The TV Addict 

Thank to yet another stellar outing, this TV Addict is officially ready to crown 90210 the season’s most improved player. But in lieu of a crown — which alas, this little-blog-that-could most definitely can’t afford — we hope the CW and new showrunner Rebecca Rand Kirshner Sinclair will accept something far more valuable: A mea culpa. After-all, when we’re wrong, we’re wrong. Which is why we’re willing to admit that in-spite of stars Annalynne McCord and Trevor Donovan looking like they’re 17 going on 30, we currently find ourselves growing surprisingly attached to them both. Particularly McCord, whose desperate attempt to weasel her way into California University last night by morphing from Naomi Clark into Naomi Klein had us in stitches. Meanwhile, Shenae Grimes’ Annie Mills is not only far less annoying this season, she has us genuinely concerned for her safety. And by that we mean, is it possible for new friend Jasper to give off anymore of a creepy Beaver Cassidy Casablancas Neptune High circa 2006 vibe? (RIP: VERONICA MARS) Call us crazy, but we’re starting to wonder if Jasper’s Uncle may have been dead before Annie drove away from her personal prom nightmare!

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By: CT

Sometimes, what you see is what you get. In the case of CBS’ new drama THE GOOD WIFE, what CBS showed us in the endless promos leading up to its debut wasn’t at all what actually aired last night.

The promos sold WIFE as a story about political scandal and its impact on a marriage when, in fact, the show is little more than a female-empowerment legal procedural. To be sure, it is a well-written, strongly-cast procedural, but a procedural none the less. The political scandal which took center stage during 95 percent of the ads took place in the first minute — which, by the way, many people missed if not tuned in for the preceding NCIS: LOS ANGELES, in a move CBS should be ashamed of — before we fast-forwarded six months to find Julianna Margulies’ Alicia starting work at a law firm. She is, of course, competing against a younger attorney (GILMORE GIRLS’ Matt Czuchry) for a spot, and the firm is ruled over by a strong woman (Christine Baranski’s ball-busting Diane) who it seems is not fond of other females with backbones. Josh Charles (SPORTS NIGHT) plays classmate-turned-coworker Will, and you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see that he’s a potential love interest for our heroine.

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The GOOD WIFE
Now, stop us if you’ve heard this one before. A public figure gets caught in a very-public scandal and must defend himself while his mortified/humiliated wife graciously stands by his side. Of course, what you probably haven’t heard — after the cameras, nosey reporters and the invitations to guest co-host THE VIEW quiet down— is what happens next. Which is where the titular wife (played to pitch perfect perfection by ER vet Julianna Marguilies) comes in. Will Marguilies’ Alicia Florrick be able to navigate the complexities of work and family while husband Peter (Chris Noth) serves time in the crowbar salon? It certainly will be fun to watch, especially thanks to some of Mrs. Florrick’s new co-workers who include Matt Czuchry (GILMORE GIRLS), Josh Charles (SPORTS NIGHT) and the always entertaining Christine Baranski (CYBILL). THE GOOD WIFE premieres on Tuesday September 22nd at 10PM on CBS, GlobalTV in Canada

FLASHFORWARD
Why does the entire world black out for precisely two minutes and thirty-three seconds, leaving some (including stars Joseph Fiennes, John Cho, Sonya Walger among others) with glimpses into a perilous and possibly terrifying future event that will occur on April 19, 2010. Yeah… we have no idea. But what we do know is that thanks to a phenomenal pilot and a final scene that will have you wishing you could flash forward to next week’s episode, ABC execs can breath a deep sigh of relief, having officially found the next big series everybody will be talking about. FLASH FORWARD premieres on Thursday September 24th at 8PM on ABC

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10:03AM: THE GOOD WIFE Executive Producer/Creator Robert King starts off the panel on a lighter note, “Michelle (his writing partner/wife) and I started writing THE GOOD WIFE a year ago, when you could hike the Appalachian Trail without snickering.”

10:04AM: Just how ‘good’ is THE GOOD WIFE? “I think you hit exactly the question of the show,” revealed Executive Producer/Creator Michelle King. “That will play out in her decisions, does she stay [with her disgraced philandering husband], or does she go?”

10:06AM: On the real-life ‘good wives,’ star Julianna Margulies concedes that, “I was so quick to judge them until I stood in Alicia’s shoes. We don’t know what’s going on in the bedroom, we don’t know what their deal is at home, we don’t know what has been going on in their marriage over the years. And that’s not to say anyone should ever cheat, rather, we’re just so quick to judge.”

