The new Fall shows

Okay, I'll admit it, I'm super psyched asbout the new Fall season.  I can't wait for my faves like "Modern Family", "The Good Wife", "Grey's Anatomy" and "Brothers & Sisters" to return and I'm equally pumped about all of the new offerings.  So I put my trusty DVR to work this week to catch some of the new talked about shows and here is TarazTake on them.

"The Event" (seriously, how do they get that second "e" to go backwards??!!  It's just too weird) - 9:00pm Mondays on NBC

In a word: FABULOUS!!!  I was concerned that this show was going to be one of those that wouldn't live up to the hype, and boy am I happy that I was wrong.  As an avid watcher of "24", this show almost feels like a spin-off.  It is edge-of-your-seat suspense and it leaves you counting down the days until next Monday.  This is a show that grabs your attention and keeps it.  I am sooooo all in.  As Renee Zellwegger told Tom Cruise in "Jerry Maguire", "you had me at hello!"  If there is any negative here for me is that they have Blair Underwood playing a Cuban President who has no discernible Latin accent.  President Martinez has some "splanian to do!"  To close this on an upbeat note, it is so cool that they have so many veteran actors in the cast and I was especially happy to see Lisa Vidal as the first lady (I've been a fan of hers since her days on "New York Undercover").

"Chase" - Mondays at 10:00pm on NBC

I'm not familair with Kelli Giddish and her work, butr watching this show I kept asking myself: where has this girl been all of my life?!  She is perfectly cast as Annie Frost, the tough-as-nails U.S. Marshall who packs a mean punch.  The show is aptly titled as they are constantly on the hunt for serious bad guys and trying to anticipate their next move.  What's unique to me about this show is that the focus isn't so much on the victims but on the ones who victimized them, as Annie so bluntly put it: "the police care about where he's been, we care about where he is going".  The show has a very diverse and attractive cast, and with the genius that is Jerry Bruckheimer behind it, it is my pick for the sleeper of the season. 

"Detroit 1-8-7" - Tuesdays at 10:00pm on ABC

Okay, so I have to admit that I got caught up in the whole advertising line on this one "for those who loved NYPD Blue...", and since that was one of my favorite cop shows of all time, I had to give this a shot (plus, I wanted to show the city of Detroit some much needed love).  My thumb is kind of half way up on this one.  While I didn't hate it, it didn't knock my socks off either.  It's nice to see Michael Imperiolli be someone other than Christopher Moltisanti; to see veteran actor James McDaniel back on television (seriously, does he ever age?), and to see Aisha Hinds come from playing a recovering crackhead on "HawthoRNe" to playing a Lieutenant in charge (only on television, folks), but I'm going to have to give this a couple more episodes before I make a decision to keep watching this one.  I will say that there was an unexpected ending to the first episode that gave you hope that the season could be promising.

"Outlaw" - Fridays at 10:00pm on NBC

I have this crazy allegiance to Jimmy Smits that will make me watch him in everything he does.  I am so sad to say that I think this is going to be another short-lived effort (does anyone remember "Cane?").  Jimmy plays Cyrus Garza, a judge who decides to leave the Supreme Court to take on cases where there is perceived injustice.  He is doing this in part because he lives constantly with the memory of how he disappointed his beloved father, a respected lawyer, who died in a car crash where Cyrus was a passenger.  While this show offers the opportunity to have Cyrus try all types of cases in various cities, it doesn't set itself apart enough in any real discernible way that will make you think it has staying power.  This truly makes me sad.  However, my love and respect for Jimmy Smits and his work will keep me watching until the bitter end.

So that's TarazTake for today.  What are your thoughts?