TV: Lightning Round!

I'm so far behind on my TV blogging for the Fall Season that I've decided to steal a gimmick from Salon's King Kaufman, who sometimes does this with his NFL picks: I'm going to review a handful of the new shows in exactly two sentences. It's not going to be especially informative or clever, but it is going to clear out a lot of the backlog. Which will make me feel better about myself, which is all that really matters.

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Smith: Slick, stylish, often compelling heist action, with some fine acting, especially from Ray Liotta, though it is hard to root for any of these characters. Not that it really matters, since CBS cancelled this show after three episodes.

Jericho: Surprisingly more addictive and well thought out than I had anticipated. Sprague Grayden and, god help me, Skeet Ulrich are especially good, although, following his turn as the evil George Hearst on last season's Deadwood, I keep waiting for Gerald McRaney to rape and murder someone -- possibly Skeet.

Twenty Good Years: The lamest vehicle for the immensely talented Jeffrey Tambor since his co-starring role in Three's Company spin-off The Ropers over 25 years ago. John Lithgow is wasted here, too, though to a lesser degree, since he's overacting in exactly the same fashion as when he was playing a wacky alien.

Runaway, The Game, Friday Night Lights, Kidnapped: I waited too long to watch these shows, and my TiVo deleted them to make room for new stuff. Oh well.

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I think I might have full reviews of The Nine, Ugly Betty, and 30 Rock somewhere in me, so I'm holding off on them for now. Plus there's Brothers & Sisters, which TiVo has yet to delete, but which I still haven't watched (and don't much care to, despite the fact that, if Roger is correct, it takes place in my hometown of Ojai). If I can't get around to them, watch for Lightning Round II in the near future.