Fall is one of my favorite times of year, and it’s not because of everything from, lattes to cakes, is pumpkin-flavored and stores are stuffed with caramel apples. It’s because there is a fresh, shiny crop of new and returning shows to devour. Most shows are at least three episodes in, so it’s time to grade 10 new and returning shows to gauge their progress in this burgeoning season.

NEW SHOWS

“2 Broke Girls” CBS Mondays 8:30 P.M. EST

“2 Broke Girls” is a snappy, odd couple sitcom about Max (“Thor’s” Kat Dennings), an uber-sarcastic and cynical waitress who takes in Caroline (Bet...

Ladies and gentlemen, it's "name that guest star" week on Hawaii Five-O. Did you spot all the familiar faces? Unfortunately, they don't make up for the underlying flaws that are appearing to be common to this season.

A faux-Jaws opening leads us to discovering the hand of Blake Spencer, a salvage diver. (If you want to see my reaction to the resulting scene in Max's office, just watch Steve's face.) Into The Blue this is not (except for the mutual presence of Scott Caan).

Steve and Danny are soon learning about a mysterious next gig that may be the reason Blake ended up in pieces....

TV soundtracks can be ways to discover new music, or just for a studio to cash in on a hot property. CBS Music's Hawaii Five-O: Original Songs From The Television Series is a bit of both.

It wouldn't be the first time that a soundtrack has come out for sheer merchandising purposes. There are a lot of those, where songs clearly end up in a TV show just to push a single or so that a CD can be made up later. Heck, even some of the soundtracks that come out after a season aren't very good.

Hawaii Five-O's disc curiously takes the opposite tack from most soundtracks: the CD is billed on Amaz...

Thanks to this week's Hawaii Five-O, I've found another reason to dislike camping: you just might find a corpse in the tent. Not cool, show. Not cool at all.

Steve and Commander White (Terry O'Quinn) - who's put in for a transfer to Pearl Harbor - have their bonding session broken up by this development - the body is that of a SEAL named Clay Garcia. Max tells Steve that the cause of death was a self-inflicted gunshot wound, but White and Garcia's wife Marissa (Sarah Roemer) aren't so sure. Looking over the evidence again (after Steve needles him into doing so), Max declares that G...

Hawaii Five-O at least made me smarter this week; I had no idea there was a paddleboard world championship, but I Googled it, and yes, it exists. If you're Jenn Hassley (Hayley Chase), you can also be kidnapped from it.

Shortly thereafter, Steve is introduced to Homeland Security agent Lori Weston (Lauren German), whom the new Governor assigns to Five-O after not enjoying the events of the season premiere. Everyone's thrown by the development, but they put that aside to work on Jenn's abduction, as professionals would do. (It's a pet peeve of mine when shows have characters discussing...

With the new fall season starting in September, a lot of TV on DVD titles have turned out over the last few months to help fans catch up with favorite shows. I do mean a lot. So many that it'd be a deluge of reviews if we were to write them all up individually. To keep from drowning you in print, but still keep you up to date, here's a quick look at many of the new titles that have arrived recently.

The Big Bang Theory: The Complete Fourth Season (Warner Home Video)

The Show: CBS's hit sitcom reveals in its geekdom, with a fourth season peppered with more pop culture references and...

Watching CBS' new series Unforgettable gave me a hint of deja vu.

The procedural reunites former Without A Trace star Poppy Montgomery with that show's network and its executive producer, Ed Redlich. Montgomery, who's become a redhead but still looks better than most of us, stars as former Syracuse cop Carrie Wells. Carrie has the gift (or the curse) of remembering almost everything - except for the murder of her sister.

It sounds familiar, doesn't it? A main character with a tragic past, not to mention that she used to be sleeping with her new partner - former Nip/Tuck lead Dylan Walsh...

I have to admit that I didn't know what to expect from the season premiere of Hawaii Five-O. I was merely crossing my fingers and hoping it improved from its nearly shark-jumping first-season finale. Thankfully, that will just be a bad memory, because the show has come back in fine if not excellent form.

Steve's in prison awaiting trial for the murder of Governor Jameson. Danny's visiting him just to introduce his former SEAL instructor, Lieutenant Commander Joe White (Terry O'Quinn of Lost and, to me, the dad from The Cutting Edge), who wants to lend him a hand. Chin Ho, now a lieuten...

Labor Day is over, signaling the unofficial end of summer and the start of the new TV season. While television is somewhat entertaining during June, July, and August, it's the fall debuts that many TV addicts anticipate.

Next week the networks start rolling out new and returning series, kicking off with "90210" and "Ringer" on the CW on Tuesday, Sept. 13.

Check out the list below to see when your favorites air:

Tuesday, September 13
8 pm 90210 CW
9 pm Ringer (NEW!) CW
10 pm Parenthood NBC

Wednesday, September 14
8 pm H8R CW
8 pm Survivor: South Pacific CBS
9 pm America’s Next Top Mode...

