What You Should Have Watched #6

2010-2011 Season

It’s mid-August, so that means it’s time to take a look at the upcoming television season. Looks like I’ve got everything mapped out with only a couple of new shows in the mix. NBC is coming out strong on mid-season replacements, though.

Here’s what I’ve got. Click on any of the shows to go to their official pages.

Sunday

Saturdays and Sundays are going to be my catch-up days. I’ve got three kids I’ve got to feed, bathe and put to bed, and then I’ve got to go about the business of cleaning up from the evening and making lunches for the next day. I’m lucky if I get to start watching TV at 8:00. 9:00 seems like a better target. So with absolutely nothing to watch on Saturday and only two shows on Sunday, my DVR is gonna get a workout.

I’m pretty blasé toward the Simpsons, but every now and then they can still deliver a good episode. Family Guy, though, I am all over. Even the mediocre episodes are pretty damn funny.

7:00     Simpsons (Sept. 26)

8:00     Family Guy (Sept. 26)

Monday

We’ve got the first of new shows with The Event. I’ve heard nothing about the show except for the vague promos that NBC is running. I’ll give it a chance; it could be good. Chuck is my guilty pleasure. It’s not really that great of a show, but I love the actors and the characters. And Castle, well, it’s Nathan Fillion. I’ll watch him in anything.

7:00     Chuck (Sept. 20)

            How I Met Your Mother (Sept. 20)

7:30     Rules of Engagement (Sept. 20)

8:00     The Event (Sept. 20)

9:00     Castle (Sept. 20)

Tuesday

New shows here include a new superhero show and something from the creator of Arrested Development. I like Michael Chiklis and love love LOVE Julie Benz. This could be decent, but it’s also got me worried that it’ll turn to crap. Then we’ve got Will Arnett in Running Wilde, the new show by Mitch Hurwitz. Those are two names who will get a pass for anything.

I’ve just started catching up on Parenthood via OnDemand. I swear to God I teared up at the end of the 4^th episode of the first season when the daughter brought her boyfriend to a family get together. It hit me that I’m going to be the father of a teenager in a decade, and I’m going to have to meet boyfriends. Ugh.

The nine o’clock hour shows the first time when I’ll have a show I can’t DVR. That’s okay, though, since any of those three shows is either available OnDemand the next night or on the shows website.

Sons of Anarchy is one of the best shows on TV, and I’ll give the finger to anyone who says otherwise.

7:00     No Ordinary Family (Sept. 28)

            Glee (Sept. 21)

8:00     White Collar

8:30     Running Wilde (Sept. 21)

9:00     Parenthood (Sept. 14)

            Sons of Anarchy (Sept. 7)

            Covert Affairs

10:00   Louie

Wednesday

Right now Wednesday has the biggest amount of possible drops. The Middle was mildly entertaining for a bit last season, and I’m going to do my best to catch up, but I won’t be disappointed if it doesn’t happen. Undercovers is a spy show by J.J. Abrams, so I’m sold right there. I’m sick of standard cop procedural shows, but I like Benson and Stabler too much to give up on SVU. We’ll see if that attitude lasts through the season.

The biggest surprise of last season was how much I enjoyed Cougar Town. This and Modern Family gave Community a good run in the best new comedy race last season.

7:00     The Middle (Sept. 22)

            Undercovers (Sept. 22)

7:30     Better with You (Sept. 22)

8:00     Modern Family (Sept. 22)

            Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (Sept. 22)

8:30     Cougar Town (Sept. 22)

9:00     Terriers (Sept. 8)

            Psych

Thursday

This brings us to my first conundrum. If I could, I would watch Big Bang Theory and Shit My Dad Says online, but CBS never posted BBT last season, and I don’t expect it to this one. So that means I HAVE to DVR those shows. I love Community and 30 Rock so much that I have to watch them as close to their live airings as possible, so waiting the watch them on Hulu the next day is out of the question. That means Bones doesn’t get DVRed, and that makes me a little sad.

Fringe WILL be DVRed, and in HD no less. I’m going to give Nikita a chance, even though I’ve never seen La Femme Nikita, Point of No Return or the French film Nikita. Maggie Q, man, Maggie Q. So I’ll Hulu The Office and the new offering, Outsourced.

7:00     Community (Sept. 23)

            Big Bang Theory (Sept. 23)

            Bones (Sept. 23)

7:30     30 Rock (Sept. 23)

            Shit My Dad Says (Sept. 23)

8:00     The Office (Sept. 23)

            Fringe (Sept. 23)

            Nikita (Sept. 9)

8:30     Outsourced (Sept. 23)

9:00     It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Sept. 16)

9:30     The League (Sept. 16)

Friday

I hate myself for watching Smallville, but I can’t bring myself to stop. I feel like, as a rabid comic book fan, I HAVE to watch it. But it’s SOOOOOOO bad. The plots are bad. The acting is bad. The writing is bad. But the girls are so very, very pretty, so at least there’s that.

7:00     Human Target (Oct. 1)

            Smallville (Sept. 24)

8:00     Supernatural (Sept. 24)

Mid-Season Replacements

ABC    Mr. Sunshine

It’s a comedy with Matthew Perry, so I’m in.

NBC    The Cape, Friends with Benefits, Perfect Couples

The Cape is superhero show but looks corny as hell, so there’s a good chance I won’t make it past the first episode. Friends with Benefits looks like a generic 20-something comedy, as does Perfect Couples, but PC has Olivia Munn in it, and she’s my new girlfriend (just don’t say anything to her about it…she wants to keep it on the down-low).

CBS    Mad Love

Another generic rom-com, but it’s got Sarah Chalke in it, so I’ll give it a try.

FX       Lights Out, Justified, Archer

Lights Out is the only new show, but I’ll watch it without even knowing a thing about it. FX gets my viewing for anything.