Couch Potato's new fall favorites

There’s no time of year that makes me happier than the fall.

The weather cools off, the leaves change color.

But, most importantly, the networks start rolling out all their new series. I, in turn, scramble to free up space on my DVR.

So far, I’m lukewarm about this new season. A few clear favorites have emerged (“Life on Mars,” “90210”), but most of them fall somewhere between amazing and awful.

Then there’s HBO’s “True Blood,” which falls into a category all its own.

Read on for my thoughts about some of the new fall shows. I’ll be back Sunday to talk about how returning series are faring.

True Blood (9 p.m. Sundays, HBO)
File this one under “so bad it’s good.” Because it’s bad, people. Really bad.

But for some reason, I can’t stop watching.

Here’s what’s tolerable about it: Anna Paquin, who has really grown on me as the feisty Sookie (though I wish she’d stop wearing clothes that belong on a 12-year-old); Alexander Skarsgard as mysterious vampire Eric (he joined the ranks of my TV boyfriends when he was on “Generation Kill,” so I’ll watch him in anything); Arlene’s husband, Rene, who looks and sounds just like Benicio Del Toro; and chef/resident drug dealer Lafayette.

That’s about it.

Sookie has zero chemistry with her vamp love interest, Bill (Stephen Moyer), and her best friend Tara, brother Jason and boss Sam are all beyond annoying. Tara’s southern accent is way too over-the-top, sex fiend Jason’s womanizing has gotten old fast and Sam’s unrequited love for Sookie is creepy, not romantic.

Still, the serial killer storyline is intriguing. I recently found out who the culprit is, and it’s not at all who I expected. It will definitely be interesting to see how the story gets there.

Life on Mars (10 pm. Thursdays, ABC)
This very cool show is one of the season’s best.

There’s no way you won’t like star Jason O’Mara (heck, I even liked the guy when he played Brenda’s pyromaniac nemesis, Billy Croelick, on “The Closer”). He’s charming and funny when he needs to be, but he’s also got the chops to pull off the quieter, dramatic moments.

He plays Sam Tyler, a modern-day cop who is hit by a car and wakes up in the 1970s. Once he realizes what’s going on, Sam convinces himself he’s in a coma and has dreamed up his sudden time warp.

“Send regards to my id,” he tells his boss at one point.

Harvey Keitel and Michael Imperioli are also great as old-school cops who don’t do anything by the book.

Eleventh Hour (10 p.m. Thursdays, CBS)
You know how we all tend to complain when a show gets too confusing and doesn’t give enough answers? Can the exact opposite be true? Can we be annoyed when the show gives too many answers?

Because that’s kind of how I’m feeling about this show. At times, it feels like a science lecture with a teacher (in this case Rufus Sewell’s Dr. Jacob Hood) spoon-feeding us the information.

Sewell is a good actor. He deserves a better show.

Fringe (9 p.m. Tuesdays, Fox)
Anyone who reads this column knows I wanted to love this show, mostly for star Joshua Jackson (he’ll always be Pacey to me!).

The first episode dazzled me, but the ones that came after were lacking.

They all began to fall into the same pattern: the episode opens with a weird/creepy/explosive occurrence. Olivia, Peter and Walter investigate and eventually discover the incident is linked to one of Walter’s former experiments. And, wouldn’t you know it, the only place with the technology to stop it is Massive Dynamic.

In recent weeks, the writers have promised that not all the mysteries will lead back to Walter. And I really enjoyed the episode that introduced us to The Observer, he of the bald head, no eyebrows and appetite for spicy foods.

So there’s still hope.

90210 (8 p.m. Tuesdays, The CW)
Judge me if you want, but I still love it. So there.

When not in front of the TV, Gillis can be reached at cgillis@newsadvance.com