10:10AM: “I wasn’t eager at all because they’re hard and incredibly difficult to shoot,” said Margulies with regards to whether or not she was eager to return to the small screen. “I kept saying, I don’t want to do a legal show. We have great legal shows on the air, why would we put another one on.”

10:14AM: On the level of involvement of Chris Noth, Robert King vaguely answers, “He’s an important part of the series.” Our take: Just not important enough to pay him for every single episode!

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(L to R): Graham Phillips, Frank Dolce & Jesse Tyler Ferguson

For years, New York Theatergoers have bemoaned the invasion of television stars and reality TV castoffs that have become ubiquitous on Broadway marquees. From the likes of ex-IDOL’s such as Clay Aiken (Spamalot) and Josh Strickland (Tarzan) to many of our favorite TV stars such as GILMORE GIRLS’ Lauren Graham (Guys and Dolls) and GREY’S ANATOMY’s Chandra Wilson (Chicago) savvy Broadway producers have learned all to well that nothing sells tickets like the phrase, “as seen on TV.”

That said, a funny thing happened to this TV Addict as he started watching sneak peaks of what will soon be some of your favorite new Fall shows. We began to notice that the times, well, they are a changin’ And this fall, some of Broadway’s best and brightest will becoming not to a theater, but rather a small screen near you (and no, we’re not just talking about virtually the entire cast of GLEE which include the remarkable talents of Lea Michele (Spring Awakening), Jenna Ushkowitz (Spring Awakening) and Matthew Morrison (Hairspray)) Here are three actors who this fall will have traded Broadway in for the sunny beaches of Hollywood California.

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You’ve seen the teasers. You’ve heard the hype. Now there’s only one thing you want to know: Which of the new fall shows are worth watching and which should be avoided at all costs? In this continuing series, we give you the scoop on some of the most highly-anticipated shows of the season. Which will be the next GREY’S ANATOMY… and which will be the new JOEY? Next up, an early look at CBS’ THE GOOD WIFE.

Why We’ll Watch: Because following every great political scandal — from Bill Clinton and the infamous blue dress to Eliot Spitzer’s hookergate — we’ve always wondered what happens to the poor downtrodden wife after she dutifully stands by her disgraced husband’s side at the obligatory media mea culpa. And “after” is exactly where THE GOOD WIFE’s story begins. Six months after to be exact, where we meet Alicia Florrick (Julianna Marguilies), the humiliated and betrayed titular wife who, due to her husband’s philandering ways, must leap back into the workforce in order to make ends meet. Oh, and since this is television, it probably goes without saying that Alicia’s return to the workforce ain’t gonna be easy. I mean sure, she quickly lands a job with a prestigious Chicago law firm thanks to her law-school friendship with firm partner Will Gardner (Josh Charles), but she’ll have to fight tooth and nail to keep it when she’s placed under the watchful eye of top litigator Diane Lockhart (Christine Baranski) and pitted against 20-something Harvard hot shot Cary (Matt Czuchry).

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You’ve read his take on the most promising fall shows and least promising ones. Now, in what we promise is our final look back at the Network’s UpFront offerings comes our very own Ken Tucker in-training Aleks Chan, with a look at the shows that fall somewhere in-between.

ACCIDENTALLY ON PURPOSE (CBS)
After the horridly ill-conceived COURTING ALEX, Jenna Elfman returns to the small screen as Billie, a San Francisco film critic who hooks up with a younger guy and – surprise – gets pregnant. Pregnancy as a premise hasn’t always worked, and the clips don’t really provide much hope that AOP will be any different, but Elfman is one deft comedienne, so if anything, it’ll be tolerable. 

EASTWICK (ABC)
Also known as Charmed Lipstick Housewives and the City. Based on the John Updike novel about three women (Lindsay Price, Rebecca Romijn, and Jamie Ray Newman) who are imbued with magical powers, it looks as tawdry and superfluous as I remember CHARMED ever was – not that there’s anything wrong with that.  

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THREE RIVERS
According to the official CBS description: THREE RIVERS is a medical drama that goes inside the emotionally complex lives of organ donors, the recipients and the surgeons at the preeminent transplant hospital in the country where every moment counts.

According to this TV Addict: With apologies to his legions of dedicated, passionate and very vocal fanbase, Alex O’Loughlin deserves far better than a re-tread of a failed TNT medical drama (see: HEARTLAND starring EVERWOOD alum Treat Williams)

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