TV series about police force or families bring in a lot of drama.  Well, here’s a show that combines both.  In NBC’s Blue Bloods, you get action and crime-fighting with complex family relationships and issues in one show.

Blue Bloods

The drama series follows the multi-generational Irish-American Reagan family of police officers dedicated to New York City law enforcement.  Their type of police work isn’t the flashy forensics or state-of-the-art technology, its old-fashioned detective work and old school family values.

In Blue Bloods, work and family environment converge.   Cases and work disagreements become dinner conversation topics.

Blue Bloods Characters

• Francis “Frank” Reagan: New York Chief of Police and patriarch of the Reagan brood, which he heads as diplomatically as he does the force.  The widowed father of Danny, Erin, and Jamie. His fourth child, Joe, is deceased. Frank was a Marine during the Vietnam War and often serves as the moral center of the family. He has an indifferent attitude towards politics, often taking on the mayor and numerous reporters who misinterpret his actions or to get things done.
• Daniel “Danny” Reagan: a seasoned detective and also former Marine who saw combat in the Iraq War.  He is hard-nosed who, on occasion, uses dubious tactics to solve cases.  He is happily married with two sons.
• Erin Reagan-Boyle: the sole Reagan woman in the family.  She is an Assistant District Attorney and newly single parent.  She prosecutes many of the criminals Danny arrests and she also serves as the legal compass for her siblings and father.
• Jamison “Jamie” Reagan: the youngest Reagan and the family’s “golden boy.” Unable to deny the family tradition, Jamie decided to give up a lucrative future in law (he graduated from Harvard Law) and is now a rookie police officer.
• Henry Reagan: retired Police Commissioner, father of Frank and grandfather of Danny, Erin and Jamie.

Season 1 Recap

After an attempt on his life, Jamie finally came clean to his family about the covert investigation he has been doing on the Blue Templar (a group of dirty cops who the Reagan middle son, Joe, was investigating for the FBI.  He got murdered by them when his investigation into their corruption was getting too close).  Jamie was initially recruited by the FBI to continue Joe’s investigation but declined and did it on his own instead.

The Reagan family, now up to speed on the Blue Templar, decided to continue the investigation without informing Internal Affairs.  Good thing they did because apparently Alex Bello of Internal Affairs was part of the group.  Danny and Frank tried to follow and track the suspected members who were able to get $12 Million in cash and $12 Million in heroin from an inside info on a drug case.  With Erin’s help, they were able to gather sufficient evidence to obtain arrest warrants.   The Blue Templar members were all planning on getting out of the country, but luckily, Frank and a team of police officers, including Danny and Jamie were able to catch them in at a covert meeting while they are dividing up stolen drug money.  Frank asked which one of them killed his son Joe and a detective named Sonny Malevsky, the leader admits to killing him, saying that Joe was warned and Malevsky then committed suicide with his own service pistol after confessing to the murder.

Season 2

With a new showrunner, Ed Zuckerman (JAG, Law & Order), taking over the show after Mitchell Burgess or Robin Green (they left amid reports that CBS was planning on turning the series into a procedural), the show could go in a different direction.  Here’s what Zuckerman dished on what to expect on Season 2:

Two family members will have new romances.  Will it be Jamie and Erin?  How about Henry?  Speaking of Henry, he’ll have a bigger role this season other than just at home cooking dinner.  He’ll have lots to do like real life former commissioners who do many things.

Jaime will once again do undercover stuff, this time on an organized crime figure.  It will be a season long arc.  He will also have a pretty new partner who he knew back at the Academy.  She’s married but not happy in her marriage.  Will they hook up?

A new mayor is in town who comes from a community-organizing background that clashes with Frank’s background as an old law-and-order guy.  The two will but heads and, undoubtedly, there will be tension as the Reagans are a classic 20th century New York police family and this mayor is a very 21st century character.   And with a new mayor, comes changes in the city.

Starring

• Tom Selleck as Francis “Frank” Reagan
• Donnie Wahlberg as Daniel “Danny” Reagan
• Bridget Moynahan as Erin Reagan-Boyle
• Will Estes as Jamison “Jamie” Reagan
• Len Cariou as Henry Reagan

Season 2 Premiere

September 24, 2011 (FRIDAYS), 10/9c on CBS

Season 2 Promo

Spoilers

• Monica Raymund (Lie to Me) will play Leah Sosa, an accomplished rookie police officer who gets assigned to Jamie when his previous partner, Renzulli, gets bumped up the ranks to fill in as platoon commander.
• Carrie Underwood and Tony Bennett will play themselves performing a duet at a fundraiser for the newly appointed mayor which Frank and Erin attends

Blue Bloods Official Site

http://www.cbs.com/shows/blue_bloods/

Once upon a time… as all fairy tales start.  And when you were a kid, you know it always ends with …and they lived happily ever after.  But in ABC’s new fantasy drama series, Once Upon a Time, the road to ‘happily ever after’ may be more twisted and treacherous than your typical fairy tale.

Once Upon a Time

From former writers of Lost, Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis, in this revisionist retelling of your favorite classic children’s stories, you will find beloved characters like Snow White, Jiminy Cricket and Rumpelstiltskin in a much darker world.  The Evil Queen, has put a curse on the story book world to destroy their happy endings by freezing fairytale characters in the modern world with no memory of their former selves, sending all of its inhabitants to an absolutely horrible place, a place void of hope… a place in New England, in a sleepy town called Storybrooke.  Does this mean that there are no happy endings in the real world?  Well, that would suck for us.  The only one who can break the curse and for everyone to find their happy ending is Snow White’ and Prince Charming’s daughter, Emma Swan, who they sent away in order to be protected from the curse.

In present day Boston, Emma, now a grown up, gets an unexpected visit from her son, Henry, who she put up for adoption 10 years ago.  Henry found out about the curse by reading a book his teacher gave him and thinks his sleepy town, Storybrooke, is really part of a curse cast by the Evil Queen.  Of course, Emma doesn’t believe him and promptly returns him to his adoptive mother.  But her arrival in Storybrooke sets things in motion.

