Have you tied your TiVo in knots trying to keep up with all the new series launched over the last month? Doesn’t it seem like this year’s crop has yielded more good shows than usual? If you’re having trouble keeping up with (or getting into) the season’s best new programs, check out the primer on the five best new shows so far (including character guides and plot synopses) in the upcoming issue of Entertainment Weekly.
As you might have guessed, Everybody Hates Chris, My Name Is Earl, and Prison Break (starring Wentworth Miller, left) made the list. Also included are two less buzzed about shows: Supernatural (”Not since The X-Files has a show reveled so successfully in giving us goose bumps,” writes EW’s Tim Stack) and How I Met Your Mother (EW’s Whitney Pastorek appreciates that the show has ”twiddled merrily — but not overbearingly — with traditional sitcom structure” and gives the show ”mad super bonus points” for casting Neil Patrick Harris and letting him cut loose).
Agree? Disagree? Which new shows would make your top five list?
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Dude, how does the bland azzed, rehashed old sticom “How I Met your Mother” make the top five list? Ya’ll sent us free copies of the first episode and I STILL wanted my money back. Yo, don’t believe the hype. And I am sorry but Neil Patrick Harris plays a carbon copy of Hank Azaria’s role in Herman’s Head. I know short term memory is common in pop culture, but come on…
It may not be as bad as I think it is, but it surely ain’t that good. Even Kevin Sorbo’s sitcom had more promise than “how I met your mom”
I dunno about favourite… but that photo illustrates nicely the stupidity of Wentworth Miller’s tattoo job. What’s with the collar? It looks like he is wearing a T-shirt or it’s some kiny-assed tan line… it’s too late for the make-up department to change now, but let the tattoo’s trail off people… he looks like he’s been wearing his home-made tie-dye shirt out in the rain.
The first episode of “How I Met Your Mother” sucked bad. It had potential but, like a lot of pilots, it was trying too hard. But my husband I stuck with it, and it’s starting to hit its stride. We even say, “Suit up!” to each other all the time. So it’s in our top 5, as is “Prison Break.” We’d also be watching “Supernatural” if we weren’t so unnaturally devoted to “The Amazing Race,” even in this season of family suckitude. But we did catch the first ep before AR premiered, and we commented on how good it was for 1) a pilot, and 2) a show on the WB.
Prison Break is a GREAT show. I didn’t even have the desire to watch it until I was forced to by my boyfriend. Now we look forward to it every week. I also really like How I Met Your Mother. Neil Patrick Harris isn’t all that funny but I suppose it’s the writing for his character that’s to blame. This past week’s “Goonies” comments were enough to put it up there in the top 5 best new shows.
I tried watching Surface and Invasion and they are both ridiculous.
have found it so hard to watch all the new stuff and even harder to fit in some of the old stuff i watch. i am thinking of giving up on tv altogether.
prison break- entertaining but it makes me laugh unintentionally so i’m not the hugest fan(although wentworth is hot)
supernatural i found to be fun and scary and entertaining! everybody hates chris had a funny pilot and neil patrick harris makes How I Met Your Mother.
I find it sad to say that I have only been able to watch a couple of minutes of Earl, but last night’s line about “that monkey in ET” cracked me up for hours.
I watch all five shows.
Prison Break is the only show that can match the occassional intensity of “24″.
Chris is funny. I love the dad.
How I Met Your Mother has Alyson Hannigan. Enough said.
My Name is Earl is the best of the comedies.
Supernatural is not nearly as good as these other four shows.
My top 5 *new* shows (because I have a top 5 of returning shows, too!) are — in no particular order:
- Threshold
- How I Met Your Mother
- My Name is Earl
- Supernatural
- Extras
Honorable mentions: Kitchen Confidential, Criminal Minds
Hmmm … maybe I stay home too much
ok, totally out of the blue here, cause i couldn’t figure out another place to ask this, but why isn’t PinkIsTheNewBlog mentioned in your “Notable Blogs” section on the side bar? isn’t it like, the blog-du-jour? i mean, besides PopWatch that is. p.s., i haven’t been watching too many new shows this season, but in terms of concepts, My Name Is Earl trumps all.
I haven’t seen “Prison Break” at all. I saw one episode of “Supernatural”, thought it was mediocre. “How I met Your Mother” has occasional great moments, but recent episodes haven’t matched the wit of the pilot episode. I watched the first two episodes of “Everybody Hates Chris” and got bored with it. Which leaves….the great “My Name Is Earl”! Tuesday night is MUST-SEE-TV again on NBC, from 9-10 anyway, thanks to “Earl” and “The Office”, which is practically new.
I’ve gotten into “Threshold”, but I feel like the concept would play better as a miniseries or a show with a limited number of episodes, like “Rome”.
Kitchen Confidential has potential, it just feels a little lukewarm. It would be better on HBO.
How about the 5 worst new shows? “Close to Home” and “Criminal Minds” have got to be in that Top 5
definitely prison break and commander-in-chief (esp. the latter).
