Fall-ing for new shows

By Casey Gillis

Published: May 22, 2008

After looking at some of the new series on tap for next season, I feel like I’m in high school again.

There’s that “90210” spin-off, update or whatever you want to call it. And my ultimate TV boyfriend, Joshua Jackson, is back on a new Fox series called “Fringe,” which was created by J.J. Abrams.

So Pacey is back on TV, and he’s starring in something from J.J. Abrams, the brilliant mind behind “Lost” and “Alias?” Be still my heart.

“Fringe” is about a comely young FBI agent who teams up with an eccentric scientist and his estranged son (Jackson) to solve the mystery behind a plane crash. Think “X-Files” with a little “Lost” and “Alias” mythology thrown in.

After watching the trailer (it can be found at fringe-online.net), it’s the show I’m most looking forward to next season. You heard it here first: we could very well have the next great cult hit on our hands.

As for the “90210” redux, I know what you’re thinking: aren’t I a little too old to watch a show about teenagers? Probably. But if you’ve read about my obsession with “Gossip Girl,” you know that age ain’t nothing but a number.

I love my guilty pleasure teen dramas, and if this new series is anything like the original - or next generation shows like “The O.C.” and, yes, “Gossip Girl” - we’re all going to be hooked. Just admit it.

The promo for the show, which can be found on You Tube, opens with the same theme song from the original. It gave me goose bumps. I can’t wait to see a new generation of Dylans, Kellys and Brandons (no Brendas need apply; she always annoyed me).

The update centers around two Beverly Hills transplants: Annie and Dixon Mills, who move into the zip from Kansas after their father takes a job as West Beverly High’s new principal.

And, in a very exciting casting coup, Jennie Garth - Kelly Taylor in the original - has already signed on to reprise her role on a recurring basis. Here’s betting Dylan McKay can’t be far behind.

Following “90210” on Tuesday nights will be another tale of lifestyles of the rich and famous. Based on a popular teen book, “Surviving the Filthy Rich” is about an aspiring journalist who takes a job as the live-in tutor for a pair of spoiled, rebellious twin sisters in Palm Beach.

Hour-long dramas make up most of the other networks’ new fall offerings. Here’s the skinny on the rest of them, divided up by network (tune back in to Sunday’s column for the lowdown on the new fall comedies and reality series):

ABC
With so many returning series, the alphabet net didn’t have too many holes to fill next season.

Their only new drama is Life on Mars, an adaptation of a popular BBC series about a modern-day detective who, after a car accident, wakes up in 1973. He’s still working as a detective, but has to adjust to life in the past. The series has been given a plum time slot: Thursday nights at 10 p.m., immediately following “Grey’s Anatomy.”

My take: I never saw the original, but have heard good things about it. Hopefully, ABC executives focused all their energy on “Mars.” If you’re only going to introduce one new drama, it better be good.

CBS
CBS’s two new ones both have a sci fi/supernatural theme.

Hottie Simon Baker (“The Guardian”) stars in The Mentalist as a former fake psychic, who uses his sharp observational skills to help the California Bureau of Investigation solve crimes, and Rufus Sewell (“Dark City”) stars as a brilliant biophysicist, who investigates scientific crimes and oddities in Eleventh Hour, a Jerry Bruckheimer remake of a British miniseries.

My take: “The Mentalist” sounds an awful lot like the USA comedy “Psych,” a show I adore. I’m interested to see a more serious take on the topic, and Baker is a leading man if ever there were one.

“Eleventh Hour” doesn’t sound like a slouch either. And let’s be honest, Bruckheimer, who executive-produces “CSI,” “Cold Case” and “Without a Trace,” rarely misses when it comes to TV these days.

Fox
Fox’s only other new drama, besides “Fringe,” doesn’t hit our screens until midseason. But I’m so excited about this one that I had to mention it.

Dollhouse was created by Joss Whedon, who has brought us “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Angel” and “Firefly.”

Former “Buffy” star Eliza Dushku stars in the action/drama, which is about a group of underground operatives who carry out a variety of missions and have their personalities wiped clean after each one.

According to Fox’s Web site, “they become new people, yet they are never aware they are actually pawns in someone else’s game.”

My take: Sign me up! I’ll follow Joss Whedon anywhere. The man is a genius.

NBC
The peacock network is trotting out three new dramas in the fall, with a few more to follow at midseason.

My Own Worst Enemy is a take on the Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde story and stars Christian Slater (yay!) as a man with dual identities: a suburban dad with a humdrum life and a spy; Crusoe is a contemporary take on the classic novel about a man shipwrecked on a remote island for 28 years; and Knight Rider is an update of the 1970s David Hasselhoff series

My take: They had me at Christian Slater, who is starring in his first network show. Who hasn’t nursed a crush on that guy at some point during his or her life? I love the concept and am looking forward to seeing how it’s executed. The other two sound OK, but won’t be appointment TV for this gal.