Autumn is upon us, and I haven’t talked fall television yet. That’s a bit of a disappointment for this videophile. It’s been mentioned before on this blog that I am a TV addict, and my last post on TV shows was back in April (“TV’s Goodbye and Hello”).

For the fall of 2009, it looks like we have somewhere around 35 new shows premiering this year. I doubt if I’ll be watching even a third of those.

A few of the summer shows caught my attention: Hawthorne on TNT, Royal Pains on USA and Warehouse 13 on SyFy (that’s the former SciFi Channel). And of course, I watched my favorite cable/summer shows: TNT’s The Closer, Saving Grace and Leverage, USA’s Burn Notice, and SyFy’s Eureka.

Now the fall shows have arrived. I caught the premiere last week of Supernatural’s fifth season on the CW, and watched the first episode of CW’s new series, Vampire Diaries. I will go to the ends of the Earth to watch Supernatural for what could be its last season; the teen angst of Vampire Diaries – even with the main teen being more than 250 years old! – may mean I drive a stake in the heart of that show. I’m giving it another ep or two, we’ll see. That’s it for the CW on my to-watch list.

Last night brought new eps of the above shows as well as the first new shows in returning favorites Bones and Fringe on Fox. I’m also a fan of the returning Dollhouse, and I’m watching the new Glee, although I’m not sure how long that one will last on my DVR. So I was glued to the TV for the premiere of Bones, then changed channels for another hour of Supernatural.

Next week is going to be busy – my DVR may go on strike!

Monday brings the return of Heroes on NBC and Castle on ABC. When the dust settles, my Monday’s will read: Heroes and Trauma (premieres the 28th), also on NBC, and Castle. Then in the spring, Chuck returns (hurrah!) along with Day One to replace Heroes and Trauma.

A number of other premieres hit the airwaves on Monday as well: Dancing with the Stars on ABC, How I Met Your Mother, Accidentally on Purpose, The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men and CSI: Miami on CBS, and House on Fox.

Tuesday, I’ll be watching the finale of Warehouse 13, the premieres of returning NCIS, new NCIS: Los Angeles and new The Good Wife on CBS, and the first episode of new series The Forgotten on ABC. And that about sums up my Tuesday evening’s lineup.

Wednesday, as far as new episodes goes, is a full night. For me, not so much. I’ll check out new shows Mercy on NBC and Eastwick on ABC, and possibly ABC’s Cougar Town. The only show at the moment on this night is Glee over on Fox.

Other shows beginning their fall seasons on Wednesday include The New Adventures of Old Christine, Gary Unmarried, Criminal Minds and CSI: NY on CBS, and Modern Family, joining Cougar Town and Eastwick on ABC.

Thursday is a problem night for me. Next week brings the highly anticipated premiere of ABC’s Flash Forward, and the return of that network’s Grey’s Anatomy and CBS’s The Mentalist. All of which means I have shows from 7 to 9 on three networks, plus one at 9 (what with Bones, Fringe, Vampire Diaries and Supernatural already programmed on my DVR).

Tonight will find me watching the season finale of Eureka. Next Friday, I’ll watch the returns of Ghost Whisperer and Numbers on CBS and Dollhouse on Fox, which sums up my fall watching for Friday. Other premieres include the new Brothers on Fox, and the returns of the CW’s Smallville, NBC’s Law & Order, and Medium, now on CBS.

Saturdays usually find me watching movies or cleaning off the DVR. Sundays I’m awaiting the return of Cold Case (the 27th) and the new Three Rivers (premieres October 4) on CBS.

Two other premieres that I’m looking forward to are White Collar over on USA (October 23) and V, a reimaging of a classic series on ABC, on November 3.

Shows that have returned or premiered so far in September include: 90210 and Melrose Place (yes, you read that correctly – both are new takes on old favorites), America’s Next Top Model, One Tree Hill and Gossip Girl over on the CW; So You Think You Can Dance, Glee, Cops and America’s Most Wanted on Fox; Saturday Night Football and 20/20 on ABC; and Football Night in America, Sunday Night Football, The Jay Leno Show, The Biggest Loser, Saturday Night Live: Weekend Update Thursday, Parks and Recreation, The Office and Community on NBC.

