A Guide To The Spring 2007 Television Season
FOX
"24"
Mondays at 8 p.m.
When last we saw Jack Bauer, he was being kidnapped by the Chinese in connection with the death of the Chinese Consul in season four. Will he escape in order to continue thwarting the terrorists? Tune in to FOX for the two-night, four-hour season six premiere Jan. 14 and 15 to find out.
“American Idol”
Season 6 premiere: Jan. 16 and 17 Tuesdays at 8 p.m.
The Paula scandals. The Simon snipes. Ryan Seacrest’s hair. America’s favorite talent show is back for season six starting Jan. 16 and 17 with a two-night, four-hour premiere on FOX.
“So You Think You Can Dance”
Season 2 premiere: May 2007
This wildly successful series returns for a sophomore effort in May. This time, the winner gets a one-year contract with Celine Dion’s Vegas show, a new car and $100,000 in cash.
“Prison Break”
Returns from hiatus: Jan. 22
Mondays at 8 p.m.
This FOX drama, about a man who gets himself incarcerated in order to free his wrongly accused brother, returns Jan. 29. As the title suggests, the two brothers, along with six other convicts, are on the loose—tune in as they continue to search for the hidden $5 million while trying to evade capture.
“House”
Tuesdays at 9 p.m.
Cranky, cantankerous, egotistical and downright devoid of a bedside manner, Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) somehow remains a pleasure to watch. The FOX series, which debuted in 2004, follows a fairly predictable pattern, but it’s still exciting to see House crack the bizarre medical cases that come through his hospital, without fail, every week.
NBC
“30 Rock”
Thursdays at 9:30 p.m.
Liz Lemon, Tina Fey’s character on NBC’s “30 Rock,” is as sweet as her name suggests. Fey stars as the beleaguered head writer of an “SNL”-type variety show; Alec Baldwin co-stars as the meddling network executive. Viewers love it and so do the real network execs: NBC is giving the whip-smart comedy a plum Thursday night slot following “My Name Is Earl” and “The Office.”
“Grey’s Anatomy”
Fridays at 8 p.m.
Will Meredith and McDreamy get over their “no sex policy” and just do it already? Unlike other hospital shows such as “House” and “ER,” NBC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” goes easy on the medical stuff but is (hot and) heavy on the romance.
“Heroes”
Returns from hiatus: Jan. 22
Mondays at 9 p.m.
In this show about ordinary people grappling with the extraordinary powers they possess, characters include a male nurse who can fly, a cop who hears other people’s thoughts, an inmate who walks through walls and a cheerleader who defies death. In the next episode, scheduled to air Jan. 22 on NBC, a new hero is introduced.
“Medium”
Wednesdays at 10 p.m.
Allison Dubois (Patricia Arquette) can communicate with the dead and see the future. She uses her powers to help solve crimes, usually after screaming herself (and her husband) awake after one of her terrifying dream-visions. Sometimes the show’s most perplexing mystery is why Allison’s husband sticks around.
“Scrubs”
Thursdays at 9 p.m.
Zach Braff’s earnest yet goofy Dr. John “J.D.” Dorian, along with the rest of the quirky staff at Sacred Heart Hospital, have made “Scrubs” a favorite since its October 2001 premiere. By turns bizarre, silly, serious and tragic, the show manages never to veer too far in one direction. We can even sort of love the slightly corny “I guess I learned something today” endings.
“Grease: You’re the One That I Want”
Series Premiere: Jan. 7
Sundays at 8 p.m.
This new reality series from NBC, which premiered Jan. 7, follows some of the most powerful music producers in Hollywood as they search for the next Danny Zucco and Sandy Dumbrowski for an upcoming stage production of “Grease: The Musical.” Billy Bush and Denise Van Outen host.
“The Office”
Thursdays at 8:30 p.m.
While the Anglophiles turned up their noses at the thought of an American version of this show, the rest of us were laughing at the antics of the Dunder Mifflin staff. The Emmy Award-winning NBC show is still going strong, with two Golden Globe nominations this year.
“The Apprentice”
Season 6 premiere: Jan. 7
Sundays at 9 p.m.
Donald, Ivanka and Donald Jr. head to L.A. to weed through 18 new job candidates in the show’s sixth season, which premiered Jan. 7 on NBC.
“Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip”
Mondays at 10 p.m.
NBC’s other behind-the-scenes look at a late-night sketch comedy show, this one brought to you by “West Wing” creator Aaron Sorkin. Amanda Peet, Matthew Perry and “West Wing” alum Bradley Whitford wisecrack in classic Sorkin style.
FX
“Dirt”
Series Premiere: Jan. 2,
Tuesdays at 10 p.m.
With Matthew Perry successfully ensconced in “Studio 60,” fellow “Friend” Courteney Cox is hoping for a winner with the new FX series “Dirt,” in which she stars as a gossip columnist named Lucy Spiller (get it?) who can manipulate the lives of the celebrities she writes about. If only life were like that.
HBO
“The Sopranos”
Season 6 continues April 8
James Gandolfini is torn between two families in HBO’s modern mob classic. Never have vulnerability and ruthlessness been packaged together so well as within Gandolfini’s Tony Soprano, the lead role of mob boss–slash–therapy patient. No wonder this multiple award-winning series has enjoyed such longevity. In fact, at 6 years (and counting), some fans have had longer relationships with the Soprano family than their own.
