Heroes
by Dave Taggart
The last time viewers saw an episode of Heroes last November, Peter Petrelli (Milo Ventimiglia) saved the world yet again — this time from a deadly virus — while his brother Nathan (Adrian Pasdar) was shot in a press conference designed to reveal the “heroes” to the public. Niki (Ali Larter) seemingly died while saving her niece, and the deliciously sinister Sylar (Zachary Quinto) regained his superpowers. With big expectations for the upcoming third season, creator and executive producer Tim Kring has announced that the first half of the season — titled “Villains” — will feature a central story line with twelve villains who have escaped from the mysterious Company, as well dealing with the theory that within every hero, there is a villain. Expect to learn who shot Nathan early on in the season and expect nerdy scientist Mohinder (Sendhil Ramamurthy) to finally see some action, in more ways than one. Despite the first season of Heroes being pure escapism, the second season (which was cut unusually short by the writer’s strike) was just plain boring until its action-packed finale. If the show can keep the action pumping with character-focused storytelling, then Heroes viewers can expect a return to form.
The Office
by Rachel Blank
The end of last season left our favorite Dunder-Mifflin paper sellers faced with a lot of new changes. Toby was replaced by Holly Flax, who catches the eye of both Michael and Kevin. However, Michael and Holly’s pending romance is cut short when Jan returns pregnant. Although we were given hope that Jim would finally propose, Andy steals the moment with his public proposal to Angela, who reluctantly agrees. After hours, Phyllis walks in on Angela and Dwight. As for this season, it seems that Pam will no longer be behind the desk at Dunder Mifflin. Not to worry though, because Pam will finally be pursuing her dreams and going to art school in New York. Will “Jam” be able to survive the long-distance relationship? Remember, Jim still has his engagement ring ... Michael will attempt to romance Holly at the same time that he’s helping ex-girlfriend Jan prepare to give birth to a baby that’s not his. Meanwhile, the season premiere will revisit what went on during the summer, as the staff tries to lose weight in Biggest Loser fashion. I would say this show is definitely one to watch. There’s nothing like a half hour of The Office to distract you from your homework. Remembering the Meredith Palmer Memorial Run, I am excited to see the workers embark on their weight-loss quest.
Desperate Housewives
by Rachel Blank
The Dylan mystery was finally resolved, and all the problems were solved for the housewives. That is, except for Edie, who was essentially exiled from the neighborhood. Then, the last five minutes of the show propelled us five years in to the future, with some flash-forwards expected — and some very shocking. What will the housewives look like five years in the future? Edie is back, not surprisingly. Though what is surprising is that she’s bringing a husband with her. Lynette is raising teen terrors, complete with stolen cars and visits from the police. Bree has become the next Martha Stewart. Susan is in the arms of a new man ... but what happened to Mike? And perhaps most shocking of all, Gaby has kids and she’s fat! But don’t worry about missing too much — the show will be using Lost-esque flashbacks to fill us in on what we missed. This is another show to add to your schedule. It’s great that the show is re-inventing itself, since the mysteries were starting to get a little stale.
Gossip Girl
by Rachel Blank
Last season Vanessa and Nate were hooking up, but it didn’t lead to much. Lily married Bart, even though she and Rufus are clearly still in love. Nate’s dad ran off to the Dominican Republic, leaving his son and wife in the hot seat. Chuck ditched Blair at the airport for a risqué interior designer, and Serena and Dan broke up. The new season of Gossip Girl is already three episodes deep and so far, Serena and Dan make up, then break up yet again. Blair is in the arms of a British Duke (we all knew Blair was a princess anyway), much to Chuck’s chagrin. In the meantime, Nate just can’t catch a break. Even though he has feelings for Vanessa, he’s caught in an affair with the Duke’s stepmom, who is proving herself to be even creepier with each episode. So far, the new season has been good but not great — it’ll pick up again when the kids go back to school and the adults return.
Grey’s Anatomy
by Dave Taggart
The last time we saw the emotionally unbalanced doctors of Seattle Grace, viewers witnessed a marathon makeout session, with nearly every character on the show locking lips in the season four finale. The show’s main couple — Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) and Derek (Patrick Dempsey) — was finally reunited with a positive outlook. Looking ahead, creator and executive producer of Grey’s Shonda Rhimes has promised to keep her two main characters happily together and to create an overall more positive tone for the upcoming season. Expect a new love interest for Christina (Sandra Oh) and for former lovers George (T.R. Knight) and Izzie (Katherine Heigl) to reignite their friendship. Grey’s has an uneven history, with standout first and second seasons but dreary and uneven third and fourth seasons. If Rhimes stays true to her word and keeps a positive tone throughout the season, though, then Grey’s is poised to make a big comeback this season.
House
by Dave Taggart
Last spring’s fourth season finale of House was one the show’s best episodes ever, where House (Hugh Laurie) was unable to save his best friend Wilson’s (Robert Leonard) girlfriend, who died from injuries sustained in a bus crash which happened after she came to pick up House from a bar. Thirteen (Olivia Wilde) found she has Huntington’s disease, and House and Dr. Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) seemed to be growing closer. Having already viewed the first episode of the new season, it appears House will struggle with his strained relationship with Wilson but will also be drawn closer to Dr. Cuddy. Expect to see more of House’s old team of doctors integrated into the show, and for Thirteen to struggle with her shortened life expectancy. House will also be hiring a new private investigator to be doing some of his dirty work and, being the outstanding ethicist that he is, might use the new guy to check on some of his own coworkers. After an odd fourth season that dealt with trying to assemble a new team of doctors for House, the show can now focus on creating story lines for its excellent cast led by Laurie, who delivers an excellent performance week after week. House excels when it focuses more on its doctors, and as long as they do not become overshadowed by outrageous medical mysteries, the show will get back on track and return to being one of television’s most compelling dramas.
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