This Monday, as a two-hour (!) Dancing with the Stars averaged 20.34 million total viewers:8 pm/ETPlacing second was Chuck (8.22 million), albeit down a mil from its debut. CBS' Mother (7.88 mil, -400K) and Big Bang (8.58 mil, down a mil) each slipped. Prison Break held steady with 7.22 mil. The CW's Everybody Hates Chris (2.58 mil) was up 140 thou from last fall's premiere, while lead-out Aliens in America (with 2.33 mil) did not at all "terror"-bly, matching All of Us' 2006 opener.9 pmCBS' Men (13.4 mil) was on par with last week, but Rules (10.5 million) disengaged some 1.5 mil viewers. Drawing 11.94 mil, Heroes saw 15 percent of its premiere audience fly away. (Is Peter's new storyline using leftover Black Donnellys scripts and sets? I digress.) K-Ville (5.48 mil) KO'd another 680 thou. Girlfriends (2.6 mil) was down 150K from its previous premiere, but The Game (2.99 mil) was up 400,000.10 pmCSI: Miami dominated with 14.87 million, followed by The Bachelor (9.57 mil, down 10 pe...
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Garrett Dillahunt by Jesse Grant/WireImage.com
Garret Dillahunt (Deadwood) has come on board Fox's midseason drama The Sarah Connor Chronicles, as a mysterious character named Cromartie.... Also from the Reporter, Jennifer Siebel (In the Valley of Elah) has been cast as the ex-wife of Damian Lewis' cop in NBC's Life.... Adam Rose (The Squid and the Whale) has been added to the CW's Aliens in America as a misfit pal of Justin's.... Paul Schulze (Mad Men) is joining NBC's Journeyman as an FBI agent.
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Question: Matt Roush gave us his top fall picks — where's yours?
Answer: Here they are for the umpteenth time: Pushing Daises, Dirty Sexy Money, Aliens in America, Chuck, Reaper and Samantha Who?.
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Question: I snapped up TV Guide's Fall Preview issue, and I find it a mixed blessing. While I appreciate the behind-the-scenes reportage and the luxurious layout, there's one crucial aspect that I miss greatly: your Picks (and yes, the capital P is deliberate). Of course, there were the "10 Shows with Buzz," but they included some shows you don't even like (Gossip Girl, etc.). And while you gave a helpful day-by-day analysis of the new programming, I and no doubt many other readers miss the days when you essentially said, "Here are the best dramas and comedies airing." And so, for old times' sake, I put in this plea: What is your must-see list among 2007's new crop?
Answer: I would think it's pretty clear from reading those nightly roundups which shows I'm crazy about, and I state pretty bluntly that Pushing Daisies is unquestionably my favorite pilot. Everything else, even those I more or less like, pale by comparison in terms of ambition and execution. But in a nutshell, my short list
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Question: Since you are always a source of trusted guidance, I was wondering if you could give me advice on how I should set my TiVo Season Passes this fall? Of course, I'll keep my returning favorites: Heroes, Lost, Grey's Anatomy, Brothers & Sisters, Desperate Housewives, ER and Prison Break, but what new shows need to be added?
Answer: Pushing Daisies, Dirty Sexy Money, Samantha Who?, Aliens in America, Reaper and Chuck. You should also tag Gossip Girl, Bionic Woman, Journeyman and The Return of Jezebel James, but you may wanna go week-to-week on those until they prove themselves Season Pass-worthy.
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The CW's fall schedule kicks off with two-hour premieres of both Beauty and the Geek (which this season will add into the mix a hunky dude and a geeky gal) and America's Next Top Model. Here are the deets:Tuesday, Sept. 188 pm/ET Beauty and the GeekWednesday, Sept. 198 pm America's Next Top ModelFriday, Sept. 218 pm Friday Night SmackdownSunday, Sept. 237 pm CW Now7:30 pm Online NationTuesday, Sept. 259 pm Reaper (sorry, but I don't see why all the fuss over the pilot....)Wednesday, Sept. 269 pm Gossip GirlThursday, Sept. 278 pm SmallvilleMonday, Oct. 18 pm Everybody Hates Chris8:30 pm Aliens in America9 pm Girlfriends9:30 pm The GameThursday, Oct. 49 pm SupernaturalSunday, Oct. 78 pm Life Is Wild
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Question: What's your take on the new crop of shows making their way to the tube this fall? Any standouts? Stinkers?
Answer: Having watched 98 percent of the pilots, here's my breakdown of the great, the good, the "eh" and the avoid-at-all-costs.
Totally Obsessed
Pushing Daisies (ABC)
Aliens in America (CW)
Reaper (CW)
Solid/Not Quite Spectacular
Journeyman (NBC)
Bionic Woman (NBC)
Dirty Sexy Money (ABC)
Women's Murder Club (ABC)
Sarah Connor Chronicles (Fox)
Back to You (Fox)
Gossip Girl (CW)
Chuck (NBC)
Samantha Who? (ABC)
Return of Jezebel James (Fox)
Private Practice (ABC)
Could Take It or Leave It (Probably Leave It)
Carpoolers (ABC)
Cavemen (ABC)
Life (NBC)
Thanks, But No Thanks
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Question: I just read that Scott Patterson is going to be playing the dad on the new CW comedy Aliens in America. How do you feel about this?
Answer: I'm ecstatic. Aliens in America was a laugh riot. This is great news.
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Scott Patterson by Mark Liddell/The CW
Fans of Gilmore Girls' Scott Patterson can keep their TVs tuned to the CW. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the heartthrob is joining the new comedy series Aliens in America, taking over (from Patrick Breen) the role of a father whose family hosts a 16-year-old Pakistani Muslim exchange student. The pilot is currently being rewritten to give Dad a perma-baseball cap as well as include many, many more coffee-pouring scenes.Aliens in America is set to air Mondays at 8:30 pm/ET, opposite the likes of Dancing with the Stars, Prison Break and Deal or No Deal.
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A year ago, the former stars of the WB and UPN found themselves uncomfortably mingling on one stage for the first upfront of the new CW network. They looked like the kids at the wedding of two single parents.This year, the CW took a step toward developing its own personality, shedding the aging Gilmore Girls, Veronica Mars (the longest-running unsuccessful show in prime time) and All of Us (the weakest link in its lineup of urban sitcoms). The network is even taking the teen out of teen-angst drama One Tree Hill. When that show returns in mid-season, the characters will have been fast-forwarded to their lives after college.The network is replacing All of Us with Aliens In America, a comedy about a Muslim exchange student coming to live in Wisconsin. It looks funny and a little provocative. Who would have thought the CW would have the first sitcom to deal with post-9/11 attitudes?Tuesday at 9 pm brings Reaper, about a slacker whose parents sold his soul to the Devil, played with a br...
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