Banshee

The latest Cinemax series looks to tread the same path of action and crime as predecessors Hunted and Strike Back. Boasting the creative acumen of author Jonathan Tropper (with David Schickler) and featuring True Blood’s Alan Ball among its executive producers, Banshee features an ex-con/ martial artist impersonating a murdered town sheriff in a small Amish Pennsylvania town. Things get weird quick. (Airs on Cinemax starting Jan. 11)

Cult

Farscape creator Rockne S. O’Bannon has crafted a creepy meta-mystery in which journalist Jeff(Matt Davis) and Skye (Jessica Lucas), a production assistant on a crime show called Cult team up to hunt down Jeff’s missing brother – who just happens to be a die-hard Cult fan. Another mystery: will viewers be able to keep up with both the show and this show-within-a-show? (Airs on The CW starting Feb. 19)

Downton Abbey

Mary and Matthew (Michelle Dockery and Dan Stephens) have rapidly assumed Ross-and-Rachel territory in Julian Fellowes’ massively-worshipped British serial set around the First World War era. This season features typically inspired dialogue, but also boasts tighter, more rewarding plotting than its initial two seasons. Bonus: the presence of Oscar-winner Shirley MacLaine in a guest spot. (Airs on PBS starting Jan. 6)

The Following

Kevin Williams, Scream scribe, throws in a touch of The Silence of the Lambs in the new Kevin Bacon vehicle The Following, starring James Purefoy (Rome) as a convicted murder using cyberspace to communicate to copycat killers. Bacon, turning to TV just as his wife, Kyra Sedgwick ends her reign as a detective on The Closer, is the federal agent who must navigate this tangled web of depraved murderers. (Begins Jan. 21 on FOX)

Justified

The tube’s best marshal, Raylan Givens (an excellent Timothy Olyphant) returns in the fourth season of Graham Yost’s show, based on a character created by genre fave Elmore Leonard. This season wises up to one of its most precious resources, journeyman actor Raymond J. Barry, who plays Raylan’s shady father, Arlo. Look for Arlo to become a crucial aid to his son’s latest case. (Begins Jan. 8 on FX)

By Angela Barbuti

Chef Masaharu Morimoto is most widely recognized for being an Iron Chef. So much so that people are known to start “screaming and giggling” when they see him around town. You don’t have to travel far to catch a glimpse of the celebrity chef—just visit Morimoto restaurant in the Meatpacking District and sit at the sushi bar. Between sips of sake and tastes of Crispy Rock Shrimp Tempura, you can see the Japanese native and sushi master behind his exposition kitchen.

On Nov. 5, chef Morimoto will be at New Taste 2012, sponsored by New York magazine.

How do you describe your cooking style?
Utilizing Japanese cooking techniques with not only Japanese ingredients, but also Western ones. I hate to call it “fusion,” but want to call it “global cuisine.”

What is a typical day like for you?
I wake up early and walk in the city as exercise. Then in the afternoon I go to my restaurant.

Your restaurant is known for its tasting menu, omakase, which frequently changes. Where do your menu ideas come from?
I usually think about seasonal ingredients and then come up with ideas using them. For Japanese cuisine, seasonality is very important. Even for fish—the same fish tastes different depending on the season.

Are you recognized in Manhattan now that you were on Iron Chef?
As I mentioned, I walk a lot in the city. Some people do recognize me as an Iron Chef and wave at me or sometimes ask me to take pictures with them. Some people’s reactions are funny, screaming and giggling.

Of all the food battles you participated in on the show, which one was the most memorable?
I should say it was the Tofu Battle because I got the perfect score.

What do you think of the fact that chefs are now celebrities in our culture?
I think TV is one of the reasons. Chefs appear on TV more and more and are treated just like other celebrities.

Morimoto plays Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell music. How would you describe the atmosphere you are trying to create there?
I want to create an atmosphere where customers enjoy our food—but each Morimoto restaurant has a different atmosphere depending on the location. For example, Morimoto New York plays music relatively loud because that’s what the customers expect in the Meatpacking District.

Are you planning on opening more restaurants?
A new restaurant, Tribeca Canvas, will open in early November in Tribeca. More to come in the next year.

