Fall TV shows

The Emmy has ended and the fall TV season has began. It is a good time for sitcomers as the weekly dose of humour is assured. That’s the best thing about sitcoms – they are addictive and generally give the viewers a good time. Also, shows can pick up from a momentary dip in form in a season and start afresh. You see all sitcoms are not Seinfeld or Cheers. This season, some shows might jump the shark and others might consolidate their storylines, jokes and Emmy winning status. A look at some shows premiering new seasons this fall

The Office

Dunder Mifflin without Michael Scott ? Now how is that going to pan out ? Last heard James Spader as Robert California is a small term replacement as the boss ..more changes in store here. Starts Sept.22 on NBC

The Big Bang Theory I am not that excited about this one. Bazinga !!Can’t wait for the season premiere. Big Bang moves to Thursday and this season has definite potential. Nerd ! Starts Sept.22 on CBS

How I Met Your Mother Personally,it has lost the zing of the first couple of seasons, and I have not caught the last 2 seasons entirely.But it remains popular enough.Although seriously , how long are those kids going to be stuck up in the sofa ? 2030? Get a move on Ted.Starts Sept 19 on CBS.

Two and a Half Men Ashton Kutcher replaces Charlie Sheen.Peek in to see what difference does it makes after all? Starts Sept.22 on CBS

New Girl Zooey Deschanel joins sis Emily on the Fox network. Zooey moving in with 3 guys and trying to figure out things and love life is an interesting premise for a new show. Will at least half a dozen episodes before having an opinion about this. But will watch Zooey. Starts Sept 20 on Fox.

Parks and Recreation Another mockumentary set-up and part of NBC’s Thursday comic line up returns for season 4.Solid performers in this one from Amy Poehler to Rashida Jones to Aziz Ansari.Starts Sept 22 on NBC

Modern Family Best Comedy Emmy winner .Seaon 3 lies ahead for the Pritchett family.Dysfunctional? Sort of.Charming ? You bet .Must watch.Starts Sept 21 on ABC

Conan @ tbs

I was waiting for atleast 10 episodes of Conan O’ Brien’s new late night variety talk show ‘Conan’ on cable network TBS to air before writing about it. It’s been 3 weeks and I think the time is right. Fans have been waiting for Conan to air and TBS too has done its promotional part by having the Conan Blimp hover around all over the New York Yankee Stadium and the rest of the United States as a follow up to the Nov 8 premiere.

Was it all worth the wait and hype? Letterman joked on his show that the moment the clocks gained one hour in US, from first Sunday in November for daylight saving, they slipped in another late night talk show – Conan.

Hah ! funny ain’t it? That old man remains witty.

As for Conan the show. Conan O’ Brien has more or less delivered according to expectations. He is an easy fellow with his self deprecating brand of humour and wayward funniness. It was best that he could get out of NBC late night fiasco earlier this year and so let’s look at the positive side.

He still averages a one minute entry applause, which is testament to his popularity. That new set (above) with the Oceanscape - of Rio de Janeiro is the best talk show background and a welcome change from all the night lit skyscrapers. There’s a lot going for him.

He can make fun of TBS and TBS won’t mind that , the jokes can be below belt and that’s why he has that crucial 19-45 demographic in pocket, but serious competition from another very funny man in Jon Stewart, his American express ad rocked, the intro animation is slick, and so is the 3-D and mobile remote controlled moon. But importantly Conan O’ Brien is an easy guy to adore and has the gift of making his guests comfortable .The guests are on a free license to say or talk anything. However in due time, he must stop making NBC jokes. He made millions out of the shove that NBC and Jay Leno gave him and we got a new verb- Leno’d .

So get on with it. You are better off at TBS. And the best part is that the show is self titled- so Conan is harder to replace ;)

Anyway, anyone who writes for The Simpsons and the skits on Saturday Night Live is bound to be wacky with his sense of humour. Conan is back ,not to his best but still ..what’s the hurry?

Negatives- hmmm, they have lost drummer Max Weinberg, but the Basic Cable Band will do just fine. Conan still doesn’t have a staple thing like a top ten list like David Letterman, the segments are just building up and will take some time to get settled. Overall after a dozen episodes into the new show, I would say it’s my first choice for late night variety talk shows. And as the TBS tagline goes – very funny !

30 Rock season 4 overview

This season on 30 Rock ,I found that there is less and less of TGS and more of Liz’s (Tina Fey)and Jack’s(Alec Baldwin) problems .It was nice when they had to be dealt with simultaneously in the madhouse that is the NBC studio . But now we are seeing less of the studio and more of random plots.

The new addition to the cast has not exactly been a very good decision compounded by the fact that Jenna Maroney is going nowhere and Tracy Jordan has just not been the same. Infact the demented star that Tracy is,he seems bloated and those psycho weird punch lines and histrionics haven’t had the same impact as earlier.

The jokes and one-liners just don’t stack up that well compared to earlier seasons.

The season had infact started off quite well with the season opener smartly titled ‘season 4’ and had set the premise, but somehow it lost steam after 4-5 episodes and it seemed flat to me for a quite a number of episodes .However , 30 Rock has bounced back and shut shop with decent half a dozen bunch of episodes .The finale ‘I do do ’ written by Tina Fey herself was quirky and fun .

30 Rock almost always has had a healthy influx of celeb A-listers making appearances during the course of a season . This time, Julianne Moore has got half a season long arc . I loved Elizabeth Banks’ news anchor role- Avery Jessup ..fantastic skin she has .I have liked her ever since her coquettish bank teller role scenes with Leonardo DiCaprio in ‘Catch me if you can’ .

Of the ones this season, me thinks Matt Damon’s was the shortest and best but it's likely that he won’t return for one too many episodes next winter ..I mean come on, he is Matt Damon !

Though reasonably okay, this season somehow didn’t seem that crisp. And it would be fair to say it has been a bit underwhelming if not disappointing. However they have been renewed for another season and that would be surely be better. And how about a track where Liz Lemon has a steady boyfriend balancing her eccentricities?Wouldn’t that be fun?

Just recently,during her promotion of her movie ‘Date Night’, Tina Fey said that“ its because NBC is so deep in trouble that 30 Rock is on air ”

...now that’s not true ,it’s as good a single camera sitcom as they come and the show has some gas left in the tank for newer episodes. It has been held together by the ever terrific Alec Baldwin playing NBC boss, but there have been rumours that he won’t stay beyond next year ..

Sort that and Season 5 out NBC and Tina Fey..Please