1. The CAPRICA series premiere. [iTunes]
2. The LIFE UNEXPECTED series premiere. [iTunes]
3. THE DEEP END series premiere. [iTunes]
4. The DEGRASSI HIGH series premiere. [iTunes]
5. HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER’s “Nothing Suits Me Like a Suit” [iTunes]

During last night’s somewhat lacklustre 30 ROCK, Jack took a photo of Liz and sent it to high school crush Nancy Donovan telling her that he’s with the “female Kevin McHale.” Now, if your first thought was that of the GLEE star as opposed to the ex-NBA player of the same name that Jack was undoubtedly referring to — join the club — you’re officially a bonafide GLEEK! Plus you gotta admit, it kinda works, no?

Back in the days good ol’ days of primetime television when networks routinely ordered 24, 26 or even 30 episodes of our favorite shows, clip shows were not only par for the course, but completely understandable. Unfortunately, in this modern day of television that we find ourselves in — where eight minutes of commercials have shrunk the precious few new episodes of so-called half hour sitcoms to just over twenty-two minutes — last night’s instalment of THE OFFICE that found Michael Scott looking back on memorable Dunder Mifflin moments was inexcusable. Memo to NBC. If you’re trying to win back supporters following your recent ‘Late Night’ debacle, a glorified clip show is not the way to go. We’re just sayin’

As any follower of Kevin Williamson’s twitter feed can tell you, writing episodic television ain’t easy. Which is why we thought we’d take the opportunity to let @kevwilliamson know that his seemingly endless string of all nighters and gallons of coffee are paying off. Big time. From Elena and Damon’s excellent adventure (RIP Gina Torres!), the awesomeness that is Alaric (Grading papers in a bar, really?), the burgeoning relationship between adorable Nancy Drew wannabe Anna and Jeremy (Who drug free suddenly became far smarter than your average fifth grader), not to mention the plethora of answers with regards to Elena’s mysterious connection to both Katherine and Stefan (Lindelof and Cuse take note), last night’s instalment of THE VAMPIRE DIARIES killed, both literally and figuratively. So here’s to you Mr. Williamson, can’t wait to see what you have in store for us next week.

Since our appreciation for stars Tina Majorino, Matt Long, Billy Zane and Norbert Leo Butz far outweighs our disappointment in last night’s season premiere of THE DEEP END, we’re going to go out on a limb and promise to give this show a second shot. Who’s with us?

It’s the most important question facing young actors in Hollywood today. How does one avoid becoming a child star cliché?

Well, if you’re actress Tina Majorino, who spent the majority of her youth growing up on screen in a string of high profile films including Corinna, Corrinna, Waterworld and Alice in Wonderland. You avoid a starring role in the E! Network “Child Stars Gone Bad!” Special by taking a break from the business at the tender age of 13. A decision that Majorino credits as the best one of her life.

“Having worked since I was a baby, I was tired and just wanted to be kid,” explained the talented young actress who between 1999 and 2004 retired from acting to return to school, dance and spend time with friends and family. “I wanted that time to get to know myself and make sure that acting was what I really wanted to do. I didn’t want to half ass it and wanted to make sure I was completely committed to my art.”

A risky career move that now seems to be paying big dividends. Now all grown up (25!) Majorino, who this TV Addict had the chance to chat with at the recent Television Critics Press Tour in Pasadena couldn’t be more well-adjusted and credits her ‘wonderful family and friends’ for ensuring she remained what we like to think of as ‘the anti-Lohan.’

“There are a lot of people in Hollywood who are going to try and tell you what it is you need to be doing and what they think is a good move for you and it’s not necessarily true,” said Majorino on the pitfalls of growing up on camera. “It’s important to get to know yourself, because as an actor, there are so many traps that you can fall into if you don’t have the wherewithal to protect yourself and know what’s right for you.”

Luckily for fans of quality television, what’s been right for Majorino have been memorable roles on cult favorites such as VERONICA MARS and BIG LOVE.

