Unlike other TV networks, CBS launches its fall season of new shows the old-fashioned way, sticking to the format of what is called “premiere week,” which this year begins on Monday, September 24th.

Nina Tassler, president of CBS Entertainment, was asked about the tried-and-true formula during the biannual gathering of the nation’s TV critics this summer.

“It works for us,” Tassler said, adding that premiere week succeeds because “we like the excitement and the energy and the marketing and promotional machine that leads up to the fall.” But then, unlike NBC, CBS didn’t have the luxury of running ads and promos during the Olympics.

An advantage for CBS, which may well help the network to keep its number one status, is that a new show like “Elementary” has people talking about the great fictional detective Sherlock Holmes once again.

Tassler acknowledged that TV programming is a “very cluttered, noisy universe.” One way to cut through the thicket is to also have a new show like “Vegas,” which is getting a lot of attention because “Dennis Quaid is coming to series television,” a selling point that the CBS executive was quick to note.

CBS, more so than other networks, has the opportunity to take more risks in scheduling new shows. As Tassler says she never gets tired of talking about, CBS scored “another broadcast television trifecta this year. We’re number one in viewers. We’re number one in upfront revenue. We’re number one in Emmy nominations.”

OK, the Eye network has had bragging rights for several years now, and this year, with strong second and third year shows like “2 Broke Girls” and “Person of Interest” and “Hawaii Five-O” and “Blue Bloods,” CBS can afford taking chances even if one or two of the four new series come up short.

For the best new series, it may well be a toss-up between “Vegas” and “Elementary,” dramas with interesting storylines and starring versatile actors who have proved to be accomplished in several mediums.

Dennis Quaid played Bill Clinton in the TV movie “The Special Relationship,” but now he’ll be the main character in a series.

A drama inspired by the true story of former Las Vegas Sheriff Ralph Lamb, “Vegas” tells the story of the gambling mecca emerging from the tumbleweeds in the 1960s.

Quaid’s Ralph Lamb is a fourth-generation rancher tasked with bringing order to Sin City. Lamb wants to be left in peace to run his ranch, but Las Vegas is swelling with outsiders and corruption which are intruding on his simple life.

Recalling Lamb’s command as a military police officer during World War II, the Mayor appeals to his sense of duty to look into a murder of a casino worker – and so begins Lamb’s clash with Vincent Savino (Michael Chiklis), a ruthless Chicago gangster who plans to make Vegas his own.

Assisting Lamb in keeping law and order are his two deputies: his diplomatic, even-keeled brother, Jack, and his charming impulsive son, Dixon.

Carrie Anne-Moss (“The Matrix”) plays the key role of ambitious Assistant District Attorney Katherine O’Connell, who grew up on the ranch next to the Lambs and also lends a hand in preserving justice in Las Vegas.

“Vegas” pits two powerful men at the opposite ends of the law, engaging them in a fierce battle for control of the budding gambling oasis.

Dennis Quaid and Michael Chiklis (who gained fame as a tough guy in “The Shield”) are worthy adversaries, and “Vegas” should be a fun show to watch.

“Elementary” stars Jonny Lee Miller as detective Sherlock Holmes, but this is not the fictional sleuth made famous by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The new Sherlock is a modern-day crime solver helping the NYPD to crack its most impossible cases.

Sherlock Holmes is joined by Lucy Liu as Dr. Joan Watson. Again, this is not your standard issue Dr. Watson either, who is now female and Asian.

Following his fall from grace in London and a stint in rehab, eccentric Sherlock escapes to Manhattan where his wealthy father forces him to live with a sober companion, the aforementioned Dr. Watson.

A successful surgeon until she lost a patient and her license three years ago, Watson views her current job as another opportunity to help people. However, the restless Sherlock is nothing like her previous clients.

Sherlock claims that none of Watson’s expertise as an addiction specialist applies to him and he’s devised his own post-rehab regimen – resuming his work as a police consultant in New York City.

Watson has no choice but to accompany her irascible new charge on his jobs. But Sherlock finds her medical background helpful, and Watson realizes she has a knack for playing investigator.

