This past Sunday, of course, AMC brought us the return of “Mad Men,” which you probably already knew, since it managed to pull in 3.5 million viewers, a none-too-shabby increase of 21 percent over the series’ previous season premiere. This Sunday, the network has another series coming back, though it’s probably safe to presume that the numbers won’t be nearly as impressive for this one. But, look, if your excuse for not liking “The Killing” is that they didn’t resolve Rosie Larsen’s murder by the end of the season, go peddle your wares somewhere else, because I’m tired of hearing people whine about that. So what if it hasn’t been resolved yet? A show’s allowed to keep its viewers in suspense, isn’t it? If you didn’t like it because you thought it was boring, that’s one thing. If you’re really complaining because the producers promised “a very, very satisfying ending to Season 1” and reneged on that promise, though, I say that you may be well within your rights to be frustrated, but don’t say, “Ugh, they lied, therefore the show sucks,” because that’s just lame.

I do think AMC must be resigned to the return of “The Killing” being slaughtered both by the critics and in the ratings, however, since even though it’s coming back this Sunday night at 8 PM for a two-hour season premiere, the homepage of the network’s press resource center is still busy trumpeting last week’s return of “Mad Men.” For my part, while I do think the series dragged quite a bit in places and reached the point of ridiculousness with how many times Sarah Linden bailed on her planned departure (if I was Ray McDeere, I probably would’ve broken off my engagement to Sarah somewhere around Episode 1.3), I was perpetually gripped whenever Michelle Forbes and Brent Sexton were portraying parental grief, and I am steadfast in my disagreement with anyone who says that Episode 1.11 (“Missing”) was an unnecessary detour away from the case, because that may have been my favorite episode since the pilot. If you didn’t like that episode, you probably also watched “Twin Peaks” and complained about how they spent too much time focusing on Audrey Horne when they could’ve been figuring out who killed Laura Palmer…and I’m here to tell you that you can never spend too much time focusing on Audrey Horne.

Quick sidebar: if you didn’t watch “Twin Peaks,” this is Audrey Horne.

This concludes your moment of Sherilyn Fenn zen. We now return to our regularly scheduled column…provided we can all get our concentration back.

Oh, right, now I remember where I was…

“The Killing” isn’t the only series coming back on Sunday. Hell, it’s not even the most anticipated series coming back on Sunday, and I’m pretty sure the ratings will bear that out, because while I’m sure “The Killing” has more fans than just myself, the only real buzz going on at the moment – and, boy, is it a big-ass buzz – is for the return of HBO’s “Game of Thrones.”

Alas, unlike Season 1, where the January TCA tour provided me with the opportunity to participate in roundtable discussions with executive producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss and author George R.R. Martin, I haven’t been able to chat with anyone from the show this time around. I did, however, put together a piece for the Vancouver-based magazine TV Week about the return of the series, and since it’s only available via the print edition of the magazine, I thought I’d share it with you here, in order to help get you as jazzed as I am for Season 2 of the show.

Here goes…

“Assuming we get a second season…” “Unless we get a second season…” “Maybe if we get a second season…”

Given that Game of Thrones, HBO’s epic fantasy / sword & sorcery series, earned itself a sophomore year a mere two days after its very first episode earned a gross audience of 4.2 million viewers, it’s almost quaint to look back on interviews with the cast and creators and see how many times their uncertainty about the future rose to the surface. Less uncertainty, perhaps, than a lack of desire to have their swagger come back to bite them (witness CBC’s Camelot, which came and went in but a single year), but with the benefit of hindsight, their past tentativeness still inspires a smile.

Executive producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, the duo entrusted by author George R.R. Martin to adapt his novel series A Song of Fire and Ice into a TV series, copped to their first-season anxiety during a recent UK press blitz in advance of Thrones’ second season.

“I think this time last year I was much more nervous, because you just didn’t know how people were going to react,” said Benioff. “You had the fan base, of course, which is one powerful constituency, but also we had the people who had never read the books, and one of the things we were worried about was, ‘Will anyone who hasn’t read the books care about this, or even understand what the hell’s going on?’”

Weiss seconded his collaborator’s earlier uncertainties. “You don’t know until it’s aired,” he said. “It could be we’re writing it and producing it for a very small group of people, and it could just disappear.”

Now that the pressure’s off, however, Benioff and Weiss are in a far better position to discuss what the second season of Thrones, which premieres on April 1, is all about.

“We’re going to see what happens when a power vacuum opens up and more than one person decides that they’re the best person to fill it,” said Weiss. “That’s probably the simplest way to put the overarching thrust of Season Two.”

During the course of the first episode of Game of Thrones, viewers met Ned Stark (Sean Bean), Lord of Winterfall, and were introduced to his family, including his wife Catelyn (Michelle Fairley), their children Robb (Richard Madden), Sansa (Sophie Turner), Arya (Maisie Williams), Brann (Isaac Hempstead-Wright), and Rickon (Art Parkinson), and, lest we forget, Ned’s bastard son, Jon Snow (Kit Harington). By the end of the season, however, Ned was dead, following the footsteps of his king, Robert of Westeros, played by Mark Addy.

“Their deaths…cast a shadow over Season Two,” said Benioff. “And as Dan says, their absence creates this power vacuum, especially with King Robert: the throne passes to his apparent son, Joffrey (Jack Gleeson), but there are many other claimants to the throne who deny his legitimacy. It’s very much about that: the struggle for power and specifically the struggle for the Iron Throne, and it’s all building toward this massive battle.”

Although Joffrey may begin Season Two comfortably ensconced in King’s Landing, his actions guided in no small part by his mother (Cersei, played by Lena Headey), and her brother, Tyrion (Peter Dinklage), now serving as Hand of the King, Joffrey soon finds himself butting heads with two of his father’s brothers, Renly (Gethin Anthony) and, making his first appearance in the series, Stannis (Stephen Dillane). Both of the Baratheon boys believe they’ve got at least as much right to the throne as their nephew does, but Robb Stark, who’s leading the rebellion in the north, has at least one bargaining chip up his sleeve that the competition doesn’t: Cersei’s brother, Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), who’s currently tied up in chains and sitting pretty in Robb’s custody.

Well, okay, maybe Jaime isn’t sitting that pretty. “Being chained up in Belfast was very dirty and wet,” said Coster-Waldau. “I had one night we were shooting a long scene. We shot half the scene when it wasn’t raining, and then they turned around to shoot me, and this torrential downpour started. We wrapped at 5:30 AM, and the last bit was basically a mud bath. The generators were going down every 10 minutes with the water. It was a nightmare.”

Those familiar with Robb’s limited storyline in Martin’s A Clash of Kings, from which much of the material in Season Two is taken, may be surprised to see how much screen time Richard Madden receives in the upcoming episodes.

“Sometimes we love one of George’s characters and feel like we want to spend more time with that character,” said Benioff. “Robb Stark…doesn’t have a huge presence in the second book because none of the chapters are told from his perspective. But we love the character, we loved his storyline, and we wanted to see more of him.”

