Life > September 13, 2007

By Kell Wilson | Life editor

As the autumn season rolls around, a very important time for today’s society comes with it: the new fall TV line-up. The average American watches over four hours of TV a day, so cable channel execs have their jobs cut out for them to fill this time with quality shows that will keep people tuning into their network.

As the autumn season rolls around, a very important time for today’s society comes with it: the new fall TV line-up. The average American watches over four hours of TV a day, so cable channel execs have their jobs cut out for them to fill this time with quality shows that will keep people tuning into their network. Each year, millions of people watch almost two dozen new shows that premiere in the fall and only a few actually survive the whole seven-month season. Here are the series that are premiering this year that have drawn the most attention.

Cavemen – Already the most talked about and controversial show, Cavemen is based off the popular GEICO commercials featuring angry cavemen who are sick of people thinking they’re stupid.

The show builds on the commercial and focuses on three cavemen who have recently moved to San Diego to try and acclimate themselves with homo sapiens.

Most people have already written this show off as a failure and unless it does something to really surprise, it will most likely end up a flop. Cavemen premieres at 8 p.m. Oct. 2.

Private Practice – For all those Grey’s Anatomy fans out there, you probably already know about this highly anticipated spin-off. The show follows Grey’s character Dr. Addison Montgomery as she leaves behind the drama of Seattle Grace Hospital and reunites with her medical school friends in sunny California to open a co-op.

With a different cast and a whole new set of problems, Private Practice has the opportunity to separate itself from Grey’s, yet the plot line seems similar enough that it still runs the risk of falling into that vast pit of unsuccessful spin-offs that aren’t quite as good as the predecessors. The show premieres at 9 p.m. Sept. 26.

Pushing Daisies – Ever wished you could bring someone back to life? Well, the star of this new show has that supernatural gift, along with a few others. If Ned touches a dead person, he brings them instantly back to life.

The catch? If he touches anyone alive, he kills them forever. Not even he can reverse it.

He uses this power to raise murder victims from the dead, learn who killed them and then collect the reward. The twist comes when one of the cases turns out to be his first love and Ned decides to keep her alive even though he can never touch her again.

Pushing Daisies may have too many fantasy elements for some people, but then again, it seems that viewers like a certain amount of supernatural in shows, taking Lost and Heroes for examples. It premieres at 8 p.m. Oct. 3.

What else to watch: ABC definitely has the most intriguing line-up this year. Besides the previous three, you should also tune into Dirty Sexy Money which exploits the secrets of the rich and powerful and Big Shots, which seems to be the male version of Desperate Housewives.

Bionic Woman – Based off the TV show of 30 years ago with the same name, Bionic Woman is the chronicle of Jamie Sommers who gets in a terrible accident and has to have a cutting edge operation in order to survive.

One catch is that it leaves her with immense strength and other artificial talents that she has to figure out how to use for the greater good, while still providing for herself and her teenage sister.

It sounds like a plot for a superhero movie and that’s exactly what it is, just on TV.

Whether this kind of story will be able to last for long on the small screen is still highly debatable, but Bionic Woman does give us a strong female hero that viewers haven’t seen for awhile. The show premieres at 9 p.m. Sept. 26.

Chuck – Geeks of the world unite! It’s time to make your move up in the world and this new comedy from the creators of The O.C. can show you how to do it.

When Buy More Electronics employee, Chuck, accidentally gets an encoded e-mail full of government secrets he is thrown into a life battling terrorists and assassins.

It is hard to see how the writers can realistically pull off the dramatic switch from store clerk to secret agent, but humor potential in this kind of plot is incredibly high.

Plus, people always like to root for the underdog. Chuck premieres at 8 p.m. Sept. 24.

Journeyman – There seem to be many shows with supernatural elements in this year’s fall line-up and this new show is no different.

Journeyman follows the life of newspaper reporter Dan Vasser as he gets swept back in time at randomly. When he visits the past he changes the lives of people around him, an effect he notices when he’s thrust back into present day.

Problems occur when he’s reunited with his long-lost fiancé Livia in the past while still married to his wife Katie in the present.

The show has many features that could make it a hit, and it definitely has room to grow and expand on different themes.

It helps that it airs right after Heroes, another NBC fantasy hit show. Journeyman premieres at 10 p.m. Sept. 24.

What else to watch: Life is about a detective who returns to the force after spending years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.

K-Ville – It’s a well-known fact that crime in New Orleans has severely escalated since Hurricane Katrina wiped out the city two years ago. K-Ville, short for Katrinaville, follows two police officers as they try to bring peace back to the once vibrant Louisiana city.

They have to deal with several post-Katrina problems, such as a lack of jails, not enough officers and inadequate crime labs.

It’s a different take on a crime show and because it’s about a national tragedy, it will probably draw many viewers in.

The interesting fact about this show is that it’s actually filmed on location in New Orleans, which pumps millions of dollars into its economy.

So whether it makes it or not, K-Ville has already helped New Orleans. The show premieres at 9 p.m. Sept. 17.

What else to watch: Back to You features Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton in a new sitcom about relationships between news anchors and Nashville, a docu-soap about a new recording artist and his friends in the country music capital of the world.

Gossip Girl – The O.C. meets New York City in this new show based on the popular book series Gossip Girl.

When Serena van der Woodsen returns to the prep schools in Upper East Side after a self-induced exile, she’s surprised to find out that she’s not as welcome as before.

In a society filled with betrayal, scandal and just plain bitchiness, Serena has to find a way to deal with the situations at hand.

Gossip Girl will most likely be the new O.C. Not only does it have the drama that people crave, but the fans of the book will also become avid viewers. The show premieres at 9 p.m. Sept. 19.

What else to watch: Aliens in America has the guts to talk about how an Islam student adapts to an American high school and Reaper follows a 21-year-old who collects souls for the devil.