Though Sherlock may be a real oddball, the New York police know that from his previous experience working with Scotland Yard, Sherlock is brilliant at closing cases.

With the mischievous Sherlock Holmes running free in New York solving crime, it’s “Elementary” that Watson has a big job to keep the super sleuth grounded.

“Made in Jersey” is billed as a drama, but I am not so sure. After all, a Jersey girl named Martina Garretti (Janet Montgomery), a young working-class woman who lacks an Ivy League education ends up employed at a prestigious New York law firm.

How does Martina, a more refined version of the nasal-voiced Fran Drescher, fit in with her pedigreed Manhattan colleagues? Moreover, Martina is supported by her big and boisterous Italian family, including her sexy older sister Bonnie and her encouraging mother Darlene.

The whole set-up sounds like a comedy routine. There’s bound to be a bunch of laughs from a woman who uses her street smarts to survive the cutthroat landscape far removed from her blue-collar background.

But the script calls for Martina to stay true to her roots as a bold, passionate lawyer on the rise in a new intimidating environment. I am taking a wild guess that “Made in Jersey” may bite the dust faster than The Situation can flex his muscles on the Jersey Shore.

CBS has one new comedy in its lineup. The saving grace for “Partners,” which is not exactly groundbreaking material, is that it airs on Monday nights sandwiched in between “How I Met Your Mother” and “2 Broke Girls.”

The network executives may be counting on couch potatoes too lazy to reach for the remote to change channels in mid-stream.

“Partners” is based on the lives of the show’s creators, about two life-long best friends and business partners whose relationship is tested when one of them is engaged to be married. Why this is so is baffling to me.

David Krumholtz’s Joe is an architect who wants to marry Ali (Sophia Bush), a jewelry designer. Joe’s buddy and business partner is Louis (Michael Urie), who is not only gay but emotional and prone to exaggeration.

The two guys are very different, and besides Louis has a new companion in Wyatt (Brandon Routh), a vegan nurse who Louis insists is just a promotion away from becoming a doctor.

Again, what does it matter to Louis if Joe wants to get married? The premise of “Partners” does not seem to have staying power, and this show could last shorter than the average Hollywood celebrity marriage.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Lake County Live! once again visited the Soper-Reese Community Theatre in Lakeport on Sunday, Aug. 26, with a show featuring outstanding music and an audience that was amused and entertained throughout the program.

Lake County Live! Is a one-hour radio show, broadcast live on Lake County Community Radio station KPFZ at 88.1 FM and streamed live on the Internet at www.kpfz.org .

The in-theater audience gets to “peek” into the world of live radio, while watching voice performers and musicians on stage during the show.

This month, music was provided by Majide! This trio includes Paul Kemp on piano, Jim Leonardis playing sax and vocals by Machiko. Classic smooth jazz was the main theme, with an occasional blues variation.

Joining them during the show was the a cappella group EarReverence, who returned to the stage after appearing in January during the premier broadcast of Lake County Live! The group features Nick and Valerie Reid, Carol Cole Lewis and Bill Bordisso.

Always tight with their harmonies and style, they delighted the audience with a couple of popular songs, and elicited a lot of laughter with a couple of others. As always, EarReverence proved to be irreverent.

“With the continuing characters we’ve developed, such as the Ladies of the Lake, and both new and returning musical guests, our audience is always appreciative and responsive,” said show creator and producer Doug Rhoades. “We started this venture back in January, and at that time never knew whether the concept would be accepted on the air or in the theater. I think since we just completed our eighth show, and people are asking about the next one, that question has been answered. We have a home here.”

Lake County Live! provides a venue in the theater for local talent, including musicians, vocalists, writers and more, building on a template established during the first show in January of this year.  

Each show features two or three musical guests or groups, plus comedy from a stock cast of players, including Kris Andre, Pamela Bradley, Suna Flores, Vicky Parish Smith, Richard Smith and others.

Rhoades ties it together by performing hosting duties, as well as appearing in several of the comedy bits during each show.   

“We are grateful for the support we’ve had, and want to thank KPFZ and the Soper-Reese for their support, as well as all of those associated with both who volunteer to help each month.  We’re also thankful for the support of Lake County News, who has been there since we started,” Rhoades added.