You have some unique-sounding names for your dishes. Describe “Duck, Duck, Duck” and “Angry Chicken.”
Duck, Duck, Duck is Morimoto Peking duck, foie gras croissant, and duck egg. Angry Chicken is very hot as if the chicken was angry.

If you had to take your wife out to dinner in New York City, where would you go?
A nice four-star restaurant. I’ve already taken her to Daniel and Eleven Madison, so next will be … but actually, my wife and I like eating comfortably at home.

What is the strangest thing you’ve ever eaten?
Ask Andrew Zimmerman!
Morimoto is at 88 Tenth Ave.
www.morimotonyc.com

Katherine Oliver never thought she would work in government. But in 2002, the former journalist saw a unique opportunity to help rebuild a post-9/11 New York City by bringing Hollywood to the five boroughs.

“I thought it would be a great way to help the city, and I was curious about an innovative approach to the city and helping it rebuilding itself,” said Oliver, commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment.

Oliver, now 49, was appointed commissioner in August 2002. Before that, she worked for Mayor Bloomberg in the private sector as general manager of Bloomberg Radio and Television. Her accomplishments as commissioner are credited for the growth of the TV and film industries in the city over the past decade.

When she took over, there were nine prime-time TV shows in production in the city. Today, there are 23—Gossip Girl, Law & Order: SVU and Smash are a few of them. The number of films shot on location in the city has gone up as well, with 174 movies shot here in 2001 and 188 in 2011.

Oliver’s first task on the job was convincing moviemakers that filming in New York City could be simple and worthwhile. Previously, the agency was processing permits with electric typewriters, and the wait time to get a permit could last up to three days, she said. Meanwhile, filmmakers were “faking” New York in places like California and Canada.
“We wanted to send a signal to the industry right away that we were going to turn things around and make things more efficient,” she said, adding that she always believed customer service would be key to the agency’s success.

In 2004, the state launched a tax credit program for all eligible productions shot in the city.

The agency did other things to incentivize shooting in New York City as well, such as creating a discount card program in which filmmakers can get discounts at participating restaurants, lumber yards, prop shops and other businesses. This also helps the local businesses in the area, she said.

The industry’s growth has had a wide-reaching impact on the local economy, Oliver said.

There are 130,000 jobs in the city’s film production industry, an increase of 30,000 since 2004, according to Boston Consulting Group, which did a study for the agency. The industry also accounts for $7.1 billion in direct spending in the city.

“When a film shoots in New York, it’s not all about the actors and directors, but it’s the small businesses, like the florist, the dry cleaners, and the restaurants and the shops that will benefit from the productions,” Oliver said.

The most challenging part of her job, she said, is ensuring the satisfaction of both the industry and residents, who sometimes have to deal with parking challenges and other quality-of-life issues from having a film set so close to work or home.

She said the agency has done outreach so that communities can be introduced to the film industry and see how film production in the city employs local workers and helps local businesses.

A film and TV fan herself, Oliver said she is excited to see New York turn into a “TV town.” But one of her favorite parts of her job is being able to contribute to the economic goals of the city.

“We really resurrected an industry and a whole sector, and that’s quite gratifying,” she said.

By Angela Barbuti

Joy Behar says she will never retire. Why should she? Not only is she a co-host of The View, one of the most popular talk shows in the nation, but she also has her own show, Joy Behar: Say Anything, where she is, as the name implies, allowed to speak her mind. To add to her fame, she is even parodied on Saturday Night Live, which, she proudly declares, is a sign she is “relevant in the zeitgeist.”

Our Town: You are one of the original hosts of The View. Why do you think you’ve stayed on for all 16 seasons?
Joy Behar: I guess I just don’t like to leave the party. [Laughs] I like the job; if I didn’t, I’d be out of there.

What do you consider to be your most memorable moment on the show?
There’s so many, it’s hard to pick one—it really is. One of them was when Danny DeVito staggered on [laughs] and then brought us Limoncello as a gift.

How do you keep current on news stories for the “Hot Topic” segment?
I read the New York Times and all the tabloids. I also read online columns and watch political television.

You are very vocal with your political views. As we get closer to the election, what advice do you have for voters?
To be informed. There are what they call “low-information voters” out there. That’s a disgrace. If you vote and you take that privilege seriously, you should know what you’re doing. Low-information voters, start reading and paying attention. That’s my advice.

