“90210”
Tuesday 8pm, CW
We’re now a month into the new “90210,” and I remain conflicted about the show. On the one hand, I enjoy all of the adult characters, from OG West Bev kids Brenda and Kelly to the new versions of the Walsh parents, including Jessica Walters’ feisty grandma. (No, I don’t care that she seems to still be playing Lucille Bluth; I think every show could use some Lucille Bluth.) And I like most of the new girls just fine, especially gorgeous, complicated Silver and long-in-the-tooth Naomi and her sartorial misadventures. But man, the guys on this show suck. The characters are uninteresting. The actors leave virtually no impression. And—let’s just say it—they are the homeliest bunch of teen soap stars ever. Steve Sanders would be preferable to these losers. Steve Sanders!
“Private Practice”
Wednesday 9pm, ABC
This “Grey’s Anatomy” spin-off might be one of the few shows that actually benefited from last year’s writers strike. A truncated first season allowed the creative types to take a long, hard look at what was right and what was wrong and did some tinkering over the summer break. So, if your interest waned over the course of the first nine episodes, you might want to give the show another shot. One of the main changes is a reported return to form for Dr. Addison Montgomery, the character we followed over from Seattle Grace. Last season, Addison was kind of, well, a ninny. This year, the writers have allegedly addressed that, bringing her back to the smart, competent, but flawed redhead we know and love. Also: more sexy doctors having sexy sex. And with a cast featuring Tim Daly, Amy Brenneman, Taye Diggs and Kate Walsh, that’s a lot of sexy.
“The Ex List”
Friday 9pm, CBS
This new show has one of those totally lame but perfectly winsome rom-com set-ups: A woman goes to a psychic and is told that she has already dated the man she’s destined to marry. And if she doesn’t lock him down in the next year, she’ll be alone forever. So she has to go over all the guys she’s discarded and find out which one was the one. Way to tap into the neuroses of the home-alone-on-a-Friday-night audience, CBS. Beyond the cutesy concept (it’s actually an adaptation of a successful Israeli show) there’s some trouble behind the scenes. The creator and exec producer (she also worked on “Veronica Mars” and “Dirty Sexy Money”) left the show earlier this month, reportedly due to conflicts over its direction. And its star is Elizabeth Reaser, best known as the incredibly annoying Eva character from the last two seasons of “Grey’s Anatomy.”