TV Top 5

I didn't manage to catch all the new shows, but I caught a few, and there are some good ones. There are several big premieres still to come, but here are my Top 5 so far:

1. Lost ABC -- of course, it has to be Lost! This show won the Emmy for Best Drama for a reason; it's the mack daddy of suspense serials. As long as their is enough resolution from week to week to keep viewers satiated, this show has a bright future.

2. My Name Is Earl NBC NEW -- it's dumb and it's funny and that is exactly what it is supposed to be. Jason Lee shines as redneck come Karmic do-gooder Earl Hickey. Jaime Pressly plays Earl's white trash ex-wife maybe just a little too well. A good line from the pilot: "I know where your mama parks your house!"

3. Gilmore Girls WB -- still one of the most consistently well-written and entertaining soft dramas on television. This season finds Rory and Lorelei at odds over Rory's decision to drop out of Yale, and Luke and Lorelei coping with their engagement. Hey, Alexis Bledel and Lauren Graham are super hot and can deliver lines faster than most people can think, so sue me for being a fan.

4. Threshold CBS NEW -- of all The X-Files wannabes out there, this one feels the most cinematic. The cast is good, Carla Gugina is great. Hopefully there won't be too many Star Trek or little person jokes at the expense of Brent Spiner and Peter Dinklage. Peter graduated from Bennington College in Vermont in 1991. The plan seems to be for weekly episodes to focus on people altered by the signal emitted by the UFO, while further advancing the overall storyline. The WB's Supernatural and ABC's Invasion deserve honorable mentions, but Threshold, while equally formulaic, just seemed the freshest of the genre (though Night Stalker has yet to make its debut).

5. Arrested Development FOX -- back by popular demand for Season 3, AD picked up where it left off with G.O.B. getting the father/son roles confused when he discovers he has a son. Everyone ends up making "the biggest little mistake they ever made" in Reno.