These are, indeed, troubled times in which we live. Besides all of the other tragedies in the world, today I was affected by the Britney-K-Fed custody battle...personally. I can't get into the specifics, but it has affected my world in a way that totally annoys me.

Anyway, in this harsh era when even I am a victim in the 50th Trial of the Century (to-date), to what am I to turn for solace? That answer is obviously the new Fall TV season. Here are my thoughts on some of the new shows and some of the returning:

Sunday:

Simpsons: Like pizza, even a not good episode is always not bad and better than most of the stuff out there. I'm disheartened to think that I've been watching this show since I was in middle school and now I'm closer to Homer's age than Bart's.

King of the Hill: Welcome back, old friend for one bonus, final season. I forget if it was BOC or Hawkins that commented that this was the realest American family on TV today.

Monday:

How I met Your Mother: Still Legen-wait for it-dery.

Aliens in America: Middle Eastern kid = Balki plus twenty years.

Tuesday:

Cavemen: Even worse than imagined...and I think it is written by every student who sat next to me in college who equated elaborating their delusional points on Russian lit for half an hour with a meaningful contribution to a discussion, when they would accomplish the same thing by just repeating the phrase, "You are listening to me talk" over and over again.

Carpoolers: I saw one glimmer of Bruce McCollough in the pilot, but it was soon overcome by the hackery of the show. Were you aware that men don't understand women? And that there is traffic? That's what I took away with me from this.

Reaper: So freaking awesome. You have slackers who talk like Kevin Smith capturing souls for the devil. Need I say more?

Wednesday:

Pushing Daisies: Simply magical. I'm not being snarky. Magical realism, snappy dialogue, beautifully shot, awesome cast. It's like if Tim Burton and Michel Gondry collaborated. Granted, that is not for everyone, but I do recommend it.

Gossip Girl: I. Just. Can't. Look. Away.

Dirty, Sexy Money: This is a pretty fun show, but you might as well call it "Page Six: the TV Show."

Thursday: I'm still a Must see TV kinda guy. I think I've seen ten minutes of "Grey's Anatomy" once and I found it boring, but the NBC shows are my favorite shows on TV.

Earl: I used to hate this show, but they've fallen into wonderful rhythms and have created a great world in Camden County of which they're totally aware, which makes for great call backs.

30 Rock: Alec Baldwin could read the phone book and I would watch...and have. I also enjoy how this show makes me happy that I didn't make it onto SNL.

The Office: OK, I realize that this is only a temporary thing, but how awesome are the hour long episodes? Why is this not a trend the rest of the industry is moving toward? Rather than soaps that are (theoretically) funny, like Housewives and Brothers & Sisters, why are the networks not developing longer sitcoms. Twenty minutes is not long enough for a good A and B story line. If they're doing so much product placement during the show, why can't they cut back on the commercials and bring back some of the story. Have you tried to watch an old "All In the Family" lately? So much of it is cut up and in weird places just so it adheres to modern advertising time requirements that it's weird to watch. I know I'm being naive, but if there is such a dearth of sitcoms, I don't see why we have to double up on shows like "Til Death" and "According to Jim," when it could be replaced by a super hour of "30 Rock." I realize that all three aforementioned shows are on different networks, but I was just trying to make a point.

Friday and Saturday: I have no idea. Fridays I like to do stuff and on Saturdays we do the Affirmacast. I will say this, though.

Cops: still crazy after all these years.

The Woman's Murder Club: Worst. Title. Ever.

OK, I have to deal with my Britney issue. Happy TV Watching!