C'mon Big TV! Mama Needs a New Pair of Shows!

Forgive my lame headline, but I feel as though TV in 2009 owes us. Us, being faithful television viewers, that is.

Granted, we'll watch just about anything they put on the air ("A Double Shot of Love," anyone?), but we are starting to reach our limits. Last year -- writers' strike or no writers' strike -- was just awful. It's getting to the point where we're so hungry for good TV, we're having television mirages -- picturing good writing, funny plotlines and non-annoying characters. Only after reaching to turn up the volume do we realize we're left with just a fistful of sand.

OK, that's a bit dramatic, but you get the point. We want, nay, NEED good TV. So c'mon 2009 -- how about a television comeback year?

Channel Surfing bloggers Sara Boyd, Malavika Jagannathan, Adam Reinhard and Thomas Rozwadowski are more hopeful than ever this year. Taking a glance at the new and returning shows for winter, we eached picked a show to preview -- with our hopes and expectations -- then will return later this week to let you all know how it went, and if we're doomed for another year of bad television.

"Nip/Tuck" -- 9 p.m., Tuesdays on FX

It's been quite the journey for Sean McNamara and Christian Troy, and it seems that moving their plastic surgery practice to Los Angeles only added new drama. So far in its fifth season, I had to wonder what the writers were smoking when they dreamed up some of the plotlines. Don't get me wrong, it was shocking and full of surprises, but also quite clear -- with this show, there is no line they will not cross. I'll be honest, I still have to look away during their quite graphic surgery scenes, but last season, I found myself even looking away when they weren't in the OR. Between Sean's crazed agent/stalker, the return of Dawn Budge (played by loudmouth Rosie O'Donnell) and Gina's return and sudden, er, downfall (yikes) it seems there's a lot riding on "Nip/Tuck's" return. Though I can't imagine with the direction they're taking this show, we'll be disappointed by the return.

-- Sara Boyd



"True Beauty" -- 9 p.m., Mondays on ABC

OK, let’s be honest, I’m kinda figuring that “True Beauty” – premiering tonight on ABC – is a cross between Ashton Kutcher’s other beauty-isn’t-just-skin-deep show “Beauty and the Geek” and Tyra Banks’ ridiculous but addictive “America’s Next Top Model.” With both Kutcher and Banks involved, I don’t think it’s a stretch. Based on the promo, “True Beauty” seems more like “Beauty and the Geek” than “Top Model.” Ten beautiful people come together and compete in challenges that they think are judging them on the outside, but – drumroll – little do they know that it's their “inner beauty” that counts. Although this has guilty pleasure potential written all over it, I’m not quite sure where it’s going after episode one when the true nature of the competition is revealed to the contestants who are still fighting over $100,000 and a spot on People magazine’s “100 Most Beautiful” list.

-- Malavika Jagannathan


"Scrubs" -- 8 p.m., Tuesdays on ABC

New home, fresh coat of paint. It makes sense, but "Scrubs" has been so unwatchable for three seasons, what could possibly bring back fans of the early eccentricity that defined Sacred Heart Hospital? Start with honesty. Creator Bill Lawrence has been shock-'n'-awed by the promotions department at ABC, so much so that he seems re-energized by a series that, despite meager ratings, has managed to keep its talented cast in place all these years. In a recent Entertainment Weekly interview, he promised a return to "real" characters so the audience would once again care as the final pieces of the puzzle -- notably J.D.'s (Zach Braff) exit from his longtime hospital home -- are put into place. It appears some hot and heavy network love is all Lawrence needed for a return to form -- though let's face it, even if the reason is Seinfeldian spite toward NBC ("If this show can pull in better ratings than, like, "Kath & Kim," it would really make me happy," Lawrence said), that's good enough for us non-newbies who wouldn't mind giving the show a second chance in its final season.

-- Thomas Rozwadowski

"According to Jim" -- 7 p.m., Tuesdays on ABC

As one of Channel Surfing's mortal enemies (we have quite a few, actually -- curse you, "American Idol!"), "According to Jim" occupies a rarified position in the world of TV, comparable to GM's role in the automobile market: It's too big to fail. Now in its eighth season, the sitcom, which stars Jim Belushi (who reminds me of the movie "Walk Hard," where the father keeps telling his son "The wrong kid died!"), is critically reviled, and floats just high enough in the toilet bowl ... er, Neilsen ratings ... to keep popping back up year after year. But are we being too hard on this monumental piece of excrement? Having never seen even a full minute of it myself, I volunteer my eyes, mind and soul to the watching of a complete half hour. I vow to go into it open-minded and treat the show fairly ... which is more than I would ever promise to "American Idol."