The series follows the characters as the battle to lift the curse ensues and their journey to finding their happy endings, along the way, I’m sure interesting back stories will be revealed.  Viewers will see familiar faces from their childhood fairy tales but not as what they’ve seen them before and they might not be the people you’ve believed them to be.  Does this mean that the Evil Queen may not be evil after all?  And with that logic, maybe Snow isn’t as perfect as we thought.  oooh… or maybe, Prince Charming is her son and that’s why she hates Snow White?  It explores questions on the fairy tales that we’ve never considered like: Why is she Snow White? Why did she fall in love with the prince? Why did the Queen hate her?  This seems like a promising show, it gives us a taste of nostalgia but with a modern and darker twist.  I have a feeling it’s going to be a whole lot of fun finding out about the answers to these questions.  Let’s just hope that unlike Lost, we’ll have the answers rather than more questions

Once Upon a Time Characters

• Emma Swan: a 28-year-old, strong and self-reliant bailbonds collector who is independent and knows how to taking care of herself.  Abandoned as a baby, she grew up in the foster care system and learned to rely only on herself, never letting anyone else get close enough to let her down.  She’s the daughter of Prince Charming/John Doe and Snow White/Mary Margaret Blanchard, and is Henry’s biological mother.
• Mary Margaret Blanchard: In the Enchanted Forest, she was the strong, competent and self-assured Snow White (a far cry from the demure damsel portrayed in fairy tales) who is Emma’s biological mother (and Henry’s grandmother).  She becomes Henry’s charitable and sensitive elementary school teacher in the Real World.
• Regina Mills: the icy, darkly beautiful Evil Queen of the Snow White fairy tale.  She becomes Henry’s adoptive mother and Storybrooke’s mayor in the Real World.  Despite the demands of her job, Regina is an extremely attentive mother to Henry but, at times, can be a bit overbearing.  With Emma’s arrival in Storybrooke, Regina senses the very real threat she presents to her relationship with Henry, so she is determined to keep Emma away from Henry.
• John Doe: in the Snow White fairy tale, he is the tall, noble and handsome Prince Charming, who married and had a daughter (Emma) with Snow White.  He is also a battle-tested warrior and leader of the Enchanted Forest’s War Council.  In the Real World, he is the unknown comatose patient at Storybrooke General Hospital and has been that way for as long as anyone can remember.  Day after day, when Mary Margaret volunteers at the hospital, she tends to him and replaces the flowers at his bedside, completely oblivious to their romantic connection.  Nobody knows who he is, what happened to him or if he’ll ever wake up.
• Henry: is Emma’s imaginative and strong-willed son whom she gave up for adoption ten years earlier.  Adopted by Regina Mills, he learns the truth behind Storybrooke from a book of fairy tales.  He looks for his biological mother with the hopes of convincing her to save the Enchanted Forest.
• Archie Hopper: Storybrooke’s eccentric and bookish, human resident psychiatrist in the Real World. In animated form, he is Jiminy Cricket, who may have a more colorful past than what we’ve seen in Pinocchio.  In The Enchanted Forest, he is a member of the War Council.  In the real world, just like in the fairy tale, he is never without his signature umbrella.
• Sheriff Graham: Storybrooke’s handsome and authoritative sheriff with a mysterious past.  He is level headed and competent, a man of action, always rising to the moment.  As sheriff, Graham works very closely with Regina, the town’s mayor. Perceptive and diplomatic, he has an easy rapport with everyone in town.  Henry remains unsure of Graham’s identity in Fairy Tale Land.  Maybe he’s the Evil Queen’s husband?
• Mr. Gold: Storybrooke’s wealthiest resident and pawnshop owner in the Real World. He helped build and “owns” the town.  A number of the citizens of Storybrooke actually appear to be more intimidated by him than they are by Mayor Regina. In the Enchanted Forest, he is Rumpelstiltskin, a gnomish, intense and crazy malevolent trickster who his payment in the form of firstborn children.

Starring

• Jennifer Morrison as Emma Swan
• Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White/Mary Margaret Blanchard
• Lana Parrilla as The Evil Queen/Regina Mills
• Josh Dallas as Prince Charming/John Doe
• Jared S. Gilmore as Henry
• Raphael Sbarge as Jiminy Cricket/Archie Hopper
• Jamie Dornan as Sheriff Graham
• Robert Carlyle as Rumpelstiltskin/Mr. Gold

Series Premiere

October 23, 2011 (SUNDAYS), 8/7c on ABC

Promo Video

Once Upon a Time Official Site

http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/once-upon-a-time

Funnyman Jonah Hill (Superbad) is not only a talented actor (he’s getting Oscar buzz on his portrayal of Peter Brand in Moneyball) but he is also a writer.  As a kid, he wanted to write for The Simpsons and SNL.  Well now, he’s the co-creator, co-writer, executive producer and voices to the lead in new Fox’s animated series called Allen Gregory.

Allen Gregory

The comedy series follows the wise-beyond-his-years, pretentious seven-year-old, Allen Gregory, who lived a charmed pre-school life hanging out with Sandra Bullock, allegedly composed operas, written novels and dated Chloë Sevigny.  Raised in the lap of luxury, his family has fallen on hard times when one of his two dads made bad investments.  He is forced to leave the safety of his other dad’s homeschooling and attend to public school with children his own age as his dad, Jeremy, decided to go back to work.

His mature ways make it hard for him to fit in as in his first day of school he sits down at lunch with his Louis Vuitton picnic basket, pulls out some sushi and a bottle of pinot grigio, and asks the kids if they caught Charlie Rose.  He promptly gets food thrown at him.  His struggle to adjust is not limited to his classmates as he clashes with the faculty as well.  His first meeting with his much-older principal takes a special (and somewhat creepy) turn.

He may have a hard time at school but at home (a stunning architectural loft), he is the apple of his doting father’s eye.  Allen and his dad, Richard, have an extraordinary father-son bond that is sometimes annoyingly interrupted by Richard’s boy toy/life partner, Jeremy.  He is pampered by his fathers, much to the chagrin Julie, adopted Cambodian older sister.

Allen Gregory joins the list of cartoon kid geniuses.  But while Dexter (Dexter’s Lab) was all about inventing cool gadgets in his secret lab while trying to evade his annoying sister, Stewie (Family Guy) who’s obsessed with world domination and matricide, Jimmy Neutron is about having fun adventures with his friends and Zim (Invader Zim) was all about invading Earth (okay, so technically Zim’s an alien but he pretended to be a kid)… Allen Gregory, at the heart of his story is about an outsider, who may put on a tough exterior but deep down, when all he wants is to fit in.  Well, that, and for Julie to run away and never be seen or heard from again. And Jeremy, too.

