What You Should Have Watched #11

TV Schedule for the 2011/2012 Season

It’s that time of the year again, when thoughts turn from reruns and reality TV to new episodes of scripted comedies and dramas. USA and FX have kept me happy with new episodes of Covert Affairs, White Collar, Burn Notice, Louie and Wilfred, but now were back to REAL prime time.

Keep in mind that I’m a single father of three kids, so I really don’t watch anything “live.” My DVR is in heavy use, and I also rely on Hulu and network websites for some stuff.

Here’s what I’m planning on watching:

Sunday

6:00 – The Simpsons (Fox/Sept. 25)

7:00 – Family Guy (Fox/Sept. 25)

7:00 – Once Upon a Time (ABC/Oct. 23)

7:30 – Allen Gregory (Fox/Oct. 30)

9:00 – Breaking Bad (AMC/current)

9:00 – The Walking Dead (AMC/Oct. 16)

I haven’t really been blown away by The Simpsons in a LONG time. I usually let episodes pile up on the DVR and the end up falling asleep halfway through episodes. I very rarely rewind what I’ve missed before deleting the episode. Sad. I saw a trailer for Once Upon a Time when I went to see Captain America: The First Avenger. It looked pretty awesome with a Fables (comic book series) vibe. Comparisons will be made to Grimm, surely, but in subject matter only. Their executions are different, which is good. It kind of reminds me of a few years ago when Surface, Threshold and Invasion all premiered at the same time. Similarities could be found in all of them, but they were all vastly different. Too bad none of the actually survived their first seasons. I’ll give Allen Gregory a chance based on Jonah Hill. I wonder if Family Guy will move on to making fun of a new movie franchise since they finished with the original Star Wars movies last year or if they’ll move onto the first three episodes. I’d like to see them tackle Indiana Jones. There’s some good material there. Or maybe Back to the Future. Since it’s on well after my kids go to bed, I should be able to watch The Walking Dead live.

Monday

7:00 – How I Met Your Mother (CBS/Sept. 19)

7:00 – Terra Nova (Fox/Sept. 26)

9:00 – Castle (ABC/Sept. 19)

I caught a rerun of HIMYM last week, and it was the one where Marshall’s dad dies. The way they addressed it was WAY too heavy for a sitcom like this. I kind of hope we actually meet the mother this season. I mean, Ted is my least favorite of the characters, but I’d like to see some headway made on the title. I’ll give Terra Nova a chance. I’m most looking forward to Castle. Nathan Fillion is an actor I’ll watch in anything, and I’ve enjoyed every episode of this show.

Tuesday

7:00 – Glee (Fox/Sept. 20)

7:30 – Man Up (ABC/Oct. 18)

8:00 – Ringer (CW/Sept. 13)

8:00 – New Girl (Fox/Sept. 20)

8:30 – Raising Hope (Fox/Sept. 20)

9:00 – Parenthood (NBC/Sept. 13)

9:00 – Sons of Anarchy (FX/Sept. 6)

I’m just about done with Glee. Man Up gets a couple viewings because of Dan Fogler. Ringer gets a view because of Sarah Michelle Gellar, but after watching the trailer I’m guessing that one view is ALL I’ll give it. The preview I saw of New Girl looked funny. What bothers me, though, is that Damon Wayans, Jr. is still listed as a cast member on Fox’s website, even though he’s also in Happy Endings on ABC. Oh noes! And thank you Wikipedia. Looks like all is well…well, for Happy Endings, that is. I got into Raising Hope REALLY late into the season last year, but I’m glad I finally gave it a chance. Garret Dillahunt, Martha Plimpton and Shannon Woodward make this a must-see for me. I loved the first season of Parenthood, but I missed every single episode of the second season. I should probably watch those before jumping into season three. And do I really need to say anything about Sons of Anarchy? It’s the most badass show on TV. Oh, I guess I did need to say something about it.

Wednesday

7:00 – Up All Night (NBC/Sept. 14)

7:30 – Free Agents (NBC/Sept. 14)

7:30 – Suburgatory (ABC/Sept. 28)

8:00 – Modern Family (ABC/Sept. 21)

8:30 – Happy Endings (ABC/Sept. 28)

8:30 – I Hate My Teenage Daughter (Fox/Nov. 23)

Will Arnett has a new show? SOLD! What’s that? Anthony Head does too? DOUBLE SOLD!! Holy crap! Alan Tudyk too? Who is answering all of my prayers? Is it TV Jesus? Modern Family is probably the most solid sitcom on TV right now, and Happy Endings was a pleasant surprise last year. I’m giving I Hate My Teenage Daughter a try because Jaime Pressley was good on My Name is Earl, and she’s nice to look at. I think I saw a preview earlier in the summer that I laughed at, but I could be wrong about that.

