TUESDAY, SEPT. 23
Opportunity Knocks
Ordinary families find an entire game show brought to their doorstep, with themselves the surprised contestants, as they are forced to answer questions about one another. (I had a nightmare like this once.) Prankster producer Ashton Kutcher lurks nearby.
ABC, 8 p.m.
The Mentalist
The anti-"Medium." CBS takes a hopefully charmed third shot with Simon Baker ("The Guardian," "Smith") as a haunted, possibly crazy, former phony psychic who uses his Holmes-like powers of deduction and cold-reading skills to manipulate witnesses and break cases. (My own powers of deduction were sufficient to break the case in an early preview episode, however.) CBS, 9 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 24
Knight Rider
"My Partner, the Car." A souped-up sequel to the '80s automotive buddy series that gave the world David Hasselhoff and a car named KITT. Will it be the next new "Battlestar Galactica"? Or the new next "Bionic Woman"?
NBC, 8 p.m.
Gary Unmarried
The usually acid Jay Mohr and more typically adorable Paula Marshall are cast against type as an easygoing guy and his controlling ex-wife, whose new significant others join their barb-trading, fractured family circle in an "Old Christine" sort of way. Taped before a studio audience.
CBS, 8:30 p.m.
SUNDAY, SEPT. 28
Little Britain USA
More of a spinoff than a redo: "Little Britain" creators and stars Matt Lucas and David Walliams import themselves and their characters -- including "only gay in the village" Daffyd Thomas and self-excusing teenager Vicky Pollard -- straight into an American setting. A kind of reverse British invasion, worth surrendering to.
HBO, 10:30 p.m.
The Life and Times of Tim
Adult Swim/Comedy Central-style (crudely) animated cartoon sitcom follows luckless, eponymous everyman Tim (created and voiced by former Clio-winning ad man Steve Dildarian) at work and home. "Dr. Katz" fans will recognize the vibe.
HBO, 11 p.m.
TUESDAY, SEPT. 30
Paris Hilton: My New BFF
It's terribly sad that Hilton should have to depend on a reality competition to find herself a new best friend (forever). Thank goodness, then, for MTV, which will help the heiress (and apparent presidential candidate) find one "hot" female friend or "fabulously fierce guy" to be her new Nicole Richie.
MTV, 10 p.m.
FRIDAY, OCT. 3
The Ex List
Upscale chick-flick variation on "My Name Is Earl," in which Elizabeth Reaser receives the mystical news that she must marry within the year and that her soul mate will be someone with whom she's already been involved. So she sets off to kiss old frogs -- this show looks to be hard on men -- to find a prince. Diane Ruggerio (creator of the under-loved "That's Life") adapts from Israel's "Mythological X."
CBS, 9 p.m.
SUNDAY, OCT. 5
In Harm's Way
A basic-cable-style reality show about people with dangerous jobs -- war photographers, minesweepers, oil-well cappers, TV critics. OK, I added that last one. (But eyestrain is no joke.) From at least one of the producers of Discovery Channel's "Dirty Jobs."
CW, 7 p.m./6:30 beginning Nov. 2.
Valentine
Wobbly romantic fantasy from Kevin Murphy ("Reaper," "Ed") in which Greco-Roman gods set up shop in Los Angeles to minister to humans too dumb to see a soul mate when he/she is staring them in the face. (I guess we're in need of special help here.) Part of the CW's subcontracted Sunday night lineup (produced by Media Rights Capital).
CW, 8 p.m.
Easy Money
Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider ("Northern Exposure," "The Sopranos") offer an improbable but highly intriguing drama about a strip-mall, high-interest loan business and the family that runs it. Laurie Metcalf is here in a red wig as a hot matriarch -- a new trendlet, counting Katey Sagal in "Sons of Anarchy." With a cameo by Paul Johnson's great historical tome, "The Birth of the Modern."
CW, 9 p.m.
MONDAY, OCT. 6
Magic's Biggest Secrets Revealed
Or how to make an hour disappear. Val Valentino, the unmasked Masked Magician from a series of similar Fox specials, returns after a decade for more of the same. (He'd left a few secrets out, evidently.)
MyNetwork, 9 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 8
World's Funniest Moments
Did Grandma fall into the wedding cake? Uncle Benny get a whiffle bat to the crotch? Did baby Daisy get in a stare-off with the family cat? Groundbreaking series uses home video to explore the lighter side of the human condition.
MyNetwork, 8 p.m.
The Tony Rock Project
Chris Rock's little brother ("All of Us") gets his own show, featuring man-on-the-street interviews, pranks and hidden cameras.
MyNetwork, 9 p.m.
THURSDAY, OCT. 9
Kath & Kim
The casting of Molly Shannon, Selma Blair and John Michael Higgins gives me hope for this domestic recast of Australia's favorite comedy, about a slightly dim divorced mother and her slightly dim separated daughter living in too-close quarters.
NBC, 8:30 p.m.
SNL Thursday Night Live
At last ready for prime time, "Saturday Night Live" colonizes Thursday for a while to capitalize on the impending election. Or perhaps just to get closer to Tina Fey.
NBC, 9:30 p.m.
