Mid-Season TV Starts

Tomorrow is back to school for me as the Spring semester at USC kicks off. While this likely means the reviews I had hoped to post for Bride Wars, Revolutionary Road, and The Unborn will have to wait until I have time to write them on Thursday, I will find a few spare hours to watch the mid-season premieres of several TV shows. Here's what I'll Tivo (I have all night classes this year, blocking live viewings) this week:

Tonight:

• "24" (season premiere): Let's hope it's better than the last P.O.S. season. I have to watch all of Redemption (which unsurprisingly left tonight Globe-less) before I start on this.
• "Desperate Housewives": It's getting good.
  

Monday:

• "24" (FOX) (season premiere, part 2)
• "The Bachelor" (ABC): I normally hate this show as much as the rest of you probably do. But given this season's Bachelor is ten times as much of an idiot as the rest (taking the "hot single dad" promotion pitch), it seems like we pop-culture buffs must not skip the show this time around.
• "Two and a Half Men" and "How I Met Your Mother" (CBS): It's nice to watch average sitcoms in an age when sitcoms are disappearing.

And if those aren't enough, maybe I'll catch "True Beauty" (ABC) (looks potentially funny but I missed it last week) or "Gossip Girl" (CW) (I like Blake Lively a lot, but I can never seem to catch this regularly enough to keep up with the saga).

Tuesday:

• "American Idol" (FOX): Can any self-respecting pop-culture enthusiast ever miss it?
• "Scrubs" (now ABC): I haven't watched this one regularly in a long time, but the station-shift intrigues me so much I'll watch just for that likely-unnoticeable detail.

Wednesday:

• "American Idol" (FOX) (part deux)
• "The New Adventures of Old Christine" and "Gary Unmarried" (CBS): CBS is really the only one churning out quality background-noise sitcomes, aren't they?

Thursday:

• "The Office" and "30 Rock" (NBC): Comedy Night Done Right is one slogan that actually lives up to its name.
• "Celebrity Rehab Presents Sober House" (VH1): A diehard Dr. Drew devotee, I'm totally sold. After a great season of "Celebrity Rehab", this is just icing on the cake.

Friday:

• "Howie Do It" (NBC): Just watched the first episode, and it's one of the most annoyingly edited shows I've ever seen. But I'm a sucker for hidden camera stuff, so I'll keep watching. (Only after seeing the sure-to-be-awesome My Bloody Valentine 3-D, that is.)
  

Saturday:
Has this ever been a good night for TV?

There you have it. Hopefully at least 25% of the episodes are good. 1-in-4 is good by me.