September 22 is a busy night when it comes to new Fall 2011 television shows. Three crime dramas premiere on ABC, CBS, and NBC — at 8pm, 9pm, and 10pm ET, respectively — and NBC also adds a new comedy to its popular Thursday-night sitcom block.

The first of the three crime newcomers is Charlie’s Angels on ABC at 8pm. An update of the classic 1976–1981 show, the reimagination stars Minka Kelly (Parenthood), Annie Ilonzeh (General Hospital), and Rachael Taylor (Grey’s Anatomy) as the latest trio of attractive bad guy catchers guided by intermediary Bosley (Ramon Rodriguez, The Wire). My hopes are not up, sadly, since one Charlie’s Angels was enough, and that includes the unnecessary movies starring Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and Lucy Liu.

However, I am very much looking forward to the second new crime drama of the night, Person of Interest on CBS at 9pm. Not only does the series have three fantastic stars in Jim Caviezel (The Prisoner), Michael Emerson (Lost), and Taraji P. Henson (Boston Legal), but the premise isn’t too shabby or derivative, either. Caviezel and Emerson play a pair of uniquely talented men who use their distinct resources to prevent crimes before they occur, and Henson portrays a New York Police Department detective who works the same beat they do.

I’m also excited to check out the last new Thursday crime drama, Prime Suspect on NBC at 10pm. If the Americanized version is even half as good as the Helen Mirren-led British original, it will rock. Maria Bello (ER) tops the cast as tough New York homicide detective Jane Timoney. When she’s not busy hunting down crooks, Jane spends much of her time getting into it with her coworkers, including her boss Lieutenant Kevin Sweeney (Aidan Quinn, Weeds).

The remaining September 22 scripted series premiere is the sitcom Whitney on NBC at 9:30pm. Whitney Cummings (Chelsea Lately) stars as the title character, who spends too much time obsessing about her three-year relationship with Alex (Chris D’Elia, Glory Daze) and not getting married prematurely. My cable TV provider had the pilot episode on demand before the premiere for whatever reason, so I checked it out earlier today. The comedy doesn’t work for me, primarily because the characters, plotlines, and jokes are all too tired, annoying, and uninteresting. Others may feel differently, of course.

Heads-up, my fellow fans of excellent cop shows. ABC crime drama Detroit 1-8-7 airs its first — and, unfortunately, possibly only — season finale at the “special” time of this Sunday, March 20, at 10pm ET.

If you’ve been following the procedural, you know the main characters have recently had to endure the unexpected homicide death of their colleague Detective John Stone, as well as a shocking chance encounter with Detective Louis Fitch’s pretty ex-wife and smart son in the flesh.

During the March 20 finale “Blackout,” it looks like Fitch will finally have to share another shocker with his coworkers: the real reason he abandoned New York City and his family years ago.

We viewers already know the man responsible for his departure is criminal Albert Stram (Sons of Anarchy‘s Tommy Flanagan). Now that Stram has shown up in Detroit at the same time as Fitch’s young son (played by Vadim Imperioli, the real-life offspring of series star Michael Imperioli), only conflict and cliffhangers can be in store.

Another great thing Detroit 1-8-7‘s season finale has going for it? An appearance by magnificent Carl Lumbly of Alias, M.A.N.T.I.S., and Cagney & Lacey.

Check out the “Blackout” episode promo below for a quick preview of what’s coming up.

Tuesday, January 4, is a really big day for science-fiction fans, courtesy of ABC and Syfy. The first network will present the second-season premiere of the re-imagined V/alien lizard saga at 9pm ET, and the second will burn off the remaining five episodes in the first and only season of canceled Battlestar Galactica prequel Caprica.

The Great Caprica Burn-Off of 2011 will run nonstop from 6pm to 11 pm ET and will feature the previously unaired episodes “Blowback,” “Dirteaters,” “The Heavens Will Rise,” “Here Be Dragons,” and “Apotheosis.” Of course, the entire Caprica series is already out on DVD in two segments, 1.0 and 1.5. So, if you happen to miss the January 4 extravaganza on the tube, you can always catch up on DVD or perhaps even by watching at Hulu for a limited time. So long to another promising, prematurely axed show.

As for V, the entertaining creature-feature drama opens its 10-episode sophomore season with the ominously titled premiere “Red Rain.” The installment features the introduction of new recurring cast members Bret Harrison of Reaper and Jane Badler of the original V series.

Episode One of Season Two starts where the first-season finale ended. In the aftermath of pissed-off lizard queen Anna making the skies all red and whatnot, Erica and her fellow Fifth Column renegades attempt to prevent chaos, war and all manner of alien-related destruction. Bad for them, fantastic for us viewers.