“Rome”
Season 2 premiere: Jan. 14, Sundays at 9 p.m.
If the ads posted all over the city (“Mark Antony is a coward,” “Brutus is a traitor,” etc.) have piqued your interest, check out HBO’s series “Rome” when it returns for its second season Jan. 14. A drama chronicling the birth of an ancient empire, the show’s political themes will resonate with most members of modern society: infighting, corruption and an ever-growing chasm between classes.
“Big Love”
Season 2 premiere: spring 2007
Polygamist Bill Henrickson (Bill Paxton) lives in Salt Lake City with his three wives (Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloë Sevigny and Ginnifer Goodwin). While the HBO series does explore the many facets of Mormonism, Bill’s personal issues are pretty much the same as anyone’s—times three.
“Entourage”
Season 4 premieres April 8
When people start appropriating a show’s catch phrases—not, to quote Seinfeld, that there’s anything wrong with that—you know you’ve got a success on your hands. “Entourage,” which just wrapped up its third season on HBO, has officially joined the club: Everyone and their grandmother just can’t stop quoting superagent Ari “Let’s hug it out, bitch” Gold. The show returns for a fourth season this spring.
CBS
“Armed & Famous"
Premiere: Jan. 10, Wednesdays at 8 p.m.
This new reality show, which premieres Jan. 10, follows five stars as they undergo police training to become reserve officers with the Muncie (Ind.) Police Department. Joining Jackson are Erik Estrada, Jack Osbourne, Jason “Wee Man” Acuna (“Jackass”) and former WWE champion wrestler, Trish Stratus.
“Shark”
Thursdays at 10 p.m.
What “House” is to doctors, CBS’ “Shark” is to lawyers. A defense attorney-turned-prosector whose methods may not always be above board, Sebastian Stark (James Woods) consistently shocks the young idealistic prosecutors who work for him—but always seems to get the job done.
Showtime
“The L Word”
Showtime Season 4 premiere: Jan. 7
Sundays at 10 p.m.
A steamy melodrama about a group of lesbians living in L.A., this show appeals to both women and men—for different reasons, obviously. But while the love scenes may be hot, the real success of this soapy show lies in the magnetism of its characters.
“Weeds”
Season 3 premiere:
summer 2007
The critically acclaimed Showtime series stars Mary Louise Parker as a suburban single mom who resorts to selling pot in order to make ends meet following the unexpected death of her husband. The quirky comedy is up for four Golden Globes this year.
“Dexter”
Season 2 premieres later in 2007
Michael C. Hall, former star of HBO’s “Six Feet Under,” is back on the small screen dealing with dead bodies in this Showtime series. But Dexter couldn’t be more different from straitlaced funeral home director David Fisher. A blood spatter expert with the Miami Police Department, Dexter moonlights as a vigilante, stalking and murdering the bad guys.
Sci Fi
“Battlestar Galactica”
Returns from hiatus: Jan. 21
Sundays at 10 p.m.
This Peabody Award–winning Sci Fi Channel series is no cheesy redux of the 70s space opera, about a ragtag fleet of interstellar humans on the run from a genocidal race of machines. The new “Battlestar” reimagines that storyline while mining real-life current events for material, then sets those all-too-familiar tensions in outerspace. Add veteran character actors Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell to the mix, and you’ve got a jaw-dropping, high-velocity adventure with real dramatic chops.
ABC
“Ugly Betty”
Thursdays at 8 p.m.
Betty Suarez might be appearance-challenged, but that’s not going to stop her from pursuing her dream of making it into the fashion industry. Based on the popular Colombian telenovela, the American version on ABC, starring America Ferrera in the title role, is proving just as successful in this country.
“Desperate Housewives”
Sundays at 9 p.m.
Which housewife are you? Or which one is your perfect match? Find out as the sexy starlets—Teri Hatcher, Eva Longoria, Felicity Huffman, Marcia Cross and Nicollette Sheridan—of “Desperate House Wives” bring scandal and betrayal to Wisteria Lane on ABC. If a weekly fix isn’t enough, not to worry. You can play with these hot housewives daily: New York-based Alexander Doll Co has turned the female characters into 16-inch dolls.
“Brothers and Sisters”
Sundays at 10 p.m.
This star-packed series (Calista Flockhart, Sally Field, Rachel Griffiths) follows five adult siblings who discover, in the wake of their father’s (Tom Skerritt) death, that their family isn’t as idyllic as they thought. Rob Lowe joins the cast as a guest star for the remainder of the season, playing a Republican senator running for re-election in the middle of a nasty divorce.
“In Case of Emergency…”
Premiere: Jan. 3 Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m.
This new comedy, which premiered Jan. 3, follows four former high school friends whose lives haven’t turned out quite the way they planned. When a series of emergencies reunites them, they discover they aren’t alone after all. Jon Favreau (“Swingers”) directs a cast that includes David Arquette, Jonathan Silverman and Lori Loughlin.
“Lost”
Returns from hiatus: Feb. 7
Wednesdays at 10 p.m.
This addictive series about a group of strangers marooned on an island after a plane crash has drawn a fanatical following and spawned more theories than the Zapruder film. Are the survivors really on an island, or is it a purgatory of sorts? Who are the Others? And, perhaps most importantly, does Kate belong with Sawyer or Jack?
