Premiere Week

      It's my favorite week of the year: premiere week!  The new fall schedule is on the air.  Old favorites return and new shows try to work their way into my heart.  The television and I get really serious for a few weeks in September.

    The Returning
     Parenthood.  The only show that can consistently make me feel something.  It kicked off a week early, actually, and my rusty-heart-door was ready to let the Bravermans in.  Swoon.
     Parks and Recreation.  There are almost no words to express how excited I am about the season premiere of this show.  It's the best show on television.  I have it written on my calendar, and circled with stars and arrows.  I'm so happy to be let into Pawnee, Indiana again.  You know, without having to travel to the mid-west.
     Community. I really enjoy this show.  It's smart and funny.  And John Goodman joins the cast this season, and he's always good.  I'm looking forward to reinvigorating my crush on Donald Glover.  And Danny Pudi.  And Alison Brie.
     Modern Family.  It's really good.
     Happy Endings.  It came in as a kind of mid-season or summer replacement show.  But I liked it enough to stick with it.  I want to see where it goes.  It seemed to start off a little weak, but picked up by the end of its run, so hopefully its full season will work.  

     The New
     Up All Night.  It premiered a week before official premiere week, and I already love it.  I've been a Will Arnett fan for years, and I really enjoy him in this role.  Well, the entire cast is wonderful.  Christina Applegate.  Maya Rudolph.  You could just put the three of them in a blank room and it would be worth watching.
      The New Girl.  Zooey Deschanel is pretty damn awesome.  I'm not a fan of the word "adorkable."  It think it's trying too hard.  The show, however, I enjoyed.  It's only one episode in, but I plan to stick with it.
     2 Broke Girls.  Yes.  This was smart and funny and real.
     Whitney.  Whitney Cummings gets two new shows this fall.  Unreal.  She also created the aforementioned 2 Broke Girls.  Whitney premieres tonight.  Curiosity piqued.  I watch all the comedy pilots, so I'm tuning in, and trying really hard to not pre-judge.  I do already like that she wears hoodies though.
     Free Agents.  This also premiered last week, right after Up All Night.  It made me laugh, which is something I look for in a comedy.  Critics were not as convinced.
     Prime Suspect.  The only new drama on my list.  I like Maria Bello a whole lot, and I've been looking for a good replacement for ER in the Thursday night schedule.
     Last Man Standing.  New Tim Allen.  That's really all I have to say about that.
     Man Up.  I know less about this show than I do about Last Man Standing.
     How To Be A Gentleman.  It's on opposite of Parks&Rec.  It's already dead-in-the-water.  I've already forgotten it exists. 

     I didn't mention 30 Rock because it doesn't return until November, so it doesn't fit into premiere week.  I didn't forget about it though.  I'd never forget about it.  Also, Cougar Town has a late return, and rumor has it, a new title.  I'm also looking forward to that.   
     I noticed that there are actually two comedies that I didn't put in my list: Suburgatory and I Hate My Teenage Daughter.  Perhaps I'll catch these on Hulu, just to make sure I judge them fairly, but they're up against Free Agents and Happy Endings respectively, and both about life in the suburbs, and I just can't relate to that.  Unlike all of the other shows that I can totally relate too.  Plus, I Hate My Teenage Daughter is a title that just sounds like an amalgamation of Everybody Hates Chris (already a rip on Everybody Loves Raymond) and 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter.  If the title is an amalgamation, I can't help but be suspicious that the show will also be a tossed-salad of sitcom teenager tropes.  But again, I'm trying to not pre-judge.