Every television season is the same. The sophomore slumps stand in sharp relief against sleeper hits and the rare, steady success of an older show; the new hits beat out the weaker offerings, while a few lone shows hum in the background, waiting to prove they have what it takes to make it to season two. This TV season has seen the mighty fall, the bizarre get even more cryptic, a critical darling take on a new mystery, an oddball comedy beat out a network giant, a veteran show completely jump the shark and, of course, a raft of early cancellations. But just how is your favorite program (or one you should be watching) shaping up?
Perhaps you’ve seen the buzz all over the gossip pages, but last year’s breakout success, ABC’s “Desperate Housewives,” is in a serious slump. With Mary Alice’s mystery solved (she stole a junkie’s baby and killed the mother), the women of Wisteria Lane have little to talk about, now that their Scooby-Doo gang has been dispersed. The newest neighbor on the block, who apparently has a killer locked in her basement, is bizarre but hardly compelling enough for an entire season of plot points.
On the other hand, “Lost,” ABC’s other breakout show, is trucking along at the same nail-biting snail’s pace. We finally know what’s in the gosh-darn hatch (a Mama Cass-loving Scott and a potential doomsday device), and what happened to the tail end of the plane (they’re alive … kind of), but, really, we’re six episodes in (four days in real time) and nothing much has happened. The Nov. 9 episode promises to kill off a major character, which will hopefully give the show some needed momentum. Maybe, just maybe, by Christmas a week will have gone by.
FX’s shock program “Nip/Tuck” only gets better with age, it seems, as the show’s Carver serial killer storyline kicks into high gear. This isn’t as outrageous as the transsexual life coach/Mrs. Robinson thread, but it is scarier, as the Carver pops up in his (or her) porcelain doll mask and dull voice, intoning about the evils of beauty. By season’s end we should know the identity of the killer, with the only question being which of the show’s main characters is it?
The surprise winner of the season is actually the UPN network, claiming the sleeper hit “Veronica Mars.” Unlike “Housewives,” this show solved last season’s stumper, while also coming up with an equally compelling mystery for season two. More impressively, UPN houses the comedy that beat out Must See TV Thursday for ratings, the Chris Rock time-warp “Everybody Hates Chris.” Rock’s tales of the ghetto are hilarious, tasteful and appeal across all demographics.
By far the greatest letdown of the season is “Alias.” After recovering from a year’s worth of lost momentum with the season four closer, the hour-long drama fell apart spectacularly in the fifth season’s second episode. This included the killing off of Michael Vartan, a male lead and Jennifer Garner’s ex-boyfriend. The Mafioso move was reportedly at Garner’s behest. Other mistakes included bringing in a host of new characters to fill-in as super spies, as Garner is now seven months pregnant. It seems that series creator J.J. Abrams has abandoned his spy thriller to focus on “Lost,” as nothing short of a miracle could resurrect “Alias” to its former glory.
This TV season is shaping up to be both the triumph and the downfall of the concept drama, as well as the return of situation comedy to primetime television. Still, be on the look out for great things from this year’s other great offerings: “Arrested Development,” “How I Met Your Mother,” “My Name is Earl” and the second seasons of both “House” and the outrageous “Drawn Together.” m
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