NEW
Cast:
JD Roth ... Host
In a Nutshell: This new twist on the classic game show format brings the show to the family for once. J.D. Roth knocks on some lucky brood's door, the crew erects their sets in the middle of the neighborhood, the neighbors gather to cheer and gawk, and then it's time to test each person's knowledge about their siblings, spouses and parents for fabulous prizes and cash.
The Buzz: Wholesome and fairly straightforward, just like every other primetime show of its kind, "Opportunity Knocks" is gentle counterprogramming to the likes of "House," "NCIS," and "The Biggest Loser" and gives parents bent on protecting their kids from "90210" a squeaky clean alternative. On the other hand, the ratings show that given a choice, most people will choose "House," and "NCIS," and with "The Biggest Loser," another all-ages favorite, training its focus on families this season, "Opportunity" could have a tough time of it. And if Junior wants to see "90210," it'll be tough to stop him.
Premieres: 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 23
Cast:
Jason O'Mara ... Sam Tyler
Harvey Keitel ... Lieutenant Gene Hunt
Michael Imperioli ... Detective Ray Carling
Gretchen Mol ... Annie Norris
Jonathan Murphy ... Detective Chris Skelton
Lisa Bonet ... Maya Daniels (recurring guest star)
In a Nutshell: Another Americanized British drama that gives us a modern day police detective who gets hit by a car and wakes up in 1973, where there are no cell phones, no forensics, and shady ethics when it comes to dealing with criminals. The why and how of Sam's time travel provides the series' greatest mystery.
The Verdict: Before anyone saw the "Mars" pilot ABC replaced the entire cast (save for Jason O'Mara) and executive producers Andre Nemec and Josh Applebaum told critics that ABC's version would not jump back and forth between 1973 and the present day. Which was only the British version's main premise, mind you. As it turns out, the pilot hews very closely to the BBC version, distancing itself just enough for the writers to expand upon its blueprint.
ABC will get no argument against that strategy from this corner. The original's pilot provided a strong foundation for what turned out to be a tremendous series. Granted, it also was a series that lasted for two eight-episode seasons. The American version has the challenge of making it to at least 22...and beyond. The true bar-setter for "Life on Mars" will be the second and third episodes; as they embark on spinning their own take on the plot arc, the producers must be somewhat faithful to the premise to keep purists interested, while deviating enough to create a uniquely American show.
Fortunately "Life on Mars'" magnetic O'Mara is surrounded by a wonderful cast anchored by Imperioli, Mol and Keitel -- and he has lovely chemistry with Lisa Bonet. Bonet only appears occasionally during that first episode, but her light presence makes the obstacle dividing Sam and Maya, whatever that may be (time? death? a coma?), all the more moving. We're curious to see this one develop.
Premieres: 10 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 9
RETURNING
Cast:
Lee Pace ... Ned
Anna Friel ... Charlotte "Chuck" Charles
Chi McBride ... Emerson Cod
Ellen Greene ... Vivian
Swoosie Kurtz ... Lily
Kristin Chenoweth ... Olive Snook
Jim Dale ... The Narrator
In a nutshell: As a boy, Ned discovered that he had the power to restore life to the dead with one touch, and take it away with another. This comes in handy when he grows up to be the proprietor of the Pie Hole, because it ensures the fruit he uses in his pastries is always fresh. But Ned moonlights as private investigator Emerson Cod's partner, assisting by bringing murder victims back to life just long enough to reveal who killed them.
Of course there are a few catches, the main one being that if Ned leaves something that was once dead alive for too long, something else dies. That worked out just dandy when he brought his childhood sweetheart Charlotte "Chuck" Charles back to life, sacrificing a crooked undertaker in the process. What hasn't worked out is that although there's a definite love connection between them, they can never touch.
Where It Left Us: Chuck and Ned's budding romance goes from non-physical to downright icy when he confesses to her that it was he, and his strange power to resurrect, that inadvertently caused her father's death. (#1.8, "Bitter Sweets")
While Chuck nursed her bruised heart over Ned's accidental betrayal, the Pie Hole's flirty, nosy waitress Olive bore witness to the season's biggest revelation when she overdosed Chuck's aunt Lily with homeopathic anti-depressants. A few bites of a drug-laden dessert was all it took to loosen Lily's lips, and out fell a plum of a family secret: Turns out she is Chuck's real mother.
