The New Fall TV Season Starts: Anyone Else Gun Shy?

Photo by Sarah Reid (flickr cc)I love this time of year, not just for the break in 100+ heat, but because it signals the return of favorite shows and the start of new shows. (Though I will mourn the end of Big Brother summer deeply.)

And in the past, I used to look forward to finding those new TV shows that were going to grab me and keep me. Those shows that were going to become part of my weekly routine for years to come. Remember those? For me, it's shows like Friends, Dawson's Creek, Seinfeld, The Office, Lost... Shows that I can look back and remember the time in my life that they provided the background too. For instance, Dawson's Creek reminds me of making french bread pizza with my college roommates and all of us sitting on the floor to watch a new episode.

But in the past few years, I've started to grow wary of starting new TV show relationships. Besides True Blood and How I Met Your Mother, I haven't committed to anything non-reality show. And this is sad.

BUT, the reason why I've grown so gun shy is because it seems like networks give absolutely no time for a show to catch on anymore. You start watching something, get hooked on the damn thing and then 4-5 episodes in, it disappears forever. Not. Cool.

So I've taken to letting shows run for a while with the intention of going back and catching up if it sticks around. Of course, this usually results in whole seasons of shows on my DVR (hello, American Horror Story) and then I feel overwhelmed at the prospect of tackling it and never get to it. This also means I've missed out on some shows I know I'd like because I'm so behind now--Fringe, Modern Family, Bones. I still want to get some of those on DVD, but it's trying to find the time. It's a bad cycle.

But like a girl who still goes back to the bar after too many failed dates, I'm probably going to give a few shows this season a try.

Here are some that I'm tempted to try. You can click on the poster to find out more about each show.

Elementary (CBS)

A modern day take on Sherlock Holmes, that's a high concept I can't look away from.

 

The Mindy Project (Fox)

I loved Mindy Kaling on The Office so I have high hopes for this one.

 

Revolution (NBC)

A world without electricity. They have advertised the crap out of this one--which is usually a BIG sign that the show is going to end after a few episodes. Seriously, it seems the ones with the biggest budget and advertising campaign get slashed first. But I like the idea of it and I'm always in search for something to fill the hole that Lost left.

 

666 Park Avenue (ABC)

An apartment building where everyone made deals with the devil? This could either go very wrong or very right.

 

Chicago Fire (NBC)

TV Guide promises lots of shirtless firefighters, so yanno, I'm compelled.

 

Go On (NBC)

This is simply because I love Matthew Perry and am pulling for him to find something that works post-Friends

 

Nashville (ABC)

I'm a sucker for shows that involve music, but we'll see...

 

Partners (CBS)

This one is from the people who brought us Will & Grace, so may be worth checking out.

 

Beauty and the Beast (CW)

Okay, so I never watched that show in the 80s and wouldn't have much interest now, but it's on the CW and that station has a talent for doing shows that hold my interest.

 

Underemployed (MTV)

This follows a group of friends one year out from college graduation when their big time post-graduation dreams haven't gone the way they'd hoped. I saw the preview of this one and it looks like it could be funny. 

 

All right, so those are the ones that caught my eye. Which new shows are you looking forward to this season? Are you gun shy about starting and getting attached to new shows like me? What shows have played background to different times in your life?

 

*All TV posters from IMDB.com except for the last which was from MTV.com. Click on each poster and it will lead you to the source.

Made of Win Monday: Summer TV Shows


 I'm not going to pretend summer is my favorite season. It's actually my least favorite. I live in Texas so it's soul-scorching hot, my kidlet is out of school so it becomes a juggling act trying to find care for him so I can write, and I have to get in a bathing suit, like, in front of people. *shudders*

However, there is one bright spot in this hated season...summer only TV shows. Some of my favorite shows come on only in the summer. And watching them is almost enjoyable enough to distract me from the fact that I can't go outside for five minutes without wanting to do what this kid is doing with the hose.

So here are the ones I'm looking forward to the most...

 

 

True Blood

Oh Eric and Alicide, how I've missed you.

 

Big Brother

I think of all the reality competition shows this one is right up there with American Idol for me. This may be because it's the only show I imagine I could actually survive. But also, I'm fascinated by how trapped people manipulate and align themselves.

 

The Next Food Network Star

I'm a food reality show whore.

 

So You Think You Can Dance

It's like a methadone clinic to ease your American Idol withdrawals.

 

 

The Bachelorette

I know, I know, none of the relationships last. But I always have hope for the Bachelorette because the women typically choose their partners based on more well-rounded information. Unlike the Bachelors who pick women based on who will get naked for them first.

 

 

 

And a new one I'm looking forward to...

Around the World in 80 Plates

Did you miss the part above about my feelings on cooking competition shows? This one starts Wednesday.

 

So those are some I'm counting down to, how about you? What shows do you look forward to in summer? Or in general, what do you love about summer?