Five New Shows You Should Be Watching
by Brian Tallerico

It's make or break time for the new TV shows of the 2007-08 season. Most of them have aired around four or five episodes and if numbers continue to slide through the all-important November sweeps, many of them won't make it to New Year's Eve. Much has been written about how this season has produced no Heroes or Ugly Betty, the instant hits that the networks were hoping for when critics called it the best new crop in years. Some of the shows have gotten better since their first episode (Reaper) and some appear to already be spinning their wheels (The Big Bang Theory). Some have turned into hits (Samantha Who?) and some have already been canceled (Viva Laughlin). For many, it was an overwhelming season with so many new choices, often in the same time slot, that viewers couldn't keep it straight. On Wednesday nights, ABC airs three new programs in a row and on Mondays at 8:30pm, three of the best reviewed entries of the season air at the same time. Programmers didn't make the season easy on viewers and it's affected the ratings.

That's what we're here for. Critics may have judged the dozens of new shows on their pilot episodes, but how have things developed since then? With a handful of episodes in the can, what are the best five new shows of the fall season? The amazing thing is that I could have easily included a couple of other new shows and it was hard to cut down to five - that shows you how strong this fall actually turned out. The Big Bang Theory started great, but has begun to spin its wheels already, making me nervous that the premise has a limited shelf life. Ditto for Chuck. Dirty Sexy Money had a great pilot but went downhill quick. Ditto for K-Ville. As for what you shouldn't be watching - avoid Moonlight like it would actually turn you into a vampire and whoever is responsible for Cavemen and Carpoolers still being on the air deserves exile in TV purgatory. I could easily come up with five new shows to avoid, but I'll keep it positive for now. Here are the five shows that I hope make it through not just this season, but at the rate they're going creatively, many seasons to come.

1. Reaper - Tuesday, 9pm, The CW

Reaper started strong - good cast, creative concept - but I was still understandably nervous. No offense to Kevin Smith (who directed the first episode), but Reaper has gotten better every single week. Ray Wise, who plays the devil on the series about a poor young man whose parents sold his soul to the man in red, has been pitch perfect since the beginning, but the rest of the show has grown and become as confident as its veteran scene stealer in just a little over a month. As stars Bret Harrison (Sam), Tyler Labine (Sock), and Missy Peregrym (Andi) have gotten more comfortable in their characters shoes, the show has become infinitely more entertaining. And the writing has gotten significantly more clever with every episode. (A recent favorite line has to be Satan's, "I invented therapy so the wicked could justify their actions.") Some of Sam and Sock's banter seemed forced the first few episodes, but as the actors have grown more familiar, their dialogue has become more believable and funnier.

The acting is better and the dialogue is increasingly clever, but what's really grown on Reaper is the combination of the friendships, workplace comedy, and the stuff more at home on a show like Supernatural. It all culminated in "Leon," the sixth episode of the series that was the perfect mix of believable character and supernatural activity (and featured an awesome guest appearance by Patton Oswalt). We loved Buffy and Angel because they combined relatable everyday drama like relationship problems and school situations with the world of the supernatural and they did it seamlessly. Reaper isn't quite there yet, but it's headed right in that direction. Jump on board the bandwagon before this show becomes the next cult classic.

2. Pushing Daisies - Wednesday, 8pm, ABC

Thank God for DVRs. Honestly, I can't imagine watching Pushing Daisies without one. After the best pilot episode since Lost, Pushing Daisies has settled into a groove that's almost too creative. I know, blasphemy, right? How can something be too creative? Pushing Daisies is so packed to the brim with references, quips, visual gags, and complex plotlines that it's almost overwhelming and I think that's why the ratings have started to dip. Not an episode goes by where I don't have to rewind something to try and catch it again or thoroughly enjoy the moment. Bryan Fuller's vision of a man who can bring the dead back to life is just too intense for family audiences looking for escapism on hump day. Daisies will probably find its biggest audience on DVD and be a show like Lost or Heroes that's watched repeatedly by its fan base long after its shuffled off this TV coil.

When its at its best, Daisies is reminiscent of the best work of Tim Burton or Jean-Pierre Jeunet, two names you don't often hear referenced when talking about television. In fact, Pushing Daisies is like nothing else on the dial right now on any of the hundreds of channels. That's why critics fell in love with it. When you have to watch hours of riffs on the same themes, originality goes a LONG way. Pushing Daisies is as original as it comes, but, and I can't believe I'm saying this, it would almost be wise to tone down the creativity. Daisies needs to appeal to a wider audience or it won't make it to season two. When Lost returns early next year, ABC would be wise to move Daisies to 10pm, after their biggest cult hit. Later at night, audiences are more willing to do the heavy lifting that Daisies requires. It's worth it.