“I loved doing the show [VERONICA MARS] and it’s really fun for me because people either don’t know the show or they’re die hard fans. So when you’re meeting someone who has watched the show, it’s a blast to talk to them because they really enjoyed the characters and they’re so into it. Really, it’s an honor,” reflected Majorino, being sure to add her love for BIG LOVE, “I love that show so much, it’s so quirky and everybody — from the actors, directors and producers — are just amazing.”

Which naturally begs the question: What led to Majorino’s latest decision that has her jumping from HBO’s successful polygamist drama into THE DEEP END, a new ABC series that has her playing a brilliant and eager-to-please first year associate named Addie Fisher.

“The great part about this role is that [unlike previous characters such as BIG LOVE's Heather Tuttle] Addie grows out of her naiveté. She starts out being completely green and not knowing up from down but she evolves, learns, and gets tougher,” promised the actress when asked about her affinity for playing brilliant albeit somewhat socially awkward characters . “Fingers crossed we’ll get the opportunity to do some more as you never know what’s in store for these characters.

“It’s such a privilege to be able to wake up and do something that you enjoy so much. I am fully aware of how blessed I am.”

WHY HE LOOKS FAMILIAR: For the simple reason that Long’s big break came headlining fifty percent of one of this TV Addict’s all-time favorite brilliant-but-cancelled series. “Man, when people walk up to me and say something about JACK & BOBBY it really means a lot to me and I really appreciate it,” revealed Long on a recent one-one-one during last week’s Television Critics Press Tour in Pasenda. “The longer I go in my career, the more I realize that it was such an incredible opportunity and experience that doesn’t happen all that often.”

ON WORKING WITH A FEW FAR MORE FAMOUS CO-STARS: “The writing was so fantastic and the quality of the show was so high that we had access to all these great actors who were willing to jump onboard,” said Long of JACK & BOBBY’s ridiculously talented ensemble which included Christine Lahti, John Slattery, and Bradley Cooper. “It’s funny, because it was my first job so everything I was doing was a first. Looking back, I count my blessing to have been involved with it and wish I could have done some more of them.”

ON CHOOSING ROLES: “I’ve done things here (Sydney White) and there (Ghost Rider) over the past couple of years, but quality roles like Jack [on JACK & BOBBY] just don’t come along that often,” said Long on what took him so long to return to the small screen.

WHAT’S NEXT: Jack McCallister goes to law school! Okay, not really. But starting Thursday, ABC’s THE DEEP END may offer up the next best thing when Matt Long, playing young and idealistic first-year associate Dylan Hewitt is forced to navigate the ethically murky waters of one of the country’s most powerful Law firms in order to succeed. Quick, where’s Bobby when you need him?

THE DEEP END premieres on ABC Thurdsay January 21 at 8PM

Photo Credit: Bob D’Amico/ABC

Matt Long
Wait! Before you say Matt “Who?” Please, save yourself the embarrassment by clicking on over to theWB.com and checking out his work as one half of the McCallister brood in the brilliant-but-cancelled JACK & BOBBY. After you’ve devoured all twenty-two episodes, we’ll look forward to your “thank you TV Addict for introducing me to the best show ever!” in the comments below.

Tina Majorino
After cornering the market on high school scene stealers, VERONICA MARS and BIG LOVE supporting MVP Tina Majorino is finally ready to grow up and play a twenty-something in this much-deserved starring role.

Norbert Leo Butz
As fans of Wicked, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Speed-the-Plow can attest, there are no butz about it: Leo Butz is easily one of the most talented performers you’ve never heard of.

Billy Zane
And not just because Zane holds a very special place in our heart from his days as the villainous Caledon ‘Cal’ Hockley in a little movie about a sinking ship that we may-or-may-not-have seen on more than one

Clancy Brown
Yes it’s true, this TV Addict is one of three confirmed fans of the short-lived NBC series EARTH 2.

Photo Credits: ABC/CRAIG SJODIN

Last week the five major broadcast networks outlined their new fall schedules and previewed clips of new series for advertisers at their annual Upfront presentations. After taking a look at these clips myself, I’ve compiled a list, divided into what’s most promising, what’s roughly in the middle, and what looks horrible. These aren’t reviews per se, they’re just immediate reactions to very brief footage – I’ll reevaluate after I’ve screened the pilots later this summer.  First up, least promising of the bunch… Alex O’Loughlin fans, please don’t hurt us.?