Viewers will also be seeing more of Tyrion in the new season. Much more, in fact: early reports indicate that he is, for all practical purposes, the predominant character in Season Two. But this should come as no surprise to anyone, really, given that Peter Dinklage’s efforts in the role earned him an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.

“It’s lovely to be recognized, I can’t deny that, but life goes on,” Dinklage told Entertainment Weekly. “I love that we were shooting the show when the awards happened, because I wouldn’t have liked to have gone back home and sit there and stare at it.”

Looking eastward, one of the most anticipated storylines from the Season One finale is finally emerging from its shell. After spending the preceding nine episodes enduring high and lows both physical and emotional, Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), widow of warlord Khal Drogo, found her spirits and her political fortunes lifted in the waning moments of Season One’s final episode with the hatching of the three dragon eggs with which she’d been entrusted. Fans of Martin’s novels may have been chomping at the bit to see the scaly little buggers make their way into the world, but they certainly aren’t the only ones: Clarke admitted that spending a season awaiting the dragons’ arrival left her feeling a bit maternal once they finally arrived.

“In Season One, it’s sort of what I was working on the entire way,” Clarke said of the feisty fire-breathers. “Dany has this weird pull towards them, and then in the final scene, when the dragons appear, it was just like I’d given birth. So they’re very much like my children.”

Although Clarke’s new co-stars are accomplished onscreen with the help of CGI, the actress worked with life-size models during rehearsals. “They were correctly weighted, and they allowed me to get an eye line so that it would look right when the dragons you see were added in CGI,” she said. “(But) when were actually filming, they weren’t there at all. That was good, in a way, because it tested my imagination.”

The dragons aren’t the only new additions to Thrones for its second season. In addition to the aforementioned Stannis, other new characters include assassin Jaqen H’gar (Tom Wlaschiha), a sorceress named Melisandre (Carice van Houten), and Davos Seaworth (Liam Cunningham), a former smuggler who now serves as consigliore to Stannis.

Cunningham, who recently served a stint as President Richard Tate in the BBC series Outcasts, is thrilled to be a part of another epic saga.

“Apart from the scripts which are just brilliant, one thing I love about the show is that because of the ensemble storytelling, your loyalties can sway,” said Cunningham. “You can stay for one or two episodes with a certain character, and decide, ‘Okay, that guy’s a good guy.’ You reckon you have a certain empathy with this or that character. And then they go and do something absolutely f**king horrific and you find yourself going, ‘What was I thinking?’ I love that. It feels real.”

The “reality” of the proceedings has begun to affect the actors off the set as well, with Thrones fans recognizing them for their work on the show. Clarke, for one, left the San Diego Comic-Con feeling like a bonafied rock star. “It was incredible and insane and a complete head wrecker, because you’re there, and people are so in love with the books and so in love with the character, and it’s just joyous to hear and incredibly wonderful,” she said. “But at the same time, it’s a bit overwhelming.”

“The interesting thing is that you meet lots of fans who are, like, ‘Now you’re the person I see in my head,” said Harington. “That’s really bizarre for me, because obviously I read the books, and I had an image of someone in my head, too…and it definitely wasn’t me! But it’s only been a positive thing. The people you meet who love the books have, I think, pretty much across the board been happy with the series.”

With the premiere of Season Two fast approaching, Benioff and Weiss are chomping at the bit for viewers to see what Game of Thrones has to offer this go-round.

“Knowing that, at least for the time being, we have a committed, solid group of people who are excited to see what happens next, is exciting,” said Weiss.

“Last night we watched the first two episodes with the cast, and it just feels like things take off at a much faster rate, at a faster clip this season,” said Benioff. “For us, it’s always been about trying to tell a single large story on the biggest canvas imaginable, with the hope that we’ll be able to get eight seasons to tell the whole thing.”

With that said, however, Weiss underlines that the mindset that carries them through production is their focus on the here and now.

“When we said to HBO going in that ‘we want to take this through to the ending,’ I think we were maybe naïve in some ways, in not knowing exactly what that meant from an experience point of view,” he said. “But we were serious about it. And if we’re lucky enough to be able to keep doing it, that’s what we intend to do.”

So…where were we?

Oh, fine, let’s go ahead and deal with the elephant in the room: it’s been nine months since Bullz-Eye doled out our most recent version of our TV Power Rankings. What can we say? There were a lot of good shows on the air between May 2011 and February 2012, and somewhere around late October, it just kind of reached a point where we said, “You know what? It’s way more fun to watch TV than it is to write about it.” Eventually, though, the powers that be pried us off the couch (there’s still an indentation where we were sitting), set us back in front of the computer, and said, “Look, the readers demand to know Bullz-Eye’s take on the best shows of the past year* and, frankly, they’re starting to get a little belligerent about it.”

(*Rounded up for statistical purposes.)

So here we are, ready to offer up our list of the 25 best shows on television** as well as several shows bubbling just under our list, plus a new section called “Still Too New to Call,” where we praise shows that seem pretty damned good after their first few episodes but simply haven’t been around long enough for us to feel comfortable including them in the other two lists.

(**Okay, technically, it’s the 24 best shows on television plus one show that hasn’t been on since 2010, but we’re so excited about that particular show coming back that we included it, anyway.)

All told, we hope you’ll walk away from this piece either nodding your head in agreement or wondering why you haven’t been watching some of these shows. If not, however, there’s a perfectly good Comments section that’s just waiting for your opinions about what’s good on TV.

Everybody ready? Then let’s get this thing started…

1. Breaking Bad (AMC)

Fact: if you believe that there is any show on television that’s better than “Breaking Bad,” you are wrong. Period. End of story. Although the show began with a concept that spoke to many a family man – if you knew you were going to die, to what lengths would you go to make sure that your family was provided for? – it has since evolved into so much more. Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul continue to startle with the depth of their performances, but Giancarlo Esposito‘s work as the chillingly efficient Gus Fring was the kind of work that makes an actor’s career. With an end date now in sight, the series has grown more gripping than ever, and there’s little doubt that we’ll see Hank (Dean Norris) figure out what Walt (Cranston) has been doing behind the back of him and his fellow DEA agents. In other words, folks, for all the shit we’ve seen hit the fan so far, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.

2. Mad Men (AMC)

Yes, we know it hasn’t been on the air since 2010 (we covered that in the intro, you may remember), and, no, we don’t know any more about what to expect from the new season – which premieres on March 25 – than you do (series creator Matthew Weiner is notoriously tight-lipped, and we’re pretty sure he threatens to do terrible things to his cast’s pets if they leak anything to the press), but if we’re going to be doing these TV Power Rankings on an annual basis, then we’re forced to go with our instincts here and presume that “Mad Men” will continue to be as awesome in the future as it has been up to this point.

3. Modern Family (ABC)

It’s a little hard to take the cynics seriously when they say that “Modern Family” isn’t as funny as it used to be when we continue to laugh so hard at each and every episodes. Admittedly, the storyline about Cam and Mitchell trying to adopt another baby has been a little hit-and-miss, and the idea of Claire running for public office seemed a lot funnier in concept than it has in execution, even with David Cross in tow. But the heart of the show continues to be the relationships between the three distinct family units – Cam and Mitchell, the Dunphys, and Jay and Gloria – and their respective kids. If things haven’t been quite as funny this year, so be it: it’s still funny, and we’re still watching.

