Checking in with the new fall shows

I've been swamped with work and school these past couple of weeks, and with a week or more of TV backed up on my DVR, it's interesting to see which of the new shows I find myself wanting to watch first. So far, there have only been two shows that I've been watching live or almost immediately (Gossip Girl and Pushing Daisies), a couple more that I've been genuinely enjoying, and the rest are either still on trial or I've already given up. Here's the rundown, from best to worst:

1. Gossip Girl: I can't help it, I LOVE this show. Blair and Serena are just so perfectly cast and are really believable as those best friends that really are close but find themselves alternately warring and hugging. Also really loving Dan and Jenny and even boring Nate and jerky Chuck are watchable. The little romance with Dan and Serena has been cute, but I'm not getting too attached...at least based on the books, though I don't know how closely they're going to following them. I'm totally addicted.

2. Pushing Daisies: I actually didn't really like the second episode...I thought the whole dandelion car thing was just too much and it all looked a little too Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. But this week's episode really won me over. The Ned-Chuck romance is so sweet and I love all the funny ways they're getting around the touching thing: holding hands with gloves, kissing through plastic wrap...I'm also glad that Ned came clean with Chuck about some of the details of his power. I was a bit worried they'd drag that out too long, though of course he's still yet to tell her about her father. I figure that's a sweeps type storyline. I'm also totally loving Emerson Cod. He knits! And the Pooh thing from this week was genius. Chi McBride's done a lot of dramatic stuff and I never expected him to be so funny, but he's really stealing a lot of scenes here.

3. Kid Nation: Um yeah. I don't think it's really getting good ratings at all but for some reason I just really love this show. Obviously I'm susceptible to getting hooked on reality but I find it to be really entertaining. A lot of it is extremely contrived but the kids are an interesting mix...much more diverse than any other reality show.

4. Dirty Sexy Money: I think what I like about this show is that every character was introduced really well. All the wild and crazy things rich people do are really entertaining, and Peter Krause does a great job keeping it down to earth a bit. There's a little bit of a mystery going on too. It's just really a lot of fun and I hope they keep it up.

5. Aliens in America: The only sitcom on my list (though I've yet to check out Samantha Who? about which I've heard some good things). It's short, sweet, and satisfying, and all the characters are really likable.

6. Reaper: This is where things start to get a little questionable. I did think the pilot was funny but the next couple of episodes had me a little bored, and honestly, they kind of remind of all the bad episodes of Buffy. I mean, even the bad episodes of Buffy had good things about them, and it's the same here, but...yeah. They're still kind of bad. Sock continues to amuse, Sam's pretty easy to root for, and Ray Wise as the Devil is perfect, but I wonder if maybe they need a little bit more of an ongoing storyline.

7. Chuck: I'm a couple of weeks behind with this one, and maybe it's gotten better but I kind of it's just a little too silly at times. And I don't know, Chuck just seems a little too Seth Cohen 2.0 for me. I guess his dorkiness is kind of endearing but I found myself thinking he was just lame a lot of the time. Adam Baldwin is pretty hilarious though. It's not all working for me yet but I'm willing to give it a few more weeks.

8. Journeyman: Really makes absolutely no sense but I kind of like Dan, the main character. I'm kind of afraid to get too into though because it sort of seems doomed for early cancellation.

9. Bionic Woman: I want to like this show, I really do, but it's just so heavy and humorless. And Jamie still has no personality. I guess it's the butt-kicking babe thing but I can't help comparing Jamie to Sydney Bristow. Sydney might have gotten a little cold as the series progressed, but she kind of instantly made you care about her. Jamie's just...blah. I'm still liking Sarah Corvus and Jae though. Oh, but was I like not paying attention during the pilot and Will is already dead? That's maybe a plus because I thought he was annoying. I'm trying to stick it out, really, but it's getting tough.

Off the DVR: Moonlight (boring), Cane (boring), Private Practice (bad/uninteresting), K-Ville (uninterested), Life (boring), Big Bang Theory (uninterested), Big Shots (stupid).