A 100 Proof television preview

I am trying to do better but for the most part, I am a home body so I watch a lot of TV. This new season is shaping up to be a good one so chances are you won't be seeing me out on the town anytime soon.

After getting knocked down hard last year, NBC looks to return to greatness. The CW hopes that two mediocre networks can combine to make a one great one. ABC hopes to find some other shows to compliment powerhouses Grey's Anatomy, Lost and Desperate Housewives. And almost every network has some type of 24 inspired drama (Vanished, Kidnapped, The Nine) on the schedule that’s guaranteed to offer a buffet of plot twists.

Here are a few new shows that have caught my eye. Some will be hits and some will vanish quicker than a Harriet Myers Supreme Court nomination but I think all of them will be entertaining.

Marathon men (The hits will keep on coming)

Monday is going to be a busy night for my VCR. Heroes and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip look good, so good they might actually interrupt my Monday Night football viewing. The key word there is "might". Heroes is about ordinary people with superpowers but it is not a comic book by any stretch of the imagination. It looks like it will be less about the powers and more about what they do with them.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip has a strong cast and a strong premise.

On Tuesdays NBC could have another winner with Friday Night Lights. It's a show about a high school football team and their lives off the field. Think the Dawson's Creek with testosterone. I don't see this show as being just "OK"; it will either be a huge success or a colossal failure. I am thinking the former.

30 Rock could have some problems on Wednesday nights. The NBC comedy's premise is similar to Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and two shows about the backstage workings of a sketch comedy show might be too much. I am a huge Tina Fey fan so I will be watching this one. Fey helped Saturday Night Live watchable again and has proven she can function well in front of and behind the cameras. Plus she is smart, funny and attractive, what more could you ask for in a star?

If Monday is a busy day for my VCR then Thursday will be the death of it. There are 5 returning shows on 3 different channels that I am interested in. We'll discuss those on a later date.

As far a new programs go, Ugly Betty is the Thursday show I am most looking forward to. I like the premise, unattractive girl trying to make it in the fashion world, and I love the executive producer, Salma Hayek.

Friday will be my off night for new TV shows. There is only one new show on the schedule, Anne Heche's Men in Trees, and to be honest it is not all that appealing to me.

Minute men (Over before you know it)

The Class probably won't survive the full season but I am going to give it a shot because I am a fan of Sean Maguire.

Twenty Good Years looks good on paper. John Lithgow and Jeffrey Tambor are good, but early reviews indicate the writing is not up to par and I find the premise to be somewhat shaky.

The Game, a comedy about football wives, girlfriends and mothers, could be the first CW causality. It is a show that could be good but probably won't be. If it makes it through the first half of the season, I will be surprised. If the show gets canceled maybe star Tia Mowery can get a job standing in for her twin sister, Tamera, on Strong
Medicine.

If you don't like any of the network shows that premier in the coming days, just wait until January. You can bet that the there will be at least 3 or 4 new ones to replace them.

And if that doesn't work there's always TV Land, Comedy Central and Sci-Fi Channel.