Alright, maybe this is a result of me getting old….(which is a completely different complaint)

But do you remember when networks would release their Fall lineups after finale season and you were generally excited to see all of the new shows? Well this year’s look terrible (and that’s me being nice). ABC, NBC, CW and CBS seemed to have flushed all of their good ideas straight into the can and come up with an armful of garbage content that we can only hope will grow on us. Seriously, this gripe is justified if you watch some of the promo clips below:

NO ORDINARY FAMILY – ABC

Wow… someone actually tried to promote this shows by saying it’s a cross between The Incredibles and Heroes…. Effen Liar!

THE CAPE – NBC

So…. you took all of the bad writers that made Heroes fail after the first season and gave them jobs on this show?

BLUE BLOODS – CBS

Oh My Gawd! Listen to what Tom Selleck actually says in the beginning,”This show is very exciting. It’s got plots….” I might watch an episode of this just to marvel at the legendary stache.

OFF THE MAP – ABC

More doctors… more drama…. I’m sick of it.

NIKITA – CW

CW exec says, “shit… we suck and people are starting to notice”

CW hotshot deuchebag producer says, “I’ve read on the Internet once that people used to like this show called Nikita about a euro-chick-spy. My original idea of the century is… Let’s make the exact same show, but with an Asian girl! People love Asian girls!”

CW exec says, “I love it”

Ugh… I’m tired… Later

Ever wonder what Mr. & Mrs. Smith would have been like if JJ Abrams was at the helm? Then, instead of a feature film, if it was a TV series? Then what this TV series would be like on a network like NBC? Wow, that’s pretty specific I guess, but in any case, you’ll get your answer soon as JJ and Co have just cast their leading lady for their pilot Undercovers.

In case you haven’t heard much about the pilot (there hasn’t been a ton of press lately) Undercovers is being described as Mr & Mrs Smith meets Bourne Identity. Apparently it will follow a husband and wife team of spies as they… do spy stuff I guess. Um… I’m still not completely sold. What will drive me to check out the pilot is the fact that Bad Robot will be behind the production so it’s already got some credibility.

So far Undercovers has three principle characters cast. Playing the husband is Soul Food veteran Boris Kodjoe. He’s shown up in random episodes of Boston Public and if you were that one person in the world that watched Surrogates, you’ll recognize him as Stone. Playing opposite Kodjoe will be Gugu Mbatha-Raw from the UK’s Doctor Who. Even though she’s unfamiliar to a majority of North American audiences, if Undercovers is a success, you can bet she’ll be the hit of the show. To round out the casting news thus far is Gerald McRaney from Jericho who will play the couple’s CIA liaison and the man who recruited them.

Hopefully this show won’t suck; and if history has anything to say about the fate of Undercovers, it shouldn’t. But we’ll have to wait an see as NBC will the network behind the show.

Sometimes there’s a show that is just so amazing in its first season that the only direction it can go is down. Currently the best example for his is Heroes. I like to call this the, “ER Syndrome,” or a show that overstays its welcome in prime time. ER was amazing in the early to mid 90′s. The cast was great with Clooney and Julianna Margulies, a young Noah Wyle and the resurrection of Goose‘s career. It had an amazing amount of drama, took great chances in terms of story telling and the characters were so well established that as audiences we all became experts very quickly. ER was influential for a lot of reasons, but for me I always liked how they set up the ensemble cast and were able to keep things interesting. Then it went on… and on… And On… and it never stopped. Characters died / left newbies came in and destroyed the dynamic and all of a sudden ER became that guest in your house that just wouldn’t leave. It was always there with something new, but it was no longer exciting, it was just annoying.

Fast forward about a decade and you’ve got Heroes. After an amazing and ground breaking first season I feel as though this show is really just over-staying its welcome in prime time. I’ve griped about my feelings towards Heroes for quite some time now, but it wasn’t until I finally watched the 2-hour season premier of the 4th season that it really dawned on me. I don’t care anymore. I don’t care what happens to the Bennets, the Patrelli‘s or the Japanese guys let alone a new cast of villains. Sylar was a great initial concept, but I don’t even care about him anymore. There are a number of reasons as to why this happened (personally I believe it to be the leaving of Bryan Fuller), but for whatever reason it could be, the result is the same. I’m bored and I don’t care.

Now my dilemma is this. Every time I “write off a show,” something dramatic happens and I’m forced to get back into it. Thus, I never actually “stop,” watching. It happened with 24, it happened with Smallville and it I suspect it will happen with Heroes. I’ve invested so much time into this show and all of its characters that I think one day I’ll come back to it just for the sake of completion. But until then, I think I’m going to lay this show to rest. Sorry Ando, even you can’t keep me around for an hour each week.

If you haven’t seen Funny People yet, then you really should. If not only to see Adam Sandler in probably his best role, but to actually understand the brilliance of the following videos. The scary part is that if NBC actually produced and aired Yo Teach, I would probably already be TiVo’ing it and waiting for the DVD to drop so I could watch all of the special features. Check out some of the clips below.

Pure Awesome.

As a loyal fan of Heroes I’ve had to endure some terrible episodes, bad writing and tragic excuses for acting over the years, but for some reason I keep coming back. I sometimes feel like that guy who just can’t get enough of rehab. Anyways, NBC dropped this promo a few days ago to reel in sad folks like myself. When Heroes shut down for the season earlier this year, a lot of people (myself included), really felt that the run they had in season 1 had finally run out of steam. They can no longer live off of the phenomenon and in order to survive in the world of television, they are going to need a major refresh. Well, have a look at the promo below for the upcoming season. You’ll notice a lot of returning faces (unfortunately Tim Kring chose to ignore my letter of plea to have Claire Bennett recast), some strange new ones (T-Bag from Prison Break looks like he’ll be playing the role of the villain this season) and a very VERY short shot of Ando finally gettin’ some. Some of the news to come out of the break has been sad to say the least as Bryan Fuller officially left the series to work on a couple of new projects, but it looks like NBC is trying to diffuse the situaiton by adding some new faces to the cast. As mentioned above, T-Bag or Robert Knepper, will be a new regular, as will Californication star Madeline Zima and X-Men alum (currently playing Snake Eyes) Ray Park. Have a look, put your hands together and pray that Volume Five doesn’t shit the bed.