Tivo or Forgo...

Ok so it's that time of year again when my tivo and probably yours is bursting at the seams with all of the new Fall pilots. So far, some have been great and some have been...not so great (I'm looking at you "Free Agents" and "Whitney"). Well don't worry I'm here to help and watch some of this crap so you don't have to. Here are two of my recommendations to either tivo or forgo. I'll give you the bad news first...

Charlie's Angels

I don't even know where to start. Ok, the pilot started with a predictable car bomb killing one of the original angels and leaving the door open for none other than Lyla Garrity (if you don't get that reference for the love of God please watch Friday Night Lights, what the hell are you waiting for)...ahem I mean Minka Kelly, Derek Jeter's ex and the kind of beautiful that keep the rest of us going to the gym every day. Minka is one of the three ridiculously beautiful (and tiny) angels. The least they could have done is cast some women that look like they may be able to kick a little ass (e.g. Eliza Dushku) so when they start throwing around giant men, it might be slightly believable. 

The acting is terrible, almost laughable at times, and not in that intentionally cheesy Aaron Spelling way that made the 70's version a huge hit. Lines like "we're angels" that worked when Farrah said them, just seem silly now...and Bosley isn't supposed to be hot.

When they jumped into the ocean and emerged with perfect makeup...I didn't think it could get much worse, until Carlos Bernard, my beloved Tony Almeida ("24", see note above about Friday Night Lights) showed up as a child trafficker with a terrible, I think Columbian, accent.

The plot was confusing at best, and I never found myself caring whether they made it out alive or dead...probably not a good sign. The only good thing about this show was that they kept the old theme song. I don't understand why Hollywood can't learn from it's own mistakes...did "Melrose Place" and "Knight Rider" teach them nothing?

Overall this show is a definite forgo, but if I know America...and I think I do, it will stick around for awhile because people like to watch pretty girls do ridiculous things.

Hart of Dixie

And for something completely different..."Hart of Dixie" is definitely one of my favorite new shows of the fall...and not just because of Jason Street (seriously, Friday Night Lights, it will change your life) but because this show is, well for lack of a better word...heartwarming. The pilot is based on a fresh out of medical school doctor played by Rachel Bilson who wants to follow in her fathers footsteps and become a cardio-thoracic surgeon in New York City, but when her life plan starts to become more difficult than she imagined, she finds herself working as a plain old doctor in Bluebell, Alabama.

Although I wasn't necessarily a huge fan of her before this show, by the end of the episode Bilson had completely won me over and I think she is perfect for this role. Surrounded by an interesting cast of characters in a small southern town, you can't help but want to get to know Bilson's character Zoe better and hope the best for her, and it's really nice to see a show that takes place in the south and doesn't feel like a parody. 

If someone threw Felicity, Gilmore Girls, Dawson's Creek and Everwood in a blender, "Hart of Dixie" would be what you end up with. It feels like a show that should have been on the WB and I am officially in love with it. It's definitely a tivo recommendation, because if nothing else, this show will make you feel good and in a world that is full of crime shows, vampires, mobsters and disturbing reality tv...who couldn't use something a little wholesome and heartwarming?