Welcome to the 2nd annual 21 hours of TV Fall preview. Everyday this week we will look at the current day of the week and what will be on that night (Friday, we will look at the weekend). It’s my self imposed task every year to limit my TV viewing each week to 21 hours (14 without commercials), so in going through the schedules I will rate each show red, blue, or green. Green means I will be watching (at least initially), blue that I won’t but I won’t hold it against you if you do, and red that I refuse to believe anyone of sound mind could be interested. At the end of the week I will add my total hours up and cut what I need to get down to the required 21.
Monday
5 hours of TV for me on Monday, all of it drama. I know most people will be watching “Dancing with the Stars” at 8 but I gave that show 3 episodes last year and it was just as bad as I imagined. Maybe if I hadn’t been such an avid “So You Think You Can Dance” follower before checking it out I’d think differently, but to be honest what passes for dancing on “Stars” is a joke. Instead I’ll be watching the sophmore seasons of “Terminator” and “Chuck” at 8 and hoping they live up to the promise of the first. “Chuck” is a blast and “Terminator” was just good enough to keep me interested. At 9, I’ll be once again avoiding the travesty that “Prison Break” has become and instead be giving “Heroes” a second chance at keeping me around. The first season of Heroes showed too much promise for me to abandon it yet, but make no mistake, season 2 was really bad. The good news is that creator/writer Tim Kring has admited as much and seems poised to make good on his promise to get it back to what made it great. Finally at 10, I’ll be DVRing “CSI:Miami” if for no other reason than to see if Lt. Caine really is dead and how he will manage those witty one liners if he is. The only new show I’ll be checking out on Monday’s is also on at 10 (inheriting dearly departed Journeyman’s slot) and it is called “My Own Worst Enemy”. I’m interested in seeing if Slater can pull it off and if the concept is as interesting in motion as I find it on paper.
The color coded breakdown:
8PM
ABC – Dancing with the Stars
CBS – The Big Bang Theory
CW – Gossip Girl
Fox – Terminator: Sarah Conner Chronicles
NBC – Chuck
8:30PM
CBS – How I Met Your Mother
9PM
CBS – Two and a Half Men
CW – One Tree Hill
Fox – Prison Break
NBC – Heroes
9:30PM
ABC – Samantha Who?
CBS – Worst Week
10PM
ABC – Boston Legal
CBS – CSI: Miami
NBC – My Own Worst Enemy
Monday’s total: Five 1 hour dramas, zero comedies, 5 hours Monday, 5 hours total.