What are you going to be watching this fall? After saying farewell to Lost after last season, I’m in need of a new anchor show. Sunday nights are for football (so sad that after all these years, Monday Night Football is no longer the marquee game of the week) and my Thursday night dance card is full of NBC comedies, but the rest of the week is up for grabs.

There is yet another law show coming to your TV this Fall. What is the fascination with lawyers, anyway? The Defenders will be the latest in a long line of legal dramas, premiering next month on CBS. Despite the high likeability of Jim Belushi and Jerry O’Connell, I just can’t bring myself to watch another show about cops, lawyers, or doctors. Surely there are other interesting professions out there.

The Event is the most intriguing show slated for this season. If the program is half as creative as the ad campaign, it could be worth a watch. All we really know about the premise is that something big is happening and the President is keeping it a secret from the general public. It may work, it may not, but it at least appears to be a novel approach.

As always, there will be some hits and some misses in the comedy department this season. Outsourced, the newest entry into NBC’s Thursday night lockdown has hope. It essentially looks like The Office in India. There has to be at least two season’s worth of laughs out of that premise.

$#*! My Dad Says, on the other hand, has disaster written all over it. What’s funny on the internet doesn’t necessarily translate to good TV (reference HBO’s Funny or Die). Even with Bill Shatner on board, the brain trust at CBS has put themselves into the position of having to promote a show whose name they cannot say on TV. I think the Sunday School crowd will take an immediate pass on this one, and everyone else will follow suit soon after.

Of course, I could be wrong about any or all of these shows. That’s the beautiful hope that springs forth every fall.

But I’m probably right.

For those long-term planners out there, it’s time to start fretting about the loss of Steve Carell from The Office. Sure, he’ll be around for one more season, but is it ever too early to start pining for the return of Michael Scott to the hallowed halls of Dunder Mifflin?

A few seasons ago, at the height of the Office’s run as the funniest show on TV, I would have been less worried about it. Jim Halpert was kind of the co-main character at the time. His cool slacker-ness was a counterbalance to Michael’s over-the-top stupidity.

Lately, though, the Office has turned into the Michael Scott story, with Jim serving as little more than a background character like Angela, Oscar, or even Kevin. So where does that leave us when Carrell exits the series after the 2010-2011 season?

I think we can rule out Jim taking over the office. Do they bring in another equally dumb boss as Michael’s replacement? I can’t see that being anything other than an unpopular Carell knock-off that hastens the demise of the show. A smarter boss? If that’s the case, then what is the show about? The cornerstone of The Office has been the moronic antics of Dunder Mifflin Scranton’s branch manager.

The way I see it, there are only two viable options for the continued success of the Office after Carell’s departure. One – bring in a new boss, but push him to the background. Focus the story on Jim and Pam and the craziness of working together in an office filled with, shall we say, eccentric characters.

The other option would be to promote Dwight to Office Manager. I’m hesitant to push this one. Even though The Office is lighthearted fun and not to be taken too seriously, I think it would strain credulity to believe that Dwight took command of the branch and did NOT fire Jim immediately.

I don’t know what direction the writers are going to go. They’ve successfully navigated the shark-infested waters of a marriage and a baby, so maybe they can manage losing and replacing the central character. History hasn’t been kind to shows that try to carry on without a major character, but Cheers soldiered on just fine without Shelly Long for years. So there is some precedent and hope for The Office to keep us entertained for at least a few more seasons.

What do we have to look forward to this fall in the different TV networks?

ABC

Look forward to a lot of dramas from ABC this fall. No Ordinary Family, a superhero show, starring Michael Chiklis goes against FOX’s Glee on Tuesdays. Crime dramedy Detroit 1-8-7 goes head-to-head-to-head with CSI: Miami (CBS) and Parenthood (NBC). The Whole Truth with Rob Morrow battles with CSI: NY (CBS) on Wednesdays. Flashforward has been cancelled and will be replaced with docu-style dramedy My Generation.

The Friday night schedule killed Ugly Betty. Let’s hope it won’t be the same for Dana Delaney and Body Proof on Friday nights. Off The Map, from Shonda Rhimes, and Mr. Sunshine, starring Matthew Perry, will start midseason. Better Together, from Shana Goldberg-Meehan, joins the Wednesday comedy nights on ABC.

CBS

Mike and Molly, with Swoosie Kurtz, will fill in the Monday night slot left empty by Accidentally on Purpose. S**t My Dad Says starring William Shatner will also join the Monday night lineup. Hawaii Five-O, Blue Bloods and Defenders completes the new drama lineup.

