Just getting ready...

for the new season.

9/8 Hellcats (CW) - From the first episode this show doesn't seem too terrible. Obviously the acting is lacking and I have no interest in the world of college cheerleading, but it is definitely a decent time killer. It is pretty much what I expect out of the CW, and I imagine they will keep this show around if only for the Disney star power.

9/9 Nikita (CW) - Argh... what a way to ruin what was a great concept. I think the real downfall with this show will be the fact that the actors are terrible. I don't buy stick figure females as badasses. Even Yvonne Strahovski on Chuck LOOKS like she could beat people up handily.

9/15 Outlaw (NBC) - Finally a show in the vein of The Good Wife that actually works. A person from a mixed up political past makes good and becomes a master lawyer. I actually really liked the premise of the show, but if I actually sat and thought about it then I would be sickened by the liberal preachyness of it and wouldn't be able to enjoy it. I suppose like with The West Wing I will be able to hold my nose and pay attention only to the quality of the story and acting, because from what it looks like it is pretty good.

9/20 Chase (NBC) - It's like Dog the Bounty Hunter, but scripted and without the character. A bunch of no name rag tags from the U.S. Marhsalls going after the most wanted criminals. It has potential for action, the camera work almost makes it look like Heroes, but the way it plays out is totally different. I don't really see much potential here from the actors, because even though shows like NCIS started out with a bunch of lesser actors it had the Gibbs/Ducky relationship to carry it through the tough stories. I don't really see that so far from this show as there isn't really much of a strong lead character.

9/20 The Event (NBC) - This show reminded me a lot of Flash Forward from last season without the vision of the future. I think they were trying to market it as a "Lost" type show. Jason Ritter tends to be TV Show cancer, killing off everything he touches, but hopefully this one will actually make it through the main story line. It seems interesting enough from the outset, and hopefully they won't go TOO overboard on the mystical aspect of it like Lost did in the worse seasons, but it has potential to be very good.

9/20 Hawaii Five-O (CBS)
9/20 Lone Star (FOX)
9/20 Mike & Molly (CBS)
9/21 Detroit 187 (ABC)
9/21 Running Wilde (FOX)
9/21 Raising Hope (FOX)
9/22 Undercovers (NBC)
9/22 The Whole Truth (ABC)
9/22 The Defenders (CBS)
9/22 Better With You (ABC)
9/23 My Generation (ABC)
9/23 Outsourced (NBC)

9/23 $#^! My Dad Says (CBS) - William Shatner in a comedic role... what could possibly go wrong? So far nothing. I really like this show, mostly because of him, but from what I have seen the plot seems pretty thin and I don't know how long they will make it without something interesting to be able to write into the scripts.

9/24 Blue Bloods (CBS)
9/28 No Ordinary Family (ABC)
9/29 Law & Order LA (NBC)
10/15 School Pride (NBC)
Body of Proof (ABC)

And now at the end of the season...

Will definitely watch again: Community, Glee, Archer, Defying Gravity, Cleveland Show, V
Defying Gravity, despite being awesome, ended up getting the axe. Everything else is doing okay, although Glee is the only real ratings success.
Might give another try: Mercy, Modern Family, Flash Forward, Cougar Town, Bored To Death, The Middle, The Good Wife
Mercy & Flash Forward are gone, but both made it to the end of the season. Modern Family/Cougar Town/The Middle have made Wednesdays on ABC interesting and all are doing pretty well, but aren't runaway hits. Bored to Death of course is HBO so it is harder to tell but I haven't heard anything really about it.
Will not watch: Eastwick, Beautiful Life, The Forgotten, Three Rivers, Trauma, Hank
Since Trauma got canceled finally, but never finished airing a full season. This one is truly 6/6

I am shockingly good at telling if a show is going to be somewhat successful. Defying Gravity is the only one that I went out on a limb on (and I still say it was great) that went the other way, and several of those in my mid-category were on the way up or down during the season.

So as for other shows...

