[/caption]The CW is the first to kick off the 2010-2011 Fall season. Will anyone watch? Doubtful. Perhaps The CW adopted the line of thinking that anonymous commenters have. You know, the commenters who simply write "first" after a story because the idea that they were first delights them though no one actually cares who is first. It's sort of an existential act. The CW must want to get a head-start on the Thursday competition. Perhaps, if Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec deliver a kick-ass Vampire Diaries premiere, audiences will spurn Community, The Big Bang Theory and Bones. The theory remains the same for Nikita. The shows will continue to get the ratings that were lousy enough to cancel a show like Dollhouse and Sarah Connor Chronicles on FOX but good enough for five seasons on this little network.
The CW is a network I haven't watched regularly since its existence. The president of the network made the unfortunate decision to renew One Tree Hill and 7th Heaven instead of the best written show from TheWB, Everwood. Let us not forget that 7th Heaven aired their intended series finale before being picked up. The CW has mostly developed dramas in the mold of One Tree Hill. But, like TheWB, The CW executives continue to develop more genre shows than any other network. Smallville's about to air its 25th season (oh, it's just the 10th?) while Supernatural is six years old. Reaper was a show that aired for two years and The Vampire Diaries has found their audience. It's still the forgotten network though.
As per usual, I'm not evaluating which returning shows to review. I dislike reality television so Tyra's show won't receive a preview. I only preview returning scripted series.
Now, let me dive into the 2010-2011 CW schedule for a very timely preview.
The Show: 90210
What Season?: The Third
Returns To Air: September 13 at 8PM
What To Expect Part One: (From The CW Press Release) The third season of 90210 welcomes the West Beverly kids to their senior year of high school. It's the time of college acceptances and lovers' rejections, the time of prom dates and promises betrayed, the time of spring break, break-ups and make-ups - but as is always the case in Beverly Hills, it all happens in a world of sun and fun, palm trees and warm sea breezes, success and excess. From the very beginning of the school year, the lives of the West Beverly group will be shaken up in a way none of them could ever imagine. And from this new starting point, their journeys will take them to staggering new heights and terrifying new depths.
What To Expect Part Two: A third season. Wow. I don't get the sense that the new 90210 is beloved like the original series. I don't foresee The Sports Guy Bill Simmons and Matthew Berry devoting over two hours of their time to celebrate this reincarnation.
In last season's finale, Annie confessed to killing a guy (WHAT?!?) while Dixon charmed a girl with an astronomy project. Meanwhile, a girl named Adrianna, who is some kind of singer, managed to land a worldwide tour and reunite with her boyfriend. A boat was set on fire by a fellow named Jasper and a girl was sexually harassed by a teacher while another teacher drove his car into the school and possibly destroyed it. Also, the Principal got fired.
This season, as the press release says, will be senior year. I assume many familiar plots will be used during the season. Most likely, a character will be in danger of not graduating while the prom will be a place where drama happens and couples debate taking the next step. There will be tears as the characters realize high school is ending and a whole lot of unnecessary drama like the what happened in the finale.
The Show: Gossip Girl
What Season?: The Fourth
Returns To Air: September 13 at 9PM
What To Expect Part One: (From The CW Press Release) Season three ended with a BANG! as a heartbroken Chuck Bass lay bleeding in the streets of Prague while Blair Waldorf and a newly-single Serena van der Woodsen jetted off to Paris for a fabulous summer abroad. Meanwhile, Nate Archibald fresh off his painful breakup with Serena, decided to take a page out of Chuck's playboy playbook just as Dan Humphrey discovered he was going to have to settle down and be a father - to Georgina Sparks' baby! Season four will open with a radiant Serena and Blair enjoying their grand and romantic summer in Paris... until Chuck mysteriously arrives in town with a new girlfriend and a new identity. Blair swore off Chuck forever but will this changed man woo Blair into having a change of heart, or will Queen B set her sights on ruling Columbia University? And as for that baby... ?
What To Expect Part Two: The CW should be sent flowers for their informative press releases. They laid out everything in a concise paragraph. I have nothing to add.
