A look at TV in early 2009

Sorry there have not been many posts lately. I have been too busy to go out to the movies lately, and as many of you know nothing is on tv at the moment.

A few of my favorite premium channel shows like "True Blood", "Dexter", and "Entourage" won't be coming back till late summer or fall. My favorite comedy series "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" won't be returning till next year. A few of my other favorites like "Heroes" and "Gossip Girl" are out for another week or so.

A few old favorites are coming back again for another season in a few weeks. I can't wait to see new episodes of "The Tudors", "Big Love", and "Lost". Hell I'll even admit it I am excited to watch the first few episodes of "American Idol" so I can watch as they weed through the really horrible crazy people.

Yet there are some brand new shows to look forward to.

On showtime there is a very promising show called "United States of Tara." It's written by Diablo Cody (best known as the writer of "Juno")and from what I have read seems to be a very quirky and fun show. It's about a woman with multiple personality disorder, although it is a highly controversial diagnosis it does make for some great tv. I fully intend to watch it when it premiers on January 18th.

Before I list any other descriptions for the next show on my list just let me say this, Joss Whedon. Really that alone should have been enough to sell you on the idea of "Dollhouse". The premise sounds a bit stupid, it's about people with altered DNA who have their memories regularly wiped clean or imprinted with false memories so that they an complete tasks. It's sounds a bit close to the current show "My Own Worst Enemy" but I trust that anything put out by Whedon will have excellent writing, unlike "My own Worst Enemy." But really who would think that a space western, a show about a cheerleader fighting vampires, or a musical about super villains could be good. I have faith in Joss Whedon, I will see anything he makes. "Dollhouse" premiers February 13th.


NBC is putting out a show called "Kings" a modern day retelling of the story of King David. I don't know, I mean I already know it's good story but I'm not sure how it will translate. Honestly from the trailer it looks like they are taking this show a bit too seriously, I mean obviously it's a serious drama but I get the feeling that they are going to get pretty pretentious with this one. I have a personal pet peve with any movie or show that takes itself too seriously, any show that sets out thinking it is the best show ever created or that it is a show that will change lives (excluding shows like Extreme Home Makeover where they actually do change lives)automatically has me annoyed. We shall have to see how it turns out. It won't be out until March 19th, but It seems epic enough to attempt watching it.

None of the other upcoming new shows seemed to impress me enough to temp me into watching.

I think "Harpers Isand" could be kind of a fun show because it's essentially a horror tv show. One of the characters gets killed off each week. If they add the right amount of cheesiness into this show it could end up being quite enjoyable. Of course it could also be terrible.

"Cupid" has a cute romantic premise about a man who thinks he is cupid. Experience tells me that cute romantic shows never last. Even very well done ones like "Pushing Daisies" never get the ratings necessary for a show to stick around.

"Castle" and "The Unusuals" are both shows dealing with the NYPD. I don't know about you but I am sick of shows about crime scenes and courtrooms. They may be good shows, they may gain an audience but I for one am sick of the whole cop genre. "The Beast" is also a show about cops, the twist they are undercover cops. Even the promise of former underwear model Travis Fimmel, and Patrick Swayze is not enough to get me to watch something with cops in it. Oh crap there is another one isn't there. I also forgot that "Flashpoint" was coming out, that's a show about SWAT teams. Enough with the cop genre already!

The advertisements for "Trust me" are a tedious and boring attempt at humor, how can I expect the real show to be any different.

I would rather gnaw off my own arm then watch "Howdie Do It" a lame ass spin on traditional prank shows. I don't find Howie Mandel to be funny in the first place, and the commercials don't make the show look all that good. His big prank seems to be pretending to be a waiter who sticks his fingers in people foods. ZOMG that is so original and hilarious listen through the thick coating of sarcasm you may actually hear me laughing on the inside.

I'm sure there are a lot of shows that I missed, but honestly I don't see too many winners out of this bunch. Then again I always hated "Everybody Loves Raymond" and that ran for years, so who knows there is really no accounting for taste.