Season Premiere Reflections

Some of my favorite shows are back for another season and you can usually tell by the first few episodes the direction the show is going to take. Here is what I think about a few of my faves.

Heroes - We haven't had a new episode of Heroes since December of last year due to the writer's strike. I really wasn't all that excited about the show coming back. The two hour premiere definitely brought me back into the Heroes universe, but the last couple of episodes have been missing something. It feels like they are taking a long time to introduce this new story arc to us. Characters who we once thought were dead are coming back. Can't they come up with anything better? We, the audience, are getting tossed around way too much in this show. And what's with people all of a sudden getting these secondary or new powers? I'm really hoping the show gets back on track. Really cool to see Sylar be a good guy though.

House - The mad doctor is back and I'm happy. The freaks of the week haven't been that interesting, but House's emotions have been. Michael Weston, who some of you might recognize from Six Feet Under, but I immediately recognized from Garden State (F*ckin' DeNiro and sh*t!), is a nice addition to the show. I still miss Cameron and Chase being on House's team. This season looks promising with Wilson's departure. Anyone wanna bet he'll be back?

Fringe - The premiere for Fringe was decent. Decent enough for me to continue to watch the show. I don't think it's the paranormal stuff that I'm so interested in. I think it's how we all know who and what are responsible for things, but we don't know how the protagonists are going to connect it all together. The show has fallen into a freak of the week mode, but I'm hoping it'll start focusing on the bigger picture soon. Apparently it's bringing in the ratings because FOX has approved it for a full 22 episode season. I can see this show being around for awhile.

Smallville - Despite the lameness of the last couple seasons, Bethany and I are still faithful viewers of the show. The eighth season is a little more interesting with the departure of Lex and Lana, and the inclusion of a new female nemesis, more Green Arrow, and the introduction of Doomsday, the only character to actually kill Superman. I'm eager to learn what happens with that. Unfortunately, the first few episodes have been weak. I want more action and I want to see Clark use his powers more. Although ratings aren't what they used to be, the producers have said that the show will most likely have a ninth season despite the creation of the new series based on Robin's backstory called The Graysons.

Kitchen Nightmares - I much prefer the U.K. version of Kitchen Nightmares because it's not as scripted nor follows a simple formula. Still, it's a Gordon Ramsay show, so I'm going to watch it. I think Ramsay has gotten to the point where just his stardom brings restaurants back to life and I'm hoping that this is the last time he does a Kitchen Nightmares show. I really want him to bring The F Word over here or at least do something in the U.S. that shows more of him actually cooking some great food. Watching Chef Ramsay cook the main dish on The F Word is always my favorite part.

The Office - I thought season 4 ended great. Seasons 2 and 3 are still the strongest of the series, but the end of the last season put my faith back in the show. I still much prefer the U.K. version, but this will have to do just for the fun of watching Steve Carell. I was hoping the thing between Holly and Kevin would pan out a little longer. And Jim's proposal was expected, but nice to see in the first episode. You know something is not going to work out though.

Clannad After Story - Tokyo premiered the second series of one of my favorite anime shows, Clannad, last week. It is called After Story and claims to focus more on Nagisa's story. Still, I think it'll be quite different from the movie which did the same thing. Despite not advancing the story at all, I enjoyed the first episode simply for my love of baseball. I think the first episode was used just to reintroduce us to the characters, as well as tease us with a little mystery (Who's that boy with Tomoya at the beginning?). Should be another great tear-jerking season.

Little Britain USA - I'm a big fan of Little Britain, and I have Carlos to thank for that. I was happy to hear that they were going to give America a go at their style of comedy, which to be honest, is not for everyone. I don't think it'll be very successful over here, but at least they're trying. The first two episodes have sort of brought us the same thing that we are used to. However, I have to say that the Rosie O'Donnell Fat Fighters sketch was one of my favorites of the entire series.

Clone Wars - What is George Lucas' obsession with the Clone Wars? I found the show to be interesting and I think the quality of animation is a lot better suited for TV than it was for the cinema, but that doesn't make the show good. I only watch it because it extends on the Star Wars saga. I'd much rather watch the live-action series which will hopefully come out in the next couple of years.

Family Guy - The first two episodes of Family Guy's new season were quite lame. I laughed maybe once or twice. Really poor writing. I'm hoping that they are just getting the bad episodes out of the way. I am looking forward to the Empire Strikes Back parody after the success of Blue Harvest.

American Dad! - A show that I think has been getting better with age. I've been finding myself laughing a lot more at American Dad jokes than Family Guy. The premiere was freakin' hilarious. I love the part where Haley meets puberty and Stan and Francine's reaction to that.

The Sarah Silverman Program - I love Sarah's brand of comedy, but the premiere wasn't that great. Hopefully it'll get better as the season goes on. Thursday's episode looks promising.

Those are all the shows I'm watching this season. Which of these are you digging or not digging? What other shows do you like?