The program airs live on the last Sunday of each month. Tickets are available at the theater box office at 275 S. Main in Lakeport on Fridays from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., at the Travel Center, 1265 S. Main in Lakeport, and online at www.soperreesetheatre.com .

Show information can be found at www.lakecountylive.com , as well as at www.facebook.com/lakecountylive .

Questions about the show can be directed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – “The End of the Line,” Second Sunday Cinema’s free film for Sept. 9, is a compelling documentary on the scary results of over-fishing by factory fishing boats all over the planet’s oceans.

If things continue as they are now, many experts predict that the oceans will be fished out by 2048.

Considering that fish are the major source of protein for over a billion of the world’s inhabitants, this is something that needs our urgent attention and action.

Some might ask, well, if we just stop industrialized fishing operations, won’t the fish quickly rebound?

Not necessarily.

Within the last quarter century, there were vast schools of cod off the Newfoundland coast. Due to plummeting numbers, fishing for cod was made illegal there a few years ago.

But this has has proved to be too little to late. Cod have not rebounded. There are too few at this point to reliably find each other to reproduce, and drag-trawling in many places scrapes the sea floor clean, destroying fish nurseries.

But on a positive note, this film tells us how we each, as individuals, can make a positive difference in the fate of many edible fish species.

As always, Second Sunday Cinema’s venue is the Clearlake United Methodist Church at 14521 Pearl Ave, in Clearlake.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m.; the film will start at 6 p.m.

The film is completely free.

For more information, call Shannon Tolson at 707-889-7355.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Clear Lake Performing Arts Youth Orchestra, under the direction of Sue Condit, will begin a new season of rehearsals on Sunday, Sept. 23.

The orchestra is scheduled to perform several pieces by Mozart in the CLPA Lake County Symphony Concert in November.

They will finish up the fall semester by playing some memorable holiday pieces at the annual CLPA Lake County Symphony Concert in December.

The orchestra also will play at the Symphony concert in May and present a full spring concert in June. All concerts are held at the Soper Reese Theater in Lakeport.

The orchestra is currently seeking new string players on violin, viola, cello and bass. All levels are needed and beginners are welcome. In addition, there is an opening for an intermediate level pianist.

The Youth Orchestra meets at the Kelseyville Presbyterian Church on Sundays from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. If you are interested in joining the group please contact coordinator Tamsen Serena at 707-928 -9621.

Since the discontinuation of the Schools String Program, Clear Lake Performing Arts offers string instruction in this countywide Youth Orchestra.

The organization not only supports the Lake County Symphony and presents a varied Concert Series, but also sponsors many youth music education opportunities.

In addition to the Youth Orchestra, CLPA offers music presentations in the schools and financial assistance to music students.

CLPA also offers a college scholarship program for students who play in the Lake County Symphony.

For information about CLPA Youth programs, call Andi Skelton at 707-279-4336.

For general CLPA information call President Ed Bublitz, 707-277-8271, or visit www.ClearLakePerformingArts.com .

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Art House Gallery will hold its Third Friday Gala showcasing local artists on Sept. 21.

The event will take place from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the gallery, located at 15210 Lakeshore Drive, Clearlake.

This month’s featured artist is Karen Magnuson.

In addition to shows the gallery offers courses in music and art for children and adults.

For more information call the gallery at 707-994-1716 or visit http://thearthousegallery.net/ .

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake County Arts Council will host its next First Friday Fling on Sept. 7.

The fling will take place from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Main Street Gallery, 325 N. Main St., Lakeport.

The First Friday Fling will introduce the work of Carmon Brittain, Judy Cardinale, John Hart, Karon Thomas and Terri Pyle.

Currently showing at the gallery are Bruce Vandraiss, Lois Freon, Linda Becker, Carol Yanagitsubo, Leonora McKenzie, George Waterstaat and Heidi Thomason.

Cathy Hall will provide music and Moore Family Winery will pour its vintages. Finger food also will be offered.

This month the Linda Carpenter Gallery again will feature an exhibition of “Summer of Peace” art.

For more information contact the Lake County Arts Council, 707-263-6658.