Obsessive Behavior

I’ve got a lot of shows I’ll be tuning in for during the coming fall TV season. Here’s a list. They’ve all started already or will start in the coming week, unless otherwise noted.

I won’t be watching all of these shows every week, but still… it’s a lot.

Boardwalk Empire
Sundays at 9:00 on HBO
This show has been getting a lot of good press recently. Set in Atlantic City during prohibition, the series will follow Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi), a politician who tries to profit from the new anti-liquor laws. SOme have hailed this as HBO’s answer to AMC, whose show Mad Men has stolen some of HBO’s thunder in recent years. Whatever the case, this show is at the very least worthy of checking out.

The Walking Dead
Sundays at 10:00 on AMC starting 10/31
Speaking of AMC, their highly-anticipated zombie show The Walking Dead, based on the acclaimed comics of the same name, will be premiering on Halloween. This is virtually a no-brainer, if you’ll pardon the pun.

The Venture Bros
Sundays at 11:00 on Cartoon Network
I think this show has gone slightly downhill since its second-season, struggling to balance complicated story-lines with comedy, but it’s still one of the best animated shows on television.

The Sarah Jane Adventures
Mondays on CBBC
The only show on this list from across the pond, this spin-off of Doctor Who is a little juvenile but a fantastic adventure show in its own right. With guest appearances slated from the Eleventh Doctor and classic companion Jo Grant this season, and a finale with the ominous title of “Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith” it certainly looks like this is shaping up to be a great season.

Chuck
Mondays at 8:00 on NBC
I haven’t managed to watch Chuck consistently, catching only about half of the first season and about half of the third season, but I really want to catch up on everything and watch the show regularly this season. It’s a great action comedy with likable characters, and the humor is geared toward a specific audience of which I happen to be a part.

The Event
Mondays at 9:00 on NBC
I can’t say I have high hope for this show, which seems a bit too aggressive in its attempts to capture the mystery of LOST and the thrill of 24. But I’ll certainly give it a few episodes to see if it can change my mind.

No Ordinary Family
Tuesdays at 8:00 on NBC starting 9/28
This show, about a family with superpowers, could swing either way in terms of how enjoyable it is. It looks like at the very least it has a healthy sense of fun. I’m giving it a shot.

Stargate Universe
Tuesdays at 8:00 on SyFy starting 9/28
Stargate Universe really impressed me with its first season. I’ve never seen any other Stargate before this series, but in no way did that make this inaccessible. It’s a bit like Battlestar Galactica (in fact, it seem to consciously emulate it), but it makes for lighter fare, with less focus on religion and politics than on drama and derring-do.

Being Erica
Tuesdays at 9:00 on CBC
My only Canadian show. Being Erica is about a woman undergoing time-travel therapy, allowing her to relive her defining moments. It’s a bit soapy, but it’s a lot of fun and the lead actors are great. The series keeps getting deeper into the characters and introducing new variations on the time travel premise. I’m hoping Season Three will push this trend further.

Running Wilde
Tuesdays at 9:30 on FOX
This new comedy comes from the creator of Arrested Development and features one of its stars Will Arnett. Frankly, the trailers don’t look very appealing: it looks like a sappy romantic comedy into which Gob Bluth (Arnett’s character from Arrested) has been transplanted as its star. I loved Arnett in Arrested, but I don’t think that character can work as the center of a show, and particularly not a show like this. But based on the pedigrees of the creator and star, I have to give this a shot.

Caprica
Tuesdays at 10:00 on SyFY
We’re finally getting the second half of Caprica’s first season. The show is occasionally quite frustrating, but often interesting nonetheless, and it features some great performances. Here’s hoping they manage to iron out the problems and build an audience quickly, as SyFy is making the renew/cancel decision in November.

Undercovers
Wednesdays at 8:00 on NBC
This show about married spies looks like it could be a lot of fun, but it’s the name of creator J.J. Abrams that makes me really interested. We’ll see whether this show earns a spot on my regular viewing schedule.

Terriers
Wedensdays at 10:00 on FX
This show follows an ex-cop and his best friend in their adventures as unlicensed private detectives. After watching the first half of the pilot I almost took this off my schedule, judging it “good, but not for me.” After continuing to hear it get critical acclaim, I gave the pilot a second look and I’m hooked. Two episodes have already aired, and both have been great. This is certainly one to watch.

Community
Thursdays at 8:00 on NBC
Community was the funniest show on television last season, Modern Family be damned. I’m certainly hoping for more of the same this year.

30 Rock
Thursdays at 8:30 on NBC
30 Rock’s glory days are well behind it, but it’s still worth watching. I don’t know whether I’ll tune in every week, but it’s certainly got a spot on my DVR.

Fringe
Thursdays at 9:00 on FOX
When this show is good, it’s really good. The rest of the time, it’s just a mediocre paranormal procedural. But the show has been getting more consistent as it’s delved deeper into its mythology, and it certainly looks like they’ve passed the tipping point where the mythology is beginning to dominate the show. And in my opinion, that’s a good thing.

Human Target
Fridays at 8:00 on FOX starting 10/1
Loosely based on the comic from DC, this show follows Christopher Chance, a private bodyguard and security expert who only takes on the toughest cases. Human Target impressed me last season with its three charismatic lead characters and its amazing action sequences. The mythology is interesting enough, but the show does quite well in non-mythology episodes as well. It’s just plain fun.

Smallville
Fridays at 8:00 on The CW
Season seven seemed like a natural point for me to stop watching this show, as it had lost its creators and written out most of its original cast. Now that the tenth season has been announced as the final, I’m hoping they’ll go out on a high note that will remind me why I used to love this show.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Fridays at 9:00 on Cartoon Network
This show hasn’t always been incredible, and its flagrant disregard for established continuity is a little annoying, but it can occasionally turn out some really great episodes and it’s certainly worth a watch.

Young Justice
 ??? on Cartoon Network
I don’t know when this show will be starting, but it looks like a pretty cool animated take on the DC Universe. It’ll have to work pretty hard to measure up to Teen Titans, but I think it’s worth a shot.