New fall TV shows

With the fall TV season looming, there doesn't seem to be a lot to get excited about. Here, however, are five shows that sound promising enough to at least not make me get queasy.

1. Studio 60

This one wouldn't even make the list if it weren't for Aaron Sorkin. "The West Wing" was one of the best shows on the air until he left, and his previous "Sports Night" was even better.

"Studio 60" is definitely more in the "Sports Night" vein, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the weekly workings of a "Saturday Night Live"-style show.

As far as I can tell so far, it's about two up-and-coming filmmakers (Matthew Perry and Bradley Whitford) who are brought into become showrunners at the place their careers started. They will surely clash with the required network executive, the always sexy Amanda Peet. Other promising cast members include Steven Weber, D.L. Hughley and Timothy Busfield.

This all sounds terribly familiar, but Sorkin always keeps things fast and often very funny. I'll be tuning in 10 p.m. Mondays on NBC for this one.

2. Jericho

I have trouble getting attached to serial dramas with intriguing premises due to my (thoroughly rational) fear that they will be cancelled just as I get interested. I'll still take the chance on CBS' "Jericho," and just hope for the best.

As best as I can tell, as the series opens, a small town in Kansas loses all communication with everything beyond its city limits just as a huge mushroom cloud appears over Denver. Among the many odd things happening all at once is the fact that the mushroom cloud registers no radiation whatsoever.

Skeet Ulrich is your requisite man with a mysterious past, and I don't recognize any of the other names in this large ensemble. It all sounds properly creepy to me, and I need a good sci fi fix each fall, so I'll be there for this one at 8 p.m. Wednesdays on CBS.

3. Heroes

This one seems to be "Unbreakable" as group phenomenon, but it somehow intrigues me quite a bit.

In it, a group of fairly ordinary (but surely extraordinarily attractive) people find out at the same time that they have superpowers. An artist-addict finds he's clairvoyant, a cop discovers he can read minds, a cheerleader discovers an ability to heal her injuries, etc. Beyond the fact that, well, I just like superheroes, the large number of scenarios (there are five other characters with newfound powers) should make for some good storytelling.

Milo Ventimiglia, aka Rory Gilmore's former paramour Jess Mariano, and Ali Larter lead the cast which will surely be filled with familiar TV faces. Tune in at 9 p.m. Mondays on NBC to find out just where this all goes.

4. Runaway

The CW's only new drama sounds like a sure winner to me. It starts with a lawyer who is framed for the murder of his rather beautiful co-worker and forced to go on the run with his family in tow.

What should make this a lot of fun, beyond the "Fugitive"-style intrigue, is that his family is suitably pissed off at this rather sudden upheaval. The son is angry because he had to ditch his hot cheerleader girlfriend to share a room with his brother in the middle of nowhere, and the wife is of course none-too-happy that it's her husband's wandering eye (and perhaps hands) that caused it all.

Donnie Wahlberg will play the dad, and Leslie Hope, who you'll remember from the first season of "24" as Jack Bauer's wife, plays the wife. Tune in for some serious family dysfunction. This one will air opposite "Heroes" on Monday nights on the new CW.

5. "Gilmore Girls"/"Veronica Mars"

OK, so these aren't new shows, but it is a shrewd packaging by the CW that makes Tuesday nights, for me, the best TV night of the week.

When we left the Gilmores, Lorelai had delivered an ultimatum to elope to Luke, which he expectedly rejected. Logan took off for London, leaving Rory behind at Yale. As the finale ended, we see Lorelai back in the arms of Christopher, though we don't know if there was any good lovin' or not.

I know this all sounds awfully soapy (and frankly, girly), but so what. It's the funniest, smartest show on TV, and it needs a bigtime recovery following what was an unsteady season six. I'm confident the Gilmores are in for a big comeback.

I first tuned into "Veronica Mars" to fill the "Buffy" void, but soon fell in love with the show on its own merits. Kristen Bell is perfect as our hero who, like Buffy, of course, is a crimefighter who somehow manages to make time for high school in her spare time. It's all very sharply written, and the plot should just keep getting thicker as the show enters its third season this fall.

Tune in to the CW Tuesdays for "Gilmore Girls" at 8 and stick around for "Veronica Mars" at 9. I guarantee you'll be glad you did.

Well, those are the new (and not-so-new) shows I'll be checking out this fall. If there are any new, promising shows I've missed, please feel free to let me know.