The premise, a fish-out-of-water kid, might not be original but the eclectic characters makes it an interesting show.  I’m fascinated with how more and more TV kids have same sex parents like Lily of Modern Family and Rachel of Glee.  And the adopted Cambodian older sister?  How very Brangelina.  This looks like a promising show and the fact that it’s an animated series, it can get away with things that regular shows can’t.

Allen Gregory Characters

• Allen Gregory DeLongpre: Potentially the most clever, entitled and pretentious child on earth.  For his father, Richard, he is worldly, artistic and romantic.  Due to financial reasons, he is forced to attend elementary school, which he considers is his greatest challenge yet.
• Richard DeLongpre: The proud birth father of Allen Gregory. In his eyes, his boy genius could do no wrong. Married to the younger, handsome Jeremy, Richard can be controlling, selfish and stubborn.  But he is nothing but loving and nurturing toward his son. Allen Gregory means the world to him.
• Jeremy DeLongpre: Richard’s life partner-husband whom Allen Gregory has minimal respect, if any at all.  A gorgeous brute who took Richard’s last name when they became husband and husband several years ago.  He is shy and lacks confidence, but he has a huge heart.  He has decided to go back to work, which causes quite a stir with Allen Gregory since Jeremy was responsible for his home-schooling.
• Patrick: the one kid at school who sees something special in Allen Gregory and looks up to him. And Allen Gregory thinks Patrick is special for realizing his specialness. Allen’s delusional behavior can sometimes give Patrick slight pause buy his easy-breezy attitude enables him to quickly shrug it off. He quickly becomes Allen Gregory’s best friend/assistant.
• Julie DeLongpre: Allen’s 11-year-old adopted sister from Cambodia. She absolutely despises Allen Gregory, if not both of her fathers and life in general.  At school she has her two best friends, Beth and Val, but they aren’t exactly high on the social structure. So she isn’t looking forward to Allen Gregory coming and rubbing his perfectness in her face day in and day out. But Julie is surprised/elated by the discovery that her brother isn’t accepted by the other kids.
• Principal Judith Gottlieb: the 68-year-old principal.  Has a unique relationship with Allen.
• Gina Winthrop: Allen’s by-the-book second grade teacher he prefers to refer to by her first name instead of Mrs. Winthrop as is customary.
• Superintendent Stewart Rossmyre: school superintendent who believes the De Longpres are a tremendous asset to the school.
• Joel Zadak: the school’s popular stud whom Allen is desperate to be best friends with.

Starring

• Jonah Hill as Allen Gregory DeLongpre
• French Stewart as Richard DeLongpre
• Nat Faxon as Jeremy DeLongpre
• Christina Puccelli as Patrick
• Joy Osmanski as Julie
• Will Forte as Superintendent Rossmyre
• Renée Taylor as Principal Gottlieb
• Leslie Mann as Gina Winthrop

Series Premiere

October 30, 2011 (SUNDAYS), 8/7c on FOX

Promo Video

Allen Gregory Official Site

http://www.fox.com/allen-gregory/

In Home Improvement, we saw Tim Allen as Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor in a ‘manly’ setting surrounded by power tools, cars, beer and dad to three rambunctious boys.  In ABC’s new comedy sitcom, Last Man Standing, Allen returns to TV as Mike Baxter, still with a ‘manly’ job in an outdoor sports company where there is fishing and hunting.  But this time, he is a grandpa in a household filled with women.

Last Man Standing

The series follows Mike Baxter who works at the sporting goods man-cave, Outdoor Man, where he was taken off from his thrilling magazine expositions and stuck in front of the computer to supervise the company’s website.  His wife receives a promotion at work so he must spend more time with his three daughters who are not prepared for their old-fashioned, hotheaded father to take over.  Fighting to reclaim his masculinity within a female-dominated household, he expresses his biggest concern with the 21st century: “What happened to men?”  In today’s overly metrosexual world, Mike takes as stand as the The Last Man Standing.

I know I’m a reality TV junkie… but this premise reminds of Keeping Up with the Kardashians.  You have Bruce Jenner, an athlete and an Olympic decathlon champion, who is surrounded by women in his family (they both even have a baby boy grandkid) and very hands on with the kids now that Kris Jenner is has her hands full with the older daughters’ careers.  Is this art imitating ‘scripted’ life?  Although, in the “reality’s” case, Bruce seems to embrace the estrogen-filled life.

Last Man Standing Characters

• Mike Baxter: A typical man’s man who is a marketing director of Outdoor Man.  He is trying to survive living in woman’s world and with the help of his co-workers, Ed and Kyle, he uses the Outdoor Man video log to vent his aggression towards today’s overly metrosexual world.
• Vanessa Baxter: Mike’s dedicated wife and caring mother/grandmother.  A wisecracking geologist, she took a break from her career to raise her three children and recently re-entered the work force.  She received a promotion shortly after, leaving less time for her family, prompting Mike to step up with the parenting
• Kristin Baxter: the eldest daughter and an independent 20-year-old single mom to Boyd.  She has a more of a liberal approach to raising him for Mike’s taste.  She works as a waitress in a diner and recently moved back in with her family.
• Mandy Baxter:  A self-centered 17-year-old who loves spending her father’s weekly income during “Shop ’til you Drop Saturday.” She spends her free time updating her website, Mandyland, and going out for mani-pedis with her boyfriend, Travis.  She’s a typical teen who texts, blogs and vlogs.
• Eve Baxter: the youngest daughter who is a bit of a tomboy.  Tough and athletic, she plays soccer and isn’t interested in clothes, make-up or what her hair looks like.  She is Mike’s little buddy.
• Ed Alzate: Mike’s thick-skinned, opinionated boss and owner of Outdoor Man.  He wrote the book on how to live a man’s life and coaches Mike on problems at work as well as at home.
• Kyle: Mike’s charming, naive subordinate desperately in need of a dominant male role model.  He does mindless, humiliating tasks at Outdoor Man that no one else will do.