-- Adam Reinhard

Be sure to check back later this week to see what the Channel Surfing bloggers thought of the week of returns and new shows. Who knows? Maybe we'll even *gasp* like one of them!

— Sara Boyd, sboyd2@greenbaypressgazette.com ; Malavika Jagannathan, mjaganna@greenbaypressgazette.com ; Adam Reinhard, areinhard@greenbaypressgazette.com; Thomas Rozwadowski, trozwado@greenbaypressgazette.com

2009: The Season Ahead

Breath a sigh of relief. The "second season" is almost upon us.

With the help of Rick Kushman at the Sacramento Bee, here's a look ahead to the 2009 TV season as best we could dig up ...

Shows that have already received the ax, either officially or unofficially:

“My Own Worst Enemy,” “Knight Rider,” “Crusoe” and “America’s Toughest Jobs” from NBC; “The Ex List” on CBS; “Do Not Disturb” on Fox, and “Easy Money,” “In Harm’s Way,” “Valentine,” and “Stylista” on CW.

Plus, there are the second-year shows that are doomed. They are ABC’s “Pushing Daisies,” “Eli Stone” and “Dirty Sexy Money” and NBC’s “Lipstick Jungle.”

What's coming back early in the year:

“Scrubs” (ABC): Jan. 6. Remember, NBC canceled it and ABC quickly picked it up.

“Nip/Tuck” (FX): Jan. 6. One of TV’s seriously out-there series comes back after a strike-shortened season.

“Damages” (FX): Jan. 7. There’s a new case and more legal tricks ahead for this slick and terrific show.

“Flashpoint” (CBS): Jan. 9. The Canadian import was a surprising summer success for CBS.

“Monk” and “Psych” (USA): Jan. 9. They both return for short seasons, then “Monk’s” final season will begin sometime in summer 2009.

“24” (Fox): Jan. 11. It premieres with a two-hour episode, then follows with another two hours Jan. 12.

"American Idol” (Fox): Jan. 13 and 14. Show producers added songwriter and music producer Kara DioGuardi as a fourth judge. Other changes include just three weeks of auditions instead of four, more time spent on the Hollywood round, and this season the judges will pick a few “wild card” finalists.

“Battlestar Galactica” (Sci Fi): Jan. 16. This starts the final 10 weeks of one of TV’s most intriguing series.

“Friday Night Lights” (NBC): Jan. 16. It’s the broadcast premiere for episodes that ran this fall on DirecTV.

“Flight of the Conchords” and “Big Love” (HBO): Jan. 18. Both shows lost start dates because of the writers strike.

“Secret Diary of a Call Girl” and “The L Word” (Showtime): Jan. 18. This will be the sixth and final season for “L Word.”

“Lost” (ABC): Jan. 21. After last season’s dazzling run to the finish, fans have been burning up the blogs with rumors and hearsay.

“Burn Notice” (USA): Jan. 22. Like USA’s other shows, this witty spy/caper series is back for a short season, then starts a new run in the summer.

“The Closer” and “Trust Me” (TNT): Jan. 26. “The Closer” will air five episodes, mostly to give a boost to the new “Trust Me,” a light hour starring Eric McCormack and Tom Cavanagh.

“Life on Mars” (ABC): Jan. 28. ABC is hoping that airing it after “Lost” will get this smart series noticed by viewers.

“Medium” and “Heroes” (NBC): Feb. 2. NBC is trying and trying to bring the magic back to “Heroes.” “Medium” has kept its solid, if mid-sized, fan base.

“Life” (NBC): Feb. 4. NBC gets credit for not giving up on one of the most charming and original cop shows on TV.

“Reaper” (CW): March 17. Yeah, we have to wait until St. Patrick’s Day to see this crew again.

Among returnees that are still unscheduled: “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” and “In Plain Sight” (USA), “Breaking Bad” (AMC), “Rescue Me” (FX), “Saving Grace” (TNT) and “Eureka” (Sci Fi).