We continue our look back at my expectations for the fall television season, and today we are focusing on Tuesdays.

7:00

Raising Hope – The quirky Fox drama returns for its third season with more of the same hilarity.

Nothing new to report on the Raising Hope front.  You know what you are going to get: no more, no less.

7:30

Ben and Kate – The premiere episode wasn’t bad, and I was pretty impressed with Dakota Johnson as Kate, but I could feel Nat Faxon’s Ben starting to grate during the first half hour.  I’m not sure how much more of him I am willing to take.

As it turns out, I wasn’t willing to take any more, since I never went back to watch any subsequent episodes.

8:00

Go On – Matthew Perry’s latest attempt to escape the shadow of Chandler Bing has aired three episodes already and it isn’t bad.  Perry plays a sports radio host who joins a support group after his wife died.

Like most of Perry’s post-Friends output, a lot of the heavy lifting is left to his charm.  There are flashes of something here, though, and if the writers can figure out how to consistently offer something beyond Perry’s innate likability, they will be on to something.

New Girl – Zooey Deschanel returns in one of last season’s break out comedy hits.  The show got stronger as the season went on and the writers found their footing, and I’m looking forward to its return.

New Girl continues to impress, and has even started to find interesting things to do with Winston this year.

Happy Endings – This went from a late season replacement to one of the most consistently funny comedies on TV last season.  The ensemble group plays well off of each other and the writers bring the funny every week.

Still funny, but it seems that hardly anyone is watching.  With ABC burning off episodes by airing them on both Tuesdays and Sundays, I fear we may be looking at the unhappy end of Happy Endings.

Emily Owens M.D. – Honestly, this show doesn’t sound too interesting, but I’ve enjoyed Mamie Gummer’s work in the past, so I may be willing to give it a try.

And try it I did before bailing part way through the first episode.

8:30

The New Normal – I watched the first episode of this “comedy” and have no intention of going back for more.

 

I’m happy to say that I never did go back.

The Mindy Project – Mindy Kaling leaves The Office and branches out on her own in this comedy about a young, single doctor looking for love.  I’ve already seem the premiere and, while it wasn’t great, I’m willing to give her a chance to improve.

There’s something about The Mindy Project that isn’t quite clicking, and the producers and writers are aware of that and have been tinkering with the show since the second episode.  It seems like it is still impossible to judge the show, since we are still waiting to see what kind of show it will end up being.

Don’t Trust The B—- In Apt 23 – Krysten Ritter, Dreama Walker, and James Van Der Beek return in the surprising comedy hit from ABC.  The show impressed in it’s brief run last spring, so I’m hoping it follows the Happy Endings path and continues to improve.

 

Another show that is near impossible to judge thanks to unaired episodes from the first season being sprinkled in with the second season episodes with no rhyme or reason, causing everything to be disjointed.

9:00

Parenthood – This show continues to be something of an enigma, where I like it enough to keep watching, but the episodes tend to bunch up on the DVR before I get around to watching them.

Well, I can say that Parenthood has raised its game this year.  With just a few episodes left, the show has nearly become appointment television.

Private Practice – To be honest, I think I’m about done with this show.  However, it seems ABC, and star Kate Walsh, are too, so I’m willing to ride out what is expected to be the last 13 episodes.

The structure of the show was changed up a bit this year, with every episode spanning nearly the same time frame but focusing on one character.  It was a choice that has injected a little life in the final season of the show.

Returning shows include the interesting, if somewhat repetitive Pretty Little Liars, the new cable incarnation of Cougar Town, and a revamped Smash.