Reported to be among the coming season's guest stars are David Arquette and Stephen Root, who has a four-episode arc playing a character who knew both Chuck's and Ned's fathers. Fred Willard and Kerri Kenney are slated to appear in a November episode.
Premieres: 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 1
Cast:
Teri Hatcher ... Susan Mayer
Felicity Huffman ... Lynette Scavo
Marcia Cross ... Bree Hodge (previously Van De Kamp)
Eva Longoria Parker ... Gabrielle Solis
Nicollette Sheridan ... Edie Britt
Brenda Strong ... Mary Alice Young/Narrator
James Denton ... Mike Delfino
Dana Delany ... Katherine Mayfair
Doug Savant ... Tom Scavo
Ricardo Antonio Chavira ... Carlos Solis
Kyle MacLachlan ... Orson Hodge
Shawn Pyfrom ... Andrew Van De Kamp
Andrea Bowen ... Julie Mayer
Joy Lauren ... Danielle Van De Kamp
Rachel Fox ... Kayla Huntington
Lyndsy Fonseca ... Dylan Mayfair
Zane Huett ... Parker Scavo
Brent Kinsman and Shane Kinsman ... Porter and Preston Scavo
In a nutshell: On Wisteria Lane, four women, friends and neighbors all, are monitored impassively by the ghost of their dearly departed fifth friend Mary Alice. Since then, Lynette has struggled with motherhood, gone back to work, beaten cancer and opened a pizza parlor. Susan's fallen in and out of love with hot handyman Mike Delfino, and last season he became addicted to prescription medication. He cleaned up, and they got back together and had a son named Maynard. (Poor kid.)
Bree lost her husband Rex, found love again with Orson Hodge and in the fourth season faked a pregnancy to cover up her daughter's. She was blackmailed by Edie, who stole ex-model Gabrielle's on again/off again husband Carlos and tried to get him back by faking her suicide, only to give up the chase when he went blind. Gabrielle married him anyway because Carlos fooled her into thinking he would regain his sight. Several others have died along the way, and Edie has been kicked off the block. Recent new neighbor Katherine Mayfair had her own share of secrets. This only begins to cover it, but we don't have the room or the time to list everything else going on here. Suffice it to say this suburb is hotter and dirtier than an inner-city subway in July.
Where It Left Us: A season full of mysteries about maternity, blackmail, temptation and cheating led to Edie's ouster from Wisteria Lane - and that was before a finale rife with "Desperate's" knottiest twists yet. In the first half (#4.16, "The Gun Song"), Katherine Mayfair's abusive ex Wayne hunted her down and swore to make her pay for lying to him about their daughter, Dylan. The second half (#4.17, "Free") revealed that the real Dylan was a toddler when she died in a household accident -- a bureau fell on her. The Dylan now living on Wisteria Lane was adopted from a Romanian orphanage.
Wayne takes Bree and Katherine hostage and nearly kills Katherine to get the truth out of her. But Katherine's husband Adam, who Wayne beat to a pulp and locked in a shack, escapes and makes it back to the house just in time to save the ladies. Adam struggles with Wayne, who shoots himself in the abdomen, and gives Katherine the gun while he goes to clean up. Wayne taunts Katherine into fatally shooting him, but Bree, having heard Katherine's tale, fills in the rest of the gang and they cover for Ms. Mayfair. Then came the real doozy - the story jumped five years into the future. Katherine's one of the girls. Bree has made the full metamorphosis into Martha Stewart, and is a successful cookbook author, managed by her son Andrew. Lynette appears to be healthy... but it's not all roses for her and Gaby. Parker and Preston are juvenile delinquents. Gabrielle looks haggard, which isn't all that surprising once we meet her two chubby hyperactive children. And we see Susan go home to kiss her honey... but the man (played by Gale Harold) who steps into view and plants one on her lips isn't Mike. What the... ?!?
