Before My Eyes

Ok, so I'm a little late this year. So, were some of the shows. It took some time to figure out which of the new batch of fall shows were going to stick and become part of my regular viewing. I tried 'Hank.' I wanted it to succeed. The premise was decent enough and I enjoy Kelsey Grammer; it just wasn't funny enough and got itself cancelled. I tried 'Modern Family.' While this is apparently a hit, it was a miss for me. I wasn't keen on watching Patricia Heaton in 'The Middle,' because it just seemed like it was destined to be a Malcolm retread, but it has proven to be a big surprise, with lots of fun, quirky characters and situations. It's a keeper. Courteney Cox's new sitcom, 'Cougar Town' seemed like one episode would suffice, but that one has gotten the biggest and most consistent laughs from me out of all the new shows. Who knew she could shed Monica, reinvent herself and pull it off this well? Verrry funny show.

Also added to my 'must watch' list is USA's 'White Collar.' Of course Matt Bomer's nice to look at, but the folks at USA really know what they're doing when it comes to creating unique programs and while the writing isn't exactly up to snuff just yet, it's still good entertainment. With the largely satisfying Monk finale complete, I'm glad we'll have this one to fill the void. Another surprise for me is 'the forgotten' with Christian Slater. I expected this one to go away sooner than 'My Own Worst Enemy,' but every week I find myself glued to it. It's surprisingly well-written and worth 44 minutes of my time. Last, but not least, my most anticipated fall series, 'FlashForward.' While I've been majorly disappointed with some of the writing, direction and logic, overall this is a worthy successor to 'Life on Mars' and 'Journeyman.' It manages to sustain a Lost/24 level of tension and WTF factor and it's fun to develop theories as a viewer and watch how they play out. They chose to go on hiatus until March, rather than get into a battle with the Olympics. Hopefully the fanbase will still be there on the other side. Time will tell if this one can continue beyond one season without writing itself into a corner. I hope so.