Watching Studio60

Most of the networks’ new shows have now premiered. Have you seen anything you’re crazy about yet among the fresh offerings?

I did a little sampling last week. The first-but-really-kinda-second episode of Private Practice is still hanging out on my DVR. It’s great in theory to be able to record things that are inconveniently scheduled and reserve them for later viewing, but I have a lot of trouble then actually finding the time to view. And the longer I wait, the less enthusiastic I am about watching. Especially if I’ve read reviews that were none too pleasant.

But I’ll watch Addison and her new crew one of these days, and I’ll watch the Grey’s Anatomy premiere that’s keeping it company. (I hope they’re not fraternizing there on my hard drive. Could get a nasty virus.) Two shows I did catch up with this week in actual real time were Back to You and Dirty Sexy Money.

I watched Back to You mostly to see how Ayda Field, Studio 60’s Jeannie, did in her part as weather girl. Excuse me, bimbo weather girl, because surely that is written into the character description somewhere. Called on to act mostly with her chest, Field (pictured above with co-star Fred Willard) did a respectable job. It ain’t Sorkin, but I bet it’s easier to get those lines memorized. I’m not going to rush to watch it again, but if I find myself with work to put off around 8 p.m., I might tune it in.

I watched Dirty Sexy Money mostly to see how Peter Krause, another Sorkin stalwart from Sports Night, would do in his new gig. Plus, the show shares some creative DNA with Brothers & Sisters, another show I blog about, and I wanted to see if this was worth losing Greg Berlanti for. Krause was his usual winkingly charming self, and I thought Donald Sutherland did a masterful job as a man of means and menace. But the rest of the cast? Ugh. Critics blasted Studio 60 for having unlikeable characters, and now they’re praising this thing? Fortunately, unlike Krause’s character, I can turn these folks off.

This week brings the debut of Pushing Daisies, a quirky number that’s also got a lot of critics singing its praises. To tell you the truth, I’m a little afraid to watch it. Either I’ll love it, and it will bomb and disappear; or I’ll hate it, and it will be the Next Big Thing. Really, the way I’m feeling lately, producers might want to think about paying me not to love their shows. The things I get really excited about seem, more often than not, to have a short shelf life.

What have you been watching, and loving, or hating? Share in the comments.

_{Photo: Fox.com}