching:

• America’s Next Top Model - 8-9pm, the CW (premieres 9/3, two-hour premiere)
  

What I’ll be taping and then watching directly after ANTM (at least for this month):

• Bones - 8-9pm, FOX (premieres 9/3, two-hour premiere)
  

What I won’t be watching:

• ‘Til Death - 8-8:30pm, FOX (premieres 9/10)
• New Adventures of Old Christine - 8-8:30pm, CBS (premieres 9/24)
• Gary Unmarried - 8:30-9pm, CBS (premieres 9/24)
• Criminal Minds - 9-10pm, CBS (premieres 9/24)
• Project Runway - 9-10pm, BRAVO (currently airing)
• Do Not Disturb - 9:30-10pm, FOX (premieres 9/10)
• Top Design - 10-11pm, BRAVO (currently airing)
• CSI: NY - 10-11pm, CBS (premieres 9/24)
• Lipstick Jungle - 10-11pm, NBC (premieres 9/24)

Thursday

What I’ll be watching:

• The Office - 9-9:30pm, NBC (premieres 9/25)
  

What I won’t be watching:

• Hole In The Wall - 8-9pm, FOX (premieres 9/11)
• Smallville - 8-9pm, the CW (premieres 9/18)
• Ugly Betty - 8-9pm, ABC (premieres 9/25)
• Survivor: Gabon - 8-9pm, CBS (premieres 9/25)
• My Name Is Earl - 8-8:30pm, NBC (premieres 9/25)
• Kitchen Nightmares - 9-9:30pm, FOX (premieres 9/11)
• Supernatural - 9-10pm, the CW (premieres 9/18)
• Grey’s Anatomy - 9-10pm, ABC (premieres 9/25)
• ER - 10-11pm, NBC (premieres 9/25)

Friday

What I’ll be watching:

• Apparently nothing.
  

What I won’t be watching:

• Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader? - 8-9pm, FOX (premieres 9/5)
• Don’t Forget The Lyrics! - 9-10pm, FOX (premieres 9/12)

Saturday

What I’ll watch now and then, but not consistently:

• Saturday Night Live - 11:30-1am, NBC (premieres 9/13)
  

What I won’t be watching:

• Cops - 8-9pm, FOX (premieres 9/6)
• MadTV - 11-12am, FOX (premieres 9/13)