Sitcoms are worth at least a smile

If it weren't for Fox's Glee, there would be little excitement in a fall TV season whose biggest promise is five prime-time hours a week of the soporific stylings of Jay Leno. While lacking creative dazzle, they may stimulate the late-news ratings, if local stations tone down the shows so snoozing Leno fans don't awake to turn the TV off before Conan comes on.

There is some news this season: After years among the missing, the sitcom makes a tentative return. Nobody's doing backflips about them, but half of the best new series are sitcoms. Throw in Glee, an hour show being billed as comedy, and the majority of the good stuff is funny. Has that happened this decade?

You'll need to be patient. Two of the good ones, ABC's V and the CW's Life Unexpected, don't turn up until at least November. And you'll need to shell out for both HBO and Showtime to keep up.

If you don't have cable, there are still big doings on PBS: Ken Burns' The National Parks: America's Best Idea spends two hours for six consecutive nights starting Sept. 27, traipsing through the parks themselves as it examines the history of their making.

- Jonathan Storm
Inquirer television critic