Starring

• Tim Allen as Mike Baxter
• Nancy Travis as Vanessa Baxter
• Alexandra Krosney as Kristin Baxter
• Molly Ephraim as Mandy Baxter
• Kaitlyn Dever as Eve Baxter
• Christoph Sanders as Kyle
• Héctor Elizondo as Ed Alzate

Series Premiere

October 11, 2011 (TUEDAYS), 8/7c on ABC

Promo Video

Last Man Standing Official Site

http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/last-man-standing

If there’s one thing we’ve learned about the suburbs from movies (Stepford Wives, American Beauty) and TV series (Desperate Housewives, Weeds) is that the its picture-perfect façade is not always what is seems.  Just as the Altmans learned when they moved to the ‘burbs’ in ABC’s new sitcom, Suburgatory.  In this comedy series, the suburbs can be scary yet also hilarious.

Suburgatory

Doing his best to raise his sixteen-year-old daughter, single dad George Altman decides to pack up their lives and move to a more wholesome and nurturing environment when he discovers a box of condoms in her bedroom.  They trade in the city that never sleeps for the suburban life with its better school and cleaner air.  But behind the picket fences, perfectly manicured lawns and tree-lined streets lurk the zombie stroller moms who liypsync to gangster rap, spray tans, lawnvy & garden hoses, nose jobs, and Red Bull-guzzling teens who have nothing in common with hi daughter, Tessa.  They found themselves in a whole new world: a town made of plastic where the teeth are whiter, the clothes are tighter (even dogs have nicer hair), the teachers are fools and the boys are tools…where it’s not quite hell… it’s Suburgatory.

Helping them navigate the pitfalls of suburban life are suburbanites Noah, George’s old college friend, flirty Alpha mom Dallas and awkward classmate Lisa.  With time, they might even find that it isn’t so bad. Once they get past the plastic smell.

Suburgatory Characters

• Tessa Altman: a sarcastic, street-smart Manhattan born and bred teen who has been raised for the last fifteen years by her single father, George. She dreads the idea of ​​living in the suburbs.
• George Altman: Tessa’s well-meaning architect father.
• Dalia Royce:  George’s and Tessa’s neighbor who quickly becomes her nemesis at school.
• Dallas Royce: Dalia’s mother and a well-to-do housewife and the. She tells George that her absentee husband “travels a lot”
• Lisa Shay: a socially awkward girl at school who befriends Tessa.
• Noah Werner: George’s college buddy and a dentist who moved to the suburbs some years earlier.
• Mr. Wolfe: Tessa’s clueless guidance counselor.

Starring

• Jane Levy as Tessa Altman
• Jeremy Sisto as George Altman
• Cheryl Hines as Dallas Royce
• Carly Chaikin as Dalia Royce
• Allie Grant as Lisa Shay
• Alan Tudyk as Noah Werner
• Rex Lee as Mr. Wolfe

Series Premiere

September 28, 2011 (WEDNESDAYS), 8:30/7:30c on ABC

Promo Video

Spoilers

• Dan Byrd (Cougar Town) will guest star as Josh Sherman, Chatswin High’s latest transplant and Tessa’s new ally—or so she thinks.

Suburgatory Official Site

http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/suburgatory

There is nothing neat and tidy about being a parent.  You care so much that when things go wrong, it rocks your world.  You go through countless ups and downs with your kids, from pregnancy/infancy to when they graduate and even when they have families on their own—being a parent is an absurd journey.

Parenthood

NBC’s comedy-drama, Parenthood, is a funny, entertaining and relatable series about the real pain and the challenges of being a parent.  The show revolves around the trials and tribulations of the very large, very colorful and imperfect Braverman family which has expanded to three generations.  It follows patriarch Zeek Braverman and matriarch Camille Braverman with their four kids: Adam, Sarah, Crosby and Julia and their families.  Each sibling and family has its own share of everyday challenges to grapple with but they manage to be there for each other in their times of need.

With a big ensemble cast, the show has a lot to work with.  There are so many issues they can touch on: sex, love, marital issues, rebellious teen, adoption, moving out, new baby, raising kids, moving in, moving on, growing up, family/sibling relationships, growing old, homework, careers, home life, midlife crisis, life crisis… the list can go on and on.  What’s great about this series is that it is very relatable—from their relationships with each other, their personalities and to the problems and issues they are dealing with.  Parenthood’s appeal is that you recognize these characters from your life and the problems that they have are your problems too.  You know them because they are your family.

Parenthood Characters

The Parents

• Zeek Braverman: the patriarch of the Braverman family, Camille’s husband and the larger-than-life, headstrong father of Adam, Sarah, Crosby, and Julia.
• Camille Braverman: the matriarch and pillar-of-strength of the family.

Adam Braverman and his Family

• Adam Braverman: affable and dependable, he the oldest Braverman child and all of his siblings and parents consult him in times of crisis.
• Kristina Braverman: Adam’s quietly forceful wife, and a source of stability and support for anyone who needs it. Mother to Haddie and Max.
• Haddie Braverman: Adam’s and Kristina’s teenage daughter. A straight-A student who plays soccer and has several friends.
• Max Braverman: Adam’s and Kristina’s pre-teen son who was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome.

Sarah Braverman and her Family

• Sarah Braverman: the second child and oldest daughter. She and her two teenaged kids.  She moved back into her parents’ house because of her financial situation.  She is divorced from her rocker husband Seth.
• Amber Holt: Sarah’s rebellious, willful, and not very studious daughter.
• Drew Holt: Sarah’s sullen and sensitive son who longs for a male role model.

Crosby Braverman and his Family

• Crosby Braverman: an unmarried, commitment-phobe small-time record producer. He recently met his son, Jabbar, with former lover Jasmine five years after his birth.  He is now helping raise Jabbar.
• Jasmine Trussell: a dancer, the mother of Crosby’s son Jabbar.
• Jabbar Trussell-Braverman: Jasmine & Crosby’s son.

Julia Braverman-Graham and her Family

• Julia Braverman-Graham: the youngest of the Braverman siblings.  Competitive and a go-getter, she is a lawyer at a top corporate firm.
• Joel Graham: Julia’s husband who is a licensed contractor but decided to be a stay-at-home father to support Julia’s ambitions.  He sometimes finds himself starved for adult interaction.  He is popular among the stay-at-home mothers in their social circle at Sydney’s school, a fact which sometimes puts strains on his marriage.
• Sydney Graham: Julia and Joel’s daughter.  A “daddy’s girl” who has been identified as being gifted.

