Season Premieres and the New Fall TV Shows

Season Premieres and the New Fall TV Shows by Mike Liebner

How do you spell season premiere anyways??? Is it season premier? Or more like it – spelling should be season premiere? Well, since Tivo spells it as “Season Premiere”, that’s the way I will go with it!

Regardless of how you spell it, there is no escaping the fact that Summer 2006 is over and that means the new crop of Fall TV shows are on the way! Every year Fall is jam packed with new attempts by the networks (mostly) to woo us with new “must see TV shows”.

I almost fear covering the topic of season premieres and new Fall TV shows as I am a skeptic when it comes to expecting TV programming executives to make good sound decisions. It seems my favorite new shows get cancelled sooner and sooner each year.

Great shows don’t always last. Wonderfalls and Action come to mind… I still weep about those shows going off the air as well as other less memorable TV series that barely were shown their committed number of episodes.

And then we have pseudo networks like cable tv’s HBO and Showtime who show such a limited number of episodes of their series to begin with. Entourage comes to mind with I think 8 half hour episodes it’s first season. Same with Showtime and Huff. They had another great show I can’t even remember the name of with Eric Stoltz a year or so back. Man, that was another too good to be true series, but let’s stop whining about the ones that got away.

Let’s try to be a little more optimistic as this seasons latest TV series which promise to be long lasting ratings blockbusters that will please way beyond their intended target demographics.

Also, I just realized that I have had some luck with TV shows lasting beyond their seasons premieres and a few follow-up episodes. Lost comes to mind as does Desperate Housewives. Also 24 and Boston Legal were both good shows that lasted more than a few episodes.

What do the fall season premiers of tv shows have in store for us??? Well, even though it’s not yet Fall some shows have already had their season premier episodes, among them were Vanished, which has turned out to be a very well done show. With 3 episodes under it’s belt already it appears to be an entertaining show with possible staying power.

Prison Break is another show that already premiered it’s debut episode for Fall 2006. I did catch it and I must say I am a convert… I did not watch Prison Break last season, but it has caught my attention this year and 2 episodes into it I am hooked. We’ll see if it has staying power.

Lost is coming! Boy talk about one of the best shows on TV! Lost has never failed to amaze me. Even when Lost on ABC misses it’s mark, it still always makes me think long after viewing the episode. If you’re a big Lost fan like myself you’ll want to watch “The Lost Survival Guide” airing Sunday September 10, 2006 on ABC. It’s at 2:30 PM so make sure and set your Tivo!

Survivor Cook Islands is coming with it’s 13th new season premiere episode on Thursday September 14, 2006 at 8 PM on CBS. Wow! There have been 13 already??? CBS Survivor is the granddaddy of reality TV shows with a loyal following that keeps on surviving. Rare for network TV shows, but this one is as strong as ever! While I must admit I am a recent convert stating with Survivor Thailand myself, I am now as loyal as anyone and rank this as my favorite reality TV show right up there with Big Brother.

If you’re a true Survivor fan you’ll want to tune in to CBS The Early Show as they interview the castaways that were evicted the morning after the episode airs. The first castaway from Survivor Cook Islands will be interviewed on Friday September 15th at 7 AM on CBS.

You’ll also want to check your Tivo or other programming guides because other shows have been known to interview Survivor castaways as well as host Jeff Probst including the Tony Danza Show, Live With Regis and Kelly and the Ellen show among others. Depending on the castaway it can be pretty fun to watch.

Also for fans of Survivor, you already missed the TV Guide Chanel’s “Survivor: Cook Islands Preview” hosted by Chris Fields with an “on set preview of the top rated reality TV show. If you’re like me you haven’t watched it yet and still have it waiting on Tivo.

Also for Survivor fans you can catch Survivor host Jeff Probst on “Martha”. Martha Stewart and Jeff Probst will prepare Polynesian delicacies on Thursday September 14th, the same day as the Survivor Cook Islands premiere. That airs at 10 AM on NBC.

And if you just can’t get enough of Jeff Probst and Survivor Cook Islands, you can see Jeff on his media blitz as he appears on The View. Maybe Rosie will discuss how Jeff Probst deals with living out in the bush for Survivor. The View with guest Jeff Probst airs on September 12th at 10 AM on ABC.