Review what happened before and what’s coming up on V in the following two videos, then enjoy the sci-fi overload while you can.

Well, I totally saw this coming after watching the awe-non-inspiring series premiere: ABC canceled its young-adult drama My Generation on October 1, the day after the network aired the second of just two paltry episodes. The reason? Terrible ratings, of course.

The ensemble series starred a slew of 20-ish talent — including Mehcad Brooks (True Blood, Desperate Housewives) and Jaime King (Gary Unmarried, Kitchen Confidential) — as a group of former high school classmates. Presented pseudo-documentary style, the show’s intended hook was that viewers got to compare and contrast the high school versions of the characters with their adult counterparts ten years after graduation, complete with all of the twists and turns that life created for them.

That premise could have actually been sort of interesting if the writing and acting had been better. Instead, lackluster execution resulted in an embarrassing 3.82 million total viewers for the second outing, which was only slightly better than the 3.23 million viewers that rookie Fox drama Lone Star, the first canceled series of the season, managed to attract to its second episode.

Two down so far, how many more to go? We’ll see.

Fans of former The Shield star Michael Chiklis and recent Dexter regular Julie Benz don’t have to wait much longer to see the actors on television on a regular basis again. Both headline the highly anticipated new ABC family series No Ordinary Family, which premieres at 8pm ET tonight, September 28.

Chiklis and Benz play police sketch artist Jim Powell and scientist Stephanie Powell, respectively. Married for 16 long years, they are the parents of two teenage children: 16-year-old daughter Daphne (Kay Panabaker, Summerland) and 14-year-old son JJ (Jimmy Bennett, Star Trek). The entire clan develops some very interesting superhuman abilities after a family bonding trip to South America leads to a terrifying plane crash in the Amazon River.

Viewers get to go along on the ride as the Powells return home and first discover, then learn to live with their new powers, which are both a benefit and a burden. Also starring are Stephen Collins (7th Heaven) as Stephanie’s boss Dr. Dayton King, Romany Malco (Weeds) as Jim’s best friend George St. Cloud, and Autumn Reeser (The O.C.) as Stephanie’s laboratory technician Katie Andrews.

Preview No Ordinary Family in the trailer below. A summary of series returning on September 28 follows the video.

Returning Shows on September 28

The second season of Emmy-winning CBS drama The Good Wife begins at 10pm with the premiere episode “Taking Control.”

Syfy space drama Stargate Universe moves from Fridays to launch its 20-episode sophomore season in the new regular time slot of Tuesdays at 9pm. First up is the premiere “Intervention.” Hope the relocation works out.

Ugly Betty alumna Vanessa Williams moves to catty Wisteria Lane on September 26 during the seventh-season premiere of the ABC dramedy Desperate Housewives called “Remember Paul?” (Yes, we do).

The actress plays Lynette’s wealthy college buddy Renee Perry, who drops by for an unexpected visit that leads to a season-long stay. Meanwhile, former regular Mark Moses (Mad Men) returns to the series to reprise his role as Mary Alice’s creepy husband Paul Young. To the expected enormous dismay of Wisteria Lane’s residents, the outcast is fresh out of prison — as we learned at the end of the sixth-season finale — and he’s all set to move into Susan’s old house. Uh-oh.

And if that’s not enough cool casting for longtime viewers, multi-episode guest stars include Brian Austin Green (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles; Beverly Hills, 90210) as Bree’s handyman Keith Watson and Lainie Kazan (‘Til Death, My Big Fat Greek Life) as Maxine Rosen, the manager of Susan and Mike’s new residence.

Catch new cast member Vanessa Williams in action during Desperate Housewives‘ latest season premiere in the sneak peek below. Information on other series returning on September 26 follows the video.

Other Returning Shows on September 26

ABC drama Brothers & Sisters starts its fifth season at 10pm ET. The season premiere “The Homecoming” takes place one year after the deadly car accident that ended the fourth season.

It’s reality night on CBS as The Amazing Race launches its 17th season with a special 90-minute premiere at 8:30pm. The second season of Undercover Boss begins afterward at 10pm.

Fox’s Sunday-night animated lineup resumes airing fresh installments, starting with the “Elementary School Musical” 22nd-season premiere of The Simpsons at 8pm, followed by The Cleveland Show‘s Season Two premiere “Harder, Better, Faster, Browner” at 8:30pm and Family Guy‘s hourlong ninth-season premiere “And Then There Were Fewer” at 9pm.

