Techtite Game Reviews ---

The bad news: this is not a list of the shows which will succeed. FOX makes sure of that each year, cancelling promising new show concepts like Wonderfalls and Vanished, while keeping Family Guy; go figure. Yet each season there are shows which look interesting right from the start. Those are the shows which might not be able to compete with Family Guy (cough -sarcasm- cough), yet they have enough intrigue to have people eager to see the series' first episodes ASAP...and for any new show, that's all that really matters.

Updated! Each week of the new fall season, one of the best (and the "worst") new shows will be reviewed. If the show has been reviewed, click on the link attached to the show title.

The 11th Hour (CBS, Thursdays at 10:00). What's it about? From the show's official summary on CBS.com: "Accompanied by his beautiful blonde bodyguard, a government science advisor travels the country investigating abuses of science and crimes of a scientific nature. The project is based on a British miniseries." What's so cool? A new crime drama produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, that doesn't have "CSI" as a prefix. Somehow I doubt the uniqueness of this series ends there. What's not-so-cool? "11th Hour"...? The same title was used for one of the worst video games I ever played(!), though I'm willing to forgive it for that small faux pas. Added Plus: The fact it's based on a British series is intriguing, though to be honest, I'd have hoped for an American version of Torchwood if I had the choice. With the same edge as CSI without the need to confine things to a crime lab downtown, this could offer all the mysteries that the CSI environment could not. If it has the same quality writing that CSI had in its first season, this could be a big hit.

My Own Worst Enemy (NBC, Mondays at 10:00). What's it about? Imagine Quantum Leap without the leaping through time, or Chuck, without the comedic edge. In short: Christian Slater plays an average Joe who "shares the body" of a superspy, with one alter ego never knowing what the other is doing...or has done. What's so cool? Everyone wonders what it would be like if they were James Bond, yet the twist of this series could prove interesting. What if James Bond "shared" your life, only you never knew what your alter-ego was doing? What's not-so-cool? Produced by Jason Smilovic ("Kidnapped") and David Semel ("Heroes," "House"), this series needs to have the same publicity that made the latter series work and less of the flaws that made Kidnapped fail. This is an intriguing challenge, because frankly I have no idea why NBC cancelled Kidnapped at all. Added Plus: While the series looks like a knockoff of around half a dozen other shows in the past, all those shows were hits. If people can adjust to "Chuck version 2.0," this could work.

Opportunity Knocks (ABC). What's it about? Here's an inspired new game show idea: each week, a big truck filled full of game show goodness comes to your front footstep, knocks on your door, and just like that, there's a game show set in front of your house. What's so cool? You know how other game shows have prizes on-set that you have to wait for? Well, since the "set" is technically your front lawn, contestant prizes on this game show are available as soon as they win it! No delivery charges, no waiting: take your HDTV prize and enjoy. Cool. What's not-so-cool? Take a ride down a local street or two and ask yourself how hard this show will be to maintain, given the concept of "a show taped on the street in front of you." Even if they chicken out and start building the show in shopping mall parking lots, it's going to be pretty hard to maintain this traveling game show for anyone on a busy street, which isn't entirely fair, is it? Added Plus: Based on the successes of a number of "on your front doorstep" episodes of various game shows, this premise is brilliant. All it needs is an audience, and enough people willing to have this game show filmed on their front lawn.

Fringe (FOX). What's it about? The lead character is an FBI agent (aren't they all?) who teams up with a genius scientist and his similarly brilliant son to solve crimes based on "Fringe Science," which one could presume is a euphemism for "really strange X-Files-inspired science." What's so cool? The premiere is directed by Alex Graves, the same director of critically acclaimed premieres for The Nine and Journeyman. What's not-so-cool? ...then again: both those series were cancelled. Still; Fringe could be the next big hit for FOX, presuming they don't cancel it to make way for a pair of Family Guy spin-offs. To give you an idea of how unlikely that is: they already have at least one Family Guy spin-off scheduled as a mid-season replacement. Added Plus: Boyfriends who want to watch one less chick flick a week, need only remind lady viewers what made them watch Dawson's Creek for so many years, then tell them: this is Joshua Jackson's new series.

Dollhouse (FOX). What's it about? Some new shows take time, so yeah; it's going to take a little while longer to see how cool this series is, though everything shown so far has fans of Joss Whedon and Eliza Dushku hooked. Series creator Whedon and lead star Dushku are together again, this time in a tale about a top secret organization, called the "Dollhouse." In short, these "dolls" are people whose identities have been completely erased, and are then implanted with the "identity" of the life they are supposed to lead, for specialized spy missions. Things start to unravel when one of the supposed memory-less "Dolls" (Dushku) begins to remember prior missions...and who she really is. What's so cool? Whedon, Dushku, and an undercover spy network. What's not to love? What's not-so-cool? Is Joss Whedon a really forgiving guy, or is there a reason he pitched this idea to FOX with any hope of them giving it any more fair a chance than they gave Firefly? Added Plus: Does it need an added plus...? It has Dushku, Whedon, and an intriguing premise. All it needs now is a FOX exec who isn't too busy watching reruns of Family Guy to give an intelligent show a chance.

