Critical Outcast: Fall 2006 TV Preview: CBS

CBS is preparing to launch its CSI juggernaut against NBC's Law & Order franchise, which do you think will win? On top of that, they are stepping up with a few new drama series. Read on and see if any may win your attention this season.

Sunday

8:00. The Amazing Race (9/17). Reality television doesn't interest me. Sorry.
9:00. Cold Case (9/24). This is a show that I watched early on in its first season, and thought was quite good. The problem is that I watch to much already, and this was a show that was axed.
10:00. Without a Trace (9/24). Moving to a new night, from Thursday, I think this will prove to be a good move for the show, I think it will pair well with Cold Case. So long as the fans are aware of the move.

Monday

8:00. The Class (9/18). Co-created by one half of the Friends team, this series catches up with a group of twenty-somethings who are bonded by being from the same third grade class, as their lives intersect. The show stars Jason Ritter (Joan of Arcadia).
8:30. How I Met Your Mother (9/18). I never watched this last year, although I had some friends who really enjoyed it. Perhaps I will give it a shot this year. The stars include Neil Patrick Harris (Doogie Howser) and Alyson Hannigan (Buffy, Veronica Mars).
9:00. Two and a Half Men (9/18). I have caught clips of this here and there, I found it mildly humorous, but it never really clicked for me. I am still amazed by all the Emmy nods.
9:30. The New Adventures of Old Christine (9/18). The Seinfeld curse is over as Julia Louis-Dreyfus, fresh off her Emmy win, leads this series into season 2. It is another show I haven't watched, but maybe I should.
10:00. CSI: Miami (9/18). I never really cared for this series for reasons I cannot put my finger on. However, I really like the original flavor.

Tuesday

8:00. NCIS (9/19). This series may never have me among its fans, but it strikes me as something that will have a long running stay on primetime.
9:00. The Unit (9/19). This series debuted with a short first season last spring. I liked it a lot, and hope that its first full season will be able to keep it up. The series follows a special ops group whose operations are so secret, that they cannot tell anyone. It also features the wives and the troubles at home. I love how we get the two angles on the story, great stuff.
10:00. Smith (9/19). The outline of this show reminds me of something else, I am thinking Hustle, but I'm not sure. It concerns a master criminal, played by Ray Liotta, who holds a 9 to 5 and has a family, and wants to leave the business. Virginia Madsen co-stars. I like the leads, which could make this quite interesting.

Wednesday

8:00. Jericho (9/20). CBS goes apocalyptic with this new series which concerns a small town that gets cut off from the rest of the country after a nuclear explosion in Denver. Skeet Ulrich and Gerald McRaney star. I'm looking forward to this.
9:00. Criminal Minds (9/20). Mandy Patinkin stars in this crime series, entering its second season. I started watching this last year, but it didn't really grab me all that much. It returns in the same time slot from last year.
10:00. CSI: New York (9/20). The second spinoff series is set to begin its second (third? I lost count) season. Much like Miami, this did not hold me like the original does.

Thursday

8:00. Survivor (9/14). No thanks.
9:00. CSI (9/21). Now this is what I'm talking about. I did not care for the finale last year, but I am willing to forgive it for the years of entertainment it has brought me. Hopefully this Sara/Grissom thing won't take too much time away from what I like about the show.
10:00. Shark (9/21). James Woods as a defense attorney turned prosecutor? Sounds like it could be fun.

Friday

8:00. Ghost Whisperer (9/22). Not a terribly hard hitting show, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Jennifer Love Hewitt leads the cast as a recently married woman who speaks to the dead and helps them make peace to move on to the next phase of existence.
9:00. Close to Home (9/22). Yet another series that I don't watch. Seem to be a lot of those on CBS. This series, in its sophomore year, brings unspeakable crimes to the heart of suburbia. Jennifer Finnigan stars.
10:00. Numb3rs (9/22). This series intrigues me, but I could never quite fit it into my schedule. This has the FBI using a math whiz to find patterns in and solve them. Interesting take on the genre.

Saturday