I wish I could put Community on this list, but according to NBC it is TBD right now.

5. Once Upon A Time (Sept. 29, ABC at 8 P.M.):

While the show is definitely not one of the best out there, and the sophomore season had major problems, I’m still anticipating the third season. Once Upon a Time in some ways started the deeper friendship I have with the two other mods of this blog. We all knew each other because of Community, but our friendship grew stronger from watching Once Upon a Time together. It is always fun to dissect a show with someone, and with Once there is plenty of material to use.

Hopefully the third season will be better than the second. Last year, the creators secured the rights to Peter Pan mid-season, which made them like kids in a candy store. The potential of characters and stories were wrecked. What happened to FrankenWolf, Pinnochio, or Belle as her own character, without Rumple, as storylines? There was a point during the second season where there was a glimpse of a Belle and Ruby friendship, but Meghan Ory, who plays Ruby/Red, suffered because the creators’ attention span was short.

 Fortunately for Meghan, she will be starring with the gorgeous Josh Holloway on the new CBS show, Intelligence.

The writers have also stated they are doing only two story arcs this year. This fall’s continuous episode run will contain the first arc. Let us celebrate that we won’t get two episodes and then have to wait three weeks for a new episode. The pacing should be better this way. Also, the writers should have a better idea on where the fall and then winter arcs are going. Here’s hoping for some continuity.

Another reason to look forward to the third season is because Jane Espenson is still a writer on the show; I genuinely love the episodes she writes. They are full of plot, and we get a great depth from her stories.

Finally, the actors make the show watchable, especially when you have an urge to yell at where the story is going. For me Lana Parrilla and Robery Carlyle are the two best actors on the show, and the show would be lost without them.

Oh. I also watch for Robert’s face. I find it extremely attractive.

4. Castle (Sept. 23, ABC at 10 P.M.):

How is Beckett going to respond to Castle’s proposal? Well, that question was answered during last night’s sixth season premiere.

I have been hooked on this show since season one, and a major part of that has been Nathan Fillion, who plays Richard “Rick” Castle. The man is so lovable. It has been great to see his character development on this show. For the first two seasons, he had the characteristics of a man who was probably never going to grow up, but slowly started to grow up during these past five seasons. (Don’t get me wrong, he was always a great father to Alexis, but his character needed to mature.)

I then fell for the show with the rest of the characters. I love the cast, and I believe it is one of the better ones on TV. There is not a character on the show who I dislike.

Kate Beckett, played by Stana Katic, is a great opposite for Castle. She is a great cop, who is smart and doesn’t put up with Castle’s behavior when it starts to go into childlike territory. Beckett is an awesome person. She was able to recreate Rear Window for Castle when he broke his leg. I really love the their dynamic: It may not be His Girl Friday, but I would put the two of them together with some of the great screwball couples. Just don’t ask me to call them by their shipper name.

Then we have the bromance of the show between Detectives Esposito and Ryan, played by Jon Huertas and Seamus Dever, respectively. It is a beautiful relationship. I love that they have had their ups and downs, from points where they have each others backs to those where they don’t want to talk to each other ever again.

However, they quickly make up, and the bromance slowly becomes great again. I also love that these two are their own individual characters. They have very different voices, and they each bring something to the show.

Then there is Lanie Parish, played by Tamala Jones.  She is excellent at being Beckett’s best friend and will always have her back, especially when someone has wronged Beckett.

She is also the kind of person you would never want to cross because your life would not be pleasant. The writers have also created an intriguing, but not too intrusive, on-again-off-again relationship between her and Esposito, which I find enjoyable.

Finally, one of my favorite dynamics is Castle’s family. Castle’s daughter, Alexis, played by Molly C. Quinn, was first introduced as the responsible one of the family. Throughout the show’s , she has loosened up without losing the traits of being a smart, capable young woman. The relationship between Castle and his daughter is beautiful, and is one of my favorite father-daughter relationships on TV because I feel a deep connection between the two with no animosity.

 We also have Castle’s mother, Martha Rodgers, played by Susan Sullivan. She is a lover of the arts, but I feel she knows how a family works. In my opinion, she gives some of the best advice to both Castle and Alexis. I love the flair she has.

This show is beautiful from its cast to the writing, and if you are not watching it, then you should be, because you are missing out.

3. Parks and Recreation (Sept. 26, NBC at 8 P.M.):

Ron Swanson is with child. That should be enough of a reason to watch this show.

Of course, there are other reasons why you should watch this show, like great cast, smart writing, fantastic acting, and gif-fable staging.

Amy Poehler, who plays Leslie Knope, is a big reason why Parks and Recreation is amazing. She is this beautiful, amazing human being, and the world would be less awesome without her. She is the reason why Leslie Knope works, and why the character is so lovable.

Then there is Adam Scott, who plays Leslie’s counterpart, Ben Wyatt. Generally, watching Ben Wyatt turns into a ‘look at his face’ on both my Twitter and Tumblr timelines. He is the lovable nerd, and loves Leslie so much, which makes him more lovable.

