Okay, so originally I was going to write one of these things every day, but events beyond my control began to rear its ugly head so I’ve decided to instead do a weekly version of Project New TV. Here’s a recap of the new television shows I watched this week and what I thought of them.

Melrose Place– In this update/sequel of the popular 90’s soap opera, a group of impossibly beautiful 20-somethings sharing an apartment complex in Los Angeles awaken to find their cougar landlord floating dead in the swimming pool and everyone is a suspect. Among the cast of suspected murderers is an intense and brooding professional chef with a mysterious past; (Those exist, right?) a geeky wannabe filmmaker (don’t worry ladies, he still looks like a super model) and his elementary school teacher fiancée; a snarky, bisexual publicist who maybe, sort of, kind of has a crush of the geeky filmmaker and, of course, Ashlee Simpson-Wentz makes an appearance the folksy good-girl from the Midwest, but also has mysterious secrets.

The writing and acting on this show is super cheeseball, even by CW standards, but I actually had fun watching the first episode. The story is trashy, yet enjoyable and I may even keep watching, if only to find out who the murderer is and to hear lines like “I love love, I just hate monogamy.”  Odds I’ll keep watching: 5/10

Glee– Okay, so technically I didn’t watch the first episode this week; I actually got to check it out over the summer, when Fox previewed its new musical comedy before premiering it officially in the fall.  But no matter what season you’re watching it in, Glee is a giddy, endlessly enjoyable high school farce about a show choir made up of quirky, loveable underdogs. The music is great, the cast is charming and I’ll definitely be tuning in every Wednesday. Odds I’ll keep watching: 9/10

The Vampire Diaries– With Twilight and True Blood whipping the nation into a vampire-hungry frenzy, it makes sense that the CW wants in on the fad. Based on a quasi-popular series of books, The Vampire Diaries, co-created and written by Scream mastermind Kevin Williamson, focuses on the drama of a handsome vampire named Stefan Salvatore who returns to his old stomping grounds in Virginia. Once there, he meets and is instantly smitten with a recently-orphaned high schooler named Elena,  who curiously resembles an old (Like, 1800’s old) lover. Also popping up is Stefan’s murderous brother Damon, who is harboring a grudge against Stefan and has committed his afterlife to making him miserable. Despite looking like a cheap rip-off of Twilight, the show was actually half a pack of fun. Clever writing, interesting plot and likeable characters; I’ll gladly check out the next couple of episodes to see where the story goes. Odds I’ll keep watching: 7/10