The Fall TV Season is Upon Us... already?

With the arrival of mid-September comes the beginning of the new fall TV season. But I was still surprised to see a new Office, Parks and Recreation, and Fringe on the schedule for this evening. This summer must have gotten away from me, because it doesn't feel like it's been that long since most of these shows had their previous season finales.

Despite the fact that I love watching TV shows--I prefer serialized TV to movies on most days--there's something sad about the arrival of TV season. I don't like to admit that I'm a slave to the TV schedule, but I pretty much am. The freedom of summer is over, and now I will be tuning in to at least one show pretty much every night until the fall hiatus in December.

But that sadness is obviously tempered by excitement for new episodes of my favourite series. If I had any patience, I would watch my TV by waiting for the DVDs, but I have to watch the new shows now, now, now!

Of the returning shows this fall, I am most excited by Dexter, Dollhouse, The Office, 30 Rock, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Big Bang Theory, South Park, Legend of the Seeker, and to a lesser extent, Fringe and House. (I must note that two of the best returning shows, Lost and Chuck, will not be on the air until 2010.)

Dexter is a reliably excellent show, although I don't think they will ever top the stellar first season. Dollhouse is a surprise renewal, seeing as its ratings were garbage; not the best Joss Whedon, but still damn good and getting better with every episode. The Office is well past its peak (season two), but is still consistently funny. 30 Rock is enjoyable wackiness. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is a new discovery for me, and I can't wait to see what crazy shit the guys get up to next. Curb Your Enthusiasm promises a Seinfeld reunion this season--plus it's Larry David! The Big Bang Theory features some of the best geek characters on TV, and is therefore near and dear to my heart, although I hate the laugh track. South Park manages to stay surprisingly relevant and hilarious even in its 13th season. Legend of the Seeker is, in theory, an adaptation of one of my favourite book series (The Sword of Truth), but they are taking major liberties with the source material, to say the least; but it's still pretty good, so I'll continue on that ride as long as it lasts. Fringe had an interesting but inconsistent first season, just barely good enough to lure me back for season two. House is in a mental hospital!--might be good?

I will also be watching but probably not really enjoying Heroes, Parks and Recreation, The Mentalist, Family Guy, American Dad, and The Simpsons. Heroes needs to end soon; the first season was the only good season, but I can't stop watching for some reason. Parks and Recreation has some funny moments, but also some awful moments; I'll give them a few more episodes to find their footing. The Mentalist is interesting only because of the lead character's skeptic background; the mysteries are pedestrian and predictable. Family Guy hasn't really been good since it came back on the air. American Dad is better than Family Guy, but still not great. The Simpsons just needs to fucking die already.

And then there's the reality programs: So You Think You Can Dance, So You Think You Can Dance Canada, and The Amazing Race. No comment.

Of this season's new shows, I am only interested (so far) in Community, Flash Forward, V, and Stargate Universe. Can't say much about these yet, as I haven't seen them.

Goddamn, that's a shitload of TV to watch...