Årets Viktigaste TV-vecka? [CBS]

Jotack.
Jag vet att Upfront Week är sedan länge över, att alla TV-journalister och bloggare åkt hem till sina redaktioner igen efter att ha rapporterat allt de kunnat, och att alla som är det minsta intresserade av amerikansk TV redan läst allting som går att läsa om detta.

Men.
Jag tänker ändå fortsätta med den rapportering jag startade med förra veckan (innan jag stack till Göteborg och blev utan bredband) eftersom jag som vanligt skriver för folk i min imaginära fokusgrupp (har ett litet gäng på ca 10 pers som jag vet läser här...och det är alltid för någon av dem jag tänker att jag skriver för. Det blir mera greppbart då) och där har inte alla full koll ännu!

Förra veckan avhandlade vi NBC och ABC, och nu hoppar vi raskt över till CBS.

CBS har länge levt på sin CSI-franchise (och på amerikanska varianten av Expedition: Robinson) och har en ganska solid TV-tablå, men de har samtidigt haft svårt att skaka fram nya serier. Till exempel är den enda serie från förra hösten som får nytt förtroende ännu ett år är Shark – och den kan på sin höjd kallas en medelmåttig succé (vilket här i Sverige ofta kan härledas genom att den hamnat på TV3...)

Kanske är det detta som gjort att de flesta av de piloter som CBS ratade i år var precis sådana serier de redan har fullt av i sin tablå (polisserier), och istället har de satsat på (på pappret) ganska riskabla kort som en musikal, en vampyrserie och en serie om partnerbyte på 70-talet med Couples/Pirates-favoriten Jake Davenport!

En snyggare listning av programmen (med trailers för de nya programmen) hittar ni HÄR, men här följer annas en överblick av tablån med (numera) traditionsenlig programinformation på engelska direkt efter.

Måndag:
20.00 How I Met Your Mother – jag kan inte beskriva hur glad jag är över att mina favoriter fick komma tillbaka. Barney! Barney! Barney!
21.30 The Big Bang Theory – NEW! Två nördar (nörden är helt klart tillbaka tack vare Ugly Betty) får en het granne. Hö. Hö. Hö. Eh... Zzzzzzz. (Se A)
21.00 Two and a Half Men
21.30 Rules of Engagement
22.00 C.S.I.: Miami

Tisdag:
20.00 N.C.I.S.
21.00 The Unit
22.00 Cane – NEW! Jimmy Smiths från Lagens Änglar och Vita Huset är tillbaka med en egen serie, som verkar vara en latinoblandning av Gudfadern och Brothers&Sisters. Låter smått lovande. (se B)

Onsdag:
20.00 Kid Nation – NEW! En tidigare otestad for av reality där ett gäng barn ska bygga upp ett samhälle från grunden av en gammal övergiven stad… (se C)
21.00 Criminal Minds
22.00 C.S.I: NY – Säsongens sista avsnitt var lysande…tills det inte blev någon cliffhanger alls. Trots det är det en av TVs snyggaste serier och en av mina största guilty pleasures.

Torsdag:
20.00 Survivor – Amerikanska Robinson kommer den här säsongen att flytta till Kina!
21.00 C.S.I: Crime Scene Investigation – Moderskeppet hade som bekant en grym cliffhanger! Kommer Sara Sidle vara kvar nästa år?
22.00 Without a Trace – Faktiskt den amerikanska serie (Brottskod: Försvunnen) med de största tittarsiffrorna I Sverige. Möjligen för att den går på SVT...

Fredag:
20.00 Ghost Whisperer – Jennifer Love Hewitt viskar vidare till sina spöken
21.00 Moonlight – NEW! Joel Silvers variant av Buffy? Om en vampyr som är polis. Skeptisk.(Se D)
22.00 Numb3rs – Mera fall lösta med hjälp av matte.

Söndag:

19.00 60 Minutes - En klassiker
20.00 Viva Laughlin – NEW! Bygger på en BBC-serie om en kille som skall starta ett Casino (i originalet i Blackpool…här i Laughlin), innehåller musikalnummer och bland skådisarna hittar vi Hugh Jackman, Melanie Griffith (!) och Twin Peaks Mädchen Amick. Kanske kan bli något? (Se E)
21.00 Cold Case
22.00 Shark

Någonstans mid-season kommer sedan deras "mest vågade show någonsin" (behöver inte betyda mycket för amerikanska kanaler som inte är kabelkanaler…ingen tutt&snopp-orgie a' la' Sopranos/Rome/SatC/The Tudors är att vänta trots alla varningar, alltså) – Swingtown (se F). Ser trots det ganska vågat och okej ut i trailern, och om inte annat får vi säkert en massa kul musik och schyssta miljöer.

A) The Big Bang Theory
Brainy best friends Leonard and Sheldo, who can tell you anything you want to know about quantum physics, but when it comes to dealing with everyday life here on earth they're lost in the cosmos.
Neither fully understands that scientific principles don't always apply in matters of the heart - until they meet their sexy new neighbor Penny, a friendly screenwriter/waitress from the midwest who also happens to be newly single.
She quickly makes an impression on the other members of Leonard and Sheldon's geek squad - Howard Wolowitz, who portrays himself as the Casanova of Cal Tech, and fellow whiz kid Rajesh Koothrappali, who is rendered speechless around anyone unprepared to converse about the Theory of Relativity or other scientific jargon.
The chemistry between this gaggle of geniuses and a delightful damsel is about to undergo a stimulating series of inter-personal experiments.

