Television Premieres and Notables: September 29-October 5, 2014

Monday, 9/29

Mom; CBS. 7:30 pm CST. 2nd Season Premiere.

Castle; ABC. 9 pm CST. 7th Season Premiere.

NCIS: Los Angeles; CBS. 9 pm CST. 6th Season Premiere.


Tuesday, 9/30

Selfie; ABC. 7 pm CST. Series Premiere.
This modern day take on Pygmalion brings us Karen Gillan as a self-absorbed young woman who enlists John Cho to remake her as someone worth knowing.
I watched the pilot, and have to say I wasn't terribly impressed. But I'll also say I think the show can find its feet within a few weeks, so I'll be sticking around a while.

Manhattan Love Story; ABC. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.


Wednesday, 10/1

Criminal Minds; CBS. 8 pm CST. 10th Season Premiere.

Stalker; CBS. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Dylan McDermott and Maggie Q star as cops who specialize in stalking cases.


Thursday, 10/2

The Vampire Diaries; CW. 7 pm CST.  6thSeason Premiere.

Reign; CW. 8 pm CST. 2nd Season Premiere.

Gracepoint; Fox. 8 pm CST. Series Premiere.
I didn't get a chance to check out the original series this was based on (Broadchurch), but actor David Tennant is reprising his role (although as an American instead of a Scotsman) in this series about two detectives who try to solve a murder in their small community where everyone seems to have a secret.
Bonus: this series is slated for a 10-episode run, so not a huge time commitment-- and good odds the crime will be solved by the end.

Bad Judge; NBC. 8 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Kate Walsh stars as a rebel judge.

A to Z; NBC. 8:30 pm CST. Series Premiere.


Friday, 10/3

Last Man Standing; ABC. 4th Season Premiere.


Saturday, 10/4

Survivor's Remorse; Starz. 8 pm CST. Series Premiere.
A rookie basketball player signs a bid deal-- and wants to give it back to the community.


Sunday, 10/5

Bob's Burgers; Fox. 6:30 pm CST. 5th Season Premiere.

Homeland; Showtime. 8 pm CST. Season Premiere.

Mulaney; FX. 8:30 pm CST. Series Premiere.

The Strain (FX: 9 pm CST). Season Finale.

sign banning the Coolest F'ing Dog IN THE WORLD

The Shocker

Ah ha!-- I get it!

Television Premieres and Notables: September 22-28, 2014

Well, here we go...

Monday, 9/22

The Big Bang Theory; CBS. 7 pm CST. 8th Season Premiere.


Gotham; Fox. 7 pm CST. Series Premiere.
A young boy's parents are gunned down in the opening of this series, but where the movies and comics jump forward a decade or more, this show will not. It will continue from there and tell the story of how the city got so much worse that the boy had to grow up and don a mask and cape.

I've got some conflicting thoughts about this one. The Batman mythos is one of the deepest in comics, and seeing where some of these nutcases come from can be interesting, but we are talking about corporate suits and networks who will be constantly looking for the cameo bump. We already have a young Selena Kyle, Edward Nigma, and Pamela Isley (future Catwoman, Riddler, and Poison Ivy) shown on the commercials, and the first season will chronicle the rise of Oswald Cobblepot (the Penguin).  And Bruce Wayne and Alfred Pennyworth are featured prominently in promos of the cast. But Bruce is much too young to fight crime (and I so hope they don't find reasons to get him involved with fighting the bad guys too often now).

If they can keep the cameos/surprises to the level they maintain on Arrow, then it should work.

Luckily, until the show finds itself with some good actors. Ben McKenzie as Detective Jim Gordon and Donal Logue as his beaten-down partner Harvey Bullock, and Jada Pinkett Smith stars as the newly-created character Fish Mooney, who is looking to take over the city now that the powerful Wayne parents have been killed.

I'm in. But with my fingers crossed...


The Voice; NBC. 7 pm CST. 7th Cycle Premiere.

Scorpion; CBS. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Four geniuses work with together to solve some of the government's toughest cases.

