Well into the fall schedule, here are TV's new seasons on my five-star scale. Supplemental information also provided by TiVo and TV.com on how they're fairing with the general TV-watching population.

Cane: *** -- Ranked 99th most watched show on TV today but with a lowly 6.8 TV.com user-voted rating.
> A good addition, if a bit esoteric. A pinch of melodrama and a dash of unbelievability.

Pushing Daisies: **** -- 7th highest ranked show (of all time) -- 62nd most watched show -- 9.3 TV.com rating.
> Quirky, yet hip. Tim Burton-macabre-style with artistic cinematography and narration.

Bionic Woman: *** -- 17th most TiVo'd -- 42nd most watched show -- 8.3 TV.com rating.
> It's good, but not that good. A little dry with bad acting -- watch only if you need some gratuitous violence.

Private Practice: **** -- 11th most TiVo'd show -- 80th most watched show -- 8.7 TV.com rating.
> Slower paced than its TV-parent, Grey's Anatomy, but surprisingly quite good, especially for a slightly older audience.

Dirty Sexy Money: * -- 376th most watched show (not kidding) -- 8.9 TV.com rating.
> Only ranked so high because no one watches it -- it's simply already been done.

Moonlight: ** --58th most watched show -- 8.3 TV.com rating.
> Film noir meets vampires -- a little predictable (read: boring), but not half bad.

America's Psychic Challenge: ***** Full Five! -- abysmal 6.1 TV.com rating (it's bad, but OH so good!)
> Debuted last week as the BEST-BAD reality show on TV. In the premiere, the first group of four psychics had to find a living man in an abandoned mental institution, give a reading of a hidden celebrity, and describe the events of an unsolved murder. As the show progressed, the first four contestants (of sixteen) were rated and two were given the psychic boot, begging the question, why would audition if you knew you weren't going to win?

Tune in this Friday to see two more "psychics" kicked off. Playing Fridays 9 p.m. on Lifetime (Sunflower Broadband ch. 2).

>Pushing Daisies, yet another of ABC's fall-freshman-flairs, puts the network way ahead of the game in the 18-39 year old slot. With shows like Ugly Betty, Desperate Housewives, Brothers and Sisters, and Dancing with the Stars, ABC is domineering the television market.

And the best part of this show: it's unlike ANYTHING on television. Even the paranormal deviants, Bionic Woman and Moonlight seem to follow the same tired TV trends we suffer these days (not that we don't like ruts, we just don't love them).

Pushing Daisies is edgy, witty, and most of all artistic -- blurring the already thin line between television and movies today.

This clip features Swoosie Kurtz (ER) and Ellen Greene (Little Shop of Horrors) as Charolette's aunts. According to the narrator, "...they shared matching personality disorders and a love of cheese..."

Pushing Daisies airs Wednesdays 7 p.m. Central on ABC (Sunflower Broadband ch. 9)

> Introduced as the Bionic Woman's "supervisor" Isaiah Washington, the infamous homophobic-ex-star of Grey's Anatomy, began his new-career tonight in the show's second episode, Paradise Lost.

The move was foul on NBC's part -- sloppy seconds don't fare well in stiff competition, especially like the one that exists between NBC and ABC. And with a show as green as Bionic Woman, NBC took an unnecessary risk -- a lot of money for a tarnished name.

"Everyone has to sing for their supper around here, don't you know that?..."

When one sits down to a program titled Bionic Woman, one expects to slough a hefty chunk of cheese on the cracker. Thankfully with this Series Premiere, that cheese was exceptionally-delicious! (Check out some of my vlog highlights from tonight's debut!)

There were, of course, the conventional complications. NBC newbie Michelle Ryan (only two years my senior!) gave a demure delivery as the show's lead, Jamie Sommers, some of the graphics/special effects were overdone, leading to unnecessary vertigo, and the super-hero witty-epithets left a lot to be desired.

But, excitement for THIS show is on speed-dial. The scenes for Bionic Woman were -- one might say -- "well-constructed," the transitions were effective, and the camera work had the beautiful-feel of a high-budget film that doesn't take itself too seriously. I hope I'm not to reading too much into the pilot, but as Ryan grows into her character, and as Sommers grows into her new body, we're sure to be thrilled week after week with this great new NBC Hit (as long as we remember we're consuming cheese, for cheese's-sake).

Bionic Woman airs Wednesdays 8 p.m. Central on NBC (Sunflower Broadband, ch 8).