Fall TV: As exciting, enjoyable and disappointing as ever

OK, so it's fall TV season, which means time must be allocated, TiVos must be programmed and shows must be watched.

Favorite new show: Bionic Woman.
It's based on a favorite from my youth, and is a metaphor for a woman coming into the power of adulthood and experience. What's not to like? Well, let's just say that sky-high expectations are a lot for even bionics to carry. The show is doing well, very well, and I'm going to give it some time. Like the Bionic Woman herself, it needs time to realize its power.

Returning strong: Desperate Housewives
Will Dana Delany out-Bree Bree? She is so good at the brittle socialite, prone to tears, though I still love her best as the warm, sweet, conflicted nurse from China Beach. Kudos to Desperate Housewives for finding ways to re-invigorate Wisteria Lane.

Watching in real time for the first time: Grey's Anatomy and Heroes
I didn't dig Heroes at first, but have fallen in love with it since watching its debut season in one downloaded swoop. The first episode of this new season is one of the last things I got to this week -- not because I wasn't looking forward to it, but just because other things seemed more urgent. There's no arguing that it's a great show, and it has managed to bounce back with strength after a finale that didn't deliver the "bang" (watch it, you'll get the joke) people hoped for.

I like Grey's. So much sex. And death. And sex. And surgeries. And cheating. And mournful looks. I don't know why I like it so much, but I do. It must be the heightened reality, the shots of Seattle that make it look like the most beautiful, soulful city on earth. And, I gotta admit, I know what it's like to fall in love with someone you work with. Especially when you're not supposed to.

Biggest disappointment: Private Practice.
Kate Walsh deserves a fabulous show. Too bad this isn't it. She's like a lobotomized version of the fabulous broad she played in Grey's, and the show is cutesy when it shouldn't be and tone-deaf when it tries for gravitas.