2008-09 TV Season Pilots

The pilots line-up has been announced in the trades. Here's what looks good to me:

Cleveland (FOX): "Family Guy spinoff centered on Cleveland Brown (Mike Henry)."— C'mon, it's gotta be good!

Boldly Going Nowhere (FOX): "High-concept comedy about what happens day-to-day on an intergalactic spaceship."— From the It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia crew!

Courtroom K (FOX): "Darly comedic courtroom drama in the vein of House, which is set in a Milwaukee Superior Court; jonathan Sadowski and Michael Landes co-star."— Sounds intriguing and with a good pedigree: Oscar-nominated writer Paul Attanasio (Donnie Brasco) and directors Anthony and Joe Russo (Arrested Development).

Life on Mars (ABC): "21st century detective Jason O'Mara finds himself working as a cop in the 1970s; based on the BBC series."— This is from David E. Kelley and Thomas Schlamme, and seems just odd enough to pan out.

The Office spinoff (NBC): No details on this, and I think it's too soon for a spinoff, but then again...

Sit Down, Shut Up (FOX): "Seven staff members at a high school are preoccupied with their own needs and agendas; this animated series is based on the live-action Australian series; with Jason Bateman, Cheri Oteri, Will Forte."— From Arrested Development's Mitch Hurwitz and Two and a Half Men's Eric and Kim Tannenbaum.

Austin Golden Hour (CW): "A real-time medical drama that follows a close-knit team of young emergency room surgeons and emergency medical technicians in Austin during the critical, adrenaline-filled 60 minutes immediately following a truma, known as 'the golden hour'; Justin Hartley and Michael Trevino co-star."— From ER medical consultant (and Emmy-winning writer) Lance Gentile and UK TV veteran Mal Young.

Cedric (ABC): "Guy (Cedric the Entertainer) copes with his wife's (Regina Hall) hobby becoming a big enterprise."— Hate the lame title, but I like Cedric the Entertainer, and the Honeymooners-like premise could be fun for a while.

The Mentalist (CBS): "A mentalist (Simon Baker) uses his skills of observation to solve crimes as an independent detective working with the police."— A much-needed mystery-like show; from Bruno Heller (Rome) and David Nutter (The X-Files).

Merlin (NBC): "BBC fantasy series set in Camelot, which chronicles the early lives of Merlin (Colin Morgan) and Arthur (Bradley James). Anthony Head, Richard Wilson, Angel Coulby and Katie McGrath also star."— Could be fun.

Virtuality (FOX): "The human condition is tested during a long range NASA mission."— Sounds cool; Martin Campbell (Casino Royale) directs two-hour pilot.

Castle (ABC): "Comedic procedural about a famous mystery novelist helping the NYPD solve crimes."— Again, haven't had a true mystery series in a while (outside of Monk); admittedly the production team of Andrew Marlowe (Hollow Man) and Armyan Bernstein (The Hurricane) don't exactly add up to "funny mystery TV show."

Then there's a new Mike Judge animated series, a couple of series from the producers of How I Met Your Mother, an X-Men-like series called Section 8 from X-Men screenwriter Zak Penn, a Glenn Gordon Caron romantic drama with Amy Smart (lame premise about a dead woman who has to help others in order to "pass over"; but Caron did do Moonlighting so I'll give it the benefit of the doubt), a Joss Whedon series, a J. J. Abrams series, a remake of Knight Rider, and (lucky us!) a Beverly Hills 90210 spinoff.