The New Fall Season of TV

With the temperature rapidly dropping and it getting dark around five in the afternoon, now is the time of year when many of us find ourselves spending more time at the kotatsu watching TV. And while Japanese TV is greatly entertaining for a little while, those 20 minutes probably ended some time back. Fortunately for us all, the internet has given us the ability to watch all of our favorite shows from back home through the wonder that is Bit Torrent. With whole seasons available for easy download, having missed a few episodes (or a few years' worth of episodes) is no reason not to check out some really great shows. And if you don't know how to use Bit Torrent, then you had better turn to page 16 right now!
Okay, you got it now? Well then, read on as we take a look at the best of this year's new television series!

JUSTICE
Yes, this is yet another courtroom drama. But surprisingly (extra surprising considering that it's produced by Jerry Bruckheimer), a reasonably worthwhile one. The main difference being that the lawyers here are not nearly as concerned with truth, facts or innocence as they are with perception. The show deals with how the media can be used as a tool to sway a jury's opinion one way or another. Some clever writing and pretty good acting keeps it afloat. And as an added bonus, at the end of each episode you get to see what really happened, which is a nice twist. Great popcorn TV.

STANDOFF
Kind of a modern day Moonlighting (Does anyone else even remember Moonlighting?), it revolves around a couple of police negotiators who are partners in more ways than one. The show is trying to walk a fine line, balancing light-hearted humor with tense negotiation scenes. So far, thanks primarily to Ron Livingston (the main guy from Office Space), it's done pretty well. There's still the questions of whether it can keep it up, and whether Livingston can carry the whole thing on his shoulders... Worth watching at least once.

STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP
My favorite show of the new season. Created by Aaron Sorkin (West Wing), it revolves around a Saturday Night Live style show that has become increasingly unfunny and has to be rescued by a couple of guys who were let loose years before due to... Well, let's just say there was a misunderstanding. While the show does occasionally make things a bit overly dramatic (It sometimes seems like events are just as important as those taking place in West Wing, which is, of course, ridiculous.), the dialogue is snappy, the acting is good and the direction is pretty well spot-on. If only the real SNL were anywhere near this good... Must see!

HEROES
Being a long-time comic book geek, I should be loving this show about unrelated people all over America (and one Japanese guy) suddenly and inexplicably developing super powers. I'm not sure why I'm not. It's good, and it's compelling and I keep tuning back in. But it lacks the "I can't wait" feeling that shows like Lost are so good at delivering. Still, all of the performances are solid and if the writers are willing to see this through it could be something great. Definitely worth checking out.

HELP ME HELP YOU
Whew, finally a comedy! Ted Danson (Sam from Cheers) is back to his sitcom roots as a relationship counselor who, predictably, can't save his own relationship. The show is mercifully not done in the old-school "live-studio audience" "3 walled room" format and is actually pretty funny. Danson still has the comic timing and the facial expressions to bring it all together when he's on screen, but the rest of the cast has yet to prove they've got what it takes to keep things going when he isn't. Still, funny stuff though. Definitely worth checking out.

30 ROCK
And another comedy. Seemingly similar to Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip at first glance, it only takes a moment to tell the two apart. Created by former Saturday Night Live member Tina Fey, 30 Rock is about a live comedy show that suddenly finds itself at the mercy of a new, cutthroat producer (played by Alec Baldwin, who does it perfectly). Unlike Studio 60 however, this show keeps it light. It's a half hour comedy and plays everything without the drama that would surely be present if these events actually took place. The timing on the jokes still seems a little off, but if they find their groove this will be a show to look forward to each week. Definitely worth checking out.

JERICHO
Okay, I actually think you should just check out this show's first episode and see for yourself why it's pretty interesting because I don't want to spoil the big surprise for you. So, if you're willing to just trust me on that and go watch it, then DON'T READ THE REST OF THIS DESCRIPTION!
But, if you couldn't help yourself, here we go. Jericho is about a young man returning to his home town (Guess what the town is called. Guess!) in an effort to get some money from his estranged father. When that doesn't work, he decides to leave again only to be faced with a mushroom cloud somewhere in the vicinity of Denver. From there, it's a question of what the townsfolk will do to survive. Oh, yeah, and the question of what the hell happened. Occasionally the show dips a bit too much into cliched elements (a school bus in danger, escaped convicts, etc.) but the writing is decent enough to keep it all together and the concept is rock solid. Definitely worth checking out.

OLD FAVORITES - Shows that aren't new, but that you should really be watching. Look for Torrents of entire seasons for these.

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
Now entering it's third season, this Science-Fiction show is probably the best thing on TV. I know a lot of you are going to blanch at that, but that's just because you haven't seen it. Everyone who has is probably nodding their heads in agreement right now. You don't have to be an SF fan to love it, either. And the different levels the show works on make it possible to watch it as simply a shoot-'em-up space fight, or a deep meditation on the nature of life and religion. And that's not even getting into the politics... Absolutely Must See!!!

LOST
If you haven't been watching Lost, you had better start at the beginning because missing even a single episode will leave you scratching your head. Well, you'll be scratching it anyhow, but missing episodes might result in you actually hurting yourself you scratch so hard. While nothing ever seems to get resolved on the show, it remains compelling going into its third season now. Just in case you've been living under a rock, it's about the survivors of a plane crash who end up on a very strange island. And then stuff happens. Trust me, it's really good. Must See!!

THE OFFICE
While the original BBC version of this is rapidly becoming a classic and should definitely be watched, don't dismiss the American version out of hand. The first couple of episodes tried too hard to re-create the British show, but after that it began to take on a life of its own and has now become what is likely the best comedy on television (at least in the states). Each episode mostly stands on its own, but it's worth starting at the beginning so you don't miss out on any of the character growth. Must See!