Every season, I watch new shows, and I hope that I’m going to find the new character with whom I can identify, or over whom I can obsess. I tune into the new shows hoping to find the new Jack Bauer to admire, or the new Sydney Bristow to envy and worship. I hope that I can find new sidekicks to provide comedic relief, or new enemies to admire and despise.
This year is no different. As you all know, I’m watching 50+ shows a week, so keeping the new people straight has certainly been difficult so far. There are, however, five new characters that I already feel could be my new obsessions!!
…to ABC FAMILY, starting tonight at 6PM (EST). Those of you lucky enough to get ABC FAMILY (living in the Great White North, this TV addict isn’t one of them) will be able to enjoy Greg Berlanti’s WB masterpiece from the beginning starting tonight. If you missed the EVERWOOD bandwagon, I can’t recommend this show highly enough. It had everything great Television should; phenomenal characters, rich dialogue and stories that weren’t afraid to both challenge and surprise its audience. In EVERWOOD (unlike say 7th HEAVEN), there weren’t always easy answers, and both parents and kids were capable of making mistakes. Problems weren’t always solved in an hour, but family and friends were always there for eachother. It was a phenomenal show that still deserves to be on the air (and yes, I’m still bitter). 
I find myself surprised by the fact that after two episodes, I’m still enjoying ABC’s BROTHERS & SISTERS. While I’m generally attracted to shows that feature complicated season-long mysterious (LOST), exciting espionage (ALIAS), or Aaron Sorkin’s writing (THE WEST WING/STUDIO 60), I find the family dynamics of BROTHERS & SISTERS oddly compelling. Sure every-time Ron Rifkin’s character appears on screen, I half expect Sydney Bristow to walk through the door, but my ALIAS obsession aside, the show is fascinating.
On the DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES front, another enjoyable episode highlighted by the [surprising] black baby popping out of Xiao Mei. Carlos’ line about the camera’s colour being ‘off’ was brilliant. Not surprisingly, Carlos and Gabriel’s story has become the highlight of the show. Susan had another funny episode, as she was forced to impersonate a brain surgeon. I loved how she escaped dinner with a ‘brain emergency’, “I’m sorry, his brain shut off!”. It will be interesting to see what happens when Mike inevitably wakes up and Susan finds herself in yet another love triangle. The Scavo story-line was also [thankfully] funny this week, thanks to a drunken dancing Nora. I wonder how many episodes it will be until Nora disappears. This TV addict’s prediction, Nora will get shot in the much buzzed about November Sweeps Supermarket Shooting — leaving Lynette and Tom with what will be a seventh child? I’ve lost count. Finally Bree and Orson, Wisteria Lanes creepiest couple. How long until Bree discovers the truth about Orson, and what on earth did Orson whisper to the dead body? Probably not ‘I’m Sorry.’ 
I’m officially hooked on JERICHO, and to be honest, I blame LOST, and what I’ve ‘cleverly’ dubbed The LOST Effect™. Within two episodes, JERICHO has set up an intriguing premise, following the blueprint successfully set-up by JJ Abrams, Damon Lindeloff and Carlton Cuse (the creators of LOST).
I was returning to Toronto from my marathon of musicals at the New York Musical Theatre Festival (Insert Plug here: check out my reports from the Festival at