The Show: Life Unexpected
What Season?: The Second
Returns To Air: September 14 at 9PM
What To Expect Part One: (From The CW Press Release) Returning for a second season, LIFE UNEXPECTED is a coming-of-age family drama that centers around 16-year-old Lux, who was given up for adoption at birth but never adopted. When she is put back into the custody of her estranged-since-high-school birth parents, radio show host Cate and bartender Baze, the three form an unlikely family, complicated by the fact that Cate is engaged to her co-host, Ryan. Cate and Baze struggle with becoming insta-parents and raising a daughter they are only now getting to know, while Ryan must deal with the fact that Cate's feelings for Baze aren't entirely in the past. Lux, meanwhile, tries to reconcile her past with her present, often torn between her old friends from foster care and her new family. As the unlikely trio begins to grow up together, Lux encourages Baze to reveal what she already knows - that he is in love with Cate, just like a part of Cate is in love with him. Baze tries to stop Cate's wedding, but when he's too late, Cate marries Ryan. Heading into next season, our unlikely threesome become a foursome as Ryan joins the family.
What To Expect Part Two: The press release paints a pretty picture for Life Unexpected. Critics responed well to the pilot last season and thought they show was a return to the classic WB coming-of-age drama. The show even drew Everwood comparisons . Two WB veterans are stars, Kerr Smith (who played Jack McPhee in Dawson's Creek) and Shiri Appleby (who was the female lead in Roswell); however, the show's progression only annoyed fans. TWoP described the finale as a mess and were more frustrated because they loved the pilot. Essentially, the show's creator and the writing staff concocted one of the worst love triangles on TV. I'd like to add that the creator, Liz Tigelaar, chose some of the worst names for characters like Lux, Math and Baze.
The Show: One Tree Hill
What Season?: The Eighth (cue the Joaquin Phoenix sigh)
Returns To Air: September 14 at 8PM
What To Expect Part One: (From The CW Press Release) After a seventh season that saw ONE TREE HILL continue to grow and break new ground, the show enters season eight with more than 150 episodes under its belt. The new season finds Brooke Davis happier than ever. Recently engaged to Julian, her wedding will be the captivating affair one might expect from a young, beautiful, successful fashion designer. As Nathan Scott prepares for his second season in the NBA, the Scott family is expecting their second child and Haley feels as though the baby will be a girl. How will she balance her pregnancy while raising Jamie and pursuing her music career? Also, Quinn and Clay's lives hang in the balance, the victims of a brutal attack which affects all of their friends and family. Season eight of ONE TREE HILL will explore the delicate balance that contemporary twenty-somethings face as they endeavor to build and define what their lives will be, while overcoming difficulties and embracing the good things that they sometimes take for granted, shrouded in the pursuit of someday. It will be a celebration of the most important things, among them the quest for love, laughter, health, friends, career and family: timeless pursuits that have always mattered, and matter now, in a place called Tree Hill.
What To Expect Part Two: Why is the show still on? WHY? No writers in Hollywood can write something that will bump this show off the air? Really? They produced 150 EPISODES?!? This should've been cancelled FIVE YEARS AGO. To quote Simon Tam from Firefly: this must be what going insane feels like.
The Show: Smallville
What Season?: The Tenth
Returns To Air: September 24 at 8PM
What To Expect Part One: (From The CW Press Release) Entering its explosive tenth and final season, SMALLVILLE culminates in the epic rise of the world's ultimate hero - Superman. Finally working alongside the intrepid Lois Lane at the Daily Planet, Clark Kent had accepted his destiny as the guardian of Metropolis when General Zod arrived, challenging Clark's authority and power. Just when the romance between Clark and Lois began to bloom, Clark was called into duty by the legendary Justice Society and his own burgeoning league of heroes to fight the gathering dark forces. As season nine drew to a close, Clark sacrificed himself to save the world from Zod. Season ten promises the classic reuniting of the timeless romance between Clark and Lois, and brings Clark face-to-face with his destiny as he overcomes his final trials and forges the iconic identity that will be known for all time.