Season 2 Recap

Season 2 ended with major cliffhangers.   Let’s sort them out by family

Adam Braverman and his Family

Adam lost his job of 15 years due to tensions with his new boss.  It couldn’t have happen in a worse time as they found out that they are pregnant again.  Haddie has started having sex, to the horror of her parents when they overheard them doing it from an accidental phone call.

Sarah Braverman and her Family

Sarah found a new passion in writing and made a stage-play which her father passed to his friend who is well-connected in Broadway.  It ended up being produced.  Seth came up for a visit and bonded with Drew.  But Seth ended up disappointing him once again.

Strong-willed Amber quit her job at Julia’s law firm and began to fall down a dangerous and destructive path.  She clashed more and more with her mom and was smoking pot and taking illegal drugs, failed her SATs and got rejected from both colleges she applied to.  After Sarah and Drew tried to stop her from leaving, Amber rode off with her boyfriend Gary.  Both high on marijuana, they run a red light and got sideswiped by an SUV on Amber’s side, tossing them violently within the vehicle.

Crosby Braverman and his Family

Crosby and Jasmine’s relationship got more serious and they got engaged.  But their wedding plans were dashed when Crosby had an affair during a “figuring things out” period after an argument.  Wanting to win back Jasmine, Crosby bought a house to prove to her that he is responsible and mature.  But the house needs major repairs for it to be livable, so he enlisted the help of Joel.

Julia Braverman-Graham and her Family

Unsuccessfully trying to conceive a second child, Julia is told she has scarring in her uterus and that it will be extremely difficult for her to conceive again.  After unexpectedly playing a significant role in a woman’s labor and delivery, Julia realized that she wants to adopt.

Season 3

Adam Braverman and his Family

Kristina is going back to work to support her family during Adam’s unemployment.  She is pregnant will be giving birth soon.  The couple will once again be parents to a newborn but this time during middle age.  Will they have the same energy as they used to?  They also have to deal with the possibility that the child could also have Asperger’s.  Unemployed for months, Adam feels the stress of providing for his pregnant wife and family.  He deals with job hunting in a bad economy.  Would a business venture with Crosby the solution?  Haddie enters her senior year.  She will continue to assert her independence and experiment with things that are against her “good girl” image.  Boyfriend Alex’s demons and skeletons in his closet will be revealed and the couple will go through relationship speed bumps.  Will they come out of it unscathed?  Max, found to be academically gifted, is mainstreamed into normal school to challenge him academically.  He’s having a hard time making friends, he may be academically above most kids his age and older but socially behind others his age.

Sarah Braverman and her Family

Could Sarah be finally lucky in career and romance?  An old flame returns to the scene and her play is being produced.  Will love be sweeter the second time around?  Could things be looking up for her in the career department as playwright?  Amber, wanting to start fresh from her previous troubles, decides to move out and seek independence.   Being an independent person herself, Sarah understands but it doesn’t mean she’s not gonna get emotional about it.  Sarah strives to remain a part of Amber’s life.  With no college prospects, Amber has to decide what to do with her life as she explores the real world and see what’s out there.  Like his mom, Drew will be lucky in the romance department with the help of Grandpa Zeek.  He will have a have a potential love interest that could help him come out of his shell.  Dad, Seth, also reappears once again.  Will he bring him trouble for his kids and ex-wife?

Crosby Braverman and his Family

Crosby and Jasmine decided to split up but they will have to explain to Jabbar that they will not be getting married.  Crosby will be dealing with Jasmine dating other men as they co-parent Jabbar.  He is also planning to pursue a business venture but he wants to do it with Adam.  If they push through with this business venture, will they get along as business partners?  Jabbar helps out cousin Max in his first days at mainstream school.  But something happens that ends up with friction between Crosby and Adam.

Julia Braverman-Graham and her Family

Julia and Joel proceed with adopting another kid.  They go thru the rigorous process of adoption.  Will they be successful?

Starring

• Craig T. Nelson as Zeek Braverman
• Bonnie Bedelia as Camille Braverman
• Peter Krause as Adam Braverman
• Monica Potter as Kristina Braverman
• Sarah Ramos as Haddie Braverman
• Max Burkholder as Max Braverman
• Lauren Graham as Sarah Sarah Braverman
• Mae Whitman as Amber Holt
• Miles Heizer as Drew Holt
• Dax Shepard as Crosby Braverman
• Joy Bryant as Jasmine Trussell
• Tyree Brown as Jabbar Trussell-Braverman
• Erika Christensen as Julia Braverman-Graham
• Sam Jaeger as Joel Graham
• Savannah Paige Rae as Sydney Graham

Season 3 Premiere

September 13, 2011 (TUEDAYS), 10/9c on NBC

Season 3 Promo

Spoilers

• Cee Lo Green guest stars as himself who will be Adam and Crosby’s first potential client
• Rafi Gavron (Life Unexpected) guest stars as Troy Quinn, the deadbeat but charming boyfriend of preggo coffee girl Zoe.  He meets with the Julia and Joel and shocks them when he demands serious monetary compensation for Zoe’s “services.”
• Alexandra Daddario (White Collar) will guest star as Adam and Crosby’s receptionist.  She will have a story arc for a couple of episodes.

Parenthood Official Site

http://www.nbc.com/parenthood/

The Middle is ABC’s warm and witty comedy series about raising a family and lowering your expectations.  Using the mother’s point of view of Frankie Heck, it sheds light on the lives of a middle-class family in the Midwest.  Narrated by Frankie, it follows her and her dysfunctional family with their peculiar idiosyncrasies in an Indiana suburb while attempting to lead a normal, everyday life with her family. But the Heck family is very far removed from “normal.”

The Middle

A loving wife and mother of three, Frankie is rapidly approaching middle age.  She may not be a high-powered career woman, but when it comes to her family, she’ll go to just about any length.  Getting her kids out the door for school every morning is a superheroic act for the harried wife and working mother.  She uses her wry wit and sense of humor to try to get her family through each day intact.  And sometimes it seems like everyone is trying to get to the top, or struggling not to hit bottom, but somehow the Heck family finds a lot of love and a lot of laughs, somewhere in The Middle.

