Fall TV Menu

With the 2009 Emmy's ending on a very predictable note, it is time to officially welcome back prime time television into our homes, on our boob-tubes or through our Hulu accounts. Everyone likes to be entertained and hopefully even the most upper-crust snobs have at least one TV program that they tune into every once in a while that gives them pleasure. And don't let the Emmy's fool you: Mad Men is gearing up to be a bipolar season, with half of the episodes being knockouts and the other half should falling under the blade of a John Deer tractor (that episode was one of the former, not to get confused). As for comedy fans, 30 Rock is still about a month away. Therefore, let me be your host, as I might influence your DVR appetites with the following menu of fall entrees for your eyes and ears:

The leftovers: Parks and Recreation (NBC, Thursdays, 8:30/7:30 c)

Along with The Office, The Big Bang Theory, and It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, I'm adding Amy Poehler's dead-pan comedy to the Thursday night selection this season. If you watched the first season, you know things didn't pick up until about the fourth episode, at which point it was hard to not deny the smiles running across your face. Unfortunately, the season premiere was only a taste of more flavorful portions to come. A little disappointing, yes, but no worse than the other three shows side that were mentioned above (the strongest one was surprisingly The Office). My hope is that the writers realize that, like Michael Scott, one person alone cannot drive a mockumentary -- it takes a whole cast and Parks and Recreation has one of the most skilled ensembles around. All I can say is that this show is gonna be a late bloomer, but be there for it. It will put Pawnee, Indiana on the map!

The main course to fill you up: Community (NBC, Thursdays 9:30/8:30 c)

Hands down, the funniest, brightest thing to come out of the new season line-up. Hard to imagine it is on NBC, the soulless lovechild of Jay Leno and Satan, but it fits nicely next to The Office and Parks & Recreations. Joel McHale leads a band of fast-talking, snarky community college students as they try to navigate their way through slightly higher education. The pilot was a little fast paced, but in a good way. Jokes came flying right and left, making you actually think about what was being said instead of simply rolling along with a laugh track. Chevy Chase appears to be revving up to do some great work as Pierce Hawthorne, but Gillian Jacobs, Danny Pudi, and The Daily Show''s John Oliver all manage to keep up with the writing and McHale's wit. Community is smart enough to make it into school, but not so smart that you can't get it.

Pass on: Glee (Fox, Wednesdays, 9/8 c)

Speaking of school, remember how much high school sucked? Well, welcome back, Viewer. Many of you have heard it is the best new series on television is a cutesy, perky one-hour (!) called Glee that thrives on its topical humor, pop-radio sing-along numbers, and of course, a sense of true heart. All of this is true, except for the fact that it uses stereotypical characters to tell half-baked stories about growing up with a song in your soul. Young girls will swoon; theater nerds will cry. All because it takes them back "to the good ol' days" instead of giving us something new and original. I know it is supposed to be about a glee club, but I worry for it, especially since it just got picked up by Fox for a full season. Couldn't we get a few originally produced musical numbers, a la Flight of the Conchords? At the very least, take out the blocks of melodramatic cheese at the end of each episode, make it not so obvious that the cast is lip syncing, and give Jane Lynch some better lines as she's the only good thing the show has going for it. Also, despite the number of times you say it, glee club was never cool.

A little undercooked: Bored To Death (HBO, Sundays, 9:30)

Probably the show I am rooting for the most, but also the one that let me down the most too. Pilots are a tricky thing -- you can either have a great one and watch the rest of the series try to live up to it or you can start with a slow boil, introduce the set-up and the characters so that by the end of the season you don't want it to end. I'm hoping Bored To Death like rice on the stove and once it really gets cooking, it will be delicious. Right now it seems that none of the characters, aside from perhaps Ted Danson, know exactly what they want. Danson's character sums up the title of the show the best because he's gone to the top of life and found there are no more mysteries out there, which I hope the show runners will take into account when they send Jason Schwartzman's sleuth out into the noir-ish streets of Brooklyn.

For dessert: Modern Family (ABC, Wednesdays, 9/8 c)

While most of the time I'd say avoid ABC programming, I have to give props where props are due. Modern Family, which follows up the ups and downs of three nuclear families circa the present, is surprising in how funny and fresh it feels. True, some of the jokes Wednesday night had a little air in the them, but the trajectory of where the show is going definitely warrants merit. The while Al Bundy 2.0 was probably my least favorite person in the series, it wasn't enough to steal from the Mitchell and Cameron -- a gay couple with an adopted Vietnamese daughter -- who were able to play with and against perceptions of homo normative relationships. They are witty, they are messed up, but they also feel incredibly real. If that is not reason enough, rumor has it that Edward Norton, who liked the pilot so much he watched it three times in a row, will be guest starring on two episodes in the upcoming future. My recommendation: save room for this one.

And there you have it -- your main five course meal for happy television dining this fall. Don't forget to bring your favorite bottle of wine or beer with you, tip your waiter, and tell all your friends. Bon Appetit!