Five Things on Friday - Fall TeeVee Edition

You may already know that I am an unrepentant telivision junkie. And as the reality shows finally wane, I'm very excited to be finding things to watch almost every season. Fall is usually a little less exciting for me than summer (in the world of TV only) because I love me some "genre" shows and they seem to be traditionally housed in summer. (You know, 'cause us geeks can go outside or we'll burn our delicate and pasty skin.)

In any case, I am happy to announce that I have some new interests and a few might even become addictions. Welcome to...


Five New Fall Shows that You Should Watch

Witchy teens, ftw!

1. Secret Circle - From the minds that brought you The Vampire Diaries... This story of teenage witches trying to figure out what happened to their witchy parents and discovering their newfound powers is sort of delicious in a typically CW way. The set up is awfully reminicent of the The Craft, one of my all-time favorite horrible movies. Cassie Blake moves to her grandmother's home and discovers herself part of a coven who needed her to complete their circle. There's the mean girl and the super-smart girl and the cute boy and the dangerous boy. It's very stereotypical, but very watchable as well. The cast is mostly unknown (at least to me) but the cute boy is played by Thomas Dekker, who used to be John Connor. Witchy good fun, but not can't miss TV.

2. American Horror Story - From the minds that brought you Glee and Nip/Tuck... Seriously. These things are related. In any case, a very screwed up family (grieving mom, cheating dad, depressed teen daughter) move across country to start over in L.A. Even I think that's a bad idea. But moving into a house that has been home to decades of murder and weirdness... Well, let's just say that I don't think the Real Estate Agent quite finished her disclosure statement. Connie Britton is in it and I do love her. And the guy from The Practice who is the only reason I ever watched The Practice. I haven't made up my mind about this one yet. The pilot was scattered and a little non-sensical. Add in that they threw every horror movie cliche in and stirred (creepy kid, parts of butchered babies, bleeding animals, S&M, etc, etc, etc) and you may have a recipe for disaster. Or genius. I'll just have to wait and see.

Pretty, crazy boy.

3. Bedlam - Not to be a big BBCAmerica snob, but this is my favorite of the new season so far. I will be sticking to my TV just as close as I do for Doctor Who or Being Human. Jed, a young (and pretty) man who has been in and out of mental institutions because of his ability to see the dead and how they died comes to stay with his cousin, Kate. Kate, a determined non-believer, is in some sort of supernatural danger and Jed must save her. The setting for this lovely, though simple storyline is Bedlam Heights, an old asylum where not-so-nice things happened and has now been converted to apartments. Because everyone wants to live in an old sanatorium.This tops my favorite list for the fall.

4. New Girl - This comedy about a girl who breaks up with her longtime boyfriend and moves in with a bunch of guys is only so-so. But I love Zoe Deschanel. I just can't help it.We'll see how long that lasts. I wouldn't mind just spending that time watching Tin Man over and over again.

5. Once Upon a Time/Grimm - With two new shows so closely related, I'll probably pick one. Otherwise, I'll just end up confused. Since neither previews until later in the month, though, I am waiting with bated breath to see which one wins my heart.

Which new shows have captured your interest this Fall?