My review of the new Fall season: Meh

Signs of autumn are few in the Tampa Bay area. Sure, our humid wet-clothes air is jostled by a cool breeze every once in awhile and the evenings are almost bearable, but we never get colorful leaves or crisp mornings. About the only sign of fall in Florida is TV premier week on all the networks. When I see the DVR pile up with unwatched shows, I know that pumpkins and turkeys are soon to come.

This season, there are so many new shows that I'm finding it hard to care about more than one or two of them. They're all vying for top place, American Gladiators style, each time I press "Play" on my remote. Each one will also have to take on, Iron Chef style, each of my firmly rooted returning series, i.e. Heroes, 30 Rock, The Office, Grey's Anatomy, Battlestar Gallactica, Weeds, Stargate: Atlantis, The Sarah Silverman Program and Doctor Who.

The contenders:

1) Private Practice - So, it's a Grey's spinoff. I get that. Addison just happened to be one of my favorite characters...on Grey's Anatomy, that is. The Addison of Private Practice barely has her old personality and is now arrogant, needy, and indecisive. It's great to see all these good actors working the ensemble thing, though (especially Amy Brennemen). I want to love this show, and the writing shows a glimmer here and there, but the whole thing reaks of a midnight "Steak and Shake" run--the idea must have seemed great at the time, but the execution and the payoff have little to be desired.

2) Bionic Woman - This show really works. Lance and I both realized that the pace of the show is much slower than a cable drama, but the richness of the characters makes up for it. Michelle Ryan delivers her performance with preternatural verve; every line, every move, each gaze, they're all filled with the kind of intensity that could cover up plot holes and hackneyed lines for at least 3 seasons. I haven't even mentioned Katee Sackhoff yet! It's a pleasure to watch her vamp up the screen. This is definitely one to keep an eye on.

3) Torchwood - The pace is uneven, the hour sometimes drags on, but the ensemble cast makes this X-Files meets Doctor Who--with a dash of sexiness--good popcorn TV. Out of four episodes, three have been exciting, with one being the equivilant to "CSI: Cardiff". Bleh.

4) Dirty Sexy Money - For Peter Krause, there was no really no where to go after Six Feet Under than to something slightly better than mediocre. And this show really tries for that. It seriously is like watching an unfunny Arrested Developement with a murder plot. Some of the plot shockers have a bit of a naughty twist, but they mostly just come off forced. I wanted to like this show, but I think I'll save it for when I want to see the interior of New York apartments I will never have.

The subtext here is that all of the shows are really mediocre. I'm trying not to think that the Golden Age of TV is over for the time being, but I really think it is. Formulas mean more than creativity for the long-format show. I wouldn't be surprised if the best stuff we see in the next few years will all be online. The only show that really will make it to the top of the heap for me is Bionic Woman, I'm afraid. I only have so much time...and I want to save some time for jumping into a pile of orange and red leaves...oh wait.