Is your inbox flooded with emails from viewers?
Ummm … possibly. [Laughs] I don’t really have time to read all my mail. I’m on Twitter and Facebook, and my other show has a lot of things going on, so it’s not that easy. I think I do though because I have about 650,000 Twitter followers.

How did your new show, Say Anything, come about?
Well my other show, which was on HMN, was canceled after two and a half years and solid ratings. I really still don’t know why. The people at Current TV asked me if I wanted to do a similar show over there, but with more politics and less exploitative stories. We’re having more substantive conversations— and a lot of fun. They said I could say anything, and I said, “I think I’ll name the show Say Anything!”

Before you started on television, you were a teacher on Long Island. Do miss teaching?
No. [Laughs] I don’t. It was fine while it lasted, but I like this job much better. I like reaching a bigger classroom, and that’s television.

Do you enjoy Fred Armisen’s portrayal of you on Saturday Night Live?
I do. [Laughs] I think it’s very funny. He’s very good at playing me. It’s great to be parodied like that. It means you’re out there and relevant in the zeitgeist.

There is also a line about you in The Hangover.
I’ve never seen it. I know they mention me, though.

And you were in Hall Pass.
I was relevant in that because my particular character defines the title of the movie.

When do you plan on retiring?
I don’t believe in retiring. People who retire don’t really love their jobs. I do, so I don’t plan on retiring. They’ll have to just cart me off.

I interviewed Ed Asner last week and he said, “Death must come before retirement.”
Yeah, people like us don’t retire, we just keep moving along. We’re creative; we’re artists. We just keep doing it, that’s all.
To learn more about Joy’s new show, please visit www.current.com/shows/joy-behar

Men’s Swimming
Fan favorite Michael Phelps returns for what may be his last Olympic cycle to compete in five events. Phelps collected eight medals in the 2004 games in Athens and another eight in Beijing, winning more individual medals than any other athlete at both games. He holds the records for most gold medals won at a single Games (eight) and highest total gold medals won by a single athlete (14). At 16 individual medals overall, Phelps is just three away from breaking Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina’s record for the most individual Olympic medals of any athlete in history.

Women’s Swimming
Missy Franklin, 17, qualified for her first Olympics this year. Though she’s new to the Games, Franklin has entered the swimming world with a splash; at the 2012 Olympic trials, she broke Team USA veteran Natalie Coughlin’s American record in the 100-meter backstroke. She took her first five international medals home in the 2011 World Championships, competing alongside Coughlin, and broke two world records in 2011.

Men’s Track & Field
Jamaica’s Usain Bolt, five-time world champion and three-time Olympic gold medalist, is considered easily the fastest man in the world. He currently holds the international records for both the 100-meter and 200-meter races. Before Bolt, the U.S.’s own Tyson Gay held the 100-meter sprint title. Gay, with three world golds under his belt, has one of the most decorated records in running history but has yet to medal at an Olympic Games. He’ll be looking to change that this summer when he faces Bolt.

Women’s Track & Field
Carmelita Jeter, a sprinter who specializes in the 100-meter dash, is the second-fastest woman to ever compete in the event, topping Marion Jones’ best time and nearing the all-time world record held by Florence Griffith-Joyner since 1987. Jeter currently holds three of the 10 best times in history run by a female athlete in the 100-meter race. At the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials, Jeter finished first in the event and will head to London this summer to go for the gold.

Men’s Wrestling
Jordan Burroughs, a freestyle wrestler from New Jersey, boasts a competition record that speaks for itself: the up-and-comer has won every tournament he has entered in the last three years. Claiming the top spot in the 2011 World Championships, the 2011 Pan American games and the 2011 NCAA Championship, Burroughs became the fourth wrestler in history to win both the world and NCAA titles in a single year.

Women’s Beach Volleyball
Many in the sports world have deemed dynamic duo Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor the greatest beach volleyball team of all time. The pair competed together in the 2004 and 2008 summer Olympics, taking home the gold both times. May-Treanor is also the most successful current women’s beach volleyball player in the world, holding 110 individual championship wins in national and international competitions.

Women’s Tennis
Superstar sisters Serena and Venus Williams will compete alongside each other after a strong year in competition. Both women have held the title of No. 1 female tennis player in the world several times in the last 10 years and have continued to dominate international tournaments, including this month’s Wimbledon.

