From Deseret News archives:
29 new shows are headed for your TV
Will it work? Looks like it could be a great bridge between "How I Met Your Mother" and "Two and a Half Men."
Debuts: Mondays, Sept. 24
ALIENS IN AMERICA (Mondays, 7:30 p.m., CW/Ch. 30) has nothing to do with outer space, it's about the Midwest.
Justin Tolchuck (Dan Byrd) is a nice, normal, average, shy, awkward 16-year-old who feels like an alien at his Wisconsin high school. His well-meaning mother, Franny (Amy Pietz), wants desperately for him to be popular, but her efforts only make things worse. So she decides to take in a foreign-exchange student to give Justin a built-in friend.
However, instead of the Nordic god they were expecting, they get Raja Musharaff (Adhir Kalyan), a 16-year-old Muslim from a small village in Pakistan.
Franny is aghast. Justin's dad Gary (Scott Patterson of "Gilmore Girls") is only worried about the monthly check they get from the exchange program.
Poor Raja is also a nice, normal kid, but he's made to feel completely alien in America. And, quite unexpectedly, he and Justin form a firm friendship.
What's to like? Byrd and Kalyan are great; the show feels fresh; it's not afraid to have a Muslim character and be funny.
What's not to like? Some of the jokes are a bit too much (although the scene in the original pilot of the school bullies putting a (fake) gun in Justin's mouth has been edited out).
Will it work? Given that The CW hasn't been able to turn "Everybody Hates Chris" into a hit, there's little reason to think the network can make a hit out of "Aliens in America." But, given The CW's somewhat lower ratings expectations, this could do well enough to survive.
Debuts: Monday, Oct. 1
K-VILLE (Mondays, 8 p.m., Fox/Ch. 13) is the most pompous show of the new season a mediocre (at best) cop show cloaking itself in a false mantle of quality because it's set and shot in post-Katrina New Orleans.
Marlin Boulet (Anthony Anderson) is a NOPD veteran, a member of the Felony Action Squad who stood at his post during the flood while his partner (and a lot of other New Orleans cops) ran off. Two years after the disaster, he's obsessed with rebuilding the city and his life.
His new partner, Trevor Cobb (Cole Hauser) is an Army veteran who served in Afghanistan. And Marlin isn't too sure about him.
Recent comments
First of all, I really am taking this as what to watch and what not...
Normally a Pierce fan.. | Sept. 17, 2007 at 8:39 p.m.
Thank you for finally being the first person to actually gave an...
Megan | Sept. 17, 2007 at 2:40 p.m.
- Obama, Soviet's Afghan endgame 1:04 a.m.
- Victims of Bhopal demand cleanup 12:55 a.m.
- Pakistanis kill 15 militants 12:47 a.m.
- SLCC campus briefs 12:24 a.m.
- Westminster campus briefs 12:22 a.m.
- SUU campus briefs 12:20 a.m.
- Sports on the air 12:12 a.m.
- Editorial: Buy local this Christmas 12:11 a.m.
- Conflicting advice for wise shopping 12:11 a.m.
- Half-baked nonstrategy will not work 12:11 a.m.
- Why is Y. ignoring spew of hatred?
- Unbeaten BYU takes trip to Logan
- Mitchell said to share LeBaron traits
- BCS just keeps dirty laundry on spin
- Teen girl killed in Kaysville crash
- Utahns growing tired of Bennett
- 2 citations issued at Y.-U. game
- Orem pair getting a rep for crime
- MWC awaits bowl destinations
- Simple candies for the holidays
- Hall mouths off about hate of Utah
914 - Cougars beat Utes in overtime
483 - Hall reprimanded by MWC
405 - Max Hall issues apology
392 - Hall's pain reflects self-betrayal
358 - Utes won't respond to Hall
278 - BYU says Hall incident resolved
244 - Why is Y. ignoring spew of hatred?
237 - 2 citations issued at Y.-U. game
184 - Religion in politics is tiresome
154
As distressing as it was to see KUTV's longtime vice president/general...
What a fun game to watch!! I love seeing the Aggs step up huge on defense. I...
Take of your Rose-colored glasses and watch the game again. Y'all got beat...
Hey guys... what does BYU and Swag have in common??......... They both get...
Way to go AGGIES!! Can't wait till UNLV comes into Provo and punks them again.
From an example of a law abiding citizen, Rodney King ..."U of U and BYU...
First, you must bleed that parched, ugly, awful royal blue, because that's...
I did not know anyone in the accident, I am not from this area; but the...
Yum...I want some now.
don't get me wrong, i have tons of respect for coach sloan and what he's done...
If we could only figure out a use ( like the presto-logs from sawdust ) for...



