Premiering Tonight 09.28.08

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 premiere of Fox’s Animation Domination block with new episodes of The Simpsons, King of the Hill, Family Guy and American Dad. CBS has season premieres of 60 Minutes, Cold Case and The Unit at its new time. ABC returns with a two hour premiere of Extreme Makeover: Home edition followed by new episodes of Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters. Showtime has season premieres of Dexter and Californication and HBO has the series premiere of Little Britian USA.

The Simpsons – 8 pm/ET Fox
The TV Remote’s Pick To Click

The Simpsons open their 20th season in Springfield, and Gunsmoke is the only other prime-time series to have run so long. In tonight’s episode, Marge and Homer get new jobs you might not expect. Marge goes to work at an erotic bakery, and Homer becomes a bounty hunter with Ned Flanders.

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition – 7 pm/ET ABC

In the two hour sixth-season premiere, a woman who took in her deceased sister’s children and now heads a family of 15 receives a home makeover from Ty and his team.

60 Minutes – 7 pm/ET CBS

The 41st season opens with Scott Pelley interviewing Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. Also: Lesley Stahl interviews Gen. Raymond Odierno, who is in charge of the U.S. military in Iraq; and Steve Kroft reports on the Large Hadron Collider, known as the “big bang machine,” which may provide insight into how the universe was formed.

The Amazing Race 13 – 8 pm/ET CBS

Tonight the show proves once again why it’s the leader of the pack as the 13th season gets off to a strong start with 11 well-cast teams departing the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and flying to Salvador, Brazil. Once there, the duos must either climb up a large stone staircase on their hands and knees or climb down a 240-foot cargo net. The first pit stop is Forte São Marcelo and, yes, the last team to check in is eliminated.

King of the Hill – 8:30 pm/ET Fox

In the 13th-season premiere, Bill’s love of sweets gives him diabetes, which forces some changes in his lifestyle.

Family Guy – 9 pm/ET Fox

In the sixth-season opener, Brian falls in love with a woman he meets in a bookstore, but Stewie urges him to take the relationship slowly, then proceeds to see that he does. This leaves an opening for the lovelorn Cleveland (voice of Mike Henry, who wrote the script). Meredith Baxter has a voice cameo as herself.

American Dad – 9:30 pm/ET Fox

Fourth-season opener: It’s Roger’s 1600th birthday, but the Smiths are too freaked out by Steve’s impending puberty to celebrate. So Roger decides to make his own birthday fun.

Cold Case – 9 pm/ET CBS

The sixth season begins with the reinvestigation of a college-football star’s murder in 1973 on the eve of a championship game. The unsolved case is reopened when new evidence suggests he was killed earlier than previously assumed. The probe also reveals the victim may have been involved with steroids.

Dexter – 9 pm/ET Showtime

The Season 3 opener of the killer drama is a bloody good one. At the end of last season, Dexter, as the Bay Harbor Butcher, dodged getting caught. Now his new quarry is an abusive, drug-dealing lowlife named Freebo who got away with murdering two college girls. When Dexter arrives at Freebo’s house to wreak vengeance, he interrupts a two-man skirmish and winds up dispatching one of the combatants as the other escapes. The victim, Dexter later discovers, turns out to be the righteous, respected “pride of Little Havana,” and that only magnifies the importance of the case. The episode introduces Jimmy Smits as Miami ADA Miguel Prado, who has ties to the deceased and a special interest in seeing Freebo brought to justice.

Desperate Housewives – 9 pm/ET ABC

It’s five years later as we return to Wisteria Lane. And while the vibe probably hasn’t changed much, some of the particulars certainly have, starting with Gaby. It’s no surprise that Bree’s a budding Martha Stewart, nor will you be shocked to learn that Porter and Preston Scavo are as bad as their stepsister Kayla used to be. But when last we saw Susan, she was a giddy newlywed. Now she has a new guy, so what happened to Mike? Maybe we’ll find out tonight. Oh, and rumor has it that Edie has gone off and gotten herself married again.

The Unit – 10 pm/ET CBS

The fourth season begins with the team attempting to stop an assassination plot targeting the president-elect and vice president-elect. The situation raises suspicion among high-level government officials. Back at the base, the Unit wives are relocated for their own safety due to the sensitive nature of their husbands’ mission.

Californication – 10 pm/ET Showtime

Second-season premiere has the newly reconciled Hank and Karen hoping to move back to New York City, but Hank’s erratic behavior puts a kink in their plan as he winds up in jail and on her bad side.

Brothers & Sisters – 10:01 pm/ET ABC

In the third-season premiere, the Walker children try to make contact with their long-lost sibling without Nora’s knowledge. Meanwhile, Kitty and Robert proceed with their plans to adopt, Rebecca and Justin do their best to keep their relationship a secret and Kevin faces a sudden threat to his career.

Little Britain USA – 10:30 pm/ET HBO

British tourists Lou and Andy check out the amenities at a Mississippi motel; rude hospital receptionist Carol Beer slams the door on a five-year-old’s scheduled tonsillectomy; Ellie-Grace trades goodbyes with her mom before summer camp; a sheriff shows off his guns to his love; Marjorie Dawes spars with special guest Rosie O’Donnell at a FatFighters weight-loss meeting; a shocked Connor learns about his grandmother Mildred’s childhood drug habits; Bing Gordyn, the eighth astronaut to walk on the moon, regales a boy-scout troop; “one crazy bitch” Phyllis strips down on orders from Mr. Doggy; George and Sandra celebrate “40 glorious years” at a restaurant; pumped-up pals Mark and Tom share some salty locker-room banter, followed by a close shave.