3. Aliens in America - Monday, 8:30pm, The CW

Who do we smack around for putting three 'geek-centric' shows - The Big Bang Theory on CBS, Chuck on NBC, and Aliens in America on The CW - on at the same time? At the beginning of the year, all three looked promising, but now that the dust has settled it's clear that Aliens in America is the best of the three. Big Bang and Chuck still show promise, but Aliens has been smart from week one and only seems to be getting smarter. The reason Aliens works so well is that it has a myriad of weapons to choose from every week for comedy. Big Bang seems already limited by its characters and their quirks, but Aliens in America has expanded its comedic lens. One week, it might be a comedy in the vein of Freaks and Geeks about lead character Justin Tolchuk's high school days and the next week it might be about the extended family and their foibles or a commentary on the racism so pervasive in the country.

Of all the shows on this list, Aliens in America needs your help the most. Ratings have suffered from day one and continue to decline. People are probably avoiding it because they expect it to be predictable comedy based on stereotypes, but they couldn't be more wrong. Aliens in America never takes the easy joke, always riffing the stereotype in another direction. Take for example the recent brilliant episode when Raja got a job at a convenient store and butted heads with the owner because he was Indian (and Raja is Pakistani). Jokes about racial profiling are one thing but using the rift between India and Pakistan as comedic fuel is a hundred times more original. Aliens in America is brilliant because every time you think you know where it's going - making fun of Midwesterners, Muslims, or Geeks - it does it a way you could never predict.

4. Samantha Who? - Monday, 9:30pm, ABC

We're in one of the best eras of comedy actresses. Think about it. Just a few years ago, "Best Actress - Comedy" was a REAL tough category to fill but Tina Fey in 30 Rock and Mary-Louise Parker in Weeds are doing some of the best work on TV right now and there might be a third woman nipping at their heels - Christina Applegate in Samantha Who? The premise of the show - a woman recovers from a coma with amnesia and learns she wasn't that nice before the accident - is the kind that should lead to cliched TV torture but Applegate has made every moment she's been on-screen so far this year completely enjoyable. She's doing award-worthy work as both halves of Samantha (the show occasionally flashes back to pre-accident Sam), allowing her to be sweet, sexy, funny, and everything that so many female roles on TV never allow a character to be even with years on the air.

Another great thing about Samantha Who? (and it's not the awful title) is that the supporting cast is starting to come alive around Applegate. Jean Smart is typically brilliant, which isn't surprising, but the rest of the cast is getting up to her level as supporting players. Melissa McCarthy has stolen several scenes lately and Barry Watson has developed a strong chemistry with Applegate. Samantha Who? doesn't really need your help - it's arguably the biggest new hit of the season - but if you've been avoiding it because you think it's a 'chick show' or something more like Ugly Betty or Ally McBeal, give it a shot. This show has more teeth and should eventually appeal to all demographics, chick or not. You won't forget it.

5. Bionic Woman, Wednesday, NBC

I'm still not sure how I feel about the Woman, but I can't stop watching the damn thing. It's the guilty pleasure of the season. Is the dialogue cheesy? Of course, but it's called Bionic Woman, so what do you expect? The entire first season of Heroes was filled with cheesy dialogue and it still worked brilliantly. Has Bionic Woman developed into must-see TV like that show? Not quite. They need to develop the conspiracy theories and supporting characters a little bit more and avoid the "drama-of-the-week" structure of late, but there's one reason I can't stop watching - casting. Michelle Ryan is great as the lead and Miguel Ferrer and Katee Sackhoff can do no wrong. They're both great in every single scene they've been in and, with Ryan, they keep the show humming.

Bionic Woman is one of those weird shows that I feel like I could give up any minute because of the lackluster writing and lack of characters to really care about, but when it's over, I look forward to the next week. I can't explain it either, but I can't be the only one and it makes it one of the more interesting new shows of the season. I may not feel the same way next week, but that's the nature of new shows. One minute you're on billboards, the next minute you're in the cancellation bin. I only hope the five shows on this list get one full season to work out their kinks and find an audience. By then, they'll have to sink or swim on their own. We'll be talking about other new shows anyway.