Fantastic Four New Television Shows - A Wrap -Up

Now that the Fall shows are in hiatus and I have had the opportunity to view the fall episodes, I can provide a yeah or nay as to if the hype was on target.

Here are my favorite four New Television Shows that premiered in Fall 2009. Go Hulu or the shows network site to view previous episodes.

1. Glee (Fox)- This show has  so lived up to the hype. I must admit that as hater of musicals, I was skeptical  about a show about an Ohio high school glee club could possibly hold my interest but lo and behold, the fall season is over and I will be salivating until the new episodes.

Yes, the creator should be commended but two people who should get the most recognition is the person who chooses the music to move the story along and the casting director. On both counts, it has been pitch perfect. Both should get an emmy or a raise or something.

Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch in a role of a lifetime as the head of the Cheerios award winning cheeerleaders,  that's how Sue "Cs" it,  I'm going to my condo in Boca to brown up is so worth watching every week,  Kurt (the wonderfully gay cast member who is so cool, it hurts), his loving dad, Burt (I am not happy your gay but I am willing to support you, no matter what), Rachel (I am  diva wacko whose talent is too hard to ignore), Finn (Cory Monteith, the cute, lovable clueless quarterback, Puck (who knew you were Jewish, can sing and macho fight club footballer), Quinn (former head cheerio, now pregnant), Brittany (I am a confused Cheerio but we love), Santana (feisty, hot latina Cheerio), Artie (the first person on tv in a wheelchair I can remember who can belt out a tune), Mercedes (her incredible voice, I just want to be loved), Mr Shue (I am trying to capture my youth head of the Glee club), Mr. Figgins (the politically incorrect principal you love to hate to love) and of course, Emma (cleanliness obsessed, I have crush on married Mr. Shue, I have no idea where you buy your clothes, guidance counselor)

Can you tell I love this show?  I promise you will laugh hysterically and shed a tear or two.

2. Modern Family (ABC) - When I saw the promos for this again, I was skeptical. ABC in my opinion may do comedy but I don't like them (remember that Jim Belushi show that ran forever and I never knew why). In a nutshell, it's about three families with three interconnected families. It's almost too complicated to explain. Family 1 - Patriarch Jay (Ed O'Neill aka Al Bundy, his hot second Columbian (not what you think) wife Gloria and her son Manny who continually try to import their Columbian ways on the old guy.
Family 2 - Jay's daughter stay at home mom, Claire her husband Phil (I am trying to be the cool day, NOT) and their kids (the least well written characters on the show.)
Family 3 - the domesticated gay couple and their adopted vietnamese daughter.
 Again it may not sound funny but it is.

3. Flash Forward (ABC) -  Basically, the entire world blacks out for 137 seconds. During the blackout people have a flash forward or see nothing. It's assumed that those who did not see anything they saw nothing because there dead. It's up to LA FBI agent, Mark Benford  played by Joseph Fiennes. It's obvious that this show was developed to showcase Fiennes (Ralph's brother, I haven't done anything significant since Shakespeare in Love) but frankly I am only interested in fellow FBI agent  Demitri  Noh   (I am so happy John Cho, the hottest man on tv is getting his time in the sun) who saw nothing and is obviously obsessed with preventing his death. He and Gabrielle Union are the hottest couple on tv, right not. On that note, I am surprised about the casting, it is rare that you see an Asian American man/African American woman combo.  Good for the producers for going this non traditional route. My other favorite character is another FBI agent Janis (I am a super badass lesbian) who sees her pregnancy in the future. The show is all about finding out how the blackout happened. There may be a lot of plot holes and comparisons to Lost but I am hooked. I just hope that it does not go the way of Heroes (fast start, ennui and then jettisoned.)

4. White Collar (USA Network) - Another in a long line of "characters welcome" that USA Network has promoted their shows. As you can see, one reason for watching this show, the lead character, Matthew Bomer probably the best looking man on tv right now. That aside, his character Neil Caffrey is a world class thief/con man who is teamed up with straight- laced FBI agent (the FBI is getting a lot of good press this season), Peter Burke to catch white collar criminals. The catch Neil is actually been convicted and is helping the FBI as part of work release program. The show works because of the chemistry of the two lead characters and the New York City real estate locales (real estate porn for some of us) as its own character. It's cute and hope that the writing continues to get better.



These shows are either in hiatus or will be soon, but if you haven't seen them, give them a look, you won't be sorry. Episodes are available of various sites.