"New Girl" is a refreshingly funny sitcom that I look forward to watching this fall.
This fall, Fox is too busy overhyping Glee and its newest Idol wannabe to leave much room on the schedule for new shows. So this won’t take very long:
- Terra Nova – You’ve probably seen promos for this – it seems to be the Fox show they are promoting heavily. It’s a cross between Jurassic Park and Avatar, and I am not super interested, but I do like the guy from Life on Mars (Jason O’Mara) that stars in it. So, I’ll check out the pilot at least. I’m not very crazy about dinosaurs (I only watched Jurassic Park when it had been out for nearly ten years, and I hated it), so I hope the focus is on the characters and not the things trying to eat them.
- Allen Gregory/I Hate My Teenage Daughter – Meh. One is a cartoon about a super intelligent and mature seven year old. The other is about two incompetent single moms trying to raise their teenage daughters. My guess is that neither one will do particularly well.
- The X Factor – Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul try to reclaim their former Idol glory, and just as my interest in that show continues to wane (I still can’t believe how weak the finalists were this past season!), I just don’t care about this one. I haven’t even investigated it – just another talent competition.
- New Girl – I am actually very interested in this one. Zoey Deschanel is just so cute, charming, and funny. The trailer looked pretty funny, and I like that she has a trio of male roommates who are trying to help her get back on her feet after a bad breakup. Seems different and funny. I’ve already seen the pilot thanks to Tivo’s free preview, and it was laugh out loud funny. The characters are not your stereotypical sitcom types. They are quirky but likeable, even after just the first few minutes of the show. Make a point to watch this one – it’s worth your time! I especially loved the use of Dirty Dancing references and music in the pilot episode. Instant classic.
Mid season will mark the premiere of Alcatraz, which has potential since it comes from J.J. Abrams and has Jorge Garcia. But like many supernatural shows, it may be too specific to last very long. Another new show will be Touch, which sounds very convoluted and complex. But I’m interested in it because it has Kiefer Sutherland playing a loving father to an autistic 11 year old who happens to have a very special gift of seeing the interconnectedness of events that other people can’t see. Or something like that. Those shows usually don’t last very long (remember Flashforward? – probably not…), but maybe since they have a few more months to work on it, the showrunners will get this one right.
So I will be watching The New Girl, along with returning favorite Fringe. In my opinion, this sci-fi gem is by far the best show on Fox. Every season it reinvents itself or adds another layer of complexity and excitement. I was skeptical about the alternate universe last season, but after a few episodes I was hooked and was equally interested in both storylines (over here and over there). However, I am on the fence about Glee. I still haven’t been interested enough in it to finish watching all of last season. The final three episodes are waiting on my Tivo. A few issues I have with it: overpromotion, weak to nonexistent plots, and inconsistent (if any) character development. Suddenly last season almost all of the teenagers on the show were completely self-centered and even vindictive toward their fellow gleeks. Why watch a show that doesn’t have any likeable characters? I have heard about some behind the scenes changes, so I am willing to give the show another chance. But if things don’t change soon I will have no regrets jumping off the Glee bandwagon. What will you be watching this fall on Fox?
Eclaire Fare 