100 QUESTIONS (NBC)
Buzz was that NBC was high on this comedy before its Upfront presentation and that it was being touted as “the next FRIENDS.” Highly doubtful, and I’m pretty sure the laugh track was the only thing laughing during the dreadfully unfunny trailer.

BROTHERS (FOX)
Starring former New York Giant Michael Strahan…plays former NFL player Mike Trainor, who returns home to help his brother’s struggling restaurant business. CCH Pounder from The Shield and Carl Weathers also star as their parents. Strahan does fine, but what would really be great is if the whole thing didn’t feel so strained and dated.

THE DEEP END (ABC)
GREY’S ANATOMY with lawyers. Because it refuses to stop.

THE FORGOTTEN (ABC)
A band of amateur detectives work to identify victims and solve their murders. Looks like a COLD CASE lookalike CBS passed on – and with good reason.

HANK (ABC)
Kelsey Grammer plays a CEO who loses everything in the stock market, forcing him and his family to relocate to suburban Virginia. It’s the recession comedy of the year: humble, and kind of cheap.

HAPPY TOWN (ABC)
I demand a moratorium on prefacing previews with “from the network that brought you [insert cult favorite here].” Just because you mention TWIN PEAKS, doesn’t make this murder mystery set in a town Where Bad Things Don’t Happen Twin Peaks. Got it?

MELROSE PLACE (The CW)
Sydney Andrews, of the original Melrose, inexplicably survived her seemingly fatal death and has returned to collect rent from a whole new gaggle of tenants, which include Ashlee Simpson-Wentz in her return to TV. Like the 90210 remake, it seems to lack the balance of soap and melodrama. Needs a Heather Locklear sooner than later.

PAST LIFE (FOX)
Honestly, it’s the silliest sounding show I’ve heard in a while. About “an unlikely pair of past-life detectives who investigate whether what is happening to you today is the result of who you were before,” I couldn’t decipher from the clips previewed whether this reincarnation drama was a joke or a sadly mistaken idea for a procedural.

THREE RIVERS (CBS)
MOONLIGHT’s Alex O’Louglin is a star dammit! It’s great CBS is so enamored with him, but could they find a role any more thankless than as a surgeon at a organ transplant hospital? I don’t even like him that much I know he deserves better than this.

TRAUMA (NBC)
It’s THIRD WATCH, with a bigger budget (so more explosions) and about paramedics. Already I’m feeling medical drama fatigue.

THE VAMPIRE DIARIES (The CW)
Twilight = icky. Twilight x Dawson’s Creek’s Kevin Williamson = slightly less icky, but still pretty icky.

THE DEEP END
According to the official ABC description: Sterling Law is one of L.A.’s most prestigious law firms. Each year it recruits four new young lawyers from the finest law schools worldwide. It will nurture, guide and shape these recruits into the best damned lawyers they can possibly be — or else.

According to this TV Addict: It’s GREY’S ANATOMY meets L.A. LAW. Which is something we’d usually be far more critical of, except for the fact that these lawyers include JACK & BOBBY’S Matt Long! VERONICA MARS’ Tina Majorino! TITANIC’s Billy Zane! And Broadway’s Norbert Leo Butz! (TV Addict note: Gratuitous use of exclamation marks denotes our off-the-charts level of excitement for this series)

COUGAR TOWN
According to the official ABC description: Co-executive produced by Courteney Cox and Bill Lawrence (SCRUBS), COUGAR TOWN is the single-camera comedy that dares to tell the truth about dating after divorce. Juggling a teenage son with her thriving career and budding love life isn’t easy, but before you know it, Jules will have you cheering, “Go Cougars!” 

According to the TV Addict: While we’re certainly not cheering for this cliché-ridden preview, we are willing to give any Bill Lawrence show the old college. Especially one that features an ex-FRIEND (Cox) and ALIENS IN AMERICA alum Dan Byrd in starring roles.

