The
new fall season is almost here. Starting next week, the cable and
broadcast networks will be begin rolling out new episodes of all the
shows that survived the writers-strike-afflicted 2007-2008 season,
giving us the chance to get acquainted with some old friends -- and
reacquaint ourselves with more than a few characters who we met only
fleetingly last fall. Here, then, are the top ten returning shows that
we're most looking forward to seeing.
It's a tie! We're as surprised as you are! (No, really; you have no idea.)
Here's the thing: we pretty much knew that 30 Rock would be at the top of this list. Its qualifications? Um, let's see... Amadeus parodies, blue dudes, werewolf bar mitzvahs, the Shinehardt Wig Company, "mind grapes," a seemingly endless supply of Conan O'Brien jokes, Tim Conway being racist, Paul Reubens being inbred, Will Arnett being Will Arnett, "MIND GRAPES" again, The Rural Juror, "Muffin Top," and Tracy Morgan saying "I was poopin' in the ladies room at the Ivy." Done.
But we
totally did not expect Terminator to be right up there with it.
For one thing, it's got its share of problems. Like the narration, which strikes us as the sort of hollowly emotional flourish that disappears after a while, like Suddenly
Susan's grandma. For another, we're not entirely confident in the way
the story is screwing with the Terminator continuity. Maybe this is
something that's being addressed in McG's big-screen Terminator
sequel? And, well, we're not big fans of John Carter, who's kind of a
sourpuss.
But
as any sentient computer system worth their bandwidth will tell you, numbers don't lie -- and Terminator showed up in more of our "yes,
please" lists than any of the other shows coming back this year.
Maybe it's the interplay between Lena Headey's Sarah Connor -- hotter and more human than Linda Hamilton, if somewhat less tortured -- and Summer Glau's new model (get it?) Terminator, Cameron (get it?) Phillips? We sometimes wish Cameron would go back to being as good at pretending to be a teenager as she was in the pilot, but she's clearly having as much fun sexifying the "square, Vulcan-type" role as, say, Jolene Blalock did back on Enterprise, so we'll just roll with it.
Ah, hang on... now we get it. Maybe if we were running around with two pistol packin' betties and not getting any action, we'd be sourpusses too.
30 Rock (Thursdays at 9:30 PM EST) premieres Thursday, October 30 at 9:30 PM EST on NBC
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (Mondays at 9PM EST) premieres THIS MONDAY at 9:00 PM on FOX
TOP TEN RETURNING SHOWS FALL 2008
#1. "30 Rock" & "Terminator"
#2. "Dexter"
#3. "Gossip Girl"
#4. "Pushing Daisies"
#5. "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia"
#6. "Heroes"
#7. "Dirty Sexy Money"
#8. "House"
#9. "Entourage" / "Californication"
#10. "The Shield"
