In recent weeks, the broadcast networks debuted their fall offerings to a lot of fanfare – but is anybody watching? When we asked Chron staffers about their current pop-culture fixations, new DVDs, video games, and cable offerings were all mentioned, but not a peep about any network show. (See this week’s “TV Eye,” for more speculation about the lackluster fall premieres.) – K.J.
� Ever been convinced that David Bowie is secretly a shape-shifting supervillain? Then join the cult of The Venture Bros., Adult Swim’s psycho-spoof on Johnny Quest-style animated adventure. As Nick Fury-alike and former pole dancer Col. Hunter Gathers put it at the start of the new season: “We gotta get off the green. It’s about to get weird.” – Richard Whittaker
� Playing Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock has taught me little other than that the only way to listen to Rush’s 20-minute “2112” suite is to play along on a fake, plastic guitar. None of my friends has tried to tackle the Geddy Lee vocals yet. Not surprising. – James Renovitch
� Wes Anderson is sometimes accused of being overly fussy with his pictures, but just watch him try to maintain order on The Darjeeling Limited‘s on-location shoot in bustling India (he comically directs one cameraman to move “left around the cow”). Barry Braverman’s fascinating fly-on-the-wall doc is one of a host of extras on the Criterion Collection’s sparkling new two-disc release; also included are the essential accompanying short “Hotel Chevalier” and a typically astute film essay by Matt Zoller Seitz. – K.J.
� There is a fever catching at our house this fall, and it is the 15th season of BBC’s Top Gear. Led by gearhead journalist Jeremy Clarkson, the show gives audiences a rare look at what it’s really like to drive a Bugatti Veyron (the fastest car in production at the moment and perhaps the most expensive, stickering at more than $1 million), as the boys race it across Europe against a small Cessna. Fun times around the track and dry British humor make this show a must-see. – Anne Harris
� If, like me, you need the hum of the TV on in the background as you drink your morning coffee and prepare to leave the house for the day, yet you’re allergic to cooking segments and watered-down pop gossip, try a cup of MSNBC’s Morning Joe. Despite the conservative political philosophy of co-host and former Congressman Joe Scarborough, the three-hour weekday morning news and talk show (which slipped into the sudden programming hole created when MSNBC abruptly pulled the plug on Imus in the Morning) excels in unscripted conversations that are politically spirited and candid and features an ever-revolving lineup of guests and participants who keep the focus fresh. – Marjorie Baumgarten
This article appears in October 8 • 2010.