Men’s Basketball
The Miami Heat’s LeBron James has been the center of attention in the world of men’s basketball since he became the No. 1 NBA draft pick in 2003 at age 18. In 2008, the guard/forward helped lead Team USA to victory, securing the team gold in the Beijing summer Games. The American basketball legend will aim for a repeat show this year in London.

Women’s Soccer
31-year-old Abby Wambach led the U.S. women’s soccer team to a gold medal victory in Athens 2004, but missed the opportunity to compete in Beijing four years later due to a leg injury. Having come back strong in 2011 to compete in her third FIFA Women’s World Cup, scoring 13 goals to become the U.S.’s lead scorer in the tournament, Wambach will get another shot in London this summer.

Read More About the Summer Olympics!

• An Olympic Love Story
• Greg Louganis Q&A 
• Olympic Sprinters Trained in Central Park

Karen Becker & Anya Auerback in a scene from Birders: The Central Park Effect.

HBO launched a documentary on Monday that explores a unique facet of New York City personality: the bird-watching community of Central Park. Birders: The Central Park Effect, directed by New York nature lover Jeffrey Kimball, chronicles four seasons in the lives of both the birders and the wild birds they admire year-round in the oasis of nature surrounded by an urban metropolis. Kimball recently talked with Our Town to discuss the film and his passion for birds.

If you missed the debut, you can catch one of the upcoming screenings on HBO this month: July 19 (5 p.m.), 21 (10 a.m., 5:20 p.m.), 24 (11:30 a.m., midnight) and 29 (2 p.m.).

What is Birders about?
The film is about Central Park as a wildlife refuge both for wildlife and for people who have found a refuge in the natural setting of Central Park. It’s about looking at nature in an urban environment in a different way; nature surrounds us wherever we are. Ultimately, it’s about the people: tough-as-nails New Yorkers who want to have a connection with nature.

Can you explain the “Central Park Effect”?
It’s a not-very-well-known ornithological term: whenever you have a relatively pristine piece of nature—a relatively sizeable piece of green—in the middle of a vast sea of concrete and buildings and bridges, it’s going to be a magnet for all of the birds in the area. You end up with a lot more birds per acre in Central Park than you would in some other places, like New Jersey, where there are more trees and water all around. That makes Central Park a great spot for birding. I meant the title to have a double meaning, referring to both the park’s effect on birds and on people.

What made you decide to make a documentary about birds and birders? Are birds a particular interest of yours?
I actually am a birder, but I’m not like a lot of the people in the film, who have been birders all their lives. I grew up in the suburbs of California with a creek in my backyard; I went camping, on hikes. When I moved to New York City in my twenties, I found myself visiting natural parks, photographing wildlife, and I started noticing the birds and identifying them. I had heard Central Park was good for birds, but I didn’t quite believe it until I gave it a shot. It was Central Park that took me from being a very casual lover of nature and a very, very casual birder to a more serious birder.

You talked to some very diverse people who all share a common love of birds. Do any of them have careers that relate to birding?
Most birders do not have any kind of professional life in birds, even though they would love it. One woman is a painter, though; a professional artist who specializes in birds. Other than that, very few people’s careers relate to birding. Some of those people in the park I’ve known for close to 10 years, but I don’t even know what a lot of them do outside the park. It’s not really what’s discussed in the park; what gets discussed is birds. Also, a lot of birders don’t have a lot of money; once you’ve bought a pair of binoculars for $100, you’re pretty much good to go. You can get on the A train and go to Central Park and look at birds.

In the film, one of the birders noted the irony that Central Park is man-made—a “toy environment.” Is there a social commentary here about how we define nature?
It’s true that it is a kind of fake nature. It’s completely man-made, human-made; the water can be turned off with a spigot, the lakes aren’t very deep. But then again, is it really a fake nature? Because when a bird lands there and takes shelter in a tree there, finds water to drink and worms to eat, isn’t that real to them? We’re in this 21st-century idea of what nature is—We have manipulated almost every corner of the Earth, but in the park, the trees are still real, the bugs are real, the birds are real. Urban habitats turn out to be perfectly valid habitats for nature.

