What I Did on My Summer Vacation and Other Stories...

Eva's the one to watch on "Desperate Housewives"


First off, I want to apologize for not writing about anything this summer. Truth of the matter is, I had a lot going on:

• I moved. Sixty miles north and it’s a world of difference. Manicures cost $7. That’s all I’m saying…
• My office moved. Not my office, but the whole company. Two times. Try dealing with Verizon twice in a three month period. Not fun…
• New Boyfriend. Due to the confidentiality agreement he made me sign, I cannot talk about him in print. But call me, we’ll talk. No biggie…
  

So between the moves and the new boyfriend, it’s been a busy summer. But I’m back and so is the new TV Line Up. It’s officially autumn, my favorite time of year. The air is crisp, the kids are back in school and your favorite TV shows have returned. Most of the shows have already had their premieres (with the exception of shows like “24” and “Scrubs”, which return mid-season) and quite frankly, it ain’t looking too good. My TIVO has been going into overdrive lately, and I haven’t had a chance to watch everything, but here’s what I think so far...

Thursday Returns with “Must See TV”…but this time the network to watch is ABC, not NBC. “Grey’s Anatomy” premiered last week (with a new day and new time- Thursdays at 9PM on ABC) and I have to say, I was a little disappointed. Now I know Meredith wasn’t going to choose between McDreamy and McVet this soon, because they have to drag that plotline out for at least six episodes, which is the short amount of time the yummy Chris O’Donnell has signed on for. Mer is destined to be with McDreamy- we all know that. But with the success of this show, don’t expect Grey’s super couple to officially hook up for good anytime in the near future. Addison’s McSteamy will be back (the very hot ex-best friend of Derek’s that she slept with, resulting in the temporary breakup of her marriage) so even if Meredith and Derek do hook up, maybe Addie will find solace with McSteamy. Addison seemed very attached to that baby that was found in the dumpster- so I have a feeling a baby storyline is coming her way. Izzie spent 95% of the episode still in her prom dress and glued to the floor as she dealt with the death of her “fiancé” Denny. A preview of the upcoming season showed Izzie in her scrubs at the hospital, so I guess she changes her mind and gets back into the surgical program. As for the rest of Seattle Grace, how will Cristina and Burke deal with his injury? Will George tell Callie he loves her? And to answer the big burning question that I wrote about back in May- where are Meredith’s panties?- Addison finds them in Derek’s jacket and pins them to a bulletin board in the hallway of Seattle Grace. Nice…

Following Grey’s on Thursdays is a new show “Six Degrees” (Thursday at 10PM on ABC). Apparently, in a place like New York City, you pass your soul mate on the sidewalk three times before you actually meet them. So stop taking the subway and walk to work- you’ll find Mr. Right a hell of a lot sooner. Anyway, it starts off with six strangers and before you know it they are bumping into to one another left and right: Whitney and Laura are having drinks in a bar, Carlos comes to the aid of Damian in a fight, and Mae gets arrested for jumping on a garbage truck and taking her clothes off (but who hasn’t done that?) then becomes the nanny for Laura’s little girl. The one thing this show has going for it is that is was created by J.J. Abrams (creator of “Alias” and "Lost”) and follows “Grey’s Anatomy”. But the whole six-degrees of separation thing (I’m waiting for one of them to bump into Kevin Bacon on the NY city streets) can get a little confusing. Not a bad show, but I’ll give it a couple of more episodes before I give it the boot…

It hasn’t premiered yet, but I think the real show to watch on Thursday is going to be “Ugly Betty” (Thursday at 8PM on ABC). Based upon the super successful Spanish telenovella “Yo Soy Betty la Fea” and created by Salma Hayek, it stars America Ferrera as Betty Suarez, a homely young girl who gets a job at a glossy Manhattan magazine. It’s your typical fish-out-of-water scenario and the early reviews have been great. It premieres Thursday, September 28th at 8PM EST.

Too Much of a Good Thing...Two new shows have been buzzed about since the beginning of the summer: “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” (Mondays at 10PM on NBC) and “Brothers and Sisters” (Sundays at 10PM on ABC). The problem I see with both of these show is that they both have very large and very talented ensemble casts and that can be a little overwhelming. “Brothers and Sisters” stars two-time Oscar winner Sally Field as the matriarch, Nora Walker and in an interesting spin of casting, Tom Skerritt as her husband William (they played husband and wife in 1989’s Steel Magnolias). Unfortunately, the fantastic Skerritt doesn’t last long- he kicks the bucket at the end of the first episode, leaving his children to deal with the mess he’s made of the family’s gourmet food distribution business. It also stars Ally McBeal as youngest daughter Kitty, a right wing radio talk show host and Rachel Griffiths (of “Six Feet Under”) as oldest daughter Sarah, a mother and executive at the family business. Mom and Kitty DO NOT get along and Mom’s brother Saul has some splaining to do as to why the business is so cash poor. Throw in the drug addicted vet youngest brother, married middle brother and token gay brother and not to mention dad’s mistress, there’s a lot going on with the Walker family.

“Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” suffers from the same problem. Matthew Perry is back on network TV (Yeah!) and along with Bradley Whitford they play a hot-shot director/writer team wooed back to an ailing sketch comedy show by the new network President, played by Amanda Peet (a little far fetched- she looks too young and too pretty to be a network President). “thirtysomething” alum Timothy Busfield works the control room, Steven Weber is Peet’s boss and Sarah Paulson and D.L. Hughley play cast members of the sketch show. Because this show moves at a faster pace than “Brothers and Sisters” it’s even harder to keep up. The problem I have with both of these shows is that because of their pedigrees (“Studio 60” was created by Aaron Sorkin; “Brothers and Sisters” has Ken Olin and Jon Robin Baitz, an award winning playwright and writer of shows like “Alias” and “West Wing”, at its helm) they have a lot to live up to. And so far, I don’t see what all the fuss is about. But being that I have nothing else to do on Monday nights at 10PM, I will continue to watch “Studio 60” until I lose interest. Or until it gets cancelled- whichever comes first. And “Brothers and Sisters” follows “Desperate Housewives” and we all know what that lead in did for “Grey’s Anatomy”. Speaking of which…

The Good, the Bad and the Really Annoying… Creator and writer Marc Cherry was under a lot of pressure this year. After a shaky second season, “Desperate Housewives” (Sundays at 9PM on ABC) fans were not happy and wanted to see more of the ladies together, not apart. Well, with the exception of one lunch and Bree’s engagement party (more on that later) there wasn’t much bonding. It’s six months later and Mike is still in a coma. Susan spends her days shaving his face (and not doing a very good job) and flirting with the husband of another coma patient; Lynette and Tom are dealing with the implications of his one night stand eleven years ago- his daughter Kayla and her oh-my-God-she-is-so-annoying-I-want-to-shoot-my-TV-everytime-she-shows-up mother, Nora. In the night’s best performance, Gabrielle is forced to wait hand and foot on Xiao-Mei, who is bed ridden and about to pop out the Solis’ baby. Eva Longoria is really the one star of this show who just keeps gets better and better with each passing episode. When Xiao-Mei tells Gaby she is the meanest person she knows; Gaby retorts with, “Then call my Chinese friend, SoSueMe!” Fantastic. Bree is dating Susan’s “dentist friend” Orson, whose former wife has mysteriously gone missing. At the start of the premiere we meet Orson’s wife, Alma (in flashback) and it seems like this couple have taken a page out of the Sleeping With the Enemy handbook, right down to the meticulously straight cans in the cupboard and the neatly folded towels in the linen closet. But according to Mary Alice (yes, she’s back with her irritating narration), Alma’s had enough and is ready to leave Orson. But he comes home unexpectedly just as she is about to leave with her suitcase and talking bird. Cut to nosy neighbor Caroline (the always funny Laurie Metcalf of “Roseanne”) showing up the next day on Orson’s doorstep looking for Alma, who missed their coffee date. Orson, wearing rubber gloves and holding a mop tells Caroline Alma left him and rushes her out the door. Back to the present, Orson presents Bree with a little Tiffany blue box cake, and inside is a ring. Bree throws caution to the wind and accepts. Here is where DH starts to falter. Another crazy fiancé for Bree? Been there. Another creepy guy with a dead wife? Done that. I know the writers are trying to get back to roots of what was once a must-watch guilty pleasure, but can we have some new material please? And how about a little continuity? At Bree and Orson’s engagement party, where is her daughter Danielle? We know slimy Andrew was dropped off in the middle of nowhere by his mother, but after Bree put herself in harms way protecting Danielle from the disturbed Matthew Applewhite, wouldn’t the mother/daughter riff be a little bit mended by now? I mean, Susan’s daughter is there, so why wouldn’t Bree’s daughter be there too? So as the season unfolds, look for Lynette and Nora to go head to head, Susan to fall for her coma buddy, Gabrielle to get back with John the gardener, and Bree to have a very Martha Stewart wedding, and a very “Stepford” marriage to Orson. Will Mike ever come out of the coma? Where are Paul and Zach Young? Will revenge-bound neighbor Felicia Tillman resurface (minus her fingers)? And just who is the dead body buried at Orson’s golf club (could it be Alma? Is that too easy?). Hopefully this season will have more poker games for the ladies and less crazy people locked in basements (although I’m all for Lynette tossing Nora down there and losing the key).

