Show Killer Candidates

Any show I watch from the first episode and get hooked on is doomed. I chronicled my tragic track record over the years here. Last year I threw myself into Studio 60 with a vengeance, creating a Drinking Game and everything. The show failed so badly that it became a doomed laughingstock in the industry.

The silver lining was that since so much of my bad mojo was directed at Sorkin’s stinker, my other favorite new series set behind the scenes of a sketch comedy show escaped by the skin of its teeth. 30 Rock became one of the lowest rated shows to get renewed. In accepting the Best Comedy Emmy, Tina Fey thanked the “dozens and dozens” of fans. I humbly say “You’re welcome.”

This year nothing has energized me. There are a lot of mediocre shows with promise, but none seem to have the breakout potential of Heroes (I missed the first two episodes last season, thus letting it escape my curse.) Here is some handicapping of shows I’ve checked out so far. Most of them are very derivative and owe a lot of their genealogy to other shows or movies. We’ll see which are still on the air next year.

	Chuck = Forty-Year-Old Virgin/2 + La Femme Nikita Losers that work in BigBox™ stores are big this year. Chuck is a reluctant secret agent with a hot handler. The pilot was long on set-up and the secret agent flashbacks don’t match the silly Moonlightingesque tone. Networks don’t do light comedy action well, so I am skeptical if Chuck can keep it up.
	Reaper = Buffy The Vampire Slayer + Chuck – Thieves Another show about a BigBox™ loser, but this one owes his soul to The Devil and has to work it off bounty hunting. His sidekick is equal parts Jack Black and Seth Rogen. Normally I stay away from the supernatural shows, but Kevin Smith is associated with it and I have to show my loyalty.
	Gossip Girl = The OC + Sex In The City/Desperate Housewives Somehow I’ve seen this show twice. It features a bunch of way too pretty people bickering and trashing each other. They are catty, fashion-obsessed and relentlessly shallow. And that’s the guys. So far the gossip is pretty mild and every episode ends with someone slugging someone else. The parents are actually more intriguing and better rounded characters.
	The Bionic Woman = Alias * Heroes - X-Men This is the only one I haven’t seen yet because my wife wants to see it too. I have it on tape so we can watch it this weekend while zapping the commercials. It has Starbuck from the new Battlestar Galactica as a villain, so that will work in its favor. I just don’t think it can be the same without Felix.

BlatantCommentWhoring™: What is your favorite show of the new season? I promise not to kill it.