Gather 'round the teevee box!

It's that time again! The summer doldrums of network television are passing by, and it's time for the new fall season! Not that summer has been a total wash. HBO has been splendid with a great season of Big Love, a good (though not as good as in the past) season of Entourage, and my favorite new show Flight of the Conchords. Plus, TBS aired the pleasantly surprising My Boys (it helps that it's about Cubs fans, but it really is smartly written). But nothing compares with the fall, when we have a glut of the new and the welcome return of my favorites.

The first new show I'm interested in aired last night- Back to You on Fox. The commercials did nothing for me, it looked like a fairly stale premise, and I can't stand Patricia Heaton (mostly because of how quickly she jumped on the pro-Rush Limbaugh/ anti-Michael J. Fox /anti-stem cell bandwagon during the last election) but I was interested. First, the critics told me to be interested. It was universally acclaimed. Second, I love Kelsey Grammar (hooray for Sideshow Bob!). Third, it's created by two of the guys from Frasier. Also, Fred Willard's on it, and he's hilarious! So, what did I think. Not bad, really. Made me laugh out loud more than once (twice at least on Fred Willard jokes...just sayin'). I give every new show I watch a few episodes to prove itself, and I feel like Back to You has a solid foundation. It at least has my interest.

What else will I be watching? In terms of new shows- Reaper (Kevin Smith directed the pilot), Pushing Daisies (could be cool or just plain horrible), Dirty Sexy Money, and Carpoolers (it has Arrested Development creators on board- I'm there). There may be others I'll try, I just can't remember them. I'm also going to start watching How I Met Your Mother. I've seen a couple episodes and Neil Patrick Harris is just plain brilliant. Plus, it's funny. It officially becomes the first show I've wanted to regularly watch on CBS (aside from news and Letterman) in at least a decade. That's impressive.

Returning shows? Sunday belongs to Fox and animation. Simpsons, King of the Hill, Family Guy, and even American Dad because I'm too lazy to change the channel (it's not as bad as most people say, but I wouldn't miss it if it was gone). Thursdays belong to NBC. All four of their sitcoms are absolute top notch, and I can't wait to get them started again; especially The Office and 30 Rock. Other than that, House and Heroes come back soon, but then I have to wait until January for 24 and Lost. So, my schedule's pretty full. I'm sure things will change, but it's always an exciting time. Oh, and one thing I won't be watching: Cavemen. Stupid commercials, even worse show. That's all I have to say right now.