new television this week...part 1 of whatever

It's my favorite time of year because new shows are premiering and there is a hopefulness...a hope that maybe I'll like a new show as much as "The Shield" or "Brothers and Sisters" or the first season of "Grey's Anatomy". So far nothing has wowed me but here's what I've seen thus far.

Private Practice - Garbage. I thought the backdoor pilot last spring was bad and they took all that criticism and grumbling and...did nothing. Oh wait, recast the black actress and then did nothing. In fact, I think the overall look of it got even worse. I could only watch 25 minutes but in those minutes I thought the lighting and look of the whole thing was terrible, the characters were still bland, and the situations were, at the same time, boring and ridiculous. They took one of the most charismatic likable characters I've seen in a few years and completely ruined her.

Dirty Sexy Money - I actually had fairly high hopes for this show. I was intrigued by the flashy cast and the soap aspect to it. And I admit that I was excited because they shoot next to our office and I'm jealous of all the golf carts that read "Dirty Sexy Wardrobe" and "Dirty Sexy Transpo". I want one of those. But this show was hugely disappointing. I didn't think it'd be so...cartoon-y. The characters were ridiculously one-dimensional with the exception of Sutherland and Krause. And the girl doing the Paris Hilton imitation is annoying as hell.

Gossip Girl - A total guilty pleasure show on the CW. It's trashy, people are hot, and I would probably watch if I had more time.

Chuck and Reaper - I grouped this together because everyone is comparing these two shows. Don't know if you know much about them but they both star geeky yet lovable 20 somethings who are working at pretty much exactly the same Best Buy clone. Then something extraordinary happens to them and they have to live this secret life while maintaining their geeky existence. These shows were called the best new shows of the year so I was curious. "Chuck" is the glossier show on NBC and it was directed by McG - the genius who brought you the Charlie's Angels movies. While I did love all the talk of Stanford (the main character went there), I thought the tone was totally uneven...half "Alias" and half sitcom...and everything was a bit off. The premise that he has seen the government's secrets on his computer and it's burned into his brain isn't the most interesting. The main guy really reminds me of Jim from "The Office" which is great but I can't say I'll keep watching this show.
Now "Reaper" is a different story. I really liked this one. It's an edgier, funnier version and the pilot was directed by Kevin Smith. The main guy is geeky and funny and adorable and his Kevin Smith/Jack Black-esque sidekick was entertaining as well. But this one has Ray Wise as the Devil which also adds something. And this likable guy hunting down people who have escaped from hell is pretty fun. Reminds me of Buffy a bit but funnier. Don't know...just like the even tone of this one more. (And there was a mention of Stanford in this one too.) :)