CW

Nikita, with Maggie Q as a government agency operative, will debut this fall on The CW. Hellcats, about a pre-law student trying to pay for her tuition, will also mark its premiere this fall. Life Unexpected will be back for another season.

FOX

The new comedy lineup on FOX include Running Wilde, with Keri Russell, Raising Hope and Mixed Signals. Dallas-inspired Lonestar and cop show Ride Along will occupy Monday nights. Sci-fi drama Terra Nova will also premiere this fall but no date has been set.

NBC

A conspiracy thriller starring Jason Ritter, The Events, will premiere Monday nights. Jerry Bruckheimer‘s The Chase battles CSI: Miami. On Wednesdays, Law & Order: SVU will be flanked on both sides by JJ Abrams‘ new spy drama, The Undercovers, and the newest member of the franchise, Law & Order: Los Angeles. Outsourced will be joining 30 Rock and The Office on Thursday comedy night. Jimmy Smits will be invading your Friday nights with Outlaw.

What do you think? Lots of new shows to look forward to this fall. Who will make the cut?

ABC already has signed ten new pilots to premiere in the Fall 2010 TV season. Which ones look promising? And which ones look doubtful?

Mr. Sunshine

Starring Matthew Perry, it’s the story of a second-rate sports arena manager who thinks only of himself and is forced to reevaluate his life on his 40th birthday. This is his first TV series since Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip (The End Of Steve was never picked up). It’ll be fun to watch him on the small screen again. He was always my favorite in Friends, and I’ve always tried to keep up with his career after the show ended. Alex Barnow and Mark Firek co-wrote the series with Matthew Perry. Allison Janney and Andrea Anders will co-star with Perry on the show.

Freshmen

Freshmen is an ensemble show about three first-year members of Congress. Greg Malins (of How I Met Your Mother) will be writing it. Arianna Huffington will be producing it. And Pam Fryman (of How I Met Your Mother) will be directing it. Sarah Chalke (of How I Met Your Mother and Scrubs) will be the lead role.

Wright vs Wrong

Stephnie Weir (of Mad TV) is the writer behind Wright vs Wrong, about a conservative expert who tries to maintain her public person despite her weaknesses. No cast yet.

Funny In Farsi

Funny In Farsi follows the life of an Iranian immigrant growing up in Newport Beach in the 1970s. Nastaran Dibai and Jeffrey Hodes will be penning the show, and Barry Sonenfeld will be directing it. Cast includes Maz Jobrani (Better Off Ted) and Hrach Titizian (24), among others.

How To Be A Better American

Steven Cragg and Brian Bradley are the writers behind How To Be A Better American. It’s about a father who embarks on a journey to become a better person and drags his family along with him.

It Takes A Village

It Takes A Village centers around a teenage boy with divorced parents living in houses across from each other. He shuttles back and forth, living between the two houses. His father has come out, and his mother has a boyfriend. Casey Johnson and David Windsor (of Greek) are writing. No cast yet.

Who Gets The Parents

Joe Port and Joe Wiseman are the writers behind Who Gets The Parents, about three adult siblings who have to deal with their parents’ later-in-life divorce. No cast yet.

Other Shows

There are several untitled shows that were signed with ABC. Shana Goldberg-Meehan (Friends) has written a show about two sisters in different stages in their romantic life. Joanna Garcia and Jennifer Finnigan play the two sisters; one who is unmarried but in a long-term relationship, and the other who married because she was pregnant.

Dana Gould (The Simpsons) has written a new comedy about a father, also a high school counselor, who’s caught between his conservative upbringing and his wife’s progressive ideals. Brian Dennehy stars as the father.

Damon Wayans, Jr. will be starring in a comedy about a couple who breaks up at the altar. Their friends now are trying to figure out how to maintain their relationship.

Any of these shows got you excited for the fall season?

The Winter Olympics begin today in Vancouver.  NBC begins broadcasting at 7:30 pm EDT and will air the opening ceremonies.  If you are planning on watching tonight’s events, here is some information worth noting:

1.  The opening ceremonies begin at 6:00 pm PT.  So, if you live on the east coast and want to watch the whole ceremony, you should plan on being awake past 10 pm.  Of course, it is Friday, so most likely you can sleep in on Saturday, if you’re not a late night person.