4. Game of Thrones (HBO)

It’s funny how the success of Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy suddenly made it viable to take a shot at countless sword-and-sorcery, medieval-type tales that had previously been deemed more or less unfilmable. Rather than try to condense George R.R. Martin’s epic “Game of Thrones” into movie form, however, HBO kindly green-lit a television series based on the property, and with the help of executive producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, the transition from print to small screen has been remarkably successful. With masterful performances by Sean Bean, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, and – perhaps most impressively – Peter Dinklage, “Game of Thrones” is, in a word, epic. Shame about poor ol’ Ned Stark, though. Sure didn’t see that coming…

5. Sons of Anarchy (FX)

It’s been a long, hard road that “Sons of Anarchy” has ridden to get to this point on the Power Rankings, having spent its earlier seasons in far lower spots due to the fact that not enough of us were watching it. Eventually, however, more of us came around, and it’s finally begun to get its proper due. Better late than never, right? Season 4 saw Jax, Clay, and the rest of the guys emerging from their 14-month stay behind bars and returning to Charming, only to meet a couple of new “friends” who’ve come to town: Sheriff Eli Roosevelt (Rockmond Dunbar) and Asst. U.S. Attorney Linc Potter (Ray McKinnon). One could argue that this was a transitional season for “Sons,” or, at the very least, certainly a transitional season for Clay, whose presidency of the organization came to a conclusion in suitably dramatic fashion. Where things go in Season 5 is anyone’s guess.

6. The Walking Dead (AMC)

Some critics, like our own Jeff Morgan, questioned whether “The Walking Dead” was losing its way in Season 2. The rest of us, however, were more than happy with the pacing – you can’t be fighting off packs of zombies every week.

Also, Shane’s killing of Otis and the tragic climax involving the search for Sophia gave us bone-chilling moments that we’ll remember for years.

7. Community (NBC)

Oh, “Community,” you do so like to tempt fate, don’t you? We’ve watched you religiously since your inception, when we picked you as the must-watch sitcom of the 2009 fall season, and you’ve gone out of your way to make sure that you didn’t let us down, offering up some of the most creative comedy on television: turning a game of Dungeons & Dragons into an oddly emotional episode, dedicating installments to everything from parallel realities to paintball, having Jeff and Shirley bond over foosball…you guys were fearless. Unfortunately, fearlessness and creativity don’t tend to play well with a mass audience, which is probably why “Community” is, as of the writing, sitting in limbo without confirmation as to when the remainder of its third season will continue to air, let alone if a fourth is in the cards. But we’re guessing you have no regrets when it comes to your steadfast refusal to avoid dumbing it down for the average viewer, which is why we’re trying to have none as well. But it’s hard. It’s very, very hard. Dammit, we just want “Community” back! Is that so much to ask?

8. The Killing (AMC)

We ranked “The Killing” as our top show in the last Power Rankings as we got hooked on this AMC murder/mystery along with millions of other fans. But promises that the killer would be revealed at the end of Season 1 weren’t kept as we were left with a cliffhanger ending, so the haters came out in full force against the show. Bill Simmons was particularly harsh in his criticism. We felt the criticisms were overblown and we’re looking forward to Season 2. Mireille Enos is a real talent as the drab and dour Sarah Lindon, which completely hides the beauty and bubbly character of this actress. Search her on YouTube and you’ll see what we mean. Joel Kinneman is also excellent as her partner, even if he often seems to be doing his best Jesse Pinkman imitation.

9. Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)

Given that we never know for sure if the latest season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” is going to be the last season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” it’s possible that we may grade the series on a little bit of a curve. Coming on the heels of the much-vaunted “Seinfeld” reunion, we knew we might not be quite as blown away by Season 8 of “Curb,” but leave it to Larry David to mix things up enough to keep things interesting. As Larry attempted to enjoy life as a single man (inasmuch as Larry can enjoy anything), we got to see him both at home in L.A. and in NYC with Jeff and Susie, and having interactions with celebs like Ricky Gervais, Rosie O’Donnell, Cheyenne Jackson, and, most hilariously, Michael J. Fox. Will there be a Season 9? HBO is optimistic, something which Larry David has never been. Let’s just keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best.

10. Justified (FX)

To our way of thinking, there wasn’t much chance that a series based on an Elmore Leonard character and featuring Leonard himself as an executive producer could possibly go wrong, so it’s been nice to see “Justified” prove us right. Season 1 was the series was good stuff, thanks to the outstanding onscreen chemistry between Timothy Olyphant and Walton Goggins, but by bringing Margo Martindale into the mix for Season 2, the show leapt to new levels of greatness. With Season 3 introducing Carla Gugino as a character who – for legal reasons – isn’t actually Karen Sisco (even though she so clearly is) and bringing back Stephen Root as everyone’s favorite red-thong-wearing judge, The Hammer, the ongoing adventures of Raylan Givens continue to deliver.

11. Parks and Recreation (NBC)

Bullz-Eye doesn’t actually have an official spokesperson, but if we were hiring, you can damned well bet that Ron Swanson would be in the running. “Parks and Recreation” continues to get better and better with each season, and while all it takes is a quick trip back to Season 1 to remember why we first wrote it off as a pale imitation of “The Office,” we’ve forgiven it for those transgressions several times over by this point. The relationship between Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) and Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott) has been great fun to watch unfold, as has the unexpectedly successful marriage of Andy (Chris Pratt) and April (Aubrey Plaza), and watching Tom (Aziz Anzari) and Jean-Ralphio (Ben Schwartz) work together has been comedy gold. Although we’re still in mourning for Li’l Sebastian even now, the laughs we get out of Pawnee each week has been invaluable in our emotional recovery.

12. Hell on Wheels (AMC)

We won’t deny that there are comparisons to be made between this series and “Deadwood,” but, hell, they’re both westerns, so what did you expect? That’s like bitching that “Gunsmoke” and “The Rifleman” are too damned similar. No, “Hell on Wheels” hasn’t yet hit the heights of its AMC brethren, but as businessman Thomas “Doc” Durant, Colm Meaney’s performance alone is just about enough reason to start watching the show, and as it progresses, the diversity of the characters certainly keeps viewers from ever getting bored.

13. American Horror Story (FX)

The partnership of Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk has given us great things in their time, including “Nip/Tuck” and “Glee,” so there was every reason to expect that their latest endeavor, “American Horror Story” would, if nothing else, be fascinating to watch unfold. And so it has been, although your mileage may vary as far as whether or not you actually think it’s any good. Sometimes it’s disconcerting, other times it’s darkly hilarious, and, more often than not, it’s just plain batshit crazy, but in addition to two well-seasoned leads holding the insanity together (thank you, Dylan McDermott and Connie Britton), it also features fantastic supporting performances by Jessica Lange and Denis O’Hare. God only knows where Murphy and Falchuk are going to take this thing when it comes back for its second season, but whether it slumps or succeeds, we can still probably count on not being able to take our eyes off the screen.