In the rolling credits at the end of the film, you listed all of the species of birds that appear in the film, even before your own name. Why?
I wanted to give the audience the impression of how many species of birds were really in that film; there are 117 species in the film. HBO bought it as a finished film and requested one change: that the names of the birds go first in the end credits, instead of after the names of the humans. I was thrilled, I had thought I was getting away with something by putting them in at all.
The Central Park Conservancy, the people who take care of Central Park—they do a good job of keeping parts of the park hospitable to birds. They actively encourage it as a habitat for wildlife.

The film is split into parts based on the seasons, starting and ending with spring. Do I sense symbolism there?
I think there is some symbolism there, but it wasn’t necessarily my intention. I tried to start with strength and end with strength, and in the birding world, spring is the best season. It’s when all the birds come back, when the birds have their most colorful plumage, when they sing; it’s the most glorious season of the year to go birding.

By Magdalena Burnham

Summer might be the time when a lot of your favorite television shows go away, but networks are pumping out plenty of interesting new shows to fill the void. Here is a rundown of the most buzzed about new summer programs.

Dallas
Get out your “I Shot J.R.” T-shirts—someone has decided to reboot that show you heard about where the last season turned out to be a dream. Patrick Duffy returns to his Dallas roots, joined by newcomers Jesse Metcalfe, from Desperate Housewives, and Jordana Brewster. The previews TNT has released make the show look dead serious, but it would be nice if it were cheesy fun and focused on Metcalfe’s abs. Premieres June 13 on TNT.

The Newsroom
This is easily the most anticipated—and prestigious—show of the summer, so be sure to watch it if you want to have opinions on this year’s Emmys or talk to your pretentious nephew. The Newsroom was created by Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing, Sports Night) and stars Jeff Daniels (Terms of Endearment, The Squid and the Whale) as a news anchor. It will go behind the scenes of the cable news world; the previews promise the signature Sorkin dialogue his fans have become accustomed to. Premieres June 24 on HBO.

Duets
Duets is a reality show in which four alleged superstars search for a talented unknown artist to compete with them in a singing competition—not the most original idea a network ever tossed out. The talents involved are Kelly Clarkson, Robin Thicke, Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles and John Legend. They all seem like perfectly nice people, but you’d think ABC would get a bigger variety of stars to draw a wide audience. Compared to the careful musical diversity on display in The Voice’s panel of judges, this show seems like it really only cares about the mom audience. Premieres May 24 on ABC.

Dogs in the City
When you start to feel exhausted by shows like The Newsroom, where you have to think and pay attention, flip over to this CBS reality show. Hopefully, it’ll be mostly footage of cute dogs; the only way it could go awry is if it gives us too much of the human star of the show, dog trainer Justin Silver. Premieres May 30 on CBS.

Anger Management
Exactly what Charlie Sheen’s new series on FX will be like is a bit of a mystery, since none of the trailers have included any actual footage from the show. But reports say that the show tested very well, so Sheen might just get his victorious comeback. The cast also includes Selma Blair. Premieres June 28 on FX.
Magdalena Burnham studied television writing at New York University. She currently resides in the East Village.

Right there, whenever you like, on your browser, iPhone or iPad. Yes.
Let’s be real: Nobody but Nielsen families watches TV on a television set anymore. I bet so few people watch “TV” TV that only a few of you understood my killer Nielsen family joke!

To be honest, who has time to sit around and watch the tube? Most of it’s not must-see; if it is—trust me—some bar in Williamsburg has a theme night for it. Not to mention how totally unhip it is to actually watch TV these days. We all know kids these days are watching the Internet just like the rest of us. If you are watching TV, it’s likely you’re using a DVR to do it, which is sort of what Aereo is about.

All the way back in 2009, Vishesh Kumar and Sam Schechner reported in the Wall
Street Journal, “The Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge to a new type of digital video recorder from Cablevision Systems Corp., [which set] the stage for wider use of the technology.” That, of course, was the good ol’ Cablevision DVR Plus; much lauded for not requiring a small object in a room but derided for being unfathomably
slow in the beginning. When Cablevision launched their bright idea, a slew of networks sued them too. Cablevision hired a lawyer and won their case—no spoilers, but Aereo just hired the same one.

