What Sucks, What Doesn't Suck This Season.... (for those of you outside the US, wait a few months before this becomes relevant...)
Theme of the Season: Aliens or Things That Go Bump In The Night
Obituary of the Season: Reality TV. Long Live Reality TV. Even Survivor Sucks.
Best Show Period: Veronica Mars. Last season is out on DVD. Go buy it. Now. Catch up. This is the best thing since Buffy, and you all know what I think about that....
Second Best Show Period: Lost. Reinvents itself when it did not need to. My only reaction to the first episode (no spoilers) was, "Oh my god! It's Captain Nemo!" Got that faith versus logic vibe going too (heavy irony in the "Locke is the guy who goes with Faith" theme!)
Third Best Show Period: Desperate Housewives. We all try to avoid being like Susan, Bree, Lynette and Gabrielle, but they're there in all of us. Chick show, but accessible to they guys (unlike some of the others below!)....
Fourth Best Show Period: Medium. Ghosts meet CSI. Patricia Arquette is the only real mom on TV, and she's a psychic who solves crimes! Whoa!
Why are the top three all new from *last* season? Is this telling you something?
Best New Show: Supernatural. I was sure I was not going to like this show. The first episode sucked. I'm still watching it. Ghosts, not aliens, so it gets points for not following the dominant trend. Got a great 70's vibe though: they drive around in a 69 Impala with an *8-track* tape in the glove compartment (and tonight's episode closed to Free's "All Right Now" for you Stanfurd alums...)
Best New Comedy: My Name Is Earl. Its a guy show, and I actually don't like it much (it's Tivo'ed, while I watch Supernatural). Its definitely different though: this year's Arrested Development.
Second Best New Comedy: How I Met Your Mother. Subtle, but it grows on you. "Doogie" steals it...
Surprise Good New Comedy Disguised as Dreck: Twins. A staple for my kid and I: wedged between Amanda and Reba, its got pull. We counted 47 references to "The Butt-Pucker" in the first two episodes (which has thankfully gone away), but the latest episode where Farrah shows up the "brains" by coming up with the "Lop-Sizer"--a bra with different cup sizes--had us rolling on the floor. Melanie Griffith steals it. Give it time and it just might work...
Best New Drama: Commander-In-Chief. It will take a while to get its legs, but its picked up the West Wing audience in spades. Geena Davis deserves a hit show. If you're a fan of the Donald Sutherland-channeling-Tom-DeLay character (who is marvelous), then avoid this show (you oughta be watching The O'Reilly Factor anyway

).
Best CSI replacement: Bones. Its not your average whodunit with autopsies. Doesn't hurt that David B is in it, but that's not the reason to watch, Emily Deschanel (sister of Zooey) is what makes this one tick.
Best Alien Show: Threshold. Carla Gugino does Karen Sisco channeling Captain Jonathan Archer with a neurotic, non-evil Lore and The Station Agent as her sidekicks. Aliens with a Star Trek angle that the others just fall flat on.
Suckiest Alien Show: Surface. Guys will be able to drool over Lake Bell's breasts, but they won't buoy this dreck. The characters are the most clueless I have seen in a long time. As one post I've seen said, "Hey meathead! That "lizard" is going to eat your best friend before it eats your bratty older sister!"
Boringest Alien Show: Invasion. Is anything going on here? What? I don't know. Do you remember any of their names? ZZZzzzz.....
Best Content-Free Eye Candy: Las Vegas. Guys got Molly and Nikki, we girls got Josh Duhamel

....
Best Chick Show Period: Gilmore Girls. Best season ever. Rory's a felon. Lorelai is so mad she can actually spit! Love everywhere! Logan: best TV hunk in a *long* time! More sophisticated guys can find themselves drooling over Lauren Graham (like our local TV critic Tim Goodman)....
Best New Chick Show: Related. Guys will not get this show at all. Its totally for chicks, and there's no Sex and The City equivalent of Samantha.
Still the Best Ghost Show: Charmed. If you dropped this one, come back. Kaley Cuoco totally steals it. Guys will like the fact that they finally have a witch that's blonde and kicks butt (kinda like me!)...
Boob-Tubed,
Buffy