90210 (The CW). What's it about? In short: 90210 is back. Of course, technically, it's a real zip code, so it never left, though you know what I mean. What's so cool? Here's a few of the planned twists this time around. The "Dad" of the two lead characters is the school principal, so no, mom and pop aren't leaving the series too soon, unlike one of many faux pas of the original series. I also like the return of old favorites (Jenny Garth is a recurring guest star), as well as the casting of new favorites-to-be. I particularly like how Lori Loughlin --veteran of any number of classic 1980's teen flicks-- is one of the "moms." Brilliant! What's not-so-cool? It's saying something when FOX opted out of a 90210 revival. I mean; isn't FOX the network that renewed Family Guy...and this remake wasn't "good enough" for them? Ouch. Added Plus: Teen dramas these days have lost a little something. If a return to 90210 can bring back that little something extra to teen dramas these days, this could be a big hit.

Kath & Kim (NBC; Tuesdays at 9:30). What's it about? Based on a hit Australian sitcom, a spoiled young daughter splits from her husband and moves back in with her single mother. What's so cool? With a mom played by Molly Shannon (Saturday Night Live), and a daughter played by Selma Blair (Hellboy), this is a well cast sitcom with a lot of potential. What's not-so-cool? Are modern women finally ready for a sitcom about two women who are ---gasp!--- a little flawed? Added Plus: Huzzah! This is *not* another "Caveman minded man next to flawless genius woman" sitcom clich�...and while some people may wish that formula of sitcom lasted "'Til Death" (cough, cough), I say: enough.

Life on Mars (ABC). What's it about? This is the tale of a modern police detective who suddenly finds himself in 1973. He's still a detective, though how will his tactics change now that he's working by 1973 crime standards...and what has happened here? What's so cool? I'm a big fan of all sorts of time travel stories, so this crime drama intrigues me. What makes it all the more intriguing is how, with TV saturated with CSI spin-offs and whatnot, this will be a battle of wits, not science. Keep in mind; 1973 was long before Windows 95, the internet, high tech DNA testing, and so on. How will Sam Tyler get the bad guy, using 1970's tools of the trade? What's not-so-cool? Conversely; with CSI spin-offs apparently the norm these days, are people ready for a return to old-school crime dramas? Added Plus: Based on an already successful BBC series created by Matthew Graham, Tony Jordan and Ashley Pharoah, there is little than can go wrong here.

Knight Rider (NBC; Wednesdays at 8). What's it about? NBC, just one year after Bionic Woman floundered, tries to bring back another classic TV series, which in this case is the one with a high-tech talking car. What's so cool? KITT the talking car has had a major overhaul and is now a supercomputer-savvy, nano-technology-ridden powerhouse. What's not-so-cool? David Hasslehoff and Knight Rider are like peanut butter and jelly; can people warm up to a "Hoff"-less Knight Rider? Added Plus: No offense to all the well-written, gritty dramas these days, though it might be nice to tune into a harmless action series, where the stakes are not a bunch of island castaways being eaten by a giant cloud monster, or a bunch of super-powered "Heroes" scared of getting their brains eaten by Sylar. Not that I don't love those shows, though come on. There are very few harmlessly fun action dramas on TV lately, and this could fit the bill.

Eli Stone (ABC). What's it about? While not a "new" series per se, this just-over-a-dozen-episodes, mid-season replacement told an amusing tale of a seemingly "gifted" defense attorney whose strange visions drive him crazy. Though what if these visions are prophetic? What's so cool? This series had a short run and yet it earned a fair amount of loyal fans for two reasons: it's amusing premise, and its excellently chosen cast! What's not-so-cool? The series just barely got renewed under the wire. Suffice to say; scuttlebutt is that it was either this, or Women's Murder Club. Suffice to say this series is already on "double secret probation," and really has to do well this season, to ever see its third. Added Plus: Season one tried to gild the lily when it came to Eli's visions: were they a miracle, or the illusions caused by a possibly fatal brain aneurism? Well, the "season one" episode 13 finale made it clear that, yeah, Eli is prophetic, for whatever reason. So what will he and his law firm do for Eli's first "full" season, now that they know his visions are real?

"The Big Bang Theory": Hit or (BIG) Miss?

Think the above shows were easy to make look good? Check out the seven shows that didn't make the cut:

Fall Season's "Unlucky Seven," 2008

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