When I first saw one of the episodes of this show, I immediately thought of Malcolm in the Middle (MITM).  It had the same dysfunctional family, a yelling, out-of-control mother (plus the fact that I confuse Patricia Heaton with Jane Kaczmarek), semi-clueless dad, the youngest child looks so much like Dewey (who is also smart and a bit quirky), that I first thought it was the same child actor and both shows have the word ‘Middle’ on it.  The difference I noticed was that the narrating is done by the mom and there’s a daughter.  While MITM had four rambunctious boys, the Heck family is just as chaotic.  And like MITM, it’s funny, sharp, witty and about a family, who at the end of the day, love one another.  It has nabbed notable actors/actresses like Doris Roberts, Brooke Shields and Betty White as guest stars.

I loved watching MITM and their offbeat family (whose family name was never mentioned out loud during the whole series…unless you were quick enough to read it on the pilot episode) and missed it when it went off air.  For me, The Middle fills in the void left by MITM.

The Middle Characters

The Middle follows the Heck family.

• Frankie Heck: the matriarch of the Heck household, is a devoted wife and mother and sees family as the most important thing in her life.  She currently works as a salesperson at local car dealership.
• Mike Heck: Frankie’s husband.  A man of few words who is known for his blunt honesty and somewhat old-fashioned ways. Mike works at the quarry as the manager and despite his no-nonsense approach to work and family, he is a devoted husband who always seems to come through for Frankie when she needs it most.
• Axl Heck: the eldest son.  He is athletic with a penchant for wearing nothing more than boxer shorts most of the time at home.  He is the stereotypical older brother: sarcastic, lazy, and mean to his siblings (but sometimes shows flashes of kindness to his family). He is a trial for Frankie, who wishes he would be more open with her.
• Sue Heck: the socially awkward early-teen middle child. She seems to fail at everything she tries out for, but her absurd optimism and determination keep her trying again and again.  Sue is often unrecognized by her teachers and peers.
• Brick Heck: the youngest of the brood.  A bookworm with a weird habit of repeating words from his previous sentence to himself in a whisper.  He is exceptionally intelligent and gifted with an eidetic memory but gets easily distracted, leading him to procrastinate or forget homework assignments and projects.  Due to his awkwardness, he struggles to make friends.
• Bob: is Frankie’s best friend at work.  He is often depicted as a lonely person. He has a not so subtle way of trying to help out with the Heck’s problems when Frankie confides in him, which tends to rub Mike up the wrong way.
• Don Ehlert: is Frankie’s boss and the owner of the car dealership where she and Bob work.  He is a crass, self-absorbed, rather sleazy man.

Season 2 Recap

In Season 2, the Hecks barely survived another school year.  The finale is set three days before summer vacation starts.  But before Frankie can finally take a break from worrying about her kids’ school activities and requirements, panic ensues when she finds out that Brick needs to write a daily journal in order to move up to the fourth grade and Axl hasn’t fulfilled his required 30 hours of community service.  Sue graduates from middle school but, as usual, the stars have not lined up for her when an error could take away her perfect attendance award and she must prove that she never took a sick day from school in order to receive the award at the graduation ceremony.

Season 3

Season 3 is a whole new year of family trouble, but we’re sure they’ll find a way to handle everything with comedic flair.  It starts with the Hecks going on one last vacation before another school year begins.  This comes about when Frankie hears about the neighbors’ vacations and she realizes she’s hardly seen the kids all summer. She convinces Mike that they should go on a family bonding trip that is quick to plan and cheap, the answer—camping.  The kids protest the last minute trip but they find themselves crammed into the car the next day to begin their “forced family vacation” (as Frankie aptly named it). As usual, things don’t go smoothly.  The whole camping trip reminds Frankie of her terrible experience the last time she and Mike went camping during their honeymoon.  The premiere episode will also show flashbacks of the honeymoon where viewers will see a familiar face.  In this episode, Ray Romano reunites with Patricia Heaton, his TV wife in Everybody Loves Raymond, as he guest stars as Nicky Kohlbrenner, the man from known for ruining Mike and Frankie’s honeymoon.

With the kids are always up to something, this season is sure to be filled with humorous surprises.  Sue navigates the perils of high school where she embarrasses big brother Axl.  Will she find something she’ll excel at in high school?  Axl, on the other hand, finds creative ways to avoid taking his tests.  But with the PSATs coming up, Frankie faces the daunting task of trying to make him study.  Brick still needs to learn to be more sociable, but he has found a new friend in a librarian.

A major drama will unfold as Frankie finds herself in the middle of a crisis.  Will the stress of trying to get her family through each day intact finally get to her?  A horrifyingly embarrassing incident becomes the last straw and forces Frankie to re-examine things and pack up to leave for her mom’s.  She announces to her family that changes will need to be made but leaves it up to them to figure out.

Starring

• Patricia Heaton as Frankie Heck
• Neil Flynn as Mike Heck
• Charlie McDermott as Axl Heck
• Eden Sher as Sue Heck
• Atticus Shaffer as Brick Heck
• Chris Kattan as Bob
• Brian Doyle-Murray as Don Ehlert

Season 3 Premiere

September 21, 2011 (WEDNESDAYS), 8/7c on ABC

Season 3 Promo

Spoilers

• Chord Overstreet (Glee) guest stars as Ralph Wilkerson, the eccentric fourth grade teacher of Brick whose unconventional educational style irks Frankie and Mike.

The Middle Official Site

http://abc.go.com/shows/the-middle

The things that environmentalists have been warning us about: overpopulation, dwindling air quality, depleted natural resources and the threat of extinction, gets realized in 2149 with Fox’s Terra Nova.  During this time, the world is dying.  There is almost no vegetation, the planet is overdeveloped, overcrowded and it has become virtually impossible for humanity to survive—the only hope is the past.

