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New TV shows worth watching

By Catherine Toth Fox • September 12, 2011 • Musings, The Daily Dish

It’s not every fall I’m excited about the new lineup on TV.

But I have to say, I’m pretty stoked about a few, particularly NBC’s “Up All Night,” premiering Wednesday.

Not only does it star three of my favorite comedic actors — Christina Applegate, Will Arnett and Maya Rudolph — but the story just works. Applegate plays a successful career women/wife turned mom, Arnett her stay-at-home husband. Both are new parents, saying the kinds of things we only quietly think.

And then there’s ABC’s throwback “Pan Am,” starring Christina Ricci and airing Sept. 25. It looks like a nostaligic period drama — simliar to AMC’s “Mad Men” — that, if the writing is stellar, could be that must-watch Sunday night hit.

Both have all the makings of becoming classics.

It’s been awhile since I’ve been excited about new shows. Like set-the-DVR-if-I-had-a-DVR excited.

I felt that way about ABC’s “Lost” in its first season, “My So-Called Life” on MTV, and — I’ll admit it — the new “Hawaii Five-O.” But I can’t remember too many seasons where I’ve actually punched the premiere date in my iPhone.

Any shows you’re looking forward to this fall?

ABCChristina ApplegateChristina RicciFall TV lineupHawaiiMaya RudolphmediaNBCPan AmsitcomsUp All NightWill Arnett
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Catherine Toth Fox

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27 Comments

  • Reply 808marv September 12, 2011 at 5:09 pm

    I guess Terra Nova, although I am very wary of Fox shows as you never know when they’re gonna get the axe (see Human Target, Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles, Dollhouse). The trailer did look pretty decent though.

    • Reply Catherine Toth September 13, 2011 at 10:12 am

      Terminator… Did that already start airing? It doesn’t sound appealing. Maybe the title is too long.

      • Reply 808marv September 13, 2011 at 5:53 pm

        Oh Terminator: TSCC got 2 seasons before getting the axe. Admittedly the ratings were not that great so I can kinda understand the cancelation, but the final episode ended on a cliffhanger which was kinda frustrating. Typical Fox move.

  • Reply Patrick September 12, 2011 at 5:22 pm

    “Louis CK” on FX is my absolute can’t-miss show. Found it a few months ago and have been showering it with praise ever since. And “30 Rock” is coming back next week. Yess!!!

    My other can’t miss is the NFL on Sunday. So glad it’s back.

    • Reply Catherine Toth September 13, 2011 at 10:12 am

      Is this the show about the dog??

  • Reply oldshoes September 12, 2011 at 5:40 pm

    Beavis and Butthead! nothing wrong with using an ol’ VCR to tape and watch shows…

    • Reply MaxMaxMax September 13, 2011 at 2:10 am

      Looking forward to B&B myself OS!

    • Reply Catherine Toth September 13, 2011 at 10:13 am

      I never used to really watch that show, actually. It was funny, then it lost me.

  • Reply David Jackson September 12, 2011 at 6:11 pm

    I remember having a world class crush on a Pan Am flight attendant many years ago. They had their training at the Doral Country Club of all places. I went down for a week and played golf all day… what a shock eh?… and wined and dined my cute blond haired friend. So I will watch at least a couple of shows, and I am sure it will bring back a few memories and hoping they are the better ones. As for Up All Night I am raising an 11 year old son by myself and have had a few of those up all nights along the way. It has been worth every second of it and then some. Frankly I would watch anything with Christina Applegate in it. She is easily my favorite actress in Hollywood followed by Stana Katic. Overall I still like Priyanka Chopra, Kareena Kapoor, Gong Li, and Zhang Ziyi better. I am chomping at the bit for House, Castle, and H5O to come back on because the reruns are getting a little old.

    Changing the subject, if you are a bit of a nerd and like Bollywood films check out 3 Idiots. Yes, it has a few musical numbers in it and it is a little long but what a wonderful film.

    • Reply Catherine Toth September 13, 2011 at 10:14 am

      I do love “House.” But I got bored with the newbies on the last season. Started to feel like “Grey’s Anatomy” a little — and that show got old, quick!

      • Reply David Jackson September 13, 2011 at 11:33 am

        Amen to that! 13 they can keep and ditch most of the rest. It will be interesting to see how they handle Lisa Edelstein’s departure. Maybe they can have her and Charlie Sheen getting it on in a Bentley as it slowly rolls over a cliff 🙂 I watched 1/2 of 1 episode of Grey’s anatomy once… more than enough for me.

        And then there is the 10 year old boy in me that really digs Wipeout… or maybe it is just Jill Wagner., 🙂

  • Reply Justin September 12, 2011 at 9:18 pm

    up all night. so far, the trailers are all dead-on with our baby girl. parents can empathize, and future parents can realize how it is. seriously… their escapades with the baby are all so true.

