We’re celebrating the Fall 2011 TV season by breaking down what you need to watch live, what you need to DVR, and what you should save for online viewing this year. We’ll also give you a heads-up on the shows you should be reading recaps for to stay in the know with your friends and relatives. Check out Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday’s schedules. All caught up? Thank god it’s Friday!
WHAT TO WATCH LIVE:
Nothing folks! It’s Friday – get your ass away from the TV and spend some time out with real people!
Don’t have anything to do? Fine – then watch something – just nothing live. Did you see how many things you recorded Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday? And how many things you need to watch online? Start catching up!
WHAT TO DVR:
A Gifted Man CBS has a habit of throwing us supernatural dramas on Friday night (see: Ghost Whisperer). A Gifted Man is no different. Patrick Wilson plays a doctor who’s haunted by his dead wife. But where A Gifted Man separates itself from those cheese-tastic dramas that came before it is in the casting of one Patrick Wilson. I mean, have you seen the guy? Like, holy shitface he’s handsome. If I were his dead e-wife, I’d haunt this crap of him. YOU’RE NEVER GETTING RID OF ME, WILSON! Season Pass, obviously!
Chuck Chuck’s fifth season will be it’s last, so fans can expect producers to pull out all the stops on the way to Chuck and Sarah’s happy ending. The cult hit’s first episode, for example, will guest-star Mark Hamill and Craig Kilborn. Cool, right? Sure, you’ll have to wait until the end of October to get to new episodes. But it’ll obviously be worth it.
Fringe Every episode of Fringe last season basically ended with me screaming “WHAT THE FUCK” at my television. Especially the finale, which gave us an ending to a season-long conflict that we didn’t see coming. Now, we’re on an entirely different path, meaning I’m going to doing a whole bunch of “YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME” all over again. It’s no wonder why Fringe is the best sci-fi show on TV right now.
Boss Poor Camielle Grammer. She can’t avoid living in Kelsey’s shadow, can she? Just when the second season of her hit Bravo Real Housewives spinoff, come Kelsey Grammer’s new Starz show, Boss. Does 14 years of marriage mean nothing to you, Kels?
Anyway, Boss stars Grammer as a fictional mayor of Chicago who seems to be at war with just about everyone. He spends the majority of the first episode yelling at everyone – from his wife to his assistant to the press. Basically it’s just one big long bitch-fest of clichés. “Spectators stand on the sidelines lacking the balls to do this job!” Ugh. Calm down Fraiser! It’s not that serious!
Maybe I’m judging it too much, but with The Good Wife already exposing the world of Chicago politics, I’m not sure there’s room on my plate for another windy-city political drama. But you can’t deny that Grammer has pull when it comes to television. I’ll give it a shot – simply cause I’m curious to see if there’ll be any Camielle digs!
WHAT TO WATCH ONLINE:
Again – you need the time off. So close that computer and relax, yo!
WHAT TO READ ABOUT ONLINE THE NEXT DAY:
You probably won’t be checking the interweb for that many recaps on Friday night shows. Maybe just check to make sure that place you went to dinner last night wasn’t on Kitchen Nightmares.
WHAT TO IGNORE:
Grimm wasn’t the brightest show I’ve seen this season – and its concept is a little too over-the-top to sustain an audience, I think. Nikita and Supernatural are so niche that they’re probably not something you’ll jump into this late in the game. And Extreme Makeover: Home Edition – which moves to from Sunday’s to Friday’s in the end of October, is just one of those shows that makes me happy and totally jealous at the same time. For my own self-esteem, it’s probably best to skip.