Yesterday's mention of the The Simpsons got me thinking about TV in general. And now you're going to pay!

I have not seen many of the new shows for this season, and never will where some of them are concerned (see you in hell, Citizen Baines). There are a few that I keep meaning to catch but never do. Crossing Jordan, about a medical examiner who solves crimes, avoids the "Gen-Y Quincy" label by (a) being set in Boston, and (2) starring Jill Hennessey, who was the scrumptious Claire Kinkade on Law & Order, the original. It's on opposite Monday Night Football, and you think that the games, as crappy as most of them have been this year, would give me time to tune in. Maybe this week, as another AFC Central kickfest is on tap.

I've also had some interest in Law & Order: Criminal Intent to see just how far they can take the francise, and The Education of Max Bickford, just to see Richard Dreyfuss chew the scenery and illustrate why aging hippies entering their AARP years aren't pretty.

I have been watching Enterprise, which is entertaining but perhaps not the breathtaking re-invention of Trek that folks have been hoping for (not to mention, it may have the worst theme song in television history, worse even than that Friends song that drove everyone crazy when it was released as a single). Bakula is a good captain, but everyone else is just kind of there. The doctor is prickly, the Vulcan is logical, and so on.

Caught the premiere of 24, the show Fox would have hyped by shaving the numbers into the hairline of all World Series participants if possible. Pretty good, some interesting effects when they split the screen to show different people in different locations (how else can you do TV in real time and not stay in the same room?). The CIA cliches do get rolled out, most notably in the set design (a gleaming post-modern counter-terror office) and the technology, which apparently allows access to highly encripted bank records in minutes.

My biggest beef in the show is the casting of the character Nina, who is caught in some sort of love triangle with Kiefer Sutherland's character and Tony, a computer savvy John Turturro wannabe. The actress, whose name escapes me, played an old girlfriend on Ed and bugged the hell out of me there. Over an entire series... ugh.

I also got dragged into watching the premier of Temptation Island 2. Sarah is a delightful woman of numerable charms, a caring soul whose love and admiration is infinitely appreciated. But her taste in TV is really hit or miss. I will say, though, that I had a hard time concentrating on my book as four couples entered a Costa Rican paradise populated by bimbos and himbos alike. Most entertaining was the introduction of the "temptors," who all paraded onto the set wearing light blue hooded robes. It was like a deleted scene from "Animal House 3" or "Revenge of the Nerds: the Community College Years."

Pity The Tick for being wedged between this and Family Guy, a show of modest charms. Speaking of which, you had all best watch The Tick when it airs tonight (8:30 eastern, 7:30 central), or I'll be forced to... I don't know, whine about you here. Not the most effective threat.