This is ridiculous. I haven't even written anything about my life in the whole of 2010, and I haven't written anything at all since June. Well, I'd better get back to it, then. I've got a ridiculous amount of personal stuff to update on, but this first update will be a little different.

In September, the new US television season began. I've never really understood the whole TV season thing: Britain (or any other country) doesn't seem to have such an organised system of new shows at a certain time. All the brand new stuff starts now, and all the old shows begin again at this time, too. The worst part, however, is that unless the ratings are decent, some of them can get pulled off the air extremely quickly, as you'll see. I took the liberty of checking out every new show, just out of curiosity. I figured there's so much TV out there, so I should check out the very first of everything at least, and then know in the future what to expect.

Here they all are, in the order in which I watched them (most were shown the same week, and in general I only watched the first episode):

Hawaii Five-0: Dumb action show, bit like Knight Rider but not so explicitly aimed at 14-year-old boys (well, a bit). Ratings have been through the roof, so this one'll be back next season for sure. I'll stick with it for a bit.

Detroit 1-8-7: Good looking police procedural drama, NYPD Blue-esque. I liked it, more seasoned critics seem to suggest it's been done before, but I wouldn't know about that. Ratings have been seriously dropping, so it may be lucky to make it to the end of the season... I'll follow it while it lasts.

Mike & Molly: I know US sitcom pilots are usually shit, but this is just "fat people" jokes for 21 minutes. Sigh. As with most sitcoms, may be worth waiting till season 3 or 4 to see if people like it (it'll probably reach that far as ratings have been fantastic - which says something about the American public).

Hellcats: Finally, someone made a TV show version of Bring It On. Not that I was waiting for one. It's a cheerleader show. As enjoyable as that is, I'm not sure I'll be hanging onto this one. It's on The CW, the least-watched of the five major networks in the US, so even though the ratings have been average, it'll probably be around for a while.

Lone Star: Best show I've seen thus far. Don't wanna spoil it, just watch it. Staggeringly, it was cancelled after only two episodes, after the first show got epically awful ratings. All the critics loved it, so it was a big surprise to see it bomb so spectacularly.

Undercovers: Married couple as secret agents. Doesn't take itself seriously. I'm sure it'll do well as it'll grab both gender demographics. I thought it was okay.

Chase: US Marshals chasing baddies. Meh, not very interesting, seen it all before.

Better With You: Decent-looking comedy following three couples who've been together for different periods (7wks, 9yrs, 35yrs) in one family. I thought it was okay for a pilot comedy show. It's certainly got legs, as the premise is good and the writing is smart.

Nikita: Intriguing action series about woman who was pissed off with government agency and is now going around messing everything up for them. It looks interesting enough, and since it's on The CW it'll probably last with an average amount of viewers.

Outsourced: Comedy, guy is sent to India to be manager of callcentre selling novelties to Americans. I've been following this for a few eps and it's quite fun. Don't listen to anyone online who says it's racist: only white Americans say that, and they're all morons.

My Generation: Mockumentary following a group of people 10 years after graduating high school (when they last interviewed them). Basically aimed at me, then, as I'm the same age. It had promise, but the mockumentary approach made some of the 'shocking' revelations etc a bit meh, because it's not real. Clearly the public didn't like it much either, as the ratings were disastrous, and, like Lone Star, it was cancelled after a mere two episodes. Never mind.

Blue Bloods: Cop show with the twist being that a bunch of them are in the same family. Other than that it's pretty standard stuff. Ratings are good, though, so expect to see it around for a while.

Running Wilde: The second coming of Arrested Development! My new favourite show (though the ratings are falling rapidly, so this one could be over before long, sadly). Will Arnett (GOB in A.D.) and Peter Serafinowicz are extremely rich idiots. Recommended viewing, quite simply.

Shit My Dad Says: William Shatner is a grumpy dad. That's pretty much it. It was okay for a comedy pilot, but as with most comedies, might be worth seeing how it pans out. The writing seems to be pretty good for the first few eps (it has to be, as the premise is exactly how I just described it).

The Event: Odd action drama, a bit like Lost but doesn't look quite as intriguing or well put together. No idea where it's gonna go from here. Ratings are average, people have called it 'the new Lost', but it'll need a few more viewers for that.

The Whole Truth: Legal drama following two lawyers - a miserable cow and a dickhead. Interesting enough. Could be fun, but I've got enough to watch at the mo.

Outlaw: Jimmy Smits with a silly voice is a judge-type bloke who quits to go it alone (with his mates). At least, I assume his normal voice isn't like that. It's a somewhat unique show, so could be interesting. There seem to be a lot of legal dramas though, so getting tired of them. The ratings were terrible for this, so it's been cancelled after four episodes, and the other four already in the can have been dumped on Saturday evenings. See you, Jimmy.

Raising Hope: Guy lives with stupid white-trash family and has to raise a kid on his own (hence the title). Features Cromartie from Terminator: Sarah Connor. A bit like a gross-out comedy at times, could be lots of fun. I'm tuning in weekly for it, and so are many Americans, it would seem.

The Defenders: Jerry O'Connell and James Belushi are a team of Las Vegas lawyers. Light-hearted drama, quite entertaining, looks like it could be pretty good. Still, it is another legal show...

No Ordinary Family: Superhero family drama. Wait, maybe that's a spoiler... ah, what the hell. It's at least rather original. I'd recommend giving it a shot.

Law & Order Los Angeles: Erm... it's Law & Order. In Los Angeles. There's really nothing new here.

School Pride: Reality show (the first one this season) where schoolkids renovate their schools. Sounds pretty dull, I know. It's nice to see dilapidated American schools getting a makeover, though - courtesy of corporate sponsors, of course. It's the American way!

So, that's all of them - for now. Body Of Proof was originally going to be a slightly late starter, but has now been put back for even longer. In mid-season there'll be a whole host of new shows hitting the air, so I'll check out those in due course, and post my feelings on here.