Fall TV Preview: What to Watch on Monday Nights

Posted by FSR Staff (editors@filmschoolrejects.com) on September 1, 2008

We continue our Fall TV Preview with a look at the best shows that Monday night has to offer…

Chuck (NBC) Airs Mondays 8/7c, Premieres September 29th
The last time we saw “Chuck,” it was a show that was definitely getting into a good stride. Action, intrigue and a love triangle were forming as season 1 came to an abrupt close. But despite that, it still seemed to be one of those shows on the bubble, a fact that was cleared up recently when NBC picked it up for a full second season. Up until last week, it wasn’t clear whether we’d be getting the half Chuck or the full Chuck. Now, with the full season press on, the creative team behind the nerdy super spy series are looking to raise the stakes. Casey (Adam Baldwin) begins to get torn between Chuck (Zachary Levi) and his responsibility as an agent, Chuck is forced to match wits with his nemesis Bryce (Matthew Bomer), both in the world of spies and the world of Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski), and a host of new characters will be introduced. As well, we can only assume that Chuck’s sister’s marriage to Captain Awesome will create some serious complications. Anyone can tell you that there are plenty of spy shows out there, but there is nothing else out there quite like “Chuck.”

Recommendation: One of the most clever, fun shows on TV. Set your DVR. - Neil Miller

Prison Break (Fox) Airs Mondays 9/8c, Premieres September 1st
When I first heard about “Prison Break” a few years ago, I wondered if it was a single episode show. How long could a prison break take anyway? The Great Escape only took three hours to get an entire barracks-worth of POWs out of the camp and into the streets of Germany. After checking out the first episode of “Prison Break,” though, I realized there was a lot of genius in it. Last season was cut short because of the Writer’s strike, but heads got mailed as warnings, people got kidnapped, and revenge was avowed. With Season 4, the producers are promising that a character we thought was dead will return, and resident bad ass Michael Rapaport will be playing an FBI officer that teams up with the crew to take down the Company. After a strong first season, and a second season that featured a lot more escapees, Season 4 should prove to redeem the half-season that fans couldn’t see because of the strike. More heads getting mailed would be a great start.

Recommendation - It’ll be tough to get interested this late in the game, but if you’re already a fan, this season might be the strongest yet. - Cole Abaius

Gossip Girl (The CW) Airs Mondays 8/7c, Premieres September 1st
That’s right. I watch “Gossip Girl.” And not just for Kristen Bell. Although it would be easy to do the macho thing and claim that the two main reasons I watch are Blake Lively, I’ve never been known to pull off the macho act. Besides, it’s probably the trashiest, most unrealistic, bourgeoisie-infested show on TV, and that’s a great thing. It’s eye candy in more ways than one. Pretty, young things living the high life and sleeping around are good to look at, but the plotlines are incredibly easy to digest despite being hard to swallow. Still, marketing the show by using the negative quotes from major outlets was ingenious, and the continuing current of attractive people doing things we wish we could do with money we wish we had make it difficult to deny. After the first season of following around Dan and Serena fall in and out of love, Blair and Nate falling in and out of love, and Chuck falling deeper in love with himself, the second season promises more of the same dramatics. This time, from scenic The Hamptons!

Recommendations: If you need depth, skip it, but if you like teenagers drinking heavily, partner swapping and lounging around counting their money and life-opportunities, pencil it in on Mondays. - Cole Abaius

Heroes, NBC, Airs Mondays 9/8c (Premieres September 22)
If there’s one thing “Heroes” do well, it’s saving the world, right? So they did again in the Season 2 finale, destroying a deadly strain of the Shanti Virus. The stakes have been raised in Season 3, titled Villains, as each hero’s loyalty will be tested, new foes will emerge, some from Level 5, the prison to the deadliest threats to the world, and some within the heroes themselves. Mohinder and Maya look to turn up the heat with a possible relationship, we will get the much anticipated return of Sylar, Season 1’s supreme badass, as he sets out to turn everyone’s favorite cheerleader, Claire’s world upside down, and Hiro will meet his match, a lightning fast vixen who’d give Usain Bolt a run for his money. For the heroes, this is only the beginning of their sensational saga. “Heroes” has changed the way we watch television, made it cool to like superheroes, and the 3^rd season “Villains” will be groundbreaking, Earth shattering, and as compelling as any show on television.

Recommendation: Monday Night used to be time for football. Now it’s fun to be a geek and time to be heroic. - Adam Sweeney

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (FOX) Airs Mondays 8/7c, Premieres September 8
The season 1 finale of “The Sarah Connor Chronicles” was all Terminator fans had hoped for, adding more interest to the upcoming Terminator: Salvation. After new villain Margos Sarkassian blew the hot Terminator Cameron to high hell (wow, I just said a cyborg’s hot. Ouch), John Connor and his mother are seemingly left on their own as they rush to escape the grasps of Agent Ellison, evil Terminator Cromartie, and Sarkassian. Season 2 will introduce Catherine Weaver, a new CEO of a corporation that may look to get its’ hands on The Turk. We also will get more pieces to the puzzle, such as why Cromartie let Ellison survive the FBI shoot-out, a new Terminator possibly being sent back, and the most important matter at hand, how much face time will 90210’s Brian Austin Green get in the role of Derek Reese. Cameron will definitely return, but rumor has it that a damaged CPU in the explosion may cause her to turn on John, risking the future of the human resistance to Skynet. Season 2 promises to be one hell of a ride.

Recommendation: Get out your post-work aggression by embracing your inner badass and do your best Schwarzenegger during commercials. - Adam Sweeney

For more, check out our 2008 Fall TV Preview page.

| | Read more articles by FSR Staff