HBO comedies Bored to Death and Eastbound & Down kick off their second seasons at 10pm and 10:30pm, respectively.

The fifth season of Showtime original serial-killer series Dexter begins at 9pm with the premiere “My Bad.”

New ABC drama Detroit 1-8-7 tops the fall series premieres on Tuesday, September 21.

The crime procedural stars Sopranos veteran Michael Imperioli as Louis Fitch, one of numerous detectives in urban Detroit who must face their own shortcomings, in addition to closing cases in one of America’s toughest cities. A number of television critics are comparing the show to gritty classic cop drama NYPD Blue, which I still miss after all of these years. If the comparisons are accurate, good for us viewers.

Imperioli’s costars include D.J. Cotrona (Windfall), Erin Cummings (Spartacus: Blood and Sand), Jon Michael Hill (The Last Stain), Aisha Hinds (HawthoRNe), Shaun Majumder (Unhitched), Natalie Martinez (Fashion House), and James McDaniel (NYPD Blue). The pilot episode premieres at 10pm ET.

An hour earlier at 9pm, Fox airs Raising Hope, the first of two new sitcoms. The comedy stars Lucas Neff (The Beast) as Jimmy Chance, a 23-year-old who hooks up one time with a criminal played by Bijou Phillips (Almost Famous). The experience unexpectedly makes Jimmy the father of a daughter, which encourages him to stand up and take care of her, hopefully with the help of his unwilling mother and father. Martha Plimpton (The Good Wife) and Garret Dillahunt (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) star as Jimmy’s parents Virginia and Burt, and Cloris Leachman (Malcolm in the Middle) guest stars as his great grandmother.

The second new Fox sitcom, Running Wilde, follows at 9:30pm. Arrested Development alum Will Arnett stars as wealthy but immature do-nothing Steve Wilde, who has a longtime “thing” for Emmy (Keri Russell, Felicity), a woman he’s known since they were children. When Emmy enters Steve’s life once again, he kind of overdoes it to make her fall for him.

Get an advance look at all three new shows in the following videos, and continue below the clips for information about the returning series with fall premieres on September 21.

Returning Shows on September 21

Military crime procedural NCIS kicks off its eighth season at 8pm on CBS, and spinoff NCIS: Los Angeles follows from 9-11pm with a double-episode Season Two premiere.

Fox high-school musical dramedy Glee opens its second season at 8pm with a premiere featuring a guest-star appearance by pop-music artist Charice.

Weight-loss reality series The Biggest Loser begins its tenth season with a two-hour premiere from 8-10pm on NBC.

Also Notable on September 21

Syfy dramedy Warehouse 13 closes its second season at 9pm.

I know ABC midseason thriller Happy Town is already canceled, but things just continue to get worse for the series. Now comes word that ABC has yanked the drama from the network’s schedule yet again after its brief return from a brief hiatus and with only two of eight episodes left to air. Geesh!

The (somewhat) good news is that The Futon Critic reports the show’s last two installments may eventually reach viewers on the tube during Saturday-night broadcasts at some currently unspecified time later this summer. Fans can only hope.

I’m so glad that ABC is delivering on its previous decision to bring canceled rookie drama Happy Town back for a late-season burn-off. Although there will never be another season of the show, at least fans can watch the remaining five episodes in the eight-episode first and only season starting tonight, June 2, at 10pm ET.

The first new episode following the series’ sudden three-week hiatus is “Slight of Hand.” Now that Rachel Conroy has mysteriously disappeared in full view of the entire town, Haplin experiences a darkening mood as residents begin to fear the return of the dreaded Magic Man. I personally can’t wait until he finally arrives.

ABC doesn’t have a traditional sneak peek for the latest installment, but there is a podcast video featuring executive producer Andrew Nemec revealing a bit about an important scene in “Slight of Hand.” Check the clip out below.

Tonight, May 27, at 8pm ET, viewers will get to watch the series finale of one-season-old science-fiction drama FlashForward. Although I always hate to see a so-called genre show bite the dust, I can understand ABC’s decision given the general sluggishness and predictability of FlashForward virtually since its premiere last September.

During “Future Shock,” the last new episode ever, questions that have been building and burning all season long may finally be answered as the dreaded date April 29, 2010 arrives. Most importantly, FBI agent Mark will learn the next blackout’s scheduled time, prompting Demetri and Simon to commit a crime or two to prevent it from happening as planned.

Catch up on or review what happened during the May 20 previous episode “Countdown” below before tuning in to the (hopefully) big series ending later.