TV Critics Choice names 8 "Most Exciting New Series"

This isn’t a competitive category so there will be no winner on June 20th. I’m posting for two reasons. (a) It’s interesting to hear reliable advance word about promising series on the horizon, and (b) we’ll soon see for ourselves which of these new programs are genuinely outstanding so, in a sense, this list holds the TV Critics accountable. It’ll either help verify or cast doubt on their reliability. I think there’s general agreement that last week’s nominations were solid, with few surprises and no outright groaners.  But there’s already some sniping that today’s list smacks of “Best Newcomer” a la Golden Globes snuggling up to Pia Zadora.  While Pia never lived up to the honor, these series will each have an opportunity to prove worthy in a matter of weeks.

• Alcatraz – Fox – Warner Bros.
• Apartment 23 – ABC – 20th Century Fox
• Awake – NBC – 20th Century Fox
• Falling Skies – TNT – DreamWorks
• New Girl – Fox – 20th Century Fox
• Ringer – CW – Warner Bros
• Smash – NBC – DreamWorks/Universal Media
• Terra Nova – Fox – 20th Century Fox

The Critics Choice list is based on the pilots and any other subsequent episodes already available.

Sight unseen, which of these looks the most exciting to you?  We’ll be able to measure their eventual critical success by comparing Metacritic ratings in a couple of months.   Now’s your chance to go on record for bragging rights if you guess correctly which one scores highest.