14. The Daily Show / The Colbert Report (Comedy Central)

Sometimes it feels like a little bit of a cop-out to combine these two Comedy Central staples, since they’re very different shows with their own distinct comedic identities, but if that’s what it takes to make sure they’re still flying high in the ratings (and to allow us to slip another program into the list somewhere), then so be it. Both Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert continue to deliver incisive political commentary couched (or sometimes not) in comedy. Long may they reign.

15. Dexter (Showtime)

Those of you who tuned in to Season 6 of “Dexter” looking for parenting tips may not have reacted to Showtime’s advertising campaign in quite the fashion the network had intended. Rest assured, fatherhood has not done anything to stem Dexter’s tendencies toward killing, but as good as the series continues to be, it’s still a little hard to think that it’ll ever reach the same heights again that it did when John Lithgow did his arc. Still, in fairness, however, Edward James Olmos and Colin Hanks proved to be sufficiently satisfying as the Doomsday Killers.

16. Homeland (Showtime)

There are some who say that “Homeland,” a series about a CIA officer (Claire Danes) who believes that a Marine war hero and former POW (Damian Lewis) has been turned to the side of Al-Qaeda, is head and shoulders in quality above any other series on Showtime. Clearly, our Power Rankings suggest otherwise. Once Season 1 of the shows hits Blu-ray and DVD, however, don’t be surprised if more than a few people – including members of our own staff – suddenly realize that, yeah, actually, those other people are right. Full of nail-biting tension, remarkable writing, and wonderful performances by Danes, Lewis, Mandy Patinkin, and Morena Baccarin, “Homeland” is one of those rare series that virtually every critic can agree upon…but only if they’ve actually seen it. So what are you waiting for? Go subscribe to Showtime already: the whole thing’s available via On Demand!

17. The Office (NBC)

Of all the shows on the TV Power Rankings, “The Office” is the one which had the biggest issue to overcome this season. With the departure of Steve Carell from its ranks, everyone wondered what new blood would be brought in to freshen things up. The first answer was Will Ferrell, who, quite frankly, was a huge disappointment. When Season 8 premiered, however, we were fortunate enough to have James Spader reprising his role from the season finale as Robert California, now promoted to CEO of Sabre. There have also been other guests popping up here and there, from Catherine Tate to Maura Tierney to Stephen Collins. We’ve even seen David Koechner clear his schedule in order to bring Todd Packer back into the picture. Some say “The Office” should just be put out of its misery, and if that happens, we’d understand, but at the moment we’re still finding it pretty funny.

18. How I Met Your Mother (CBS)

What? We still don’t know who the mother is…? Sorry, had to be done. (At this point, it’s kind of a TV Power Rankings tradition to make that joke.) The status quo on “HIMYM” has changed a fair amount of late, with Marshall and Lily having moved to the suburbs in advance of the birth of their child, Robin entering into her version of a serious relationship with her former therapist (played by Kal Penn), and even Barney occasionally stepping outside his uber-bro self to show signs of emotional growth. But Ted…? That guy’s still hopeless. Looks like we’ve still got awhile ahead of us before the series wraps, based on recent conversations in the press, but there’s still enough life left in the series to keep us coming back.

19. Boardwalk Empire (HBO)

When “Boardwalk Empire” first premiered, many viewers were, like, “Oh, sure, it looks awesome, and you can’t help but like Steve Buscemi, but it’s just not grabbing me.” As its freshman season progressed, however, things really began to pop deeper into the ensemble, with Michael Shannon portraying Agent Van Alden as an increasingly disturbed – and disturbing – individual, Michael Kenneth Williams made Chalky White a force to be reckoned with, and Jack Huston offered an air of mystery as Richard Harrow, the man behind the mask. When the series returned for its second year, the ante was upped even further, taking several major characters out of commission permanently by season’s end. If you aren’t grabbed now, you probably never will be, but we’re sure on board with “Boardwalk.”

20. Californication (Showtime)

It’s not that the basic theme of “Californication” has ever really changed over the course of its run – at its heart, it’s about Hank Moody (David Duchovny) trying to see how many times he can fuck, get fucked up, and completely fuck up his life and still end up with his beloved Karen (Natascha McElhone) – but as writers, we love it because it’s a chance to see how debauchery-filled we always figured our lives were going to be when we started doing this gig. Also, it continues to be highly enjoyable to see what guest stars are going to be brought into the mix, and Season 4 gave us some good ones, including Rob Lowe and Carla Gugino. It’s still early days in Season 5 as of this writing, but executive producer Tom Kapanos’ decision to jump ahead almost three years (which, by coincidence, is basically what “Weeds” did, too) seems to have been a positive move creatively.

21. Tosh.0 (Comedy Central)

As long as the beautiful ménage à trois between stupid people, video cameras, and the internet continues to flourish, Daniel Tosh’s career will stay in full bloom.

Now in its fourth season, “Tosh.0” may not be the most highbrow series on the air, but it’s never at a loss for material and still offers a solid number of laughs per episode.

22. Archer (FX)

Some shows are perfect fare for guys and gals to kick back and enjoy together, but, guys, unless you have one of the most awesome girlfriends ever, then “Archer” probably doesn’t quality as one of those shows. Sterling Archer has the libido of James Bond and Austin Powers put together but without any of the charm, and not only is he unfailingly uncouth, but he’s a mama’s boy to boot. Damned if he isn’t funny, though, and Season 3 has started off just as funny as its predecessors…but, then, what would you expect when you’ve got Burt Reynolds playing himself?

23. New Girl (Fox)

When it comes to watching “New Girl,” one’s level of appreciation is directly proportionate to how one feels about the concept of “adorkability,” which Zooey Deschanel brings to the small screen in seemingly limitless quantities as Jess, a too-cute twentysomething who moves in with a trio of guys on the heels of an excruciatingly bad breakup. As with most ensemble comedies, it’s taken time for the chemistry of the cast to find its feet, but it’s coming along nicely.

24. Weeds (Showtime)

When we first picked back up with Nancy Botwin (Mary-Louise Parker) for the seventh season of “Weeds,” she’d spent three years cooling her heels in the clink while the rest of the Botwin clan had been chillin’ in Copenhagen, but with Nancy being shifted to a halfway house in New York City, a family reunion was only inevitable. Big shock: Nancy started selling pot again. Possibly bigger shock: even going into its eighth season, “Weeds” is still reliably entertaining.

25. The Big Bang Theory (CBS)

No, it’s not quite the same show it used to be, owing to the fact that the cast now consists of almost as many women as it does men, but with the series now in its fifth season, the trio of Kaley Cuoco, Melissa Rauch, and Mayim Bialik have probably infused “The Big Bang Theory” with more laughs than the it would’ve had at this point if it had stuck strictly to the original four geeks. The only question now is how much longer we’ll have to wait for Raj to come out of the closet…because, seriously, you don’t need to possess gay-dar to see that that’s what they’re leading up to.