Premieres: 9 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 28
Cast:
America Ferrera ... Betty Suarez
Eric Mabius ... Daniel Meade
Tony Plana... Ignacio
Ana Ortiz ... Hilda
Ashley Jensen ... Christina
Becki Newton ... Amanda
Mark Indelicato ... Justin
Michael Urie ... Marc
Judith Light ... Claire Meade
Rebecca Romijn ... Alexis
Vanessa Williams ... Wilhelmina Slater
Christopher Gorham ... Henry Grubstick
Freddy Rodriguez ... Gio
In a nutshell:Don't let the bad hair, train-track braces, thick glasses and criminal fashion sense fool you - Betty's inner beauty shines like a jewel during a typical workday at Mode magazine. She is often the only thing standing between editor Daniel Meade and utter disaster, which usually comes in the forms of Mode's devious creative director Wilhelmina Slater and his former older brother/current older sister Alexis. Mode's office politics are dizzying, what with the Wilhemina's numerous management coups. There was a marriage of opportunity derailed by would-be groom Bradford Meade's death, leading Willie to harvest his sperm with the intention of birthing an heir...using Christina as a surrogate.
Where It Left Us:Alexis decided to cut her younger sibling out of the empire as their recently exonerated mother stood by helplessly watching. Betty's sister Hilda, having lost the love of her life to a violent crime, found romance again with a coach who happened to be married. She refused him at first, but eventually gave in to his advances. And Betty was left to choose between her dear Henry Grubstick, still chained to his ex-girlfriend and the scheming mother of his child in Tucson, and sweet sandwich guy Gio. In the finale, Henry popped the question -- and Gio offered to whisk her off to Rome on a luxurious vacation financed by Daniel. Our last view of Betty (#2.18, Jump) shows her getting into a cab as a plane flies over the Manhattan skyline. But was it headed toward the Southwest, or across the Atlantic? One sure thing is that Lindsay Lohan will be reprising her guest star role from May's finale -- as Kimberly, Betty's personal mean girl from high school -- for a number of episodes. In another development, Christopher Gorham has joined the cast of CBS midseason drama Harper's Island...which probably will affect Henry and Betty's relationship.
Premieres: 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 25
Cast:
Ellen Pompeo ... Meredith Grey
Patrick Dempsey ... Derek Shepherd
Sandra Oh ... Cristina Yang
Katherine Heigl ... Isobel "Izzie" Stevens
Justin Chambers ... Alex Karev
T.R. Knight ... George O'Malley
Chandra Wilson ... Miranda Bailey
James Pickens, Jr. ... Richard Webber
Sara Ramirez ... Callie Torres
Eric Dane ... Mark Sloan
Chyler Leigh ... Lexie Grey
Brooke Smith ... Erica Hahn
In a nutshell: There's never a dull moment at Seattle Grace, where a group of young doctors are trying to make their way in the medical field but just as often end up making their way into each others' pants, usually with regrettable results. In the case of the eternally making up and breaking up Derek Shepherd and Meredith Grey, we're just hoping they pick a lane and stay in it.
Where It Left Us: Derek and Meredith found their way back to each other. Again. Only this time Meredith decided to get over her fear of commitment (again) and play for keeps, using candles to map out plans for a house on Derek's land. Theirs was one of many happy endings: Christina got her groove back by successfully flying solo on a heart surgery. Chief Webber and his wife made up. George seemed to have closed the door on his feelings for Izzie and lit sparks with the other Grey, Lexie. Callie stopped trying to work it out with Mark and got something else started by kissing... Erica Hahn! It wasn't all champagne and sparkle pagers, though. Following his girlfriend Ava's (guest star Elizabeth Reaser) brutal suicide attempt, Alex was forced to let Ava's doctor, Izzie, admit her to a psychiatric facility that could treat her borderline personality disorder.
With that, we enter another season of torrid drama at Seattle Grace, where one can only imagine what will break up Derek and Meredith this time. Among the guest stars reportedly appearing in the season opener are Bernadette Peters, Mariette Hartley, Kathy Baker and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. That last bit is interesting; it always makes fans happy to see the dearly departed Denny, but his visit probably doesn't bode well for Izzie's health or longevity.