B) Cane
An epic drama about the external rivalries and internal power struggles of a large Cuban-American family running an immensely successful rum and sugar business in South Florida.
When the family patriarch, Pancho, is offered a lucrative but questionable deal by his bitter adversary, the Samuels, to purchase thousands of acres of sugar fields, he's faced with a tough choice: Should he cash out of the sugar business and focus solely on rum, which would please his impulsive natural son, Frank, or protect the family legacy that he built from the ground up by not selling, and side with his adopted son, Alex (Jimmy Smits), who mistrusts the Samuels and still sees value in sugar.
Alex and Frank's approach to business is as different as their approach to life. While Frank might lose focus chasing women, Alex is deeply in love with his beautiful wife, Isabel, who is also Pancho's daughter. Married when she was just 17 years old, Isabel balances Alex by choosing not to involve herself in the business, focusing instead on their three children, who are determined to forge their own paths outside the family.
For the Duques, will family allegiance come first or will their secrets and acrimonious conflicts over love, lust and control of the family fortune be their downfall?

C) Kid Nation
A reality-based series in which 40 kids will have 40 days to build a new world - in a ghost town that died in the 19th Century. These kids, ages 8-15, will spend more than a month without their parents or modern comforts in Bonanza City, N.M., attempting to do what their forefathers could not - build a town that works.
They will cook their own meals, clean their own outhouses, haul their own water and even run their own businesses - including the old town saloon (root beer only). They'll also create a real government - four kid leaders who will guide the group through their adventure, pass laws and set bedtimes.
Through it all, they'll cope with regular childhood emotions and situations: homesickness, peer pressure and the urge to break every rule they've ever known. At the end of each episode, all 40 kids will gather at an old fashioned Town Hall meeting where they will debate the issues facing Bonanza City. They'll show wisdom beyond their years and the unflinching candor that only kids can exhibit.
There are no eliminations on Kid Nation - you only go home if you want to. And in every Town Hall meeting, kids may raise their hands and leave. Will they stick it out? In the end, will these kids prove to adults everywhere (and their own parents!) that they have the vision to build a better world than the pioneers who came before them? And just as importantly, will they come together as a cohesive unit, or will they abandon all responsibility and succumb to the childhood temptations that lead to round-the-clock chaos?

D) Moonlight
Follows Mick St. John a captivating "undead" investigator who uses his acute vampire senses to help the living... instead of feeding on them.
In an agonizing twist of fate, Mick was "bitten" 60 years ago by his new bride, the seductive and beguiling Coraline. Immortal and eternally as young, handsome and charismatic as he was then, Mick is sickened by Coraline and other vampires who view humans only as a source of nourishment.
With only a handful of undead confidantes for company, including deceitful ally Josef, Mick fills his infinite days protecting the living, and trying not to think about how his life would have been if he hadn't followed his heart. However, after six decades of resisting, he wonders if it's time to pursue the love of a mortal.
He has his eyes on Beth Turner, a beautiful, ambitious reporter who has been covering the ongoing plague of unusual murders. But would Beth even consider giving up a normal life to be with him, and can Mick risk the pain of seeing himself as a monster in her eyes? As Mick lives between two realities, fighting his adversaries among the undead and falling in love with Beth, he knows he needs to figure out a reason to keep "living".

E) Viva Laughlin
Based on the hit BBC show "Viva Blackpool". Ripley Holden is the ultimate gambler with an infectious personality who is on the brink of making a killing... just as soon as he opens his casino that's nowhere near completion.
When his financing suddenly falls through, the fearless and tenacious Ripley approaches his enemy - dashing, sarcastic, wealthy casino owner Nicky Fontana (Hugh Jackman) for help. Though the odds are stacked against him, Ripley doesn't miss a beat, even when he becomes embroiled in a murder investigation after the body of his ex-business partner is found at his club.
At home, Ripley uses his dry wit to adjust to the demands of his family: his gorgeous wife, Natalie (Mädchen Amick), wants more attention; his teenage daughter, Cheyenne wants his approval; and his son, wants to help him at work.
All of this adversity would defeat a lesser man, but for the outgoing and passionate Ripley there's no such thing as bad news, only deals to be struck and wagers to be won in the intoxicating neon glow of Laughlin, where the cards are on the table, romance is in the air and lively music is on the stage.

F) Swingtown
Peeks into the shag-carpeted suburban homes of the 1970s to find couples reveling in the sexual and social revolution that introduced open marriages, women's liberation and challenged many conventional wisdoms.

During this heady era of provocative change, Susan (Molly Parker) and Bruce Miller (Jack Davenport) move their family to an affluent Chicago suburb in search of a different sense of community, and they look forward to barbecues and get-togethers with their new neighbors, as well as a change of pace for their teenage daughter and pre-teen son. Enter Tom and Trina Decker, a striking, outgoing couple on the hunt who redefine the term "neighborhood watch."
After a mind-blowing evening with them, Susan and Bruce realize that couples in this town share much more than recipes, local gossip and a view of Lake Michigan, and are worlds apart from their former conservative neighbors, Janet and Roger Thompson. Susan's loyal friend Janet is appalled by what she witnesses in this new neighborhood, while Roger, though dutiful to his wife, may be more intrigued than she knows.
In a changing social climate - defined by its music, fashion and style - everyone in "Swingtown" is confronted with personal choices, experimentation and shifting attitudes.

Av de mer kända serier som CBS lagt ned hittar vi efter-bomben-serien Jericho (vars fans gått completely bezerk efter beskedet, då serien slutade mitt I händelseförloppet) och Frindsskaparnas komedi The Class (som var okej, men som aldrig blev bättre än sin pilot).