The original defense rested on the fact that DVR Plus members were basically doing the same thing TiVo lets you do: recording content that anybody with an antenna and a TV has free access to. Every recording was saved to an individual’s own private virtual DVR storage. It’s very much like when Universal and Disney sued Sony
because the Betamax was considered an evil piracy device. Aereo is is likely to use the Cablevision defense because their whole system works by allotting members their own private pair of micro-antennae located on the company’s Brooklyn rooftop— in effect, you’re paying Aereo to hold on to your antenna for you.

Like millions and millions of my contemporaries, to me, the Internet equals an Absolutely Everything Machine. If it’s not on the Internet, I don’t know about it. Even if it is on the Internet, if it’s not in the cheap-to-free price range, I actually do not want it. Aereo’s $12/month price is not bad at all. If you add in the price of monthly Netflix and Hulu Plus accounts, the price tag for your TV diet is still way less than my grandfather pays for cable. After an extended Beta, Aereo launched for New York residents on March 14th. New users get a 90-day free trial. Their website looks nice and the video quality is just fine when you’re watching it live—that’s right: live streaming video.

All this actually-on-the-air-right-now content reminded me of what a huge letdown it was back in the day when there was “nothing on!” But with Aereo, I flipped ahead in the guide a bit, set it to record 30 Rock, did things, came back at 9 p.m. and was actually giddy! To think, my very own, brand-new episode of 30 Rock saved snug in my 40 hours of DVR storage space on the Aereo cloud and—What?! Under the Recordings tab, I found
a friendly, devil-red line of text that read: “Not recorded: System error.”

I felt feelings then that I hadn’t felt since I once forgot to put a new VHS tape
in for the Star Trek: The Next Generation series finale. There’s bound to be issues at first. And an episode of Seinfeld and an airing of the Addams Family movie recorded just fine later on.

Broadcasters need to stop and take stock of their industry. Here is another example, of many, of a business model showing us that the future of television is not allergic to revenue. But still, these clunky old brands are so afraid of reality that they’ve become incapable of taking all this money I’ve got sitting around.

Services like Aereo could be a non-candy lifesaver for these guys. All of the ingredients are there: TV, Internet, willing consumers and money. And think of how much more in touch networks would be with all the data available from a web audience. Instead of spending cash picking on the new kids, legacy media outfits might consider a few smart investments.

Don’t be afraid of working together to make life easier for consumers.
How do you get your sitcoms? Think the plaintiffs are right? Let us know at nypress.com!
Follow @44carib on Twitter, just because.

And you know what? It worked. Having until February instead of September gave me enough time and breathing room to catch up on the series’ entire first two seasons in time for the much-anticipated season premiere last week, and it was time well spent. I am now an unabashed fan of the show.

I’m not a total stranger to Cougar Town, in truth. I did watch the pilot in 2009, and found its premise – Courteney Cox plays a newly-divorced 40-year-old on the Gulf Coast of Florida getting to sow her long-gestating wild oats with younger men – limited, and its tone abrasive. I never watched again, though various TV articles kept me abreast of developments within (Cox’s character, Jules, eventually settled into a relationship with neighbor Grayson, played by Josh Hopkins, an actor long overdue for a breakout role) and outside the world of the show (Lawrence and fellow show helmer Kevin Biegel admitted that the show’s title was erroneous and, since they cannot change it, openly mock it at every opportunity).

But boy am I glad I caught up. Cougar Town has morphed from a Cox vehicle into an ensemble show, giving equal time to the septet of characters that include Jules; Grayson; Jules’ lovable doofus of an ex, Bobby (Brian Van Holt); her real estate colleague, Laurie (Busy Phillips); son Travis (the arch Dan Byrd, a major star in the making), neighbor and best friend Ellie (Christa Miller, replicating the acid tongue she used on husband Lawrence’s Scrubs) and Ellie’s hubby (Emmy-worthy MVP Ian Gomez). Meanwhile, the conceit of mature woman chasing after younger men has been demoted to the occasional bon mot delivered by Barb, a recurring character with an insatiable appetite played by the divine Carolyn Hennesy. This kind of sweeping change is not unprecedented – it took Frasier a full first season to find its footing.

