TV Surveillance

By this week, most of the season’s new programs will have aired at least one episode. We watched a number of them, but a pilot episode can only tell us so much. Some programs get much, much better after the pilot.

Others ... not so much.

Never one to avoid making premature judgments, I will go out on a limb and say the following four shows are the ones we will hear about for the rest of the year – and even further into the future.

What to watch

SHOW: “Community”
EPISODE: “Introduction to Film”
WHEN: 9:30 p.m. Thursday on NBC

The critics love it. The season premiere drew huge ratings. And it’s legitimately good. This Joel McHale vehicle about a study group of misfits at a fictional community college delivered more laughs than “The Office” or “Parks and Recreation” premieres, and with Ken Jeong (“The Hangover”) coming aboard as a Spanish teacher, the solid jokes should keep coming easily. Compared to the mocking, marginally depressing slants its other NBC brethren take, “Community” features a sarcastic optimism that is a clear offshoot of the charming McHale.

SHOW: “FlashForward”
EPISODE: “White to Play”
WHEN: 8 p.m. Thursday on ABC

No, it’s not the next “Lost” and no, the first episode doesn’t even air until tonight, but this high-concept program just feels right. What I’ve seen has been very, very solid and the care with which executive producer David S. Goyer seems to be handling the show – pre-planned arcs, emphasis on character, online presence – is so on point. If subsequent scripts can live up to the scope presented in the pilot, this should be the season’s breakout hit.

What to DVR

SHOW: “The Vampire Diaries”
EPISODE: “Family Ties”
WHEN: 8 p.m. Thursday on the CW

“Diaries” is a clear cash-in on the vampire craze by the CW and the writing – led by Kevin Williamson of “Dawson’s Creek” fame – feels outdated and simplistic at times. However, the ratings were massive for the premiere (the best in CW history), and it still features vampires, so people are going to watch and talk about it. This show is simply mediocre any time that Ian Somerhalder is not on the screen devouring dialogue – which is too often. At least there are hints at a greater mythology, and it’s not about rich white folk on one of the coasts, I guess.

SHOW: “Modern Family”
EPISODE: “The Bicycle Thief”
WHEN: 9 p.m. Wednesday on ABC

ABC never does comedy well (see: “Caveman” and “Carpoolers” as recent disasters). This year, however, that could change if “Modern Family” takes off like it should. This is another program loved by the critics, which features a sold cast lead by Ed O’Neill and uses the documentary style of filming. We are in need of a new, great family-oriented sitcom in the traditional sense, and “Modern” could bring that to us, even if the families are not as traditional as they were 25 years ago. And really, who better to rejuvenate the complicated family sitcom than Al Bundy himself?


Rant of the week

Oh, Emmys – how you confound me. After a string of really boring (read: so, so awful) hosting choices the last few years with Ryan Seacrest in 2007 and then a bevy of reality show hosts last year, the festivities were much improved with Neil Patrick Harris at the helm. NPH was on fire per-usual, dryly reading the off-the-wall “you know her from ...” intros with a smirk, and he even turned his honestly surprising loss in Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series into a solid running joke.

But as solid as the show itself was for the first time in a while, the docket of winners was far from impressive.

Not that everyone who won or who was nominated didn’t do great work, because they obviously did – well, except for Jon Cryer. His win against Harris and Tracy Morgan, along with a number of repeat winners – Bryan Cranston and Glenn Close for Leads in a Drama Series, “30 Rock” and “Mad Men” for Best Comedy Series and Best Drama Series, respectively – was slightly disappointing.

Obviously past winners deserve a chance to win again, but it would have been nice to see at least one of the four major categories change.