Chuck - Renewed for another season and has been getting better and better despite becoming a lot more about action and less about silly comedy. There have been major changes, a 3 season long Ross/Rachel type rollercoaster being resolved, and everyone learning all the secrets... and yet it has survived and been just as good if not better at times. Loved the finale and was happy with how everything ended.
Lost - Seriously? The finale answered nothing. Worst ending since The Matrix. Yes, there are all these big secrets and things that are mysterious and unexplained that will all make sense when it is over... oh wait, did we say that? Oh, nevermind. Just use your imagination and it means whatever you want it to mean.
Caprica - I have never really found this one getting traction, but I keep hoping it will get better with time. BSG was amazing from episode 1 so no matter what it will seem a little disappointing.
Lie To Me - One of my favorite shows from last year, this one has been on hiatus for far too long, but I guess since it plays the role on FOX of being a Idol replacement for midseason I am looking forward to enjoying it even more this summer.
Spartacus: Blood & Sand - The movies almost always focus on the slave revolt, and I was hoping this one wouldn't since the arena fighting aspect of it was SO good, but that is all over now at the end of the first season. I will still watch it since it is great and it is one of the best stories of all time, but I am skeptical of how it will play out with armies battling.
White Collar - This one really caught my attention when it started airing, and I am really hoping that it ends up getting full seasons rather than being a typical cable run show with 10-13 episodes a season, because it was really entertaining every time.
Legend Of The Seeker - I am ANGRY at this show being rumored to be canceled. First of all, it airs in syndication on the weekends pretty much everywhere and still gets comparable ratings to prime time shows. I guess that isn't good enough for Disney. I actually enjoyed this as much as the first few seasons of Hercules.
Parenthood - Started late and was supposed to come in a year earlier but because of health issues with actors didn't, but I will say this... it has the potential to be one of my top favorite shows each week.
The Tudors - Really not keeping up with the first two seasons of momentum. It is just not the same as the great acting and great story with the whole Anne Boleyn drama.
Everything else is pretty well established and consistent so there isn't a lot to say about that.

So 4 months later... lets update

Since I gave my opinion on all of the new shows in September, let's just see how I did.

Will definitely watch again: Community, Glee, Archer, Defying Gravity, Cleveland Show, V

Community is going strong and getting better on Thursday nights.
Glee is one of the top rated scripted shows on television and the recipient of the most Golden Globe nominations of any show.
Archer is being finally brought in by FX and aired, so we will see
The Cleveland Show is getting quite good ratings Sunday nights, although not higher than The Simpsons or Family Guy.
V is on hiatus until later after a mild reception by audiences
I am calling this one 6/6

Might give another try: Mercy, Modern Family, Flash Forward, Cougar Town, Bored To Death, The Middle, The Good Wife

Mercy nearly got cancelled, but was saved by how terrible Trauma was. The ratings are still low and I have trouble staying awake watching it, but I can still see how women might enjoy the show.
Flash Forward, like V, is on hiatus, but it seemed like people were interested in keeping with it. It definitely isn't as good as Lost, but it isn't horrible. We will see how the cliffhanger turns out.
Cougar Town, The Middle, and Modern Family have all gotten better and the ratings have been decently strong too.
Bored To Death was like almost any other HBO show... it filled time, but it isn't anything I would go out and buy on DVD.
The Good Wife is pretty much the same. I can't say that it is actually getting better, and the ratings aren't really holding up now that it doesn't have Dancing With The Stars as a lead in. It's barely beating Leno with almost NO competition and hemmoraging viewers from NCIS/NCIS:LA
First impressions match up with current... I will call 7/7 on this too.

Will not watch: Eastwick, Beautiful Life, The Forgotten, Three Rivers, Trauma, Hank 
6 shows, 6 cancellations (mostly... 1 pending). Need I say more?

So 19 shows and I was pretty much right on with every single one after just one episode. I should do this for a living. Oh wait, there is also the fact that every single show I ever really love ends up on the verge of cancellation... After all I have been watching Conan since day one... of Late Night.