Thursday

7:00 – Big Bang Theory (CBS/Sept. 22)

7:00 – Community (NBC/Sept. 22)

7:30 – Parks and Recreation (NBC/Sept. 22)

8:00 – The Office (NBC/Sept. 22)

8:00 – Person of Interest (CBS/Sept. 22)

8:00 – Bones (Fox/Nov. 3)

8:00 – Burn Notice (USA/current)

9:00 – Wilfred (FX/current)

9:00 – It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX/Sept. 15)

9:30 – Louie (FX/current)

9:30 – The League (FX/Oct. 6)

Out of all of the shows I plan on watching, only four of them are on CBS. Two of them are on Wednesday nights. The Big Bang Theory is a well-written sitcom that panders to the nerd in me. Person of Interest has Ben Linus from Lost, so that’s why I’m tuning in for an episode or two. NBC’s Thursday night comedy block (well, ¾ of it) is some of the smartest comedy that I’ve been fortunate to watch. Community seems fresh and new every week, Parks and Rec has some of the best characters to ever fill a show, and The Office is solid comedy that (to me) hasn’t gotten stale yet. I’m really interested to see what kind of dynamic James Spader will add to the show for however long he’s on. My eight o’clock hour seems pretty full, but Burn Notice will probably end its summer season soon (Sept. 8 according to Wikipedia), and Bones doesn’t start until November, so I’ve got plenty of time to lose interest in Person of Interest (pun…intended?) by the time it starts back up. The FX sitcoms are some of the funniest I’ve ever seen. Not necessarily the smartest and usually pandering to the lowest common denominator, but, hey, look how far that’s taken Two and a Half Men. Right now, Louie is my favorite show this summer. It speaks truth without talking down to the viewer. I’m enjoying Wilfred, but it’s darker than I anticipated. Always Sunny is probably the most crass and unredeemable show on TV, but it’s so much fun to hate the leads. The League is just solid comedy, and when talking about great characters, one always has to mention Jon Lajoie’s Taco.

Friday

7:00 – Chuck (NBC/Oct. 21)

8:00 – Grimm (NBC/Oct. 21)

8:00 – Fringe (Fox/Sept. 23)

8:00 – Supernatural (CW/Sept. 23)

Chuck has been my popcorn show since it started. I watched it because of Adam Baldwin and continued to watch it because of Yvonne Strahovski. They don’t even try to make any of their stories even slightly believable, but they’re incredibly fun to watch. It looks like I’ll be DVRing Supernatural and Fringe (these two will ALWAYS be priorities for me) and catching up with Grimm on Hulu.

Saturday

7:00 – Rules of Engagement (CBS/Sept. 24)

A show on Saturday that isn’t a rerun? Sometimes I don’t like to admit that I like this show. It’s not original or very clever, but the acting really sells it. Patrick Warburton is another guy I’ll watch in anything, and I really like the characters played by Oliver Hudson (relationship to Kate aside) and Bianca Kajlich (so so SO pretty). If this show were up against anything else, it would lose, so putting it on a Saturday is a pretty good idea on CBS’s part. Also, I may have included the wrong picture.

Mid-Season Shows of Interest

Alcatraz (Fox)

The Finder (Fox)

Touch (Fox)

Covert Affairs (USA)

Psych (USA)

White Collar (USA)

Southland (TNT)

American Horror Story (FX)

Archer (FX)

Justified (FX)

Cougar Town (ABC)

Apartment 23 (ABC)

I know nothing about Alcatraz or Touch except that one has Jorge Garcia in it and the other has Keifer Sutherland. That’s enough for me to at least give it an episode to grab me. I’m slightly pissed at The Finder, but it’s not the show’s fault. I have a problem with backdoor pilots. I was all prepared to watch an episode of Bones last season, but instead it’s The Finder with Bones and Booth thrown in every now and then. I liked Geoff Stults and Michael Clarke Duncan, but Saffron Burrows just seemed like a poor-man’s Fiona (from Burn Notice), bad first season accent and all. Speaking of Burn Notice, USA has some really top-notch original programing, most of which has been entertaining me during the summer. I know that Covert Affairs and White Collar will be returning some time later in the fall, but Psych starts sometime in October. I’ve given up on straight-ahead cop shows (no more CSI or Law & Order for me), but a friend talked me into watching Southland over the summer and I fell in love. I have no idea when the fourth season will start, but I’m looking forward to it. I am not a fan of horror movies, so American Horror Story wouldn’t usually interest me, but Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights) is one of the stars, so I’m in for a bit…at least until I can only watch it with all the lights on. Justified and Archer are two more top-notch FX shows. I’m glad that Justified received some well-deserved Emmy nominations. I’m also glad that H. Jon Benjamin has Archer to fall back on since Jon Benjamin Has a Van was such a bad show. I was disappointed to see that Cougar Town was not on the schedule for this fall. Despite its misleading title, it’s a funny show. And what little I saw of Apartment 23 made me laugh, but it was a great scene with James Van Der Beek cashing in on his Dawson fame to have sex. Simple but funny.

So, I think that’s everything. Isn’t it enough? I’d embed some trailers, but there are just too many, so I hyperlinked all the shows to their official web pages. It’s a little more work on your part, but you can do it. I believe in you, you lazy bastards!