Terra Nova

A chance to save mankind lies in the space-time rift that scientists have discovered.  The rift allows people to travel 85 million years back in time to the late Cretaceous period of a prehistoric Earth.  In a daring experiment to save the human race, they resettled humanity in the past for a second chance to rebuild civilization and get it right this time.  This new series follows the ordinary Shannon family in their incredible journey as they become part of the first human colony on the other side of the temporal doorway.  They enter a world where pollution and smog did not exist.  It seems like a place of new opportunities and fresh beginnings with its blue skies, towering waterfalls and lush vegetation. But in this idyllic place, danger lurks in every corner.  They face carnivorous dinosaurs, a splinter colony of renegades with a secret agenda … and even more threatening than what lies outside the protective walls of the colony is the chilling possibility that something sinister is happening inside Terra Nova.  There may be forces intent on destroying this new world before it even begins.

This science-fiction drama kinda feels like Lost meets Jurassic Park with a futuristic twist.  It’s got Steven Speilberg attached as an Executive Producer.  With the success of the many movies and TV series he has produced, Terra Nova should be another one to watch out for.

Terra Nova Characters

The Shannon family gets a chance to join the Tenth Pilgrimage of settlers to Terra Nova when trauma surgeon Elisabeth Shannon gets recruited to be the newest addition to its medical team along with her two older kids.  She is married to police officer and devoted father, James “Jim” Shannon, with a complicated past.  He is sentenced to six years in prison after assaulting a fellow police officer after it is discovered that he and his wife broke the law by having a third child.  Elizabeth helps him escape prison so he and their youngest child can accompany the family to Terra Nova.

Completing the family are their three kids: 17-year-old son, Josh Shannon who is reluctant to leave his girlfriend behind.  Upon arriving at the settlement, he finds himself instantly drawn to the beautiful and rule-breaking Skye.  She’s a veteran resident of Terra Nova who guides Josh. Her parents have reportedly died.  Josh’s younger sister is the endearingly awkward 15-year-old Maddy Shannon.  An intelligent teen who hopes to reinvent herself in Terra Nova and develops a crush on soldier, Mark Reynolds.  The youngest of the brood is five-year-old Zoe Shannon.  With a law that all families are restricted to no more than two children, she was kept hidden until police officers raid the Shannon residence and arrest Jim.  There’s a secret involving her that soon endangers their place Terra Nova.

When the family arrives in Terra Nova, they meet the charismatic leader of the settlement, Commander Nathaniel Taylor.  He was the first person to arrive in the settlement and survived the first four months on his own, then began building a community as new settlers came through.  He was none-too-pleased with escaped prisoner Jim’s arrival but makes him part of his security team when Jim saves his life.  Commander Taylor is facing opposition from a splinter colony of renegades led by the battle-hardened Mira, who is vehemently opposed to Taylor and his leadership.  Mira is the leader of the rebel group Sixers, because they arrived on the sixth pilgrimage, who opposes Terra Nova.

Starring

• Jason O’Mara as James “Jim” Shannon
• Shelley Conn as Elisabeth Shannon
• Landon Liboiron as Josh Shannon
• Naomi Scott as Maddy Shannon
• Alana Mansour as Zoe Shannon
• Stephen Lang as Commander Nathaniel Taylor
• Christine Adams as Mira
• Allison Miller as Skye

Series Premiere

September 26, 2011 (MONDAYS), 8/7c on Fox

Promo Video

Terra Nova Official Site

http://www.fox.com/terranova/

America’s Next Top Model (ANTM) used to be one of my guilty pleasures.  There’s just something fascinating about the girl next door or plain looking girl transformed into a glamorous model with an over-the-top make over, hair and make up, with talented photographers and, perhaps, photoshop.  Never mind that the show hasn’t exactly produced any actual supermodels.

America’s Next Top Model (Cycle 17)

In ANTM, a number of women compete for the title of America’s Next Top Model and a chance to start their career in the modeling industry.  And as they learn their signature walk and how to smize or “smile with their eyes”, the high-stress, high-stakes world of a reality modeling competition leads to a lot of drama, fights and meltdowns.

This cycle promises complicated catwalks, ambitious fashion photo shoots and work to carefully craft their public personas.  After a watching a couple of cycles of ANTM, I don’t know how they can come up with new things to top what they have done in the previous cycles.  I have seen a runway challenge with fire, a runway suspended over water, a four-story high runway (the contestants tried not to fall off the edge) and swinging pendulums.  With the cast that they have, I’d say, expect, instead, a lot of cat fights and trouble.

Cycle 17 All-Stars Contestants

Cycle 17, also known as America’s Next Top Model: All-Stars, brings back familiar faces from previous cycles.  A cast of fan favorites and outrageous characters from previous cycles return for a second chance to be America’s Next Top Model.  Honestly, I think they chose the previous contestants who caused trouble and friction to bring in a lot of drama for the show.

Shannon Ratliff (Cycle 1,runner-up) – She refused to participate in the nude photo shoot due to her religious beliefs.  After the show, she competed in the Miss Ohio USA 2004 (she placed second) and in 2006 (made it to the semifinals).

