"Dollhouse" and "Medium" Return

Two of my favorite series return for the 2009-10 season tonight, on at exactly the same time, of course. Medium on CBS and Dollhouse on Fox both go at 9 p.m.

And here's a word of warning: Neither premiere episode is up to the shows' usual standards. One of my missions is to get people to look at series they might enjoy, even if they're different from the usual run of TV they watch, and you should be watching both these shows, but if you're disappointed tonight, don't give up.

You can probably just skip Medium tonight. Alison Dubois had a stroke at the end of the show's last season on NBC, and not only does it seem to have messed up her whole right side, it has also clipped the psychic dreams in which see gets clues as to the identity of each week's killer. Some of the clues are pretty obvious, like she sees him doing it. And she's worried her gift/curse will never come back. Now, I would never give anything important away. I hate spoilers so much, I fast forward through the previews that come at the end of episodes. But does anybody think there can be a show called Medium if the star isn't one? You'd have to change the name to Extra Small. Still, this show has been a wonderful mix of crime and spooky stuff with the basics of family living -- Alison has a semi-tolerant, loving husband and three little kids who have been a pleasure to watch growing up -- and you get a good dose of that tonight. I'm sure the show will hit its stride on its new network in the coming weeks.

Dollhouse just has me confused. In Echo's mission tonight, she gets married, which would be fine, except the guy marrying her doesn't seem to understand that she can only be his wife temporarily. Lotsa rich guys get dolls imprinted for all sorts of sexual shenanigans. It's one of the Dollhouse's main revenue streams. In fact, somebody says they're looking forward to lots of craziness tonight because the Jonas Brothers are in town. Show creator Joss Whedon always throws some humor in. But you don't get a wife for the rest of your life, 'cause the kids have to go back to headquarters to get their heads re-quartered for other engagements. So maybe somebody can explain it to me. Maybe you can also explain why so many actors in this show have such weird names: Eliza Dushku, Enver Gjokaj, Dichen Lachman, Miracle Laurie, Tahmoh Penikett, Fran Kranz, Alan Tudyk. Not to mention Summer Glau, who's joining the show from the canceled Sarah Connor Chronicles, but don't tune for her in tonight's episode because she's not in it. You should check in, however, to keep up with the cool, unfolding overarching Dollhouse story, and also so you can explain the wedding thing to me.