Others premiering later in the month include Dateline, Saturday Night Live (the 26th) on NBC; 48 Hours Mystery (the 26th), 60 Minutes, The Amazing Race, and Cold Case (all returning the 27th) on CBS; Extreme Makeover Home Edition, Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters (the 27th), Shark Tank (29th), Hank and The Middle (30th); and The Simpsons, The Cleveland Show, Family Guy and American Dad on Fox (the 27th).

October brings Private Practice, America’s Funniest Home Videos, Ugly Betty and Supernanny on ABC, ’Til Death on CBS, and 30 Rock and Southland on NBC.

Are any shows capturing your attention this season? What’s programmed into your DVR?

I’m off to clear off the DVR to make room for next week’s barrage of shows!

Looks like it’s been a while since we talked TV. After saying goodbye to two favorite series within the last week, it seems like a good time to check the schedule, what’s on my DVR and what’s coming up.

Battlestar Galactica ended its reign on the Sci Fi Channel last week. After four seasons, spread over five years, we finally found our favorite travelers settled and most of our questions were answered. I adored the three-part finale, and I’m looking forward to checking out the new prequel series, Caprica. A movie, The Plan, is set to air in November.

Wednesday night, the series finale of Life on Mars aired on ABC. This was a favorite of mine, and I was very disappointed it had been cancelled even before a full season had aired. However, I have to admit that I wasn’t sure how the premise could continue for any length of time, and I was extremely happy with the way the series was wrapped up. Here’s hoping the cast members soon find other TV homes– it would be a shame for television viewers to be deprived of the talents of this crew: O’Mara, Michael Imperioli, Gretchen Mol, Jonathan Murphy, and the always great Harvey Keitel.

So what does that leave on my DVR? Oh, you just had to ask, didn’t you?! Believe me, I am not suffering when it comes to TV viewing.

A couple of the mid-season shows that I’m watching include the delightful Castle, starring Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic, over on ABC; and an intriguing Dollhouse, the latest from Joss Whedon, on Fox. I’m still giving Kings (NBC) a shot, but I have a feeling it won’t last too much longer on my viewing calendar. The revamped Cupid premiered this week on ABC, and while I’m still a bit uncertain about this one (I loved the 1998 version starring Jeremy Piven and Paula Marshall), it’s waiting on the DVR.

New shows on the horizon include NBC’s Southland, The Listener, Merlin and The Philanthropist; CBS’s Harper’s Island; ABC’s The Unusuals; Sci Fi’s Primevel, Warehouse 13 (could this be like Special Unit 2, a short-lived delight on USA?), Stargate Universe; and USA’s Royal Pains. Oh, and I wish I had HBO: The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency is coming to the small screen, based a series of popular books with a great fanbase.

And I’m waiting, impatiently, for the Dr. Who specials this year, and the series’ return next year on Sci Fi, as well as the returns of Eureka on Sci Fi, Burn Notice on USA, and The Closer and Leverage on TNT.

Would you like a quick look at my current TV week? Sunday: Cold Case and Kings; Monday: 24, Chuck, Heroes, Saving Grace and Castle; Tuesday: NCIS, The Mentalist, Fringe, Cupid; Wednesday: Lost, Life, The Unusuals (in place of the missed Life on Mars); Thursday: Grey’s Anatomy, Eleventh Hour, Supernatural, Bones, and soon Harper’s Island and Southland; Friday: Ghost Whisperer, Flashpoint, Numbers, Terminator, Dollhouse, and whatever’s on Sci Fi; Saturday: movies or catching up on DVR/tapes. Yikes!

What favorites am I missing? Any recommendations?

Now, I need to go search for my life. See ya next week, same time, same channel!