Premieres: 9 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 25
Cast:
Sally Field ... Nora Holden
Calista Flockhart ... Kitty Walker
Rob Lowe ... Senator Robert McCallister
Balthazar Getty ... Thomas Walker
Dave Annable ... Justin Walker
Rachel Griffiths ... Sarah Whedon
Maxwell Perry Cotton ... Cooper Whedon
Sarah Jane Morris ... Julia Walker
Matthew Rhys ... Kevin Walker
Ron Rifkin ... Saul Holden
Emily VanCamp ... Rebecca Harper
Patricia Wettig ... Holly Harper
Luke Macfarlane ... Scotty Wandell
Kerris Lilla Dorsey ... Paige
In a nutshell: Already a colorful family, the Walker clan was thrown for a loop when family patriarch William Walker (occasional guest star Tom Skerritt) suddenly dropped dead, leaving behind a big secret in the form of a mistress, Holly Harper, and a side kid. Supposedly. Keep reading.
Where It Left Us: Life with the Walkers is never short of a trip, an idea the producers thrust home with gusto by wrapping up the season with some incest ickiness, paternity issues, lies, betrayal and a whole subplot about Calista Flockhart's character having a womb in which Rob Lowe's character's seed could find no purchase.
Sorting through the specifics: Saul and Sarah made a terrible deal that nearly ruined the family business, Ojai Foods (#2.14, "Double Negative,"), but fortunately Tommy and Holly's winery was doing so well they were able to swoop in and, depending on how you want to look at it, either save Ojai Foods or take it over (#2.15, "Moral Hazard").
Saul shocked everyone by coming out to the fam on the very same day as Kevin and Scotty's commitment ceremony (#2.16, "Prior Commitments"), and Kitty and Robert discovered that they're barren. The main talker was the method in which "Brothers & Sisters" headed into "Flowers in the Attic" territory: Rebecca Walker, believed to be dead dad's illegitimate child, touched off a case of the hots with half-brother Justin. No need to take a bleach shower -- turns out Rebecca was not actually William's biological daughter, clearing the path for her to make out with Justin well into the next season. One might wonder how the rest of the Walkers, who still see Rebecca as family, will react to this new direction in Justin and their alleged half-sister's relationship, except... more good news! Just because Rebecca isn't William's kid doesn't mean the Walkers don't have a brother from another mother. It's just that she wasn't the "R" they were looking for. And as the season begins, we may see them on the hunt for their real mystery sibling, a young and no doubt good-looking man named Ryan. Dave Foley has signed on for a guest star stint during November sweeps.
Premieres: 10 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 28
Tom Bergeron ... Host
Samantha Harris ... Host
Len Goodman ... Judge
Bruno Tonioli ... Judge
Carrie Ann Inaba ... Judge
Lance Bass...Contestant
Kim Kardashian...Contestant
Rocco DiSpirito...Contestant
Misty May-Treanor...Contestant
Maurice Greene...Contestant
Toni Braxton...Contestant
Cloris Leachman...Contestant
Cody Linley...Contestant
Ted McGinley...Contestant
Brooke Burke...Contestant
Jeffrey Ross...Contestant
Warren Sapp...Contestant
Susan Lucci...Contestant
In a nutshell: A galaxy of B-,C-, and D-list celebrities and a few respectably retired athletes do the jive, quickstep, tango and other ballroom dances for a shot at the world's ugliest trophy.
Where It Left Us: Kristi Yamaguchi became the second skater to win last season's "Dancing." Apolo Anton Ohno was the first, and yeah, technically he's a speed skater, and she's figure, but honestly, isn't all just people doing things the average person can't do with blades on the soles of their feet?
At any rate, Yamaguchi became the highest scoring contestant in "Dancing" history -- giving the current batch of fleet-footed celebs, which includes two Olympic athletes as well as the series' youngest competitor yet, quite an act to follow.
Premieres: With a two hour performance show 8 p.m. Monday Sept. 22 followed by a special performance episode 9 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 23 and a results show special 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 24. Regular timeslot for the results show is 9 p.m. Tuesdays beginning Sept. 30.
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