Bubbling Under

Boss (Starz): No one blames you for being hesitant about the idea of longtime sitcom star Kelsey Grammer starring in a premium-cable drama about a Chicago mayor who’s slowly but surely losing his mental faculties, but the first season of “Boss” turned out to be a really strong piece of work. Here’s hoping more viewers give it a go when it returns for its sophomore year.

Cougar Town (ABC): Yes, the title sucks. We know it, you know it, and series creators Bill Lawrence and Kevin Biegel know it, so just get over it already. It’s not like it’s relevant anymore, anyway, since not only is Jules (Courtney Cox) not out bedding hot young studs, but as of the Season 3 premiere, she’s actually engaged to her beau, Grayson (Josh Hopkins). Call it whatever you want, it’s still a great ensemble comedy about a bunch of fun folks who like to hang out, drink a lot of wine, and, uh, not much else. You know, kinda like you and your friends.

Fringe (Fox): We weren’t sure what to make of the observer’s announcement in last season’s “Fringe” finale that Peter Bishop never really existed. Um…huh? Surely they wouldn’t just eliminate Peter from the storyline — the show wouldn’t be the same without any of its three leads — but how would this all play out? In typical “Fringe” fashion, they added even more layers to the show, with Peter now stuck in an alternate timeline (not to be confused with the parallel universe from which Peter was abducted as a kid) and working with the “alternate” versions of Olivia, Walter and Walternate to get back to his timeline and his people. We repeat: um…huh?

How to Make It in America / Hung (HBO): We’ve combined these two shows into one write-up not because they’re particularly similar (although they both speak to our nation’s economic struggles in their own way) but, rather, because when both series got their walking papers from HBO a few months ago, we couldn’t decide which cancellation depressed us more. “How to Make It in America” wasn’t a fast-moving series, but it was one which paid off handsomely over time as a study of its characters, and while “Hung” had a pretty deplorable second season, it really turned things around in Season 3. Sorry to see you go, Ray. We’d tell you to keep your pecker up, but given what you’re packing, we wouldn’t want you to pass out.

The League (FX): It took longer than we’d hoped, but “The League” finally found its groove last season. The show was more consistently funny in its third season, with the writers solidifying the foundation by finding the right balance between the fantasy football angle and more traditional storylines, and we loved watching the season-long “draft cheat” arc play out in the hilarious two-part finale. These characters finally have some depth, giving us hope that Season 4 will be even better.

The Middle (ABC): The biggest hurdle that “The Middle” has to cross before it earns the respect of a larger audience is that viewers have to learn to appreciate that, no, it isn’t “Modern Family,” but it is just as funny. Granted, the humor’s often coming from a slightly different place, putting a great deal of focus on the economic struggles of a family in the Midwest, one that just barely gets the bills paid, hardly even tries to keep their house clean, doesn’t interact well with others, and, ultimately, comes across more real than any other sitcom family on TV.

Parenthood (NBC): We’ve been bracing for the cancellation of “Parenthood” since it first debuted, and yet the show is in the midst of a typically fantastic third season. Hopefully, it keeps defying the odds because we really want to see Adam and Crosby turn their recording studio into a smashing success. (And their assistant is pretty easy on the eyes, to boot!)

Shameless (Showtime): We wouldn’t want to suggest that this show might not be nearly as much of a must-see if William H. Macy wasn’t playing Frank, the perpetually-drunk patriarch of the Gallagher family, but…we don’t know how else to finish that sentence. That’s not to say that Emmy Rossum isn’t great to look at, and it’s pretty cool having Joan Cusack as part of the proceedings as well. But, c’mon, let’s face it: when you get right down to it, it’s all about what Bill Macy brings to the table.

Suburgatory (ABC): The new kid in ABC’s Wednesday night comedy line-up is, as it happens, actually about a new kid. Tessa (Jane Levy) is less than thrilled when her father (Jeremy Sisto) decides that the best thing for his daughter and their relationship is to move from New York City to the suburbs, but the resulting culture clash has proven pretty funny, thanks to an ensemble cast drawn from alumni of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (Cheryl Hines), “Entourage” (Rex Lee), “Saturday Night Live” (Ana Gasteyer, Chris Parnell, and Jay Mohr), and even the Whedon-verse (Alan Tudyk, late of “Firefly). With Alicia Silverstone reuniting with Sisto (they were both in “Clueless,” remember?) for a several-episode plot arc, the future’s looking pretty bright for this show.

Still Too New to Call

Alcatraz (Fox): The last time J.J. Abrams brought us a series that blended sci-fi elements with a procedural format – this would be “Fringe” we’re talking about – it soon evolved into an incredibly mythology-heavy show that inspired obsessive fandom but limited viewership. Maybe that’s why his latest endeavor is several episodes in and still seems very cemented in the world of procedurals. Mind you, it’s a series about Alcatraz inmates and guards who mysteriously disappeared from the prison in 1963 and are now suddenly beginning to reappear, so it’s clearly got plenty of sci-fi shenanigans going on, and it is indeed building on its mythology right on, which means that it could well turn out just as awesome as “Fringe.” Let’s all keep our fingers crossed, shall we?

Awake (NBC): As of this writing, you probably haven’t seen “Awake” yet, since it’s not set to premiere until March 1, and given that A) it’s on NBC, B) it’s a serialized drama, and C) it’s got a premise that will probably blow the minds of way more viewers than it will intrigue, there’s a pretty good chance that it will be gone by the time the next TV Power Rankings roll around. But, damn, is the pilot good. Brought to you by Kyle Killen, whose last series, “Lone Star,” looked great but was gone after only two episodes, “Awake” is about a police detective (Jason Isaacs) who, after a car accident, finds himself living in two realities: one where his wife died in the crash but his son lived, the other where his son died in the crash but his wife lived. Also, he has different partners in each reality. And different therapists. (Like you’re surprised he’s in therapy.) See what we mean? It’s crazy stuff. But the pilot delivers in a big way. It’s all down to how many people will give it a chance.

Don’t Trust The B—- In Apt. 23 (ABC): Nope, you haven’t seen this one, either – it won’t hit ’til April 11 – but it’s another case where the pilot is so good that it warrants mention. Krysten Ritter, who you may remember as the dearly-departed Jane on “Breaking Bad,” plays the titular character here, a total con artist whose new roommate (Dreama Walker) refuses to be taken advantage of. It’s a really quirky piece of work, aided in no small part by the inclusion of James van der Beek playing a highly exaggerated (hopefully) version of himself, and it’s more than a little bit dark at times, too. As such, it’s hard to say if the average viewer will embrace it. But if you’re a fan of series like “30 Rock,” “Community,” and the late, great “Better Off Ted,” you owe it to yourself to check it out when it premieres.

