As I was watching the first three new episodes of Big Love—I just thought I’d throw that out there—I was seized by a welcome feeling. Not pleasure so much, though the episodes have the series in the same fine form as season 2. More like relief. As in: Ah, television, my old friend. I remember you! Good to have you back again!
It’s not as if there was nothing worth watching in 2008, but there was a relatively weak crop of new shows, a problem exacerbated by delays in production and development from the strike. But look at the calendar we’ve got coming up in January. Here’s some of what I have on my list, and I’m sure I’m missing things:
Jan. 6 Nip/Tuck (FX), Scrubs (ABC)
Jan. 7 Damages (FX)
Jan. 11 24 (Fox)
Jan. 13 American Idol (Fox)
Jan. 16 Battlestar Galactica (Sci Fi)
Jan. 18 Big Love, Flight of the Conchords (HBO)
Jan. 21 Lost (ABC)
Add in Dollhouse coming up in February, Friday Night Lights for those of us without DirecTV, new series I haven’t yet watched like TNT’s Trust Me and midseason shows like Kings and The Goode Family. It’s enough to give one a foreign feeling. What do they call it—excitement? Ah, excitement, my old friend. I remember you! Good to have you back again.