New On Fox: A Look at Fall 2011

Last week Fox released its schedule for Fall 2011 and Spring of 2012. Returning are some old favorites including House, Glee, and Bones, set to continue airing at their usual times. Surprisingly, Fringe continues to hold on to one of the Friday night death slots, previously used to kill of shows such as Dollhouse and Firefly.

New this Fall:

• New on Monday night is Terra Nova, a science fiction adventure. The year is 2149 and Earth is overcrowded and overdeveloped. Luckily, a particle accelerator unexpectedly finds a fracture in time that allows travel back to prehistoric Earth. The decision is made to start resettling people in the past with the hope of creating a better future. The story follows the Shannon family as they look for a new beginning, however they quickly discover that things are not as awesome in dinosaur times as they seem. Terra Nova looks interesting and potentially enjoyable. To me it seems like a crossover between the Swiss Family Robinson and Jurassic Park but with time travel. The cast is filled with actors with some experience, from shows that I have never heard of, but with Steven Spielberg listed as an executive producer, it might stand half a chance of success.

• New for Tuesday is New Girl (working title), a half hour sitcom staring Zoe Deschanel as Jess Day, a “offbeat and adorable girl in her lat twenties who, after a bad breakup, moves in with three single guys” (fox.com). Awkward moments and hilarity ensue as they, along with Jess's best friend Cece, become a dysfunctional sort of family. Overall, the trailer for the show contains a few funny moments and seems to be well suited for a short slot between Glee and Raising Hope. I'll probably catch the first few episodes online and decide if it's worth following.

• The next new non-reality show for the new Fox fall line up is a comedy called I Hate My Teenage Daughter (working title), which will be airing at 9:30pm on Wednesday nights. Annie (Jamie Pressly) and Nikki (Katie Finneran) star as best friends and single mothers trying to raise their teenage daughters. Annie and Nikki's original intent was to give their daughters the lives they themselves never had, but inadvertently the mothers end up creating new versions of the girls who bullied them through their teenage years. Realizing their mistakes, they now must try to fix what has been broken. I Hate My Teenage Daughter looks like it might have some funny moments as it takes a comedic look at the sometimes complicated mother-daughter relationship dynamic.

• I would be remiss in a review of Fox's fall TV lineup if I did not mention the two and a half hours it will be dedicating to The X-Factor on Wednesday (8-9:30) and Thursday (8-9) nights. This is the same block of time reserved for American Idol in the spring and is another variety of singing competition. The X Factor is really going to have to be something special if they hope to make it distinctive from every other singing competition on television, especially with Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul as judges on the show. Joining them are Antonio “L.A.” Reid and Cheryl Cole. I'm really not sure how I feel about Fox dedicating so much time to yet another singing completion. We all know that there are people in America who can sing. Pick a new topic, please.

• I also feel the need to mention Allen Gregory, the new addition to Fox's Sunday night comedy lineup. The show is about an ultra-smart and pretentious seven year old who leaves the homeschooling of his father to join elementary school with children his own age. The show looks to be about in line with the rest of the Fox Sunday night shows,which have never really been an interest to me, but some people find hilarious. If you like shows like Family Guy and The Simpsons, it might be worth it to check out Allen Gregory, airing at 8:30 on Sunday night.

For a more detailed description of the above mentioned shows, check out http://www.fox.com/programming/. Stop back sometime in the winter months for a look at the new mid-season pickups including Alcatraz, The Finder, and Napoleon Dynamite. Feel free to sound off below on your thoughts for new TV this Fall on Fox.