Key & Peele (Comedy Central): It’s been awhile since Comedy Central had a proper sketch comedy series that really delivered, but these “Mad TV” alumni have put together something that’s a little bit “Chappelle’s Show,” a little bit “Mr. Show,” and probably some “SNL” and “In Living Color,” too, covering a lot of different bases with the topics they’re mining for comedy. Since it’s only a few weeks into its run and has already earned a pick-up for a second season, “Key & Peele” probably have a better chance than any other series in this bunch to make it onto the next Power Rankings, and based on how much we’ve laughed so far, they might just be near the top. Time will tell…

Luck (HBO): All things being equal, we probably could’ve slipped this series into the top 25 without seeing a single moment of it, since the people both in front of and behind the camera are so amazing. Created by David Milch, directed by Michael Mann, starring Dustin Hoffman, Nick Nolte, Dennis Farina, Michael Gambon, Jill Hennessey, Jason Gedrick, Richard Kind, Ian Hart, Kevin Dunn…man, we’re exhausted just trying to comprehend how much awesomeness is in this thing. Of course, as a David Milch show, it could be the next “Deadwood” or it could be the next “John from Cincinnati,” so rather than guess how good it’s going to get, we’re leaving it here for the moment. But suffice it to say that we have nothing but the highest of hopes for how it’ll pan out.

The River (ABC): It’s all too easy to dismiss a potentially fascinating show with the words, “Ah, they’re just trying to be the next ‘Lost,'” so try to keep that phrase out of your mind when watching this series, which involves the host of a nature documentary series (Bruce Greenwood) going missing in the Amazon while on a mysterious quest, leading his wife, son, and the crew of his series to search for him. Not only has Steven Spielberg affixed his name to the show, but the folks behind “Paranormal Event” have so far infused the show with a seriously off-putting vibe…but, y’know, the good kind, like you find in horror movies.

Smash (NBC): Given that the ad campaign makes it look like the sort of thing that would appeal strictly to “Glee” fans, a show which longtime TV Power Rankings readers will note has fallen so far out of favor that it doesn’t even rate Bubbling Under status, we can appreciate your skepticism about this series, especially since it revolves around the not-exactly-testosterone-heavy concept of the making of a Broadway musical. But it’s a Steven Spielberg production, it’s got a cast peppered with some serious street cred (two words: Anjelica Huston), and the occasional singing and dancing segments have thus far featured some damned sexy women. It’s cool to pretend you don’t want to watch, but the reality is that it’s been pretty damned watchable thus far.

Touch (Fox): At the moment, all we’ve seen of Kiefer Sutherland‘s new series is the pilot episode, which Fox sneak-previewed on Jan. 25 in an effort to get the buzz building in earnest, but we really dug what we saw. The premise revolves partially around widower and single father Martin Bohm (Sutherland) as he comes to grips with the realization that his autistic-ish son Jake ((David Mazouz) is tapped into the numeric inter-connectivity of everything in the universe. Or something like that. Anyway, the show comes courtesy of Tim Kring, who proved with “Heroes” that, if nothing else, he’s really good at setting up a cool premise. Let’s just hope that experience has taught him a few things about how to keep a cool premise going.

So sayeth the network: Based on the best-selling novel by world-renowned author John Grisham, “The Firm” is a new drama series that continues the story of attorney Mitchell McDeere (Josh Lucas), who, as a young associate 10 years earlier, had brought down the prestigious Memphis law firm of Bendini, Lambert & Locke, which had been operating as a front for the Chicago mob. After a difficult decade, which included a stay in the Federal Witness Protection Program, McDeere and his family now emerge from isolation to reclaim their lives and their future — only to find that past dangers are still lurking and new threats are everywhere. Abby McDeere (Molly Parker), Mitch’s supportive, smart and resourceful wife, who had helped her husband expose Bendini, Lambert & Locke, is excited to start a new life in Washington, D.C., as a school teacher and mom to their daughter, Claire (Natasha Calis). Ray McDeere (Callum Keith Rennie) is Mitch’s charming, yet volatile, older brother whose work as an investigator in Mitch’s office is uniquely informed by his past stretch in prison for manslaughter. Despite a gritty past that stands in stark contrast to that of his Harvard-grad brother, Ray shares one key quality with Mitch – a loyalty that is unbreakable. Tammy Hemphill (Juliette Lewis) is Mitch’s feisty, sexy receptionist whose work life is made all the more tumultuous by her on-again, off-again relationship with Ray. With a personality as arresting as her ever-changing hair color, Tammy is leery when Mitch accepts a deal to partner with a top law practice, as she’s not cut out for the conservative culture of a white-shoe firm.

My take: I literally only just got the pilot episode this morning, so I haven’t had a chance to check it out yet, but the combination of Lucas, Parker, and Lewis has me very intrigued, and the fact that Grisham himself is part of the mix makes me hopeful about the possibilities of where this series could go if it’s given the chance. That’s a big “if,” though, because this isn’t the first time a Grisham novel has made the jump to the small screen. Anyone remember “The Client,” with JoBeth Williams and John Heard? It’s become so obscure that there’s neither a Wikipedia page for it nor even a clip from it on YouTube. Let’s hope “The Firm” gets a better go of it than that.

(Premiere date: January 8, 9 PM; regular 10 PM timeslot begins January 12)

So sayeth the network: Meet Marty Kaan (Don Cheadle), the big-money earner at Galweather & Stearn, one of the nation’s largest management consulting firms. Marty is, well, the sh*t and, by default, so is his hot, young team – The Pod – of big-balling power players – Jeannie (Kristen Bell), Clyde (Ben Schwartz) and Doug (Josh Lawson). These white-collar, Ivy League sharks will use anything (or anyone) to get their gullible corporate clients to sign their souls to Galweather and bank millions in oh-so-delicious billable hours. Cha-frickin’-ching, bitches. Their motto? Screw or be screwed. Just that simple. Marty and The Pod’s work life is all first-class, top-shelf, black Am Ex, the best suites at the nicest hotels. Wild nights on the town servicing the clients are all in a day’s work. Caviar, white truffles, Grey Goose and Dom, and the special attention of some sexy…local tour guides (well, really off-duty strippers Lexxie, Destiny and Nikki) – all billed to the bloated corporate client’s bankroll as “entertainment expenses.” Yes, these are the perks. It’s all a win-win…for Marty and his team: they get the account; the client gets a week of reckless debauchery in exchange for useless, indecipherable management directives, all for the low, low price of…millions.

My take: Damn, it’s good to see Don Cheadle back in full-on comedy mode again…almost as good as it is to get to look at Kristen Bell on a weekly basis once more. Showtime’s comedies are notoriously raucous, and this one looks to be no exception.

(Premiere date: January 8, 10 PM)

So sayeth the network: A comedy starring Rob Schneider as a lifelong bachelor who just married into a tight-knit Mexican-American family. Rob is a successful landscape architect who, after a whirlwind romance, marries Maggie (Claudia Bassols), a beautiful, smart book translator, who is way out of his league. After eloping in Las Vegas, Maggie and Rob must break the news to her overprotective, judgmental parents, Rosa (Diana Maria Riva) and Fernando (Cheech Marin), that they are married. Shocked by news that they’ve eloped, the family remains skeptical of Maggie’s choice for a husband, with the exception of her uncle Hector (Eugenio Derbez), the black sheep of the family, who immediately declares himself Rob’s best friend. Rob hopes he will one day win over his new in-laws, aunts, uncles and Maggie’s Abuelita (Lupe Ontiveros), and live happily ever after with his one true love, Maggie.