Finally, my television watching will get back to a semblance of normal. OK, there really isn’t “normal” in today’s TV grid, but I can dream, can’t I?

Earlier this week, Jack Bauer returned to the airwaves of FOX as 24 began its seventh season. Day 7 finds Jack in the United States (the movie Redemption showed us what he’s been doing since Day 6 ended) and sitting before a Senate committee. Not good for our Jack. The FBI takes him away from the Senate, only to land him in the middle of yet another bad day. Well, at least Jack’s back!

Tonight will find me watching new episodes of Bones, Eleventh Hour, Grey’s Anatomy, Supernatural, and the premiere episode of The Beast, starring Patrick Swayze, on A&E. You’re right, I won’t be watching all of them in real time. Isn’t that why the DVR was invented?

Tomorrow night, Battlestar Galactica’s final act begins on the Sci-Fi Channel. While I’m sad to see BSG end, I am more than ready for these last 10 episodes: Who is the final Cylon? What happened to Earth and the 13th Tribe? Will Starbuck go crazy, trying to figure out her ‘destiny’? And what happens next for our dysfunctional BSG family?

Last week, new episodes of the CBS shows Cold Case, NCIS, The Mentalist, Ghost Whisperer, Flashpoint and Numb3rs were on my to-see list. I’d given up on Flashpoint after a few shows this summer, thinking it would never return. I didn’t want to get caught up in another show, only to have my heart broken. I was wrong; CBS renewed it, and I’m watching now, although I’m a little lost on what’s going on behind the scenes. You know, I don't know why I watch so much on CBS; they didn't use to air full episodes on-line (I would have liked to catch up on episodes I missed of Eleventh Hour and Flashpoint) and there are no wallpaper downloads available for any of their shows. Anyone listening?

A few other shows (ones I don’t normally watch) have already returned, including House on FOX, Damages and Nip/Tuck on FX, Scrubs and Ugly Betty on ABC, and 30 Rock and ER on NBC, to name just a few.

I’m also enjoying the TNT series Leverage. If you haven’t seen this one, I recommend it. Starring Timothy Hutton, the show follows a team of former bad guys turned good guys still playing at being bad guys. Believe me, it’s good – well written and acted, fast paced, interesting cases, good fight scenes. And it’s funny, too. Always a good sign in my book.

Next week, get ready to return to the island on Lost (I can’t wait!), the new series Lie to Me tries to find a home on FOX, Fringe takes us to the edge again on FOX, and Burn Notice returns to center stage on USA.

For those of you with the premium channels, United States of Tara premieres Sunday on Showtime and Big Love and Flight of the Conchords return to HBO.

The last week of the month, I’m looking forward to the return of Life on Mars (Wednesdays on ABC), and the return of The Closer and the premiere of Trust Me on TNT.

February will find me watching Dollhouse (I’m a major Joss Whedon fan) and the return of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, both on FOX, and the returns of Life, Chuck and Heroes on NBC, while March brings Castle to ABC (starring Nathan Fillion from Firefly and Serenity!) and Kings to NBC. I’m a little conflicted about the new Cupid on ABC; I really enjoyed the short-lived version a few years ago starring Jeremy Piven, so I’ll wait and see on this one. It does have Bobby Cannavale (Third Watch) in its favor.

April premieres The Unusuals on ABC, a cop show starring Amber Tamblyn that might be worth a look; Harper’s Island on CBS, a murder mystery set during a wedding (not sure how long that one will last, but it does have Christopher Gorham, Harry Hamlin and Jim Beaver (Bobby on Supernatural), so I’ll check it out.

Oh, and if you haven’t noticed, I totally ignore reality shows. I even dislike writing the words, let along acknowledging such shows exist. Give me a well-written drama any day of the week, and I’m a happy camper.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to check on the returns of Saving Grace and Eureka, the 2009 special eps of Doctor Who, and when Caprica and Stargate: Universe premiere. Oh, my poor DVR!

Any other new or returning shows that need to be on my radar?