• Camille McDonald (Cycle 2, 5th place) – she was known to have an arrogant and stubborn attitude.
• Brittany Brower (Cycle 4, 4th place) – she was criticized by the judges for looking too sexy in her photos. When she reeled it in, the judges then decided that she was losing her personality and she was consequently eliminated.
• Lisa D’Amato (Cycle 5, 6th place) – the “most notorious” of the models who was not scared to speak her mind to the other contestants. With her wacky personality, she would run around the contestants’ house with wigs, masks and weird outfits.  One time after getting drunk, she had a long conversation with a Pampas Grass bush in the backyard who she named “Cousin It”.  It was hinted during the show that she my have an alcohol problem.  Post ANTM, she dated Robbie Williams and was part of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew Season 3.  She’s also a singer and recently released her sophomore album titled Flippin’ the Bird (one of her singles was featured on HBO’s Entourage).
• Brittany “Bre” Scullark (Cycle 5, 3rd place) – she had a huge freak out over her stolen granola bars on cycle 5.  Lisa D’Amato recently admitted that she was the one who took the granola bars.  This should be interesting with Lisa also joining Cycle 17.
• Bianca Golden (Cycle 9, 4th place) – her most memorable moment was her makeover meltdown when Tyra shaved her head.  She was considered the season’s villain with her loud and abrasive demeanor and known for causing trouble.
• Dominique Reighard (Cycle 10, 4th place) – in cycle 10, Tyra opened an extra slot for her.  She had a rough time during the competition with the judges’ main criticism of her facial features being “very drag.”
• Isis King (Cycle 11, 10th place) – known for being the first trans woman to compete on the show.  She was part of Cycle 10’s photo shoot with a theme that centered on the issue of homeless youth.  Real homeless women were be used as background models where she was one of them.  After encouragement from Tyra Banks, she joined the competition the next cycle.  She has since completed her gender reassignment surgery and is now one of the most recognized transgenders on television
• Sheena Sakai (Cycle 11, 6th place) – Judges had issues with her suggestive poses during photo shoots.  It was also discovered that she had breast implants.
• Allison Harvard (Cycle 12, runner-up) – she was one of the judges’ faves with her unique, doll-like face.  In her audition, she candidly described her penchant for blood and fascination for nosebleeds.  Before she joined the competition, she was both appreciated and feared on the “/b/” board on 4chan—the birthplace of the internet’s greatest memes and most felonious pranks.  Anonymous members had dubbed her “Creepy Chan.”
• Laura Kirkpatrick (Cycle 13, runner-up) – She was part of the cycle that featured “petite” girls, meaning no taller than 5’7”.  She’s actually one of the few nice ones in this cycle, as she’s known for her bubbly attitude and charming personality.  She is one of the show’s most-loved contestants.  Her current claim to fame is the dyslexia foundation she started called “The Beautiful Minds.”
• Angelea Preston (Cycle 14, 3rd/4th place) – With her explosive personality, she was often the source of all the drama that went down in the house.  She got her the reputation of being a troublemaker and constantly picked fights with the other girls.
• Kayla Ferrel (Cycle 15, 3rd/4th place) – Her goal was to become the first out lesbian winner.  Will she be able to achieve it this time around?
• Alexandria Everett (Cycle 16, 4th place) –she producing great photos throughout the cycle but her bad attitude got her into trouble with her fellow contestants and with the judges.

America’s Next Top Model Judges

• Tyra Banks – head judge of the show.  She’s a former model and the show’s creator.
• Nigel Barker:  introduced in the show as a noted fashion photographer.  He was also a former model.
• André Leon Talley:  the former American editor-at-large for Vogue magazine.  He has been a front-row regular at fashion shows in New York, Paris, London and Milan for more than 25 years.

J. Alexander (or called Miss J in the show to distinguish him from Jay Manuel) is the show’s runway coach.  Tyra coined the title Queen of the Catwalk for him.  Jay Manuel is the show’s photo shoot director.

The Prize

The winner will receive a spread in Vogue Italia, the cover of and a spread in Beauty in Vogue, a blog on Vogue.it, a $100,000 contract with CoverGirl cosmetics, an Express fashion campaign and the chance to be a correspondent on Extra.

Cycle 17 Premiere

September 14, 2011 (WEDNESDAY), 9/8c on The CW

Promo Video

America’s Next Top Model (Cycle 17) Official Site

http://www.cwtv.com/shows/americas-next-top-model

In the wake of 9/11, more and more emphasis has been placed on safety and security.  CBS’ new show, Person of Interest, is set on a post-9/11 world where the government reads people’s email, listen to phone conversations and monitors surveillance cameras to pick the terrorists out of the general population.

Person of Interest

A software genius, Finch, constructs a behemoth of a computer for the U.S. government that turns every video camera, cell phone and other audio or visual signal, into a giant spy network and analyzes the data to flag possible terrorist threats.  Created to prevent terror attacks, the computer, called ‘The Machine’, can also predict “irrelevant” crimes by identifying people who are about to be involved in smaller yet nonetheless violent and serious crimes.

Finch hacks into ‘The Machine’ through a backdoor he built into it so he can get the information on the crimes about to be committed in order to stop it from happening.  But there are limitations—it only provides a list of Social Security numbers of the person connected to the crime but it doesn’t reveal if the person will be a victim, perpetrator or witness; nor can it predict when or where the crime will take place.  Finch, obviously the brain in the whole rogue operation, needs muscle to prevent the crimes from ocurring.  Enter John Reese.  Finch recruits the former CIA agent to help him with his quest.  They team up to serve unofficial justice.

This crime thriller feels a little bit like Tom Cruise’s Minority Report but with a faulty crime predictor (and without the creepy precogs).  It’s a compelling series that has advanced technology, action scenes and a dark story shrouded in mystery.  It also poses the question of how willing are we to trade our privacy for security?  I could almost see how this would go—weekly episodes could show the different crimes they need to stop, a major story arc could be the backstory of both characters (why the world thinks both are dead) as well as how ‘The Machine’ came to be invented and Detective Carter character could be a thorn in Reese’s side or she might join their team.  And if the series sticks around longer, they could add a complication like the government finding out about their brand of vigilante justice.  But that’s just one option, there are a lot of other possible twists and turns the series could lead to.

The faulty computer program can actually work for the series; it makes the Person of Interest a somewhat unpredictable show since the viewers, like Finch and Reese, won’t know whether the “person of interest” that episode is the good guy or the bad guy.  An innocent looking person could actually turn out to be the killer or a bad person might be the victim of the violent crime.  There’s also the big possibility that they won’t be able to stop the crime all the time (unlike most police procedural shows), so it’ll be interesting to see how the two main characters would deal with the failures.

The Characters in Person of Interest

The reclusive Harold Finch, presumed to be dead is a mysterious billionaire software genius.  Known simply as Finch, he created a next-generation software, ‘The Machine’, for the government designed to prevent terrorist attacks.  ‘The Machine’ can also predict violent crimes and he taps into it to get info so he can prevent the crime.

He approaches former elite CIA operative and Special Forces soldier, John Reese, for help because of his special training in covert operations.  Reese, who’s lost his faith and spiraled into drunken depression (looking like a homeless person) after a personal trauma.  Like Finch, he is also presumed dead.

As they stop crimes, Reese blackmails a corrupt cop, Detective Lionel Fusco, into being a source inside the police department.

He also crosses paths with Detective Carter, NYPD officer who starts to investigate him.

Starring

• Michael Emerson as Mr. Harold Finch
• Jim Caviezel as John Reese
• Taraji P. Henson as Detective Carter
• Kevin Chapman as Detective Lionel Fusco

Series Premiere

September 22, 2011 (THURSDAY), 9/8c on CBS

Promo Video

Person of Interest Official Site

http://www.cbs.com/shows/person_of_interest/