My take: I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I’m thrilled at the prospect of a Rob Schneider sitcom, but I do think that Schneider can be funny, and if he’s reigned in somewhat by the constraints of being on a broadcast network, i.e. the humor doesn’t descend into low-brow in a big way, then it might actually give us a chance to remember how funny the guy could be on “Saturday Night Live” when given the right material. Plus, Bassols is muy caliente, and who doesn’t like Cheech?

(Premiere date: January 12, 8:30 PM)

So sayeth the network: Napoleon Dynamite (Jon Heder) is a 16-year-old boy convinced – for no apparent reason – that he is destined for greatness and blessed with unlimited “sweet abilities.” He spends his days practicing ninja moves, drawing ligers, soul dancing and bragging about his “girlfriend in Oklahoma” whom nobody has ever seen. Napoleon’s brother, Kip (Aaron Ruell), is an unemployed 32-year-old who lives at home and believes he would be an amazing catch for any girl who would respond to his online come-ons. The Dynamite brothers live with Grandma (Sandy Martin), a crusty woman who can often be found four-wheeling with her lady friends at the local sand dunes. Napoleon’s allies include Pedro (Efren Ramirez), his unflappable best friend who has recently been elected class president; and Deb (Tina Majorino), an incredibly sweet girl who sees the good in Napoleon and dreams of someday being his wife. Napoleon’s Uncle Rico (Jon Gries) lives out of an orange custom van, where he obsesses over his botched high school football career and dreams up ways to become rich and famous. Then there’s Rex Kwon Do (Diedrich Bader), a self-proclaimed martial-arts master who runs the local dojo.

My take: I’m not necessarily the target audience for this series – I’ve seen the movie once, and I didn’t love it enough to see it a second time, let alone join the cult that’s built up around it – but I admit that I’m intrigued by the fact that every single member of the cast has returned to reprise their roles. Oh, sure, a cynic would point out that it’s not like they’ve got a whole heck of a lot else going on…kind of like I just did. But let’s hope that at least part of the reason they came back was because the writing was strong.

(Premiere date: January 15, 8:30 PM)

So sayeth the network: When San Francisco Police Department Det. Rebecca Madsen (Sarah Jones) is assigned to a grisly homicide case, a fingerprint leads her to a shocking suspect: Jack Sylvane (Jeffrey Pierce), an Alcatraz inmate who died over 30 years ago. Given her family history – both her grandfather and surrogate uncle, Ray Archer (Robert Forster), were guards at the prison – Madsen’s interest is immediately piqued, and once the enigmatic, knows-everything-but-tells-nothing government agent Emerson Hauser (Sam Neill) tries to impede her investigation, she’s doggedly committed. Madsen turns to Alcatraz expert and comic book enthusiast, Dr. Diego “Doc” Soto (Jorge Garcia), to help her piece together the inexplicable sequence of events. The twosome discovers that Sylvane is not only alive, but he’s loose on the streets of San Francisco, exacting decades-old revenge and leaving bodies in his wake. And strangely, he hasn’t aged a day since 1963 when Alcatraz was ruled by the iron-fisted Warden Edwin James (Jonny Coyne) and the sadistic Associate Warden E.B. Tiller (Jason Butler Harner). Detective Madsen and Soto must team with Hauser and his technician, Lucy Banerjee (Parminder Nagra), to stop Sylvane’s vengeful killing spree. By delving into Alcatraz history, government cover-ups and Rebecca’s own heritage, the team will ultimately discover that Sylvane is only a small part of a much larger, more sinister present-day threat. For while he may be the first, it quickly becomes clear that Sylvane won’t be the last to reappear from Alcatraz. Through the course of the investigation, Madsen and Soto will learn that Hauser has been awaiting the prisoners’ return for nearly 50 years. Soto will witness his life’s work – the history of Alcatraz – come alive. Madsen will be forced to keep her supportive San Francisco cop fiancé, Jimmy Dickens (Santiago Cabrera), at arm’s length from the highly classified assignment as she sees everything she thought she knew about her family’s past shattered, all while fighting to keep the country safe from history’s most dangerous criminals.

My take: Don’t tell me I’m the only guy who’s spent his life intrigued by Alcatraz. Take the built-in mystique surrounding the prison, throw in the sci-fi / supernatural premise, J.J. Abrams as executive-producer, and a cast filled with familiar faces who know their way around this genre, and you’ve got me hooked. It’s my second favorite hour-long of the midseason.

(Premiere date: January 16, 8 PM; regular 9 PM timeslot begins January 23)

So sayeth the network: Martin Bohm (Kiefer Sutherland) is a widower and single father haunted by an inability to connect to his mute 11-year-old son, Jake (David Mazouz). Caring, intelligent and thoughtful, Martin has tried everything to reach his son who shows little emotion and never allows himself to be touched by anyone, including Martin. Jake busies himself with cast-off cell phones, disassembling them and manipulating the parts, allowing him to see the world in his own special way. After multiple failed attempts at keeping Jake in school, Martin is visited by social worker Clea Hopkins (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), who insists on doing an evaluation of the Bohms’ living situation. Although new at her job, Clea sees a man whose life has become dominated by a child he can no longer control. She believes his attempts to communicate with Jake are just wish fulfillment, and determines that it’s time for the state to intervene. But everything changes when Martin discovers that Jake possesses a gift of staggering genius – the ability to see things that no one else can, and the patterns that connect seemingly unrelated events. Jake is indeed communicating after all. But it’s not with words, it’s with numbers. Martin meets Arthur Teller (Danny Glover), a professor and an expert on children who possess special gifts when it comes to numbers. Now it’s up to Martin to decipher the meaning and connect the numbers to the cast of characters whose lives they affect.

My take: I still haven’t seen the pilot episode for the show, but the trailer really captured my imagination. Sutherland surely had his pick of projects in the wake of “24,” so I have to believe there’s something about “Touch” that really tickled his fancy. The fact that it’s created by Tim Kring, who ultimately disappointed with “Heroes,” makes me mildly concerned, but, hey, Season 1 of “Heroes” was pretty damned good. If Kring learned some valuable lessons from what went wrong with that series, here’s hoping he won’t make similar mistakes on “Touch.” (Please don’t let him make similar mistakes on “Touch.”)

(Premiere date: January 25, 9 PM; premiere March 19, 9 PM)

So sayeth the network: A behind-the-track look at the world of horse racing and gamblingʼs denizens – owners, trainers, jockeys and gamblers. Chester “Ace” Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) is released from three years in federal prison. Heʼs met by his driver and bodyguard, Gus Demitriou
(Dennis Farina), who fronts as the owner of the $2 million Irish Horse that Ace just bought. A brilliant but disreputable trainer, the Peruvian Turo Escalante (John Ortiz), introduces us to their prized Irish thoroughbred, who is being examined by his girlfriend, track veterinarian Jo (Jill Hennessy). Meanwhile, veteran trainer-turned-owner Walter Smith (Nick Nolte) contains his optimism pinned on his promising “Big Horse” because heʼs wary. Of what, weʼre unsure, but we learn thereʼs a dark history and a shadow of scandal behind the horse. Four degenerate gamblers, Marcus (Kevin Dunn), Renzo (Ritchie Coster), Jerry (Jason Gedrick), and Lonnie (Ian Hart), meanwhile, are pooling their meager resources to bet Jerryʼs hunch on the dayʼs long shot, a high-stakes Pick Six winners contest.

