The Fall TV Season

I'm off to a late start this morning, thanks to oversleeping, probably because of a particularly tough (and long) ballet class the night before. Or else my summer streak of early waking is now over. The new book could have something to do with it, too, as there was some daydreaming. I made a good start yesterday, though it was somewhat hampered by a lot of business stuff and errands I had to deal with. I have more business stuff today, then two choir rehearsals tonight (since I joined the a capella chamber chorale), but I still should get some good work done as I tweak the opening to get it just right.

Meanwhile, the new fall TV season is upon us, and I guess it's time to dig out the TV Guide and think about what I'll be watching. I admit to being a TV fan. I far prefer a TV series to a movie, but I've lately had waning interest, possibly because they keep canceling things I like. My planned schedule is looking somewhat curtailed.

On Monday nights in the fall, the only thing I'm really planning to watch at the moment is House, and it's on probation. I feel like the writing has become rather self-indulgent lately, where they do things to be edgy or shocking and not because they really fit the plot or characters. This could easily fall off the schedule. If they're actually updating the BBCAmerica OnDemand offerings (which have been sketchy of late), that usually happens on Mondays, so that may be BBC-A night.

Tuesday night I have ballet, so I have to rely on the VCR or OnDemand. I've really fallen for Warehouse 13 this summer, but there are only a couple more episodes this season. That's a cute, quirky show, and I love the characters. Even though I get CBS pretty reliably OnDemand, I'll probably end up taping NCIS because that falls into the category I call "comfort food television" and is the perfect thing to watch when I've come home from ballet and had a shower (and OnDemand doesn't post the new episodes until the next day). I can curl up on the sofa in my pajamas and have cookies and milk while watching it. Later in the fall, V will be on that night. Too bad it's not on a network I get OnDemand. I loved the miniseries and series in the 80s, but I'm leery of a remake, and it's on Already Been Cancelled. I guess I'll see what the buzz is.

On Wednesdays, this week ends Leverage for the fall. But now Glee's starting, and I think that will be the perfect thing to tape while I'm at choir, so I can come home from back-to-back rehearsals and watch more choir geekery. There needs to be an adult show choir for those of us who missed that experience in high school (or for those who want to relive it).

Thursday night, Supernatural comes back to us this week, and then there's The Office starting next week. I think Thursday's also the night Flashforward will be on. I'm a fan of Robert J. Sawyer's books, but that's not one I'd have picked as a series premise. Still, there will be Joseph Fiennes and His Amazing Eyelashes, so I may give it a shot. Otherwise, my local PBS station is now showing MI-5/Spooks on Thursday nights, and they've just reached the point where A&E abruptly stopped showing it (in the middle of a cliffhanger. Grrrr). I guess that in spite of being an action/crime/suspense show, the fact that it was from the BBC and involved British accents made it too classy for the "new" A&E.

It looks like Stargate Universe will be on Fridays. I never got into Dollhouse, but now they're tempting me with Jamie Bamber and Alexis Denisof, so I might give it a try. Otherwise, that may be a night for catching whatever OnDemand shows that I didn't see earlier in the week that catch my interest.

Saturday there's nothing (a night for movies or OnDemand shows). And then Sunday night it's mostly about Masterpiece Theatre, with mysteries for much of the fall, and then when they switch to Contemporary, I'm not sure what the shows will be, but David Tennant will be hosting, so I'll at least watch the beginning.

There are a few cable series that look interesting, but they just say "fall" instead of giving a start date and timeslot.

The annoying thing is that most of the shows I actually want to watch are scheduled either directly against each other or on nights when I'm out, and the shows I can get reliably OnDemand are the ones higher on my priority list, where I'd either watch them live or would want to watch that same night instead of waiting until the next day. That's going to have a lot to do with which new series I decide to try. I think I've been burned enough by abrupt early cancellations that I'm really leery of trying new things. Which will probably be good for my writing productivity.