PaleyFest: Fall TV Preview Parties: ABC

Last night, I made it out the Paley Center for Media for the preview showings of ABC's new fall slate.  New shows like No Ordinary Family, Better with You, and My Generation plus the season premiere of The Middle were shown along with several cast members of each show participating in a Q & A session throughout the evening.  While the evening was filled with free drinks, popchips, and TV Guide, it really was a mixed bag on the boob tube.

The red carpet from up above.  I had the night off!

First up, was the highlight and the surprise of the evening, the sitcom, Better with You.  The show stars Debra Jo Rupp from That 70's Show, Kurt Fuller of every show of the last 25 years, and Joanna Garcia of Reba.  I am not a huge fan of the sitcom.  In general, I find it a tired format that suffers from the formulaic plot and a laugh track.  However, this show took off right out of the gate and the always amazing, Debra, knocked it out of the park.  This show is definitely worth a look on your DVR.

I was dying to see No Ordinary Family as I went to NYU with Julie Benz and I performed way back in the day with Michael Chiklis in a local production of The Nutcracker. (Yes, I just said The Nutcracker and Michael Chiklis in the same sentence.) The piece de resistance for me was the addition of Stephen Collins, the hot reverend from 7th Heaven.  Sigh.  It wasn't the show I wanted it to be.  Honestly, it is hard to imagine a guy like Mike married to a hottie like Julie.  It just doesn't exist in our world, even in LA.  It's basically The Incredibles brought to life, but without the Pixar heart.

My customized photo.  DJR=Debra Jo Rupp, KF=Kurt Fuller, AS=Atticus Shaffer of The Middle, HOT!=Stephen Collins, ?=Some guy from one of the new shows, but he wasn't very memorable.  Anyone know who he is?

The other two shows are barely worth a mention:  The Middle, a second season show with few laughs and My Generation, a new show this year that is a better idea as true life documentary versus a fictional documentary.  The show follows a whole generation of kids to adulthood from 2000-2010. Surely a busy decade with 9/11, Katrina, Enron, a rigged election, a war, and a recession, but the John Hughes stereotypes prevail:  the jock, the princess, the misfit, the nerd, and the criminal. Watch at your own risk, but you've been warned.

Parting shot of my BCBG suede ankle boots in eggplant and grey.  Yes, I bought both colors.  Yes, my friend, Maria, did too.  Yes, we both wore then on the same night.  Yes, we called to make sure we didn't wear the same color.  The End.

P.S. I might have a mini-crush on Stephen Collins, but it goes a long way back. Check out my interview with him for Focus Hollywood and a little behind the scenes scoop from our time on the red carpet.