For someone as obsessed with television as I am, the prospect of four months without new episodes of my shows is a maddening one. Thankfully, mid-July is finally upon us, and I can take comfort in the knowledge that most television shows have began production for the 2011-2012 season. To honor this momentous occasion, I will be detailing my wishes upcoming seasons of my beloved shows. I will do a different show every week, so stay tuned for your favorites and feel free to chime in too. First up: arguably the best rookie show of last season, CBS’ “Hawaii Five-0.”

The first season of...

Black Hawk Down star Tom Sizemore has been given a career boost following a string of drug issues and well-publicised personal problems - he'll play a cop on the second season of the revamped Hawaii Five-O.

The actor will join Lost star Terry O'Quinn for recurring roles on the TV drama.

Sizemore will play an ex-homicide detective-turned-Hawaii's Internal Affairs chief, according to EW.com.

In honor of Father’s Day on June 19, we're counting down the Hottest Celebrity Dads.

President Barack Obama

Whether you’re are a republican, a democrat or an independent, there is no denying that President Barack Obama, father to Malia, 12, and Sasha, 10, is the dapperest of dads. Whether he’s wearing power suits on Air Force One or rocking dad jeans at a Wizards game, the First Father always makes me proud to be an American.

Eddie Cibrian

I was a fan of the ridiculously hot Eddie Cibrian and his dimples years before his new wife, LeAnn Rimes, stopped singing…and eating. It star...

CBS announced today its new 2011-2012 primetime schedule, ordering five new series and making key time-period moves for CSI and The Good Wife to strengthen its already top-rated primetime lineup.

The new series include three new dramas and two new comedies: "Person Of Interest," a crime thriller from renowned executive producer J.J. Abrams starring Jim Caviezel, Emmy Award winner Michael Emerson and Academy Award nominee Taraji P. Henson; "Unforgettable," starring Dylan Walsh and Poppy Montgomery as a former detective with a rare condition that enables her to remember virtually every det...

As a regular viewer of the original Hawaii Five-O, I was among those who dreaded a remake, but the majority of these twenty-four episodes made me eat my words. Unfortunately, the season finale of the new version is an unpleasant surprise: everything that this show has previously proven itself not to be.

The episode starts with two of our heroes getting what they thought they wanted: Danny has gotten cozy with ex-wife Rachel, and Chin Ho gets an offer to return to the Honolulu PD. There's got to be a catch, right? Well, there's a big one: the money stolen from the asset forfeiture...

This week's Hawaii Five-O is a perfect episode of how my brain gets ahead of my viewing experience. Common sense tells me that despite being exposed to sarin, Danny isn't going anywhere, because Scott Caan is a regular with a contract. This normally would ruin an episode for me, but the H5O team seems to anticipate that criticism and turns in an episode that is much less about putting him in peril and more about the case that leads our heroes to unravel.

We open hot, with Five-O trying to bust Wo Fat at a local house and ending up chasing Sang Min (Will Yun Lee, dressed ridiculou...

If anyone else started humming "Jessie's Girl" during the beginning of tonight's Hawaii Five-O, you're forgiven. Unfortunately, Rick Springfield isn't with us long: he's a sleazy fashion photographer who gets barbecued in his own trailer. Pretty short for a guest appearance that CBS thought highly enough of to promote in their episode listing! (And before episode's end, my local CBS affiliate would also run a spot for the late local news about his DUI arrest. You can't make this stuff up.)

As is normal with a premise like this - which I know I've seen used for at least one Law & Or...

The birds are chirping. The flowers are blooming. The temperatures are rising. All these wonderful changes herald the most beloved and bittersweet time of year for this lover of pop culture: May sweeps. While I’m all atwitter with excitement about the final episodes of my favorite shows (Seriously, I tweet about it.), I’m almost inconsolable over the impending loss when regular season shows go into hiatus. And I’m not talking about nuanced plotlines or even the hook-up no one saw coming. No, what I will miss the most are the pecs and abs, the swagger and snark of my favorite male char...

Men’s Fitness magazine is honoring its "25 Fittest Guys." From the boardroom to the classroom, the big screen to the small, these guys are at the top of their game. They’re record breakers, superheroes, and regular Joes.

Check out the celebrities on the list:

Chris Evans, The Action Hero, 30

Evans starred as Marvel Comic Superhero, Captain America. Evans took the role seriously, working with a personal trainer to build bigger biceps and tone his abs, transforming his body into the jacked frame of Marvel Comic’s super soldier.

Alex O’Loughlin, The Five-O, 34

The Australian-born actor...

Sean 'Diddy' Combs has made a public plea to movie bosses to consider him for upcoming projects and even offered to donate his pay check to charity in exchange for a good film role.

The rapper has dabbled with acting in recent years, appearing in Get Him To The Greek with Russell Brand and most recently making a cameo appearance in rebooted TV show Hawaii Five-0.

Combs is adamant he wants to expand his acting resume - and he is calling on film chiefs to give him a job.

In a series of posts on his Twitter.com page, he writes, "Attention all film directors, casting agents, producers, wri...

I've brought up before how I worried that Hawaii Five-O might be treading into stunt casting waters, as it brought in musicians like Joanna Levesque, Nick Lachey, and Vanessa Minnillo. This week, though, I have no such concerns; I saw Sean Combs give a surprisingly good performance in the film Made several years ago. He's equally good in the role of an undercover cop whose wife is killed, in an episode that is likewise worth the time.

