Premiering Tonight 09.25.08

The 2008 Fall Season is upon us and that signals the return of Premiering Tonight. Welcome to Premiering Tonight, highlighting all the new and returning shows premiering on the Fall 2008 schedule.

Premiering tonight on TV are the season premieres of My Name Is Earl, The Office and ER on NBC along with the 17th season of Survivor on CBS. ABC rounds out the night with returning favorites Ugly Betty and Grey’s Anatomy.

NBC Tonight
The TV Remote’s Pick To Click

With hour-long installments of both The Office and My Name Is Earl followed by the first episode of the 15th and final season of ER, NBC is the channel to watch tonight for a ton of laughs and a liberal dose of drama.

Survivor: Gabon — Earth’s Last Eden - 8 pm/ET CBS

The 17th season begins with 18 castaways marooned in Gabon, Africa, which promises to be one of the show’s most beautiful locations, especially since the series is shot in high-def for the first time. The emerging theme is good vs. evil, with Corinne the standout, sharp-tongued baddie. Tonight’s two-hour premiere begins with the players walking through a lush African countryside dressed in their street clothes. By the close, clothes are ripped, tribes are formed, and one sad sack is sent packing

My Name Is Earl - 8 pm/ET NBC

The first episode starts off when Earl revisits one of his past victims (Seth Green), a once-dying child who has grown up to be an aspiring filmmaker. Earl helps him produce a low-budget action movie, with none other than Randy earning all-around plaudits for his acting skills. And in the second episode, Earl and Randy set out to make peace with their childhood neighbors, but the good-hearted task only brings to the surface marital strife between their own parents (Beau Bridges and Nancy Lenehan). Elsewhere, Joy doesn’t see eye-to-eye with Willy: She dupes him out of his glass eye.

Ugly Betty - 8 pm/ET ABC

In the third-season premiere, Betty is finally ready to make a life-altering decision after fielding proposals from Gio and Henry. Meanwhile, Ignacio gets a new job at a fast-food restaurant, and Daniel deals with the fallout of Wilhelmina’s power play. Lindsay Lohan guest stars as Kimberly, Betty’s high-school nemesis. Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa appear as themselves.

Grey’s Anatomy - 9 pm/ET ABC

In the fifth-season opener, Meredith and Derek discover the morning-after side of their renewed relationship; a military doctor (Kevin McKidd) who arrives at the hospital with a trauma patient catches Cristina’s eye. The chief learns that Seattle Grace’s national rankings have slipped. Adding insult to injury, local rival Mercy West is ranked higher.

The Office - 9 pm/ET NBC

In tonight’s hourlong Season 5 opener, the Dunder Mifflin staffers participate in a weight-loss program, only to become overly consumed with shedding pounds. Here’s the skinny on other goings-on: Michael, ever the privately lovelorn and lonely, works on building a friendship (and more?) with the new HR worker (Amy Ryan, returning from last season’s finale). And then there’s aspiring artist Pam, who attends art school in New York — leaving behind a pining Jim.

ER - 10 PM/ET NBC

The 15th and final season opens with the staff dealing with the aftermath of the ambulance explosion. Last we saw Abby (who was newly reunited with Luka), she was walking into the line of fire of an exploding ambulance that could have been carrying Pratt or Sam. Morris and Neela have trouble handling Pratt’s injuries, while Abby makes a mistake diagnosing a mother and daughter injured in the blast.