popular thinking

ASSESSING THE FALL TV SEASON

November sweeps period begins in mere minutes, so it's a good a time as any to weigh in on this year's offerings on the TV landscape. Having a DVR (mine is Comcast-supplied, but others have TiVo) allows you to try to navigate the primetime lineups a little bit easier. Except at 8 p.m. Thursday. But first things first. Let's look at my week in TV...

SUNDAY
8 p.m. -- Why aren't more people watching The West Wing? Perhaps it's because of the juggernaut that is Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, an ABC show that serves up smiles and good stories every week. But if you watch week after week after week, you start to get the feeling that you could use the same tape of the Extreme crew and simply sub in a new family. The Simpsons is on all the time in syndication, so you can always catch it later. The West Wing, however, is back in full stride, thanks to an election season and solid performances from Jimmy Smits and Alan Alda. The show features a live debate next Sunday, which should actually be more exciting than most other recent attempts at live scripted TV. So watch it, would ya?

9 p.m. -- I head for HBO's Rome, which despite the unintended humor in early episodes that made Cato and Cicero look like SNL flunkies, delivers on other historical and hysterical levels. And I'm not just saying that because I'm about to interview Polly Walker. But isn't she devilishly divine? Desperate Housewives is in a sophomore slump. And Family Guy? Catch it later on the Cartoon Network.

10 p.m. -- Seriously, this fall, the only real alternative is Curb Your Enthusiasm and Extras; the former, inconsistent but sublimely bizzare; the latter, reminding everyone why NBC decided to adapt The Office. Hi-lar-i-ous. Grey's Anatomy is OK and all, but gets me more for its Seattle setting, its killer musical selections and Katherine Heigl than for anything about the plots or dialogue.

MONDAY
8 p.m. -- Wanted to like Surface. Really, I did. But it comes up lame again and again. And FOX is not making things any easier by failing to get people to watch the funny on Arrested Development and Kitchen Confidential. Please watch these shows and tell your friends to watch them! This is ri-donk-u-lus.

9 p.m. -- Prison Break is a show, that like its FOX predecessor (24) makes absolutely no sense and has so many plot twists that it even makes the cast as dizzy as the audience is from week to week. And yet, it's so much darned fun to follow along for the ride. I guess that's why people use that rollercoaster metaphor sometimes, eh? Over on NBC, Las Vegas is fun to look at, and is campy fun in a Love Boat kind of way with the celebrity guest stars visiting the resort casino each week along with a special musical guest. But if the Patriots are on MNF, they get a look-see, too.

TUESDAY
8 p.m. -- Apparently everyone is watching NCIS at this hour, but why, exactly? I've started catching episodes of Bones, and sure, it's not all that different from all the other let's examine a dead skeleton shows out there, but Angel (oops, I mean David Boreanz) is still a witty alternative to your typical hero guy, and Emily Deschanel can occupy my time anytime. Boreanz gave a recent interview where he called upon the gods of Moonlighting for inspiration.

9 p.m. -- I keep meaning to watch House because everyone who watches it tells me it's good. I keep wanting to like My Name Is Earl more than I already do, but it hasn't matched the hype. Some episodes are better than others. But still. Keep expecting more than a traditional sitcom out of the show. Which is what you kids would get if you managed to keep it on NBC afterward for the extraordinary half-hour (or 22 minutes, minus ads) that is The Office. Brilliant stuff. Another example in how brilliance gets wasted on the masses. But kudos for NBC, one for bringing the show back this fall, and also for going even further into funny this season. The Amazing Race? Well, it used to be my favorite reality show, until this family edition. At least some other show can win the reality Emmy now.

10 p.m. -- This spring, I urged ABC and viewers to stick with Boston Legal. But the show has devolved into a mess thanks to the Shatner (one award was enough, but more than one has made the writers play up his queasy character past the point of parody). Then Rhona Mitra left. Ugh. But Julie Bowen may rescue this ship yet. And the Spader hasn't completely lost it. So maybe, just maybe, there's hope for this show to get back on track. Law & Order: SVU has to just quit it with the "very special episodes" that turn out to be not so special at all.

WEDNESDAY
8 p.m. -- Rest up for Lost. Or prep for it by scouring the Web for clues.

9 p.m. -- Lost. There is no other choice, nor any reason to discuss anything else. The two-week vacation was interesting, though, because it wasn't planned -- did the writers or producers hit a road bump? Did their plans become too convulted for even them to figure out the destiny of these characters? We'll have to wait until next week to find out. (Veronica Mars, by the way, should be better than it is, but we'll watch it from time to time, anyhow -- exactly like its UPN tag-team partner, America's Next Top Model, although ANTM is the best reason to own a DVR because you can skip through so much filler in that hour, it's incredible!)

10 p.m. -- Who knew Shaun Cassidy could follow up his Hardy Boys and da-doo-run-running with a quality show like Invasion? I've seen the lights. Have you? Oh, right. There's also CSI:NY if you're part of the CSI cult. Record that for later and watch Invasion.

THURSDAY
8 p.m. -- Holy counterprogramming, Batman! It'd be impossible to figure out what to watch if it weren't for the fact that a) The O.C. has completely lost all its marbles, and b) Alias could keep an idea going in a straight line for more than half a season. That said, I still have nostalgic feelings for both of these wayward programs. Intrigued by Rachel Nichols. Is she being groomed to replace Mrs. Ben Affleck? Who knows. In the meantime, you have to decide whether to watch the very humorous and uplifting Everybody Hates Chris or the supremely underrated adventures of Smallville. I say give Superman a chance, and record your other choice for later viewing. What's that, you say? There's another edition of Survivor? It got voted off the proverbial island this time around. Sorry.

9 p.m. -- CSI is the number one show in America. So how come I'm not watching it? I suppose I can catch it in repeats. Usually, though, I'm catching up with my other viewing or doing something really outrageous like getting out of the house to experience something called life.

10 p.m. -- And yet, I figure out how to record Without A Trace. Who's your Poppy now...

FRIDAY
There's TV on Friday? Really? I'm out and about, living the good life. But when I do catch Threshold, I'm OK with that. And now they're making it easier for me by putting some of the episodes online.

SATURDAY
You've got to be kidding. If your TV is on Saturday night, and you're not watching sports, a movie or previously recorded material, then you are a bigger couch potato than I, my friend.