Many of fall’s returning television shows are undergoing extreme — or sometimes just medium-size — makeovers. Below, we go through the programs that are getting the most notable renovations this fall, but we warn you, if you want to be spoiler-free this fall, stop reading now!
“Alias” (returns in January): Though this ABC show doesn’t return until January, fans are salivating at the back-to-basics changes executive producer J.J. Abrams has promised. We’ll see more angst-filled romance between superspy Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner) and her sometime lover, Michael Vaughn (Michael Vartan). It also looks like Syd will be going underground once again, working for a secret branch of the CIA; her new, hard-charging boss will be played by Angela Bassett. Other changes: Vaughn’s much-despised wife, Lauren Reed (Melissa George), will be gone; fan favorite Lena Olin won’t return as Syd’s mother; the role of Julian Sark (David Anders) will be reduced; and finally, (hooray!) Syd’s pal Will Tippin (Bradley Cooper) may make a comeback.
“The Bachelor” (returns Sept. 22): Ratings for this reality perennial have wilted a bit and, as readers of Us Weekly are no doubt aware, all the matches that have been created on the show have fizzled. Those developments “raise a red flag for the show, and the flag that it raises is creative. And there are plans afoot to address that,” Disney/ABC President Anne Sweeney said at a press event earlier this year. First of all, the bachelors are 40, thus perhaps a bit more mature than bachelors past. And yes, you read right — there are two bachelors. In this year’s first episode, the 25 ladies will have two studmuffins to choose from, and the chosen bachelor will live with his would-be ladyloves this time around. Later in the season, two “all-star” former Bachelorettes will return, and in the middle of all that commotion, pop singer Brandy will make an appearance.
“Star Trek: Enterprise” (returns Oct. 8): “Enterprise’s” move to Friday night and the show’s giant budget cut aren’t exactly good signs but, bizarre as it may sound, things may be looking up for the struggling “Trek” flagship. This fall, “Star Trek: The Next Generation” star Brent Spiner returns for a few episodes, and even William Shatner may visit this version of the Enterprise. Last season’s story arc involving the Xindi superweapon gave the UPN show the dose of urgency it needed, and this year, new head writer Manny Coto promises to hype the “prequel” aspects of the program, which is supposed to take place before the original “Trek” series of the ’60s.
“Everwood” (returns Sept. 13): Finally, star-crossed lovers Amy Abbott (Emily VanCamp) and Ephram Brown (Gregory Smith) got together as last season ended, but expect complications this year, one of which will be the fact that Ephram’s ex, Madison (Sarah Lancaster), is not completely out of the picture (Eonline.com reports that there’s a “time bomb” involving Madison — one guess as to what that is, since she was pregnant at the end of last season). There are two big cast additions as well: Anne Heche joins as a potential love interest for Andy Brown (Treat Williams), and “Party of Five” heartthrob Scott Wolf plays a doctor who arrives in the small Colorado town, competing for patients with established docs Andy Brown and Harold Abbott (the terrific Tom Amandes). We just hope “Everwood” keeps up its top-notch writing now that co-creator Greg Berlanti is also working on the WB’s new drama “Jack & Bobby.”
“Gilmore Girls” (returns Sept. 21): Though “GG” suffered a creative drought for much of last season (please don’t remind us of the “study tree”), the WB comedy-drama finished on a decided upswing. This year the action takes place at the Dragonfly Inn, a new B&B run by Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham) and her friend Sookie (Melissa McCarthy). Lorelai will pursue a new romance with longtime pal Luke (Scott Patterson), and Rory Gilmore (Alexis Bledel) will deal with the aftereffects of her fling with her married ex, Dean (Jared Padalecki); she also gets a new love interest (let’s hope it’s at Yale, where she allegedly attends college). Don’t expect a return visit from Rory’s other ex, Jess; the actor who played him, Milo Ventimiglia, is on “American Dreams” now. Perhaps the biggest shocker this year is that the senior Gilmore female, Lorelai’s mother Emily (Kelly Bishop), separates from her husband, Richard (Edward Herrmann).
“Smallville” (returns Sept. 22): When it debuted, the creators of this WB teen-Superman saga said their mantra was “no tights, no flights.” Well, one of those immutable laws is set to change, as rumors are flying that the “evil twin” of Clark Kent (Tom Welling) takes to the skies this year. The other big news: Lois Lane (Erica Durance) comes to town, and even The Flash reportedly will make an appearance in Smallville. Fans of Chloe (Allison Mack), who appeared to die at the end of last season, needn’t worry, she’s probably coming back.
“Survivor” (returns Sept. 16): The granddaddy of reality continues to tweak the premise of the show to keep it interesting: In the ninth (yes, ninth!) edition of the CBS show, contestants will initially be divided into male and female teams. One more reason I’ll never apply to be on the show: This time around, the producers don’t give the survivors any food — not even that old standby, white rice. “We’ve seen they can make it on their own, if they’re forced. They’re given a machete, and a pot to boil water in,” host Jeff Probst told the New York Daily News.
“24” (returns January): Like “Alias,” this show got off-track from time to time last year, and like “Alias,” this drama doesn’t return until January but promises an almost complete revamp. For one thing, most of the cast members, aside from Kiefer Sutherland as counterterrorism agent Jack Bauer, are, for the most part, gone. New additions include “Third Watch’s” Kim Raver as a Washington, D.C., government staffer who becomes Jack’s love interest, and Oscar nominee Shohreh Aghdashloo as the wife of a Middle Eastern businessmen who figures prominently in the show’s 24-hour plot. According to several online TV-news sites, this time around Bauer isn’t even working for the government — he’s a rogue agent.
“The West Wing” (returns Oct. 20): When your own network president calls your show “ratings challenged,” as NBC honcho Kevin Reilly did when speaking about “The West Wing” recently to a convention of TV critics, the writing is on the wall — big changes are coming. President Josiah Bartlet (Martin Sheen) faces the end of his time in the Oval Office, and Jimmy Smits and Alan Alda will play the two politicians vying for Bartlet’s job. Sam Robards will return as reporter Greg Brock, and wire service Zap2It.com reports that Leo McGarry (John Spencer) has a heart attack at the beginning of the season.
Other bits and pieces on returning shows: Fox’s “American Idol” has raised the upper limit on the age of contestants; potential pop stars can now be as young as 16 or as ancient as 28. . . . Reiko Aylesworth (Michelle Dessler on “24”) will play a possibly recurring role on “CSI,” as will David Anders (Julian Sark on “Alias). . . . Speaking of crime-scene types, “CSI: Miami” will lose a cast member early in the season, most likely Rory Cochrane, who plays Tim “Speed” Speedle. . . . Heather Graham has joined “Scrubs” for at least eight episodes; she’ll play a psychiatrist. . . . “Tru Calling” will see Jason Priestly return as morgue worker Jack Harper, and one of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s” best writers, Jane Espensen, has joined the staff of “Calling.” . . . There are plenty of breakups and new cast members when “The O.C.” returns Nov. 4, but I’m not 100 percent sure that qualifies as news.