As we start to gear up for midseason premieres and February sweeps, let’s take a look back at what I said and thought back in September.

7:00

How I Met Your Mother – It looks like we (and Ted) are finally going to meet the long-teased titular mother this season, which could be just what the show needs.  It started to drag a bit last season, but the premiere seemed like they were back to form.  At its worst, it is worth watching for Jason Segel and Neil Patrick Harris, who always bring their A-game.

Well, despite a tease here and there, we aren’t really any closer to meeting the titular mother.  But, the season has been good so far, and the last new episode had Jason Segal show just how much range he actually has.

Chuck – The spy comedy enters its fourth season with a new season, a new Buy More, and, finally, Chuck and Sarah together for reals.  One of the better shows on TV at bringing out nerd-culture without talking down to it. 

The introduction of Chuck’s mother has been a godsend for the show, if only for the occasional guest spot from the surprisingly funny Timothy Dalton.  Beyond that, the show has been up to its usual snuff.

 

House – At this point, the case of the week is nowhere near as important as the characters, and this year House and Cuddy are together and 13 disappears for awhile.  It will be interesting to see how long they can keep House and Cuddy together without toning down their workplace dynamic.  On the plus side, Amber Tamblyn joins the cast while 13 is off shooting a movie.

Honestly, the show is starting to show its age.  As expected, Amber Tamblyn has provided a lift, but she didn’t show up until mid-November.  Hopefully having her around for a while, along with the expected return of Olivia Wilde, will perk things up a bit.

8:00

The Event – Ooh, there’s a mystery afoot.  NBC tries to succeed where FlashForward and many others failed in duplicating the success of Lost, but without really understanding what it was that made Lost tick.  The first episode had flashbacks within flashbacks, and doesn’t really give you a reason to care about what is happening to any of the characters.  Their big mystery coming out of the pilot (in addition to what is the event) will bring me back for another week, but it is on a short leash.

So, we are still kind of waiting to find out what the big “event” is, right?  Or was it that the mysterious people locked away in an Alaskan prison are either space aliens or humans from the future that age incredibly slowly?  Either way, the show is going away for a while to re-tool.  Hopefully it comes back for the better.

Lone Star – One of the best reviewed pilots of the season and more people will read this post than will watch this show.  There’s an interesting story there, but I doubt it sees November sweeps.

As it turned out, November was a bit of a reach for this show.  As was October.  At least Lone Star will be remembered as the first casualty of the season, lasting only two episodes.

8:30

Mike & Molly – The only reason I gave this a shot was leftover goodwill towards Sookie from Gilmore Girls.  That goodwill has now been spent.

The pilot did nothing for me and I haven’t been back.

9:00

Hawaii Five-O – Aside from the theme song, I knew nothing of the original.  The appeal here for me is Daniel Dae-Kim, coming off of Lost, and Grace Park in a bikini.  The pilot was good fun, so I’ll stick around for a few weeks and see where it goes.

Still fun.  It may be the very definition of popcorn tv.

Chase – Nothing special here.  It neither impressed, nor offended.

While it has gotten a little better, it is still nothing special.

Castle – Castle comes back without missing a beat.  The entire heart of this show is the relationship between the two leads, and between Castle and his daughter.  It will never make you think, but I’ve never been disappointed that I watched.

Castle continues to be fun, although it seems like the mother and daughter haven’t been around as much.  Laura Prepon’s recent turn as the actress playing Nikki Heat in the movie based on Castle’s book wowed as she aped Stana Katic was amazing.  Hopefully she returns.