Orange County Register

When is my show coming back?   Watching ‘Survivor’   The new show report card

Television schedules change so rapidly these days that every month delivers a gift basket of new and returning shows. The downside: It’s hard to keep track of it all.
As always, the Watcher is here to help. These are my highlights from the March cornucopia:

“Oprah’s Big Give” (ABC, debuts Sunday) – I know, the Watcher endorsing such a feel-good show seems incongruous, but this is produced by the people behind “The Amazing Race.” And we like the idea of reality contestants giving away money rather than grabbing it.

“Unhitched” (Fox, Sunday) – With their last few movies tanking, the Farrelly Brothers – creators of “Dumb and Dumber” and “There’s Something About Mary” – are giving TV a try.  We’ll give them a try.

“Canterbury’s Law” (Fox, March 10) – Another show with a nice pedigree, this legal series starring Julianna Margulies comes from the producers of “Rescue Me.” Fox moved up the starting date by a full month, so they must be pleased.

 “Beauty & the Geek” (CW, March 11) – This has always been the sweetest and most good-natured of the reality competitions, so I was distressed to learn that this season will pit the beauties against the geeks. Let’s hope that doesn’t last.

“Top Chef” (Bravo, March 12) – By far the best of the “Project Runway” clones, “Top Chef” heads to Chicago this season. Maybe head judge Tom Colicchio can find his lost Michelin star there.

“John Adams” (HBO, March 16) – The seven-episode series from HBO Films looks like March’s top pick. I expect they’ll need a wheelbarrow to cart off the Emmys for this one.

“Dancing With the Stars” (ABC, March 17) – Nice cast this season, ranging from Mario to Marlee Matlin. Our money’s on NFL player Jason Taylor or ice princess Kristi Yamaguchi.

CBS’s Monday comedies (March 17) – I’m no fan of “Two and a Half Men” or “The Big Bang Theory” and I can just tolerate “How I Met Your Mother,” but I know a lot of readers enjoy them. More importantly, this marks the beginning of the post-strike returns.

CBS will add “CSI: Miami” March 24 and “Cold Case” March 30. Everyone else gets back to business in April. For a complete listing of return dates, click here.

“The Tudors” (March 30) – Showtime’s lavish period series, starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers as a young Henry VIII, returns for a second season. I’m guessing it won’t turn out well for Anne Boleyn.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.