I'm not really in love with the writing in this episode. For the majority of the hour, it seems like it's not going to be a "whodunit," but rather a...

(*Firstly, if you don't get the joke in the title, visit Failblog. I'll wait.)

There's been a tremendous response to my Tuesday article about the reasons why I'm not excited about TV romance. It's been really awesome to hear from fans of various shows and pairings, who wrote in with their own opinions and ideas, and helped create a great discussion of the topic and the issues surrounding it - most importantly, with respect for me and for each other.

As is natural and perfectly fine, there were some people who disagreed with my lack of enthusiasm. One reader suggested that romantic r...

In real life, I'm all about love - but when it comes to TV, the last thing I want is romance.

The reason for the dichotomy? Romantic subplots on television are problematic things in my experience. For a variety of reasons, I've seen them end in disaster more often than not, which has conditioned me to want to avoid the subject altogether. When it comes up for one of my favorite shows, I can't help but cringe.

Before we start this discussion, it's worth noting that there are TV romances that are great. I don't mean to say that they all fail, nor to say that some are right and some are...

Hawaii Five-O has come and gone recently (the last time the show aired consecutive episodes was February 14 and 21!) .

Steve and Danny come across a dead guy on their day trip. As if that's not bad enough, Steve gets a boulder in the face, and breaks his arm in the resulting fall. As someone who's actually had both those things happen to them (though not at the same time), I can say they both hurt a lot. While I was appreciating Vicodin, though, Steve's analyzing the crime scene. I give props to the writers for being willing to significantly injure the lead character. (Now we see if...

Did you miss Hawaii Five-O? Me too. It's been exactly a month since the last new episode. Because of that, and because it features the first appearance of potential new series regular Larisa Oleynik, I had high expectations for this one.

The case of the week involves a would-be superhero murdered while attending a sci-fi convention. (Does anyone else find amusement in former Heroes star Masi Oka making an appearance as Max Bergman, who is apparently also a comic-book geek?) As a longtime geek and convention-goer myself, I have to shake my head a little about another portrayal of that...

We spotted Vanessa Minnillo in a short zigzag dress on the way to lunch with friends at Stanley's Restaurant in Los Angeles earlier this week.

We love her look. What do you think?

Both Vanessa and her fiance Nick Lachey recently made a guest appearance on the hit TV show "Hawaii Five-O." Read what our TV critic had to say about their episode HERE.

Click for more great Vanessa Minnillo pictures:

As we established with my review of last week's Hawaii Five-O, I really like it when things blow up. I especially like it when it comes as part of a great plot. This week's episode is the total package.

We meet Danny's younger brother, Matt (Dane Cook), who appears to be successful, fun and likeable, but of course things can't ever be that simple; they'd be boring if they were. By the end of the first act, Steve and Danny are made aware that Matt is the focus of a federal fraud investigation, and on the verge of being indicted. I know that I decried stunt casting last week, but I'm ...

We've had a tsunami (fake but still). We've had the jungle. So what's next in Hawaii Five-O's recent string of high adventure stories? Well, pirates, of course! Pirates who take over a hapless ship full of college kids and who will not ask you why the rum is gone.

Steve and Danny are pushing Steve's father's car up a hill when they get wind of the hijacking. I mention this because that vehicle is, in fact, the original 1974 Marquis that Jack Lord drove in the original series, and I love how much this show respects its predecessor. Five-O gets together and arrives on the boat, which ...

It's Valentine's Day, and that means love is in the air (for some of us, anyway). It's also a perfect time to pay tribute to the fictional men who've made my heart melt this TV season, for one reason or another, or oftentimes several. These are ten guys who, if they were real, would have no problem getting my phone number.

Warning: there are spoilers for certain series. Each show is listed in each character's heading. If you're waiting for the DVD's, I'd advise skipping those particular sections.

Before I get too mushy, here's the criteria for making my list:

1) They had to be from...

How do you follow the threat of a tsunami? With an episode in the Hawaiian jungle. Really, the only way this episode of Hawaii Five-O could've had a cooler setting was if there'd been some excuse for a Bengal tiger. Just look at this picture and tell me that's not cool. (I have to say, though, I was laughing a little at the Google Earth opening.)

So how does one get to this point? Julie (True Blood's Mariana Klaveno) is a Very Important Witness in a high-profile murder case, and on the day she's scheduled to testify, barely escapes a pair of thugs posing as HPD cops. Needless to say,...

Wow! After delivering the goods in December alongside Robert De Niro on Saturday Night Live, Sean P. Diddy Combs will next play a cop in a spring episode of CBS's Hawaii Five-0.

According to show sources, Diddy plays a New York police detective named Reggie Williams who heads to Honolulu to hunt down the men responsible for a brutal crime against his family. But this vigilante's one-man war for justice sets him on a collision course with Team Five-0. Uh oh.

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Other Links From TVGuide.com

Alex O'LoughlinSean 'P. Diddy' CombsHawaii Five-0