Bring on the New

The 2005-06 television season is just a few weeks old, but there are some clear winners and losers amongst the new shows, both in quality and ratings. I took a bullet for y’all and sat down to watch just about every new show to come down the pipe this fall, sorted through them, and came up with a list of winners that are worthy of your precious free time (which I like to call couch potato time).

Commander in Chief (ABC, Tuesdays at 9:00)
A woman as the President of the United States? Something we may never see in our lifetime comes to the television screen when the President dies and his stunt-appointed V.P. takes over the Oval Office. Echoing the good days of "The West Wing," we see behind the scenes at the White House and what the new Leader of the Free World must face when not everyone wants her occupying this high-profile gig. Geena Davis is superb and believable in the title role, and the supporting cast is well written and full of familiar faces. If you’ve grown tired of "The West Wing," this is an excellent reason to make another appointment with the White House.

Bones (FOX, Tuesdays at 8:00)
All you "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel" fans rejoice; David Boreanaz is back in primetime. Instead of fighting beings from the netherworld, this time his character (Booth) is an FBI agent working with a forensic anthropologist to solve crimes based on skeletal remains. Sound icky? Kinda, but the stories take the overdone CSI-like crime dramas to a deeper level while actually exploring the lives of the main characters. Booth and his partner, Temperance Brennan (AKA "Bones") have an untapped sexual chemistry between them that rivals that of Mulder and Scully from "The X-Files." Based on the real-life tales of novelist/anthropologist Kathy Reichs, the plots are original and educational in that we discover a lot about what can be learned from our bones.

Prison Break (FOX, Mondays at 9:00)
A far-fetched premise about a man intentionally going to prison in order to break out his wrongly-accused (read: set-up) brother on death row can be easily overlooked once you get wrapped-up in all the action and suspense. With plenty of twists and turns along the way, you are never quite sure where the characters are going next. The only question I have is this: Assuming the end of the season will bring about the escape and validation for the inmates, what will they do for an encore in Season 2?

Invasion (ABC, Wednesdays at 10:00)
The phenomenon of "Lost" has spawned a slew of "what the hell is going on" copycat shows, but this one rises to the top (and incidentally follows "Lost" on the TV schedule). A hurricane hits Florida (a bad-timing premise in light of recent current events), which is basically a smokescreen for aliens to land on earth and do whatever it is that aliens do. Like it’s schedule mate, "Invasion" has lots of unanswered questions that will be a blast to uncover as the series progresses. If you are enthralled by the surprises-at-every-corner hook of ‘Lost," then leave the channel where it is at 10:00 and strap in for another ride.

Supernatural (WB, Tuesdays at 9:00)
The WB has recycled some of its hunks (Jared Padalecki of "Gilmore Girls" and Jensen Ackles of "Smallville") and paired them up as a couple of ghoul-chasing brothers in this supernatural (no pun intended) thriller. With their mother killed by an unknown spirit when they were children and their father missing during one of his ghost hunts, brothers Dean and Sam head out on a cross-country trek in search of Dad and any freakazoid entities along the way. Padalecki and Ackles have a humorous chemistry that adds a little light to what could be a very dark drama.

About the Author
When not watching TV, Brian Kohlmeier is a co-founder of SwapThing.com, which changes the way people exchange goods and services through the Internet.

SwapThing http://www.swapthing.com is a site focused on building a strong swap community online. The ShareThing http://www.swapthing.com/user/Nonprofit.jsp program helps non-profits get access to item & cash donations as well as volunteers and professional services.

SwapThing
Online barter, swapping