FLASH FORWARD
According to the official ABC description: A mysterious global event causes everyone to black out simultaneously for two minutes and seventeen seconds, and each person sees a glimpse of their lives six months from now. When they wake up, everyone is left wondering if what they saw will actually happen. 

According to this TV Addict: While creators David Goyer (THE DARK KNIGHT) and Brandon Braga (STAR TREK, 24) certainly have the proven track-record to make this high concept serialized drama work, this TV Addict can’t help but feel that ABC should have pressed pause on what will surely be a mythology-laden show until LOST ends its run next season.

HANK
According to the official ABC description: Sometimes scaling back is the best way to get ahead. Wall Street legend Hank Pryor (Kelsey Grammer) and his wife Tilly have been living the high life in New York City. That is until Hank is forced out of his CEO job and has to move his family back home to the small town of River Bend.

According to this TV Addict:  If Kelsey Grammer insists on playing yet another variation of his now iconic FRASIER character, the least he could do is bring co-stars David Hyde Pierce, Jane Leeves, Peri Gilpin and John Mahoney to up the LPM [Laughs per minute].

HAPPY TOWN
According to the official ABC description: From the executive producers of OCTOBER ROAD and LIFE ON MARS, comes the enthralling new drama, HAPPY TOWN. In the sleepy little hamlet of Haplin, Minnesota, not all secrets have been put to rest. 

According to this TV Addict: It’s what OCTOBER ROAD might have looked like if Physical Phil turned out to be a crazed killer. Color us intrigued.

THE MIDDLE
According to the official ABC description: Forget about athletes, movie stars and politicians. Parents are the real heroes — but Frankie Heck (Patricia Heaton), well she’s some kind of superhero. A loving wife and mother of three, she’s middle class in the middle of the country and is rapidly approaching middle age. 

According to this TV Addict: Patricia Heaton is no Jane Kaczmarek and if you’re asking us to choose between MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE retreads, our vote, with apologies to SCRUBS’ Janitor (Neil Flynn) goes to FOX’s SONS OF TUCSON.

EASTWICK
According to the official ABC description: Single-handedly, housewives accomplish astonishing things… and together, watch out. In the seaside village of Eastwick, this might just be evidence of their inner-witch rising to the surface. 

According to this TV Addict: Desperate Housewitches, really? Is it too late to bring back LIPSTICK JUNGLE?

V
According to the official ABC description: Today, the world woke up to find spaceships over every major city. The Visitors claim to have come in peace, bringing gifts of medical miracles and technological breakthroughs. They promise to do no harm. They’re lying.

According to this TV Addict: Professionalism be damned… OMG! OMG! OMG!

THE FORGOTTEN (Check back soon for a preview)
According to the official ABC description: Gone but not forgotten. That’s what they say. But what if a killer took your life — and your name? Every city has its share of unidentified murder victims. When standard police procedure fails to give them a name, that’s when the Identity Network steps in. 

According to this TV Addict: THE FORGOTTEN gets are pick for the fall’s most accurately titled show as come November, forgotten is exactly what this generic Jerry Bruckheimer procedural will be.

MODERN FAMILY (Check back soon for a preview)
According to the official ABC description: When the Pritchett, Delgado and Dunphy families agree to be interviewed by a documentary crew, they have no idea just how much they’re about to reveal about themselves. Jay Pritchett met the stunning Colombian Gloria when she bartended in a bikini at the pool party he threw for himself the day his wife left him.

Now Jay and Gloria are married and Jay tries hard to keep up with his much younger and hotter wife and her passionate teenage son, Manny. Claire Delgado is having a hard time raising her own family. Her husband Phil is great, except for the fact that he thinks he’s “down” with their teenage kids, much to their embarrassment. Mitchell Dunphy and his enthusiastic partner Cameron have just adopted Lily, a precious little baby girl from Vietnam. This engaging new comedy offers a ‘mockumentary’ view into the complicated, messy, loving life of three unique families.

According to this TV Addict: Although we have yet to see the official trailer for MODERN FAMILY, we’re finding very little not to love about THE OFFICE: Family edition.