Quite a few books starring vampires live on my bookshelves. Anita Blake, the heroine of Laurell K. Hamilton’s series, loves a vampire named Jean-Claude and a werewolf named Richard. The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher features vampires from the Red Court, the Black Court and the White Court. Carrie Vaughn’s Kitty series stars a shapeshifter while a few vampires make appearances, too. A number of authors, including Maggie Shayne and Charlaine Harris, combine love and mystery with a healthy (unhealthy?) dose of the undead. And of course, Ann Rice’s Vampire Chronicles are classics.

On television, I still miss the recently cancelled Moonlight, which I understand is to be repeated in the near future on Sci-Fi Channel. Lots of us watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, both series featuring Angel, the vampire with a soul, and Spike, a not-so-nice vampire we loved anyway, as well as a host of others.  Forever Knight, a cop drama with a vampire on the night shift trying to atone for his un-life and yearning to become human, was a favorite of mine back in the day. TV’s love of vampires goes back to the daytime drama Dark Shadows, at least in my memory. I’m sure there were other such programs in television’s early years.

Nowadays, the Winchester brothers in Supernatural have been known to stake a few vampires, among other things that go bump in the night. And HBO’s new series (based on books written by Charlaine Harris with protagonist Sookie Stackhouse) True Blood captures new fans each and every week.

At the movies, who can forget Interview With the Vampire, a hit for Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt? Or the classics with Bela Lugosi? There are too many movies to mention, including parodies made famous by George Hamilton and Leslie Nielsen.

Now we have the latest vampire phenomenon, a series of books beginning with Twilight and written by novice author Stephenie Meyer. The movie from the first book, released last weekend and starring Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, grossed nearly $70 million in its first weekend, almost twice what it cost to make. Summit Entertainment immediately announced plans to film New Moon, the second book in the series.

What’s the fascination with vampires? No matter the medium, vampires draw attention, keeping their secrets in the midst of human communities, whether they be the villain of the tale or an anti-hero like Edward Cullen in Twilight. Even in the two Twilights – both of which, unfortunately, move too slowly and left me wishing for something other than what they are –vampires enthrall readers and moviegoers.

A quick study on Wikipedia shows the vampire phenomenon began long ago, probably with the story of Vlad III, born in Transylvania and the ruler of Wallachia (a region of Romania) from 1456 to 1462. Vlad was known as Dracula and Vlad the Impaler. He killed tens of thousands of people, impaling most on a sharp pole, with some accounts saying his victims included up to 100,000 Turkish Muslims. At the time Romania was fighting off an invasion from Turkey, and Vlad was a folk hero to many Romanians.

The name Dracula means son of Dracul. That term is the title given to Vlad II by a secret order of knights known as the Order of the Dragon, an order that vowed to uphold Christianity and defend Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia and the Holy Roman Empire from the Ottoman Turks. Vlad II wore the emblem of the order and as ruler of Wallachia, his coins bore the dragon symbol.

Many stories have used the Dracula theme, including an 1819 short story by John Polidori, The Vampyre, and an 1871 story, Carmilla, by Sheridan Le Fanu. Then Bram Stoker, in his research of Romanian history, found the name and used it for his villain in his 1897 novel of the same name. The rest, as they say, is history.

The vampire quickly bewitched his way into mainstream literature, spawning discussions in every medium, college classes and websites. The undead remain, to the delight and horror of millions of readers, moviegoers and television fanatics, promising to lure each of us into their spell. I consider myself under such a spell, so vampire novels will continue to appear on my bookshelves. I just can’t help myself!

This past weekend was spent cleaning up my video files. For a change, I started the week with my DVR at zero percent and all my videotapes rewound and put away.

If this had been any other fall television season, that feat would not have happened. At one time, I was quite proud to say I watched the first episode or two of every new drama on network television. I usually ignore sitcoms, and I avoid reality shows at all cost!

