You Have Options....Stop Feeding the Disease

It was the first week of new fall television. I have to say that I am partly responsible for the scope of television over the past few years. When reality television had it's first boom, right around the first Survivor, I watched. It just keeps getting worse and worse. I turned into that guy who complained about how reality television sucked, but continued to watch it because I claimed there was nothing else on. I'm not feeding that beast anymore. I do not and will not watch reality television. It is bad. I feel guilty watching the news, because it's too reality driven for me. I want writers and actors and sets. All of you out there that know how bad reality television is...just...stop...watching.

I offer you the alternatives. This is what I've seen from the shows I watched this week.

I'll start off on Sunday. In addition to the already popular Desperate Housewives, Simpsons, Family Guy, American Dad, and Grey's Anatomy, there is a new show of which I caught a glimpse. It's called "The War at Home" starring Michael Rapaport. His constant uneasiness with every situation that arises is funny enough. The situations you can relate to although they are often taken to the extremes of our imagination which you can tell is definitely a goal of the show. I am going to definitely suggest you watch this one along with the rest of the Fox line up on Sundays and Tivo (or record like we do...the old fashion way) the ABC shows for later viewing. Also, I've found that Desperate Housewives is better to watch taped because you can go back and watch parts you missed when you were laughing or gasping and skip the commercials when they leave you in suspense.

Monday night could possibly the strongest night of television. It is shame that they put so many good shows on one night, because that means that some of them are doomed and also that the rest of the week is filled crappy reality television. I'll start with CBS. Two popular returning shows at 7:00 and 8:00 (all times central), The Kings of Queens and Two and a Half Men. It's obvious that CBS hopes that these two can carry the show at the 7:30 and 8:30 time slots. The 7:30 slot, How I Met Your Mother, has a very good premise. In fact if they could just make some slight adjustments it could be more popular than "Friends". The biggest downside to this show is the character played by Neil Patrick Harris (formerly Doogie Howser, M.D.), he has got to go. His character really isn't that relevant and is obviously the Steve Urkel of the show trying to get America to say "Suit Up". The show at 8:30, Out of Practice, has some very redeeming qualities in the characters. This is however overshadowed by the poor acting. The show actually has a good setup and depending on how they develop the charactersand how much the acting improves (I'm so disappointed in you Henry Winkler) it could turn out to be a worth while sitcom.

On Fox, you'll catch Arrested Development at 7:00. It's the best show your not watching. Fox is hurting themselves by moving this show around, they did the same thing to Family Guy the first go round and the number 1 reason people stopped watching Family Guy is because the didn't know when it was on. The first episode of this season is probably the funniest one to date. If your watching something else tape this you won't regret it. Following is Kitchen Confidential. I'm giving it shot next week, because I can't stand to watch another episode of grown up Doogie Howser. 8:00 brings Prison Break, I hear nothing but good things, unfortunately I have yet to see it, and it's on the same time as Monday Night Football. Maybe I'll get the Season 1 DVD next year.

The other show which is definitely worth watching and is competing with Monday Night Football is Just Legal on the WB right after the long running 7th Heaven. I don't know why, but the first episode was shown on Wednesday night in a perfect time slot, now the WB decides to doom one of the best new television shows this year by putting it in this time slot. Booooo. Bad move.

I'm going to cut this short and continue ranting about new television shows next week.