FALL '08 PREVIEW: SUNDAY NIGHTS

Sunday nights are filled with continuing shows, with just one newbie on the fall slate. What if there was no writers' strike? Would there be more new series testing the waters or would it still be riddled with TV veterans?

"True Blood" (9 p.m., HBO) NEW

Series premiere airs tonight

Starring: Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Ryan Kwanten

Synopsis: In Bon Temps, Louisiana, vampires and humans live among each other. Waitress Sookie Stackhouse (Paquin) can read people's minds but can't get get through to mysterious vampire Bill, which strikes her curiosity. Amid their vampire-human relationship, murders plague the small town.

My Prediction: It is one of those love it or hate it shows. Since helmer Alan Ball ("Six Feet Under") is adapting this from the popular Sookie Stackhouse novels, the new take on the vampire myth adds a little bit of intrigue, which could lose viewers or keep them tuned in. It will catch a small audience to make it through its first season, but beyond that, its fate is questionable.

Pass, Catch Later or Appointment TV: Catch Later

"Desperate Housewives" (9 p.m., ABC)

Season 5 premieres Sept. 28

Starring: Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, Marcia Cross, Eva Longoria
Synopsis: On Wisteria Lane, it is five years after the fourth season ended. The kids have grown up (new cast members) and things have changed drastically.
My Prediction: It'll do fine, but it's been losing its luster.
Pass, Catch Later or Appointment TV: Pass

"Brothers & Sisters" (10 p.m., ABC)

Season 3 premieres Sept. 28

Starring: Sally Field, Calista Flockhart, Rachel Griffiths, Rob Lowe, Matthew Rhys
Synopsis: Last season, Kevin (Rhys) and Scotty (Luke MacFarlane) got married, Justin (Dave Annable) and Rebecca (Emily Van Camp) officially became a couple and the Walkers learned that their patriarch fathered another child.
My Prediction: The Walkers are the epitome of the family everyone wants to know, but is afraid to admit it. They are dysfunctional (in the best way possible), deal with real everyday problems and love each other unconditionally all the way through. The second season was without its critics (the whole Justin-Rebecca pairing fueled some fire), and it's not to say this new season won't have the same. It has just the right amount of humor, drama and emotion without being too cliche.
Pass, Catch Later or Appointment TV: Appointment TV

"Californication" (10 p.m., Showtime)

Season 2 premieres Sept. 28

Starring: David Duchovny, Natascha McElhone
Synopsis: By season's end, novelist Hank Moody (Duchovny) got everything he wanted. His ex-lover, Karen (McElhone), married another man but ran off with Moody and their daughter in the end to a seemingly perfect fairytale ending.
My Prediction: It might not have the same buzz as other shows since it's on the uncensored Showtime channel, but Duchovny is eerily perfect in his role as a narcotic sex-addicted has-been writer struggling to get his life back together. Fantastically written and wonderfully acted, the second season will be better than the first.
Pass, Catch Later or Appointment TV: Appointment TV

"Entourage" (10 p.m., HBO)

Season 5 premiere airs tonight

Starring: Adrian Grenier, Jeremy Piven, Kevin Connolly, Kevin Dillon
Synopsis: At Cannes, the gang try to sell their film "Medellin" before anyone even sees it. Someone does end up purchasing it, but for far less than what they were thinking it'd go for. Vincent's (Grenier) film tanks at the festival and Ari (Piven) enters an under-the-table deal to get them out of trouble.
My Prediction: The fifth season will be another solid one for the post-"Sopranos" era on HBO. They're going to need all the help they can get.
Pass, Catch Later or Appointment TV: Pass

"The Amazing Race" (8 p.m., CBS) UNSCRIPTED

Season 13 premieres Sept. 28

Starring: Phil Keoghan
Synopsis: Thirteen teams of two travel the world in hopes of arriving first in the last leg to collect the grand prize. Along the way, other prizes and shortcuts act as incentives for the racers.
My Prediction: Besides "Project Runway," "Top Chef" and "So You Think You Can Dance," I am pretty much against reality shows. "The Amazing Race," however, has always provided one of the best narratives all season long and the characters they focus on each episode feels genuine and unrehearsed. The Emmy voters love this show (won five straight Emmys) and even though it's time someone else had a chance to win the Emmy, as long as this show is on, it's going to be incredibly difficult.
Pass, Catch Later or Appointment TV: Appointment TV