I'm off today on what promises to be a sweltering Labor Day Monday (after the grey clouds dissipate, anyway) here in Los Angeles, but just wanted to let you know that you should check out my annual feature, What I'm Watching This Fall, which--while also following through on the promise of the title to reveal which series I'm tuning into this autumn--has launch dates for all of those mentioned.Additionally, I got a number of emails from concerned readers who were confused as to why series such as Joss Whedon's Dollhouse, Lost, Flight of the Conchords, Damages, and Big Love didn't make the list.
The answer, gentle readers, is simple: all of those series will sadly not launch (or return) until sometime in 2009, making this Televisionary a little wistful for last summer, when we had brand-spanking-new episodes of Conchords, Damages, and Big Love.
But, alas, we'll have to wait a while to catch Eliza Dushku kicking some butt in Dollhouse, find out what happened to the island on Lost, catch up with our favorite Kiwis on Conchords, see if Patty Hewes regrets what she did on Damages, and spend some quality time with the Henricksons on Big Love.
As for why TNT's Raising the Bar--which launches tonight, BTW--wasn't included on my fall list, it's because I won't be watching. I saw the pilot for the Mark-Paul Gosselaar-Jane Kaczmarek-Gloria Reubens legal drama back in May and found it nigh unwatchable... partially due to Gosselaar's greasy, greasy hair and also because I found the entire pilot to be highly cloying and poorly constructed. It strives for both soapy who's-sleeping-with-whom reveals (not that we could care less about any of the characters) and earnest legal crusading (snore) and fails to deliver on both accounts.
Stay tuned.
What's On Tonight
8 pm: The Big Bang Theory/How I Met Your Mother (CBS); Deal or No Deal (NBC); Gossip Girl (CW); High School Musical: Get in the Picture (ABC); Prison Break (FOX; 8-10 pm)
9 pm: Two and a Half Men/New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS); America's Toughest Jobs (NBC); One Tree Hill (CW); Samantha Who? (ABC)
10 pm: CBS News: Republican National Convention (CBS); Dateline (NBC); Vote 08 (ABC)
What I'll Be Watching
8 pm: Gossip Girl.
If you haven't read my review of the first three episodes of Gossip Girl's sophomore season, shame on you. Season Two kicks off tonight with "Summer, Kind of Wonderful," in which the kids' summer winds down as Serena and Nate concoct an elaborate scheme to make people think they're dating, Blair returns from Europe with a new beau, and Dan deals with fallout from his new lifestyle as the consummate ladies' man. Ahem.
10 pm: Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations on Travel Channel.
This week on No Reservations, it's a retrospective episode, as Tony and the crew have given you a Labor Day present in the form of outtakes, memorable moments, and nail-biting drama from Anthony Bourdain's global travels.
10 pm: Weeds on Showtime.
No new episode (with it being Labor Day and all) but there's a Weeds marathon starting tonight at 9 pm ET/PT.
Comments
I'll take your word on Raising the Bar and skip it.