It’s been different this season. First, there weren’t as many new shows. The five networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and CW) scheduled a mere 22 shows (and several have already been canceled). For some networks, that was a normal fall pilot season back in the days before the writers’ strike. There is an interesting midseason contingent waiting in the wings, which may salvage the 2008-09 television season in the end. But I’m not holding my breath.

Second, I find myself reaching for a book rather than the remote. My lackadaisical attitude where TV is concerned is coming through loud and clear, and it’s good for the bookworm but not for the videophile in me.

So what are you watching? What have you given up on?

Of the new shows, I’m still watching The Mentalist (it’s improving after the first two episodes failed to impress), Fringe (I’m liking the characters and their interaction, though the cases are often fairly gruesome for network television), My Own Worst Enemy (that may change in the weeks to come – it’s off to a rocky start as far as I’m concerned), Life on Mars (loving this one!), Eleventh Hour (I’m still giving this one a chance even with its similarities to Fringe) and Crusoe (I liked the premiere two hours; we’ll see about the next episode).

After the writer’s strike, I stopped recording several shows. As of last week, I stopped recording several others, as well. I quickly gave up on new shows The Ex-List and Easy Money. I didn’t even give Knight Rider a chance after the crappy movie last season (who would guess I’d miss David Hasselhoff, and that I wouldn’t warm to the voice of Val Kilmer as KITT?)

So, what am I watching, you might ask? Here goes (and it’s still a lot!), and not in any particular order: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Chuck, Heroes, Eli Stone, NCIS, Bones, Grey’s Anatomy, Supernatural, Ghost Whisperer, Numbers, Life and Cold Case. And on the cable networks there are The Shield, The Closer, Saving Grace, Stargate: Atlantis, Sanctuary, Battlestar Galactica, Burn Notice and Eureka.

Midseason holds a bit of promise with Castle, Dollhouse, Harper’s Island and the returns of Lost and 24.

I’m still enjoying Chuck, Heroes and Bones, I love Supernatural, NCIS and Life (watch this one, please!), and the jury’s still out on Grey’s, Ghost Whisperer, Cold Case and Sanctuary. I need to see The Shield and Battlestar Galactica through to their ends, and I can hardly wait the see what happens next in the returns of The Closer, Saving Grace, Burn Notice and Eureka.

Guess it’s time to go check the DVR to see what’s waiting for me and the remote!

There are guffaws and mouths agape when I explain my television/video setup, and more than one person walks away, shaking a head, as if to say, “Crazy person!”

At one time, I had three VCRs hooked up to one TV. Nowadays, since my cable company has gone all digital, I have a DVR and two VCRs. With the federal mandate for all over-the-air television channels to be digital by February 2009, many cable companies have followed suit. My provider offers three tiers of service, all digital and many high definition, and one tier of analog channels (converted from the digital). All of which means I can record two digital channels at the same time, record two analog channels at the same time, and view a fifth live.

So I actually now have more recording capacity than I did before the digital revolution. But if anyone had told me that a couple months ago, it would have fallen on deaf ears. I was more than a little resistant to the DVR craze, despite assurances from two of my sisters that I would love having a DVR.

Digital television is changing my viewing habits. I find myself watching TV through the DVR more often than not, though I’m not recording as much at the moment as what I have in the past. That will change in the coming weeks, though.

The writer’s strike earlier this year definitely affected what I watch, and no longer watch. After shows began appearing again, I made a conscious choice to drop several network shows from my regular viewing/recording. That decision, however, doesn’t affect some of the cable shows I enjoy.

A digital converter box (my first test of the digital waters) found its way into my house the week before the return of Battlestar Galactica on the Sci-Fi Channel. And now the DVR is here in time for the return of Burn Notice on USA, Eureka and Stargate Atlantis on Sci-Fi, and Saving Grace and The Closer on TNT.

The problem will come in the fall (which, of course, at this point in time depends on a possible actors’ strike; the latest news I could find is on The Village Vidiot blog) when I have to decide which network and cable show to watch when. So it will probably be a good deal that the DVR and VCRs are hooked up.

Have a fun and safe Fourth of July!