2.  During the opening ceremonies, “We Are the World 25 for Haiti” will premier.  Although the staff at Couch Tuber has searched diligently, there is no exact time for this event.

3.  In addition to the opening ceremonies, the first event occurs today- ski jumping.

4.  For more information regarding events and tv viewing, visit NBC’s Olympics site.

The television season of 2008-2009 ended without us knowing the fate of two shows we have grown to love. Well, it certainly is true, in my case. May ended, as well as (I thought) the series and its characters.

But no, we just got news that they’re coming back! Yes, TV comedy fans. Scrubs and Chuck are coming back for another crazy season!

Scrubs

Scrubs, if you don’t know yet, is a medical comedy starring Zach Braff, Donald Faison and Sarah Chalke as they go through their journeys to become full-fledged doctors. The show started with the three actors playing JD, Turk and Elliott as interns tortured by the high-up doctors, Dr. Kelso (chief of medicine at the hospital) and Dr. Cox (JD’s unofficial mentor). For eight seasons, we’ve seen them go from bumbling interns, making all sorts of mistakes and antics, to uncertain residents to inducted doctors.

This season, Dr. Dorian, Dr. Turk and Dr. Reid are back as med school teachers, along with Dr. Cox and Dr. Kelso. Dr. Dorian and Dr. Reid now are married and expecting their first child. Dr. Turk is chief of surgery while his wife Carla is the head nurse. Dr. Cox is now chief of medicine, officially replacing Dr. Kelso.

The newest season of Scrubs premieres on Tuesday, December 1 with a one-hour episode on ABC at 9/8c.

Chuck

Everybody thought Chuck was being canceled since executives announced it last spring. But Chuck fans are much too powerful, and NBC announced just a few weeks ago that Chuck will be coming back for a third season in January 2010. Thanks to Subway for inking a deal with NBC to help cover the expenses for the third season.

Chuck is about Chuck Bartowski (played by Zachary Levi), who inadvertently downloads all of the government’s secrets into his brain after his former roommate, Bryce, a rogue CIA agent, sends him all the files. Chuck has the only copy of the secrets, and now everyone is after him. Major John Casey and Sarah Walker help protect him in every way they can.

During its second season, the show was in danger of being canceled with its low ratings. Let it not happen again by making sure all fans watch Chuck religiously when it airs in January 2010.

Are you excited for these TV comebacks?

The 2009 Emmy Primetime Awards has just wrapped up with Neil Patrick Harris at the helm. This year, they’ve changed things a little bit and grouped all the awards according to their genre. First up was Comedy, then Reality, Miniseries, Variety and, last but not least, Drama.

So, do we agree with the winners?

Comedy

Outstanding Lead Actor – Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Outstanding Lead Actress - Toni Collette, The United States of Tara
Outstanding Casting - 30 Rock
Outstanding Directing – Jeff Blitz, The Office “Stress Relief”
Outstanding Supporting Actor – Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men
Outstanding Supporting Actress – Kristin Chenoweth, Pushing Daisies
Outstanding Writing – Matt Hubbard, 30 Rock “Reunion”
Outstanding Comedy Series – 30 Rock

Reality

Outstanding Host – Jeff Probst, Survivor
Outstanding Reality Competition Program – The Amazing Race

Miniseries

Outstanding Lead Actor – Brendan Gleeson, Into The Storm
Outstanding Lead Actress – Jessica Lange, Grey Gardens
Outstanding Supporting Actor – Ken Howard, Grey Gardens
Outstanding Supporting Actress - Shohreh Aghdashloo, House Of Saddam
Outstanding Directing – Dearbhla Walsh, Little Dorrit Part 1
Outstanding Writing – Andrew Davies, Little Dorrit
Outstanding Miniseries – Little Dorrit

Drama

Outstanding Lead Actor – Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Outstanding Lead Actress – Glenn Close, Damages
Outstanding Directing – Rod Holcomb, ER “And In The End”
Outstanding Supporting Actor – Michael Emerson, Lost
Outstanding Supporting Actress – Cherry Jones, 24
Outstanding Writing – Kater Gordon and Matthew Weiner, Mad Men “Meditations In An Emergency”
Outstanding Series – Mad Men

What do you think? Do you think someone else should have won? Generally, I do agree with the winners. They all deserve it, but the voters seem to have chosen the right person to win the award.

Good news for science fiction TV fans! There are two new sci-fi shows on ABC TV. One premiered this summer, and another is premiering this fall: Defying Gravity and Flash Forward.