Sleepy Hollow; Fox. 8 pm CST. 2nd Season Premiere.
This was a fun show with a first season that could have easily have fallen apart in craziness had it not been for the the lead actors, who did a fantastic job holding it together. Frankly, I don't even really care about the mystery and the historical "real story" (as the show tells it), but I'll keep watching because of Tom Mison and Nicole Beharie.

Forever; ABC. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.
A three hundred year old man works as a medical examiner in New Your City.
I saw the pilot, and it was interesting enough. I'm not into procedural-type shows, but I'll watch a few just because of Ioan Gruffudd's work.
Note: this series moves to its regular timeslot tomorrow (9/23) at 9 pm.

The Blacklist; NBC. 9 pm CST. 2nd Season Premiere.


Tuesday, 9/23

Marvel's Agents of SHIELD; ABC. 7 pm CST. 2nd Season Premiere.
Okay okay, the show started out pretty weakly last season, but I stuck around because of Clark Gregg (and because it's a show I could watch with my kids), but then it got better and better-- and then when Captain America: The Winter Soldier ripped apart SHIELD, the show got flipped on its head.
I never gave up on it, and I'm still all-in,

NCIS; CBS. 7 pm CST. 12th Season Premiere.

NCIS: New Orleans; CBS. 8 pm CST. Series Premiere.
I am not interested in the typical CBS procedural-- but it stars Scott Bakula and Lucas Black, so I'm in for a few episodes, at least.

Person of Interest; CBS. 9 pm CST. 4th Season Premiere.
This show really mixed it up last season, and where the team is at now as a result should be mind-blowing to anyone who stopped watching in 2013. Check it out.

Chicago Fire; NBC. 9 pm CST. 3rd Season Premiere.


Wednesday, 9/24

The Middle; ABC.7 pm CST. 6th Season Premiere.

Survivor; CBS. 7 pm CST. 29th Cycle Premiere.

The Goldbergs; ABC. 7:30 pm CST. 2nd Season Premiere.
This is a great show. If you didn't watch last year, how about you do yourself a favor and start now?

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit; NBC. 8 pm CST. 16th Season Premiere.

Modern Family; ABC. 8 pm CST. 6th Season Premiere.

Extreme Cheapskates; TLC. 8 pm CST. 3rd Season Premiere.

black-ish; ABC. 8:30 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Anthony Anderson stars as a father of a three kids who he feels isn't experiencing life as authentically "black" as he did.

Nashville; ABC. 9 pm CST. 3rd Season Premiere.

Chicago P.D. NBC. 9 pm CST. 2nd Season Premiere.

South Park; Comedy Central. 9 pm CST. 18th Season Premiere.
The series kept me halfway-interested last year. But it's on the chopping block if it can't bring itself back to goodness (I gave up hoping for greatness).


Thursday, 9/25

Grey's Anatomy; ABC. 7 pm CST. 11th Season Premiere.

Bones; Fox. 7 pm CST. 10th Season Premiere.
All I can think when I see that is: "Angel's been off the air for over ten years?"

Scandal; ABC. 8 pm CST. 4th Season Premiere.

How to Get Away With Murder; ABC. 9 pm CST. Series Premiere.
The Shonda Rhimes-created Thursday night three-peat ends here with Viola Davis starring as the professor of a group of students who may be up to no good. it's supposed to be sexy and roller coaster-y and twisty and turny, if you're into that sort of thing.

Parenthood; NBC. 9 pm CST. 6th and Final Season Premiere.


Friday, 9/26

Shark Tank; ABC. 7 pm CST. 6th Season Premiere.

The Amazing Race; CBS. 7 pm CST. 25th Cycle Premiere.

Hawaii Five-O; CBS. 8 pm CST. 5th Season Premiere.

Dog With a Blog; Disney Channel. 8 pm CST. 3rd Season Premiere.

Tanked; Animal Planet. 8:01 pm CST. 5th Season Premiere.

Blue Bloods; CBS. 9 pm CST. 5th Season Premiere.

