Fall TV So Far: Sundays & Mondays

Sundays

Brothers & Sisters
[s2 ep01]: "Home Front"
[s2 ep02]: "An American Family"
[s2 ep03]: "History Repeating"

Until Battlestar Galactica returns in 2008, Brothers & Sisters is the only show I watch on Sunday nights. Sally Field continues to prove every week that she really did earn her Emmy. The best storyline is centered on Justin returning from Iraq with an excrutiating leg injury. His options to suffer in agony or to take narcotic pain medication presents a compelling moral dilemma. As of the end of last week's episode, he reluctantly chose to take the medication under the strict supervision of his mother, but time will tell whether the recovering drug addict will get hooked all over again.

Mondays

Prison Break
[s3 ep01]: "Orientacion"
[s3 ep02]: "Fire/Water"
[s3 ep03]: "Call Waiting"
[s3 ep04]: "Good Fences"

Prison Break has felt slow and steady out of the gate this season, but I see signs of upcoming improvements. It will probably never feel as mysterious as season one or as action packed as season two, but for a series that probably should have been a one-season show, it's still intriguing. Now that Michael's new escape plan from his Panamanian prison is starting to take shape and the murder of a close ally has pushed Lincoln to comply with all of the Company's demands, things are heating up again.

Chuck
[s1 ep05]: "Pilot"
[s1 ep04]: "Chuck Versus the Helicopter"
[s1 ep04]: "Chuck Versus the Tango"
[s1 ep04]: "Chuck Versus the Wookie"

The biggest surprise of the season is Chuck. If you read a description of the show's premise, it doesn't sound *that* great. But, everything about the show just clicks, from the writing, acting, directing, and casting to the sets, costumes, stunts, special effects, and cinematography. The show is nearly flawless. I worry it may be so good out of the gate that it may burn out early, but hopefully it will stay strong for a long time to come.

Heroes
[s2 ep01]: "Four Months Later..."
[s2 ep02]: "Lizards"
[s2 ep03]: "Kindred"
[s2 ep04]: "The Kindess of Strangers"

As of the second episode, I was a little worried about sophomore slump, but the show has redeemed itself in the last two episodes with new mysteries and new revelations. But, I, like many others who have commented online, would like to see Hiro get out of medieval Japan and see Peter get his memory back and get of Ireland. Sylar, on the other hand is almost as treacherous even without his powers. If there's someone out there even worse than him, as hero-locator Molly claims, this should be a season full of threats needing facing.

Journeyman
[s1 ep01]: "A Love for a Lifetime"
[s1 ep02]: "Friendly Skies"
[s1 ep03]: "Game Three"
[s1 ep04]: "The Year of the Rabbit"

Journeyman is another great surprise this season, and it's not as much of a Quantum Leap knockoff as you might think. Sure, Dan Vasser goes back in time to change lives of others for the better. But, he also sporadically returns home, where his missing gaps of time cause him to get behind on his job and frustration in his marriage. To make things more complicated, his ex-fiance is actually alive and time traveling with him. So, he has a wife in the present that he has every intention of staying loyal to, but he also has temptation in the past from a love he lost only because he thought she was killed. Tricky and intriguing.