What To Expect Part Two: I usually watch an act or two of a few episodes every season because I like the visual look of the show and then I feel depressed because zero short movies I've made looked good visually. It's a very unique, sort of dreamy visual style. No matter how poorly Heroes was plotted, structured and written, the episodes always looked fantastic. I have no idea where the narrative is for Smallville. I watched the last ten minutes of the season nine finale and saw Clark's sacrifice.
It's the final season. Will old faces appear? John Schneider will show up in the premiere even though his character died a few years ago. Looks like Clark will be somewhere between life and death. Supergirl is returning. Chole's going to leave the show but aren't all the characters leaving the show since this is the end? Expect Clark to fight evil. Oh yeah, Lionel Luther is returning to the show as well.
The Show: Supernatural
What Season?: The Sixth
Returns To Air: September 24 at 9PM
What To Expect Part One: (From The CW Press Release) Returning for its sixth season, this haunting series follows Sam and Dean Winchester, two brothers bound by tragedy and blood to their dangerous, other-worldly mission. This past season, Dean and Sam faced their toughest foe yet: the Devil himself. As the Apocalypse raged on around them, the brothers, aided only by a dwindling band of fellow hunters and rebel angel Castiel, sought a way to stop Lucifer and save the planet. Ultimately, they discovered a way to force Lucifer back into Hell and end the Apocalypse - but at tremendous cost: Sam's life. Season six will be a season of mystery and shadow. Heaven and Hell have been left in complete disarray since the apocalyptic events of season five. And now, monsters, angels and demons roam across a lawless and chaotic landscape. And so Dean Winchester, who has retired from hunting and sworn never to return, finds himself being pulled back into his old life - pulled back by none other than Sam Winchester, who has escaped from Hell. The two reunite to beat back the rising tide of creatures and demon-spawn, but they quickly realize that neither are who they used to be, their relationship isn't what it used to be, and that nothing is what it seems.
What To Expect Part Two: The show has a new showrunner in Sera Gamble who promised more monster-of-the-week episodes instead of the epic apocalyptic arcs that dominated the show the last few years. Fans seem glad that the show will return to a simpler time. Everything you need to know is in the press release.
The Show: The Vampire Diaries
What Season?: The Second
Returns To Air: September 9 at 8PM
What To Expect Part One: (From The CW Press Release) Returning for its second season, THE VAMPIRE DIARIES is the story of two vampire brothers obsessed with the same beautiful girl, and battling to control the fate of an entire town. During season one, Stefan and Damon Salvatore returned to their hometown of Mystic Falls, Virginia, for very different reasons - Stefan was determined to get to know Elena Gilbert, who bears a striking resemblance to Katherine Pierce, the beautiful but ruthless vampire the brothers knew and loved in 1864, while Damon was intent on releasing Katherine from the tomb where he believed she was trapped by a witch's spell all those years ago. At the end of season one, Elena's uncle set a plan in motion that brought the Founder's Day celebration to an end amid chaos, destruction and death, and saw the return of the vengeful Katherine Pierce. Next season, the appearance of the villainous Katherine in Mystic Falls throws a wrench into the love triangle between Stefan, Elena and Damon, and the other residents of Mystic Falls must choose sides as they fall victim to a new breed of danger. New and unexpected friendships will be forged, allies will become enemies, and hearts will be broken. Stefan and Damon will be forced to face a villain more evil and diabolical than they ever believed possible.
What To Expect Part Two: TVD is a good show believe it or not. TWoP thinks this should could be Buffy's true successor. The writers operate at a breakneck speed. So much happened in each episode that one wonders if they can continue on that pace. Kevin Williamson brought in veteran TV writers Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain for season two, bolstering an already strong writing staff. Williamson promised a major event occurring in the premiere as well as more focus on the supporting characters that were lost in a shuffle due to the focus on the three leads. I'm excited. Also, expect weekly thoughts about this show right here in The Foot.
The day is Wednesday and, as promised on Monday, The Foot is going to become a busy place. Tonight, around 11PM, I will post my review of the Hellcats pilot. And I'll preview tomorrow's content c after Hellcats.
THE YOUTUBE CLIP OF THE WEEK
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