Transparent; Amazon Prime. Streaming. Series Premiere.
Jeffrey Tambor stars as a man who comes out as a transgender individual.


Saturday, 9/27

Saturday Night Live; NBC. 10:30 pm CST. 40th Season Premiere.


Sunday, 9/28

Avengers Assemble; Disney XD. 7:30 am CST. 2nd Season Premiere.

Once Upon a Time; ABC. 7 pm CST. 4th Season Premiere.

The Simpsons; Fox. 7 pm CST. 26th Season Premiere.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine; Fox. 7:30 pm CST. 2nd Season Premiere.

Family Guy; Fox. 8 pm CST. 13th Season Premiere.
They swing for the fences right away in the much-hyped Simpsons cross-over.

Resurrection; ABC. 8 pm CST. 2nd Season Premiere.

CSI; CBS. 9 pm CST. 15th Season Premiere.

Revenge; ABC. 9 pm CST. 4th Season Premiere.

nice shirt

Because-- why not...?

John Barrowman is so awesome....

Television Premieres and Notables: September 15-21, 2014

And here we go for Fall 2014. Starting out slowly this week with Fox jumping the gun (because of baseball playoffs in October) and kicking in next week...

Monday, 9/15

Dancing With the Stars; ABC. 7 pm CST. 19th Cycle Premiere.

Masterchef (Fox; 7 pm CST). Season Finale.

The Approval Matrix (Sundance; 10 pm CST). Season Finale.


Tuesday, 9/16

New Girl; Fox. 8 pm CST. 4th Season Premiere.
Let's hope the writers of this show regrouped a little after the abject failure that was last season...

The Mindy Project; Fox. 8:30 pm CST. 3rd Season Premiere.
I am still not as in love with this show as many (critics) are, but it did get better last year.

Brickleberry; Comedy Central. 9:30 pm CST. Season Premiere.


Wednesday, 9/17

The Mysteries of Laura; NBC. 7 pm CST. Series Premiere.
A detective solves crimes by day-- and tries to raise her wild twin six-year-olds at night.

Red Band Society; Fox. 8 pm CST. Series Premiere.
A young man in a coma narrates the "adventures" of a group of teens who live in a hospital due to various serious conditions (osteosarcoma, needing a heart transplant, cystic fibrosis).

The Meltdown With Jonah and Kumail (Comedy Central; 9:30 pm CST). Season Finale.


Thursday, 9/18

Married (FX; 9 pm CST). Season Finale.
I stuck it out, but this show didn't not capture my imagination.

The Honorable Woman (Sundance; 9 pm CST). Season Finale.

Tim & Eric's Bedtime Stories; adult swim. 11:15pm CST. Series Premiere.
I just don't do nearly enough LSD to be able to handle Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, but some people just loved it. This show is probably for them.


Friday, 9/19

Tanked; Animal Planet. 9 pm CST. 5th Season Premiere.


Saturday, 9/20

I've tried to talk the show up here and there,and I'll say last week's Hell on Wheels (AMC; 8 pm  CST) was just gut-wrenching. There are great things going on on that quiet Saturday show. In my mind, Anson Mount is one of the best actors working on television right now. You should try to catch up.


Sunday, 9/21

Madam Secretary; CBS. 7:30 pm CST. Series Premiere.
Tea Leoni is finally back on TV.
She plays a woman leading a quiet life until the president asks her to be his secretary of state.
The preview I saw made that whole scene look preposterous, but I'm game for trying this one out anyway.
And looking at the start time of this premiere, I think it's a good time to remind people that their CBS and Fox shows may start late due to football. Make sure you build in time on your DVR-- especially if the network air the late game that week.  CBS, especially, gets "off". I often had to add a whole hour of cushion last year.

The Good Wife; CBS. 8:30 pm CST. 6th Season Premiere.

Cutthroat Kitchen; Food Network. 9 pm CST. 5th Season Premiere.

geez-- they'll sell anything...

Yes-- I know it's a joke. (just in case)