Fall 2008 TV Preview

Well, the fall 2008 television season is almost upon us, and if you haven't yet been inundated with the incessant advertising on the various networks, here is a rundown of the new scripted shows debuting this fall on the major broadcast networks. One recurring theme you may notice is the abundance of shows that are adaptations from foreign shows, which may be a circumstance of the writer's strike this past winter, which severely crippled the development of new TV shows. Whether or not this was a good thing remains to be seen.

ABC:
Life on Mars - Choosing to focus on remarketing its new TV shows from last year, the alphabet network is debuting only one new show this fall. An adaptation of a U.K. show, Life on Mars centers on NYPD Detective Sam Tyler when he finds himself back in time in 1973 New York after he's hit by a car chasing down a criminal. Already, there's been turmoil behind the scenes as David E. Kelley, who penned the original adaptation, has since left the series, and the original pilot has essentially been reshot as the new producers have replaced the entire cast except the original lead, Jason O'Mara. But change before the season starts is not necessarily a bad thing. Then again, the new producers are the people behind the now-defunct October Road, so you be the judge.
http://abc.go.com/primetime/lifeonmars/index?pn=index

CBS:
Worst Week - This comedy is an adaptation of a U.K. series of the same name, outlining the worst week in a young man's life leading up to his wedding. But the original TV show only had 7 episodes - hence the name, with a second season showing the week leading up to the birth of the couple's baby, and an additional 3-part Christmas special. I've seen both seasons of the original and could not stop laughing. However, as we all know, adaptations from overseas formats do not necessarily translate well, and I'm curious to see how the producers will translate a 7-day event into a 22-episode series. If it's half as funny as the original, though, it looks like CBS could have another comedy to add to its roster.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Worst_Week_of_My_Life

Gary Unmarried - Jay Mohr (Jerry Maguire) stars as Gary Barnes, a recently divorced man who must still deal with his ex-wife as he faces post-divorce mayhem after 15 years of marriage. From what I've read, buzz on the show was pretty positive, and CBS has the best track record with comedies recently, so it could be a keeper.
http://www.cbs.com/primetime/project_gary/

The Mentalist - Simon Baker (The Guardian) stars as Patrick Jane, a detective and independent consultant with the California Bureau of Investigation who has a remarkable track record for solving tough cases with his remarkable powers of observation. Kind of sounds like Psych on the USA Network, just a lot less funny.
http://www.cbs.com/primetime/the_mentalist/

The Ex-List - Another adaptation of a foreign TV show, this time from Israel, this show is about a young woman (Elizabeth Reaser aka "Jane Doe" on Grey's Anatomy) who learns from a psychic that she has already dated her future husband, and if she doesn't reconnect with him in the next year, she'll remain alone forever.
http://www.cbs.com/primetime/the_ex_list/

Eleventh Hour - Yup. This is another adaptation from a limited British TV series that starred Patrick Stewart of Star Trek: TNG fame. The American version stars Rufus Sewell as Dr. Jacob Hood, a brilliant biophysicist, who is recruited by the FBI as an on-call detective/scientist to handle scientific crises and oddities. The show does have a powerful producer behind the scenes in Jerry Bruckheimer, who is behind CBS's most successful crime procedurals, so it has a decent chance of making it.
http://www.cbs.com/primetime/eleventh_hour/

NBC:
Knight Rider - Yes, this is a remake of the David Hasselhoff series. I'd try to sum this show up, but I don't know how. It's basically about a man and his very special car. If you happened to be unfortunate enough to catch the backdoor pilot from this spring, you might be scratching your head as to how this made it to series. But such is the fortunes of TV on NBC right now. Most disappointing in the movie was Val Kilmer as the voice of KITT, the car. To be fair, though, he did fill in at the last moment for Will Arnett, whose previous work for another car company prevented him from working on the movie, which was basically one long car commercial. Hopefully, with new direction (from the guy behind Las Vegas), the show will be an improvement on the movie. It certainly couldn't be any worse, trust me.
http://www.nbc.com/Knight_Rider/

My Own Worst Enemy - Reading the description of this show, I had to do a double take. Christian Slater stars as Henry Spivey and Edward Albright in a Jekyll and Hyde role. Henry is a nice, boring suburban family man while Edward is a ruthless spy. Oh, and apparently, Henry's best friend also has dual personalities as well. Sounds like the makings of either a very confusing show or an absolutely brilliant one. Or maybe both.
http://www.nbc.com/My_Own_Worst_Enemy/

Kath and Kim - Guess what? Yet another adaptation of a foreign show. This time, it's an Australian show. A comedy starring Molly Shannon and Selma Blair about a divorced mother who lets her self-absorbed daughter move in after she separates from her husband. Apparently, this was a hit TV show in Australia so there must be something there. Let's just hope it's better than the commercials we've seen during the Olympics.
http://www.nbc.com/Kath_and_Kim/

Fox:
Fringe - One of the most anticipated new shows of the fall, this show boasts an impressive pedigree, coming from J.J. Abrams (Lost, Alias) and writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (Mission Impossible 3, Transformers). With this pedigree and the subject matter, this show is likely to gain a rapid cult following. Newcomer Anna Torv stars as a young FBI agent who brings together a brilliant but unstable scientist and his estranged son (Joshua Jackson of Dawson's Creek) to investigate mysterious happenings. Abrams has said that he was inspired by The X-Files, and by the sound of it, it seems like the former Fox show had a huge influence on this one. http://fox.com/programming/shows/new/fringe.htm

Do Not Disturb - A workplace comedy set at one of New York's hottest and hippest hotels. Starring Niecy Nash and Jerry O'Connell.
http://fox.com/programming/shows/new/donotdisturb.htm

CW:
90210 - If you have somehow missed the promos on this one, be thankful. A remake of one of the original teen dramas, the update is probably, of course, sexier and edgier. Just like the original Beverly Hills, 90210, the show looks at life through the eyes of a brother and sister duo who have just moved to California from Kansas. If you're a fan of the other teen dramas on the CW, this is probably right up your alley.
http://www.cwtv.com/shows/90210/about

Privileged - This show is about a Ivy League-educated young woman (JoAnna Garcia, Reba, whose life is turned upside down when she gets fired from her job and gets hired as the live-in tutor for two twin rich and spoiled girls in Palm Beach. Based on the book How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls.
http://cwtv.com/shows/privileged/about

So there's your quick look at the new television shows for the fall 2008 TV season. If you're like me, anything is an improvement over what's been showing over the summer. It's also a good thing the old TV shows are coming back too. Let's just hope and keep our fingers crossed that there won't be an actor's strike too.