TV guide for Fall 2007

(This artcile was published in the September 2007 edition of The Ryder)


Finally, the end of reruns is upon us!

One of the best things about fall is that most of my favorite television shows start airing new episodes. While we have to wait until January to find out what happens next on Lost, here are a few select returning shows I think you should get hooked on in the coming weeks…

How I Met Your Mother – CBS – Monday 8-8:30PM

How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM) is a comedy told through flashbacks about how Ted (Josh Radnor), a single New York architect, falls in love. In the flashbacks, Ted lives with his newlywed best friend Marshall (Jason Segel from the still much missed Freaks and Geeks) and Marshall’s wife, Lily (Alyson Hannigan). Ted also recently broke up with Robin (Cobie Smulders), who he once thought was the love of his life, but everyone knows from the narration of the first episode of the series that Robin is not the mother of Ted’s future children. Rounding out the ensemble is Neil Patrick Harris as Barney - the suit wearing, catchphrase making, and comedic center of the show.

My older sister always says that HIMYM is the show that most accurately depicts how she and her friends interact; "it’s the same type of funny". She’s absolutely right. HIMYM is all about friends helping each other through the ups and downs of living life and finding love in your late twenties/early thirties, and you’ll be able to laugh alongside (and sometimes at) the characters because it’s so easy to relate to them. If the first two seasons were any indication as to how season three (premiering September 24th) is going to unfold, to quote Barney, "It’s going to be Legend… Wait for it… Dary!"

Heroes – NBC – Monday 9-10 PM

"Save the cheerleader, save the world." Remember? Well, with those two missions accomplished, NBC promises for season two "New Heroes. New Stories." Fear not, though, we’ll still be seeing our favorite Heroes from the first season. Peter and Nathan Petrelli (Milo Ventimiglia and Adrian Pasdar, respectively) may have last been seen flying into space where Peter then exploded, but don’t write them off quite yet, and just because the superhero power-stealing murderer Sylar (Zachary Quinto) was finally taken down, doesn’t mean he’s gone for good either.

At the end of last season’s finale, we saw a little teaser for the first episode of season two, entitled "Generations". To recap, everyone’s favorite Hero, Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka), has teleported back in time to Japan circa 1671 when he comes across some samurai, with one holding a flag boasting that mysterious curved symbol we’ve seen throughout the entire first season. The teaser ended with a total solar eclipse, much like the one that appears as the "O" in the Heroes title… I honestly don’t know what it all means, but I am really looking forward to finding out!

Season two of Heroes also starts on September 24th. If you haven’t seen any of season one and are feeling left out, the seven-disc DVD set is out now – I urge you to catch up so you know what everyone is talking about once the second season begins.

Now, I know a lot of people spend their Thursday nights watching ABC’s Ugly Betty and Grey’s Anatomy (or, as I like to call it, "Patrick Dempsey Appreciation Hour"). Both are entertaining shows, even I’ll admit that I watch Grey’s, but I urge you to expand your horizons and give NBC’s comedies your attention as well.

30 Rock – NBC – Thursday 8:30-9PM

Created by and starring Tina Fey, 30 Rock is a fictional take on the behind the scenes making of a late night sketch program. Fey stars as Liz Lemon, the head writer for the SNLesque "The Girlie Show with Tracy Jordan" who has to deal with a motley crew of writers, high maintenance talent (Tracy Morgan and Jane Krakowski) and her sharp-tongued boss, Jack Donaghy (the brilliant Alec Baldwin).

As 30 Rock enters its second season, there is much to look forward to; more Tracy Jordan antics, more Jack Donaghy insults, and more reasons to love working in television, care of Kenneth the NBC Page. During this season, there will probably be some top notch guest actors lending their talents to the already talented cast of 30 Rock. Last season brought us great guest stars such as Elaine Stritch, Isabella Rossellini and Nathan Lane. To start off this season right, Jerry Seinfeld will be appearing in the first episode.

The Office – NBC – Thursday 9-9:30/10PM

The Office is my favorite show and in my own vision of a perfect world, everyone would watch this show and love it as much as I do. I crave the awkward, uncomfortable to watch, cringe-worthy moments, mostly coming from Dunder Mifflin boss Michael Scott (Steve Carell), but I know that it’s these very same moments why some people don’t like watching The Office.
The Office is shot look like a documentary, which makes it unique from other sitcoms. A camera crew follows around the "employees" at the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin so many characters on the show probably seem like slightly extreme versions of people that you actually work with.

The Office is entering its fourth season, so people who like the show are already watching it. At the end of season three, Michael and Jan (Melora Hardin) have rekindled their relationship thanks to a new pair of boobs for Jan. Former temp Ryan Howard (B.J. Novak) now has Jan’s old job at corporate headquarters in New York City. But even more important for many fans, Jim (John Krasinski) finally asked the receptionist, Pam (Jenna Fischer), out on a date (!).
NBC had announced that The Office would have more episodes than the usual 22-episode season. However, instead of extending the season, executive producers at The Office are choosing to make the first four episodes into hour-long shows.

Look for the season premiere on September 27, entitled "Fun Run", which takes place two months after the season three finale. The official name for the actual "Fun Run" is "Michael Scott’s Dunder Mifflin Scranton [Office Employee whose name I won’t fill in so as not to spoil it for you] Memorial Celebrity Pro-Am Rabies Awareness Fun Run For the Cure". If that doesn’t pique your interest, then I’m at a loss for words.

Regardless of your television show preferences, come this fall, enjoy your shows and Happy TV Watching!!

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Sadly, with the writer's strike, none of these shows have any more new episodes, so I am forced to watch reruns. Luckily Lost is starting back up at the end of January, or I would probably flip out.