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When I saw Ron had posted his fall 2009 tv picks I had to follow suit.  Not really out of any "Oooh me too, me too!" but because I have a confession to make, I am a TV addict.  Ron had a fairly sensible 12 shows this season, I have 32.  This is me sitting down and confessing each and every one of my sins, because I really need to break this cycle if I want to see my friends at all over the next few months.  One of the big problems with working from home is I have LOTS of time to fit all of this in.

I'm pretty much following Ron's format so go check out his article and then come back here.

Sunday

Amazing Race: The first of 3 reality shows I watch in the fall, this is always one of the more exciting and interesting reality competition shows, it's a straightforward race with very little drama most of the time and there isn't the usual infighting and bickering like on Survivor.  A great reality show that focuses on the competition over the drama

Desperate Housewives: After a lackluster 4th season Desperate Housewives had a resurgence last year with a really good season filled with a solid villain and lots of humour. I'm hoping season 6 will be as strong as the last, it will be the first Edie-free season which will be interesting.

Mad Men: It took me two tries to get into Mad Men, I tried watching this in the first season and couldn't really get into it, after the first season wrapped up and everyone couldn't stop talking about it I went back and tried again and I've been hooked ever since. I really can't think of a weak point in the show, even the child actors are surprisingly good. 

Dexter: This is a show I'm confused about, I really really like it but there's some seriously terrible acting and some serious pacing issues at times.  I think it really is carried squarely on the shoulders of the amazing Michael C. Hall who, when I first watched him in the role, shocked me with how different he was from his (at the time) more famous Six Feet Under role.  This season John Lithgow is coming on, finally getting back to his villain chops which I am super excited to see.

Californication: LOVE this show, it's fun, dark, crazy and sexy.  Easily the best thing David Duchovny has ever done.

Bored to Death: Brand new show on HBO, I'm giving it a shot because a) It's on HBO and they have a better track record than anyone and b) Jason Schwartzman is in it and I'm a really big fan of his.

Monday 

How I Met Your Mother: This might be my favourite all-around comedy on TV right now, it's not the funniest but it's the most well rounded.  It's the best mix of "heart" and comedy on TV right now.  Great cast, great stories and Neil Patrick Harris seriously rocks every week.  It's worth watching just for him.

Big Bang Theory: I got into this show mainly because it follow HIMYM and I almost gave up on it, the second season was a big step up and hopefully season 3 is even better.  It's no longer following HIMYM and if it were opposite something else I may have dropped it but there's nothing else on Monday at 9:30.

Castle: I have a huge man crush on Nathan Filion, and in Castle he's unleashed and his most charming and fun.  It's silly, it's over the top and I love the hell out of it.  I think this was my favourite new show last season.

House: I'm hoping this is the season we break out of the "3ish episodes and then everything goes back to normal" storyline style of House.  We started seeing signs of it last season with his new group of doctors but I hear the main 3 are coming back into more prominent roles this season which is a little disappointing.  Ultimately as long as Hugh Laurie stays on the show I will keep watching.

Heroes: Oh Heroes... I really enjoyed the first season, then didn't like season 2 or 3.0.  Finally with 3.5 we got to see some of the stuff I liked about the first season come back.  Here's hoping season 4 continues with the good but I'm really not very hopeful. 

Tuesday

Scrubs: I marked this as a new show on the schedule down below because the old Scrubs finished last season.  We've got what sounds like a spin-off show with the same name this season and if it's going to be as strong as the Scrubs final season I'm all for it, if not, this is the end of my Scrubs love.

Better Off Ted: The best new comedy of last season, and no one watched it.  This show was, surprisingly, renewed last season so we've got at least a few episodes this year, hopefully when it comes back after Dancing with the Stars is done it will get a better audience and stay around for a while. PLEASE PLEASE give this a shot.

Sons of Anarchy: It's been a really re:ally long time since last season but Sam Cro are finally back.  This is filling the hole in my heart where Sopranos used be, it's about a biker gangs and families the same way Sopranos was with the mafia.  It's also got Ron Perlman in it which makes EVERYTHING better.  This season has Henry Rollins as a white supremacist and if the first episode is anything to go by this season is going to be as good, if not better, than the last.

Wednesday

Criminal Minds: I thought this would suck after Mandy Patinkin left but it's continued strong.  I really want to see what happens after last season's cliffhanger but I sort of watch this show out of habit at this point.  It's good, not great.  Solid crime drama.

