TV: Hits and Misses of the Fall 2007 Season

I know, the Fall 2007 season is well underway. But that doesn't mean I can't weigh in on my hits and misses of the new season (plus some already on the air), especially when the stellar "Cavemen" just premiered this week! So without further ado, here are my personal picks:

Watch It:

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX)
How can a show so wrong be so right? Now in season 3, this warped single-cam comedy is the most refreshing thing to come along on cable TV in years. Shot on mini-DV in docu-verite style, it mixes elements of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and "Seinfeld" to pitch-perfect effect. Some of the most seriously heinous plotlines ever developed keep this ship of fools sailing straight for hell.

30 Rock
The most clever, hilarious and fast-moving single-camera half-hour comedy on network TV. Brainchild of star and writer Tina Fey, the show is made all the more fun by its co-star Alec Baldwin. Brilliant comedic writing and just plain 'ol fun make 30 Rock a blast to watch each week. Its Emmy win for the '06 season should ensure it stays on the air long enough to actually get the audience it deserves.

How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
Sad to say that it's the only funny multi-cam sit-com on network TV right now, currently in season three. Smart writing and dialog is topped by Barney's character (played by Neil Patrick Harris of "Doogie Howser" fame).

Amazing Race (CBS)
Of course this is the best reality show on TV, and not just because I worked on it. Five-straight Emmys prove it's king of the competition division. Watch for a brand-new season 12 in January 2007, and hopefully a season 13 after that.

Mad Men (AMC)
Slick, smart and thoughtful drama about life in New York's ad agency biz circa 1960. Written by Sopranos producer and scribe Matthew Weiner, this show's photography is a joy to look at - and the dialog is a pleasure to listen to. This is the kind of show that belongs on HBO; the fact that AMC snagged it is their great luck.

Dexter (Showtime)
Talk about black humor... this is one dark, messed up show, which delights in its self-knowledge and twisted setup. Dexter (played by Michael C. Hall of "Six Feet Under" fame) is crime scene investigator by day, serial killer at night. It just began season two and is as clever and twisted as season one. Score: Showtime 1, HBO 0

Weeds (Showtime)
The best-written single-cam comedy on TV; pay or cable. Played with such glee and fun, it's the perfect post-modern look at life in suburbia. Exposing the hypocrisy and angst of life in the 'burbs (reportedly shot at Stevenson Ranch in Santa Clarita just North of LA), "Weeds" is hilarious, insightful and smart - all at the same time... no small feat. Score: Showtime 2, HBO 0

Californication (Showtime)
Showtime's hat-trick is complete with this smart, funny and endearing look at a burned-out author (played by David Duchovny) who has lost both his writing (but not sex) mojo as well as his "wife" (they never bothered to marry). The other half of the "Weeds/Californication" power hour on Monday nights, this is a romp of a ride through casual sex and an even more casual - and seemingly unexamined - life. Duchovny is an unshaven wreck of a curmudgeon in Hank Moody, who lives and drinks in Venice, CA. If only these shows were 26 episodes and an hour each. Score: Showtime 3, HBO 0.

The War (PBS)
Terrifying, heart-warming, inspiring and frightening all at the same time, Ken Burn's "The War" is an apt modern complement to HBO's spectacular "Band of Brothers." Both depict WWII in the most well-rounded and reflective light yet, and both show the horrors of the four-year struggle. But where BoB kept its portrayal of Easy Company's European campaign inspirational for the most part, "The War" documents Pacific and European battles for the bloody, disgusting, horrific and often insanity-inspiring theaters they usually were. Made even more prescient in light of our current conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan, this seven-part mini-series should be required viewing for teenagers and adults alike.

Skip It:

Kid Nation (CBS)
Perfect viewing if you are on the fence about having kids, this mini-Survivor just may convince you to keep your family small. Annoying tikes from across the precocious spectrum have been cast to provide pint-sized drama. Sometimes kids do say the darndest things, reminding us why we told them to speak when spoken to in the first place.

Heroes (NBC)
Really? Heroes, that best new show of last season? If it continues on its current trajectory, yes - skip it. While season one was fun and imaginative, it has lost its magic in the first two episodes of season two. What started as an inspiring and original concept has sunk into predictable and seemingly focus group-directed plots. The worst example is Hiro's descent into slapstick predicaments that were tired in '80s sit-coms. Nothing here to inspire - save your time and watch more Showtime programs.

Cavemen (ABC)
Lame (read: unfunny) sitcom about strangely superior-acting and snotty Geico cavemen, which proves that any lazy concept can stink as badly as "high-brow" comedy.
Variety calls it: "the lowest rung of comedy’s evolutionary ladder."

The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
Un-funny sitcom about a hot chick who moves in next door to two geeks, and for some reason likes hanging out with them as they show off their lack of social skills and dry-erase boards. Her spending time with them isn't surprising just because she's cute and obviously with better things to do; but because these guys are such boring company. One is convinced he can eventually hook up with her, while the other is a whiny know-it-all who delights in his own misery. Oh what fun! I can hardly wait for episode two. Oh wait, yes I can.

Jury's Out On:

Pushing Daisies (ABC)
It's hard not to like this new one-hour dramedy, because it's just so darn cute. But I managed to roll my eyes enough times during it's "pie-lot" to find it guilty not only of being derivative, but overly cute and precious as well. The show stars a main character who seems a hybrid of Ed (of "Ed"), Chuck (of the new series "Chuck") - and Earl (of "My Name is Earl") - except this one can bring people back to life for a minute with a touch; and winds up bringing his childhood sweetheart back to life to solve her own murder. Isn't that sweet? The question that kept running through my mind the entire hour was 'why does he hang out with this girl whom he loves if one errant touch will kill her?' "Pushing Daisies" has both the look and voiceover straight from "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events" in a technicolor explosion of poor CGI effects and self-consciously clever writing. At least it has one thing going for it; it isn't like any other network show on the air.