1. Defying Gravity

Defying Gravity premiered at the beginning of August on ABC. Eight astronauts are on a six-year mission to discover the solar system as the whole world tunes in through real-time footage. Troubles start when a mysterious force interferes with the lives and personalities of the astronauts aboard the spaceship. Created by James Parriot, Defying Gravity stars Ron Livingston, Malik Yoba, Christina Cox and Peter Hewitt. Season 1 ends on September 13th on ABC.

ABC, Sundays, 10:00pm

2. Flash Forward

In Flash Forward, a mysterious event has caused people to see what their lives will be like six months from now in a span of two minutes. When the two minutes lapse, dozens, even hundreds, of people lay dead, and the rest of the people are left to wonder whether what will happen to them. Flash Forward is ABC’s latest offering and also serves as an unofficial replacement for Lost, which ends its final season in 2010. Based on a novel by Robert Sawyer, Flash Forward was created for television by Sawyer, Brannon Braga and David Goyer. The TV series stars Joseph Fiennes as the FBI agent who tries to assemble all the pieces of the puzzle. He is joined by John Cho, Jack Davenport, Dominic Monaghan and Gabrielle Union. Catch Flash Forward this fall!

ABC, Thursdays, 8:00pm

Pop King they call him.

But, seriously, come on now. . .

Not to mention the fact that every news channel on television has some blurb posted about the practically plastic man. I ask the simple question, who cares?

This reminds me of the entire Anna Nicole Smith fiasco,\ and how long we had to endure hearing about her problems on the television for weeks after her death.

There are literally hundreds of great folks who have died over the last decade: Heath Ledger, Charlton Heston, Natasha Richardson, Elizabeth Allen, Steve Irwin, Patrick Swayze is fighting stage IV cancer, … and the list goes on and on.

They also passed, and the media sucked up their open emotions and moved on.

I’ll admit Michael Jackson had a few hits, maybe more, yes, but he also had plenty of bizarre circumstances which plagued his life. Let us not forget the confrontation with several children who all claimed MJ molested them. Yes, I said several, in which he paid off more than one “accuser” or even the time he hovered his own baby over the edge of a balcony.

MJ fans will scream in torment about how righteous he was, but really… did he contribute all that much to this society?

Yes, I agree, Thriller was an incredibly accomplished video which brought on years of world peace… but I digress.

MJ was a very talented man before he went bizarre. His hits are still played on nearly every pop radio station out there, and yes, he still will be around even twenty years from now.

But the man is dead, let sleeping dogs lie, and let’s not hear about his overplayed life for the next three months.

Get over it.

For a different point of view, check out this article at Tunes News.

Much like the Harry Potter series brought loads of magic into the scene of entertainment, the Twilight series has now brought loads of vampires streaming onto the television.

It seems network providers want to cash in on this new craze, but just what shows are they offering?

The CW is premiering a brand new high school vampire drama that sounds almost exactly like…well, you get the hint. The new show is called The Vampire Diaries. It involves a new “mysterious” kid moving into town, a hot girl falling in love with him, said kid wooing this hot girl, and a never before mentioned vampire that comes to steal the girl’s soul. Oh, and did I mention this “evil” vampire is the “mysterious” vampire’s brother? The funny part is, the television show is based off a small series of novels written by L.J. Smith.

(Phew! Too many vampires mentioned in that last paragraph.)

The Vampire Diaries will air Fall of 2009.

Another great vampire show out there is True Blood, which airs on HBO. One can argue True Blood came way before the Twilight movies… just not the books. True Blood is also based after a series of books (like the other vampire shows and movies) called the Southern Vampire Mysteries. The small and skinny of the plot involves a barmaid named Sookie Stackhouse that falls in love with a vampire named Bill Compton in a fictional Louisiana town where vampires and humans co-exist. The show deals with all types of subliminal messages, the most visible obviously portrays modern racism. True Blood already aired in 2008, and season 2 will premiere June 14, 2009.

Of course, there’s always the classic, Buffy the Vampire Slayer starring Sarah Michelle Gellar. Buffy brought her own following of vampire shows back in the day, and it will most likely still be airing (as repeats, of course) on one of those networks out there. For those of you who never followed the show, Buffy involves a teenage vampire slayer that looks to the help of friends and a librarian at her high school to fight off evil vampires and their many dastardly deeds.

Keep an eye on the TV gossip sites, it won’t be long before more shows pop up on the horizon. This is all good news for you starstruck twilight fans.