Top Chef: Unfortunately this isn't simulcast in Canada this year (screw you Food Network canada!) but before the last season started my girlfriend and I plowed through all the seasons up to that point and we became incredibly hooked.  I LOVE this show, and I don't  even really like most of the food they make.  Great competition-centric show and the contestants are EXTREMELY strong this season. 

Thursday
(aka oh god what have I done)

Flash Forward: I don't know much about this show but it's got lots of buzz and everything I've heard is interesting so I'm going to give it a shot.

Grey's Anatomy: Seriously bummed that one of the main cast has left the show, but I'm still all-in with this show. I just hope we don't get another Izzie-centric season.  I don't really have a problem with Katherine Heigl but she's definitely the weak point on the show.

Private Practice: Speaking of weak points I don't know why I still watch this Grey's spinoff.  I really like all the cast but the stories are so over the top and ridiculous dramatic that it doesn't grab me anywhere near as well as GA.  I need to know what happened after the cliffhanger last season so I'm at least in for a few episodes (which probably means I'm in for the whole season)

Survivor: The daddy of all US competition reality shows is still going strong, I watch this every season even though when you've seen one you've seen them all.  I will probably keep watching Survivor until it's off the air

Supernatural: This is the show I get most excited about every week. I'm sort of hoping this is the last season so that the show will end on a high note. I've heard that Eric Kripke had a 5 season plan with the show so let's hope it ends as well as this season started (my recap can be found here)

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: The funniest show on television, hands down.  I'm a giant Sunny fan and unlike Ron I've been with it since the beginning.  I know some people didn't like last season but I loved it, especially the musical finale.  I'm so excited for this to be back.

Bones: Like Nathan Filion, I have a man crush on David Boreanaz.  When it comes to the group of shows with a cop and a person/group who aren't who you would usually think solve crimes (Bones, Castle, Numb3rs, etc...) this is my favourite.  It's fun and interesting and never takes itself too seriously, there are fun stunt episodes (Stewie guest starring in an episode, alternate reality episode) and I never get tired of it.

NBC Comedy Block: I'm going to group this all together because I usually watch all these in a row anyway, I'm sad My Name is Earl had been canceled but Community sounds like it might be a great replacement.  30 Rock is hysterical and I'm sure will continue to be strong, I still love the Office even though it's taken a bit of a drop recently.  Parks&Recreation is the big wildcard, it was... ok... last season but I'm mainly going to keep watching to have the complete NBC block.

Friday

Ugly Betty: I'm a little concerned that this is the end of Ugly Betty, it's been moved to Friday which is usually a death knell for a show, especially a non-geek show.  This show is worth watching just for the totally unique look on american network TV.  It's really like a spanish tele-novella in terms of look but with north american sensibilities.  Wonderfully charming cast but I can see how it's a little too weird for a normal audience.

Numb3rs: Crime procedural that's fun but doesn't really excite me anymore.

Dollhouse: Whether I continue to watch this show or not depends entirely on if it's like the first half of season one or the last half.  I REALLY enjoyed this show by the end and I'm hoping Fox will keep their hands off and "Let Whedon be Whedon"

Southland: I was hoping the Unusuals would be renewed and not this since Southland never really hooked me but I'm going to give it another shot.



There's also one show that hasn't been placed yet but is coming back in October

Nip/Tuck: I'm not sure there's any show that makes me go "What the fuck!?" more often than Nip/Tuck and I love it, it's a great looking show with constant twists and absurdity.  This is the first half of the final season and I'm definitely sad that it's ending, I've come a long way with these people and I could keep watching them for years.

Number of returning shows: 28.5
Number of new shows: 3.5

ABC - 10
NBC - 6
CBS - 4
Fox - 3
FX - 3
Showtime - 2
AMC - 1
HBO - 1
Bravo - 1
CW - 1



So that's all the shows (that I can tell) that are coming back in the fall.  It's entirely possible there will be another show or two that I missed and this list doesn't include any of the shows coming back mid-season (Chuck, Lost) and new shows in the mid-season (Day One) that I'm interested in. 

It feels good to get all of this off my chest, thankfully there's only a couple new shows this season, it seems like I can almost only drop a show once it ends so as long as more shows end than I add one day I'll watch a normal amount of TV.

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