I Never Watched it But Now I Love, Love, Love It!...Curious to see what all the buzz was about, I finally caught an episode of "The Office" (Thursdays at 8:30PM on NBC), which turned out to be the second season finale last May. It's only been one episode, but OHMYGOD Pam and Jim belong together! More than Meredith and McDreamy; more than Susan and Mike; more than my parents!!! (okay I'm kidding with that last one). Everything about this show is perfect. And the season premiere didn't disappoint. Michael is still inappropriate and offensive, accidently outing a co-worker; Pam breaks up with her fiance and they are forced to eat the chicken and fish from their cancelled wedding for lunch and dinner for the next six weeks; and Jim transfers to the head office to avoid Pam after their big kiss in the finale. Everything is great about this show- the acting (the way Jim looks at the camera is priceless) and the writing (Michael kisses his gay co-worker to prove he's not a homophobe) are top-notch and when Jim sends Dwight a "gaydar" from Sharper Image I almost wet my pants. Not as funny as the dearly departed "Arrested Development", but its close.

I Can't Wait for...the seventh season premiere tomorrow night of one of my favorites, “Gilmore Girls” (Tuesdays at 8PM on CW). This year, the girls are without the creators, husband and wife team Dan Palladino and Amy Sherman Palladino. When the UPN merged with the WB to form CW, the Palladinos couldn’t come to some kind of agreement with the network, so they jumped ship. And that makes me a little nervous because they were the creative force behind fantastic writing and casting. Anyway, when we left off, Lorelei had had enough of fiancé Luke’s drama with his new found daughter, and in an act of utter stupidity, slept with her ex, Christopher. After I shouted "Oh no you DI'INT!!!" at the end of May's finale, I realized this must be the Palladinos “F YOU” to the CW, as if to say, “Now, write your way out of this, suckers.” Us GG fans had waited so long to see Luke and Lorelei get together and after so many road bumps on their way to the altar, this was the last straw. And totally out of character for Lorelei. Flighty? Yes. But stupid she is not and to have her sleep with Chris was just out of character. If you’ve seen any coming attractions, you will know that there is no secret-keeping in Stars Hollow and Lorelei breaks it off with Luke and tells him about her tryst with Christopher. So look forward to a season of watching Luke and Lorelei and the quirky townspeople trying to figure out how to mend this mess. Meanwhile, Rory starts her senior year at Yale and deals with boyfriend Logan working in London. Hopefully we will see more from Emily and Richard who are always so much fun to watch.

Show I’m Most Looking Forward To…is “The Nine” (Wednesdays at 10PM on ABC). I don’t know much about it, but I can tell you this: it’s been raved about; it stars Tim Daly and Scott Wolf (and anything that stars these guys together is OK in my book) and it follows “Lost”. It can’t lose. Its basic premise is about nine strangers who are hostages in a bank robbery and how their lives changed when the ordeal is over. Bottom line: don’t call me at 10PM on Wednesday nights. Debuts October 4th.

Call me Crazy, but…Anne Heche’s new show “Men in Trees” (Fridays at 9PM on ABC) is adorable. Described as “Sex and the City” meets “Northern Exposure”, Heche is relationship expert Marin Frist, who thinks she has it all figured out until she finds out on her way to a speaking engagement in Elmo, Alaska, that her perfect fiancé is cheating on her. She decides to stay in Elmo (where the ratio of men to women is 7 to 1) and write her new book. I’ve only seen two episodes, but so far, so good. If you’re the kind of gal (yes, this is more for the ladies) who is out on a Friday night, then definitely record this one to watch as you recover from your hangover on Sunday morning…

When in Rome…and of course, no blog would be complete without the mention of “The Bachelor” (Mondays at 9PM on ABC). If you have read this blog before, you know I covered the “The Bachelor-Paris” last season. Every single year since this show has started (ok, starting with Season Three) I have watched The Bachelor and/or The Bachelorette and at the end of the season I VOW never to watch it again. So last year, not only did I watch, but I wrote about it too. Like Gaby said “So call my Chinese friend, SoSueMe”. It’s addictive. It’s my crack. I have a problem. I’m getting help. Anyway, this year, ABC got a real life Prince (!) and 25 ladies will get the chance to become a real-life Princess (!). OK, so seriously: a Prince? Why does he need a reality show with a success rate of ONE (Trista & Ryan) marriage in order to find his true love? I guarantee you not one of those women are in it for love. They just want the tiara. I can’t wait…