Fall Television

Each year when the Fall television schedule is finally announced I quickly go through the list of my returning to favorites to make sure there isn't too much of a drastic change in either time or airing date.

This happened a few years ago when Grey's Anatomy which started out on Sunday, was moved to Thursday nights at the same exact time as CSI. So, I was a bit peeved, but luckily my DVR (one of two in the home) records two shows at once, and I was out of my predicament.

So, with the release of the Fall television schedule, I make a list of shows on each channel. Then I start to plug them in to what shows my wife and I watch as to record on the DVR. Hopefully, if all works out, each of our favorite shows can fit into the schedule without any complications - and it worked out again this season (so far).

After the schedule is made there are also holes. These holes are where a show is not being recorded. So, it's here where we look at the newcomers - the new shows of the season. Unfortunately, if there is a new show we are interested in, but it doesn't fit, it sometimes goes unwatched. We have our favorites for a reason.

Last season, despite the writer's strike, we managed to pick up a handful of new shows that we watch regularly now. The all-too underrated comedy called The Big Bang Theory and the new Terminator series.

Despite not having the CW Network anymore, my wife has also grown pretty attached to Gossip Girl and I to Reaper. Our only way to watch these, however, is through the website - and it is usually a few days after they originally air.

And, thanks to the writer's strike I guess, we are also watching Ghost Hunters and Destination Truth. Shows that we started watching because there wasn't anything else on, and we became attached to them.

This season, the main show that sticks out to me is Fringe. It comes from the mind of J.J. Abrams, who also gave us the awesome show, Lost. Fringe also stars The Mighty Ducks and Dawson's Creek alum Joshua Jackson. So, I will checking that out as well.

Dollhouse from the mind of Joss Whedon (Firefly) has also struck my attention, but does not get going until the Spring schedule.

So, a few other shows that were not definite watches on our part have squeaked through for what I call a screening. If we like it after the first few episodes it can stick around - if not, it gets the axe. Life on Mars which appears to be a cop show about a man in modern day, who somehow gets knocked back into the '70s. He has all the knowledge of a modern day cop, solving crimes in the '70s.

My wife has also chosen The Ex List and Kath & Kim. The Ex List is a show about a woman who after going to a fortune teller learns she has already met her husband - so she starts going back through the men in her life to try and find him. Kath & Kim looks to be a comedy that stars Molly Shannon and the lovely Selma Blair.

I am looking forward to the upcoming season, especially the return of Heroes which is one of my top two favorite shows - it hasn't been on since last fall. Unfortunately, Lost, Reaper and Scrubs have all been saved until the spring.