    • Reply Catherine Toth September 13, 2011 at 10:14 am

      It just seems like a truly honest take on parenthood. I can’t wait!

  • Reply rayboyjr September 12, 2011 at 10:09 pm

    Hey Cat: … I don’t watch too much tv programs … really … does sports count??? …

    … but there is one that that I found to my liking … Whitney … my kind of humor … I hope the show is like the clips that I’ve seen …

    … not a new show … but I am curious to see what Two and A Half Men is like with Ashton …

    • Reply MaxMaxMax September 13, 2011 at 2:02 am

      Is NBC pimping “Whitney” hard or what? It’ll be interesting if she can transfer her Comedy Central Roast style of comedy to network TV sitcoms. She won’t have F-bombs in her arsenal anymore like she does on the roasts. It looks like it’ll be funny, but am just wondering how she reinvents herself.

      • Reply Catherine Toth September 13, 2011 at 10:15 am

        I absolutely HATE that commercial where she’s putting on makeup and her boyfriend/husband/whoever keeps bugging her. It’s super annoying. Both of them. That totally turned me off.

        And I don’t know why…

  • Reply Kitty September 12, 2011 at 10:34 pm

    Charlie’s Angels!

    • Reply Catherine Toth September 13, 2011 at 10:16 am

      Oh, that’s right! I forgot about that one! I’ll watch the first episode, for sure, but the plot and characters have to work for me to continue on.

  • Reply MaxMaxMax September 13, 2011 at 2:09 am

    I lost a lot of faith in television the day they canceled Arrested Development, maybe one the top 5 funniest sitcoms ever. It has also happened to a few other shows I’ve invested myself into only to have them canceled all too soon. So I tend not to get excited about new shows until I know they have legs to run on.

    For instance, this past TV season I thought “Traffic Light” was a great show… but it was canceled after a dozen or so episodes.

    But some look fun, like Up All Night as you mentioned, as well as Whitney… but I’ll temper my excitement a bit for the new stuff, and instead be more excited for the return of some favorites like Castle, Mad Men (on “AMC” by the way Cat), and The Office.

    The jury is still out on Hawaii Five-0 for me. They have to start writing better story lines. The characters are likable enough, and of course, Hawaii is the real star of the series…

    • Reply Catherine Toth September 13, 2011 at 10:17 am

      I had to Google “Traffic Light.” Never heard of it!

      And thanks for the correction. Will make that next!

  • Reply M September 13, 2011 at 5:13 am

    Hello Cat,
    Just waiting to watch Hawaii Five-0

    • Reply Catherine Toth September 13, 2011 at 10:18 am

      I’m actually excited for the second season — only because I feel like it’s going to finally move forward. I hope, anyway. Fingers crossed.

  • Reply jaydee September 13, 2011 at 5:17 am

    I’m looking forward to a couple of shows; Person of Interest and Terra Nova.

    Other than that, Just the regular returning shows such as Big Bang and CSI. I’m still bummed they cancelled The Event. That show started off great but they stopped broadcasting it for a few months then brought it back in the spring. I thought it was a great sci-fi show.

    • Reply Catherine Toth September 13, 2011 at 10:18 am

      Yeah, “The Event” was interesting. I didn’t keep up with it, but from the few snippets I saw, it looked fascinating. I miss “The X-Files,” and that kinda reminded me of that show.

  • Reply matt September 13, 2011 at 8:46 am

    Cat, you gotta get a dvr. so far I’ve plugged a bunch of the new shows in to the schedule so I can check them out and see what’s what. give them a week or two and then pare them down to the ones I want to watch every week. up all night (Christina Applegate is awesome, btw, and Samatha Who was the victim of idiotic network execs…although we wouldn’t have Mike and Molly or this new show if that didn’t get the axe) and two broke girls are the sitcoms I’m anticipating most. tbh, though, as long as community keeps on getting renewed, I’m good.

    • Reply Catherine Toth September 13, 2011 at 10:19 am

      I think if I got a DVR I’d never leave the house!

  • Reply zzzzzz September 13, 2011 at 2:15 pm

    I liked to old “Up All Night” on USA.

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About Me

About Me
Born and raised on O‘ahu, Hawaiʻi, Catherine Toth Fox has been chronicling her adventures in her blog, The Cat Dish, for more than a decade. She worked as a newspaper reporter in Hawai‘i for 10 years and continues to freelance—in between teaching journalism, hitting the surf and eating everything in sight—for national and local print and online publications. She’s currently the editor of HAWAIʻI Magazine.

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