My take: I admit it. I’m the dumbass who forgot that HBO was sneak-previewing “Luck” after the season finale of “Boardwalk Empire,” so I didn’t see it. And HBO has yet to send over the screener, so I’m kind of freaking out here, because everyone I know who has seen it has loved it. But, really, it’s David Milch material acted by Hoffman and Nolte, directed by Michael Mann. What’s not to freaking love?

(Premiere date: January 29, 19 PM)

So sayeth the network: “Smash” is a musical drama that celebrates the beauty and heartbreak of the Broadway theater as it follows a cross-section of dreamers and schemers who all have one common desire – to be a “smash.” The series centers on the process of creating a Broadway musical based on the life of Marilyn Monroe – written by the successful songwriting duo of Tom (Christian Borle) and Julia (Debra Messing). Julia recently began the process of adopting a child with her husband Frank (Brian d’Arcy James) of many years, but her focus is torn when she has the opportunity to write another Broadway hit. A rivalry soon forms for the lead role between a youthful, inexperienced Midwestern beauty Karen (Katharine McPhee) – who is trying to find fame in the big city against all odds – and stage veteran Ivy Bell (Megan Hilty), who’s determined to leave the chorus line and finally get her big break. A tenacious producer Eileen (Anjelica Huston) discovers the “Marilyn” project and jumps on board with a brilliant director, Derek (Jack Davenport) – whose talent is matched by his cunning and egocentric amorality. The series stemmed from an idea of executive producer Steven Spielberg. The pilot was written by Theresa Rebeck. David Marshall Grant, Craig Zadan and Neil Meron and Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey also serve as executive producers. Original songs are written by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, who serve as executive producers as well.

My take: If you were wondering, this is my favorite hour-long of the midseason. It may seem like a glorified “Glee” when you watch the trailer, but I promise you that it was amazingly captivating from start to finish. I don’t know if they’re going to be able to maintain that level of awesomeness throughout the season, but for my money, this was a better pilot than anything I saw that premiered in the fall…which was particularly painful, since we’ve had the pilot since then. Thank God the time has finally come for the show to hit the air. I can’t wait.

(Premiere date: February 6, 10 PM)

So sayeth the network: Famed explorer Dr. Emmet Cole (Bruce Greenwood) went looking for magic deep in the uncharted Amazon and never returned. The shocking truth about his disappearance is out there, waiting to be discovered. To the millions of kids who grew up watching his show, Dr. Cole was a hero. To his own son, Lincoln (Joe Anderson), he was more of an enigma. Now, six months after he vanished, Lincoln is finally ready to bury the past when Dr. Cole’s emergency beacon suddenly goes off. At the urging of his mother, Tess (Leslie Hope), Lincoln reluctantly joins her on a search for his father. To fund the rescue, they agree to let Dr. Cole’s cagey ex-producer, Clark (Paul Blackthorne), film the mission documentary-style. The mixed crew of old friends and new acquaintances includes the alluring and resourceful Lena (Eloise Mumford), loyal mechanic Emilio (Daniel Zacapa) and lethal bodyguard Captain Kurt Brynildson (Thomas Kretschmann).

My take: It’s never easy to do horror on broadcast television, but, seriously, this pilot creeped me the hell out. Again, it’s another case where you really have no clue if and/or how they’re going to be able to maintain this level of quality as the season progresses, but the fact that it’s the work of the “Paranormal Event” people has me very curious to see if they can pull it off.

(Premiere date: February 7, 9 PM)

So sayeth the network: An unscripted series set in Smith’s iconic comic shop Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash that captures the world of the neighborhood comic book store and fanboy culture.

My take: Your guess is about as good as mine when it comes to this show, which used to be called “Secret Stash” until just a few weeks ago. There’s no mention of the series on AMC’s website – the above text comes from the schedule for the TCA tour – and there’s certainly no trailer or clips to be had. As someone who spent much of his youth…okay, fine, and into my twenties…frequenting comic book stores, I know the inherent humor to be had in those places, so I’m extremely hopeful that Smith is the man who can make that translate into a funny-ass reality show. But we shall see.

(Premiere date: February 12, 10 PM)

So sayeth the network: Amanda Vaughn (Leslie Bibb), once the ultimate high school “mean girl,” is forced to return home in disgrace after her marriage ends in scandal. Reluctant but desperate, Amanda has no choice but to turn to her mother, Gigi (Annie Potts), for help. Gigi, the quintessential proper Dallas socialite, wants nothing more than to have Amanda back and to give Amanda’s two teenage kids a good southern upbringing. The problem is that Amanda is nothing like the girl she was 20 years ago and is hesitant about re-entering this world of opulence, status and salacious rumor mills. She is hopeful for a new start, but soon finds it’s not that easy to escape your past in this tightknit community. The women of Dallas are none too happy to see Amanda back in town. Carlene Cockburn (Kristin Chenoweth), once the ugly duckling, was tortured by Amanda in high school but has made quite the “assisted” transformation since. Now she has a picture-perfect, lavish life with a gorgeous husband, yet she still can’t seem to let go of old grudges. Then there’s Cricket Caruth-Reilly (Miriam Shor) whose boyfriend Amanda stole and later married. Cricket is now a tough-as-nails, successful businesswoman with a perfect marriage – at least so it appears from the outside. Sharon Peacham (Jennifer Aspen), the fallen beauty queen whose chance at the Miss Teen Dallas crown was snatched away by a malicious rumor Amanda started, hasn’t really been the same since. Finally, there’s Heather Cruz (Marisol Nichols), a bit of an outsider back in high school who has now become fully inducted into this twisted little social clique of affluent, sugary, God-fearing, steely women whose bark is as bad as their bite.

My take: I’m not really a soap-opera guy, but when someone can take soapy elements and find the funny in them, I’m willing to give it a chance, and the pilot for this series made me laugh on several occasions. Chenoweth is always a lot of fun, and although you may not recognize the names of the other cast members, there are plenty of familiar faces in the bunch. It’s clear that ABC is hoping to sell this to audiences as the heir apparent to “Desperate Housewives.” Based on what I’ve seen, it’s got my vote.

(Premiere date: March 4, 10 PM)

So sayeth the network: The struggle goes on in 21st century London as the updated team of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson battle the worst that modern criminality has to offer, including a computer-savvy arch-villain who wants to rule the world.

My take: I really, really, really loved the first one. I cannot wait to see the second one. If I end up getting an advance screener of the three-part miniseries when I get to the TCA tour, I’m going to be the happiest camper this side of Scotland Yard. As it stands right now, however, I’ve seen no more than the brief clips that are on YouTube. Still, they’re enough to show that Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman have had no trouble stepping back into the roles of Holmes and Watson. Do you get the impression that I’m excited? May seems a lifetime away…

(Premiere date: May 6)