‘Supernatural’ = ‘Charmed’ – skimpy outfits + ‘Buffy’ – witty dialogue + 1/2 ‘X-Files’ + 1/2 ‘Poltergeist: The Legacy’ – awesome creepiness + family dysfunction I’m really liking the show, though it might have something do with that pretty Impala.
What else… ‘Prison Break,’ ‘My Name Is Earl,’ ‘Invasion,’ & ‘Surface.’ Everything else is just… um not catching my eye. I’m sticking to my normal hash no matter how bad the show may have gotten. *cough*Alias*cough*Charmed*cough
supernatural rules! so glad for the shout out from EW. invasion & my name is earl are the other standouts for sure.
1. Surface: Wasn’t expecting much, but great show so far with mystery of ocean and ET’s. afraid of the government conspiracy plotline that seems to be upcoming though. stick with aliens and ocean.
2. Supernatural
3. Invasion: Good followup to Lost
4. Nightstalker: decent sub-storylines with a decent ongoing/overarching storyline.
5. Prisonbreak
Prison Break – great
Invasion – good
Over There – great
Grey’s Anatomy (second season, sorry new to me) – great
Hates Chris – good
Surface – HAHAHAHA Dinotopia leftovers
Met Your Mother – Paleeeze
Eral – media whore/nbc grasping at straws
do the end of summer shows count? because in that case, my top 5 would have to be:
my name is earl
kathy griffin: my life on the d-list
kitchen confidentail
extras
the comeback (r.i.p.)
I don’t have a top 5 favorite new shows, because there are only 2 new shows this season that I actually like:
1) My Name Is Earl – Hilarious!
2) Rome – Where’s the love? This show has AWESOME acting, writing, characters, story, production values – just a wonderfully well done show.
As for the other shows on EW’s list:
Haven’t seen Supernatural.
Prison Break? Wentworth is hot, but the story is ridiculous and derivative.
Everybody Hates Chris – amusing at times, but I also find it to be so negative and depressing.
How I Met Your Mother? Give me a break! This show is so stale and unfunny, and pointless too – why would we root for him to get together with that one girl if we know she’s not ultimately “the one”??
1. Reunion – very interesting
2. Invasion
3. My Name is Earl
4. Surface
5. Commander in Chief
I haven’t watched a lot of new shows this year, but I enjoy How I Met Your Mother. Doogie does a great job and is very funny. I also have been sticking with Invasion for a little while longer. Their problem is their blessing. They have a great time slot, but then again, after you watch lost, you realize that invasion is no where near as good yet. You see how far they have to go.
My favorite 5 new shows are:
1. Threshold
2. Out of Practice
3. How I Met Your Mother
4. Prison Break
5. Bones
I LOVE Prison Break! The last two weeks were amazing, and I can’t wait until the next episode. Hopefully they will continue to keep me on the edge of my seat with future episodes.
With that, the only other new show that I watch is “Everybody Hates Chris”. Its very amusing!
my top 5 new shows are (not in any particular order:
-Surface
-Prison Break
-Earl
-Supernatural
-Threshold
my top 5 returning shows are:
-All 3 CSI’s
-Nip/Tuck
-Alias
-The O.C.
-Numb3rs
ROME!!! I forgot about ROME on HBO. So great. My favorite over the other previous 5 i have below.
“Out of Practice” – is my favorite new show, who said the sitcom was dead?
For returning shows the only one that isn’t showing signs of sophmore jinx is Veronica Mars, and I wasn’t a fan last year became addicted over the summer so its new to me!
Didn’t ‘EW’ say ‘Invasion’ was the best new drama in its fall preview? It must have been hard to choose between that, ‘Supernatural,’ and ‘Threshold’ — all three have promise, and yet none has truly broken out as not being cliched.
I would have liked to have seen ‘Kitchen Confidential’ at least get an honorable mention and hopefully FOX will stick with it a bit longer.
“My Name is Earl” is so funny and cute, I just laugh and laugh through that and “The Office.” “Supernatural” really scares me, but I get scared easily. I’m really happy to see Gilmore Girls cutie Jared Padalecki starring in his own successful show.
I was looking forward to How I Met Your Mother, but it seems incredibly stupid. Jokes seem forced, characters’ attempts at humor are sorrowly lacking, and everything is cheesy. Criminal Minds, however, is fantastic. I love watching that show!
What’s with all the HIMYM bashing? The show is fantastic, I think it’s well on it’s way to becoming the new Friends – just please ditch the opening/ending shots of the kids – we get the idea. NPH is oustanding and AH is a delight. I laughed so hard when Ted told a girl he was breaking up with her because it was ineffable, and she turned it back on him “I’m not f-able?”. And PS, a friend recently played “Have you met Ted?” with me and it worked!
I am going to go with Killer Instinct. I think it would have a better chance if it wasn’t on Fridays.
I love ‘HIMYM’. It’s lead is appealing, the engaged couple are endearingly cute (different actors could have easily made them annoying), NPH is amazing, and I enjoy this half hour only next to ‘Arrested Development’ in my weekly watching. Sure, I wonder how long kids could really sit there listening and think maybe just narration would work… but it’s a great show nonetheless.