It’s too easy to compare the de facto family formed by this group of friend and neighbors to Friends just because of Cox’s presence in both. In truth, Cougar Town inherits the DNA of such sitcoms as Barney Miller, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and Murphy Brown – and if the gals of 227 had sat on the stoop drinking gratuitous amounts of red wine, that would have provided the complete template. You see, Friends featured a gang during an early chapter of their lives before they went on to the next. They knew exciting changes were in store. Though they are pretty people with a ridiculously minimal amount of fat, wrinkles and body hair, the cul-de-sac crew on Cougar Town actually lead fairly sad lives with a limited worldview. Laurie grew up with a revolving door of stepparents who left her with little self-esteem. Grayson may have just proposed to Jules and own a swanky bar, but he longs to be a musician and father a child of his own. Travis is in college but only lives twenty minutes away and seems to come home every weekend, and over the course of two seasons, the only friend we ever saw was largely unresponsive roommate. Even Jules herself got pregnant and married Bobby at some point during college.

Cougar Town obviously doesn’t dwell on the heavy stuff, but it does manage to blend it into the show’s episodes with finesse, just as Scrubs did. These characters – wonderfully acted by all – could be losers, but together in each other’s company, they become winners. Visiting Cougar Town reminds me of Celeste Talbert, the Sally Field character in Soap Dish who would run to see unsuspecting fans at the Paramus mall when in need of a pick-me-up. Cougar Town has the same effect on me. Watching the show just makes me happy, and if ABC hadn’t made the show a mid-season replacement, I’m not sure I would have discovered that.

So Biegel, Lawrence and the gang can call the show whatever they want. I’m indifferent to the title myself. I simply think of it as my Paramus.

Well, it’s Act 2 for the 2011-2012 TV season, a year that’s seen the launch of successful series like New Girl, acclaimed ones like Homeland, and the demise of others like Free Agents.  Which new ones have a shot, and which are not so hot? I survey a few upcoming debut series below:

Alcatraz: J.J. Abrams created this show starring Lost alum Jorge Garcia (best known as Hurley) as an PhD in criminal justice who must investigate when prison guards and inmates who disappeared 50 years ago suddenly turn up. Sam Neill co-stars.

Why it might work: Abrams has yet to create a show as buzzy as Lost, but his more recent entries (Fringe, Person of Interest) stay on the air.

Why it won’t: Remember that scene in Ghostbusters II when they raise the Titanic? Didn’t think so.

G.C.B.: The title stands for “Good Christian Belles,” which is a sanitized version of the Kim Gatlin novel Good Christian Bitches, on which it is based. Leslie Bibb, Annie Potts and show poster girl Kristin Chenoweth star as a bunch of Southern mean girls. Created by Steel Magnolias writer Robert Harling, who knows a thing or two about Southern women.

Why it might work: Catty soaps like Desperate Housewives and Revenge are cheap to do and strike a chord with audiences. This could easily whet the appetite for those anticipating this summer’s Dallas reboot.

Why it won’t: I don’t know anyone anticipating that Dallas reboot.

Missing: Ashley Judd makes a TV comeback (Sisters, anyone?) in this Taken knock-off as a retired CIA operative who goes to Italy to recover her missing son (Nick Eversman).

Why it might work: Taken was a huge hit that spawned a sequel.

Why it won’t: That movie had a clear end and only 90 minutes to fill. Can the same story be told in a satisfactory way over 10 episodes? And can it possibly have room for future seasons?

The River: A missing explorer’s son and wife (Joe Anderson, Leslie Hope) set out to find him (Bruce Greenwood) in the Amazon, filming their journey with the help of several cohorts. Oren Peli, the man who created the Paranormal Activity craze, brings the “found footage” faux docu-style to the small screen.

Why it might work: The Paranormal Activity movies did scare up big box office grosses.

Why it won’t: The thrill of such storytelling is significantly diminished on the small screen, spread out over weeks. Plus, the novelty is so 2009.

Smash: NBC tries to out-Glee Glee with this look at the backstage antics of a fake Broadway-bound musical, based on the life of Marilyn Monroe. The cast includes Emmy-winner Debra Messing, Oscar-winner Anjelica Huston, American Idol alum Katharine McPhee, and Broadway performers like Christian Borle, Brian D’arcy James, and Megan Hilty. Steven Spielberg is a producer.

Why it might work: the right combo of catchy tunes and melodrama works for Glee, and the storytelling here looks much tighter and sensible.

Why it won’t: Many of the songs are new, not covers of Top 40 hits and classics. Theater purists may cleave to the show, but there aren’t enough of them watching television.

Are there any shows you guys are anticipating?