Fall TV Lineup

TV’s fall lineup sure to please

By VALERIE SWAYNE

Daily Titan Staff

Falling leaves and cool temperatures signal the offi cial start of autumn, a season marked by football games, fun-fi lled holidays and the end of daylight savings. Best of all, great entertainment can be found, not just at the movie theaters or on the sports’ fi elds, but also on the small screen.

While beloved TV series such as “Lost,” “Desperate Housewives” and others return for another season, a new crop of exciting shows are debuting on all the major networks.

Here is a complete break down of some of these promising prospects to help the discerning TV viewer decide which to tune in to throughout the week.

“Prison Break,” which debuted Aug. 29 on Fox, gives away the premise of the story right in the title. Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell), convicted of killing the vice president’s brother, is sentenced to death. Before his execution he is locked up at Fox River State Penitentiary.

His brother, Michael Scofi eld (Wentworth Miller), is convinced Burrows is innocent and stages a bank robbery so he’ll land in the same prison. Outside of Fox River, Scofi eld worked as an architect and helped design the entire prison.

When he lands inside he uses an extensive map of the prison’s blueprints tattooed on his arms and torso to help Lincoln break out. Meanwhile, his friend and lawyer Veronica Donovan (Robin Tunney) investigates the details behind Lincoln’s conviction and discovers a government conspiracy. All of the characters are connected and involved in the escape, whether it’s Scofi eld’s fellow inmates or the mystery woman who orders government agents to thwart his allies.

It’s not too late to get hooked on this tense, action-packed drama on Mondays at 9 p.m.

In lighter fare, “My Name is Earl” premiered Sept. 20 on NBC. The 30-minute series is a wacky comedy about Earl (Jason Lee), a loser who is hit by a car after winning the lottery.

Recovering in the hospital, he sees Carson Daly on TV talking about karma. Earl refl ects on his life and believes his near-death experience is the result of his bad deeds and bad attitude.

Accompanied by his slacker brother Randy (Ethan Suplee) and sexy friend Catalina (Nadine Velazquez), he ditches his trailertrash ex-wife Joy (Jaime Pressly) and her boyfriend Darnell (Eddie Steeples) and sets out with his winnings to right all his wrongs.

The fi rst recipient on his list of wrongdoings is Kenny (guest star Gregg Binkley), a victim of Earl’s school bullying. Earl helps Kenny fi nd happiness at a gay bar. Underneath its zany antics, “My Name is Earl” shows a lot of heart without being sappy. Catch Earl and friends Tuesdays at 9 p.m.

“Invasion” debuted Sept. 21 on ABC with a warning to viewers to use discretion while watching because some of the scenes were similar to recent real-life events. In the pilot, a hurricane alters the lives of residents of a small Florida town after causing a military plane to crash.

Park ranger Russell Varon (Eddie Cibrian) is stranded after reuniting with his lost daughter, Rose (Ariel Gade), who sees mysterious lights in the water. His ex-wife, Dr. Mariel Underlay (Kari Matchett), missing during the storm, is found nude and disoriented at the sight of the lights. His brother-in-law, Dave (Tyler Labine), discovers a mysterious skeleton and offers it as proof of his conspiracy theory - that the hurricane was “a smokescreen cooked up by the government” to cover up an alien invasion.

The show’s ominous tone is aided by strategic music during tense moments, such as Rose saying her mom “smells different” and Sheriff Tom Underlay (William Fitchner) whispering secretly to storm survivors.

This show will invade your TV Wednesdays at 10 p.m.

“Everybody Hates Chris,”

launched Sept. 22 on UPN, is a 30-minute comedy about the childhood of stand-up comedian Chris Rock. With an executive producer credit, Rock narrates the show while Tyler James Williams acts out Rock’s teenage life growing up in Brooklyn in 1982. As the “emergency adult”, Rock was responsible for his younger brother Drew (Tequan Richmond) and bratty sister Tonya (Imani Hakim), who often got him in trouble with his hard-working dad, Julius (Terry Crews), and tough-loving mom, Rochelle (Tichina Arnold). They move out of the projects to a house in Bedsty, a place nicknamed “do or die” because of its reputation for an abundance of violence and drugs. His mom sends him to Brooklyn Beach High School, which was two bus rides away from the racist bullies who picked on him.

Despite the mean intentions of siblings and classmates, “Everybody Hates Chris” is not likely to conjure up any ill will.

Everyone can hate or love the show Thursdays at 8 p.m.

“Ghost Whisperer,” a new show on CBS, marked a dramatic close to the week on Friday. The lead character, Melinda Gordon, (Jennifer Love Hewitt), inherited her grandmother’s ability to see ghosts as a little girl.

Newly married to paramedic Jim Clancy (David Conrad), she runs an antique store with pal Andrea Moreno (Aisha Tyler) while helping wayward spirits fi nd peace and cross over to “the light.”

In the pilot episode, the ghost of an MIA Vietnam soldier (guest star Wentworth Miller) appears to Gordon begging for her help to go home. She learns the details of his last moments and shares them with his son (guest star Balthazar Getty), who fi rst reacts with disdain but then accepts her gift. When the soldier’s remains are found and laid to rest in a proper military funeral, the soldier’s ghost can move on into “the light.” “Ghost Whisperer” is a touching must-see on Fridays at 8 p.m.

Concert Calendar

Fri, 09/30/05 7:30 p.m. My Chemical Romance Los Angeles Sports Arena Los Angeles

Fri, 9/30/05 7:30 p.m. Plea for Peace Tour Chain Reaction Anaheim

Fri, 09/30/05 8 p.m. Less Than Jake Roxy Theatre Hollywood

Fri, 09/30/05 8 p.m. Neil Diamond STAPLES Center Los Angeles

Fri, 09/30/05 10 p.m. DJ Quik Canyon Dinner Theater Agoura Hills

Sat, 10/01/05 7 p.m. Nine Inch Nails Hollywood Bowl Hollywood

Sat, 10/01/05 8 p.m. Robert Plant The Wiltern LG Los Angeles

Sat, 10/01/05 7 p.m. CSUF Jazz Ensemble I Brea Jazz Festival Brea

Wed, 10/05/05 8 p.m. Sigur Rose Hollywood Bowl Hollywood

Thurs, 10/06/05 8 p.m. The Killers Long Beach Arena Long Beach

Thurs, 10/06/05 7 p.m. OC Supertones - Farewell Show Biola University Gym La Mirada