Eric's Fall TV Report Card: Miss Tampa Survives a Week, Heroes Kills Off Sulu

One day into the new TV season, and the report card looks good.

Dancing With the Stars was cheesy as ever -- kicking off with the female stars dancing first Monday night. It's an odd combination of sex appeal and anticipation which drives this show, as viewers line up hoping to see a hottie or two and hoping someone falls on their behind.

No such luck Monday, though a surprisingly chubby Sabrina Bryan (The Cheetah Girls) nearly ripped up that dance floor with hip hop-inspired moves which predictably pissed off the old school judge. Fortunately, blockhead co-host Samantha Harris was off having a baby, so she was replaced by the much less inept Drew Lachey (something tells me Sam should take a looong time enjoying her new motherhood). Marie Osmond keeps working the nostalgia vibe -- and, I'll admit, that odd Osmond sex appeal -- to get a better score than she probably deserved.

On ABC's The Bachelor, former Miss Tampa Erin Gardner made the cut in an episode filled with lots of giggling, vapid BS. Watching the Bachelor feels like time-traveling back to my college years, when dating was mostly about looking cool and imbibing lots of mind-altering substances. Unfortunately, Lady Lake resident and Villages News Network anchor Jessica Kiss didn't make he cut, so we're down to just one Floridian in the hunt for the hand of hunky Austin business-dude Brad Womack.

And then there's Heroes. Seemingly killing off Hiro's dad, Star Trek vet George Takei, was only the beginning. Lots of cool storylines thrown in the air, including the notion that a cadre of older heroes may be bad guys here, Mohinder and HRG teaming up to take down the Company, the cheerleader hooking up  with another superpowered teen and Peter Petrelli lost in Ireland with no memory. I don't care what anybody said about last year's finale -- I loved last year's ride and I've enthusiastically signed up for more based on last night's premiere. But that's me: Once I buy into characters, it's awfully hard to get rid of me (see ER).

In all, a pretty decent night for the fall season.

But forget about me -- what did you think?