My Name is Earl

In BuddyTV's 2007 Fall TV Guide, we reviewed all the returning shows to tell you what’s worth watching according to three of our writers, Oscar Dahl, Debbie Chang and John Kubicek.


10. Ugly Betty

The main reason to watch is the combined fabulousness of Mark (Michael Urie) and Amanda (Becki Newton). He'll be getting a new boyfriend, and she is Fey Sommers' daughter. Let the catfights commence!

9. Brothers & Sisters

Will Kitty (Calista Flockhart) marry Senator McAllister (Rob Lowe)? Will Saul (Ron Rifkin) come out of the closet? How long will Justin (Dave Annable) be in Iraq, and how much of it will we see? I must know, because there's no more heartwarming or exasperating family on TV than the Walkers.


8. Grey's Anatomy

Season 3 kind of sucked. I'm so over MerDer, and Gizzie was a preposterous plot device that existed solely as a way to manufacture conflict in George's marriage. Hopefully Shonda Rhimes will wipe the slate clean and start anew.


7. Beauty and the Geek

Throwing a himbo/nerd girl combo into the mix is just the kind of social experiment I want to see. You can only imagine that all the female hotties will do everything they can to keep the hunk in the house, while the nerds relive past nightmares of wedgies and purple nurples.


6. Boston Legal

Boston Legal already has Emmy winners James Spader, William Shatner, Candice Bergen and Christian Clemenson, so they don't need it, but David E. Kelley still went out and picked up John Larroquette as the newest series regular. The man won four consecutive Emmys for his work in Night Court, and another Emmy for his fiendishly delightful performance as serial killer Joey Heric in Kelley's other show, The Practice. That cast is reason enough to tune in.


5. Heroes

OK, forget about the sub-par first season finale. Up until that point, this was a satisfying and enjoyable action-packed romp. Fans need to know what will happen to Hiro (Masi Oka) in ancient Japan. The cast has expanded greatly, but there are only two new names you need to remember: David Anders, who was deliciously evil in Alias, and Kristen Bell, because she's the bee's knees.


4. Friday Night Lights

Regardless of whether or not you watched (and the ratings say you probably didn't), Friday Night Lights was the single best show on all of TV last year. Tami Taylor (Connie Britton) is pregnant and her husband Eric (Kyle Chandler) is now coaching at TMU. The addition of 24 fan favorite Glenn Morshower can only make this great show even better.


3. The Office

Jim and Pam are going on a date! Their relationship is what drives the undercurrent of emotion that propels the show to true greatness, and I'm curious how it will change the show. Also, The Office released an online video about what the employees of Dunder-Mifflin Scranton did on their summer vacation. It was the three funniest minutes of the summer.


2. House

For a procedural, House has quite a streak of continuity. When season 3 ended, Dr. Gregory House's (Hugh Laurie) entire staff either quit or was fired. How will House deal without his team, and more importantly, how will he get them back? It's a big enough question to make this one of the most anticipated returning shows.


1. My Name is Earl

Aside from Lost, no network TV show had a bigger game-changing finale than NBC comedy My Name is Earl. For crimes committed by his ex-wife Joy (Jaime Pressly), Earl Hickey (Jason Lee) confessed and was sentenced to two years in prison, leaving viewers wondering how the show can possibly adapt to this dramatic change. I for one will be tuned in when My Name is Earl returns to see if this move is one of greatness, or the ultimate jump the shark moment.


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Not happy with this list? Check out Oscar Dahl's Top 10 and Debbie Chang's Top 10. Whom do you agree with the most? We'd love to read your comments.


-John Kubicek, BuddyTV
(Image courtesy of NBC)