As summer fades into fall, one constant, in addition to the turning of the leaves is the premiere of new TV shows. Magnum P.I. actor Tom Selleck is back on the small screen in "Las Vegas" and NBC announced a TV movie of "Knight Rider" to reboot the 80s series... Enough with the familiar and onto the new.
"Big Bang Theory"
When the incredibly hot Penny, played by Kaley Cuoco, moves into the apartment across the hall from the brilliant yet socially challenged Leonard (Johnny Galecki) and Sheldon (Jim Parsons), what ensues are Leonard's attempts to impress Penny while constantly being reminded of their status as social outcasts by Sheldon. "Big Bang Theory" features clever humor and effective delivery, some of which might fall on deaf ears as Leonard and Sheldon argue and banter about what could best be described as "nerd humor." At one point in the second episode when Sheldon hears a noise at night, he comes out of his bedroom with a glowing light saber. Because of this nerd humor, "Big Band Theory" might struggle to develop a large audience. Overall, "Big Bang Theory" is a solid addition to CBS's Monday Night comedy lineup. Mondays at 8 p.m., CBS
Chances of surviving an entire season: 85 percent
"Dr. Steve-O"
"Dr. Steve-O" stars Stephen Glover from "Jackass" and Trishelle Cannatella from "The Real World." The premise of "Dr. Steve-O" is that he travels across the country to 'de-wussify' various men. The premiere episode showed Steve-O attempting to toughen up three men, having them face their fears and perform "Jackass"-like stunts and other lame challenges. When watching "Dr. Steve-O," one wonders if Steve-O is high when doing the show, or if all those blows to the head throughout the years have left him three fries short of a Happy Meal. The only redeeming quality of "Dr.
Steve-O" was Cannatella dressed as a nurse. "Dr. Steve-O" might qualify as the worst half-hour of programmed TV. Monday at 11p.m., USA network
Chances of surviving an entire season: 1 percent
"Cavemen"
By now, if you haven't seen one of the GEICO cavemen commercials, you have been living under a rock. The ads, which featured cavemen in modern-day life, claimed that "service was so easy even a caveman could do it." For some unknown reason ABC decided it would be a good idea to devote an entire half-hour in primetime to cavemen living in modern day San Diego. "Cavemen" centers around Joel (Bill English), his younger brother Andy (Sam Huntington) and best friend Nick (Nick Kroll) as three cavemen who live and interact normally with the people around them, although no explanation has been given as to how these cavemen have survived extinction. The premiere episode dealt with Joel's girlfriend, who was a regular girl, or "sapie" as his friends call Homo-Sapiens. Apparently, Joel's girlfriend has a sort of fetish for cavemen, she's been with quite a few of them before, suggesting there are more cavemen in the world in addition to those in the premiere show. "Cavemen" was bland, unfunny, and in the end, quite bad. After watching an episode of "Cavemen" one wonders if the brain trust at ABC believes creating terrible TV is so easy anyone can do it. Tuesdays at 8, ABC
Chances of surviving an entire season: 5 percent
"Carpoolers"
"Carpoolers" follows four men who ride together to work each morning and share their problems at home during their daily commute. The only thing each of them have in common is their daily commute. The pilot focused on Gracen (Fred Gross) as he attempts to come to terms with the fact his wife and live-at-home son are making more money than him. Gracen's carpooler friends Laird (Jerry O'Connell), Aubrey (Jeffry Minor) and Dougie (Tim Peper) deduce the problem is with an expensive toaster that Gracen's wife (Faith Ford) has bought and eventually get rid of the toaster, neatly wrapping up the problem in a half-hour. "Carpoolers" follows "Cavemen" Tuesday nights, which might not seem significant, but after a half-hour of watching an episode about four cavemen, "Carpoolers" seemed almost as funny as "Seinfeld" used to be, even though it really isn't. After one episode, "Carpoolers" seems like it could be mediocre but has some potential. Tuesdays 8:30 p.m., ABC
Chances of surviving an entire season: 65 percent
"Bionic Woman"
After what should have been a fatal car crash, student and bartender Jamie Sommers (Michelle Ryan) is given experimental medical implants. These experimental implants give her enhanced strength, speed, vision and hearing. After escaping the facility she meets another woman with similar powers, who has gone rouge on the unnamed organization which gave them the implants.
After Jamie comes to terms with her newfound powers, she agrees to work for the organization which put the implants in her and settles back into her life, raising her teenage sister. While "Bionic Woman" featured several interesting ideas, the premiere episode simply wasn't all that good. There is room for improvement. It also has the potential to tap into several ethical questions about genetics and bio-engineering. Wednesdays 8 p.m., NBC
Chances of surviving an entire season: 70 percent
In summary, a sample of the new fall shows resulted in one standout, "Big Bang Theory," one mediocre show, "Carpoolers" and two shows that never should have been aired, "Dr. Steve-O" and "Cavemen." Obviously the networks are incapable of coming up with new ideas for the fall lineup, which features several rehashed ideas such as a reboot of the 70s TV show "Bionic Woman" and yet another medical drama, "Private Practice" a spin off from "Grey's Anatomy" and "Journeyman," which seems like an update of the sci-fi show "Quantum Leap." An overall thumbs down for the lack of creativity.
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