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NEW YEAR BRINGS NEW SHOWS
January 6, 2006
The year 2005 is over. I'm rested, fed, and ready to watch some TV that isn't a rerun or another showing of "A Christmas Story." Who's with me?
The good news is the return of favorite shows we may have missed a little over the holiday break (for me, the usuals -- "Lost," "Veronica Mars," "Gilmore Girls," and "My Name Is Earl"). Even better are new seasons of several MIA series that are about to resurface, including "The Sopranos," "American Idol," "Jake in Progress," "The L Word," "24," "Monk," "Beauty and the Geek" and "The Shield." (As well as "Scrubs," which is already back. Two fresh episodes are airing on NBC Tuesday nights at 9 p.m. Watch the Herald TV listings for the rest.)
The remainder of the networks' schedules heading into the heart of January will be filled by midseason replacements, new shows premiering to take the place of fall's cancellation casualties. To be honest, I'd like to recommend one or two, but unfortunately I haven't seen any in advance, and nothing I've read about them has drawn my interest. Of course, you, dear reader, could find differently, so here's the lowdown on some new shows about to be beamed into your cable box.
The one with the best chance of succeeding may be "Emily's Reasons Why Not," ABC's romantic comedy starring Heather Graham. The story, based on the popular book, tells of a successful career woman who has spent her life jumping from one bad relationship to another. Not very original, huh? It's Graham who could make this one worth your time. She's awfully easy on the eyes, yet she can still bring the funny. I quite enjoyed her kooky turn as a hospital psychiatrist on "Scrubs" last season. If "Emily" can differentiate itself enough from "Sex and the City" and other girl-wants-love series, the show could prove to be an entertaining Monday night at 9 alternative for those not wanting to make the time commitment to "24."
Elsewhere, we've got NBC's "Four Kings," which somehow got a cushy Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. timeslot between "Will and Grace" and "My Name is Earl." (Maybe because it shares producers with the former.) That's the timeslot "Scrubs" should have been awarded upon its return this month, so I'm kind of hating "Four Kings" on principle without having seen a single second of it. "Kings" is about four guys living the high life in New York. One of them is the usually entertaining Seth Green.
ABC also has "In Justice" (stupid title) about a team of lawyers that works the cases of wrongfully convicted prisoners. Kyle MacLachlan, sporting a truly awful, poofy haircut, stars. At the least, it will be nice to see the once and forever Agent Dale Cooper back on TV regularly. CBS has "Love Monkey" with Thomas "I used to be Ed" Cavanagh and "Courting Alex" with Jenna Elfman coming along later this month. Just like Graham, Cavanagh ruled as a recurring character on "Scrubs" last season. (Notice how this column keeps coming back to "Scrubs"? The gods of fate and coincidence must want you to watch.) NBC is already drawing some raised eyebrows with "The Book of Daniel," a religious drama featuring a minister with a gay son and a drug-selling daughter. Could be interesting … or extremely heavy-handed.
Finally, there's "South Beach," UPN's new primetime Miami-based soap brought to you by producer Jennifer Lopez. You don't need me to tell you that it might be best to avoid that one altogether, right?
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