Fall TV lineup heralds return of favorites

Now that fall is here we not only have the excitement of changing leaves, pumpkin carving and haunted houses, we also get to enjoy returning fall TV shows. While this fall offers many new and highly anticipated shows, there are always those returning shows that we just cannot wait to start again.

They include the characters that we have fallen in love with over the past few seasons, or those thrilling plot lines that we get buried in. Or maybe it’s that on-again off-again relationship in our favorite drama where we just love to guess who will end up with who, or that hilarious comedy that pulls us out of a bad day. Whatever your fix is, this fall has a promising line up of returning favorites.

There are many exciting genres to look forward to this fall. You won’t want to miss out on the popular medical drama, House. Then there is the ever-exciting action drama, Heroes. If you missed last week’s premieres, make sure you get caught up on the light-hearted crime show Bones as well as the exciting supernatural crime show Fringe. And if you’re looking for a great comedy in the style of a mockumentary, The Office also began last week.

House

The new season of House returns to Fox Monday, Sept. 21 at 7 p.m. It begins with what looks to be a very exciting first episode. At the end of last season, Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) finally checked himself into rehab.

But what would the show be without the bitingly sarcastic humor used by Dr. House when harassing a patient with an unusual illness in order to discover the right diagnosis? And how can he do that while checked into rehab?

Well, it seems he decides he can’t, so with the help of other patients in the mental hospital where he currently resides, he orchestrates a plan to escape. Tune in to this humorous medical drama to find out if he really will be able to make it out, or if his loyal friend, Dr. Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard) will make him stay put in the time necessary to get clean, once and for all.

Heroes

The thrilling two-hour season premiere of the action drama Heroes begins Sept. 21 at 8 p.m. on NBC. Last season we thought we nearly lost exotic beauty Tracy (Ali Larter). But she comes back from her near-death experience with even greater power than before. The Ice Queen promises to be an exciting force to be reckoned with this season.

We can’t forget the shock from last season when we discovered that Rebel was the young, electronically charged Micah (Noah Gray-Cabey). And who knows what kind of horror we are in for now that the evil Sylar thinks he is Nathan Petrelli.
However, when all is said and done, we can always count on the constancy of the real hero, Hiro (Masi Oka), to do everything in his power to save the day and do what is best for mankind.

Bones

This past week the popular, lighthearted crime show Bones returned to Fox Thursdays at 7 p.m. Everyone who has been spending the summer worrying about Booth’s condition can breathe easy once again. The first episode this new season has the dreamy FBI agent Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz) returning to work a brief six months after his brain surgery.

Bones brings the return of the peculiarly compatible duo, Booth and Dr. Temperance Brennan (Emily Deschanel). Dr. Brennan, a brilliant forensic anthropologist, relies on science to clarify and make sense of the world around her. On the other hand, Booth relies on faith and the character of humanity to understand life. While on opposite ends of the spectrum, both try to understand the other and work together. They match up so perfectly it’s as if they were soul mates, and perhaps this season they will finally end up together.

Fringe

All the excitement of the supernatural crime thrilled Fringe has returned to Fox on Thursdays at 8 p.m. You never know what to expect with Fringe. There is always some new strange happening going on, like a child prodigy, killer butterflies and even men walking through walls to rob banks. With each new and interesting case, Oilvia (Ana Torv) is involved in, Walter (John Noble) never fails to come up with an even stranger experiment to explain the case.

Walter, being quite the oddball, offers comic relief to nearly every tense situation, usually by requesting a random food item. Every new case links back to studies and bizarre experiments that Walter himself and the founder of Massive Dynamics, William Bell (Leonard Nimoy), had performed years before – one of which Olivia had been a part of when she was a young child. If you’re looking for a show that includes weird scenarios, with a touch of quirky humor, Fringe should be a top pick this fall.

The Office

All the fun of The Office has returned to Thursdays at 8 p.m. on NBC. Last season brought about many changes to the staff at Dunder-Mifflin. Michael Scott (Steve Carell) started his own, albeit short lived, paper company. He took with him the beloved receptionist Pam (Jenna Fischer) as well as the self-absorbed temp, Ryan (B.J. Novak). Yet all is made right when Michael negotiates the purchase of his swiftly dying paper company to Dunder-Mifflin, ensuring his return.

Jim (John Krasinski) and Pam finally get engaged and Jim buys Pam a home. It’s his parents’ house, but a house nonetheless. In last season’s finale we also discovered that Pam is pregnant. The new season has high hopes for the entertaining antics that ensue between Dwight (Rainn Wilson), Andy (Ed Helms) and Jim. We can’t help but anticipate more jokes and tricks to be played on Dwight, Andy and even Michael. This season promises to be the hysterical pick-me-up mockumentary-style comedy everyone has been waiting for.