I have already mentioned him, but Ron Swanson, played by Nick Offerman, is one of the greatest characters on TV right now. It is going to be interesting to see him become a father, especially when the mother is played by Lucy Lawless.

One of my most favorite characters is April Ludgate, played by Aubrey Plaza. The relationships she has with the other characters are some of the best. She and Ron have a kind of father-daughter relationship. They hardly show emotions, but you can tell they love each other through their nonchalant style.

It is always great to see scenes of Leslie and April together. They seem like polar opposites; however, as the seasons have gone by, it is becoming more apparent that maybe they are not so different. Sure the personalities at first appearance throw the viewer off, but as time goes on I’m finding more similarities between the two: The love they have for the people they love and are both slowly climbing up the political ladder. (Can you imagine April as President?)

Last but not least is April’s relationship with her husband, Andy Dwyer. I love their relationship. At times it seems so carefree, but there is a great depth in it. I love how each of them support and have faith in each other. They make their relationship work, and people should think again if they think this relationship will not last. It is a very beautiful relationship.

There are MANY reasons why someone should watch this show, and if these reasons haven’t sold someone, they should at least watch for Retta’s character, Donna Meagle. She has game.

2. Elementary (Sept. 26, CBS at 10 P.M.):

I was in my English class last year when I mentioned that CBS was making their own Sherlock show, and I had a girl tell me, “We do not mention that show.”

This immediately increased my interest in the show, because I wanted her to be proven wrong about this show, and she was. She still may not recognize this show, but this show has grown into its own, and is loved by many. That’s what I love about the Sherlock adaptations; they are their own and they all work. For me it is like reading a book: No one is ever going to have the same take on a story as another person.

Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu have a great dynamic. Their relationship has grown into something beautiful, where she was only his sober companion in the beginning to being his friend and partner at the end of season one.

Lucy Liu makes an excellent Watson because she doesn’t put up with Sherlock’s arrogance.

                                     

I loved her when she was facing Moriarty, and how she was the one who proved she was not just Sherlock’s “mascot.” She was the one who figured out Moriarty, and was able to take her down.

This show is also awesome because they decided to combine the two characters of Irene Adler and Moriarty. The last two episodes of the first season were emotional, and I fell in love with the idea of having Sherlock’s nemesis also being the woman he loved. It put him in a vulnerable situation, and Miller played it incredibly well. Props also have to be given to Natalie Dormer: The way she played both characters was superb, and I hope we revisit the storyline again.

Another reason why I’m looking forward to season two is meeting Sherlock’s brother, Mycroft, who will be played by Rhys Ifans. I’m anticipating what the dynamic will be like with him and Miller as well as Liu. With Robert Downey Jr.’s Sherlock, Mycroft’s interaction was mainly with Watson’s new wife. We hardly saw anything between Mycroft and Sherlock, with the exception of a few minutes of them trying to prove who was smarter.

In the BBC version, Mycroft plays the big brother looking after a younger, sometimes infantile brother. I want to see how different the relationship will be.

Did I forget to mention that I am attracted to Jonny Lee Miller’s face and his voice? Because I am. His face helps make my night great.

Finally, Clyde. I know Moff would feel a little remorse if I did not mention Clyde the Turtle, and how we all look forward to seeing the little green guy every time he appears on screen.

1. Arrow (Oct. 9, CW at 8 P.M.)

Arrow is an AMAZING show and quickly became one of my favorite TV shows of the year, especially after I was slightly disappointed with some of the other shows I watch. Where they let me down in some areas, Arrow only became better as the season went on (especially after they were able to lose Oliver’s narrations).

This show is in no loss of the FEELS department. The first season finale proved that. TOMMY!

One GREAT thing about this show is they know when something works, they keep it. Manu Bennett (one of Kerry’s favorites), who plays Slade, is now a series regular. This means we will get more good Island stories. The Island stories are great, and are sometimes even better than some of the storylines happening in Starling City. Give me Oliver Queen, as played by Stephen Amell, on the Island over a flashback of Oliver and Laurel any day of the week. The only bad thing about the Island are Amell’s wigs. Let us all gather together around a bonfire and burn those things.

They have also made Emily Bett Rickards’ character, Felicity Smoak (who is QUEEN by the way), a regular for season two.

I LOVE that a guest character, who was possibly recurring, quickly became something more and joined the Arrow team. She is this quirky girl who is very intelligent and knows how to stand up to Oliver and his really awful lies. (That man cannot lie when it comes to her.) Felicity Smoak is AMAZING, and I can’t wait to get more of her, especially if that includes backstory.

One of things that worked splendidly was the Arrow team. The show got better once David Ramsey’s John Diggle joined Oliver. Diggle is an amazing character, and a really great counterpart to Oliver. His expressions alone are priceless.

Felicity made it even better when she joined the team. The three of them as a team is something magical, and leads to some of my favorite scenes.

Felicity and Diggle are a great balance to Oliver’s broodiness, and he would be lost without them.

Have I mentioned the eye candy on this show? What more can I ask for? (Besides Laurel showing expression or actually crying.)