For those of you seeking more info on the season premieres this fall season you can catch some of the various Fall TV Show previews circulating. TV Guide Chanel has the “2006 Fall TV Preview” with host Madison Michele (who?) and a 2 hour sneak peek at the new fall TV Schedule. It airs at 5 PM on Sunday September 12th on TVGC. Look it up with Tivo or DIRECTV as it has several other showings as well.

You can also see the “NBC Primetime Preview’ with showings on The Sci-Fi Chanel, TVGC and even USA. Search for it on Tivo. It will be pimping new and returning network programs on NBC.

More news on season premieres and new Fall programming as the E! Chanel presents “Sizzling Fall Preview” at 6 AM on Tuesday September 12th.

Not to be left out, CBS is getting in on the new show pimp fest too. “CBS Fall Preview” is hosted by Julia Louis-Dreyfus of the hit TV show The New Adventures of Old Christine. Was that really a hit??? Julia sure seems to think so! You can see this on VHI on Tuesday September 12th at 8 AM. Other showings are available so check your Tivo TV listings.

“ABC’s Fall Preview Special 2006” will be shown on September 12th at 4 PM on the TV Guide Chanel TVGC. Several showings available. I’m guessing they’ll announce the season premieres and show highlights from the new shows.

TVGC has it going on with Fox Network too! “Fox Fall Preview 2006” airs at 4 PM on September 13, 2006 on The TV Guide Channel.

And just when you thought you had all the Fall Preview shows covered, here comes another. Bravo is getting in on the action with “Access Hollywood’s Fall Preview Show”. One hour of season premiere highlights and teasers will no doubt spoil the fun when we watch the hot new Fall TV shows!

If you really like TV check your newsstand or grocery store for the Sept. 11 issue of TV Guide Magazine which is now “bigger than ever” so they say. That’s what she said! (Sorry Steve Carrel). It has the scoop on 92 hot new shows.

The shows! What about the TV Shows? Well, here is a quickie rundown on the upcoming season premieres for the new and returning Fall TV Shows.

Dancing With the Stars comes back at us on Tuesday September 12th at 8 PM with a 2 hour dance filled season premiere on ABC. Harry Hamlin (who?) is among the has beens, I mean stars that will dancing like there is no tomorrow. Better get some cocktails ready so you can have a good time watching people from tv shows you’ve forgotten put on their groove thang.

Mad TV is back on Fox with it’s season premiere episode that kicks off it’s 12th season. Boy, I must be getting old. 12 seasons, it seems like just yesterday it appeared on the scene.

“MI-5” debuts with it’s season premiere on A & E. I had no idea it’s been here for 3 seasons. The 4th kicks off.

“Talkshow With Spike Feresen” will have it’s season series premiere on Fox at Midnight on September 17th with comic Andy Richter appearing. Spike wrote for Dave??? OK, I guess that means he deserves is own show now. We’ll see!

“Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” premieres on  September 18th on NBC. It’s on my Tivo and looks very promising. “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” has a great cast which includes Amanda Peet, D.L. Hughley, Matthew Perry and Bradley Whitford. I hope the fact that “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” subject matter of behind the scenes entertainment biz doesn’t seem too foreign to the folks in Iowa. With this star laden cast it may just get their interest as well as the hipper folks who can see the humor in the oddities of the entertainment industry. Check out the season premiere Pilot on September 18th on NBC! OH, and by the way, it appears that they’ll be showing the same episode 2 days later on Bravo just in case you have Tivo conflicts (you do have a 2 tuner Tivo, don’t you?)

“Smith” is a new show coming to CBS this fall. You can see the season premiere episode on September 19th at 10 PM. This show looks promising and stars Ray Liotta, one of my favorite tough guy actors. The cast is well stocked with Amy Smart, Virginia Madsen and Simon Baker. The series is about a criminal mastermind (Smith) and how he leads a double life. Smith leads a crew of professional thieves who pull off heists and such as Smith gets tracked by the Feds. The description of the series season premiere pilot is “Bobby’s crew has to break into a Chicago art museum to steal several paintings; Hope becomes suspicious of Bobby’s career as a corporate salesman.” Looks like it could be good! Tune in to find out if Smith has staying power.

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