TV Fall Schedule Is Hard To Trust

Elizabeth Mitchell

Jason as Mitt is always a gas!

Recognize anyone on the latest "Survivor?"

    It's been a helluva entertaining year.  It started with a thrilling football Super Bowl followed by a riveting futbol Champions League finale.  Then the Grammys with Adele's return to the stage and the reunited Beach Boys return to touring.  England was all over the calendar with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and London Olympics.  We survived three Friday the 13th's and a partial lunar eclipse, not to mention a Transit of Venus. Even a Perigee Moon in May, so big it gave me the creeps.  Outer space came down to Earth when the space shuttle Endeavour flew over my house last week.

    On the down side, a suicide (Junior Seau), a drug overdose (Whitney Houston) and unexpected death (Davy Jones) surprised the nation.  The NFL referee strike is ruining the integrity of the league.  Did I mention there's a presidential election in November?

    So it's hard to get excited about the upcoming Fall Television Schedule.  Especially after getting burned the last couple of years on highly touted shows that were abruptly canceled.  It bothers me to get hooked on a show, and then its gone without resolution.  Its already happened this year with "Alcatraz" on Fox.  Before that was "Flash Forward" and "Life On Mars", shows that started with good ratings which tapered off when ABC put them on an unexplained "hiatus."  I've learned to hate that word. It means the show is going to end after one year.  At least ABC gave the sci-fi series "V" a partial second season, allowing me to get a crush on Elizabeth Mitchell.

    Who is currently featured on the latest futuristic show to catch my eye: "Revolution" on NBC.  The premise is simple: something causes the electric power grid to shut off around the world.  It never comes back on.  Chaos and anarchy prevail.  15 years later a plucky band of survivors try to make their way through a devastated landscape.  Perfect setting for an arrow-shooting teenage girl (an obvious "Hunger Games" conceit) trying to find her kidnapped brother.  Obviously I like these kind of shows.  For some reason the networks keep bankrolling them.  Then they drop them like a toxic loan.  I hope they keep this one around long enough to tell us why things went wacky (something "Alcatraz" and "Flash Forward" failed to do.)

    Other new shows on my radar: "Vegas" with Dennis Quaid (CBS) because any series with "Vegas" in the title gets my attention.  "Last Resort" about a renegade submarine crew sounds interesting but its on ABC and I don't trust ABC.  Thank goodness CBS renewed "Person Of Interest" currently my favorite show which now has "Two And A Half Men" as a lead in, a show I will always watch as long as Jon Cryer is winning Emmys.  The best reality show "Survivor" has former baseball MVP Jeff Kent and TV star Lisa Whelchel and is off to a good start.  Saturday Night Live is always funny in an election year especially with Jason Sudeikis dong Mitt Romney.  There's even a behind the scenes show about my favorite soccer team called "Being Liverpool" that's been fun to watch.

    Throw in the NFL channel which has finally been added to my Time Warner Cable lineup and my TV will be busy this fall.  I'm just hoping the new shows I'm watching right now will be given a chance to find their audience.
     But I doubt it.