• by Lydia Loizides , Op-Ed Contributor, September 12, 2008

With the new television season upon us, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on last season. Oh wait, I can't remember last season.

And therein lies the rub. Sure, many of last season's shows have been reappearing the last few weeks, and yes, I know I can watch them online, but that doesn't mean I can, I will or I have. I wonder if that is true for others? The only thing that reminds me of last season is my DVR. Yes, my DVR which is set to record all my favorites, is the only mechanism that lets me know the new season is coming, based simply on the fact that I need to keep deleting last season's shows.

I wonder if you are the average DVR-owning Jane, and your livelihood doesn't depend on a constituent in the TV food chain, whether or not the start of the season (and I speak of broadcast, not cable) is the highly anticipated event that we in the business want it to be.

With an election less than 8 weeks away and the airwaves and datalines jammed with pipelines, pigs and political potshots, what is the likelihood of the average Jane knowing when the season premier of "Heroes" is, about a new show named "Fringe," or that "Scrubs" is on a new network? I guess it is time to reset the DVR controls to First Run Only and begin the season anew. Welcome to the 2008/2009 season.