American TV Shows

1. 90210: The CW brings a revamp of the 1990-2000 Aaron Spelling hit-series with a similar premise: the teen-drama follows a Midwestern kid to Beverly Hills and a culture shock ensues. While the series boasts 1o new faces there’s also a buzz around “Beverly Hills, 90210” alums Jennie Garth and Shannen Doherty reprising their roles. See your local listings in Entertainment Weekly magazine or TV Guide magazine for times.

2. Fringe: J.J. Abrams has scored big in the past with “Alias” and with the current hit “Lost;” now Fox brings this Abrams’ drama about an unlikely crime-solving trio investing bizarre crimes. Joshua Jackson of “Dawson’s Creek” fame and new faces Anna Torv and John Noble star. See your local listings in Entertainment Weekly magazine or TV Guide magazine for times.

3. In Harm’s Way: From the people who brought us the wildly popular “Dirty Jobs” on the Discovery Channel this docu-drama follows photographers, oil well cappers, Coast Divers and other brave souls who put their lives on the line daily for a paycheck. Sunday nights on The CW. See your local listings in Entertainment Weekly magazine or TV Guide magazine for times.

4. Knight Rider: NBC brings back the 1980s drama about Michael Knight and his talking KITT car. This updated version follows Mike Traceur, Michael Knight’s estranged son and a Ford Shelby Mustang as the artificially intelligent KITT car to fight crime. Stars TV-series veterans Justin Bruening, Deanna Russo and Sydney Tamiia Poitier. Wednesday nights on NBC. See your local listings in Entertainment Weekly magazine or TV Guide magazine for times.

5. The Mentalist: Simon Baker is Patrick Jane a mentalist turned independent private investigator who uses his psychic skills to help the California Bureau of Investigation solve crimes. Tuesday nights on CBS. See your local listings in Entertainment Weekly magazine or TV Guide magazine for times.

More Entertainment For Less Money

Cable bills, satellite bills, movie tickets, music downloads, book shopping, magazine subscriptions, sporting events - keeping yourself entertained sure costs money. Spending on entertainment is easy to do because it's highly desirable, but if you don't pay attention, then it's easy to overspend and not get much value.

First look at what you spend on television entertainment, which for most people means a satellite or cable subscription. Everyone knows these bills go up all time and you don't get any more content. A conservative monthly price for cable or satellite television is $30, but people tend to be in the $40 to $50 range, and people who get premium channels might have bills in the $75 to $100 range. At any level, that is a high cost so you can flip through the channels and watch a lot of commercials. Even a modest $40 a month bill equals $480 a year on television.

I personally chose to eliminate my satellite bill of $45 a month ($540 annual) and only pay $18 a month ($216 annual) for DVDs from NetFlix. With my NetFlix subscription I get any movie, documentary, or television show I want to watch and I do it on my schedule. I've arranged for significant annual savings on my television viewing and improved the quality of my entertainment. I no longer waste time channel surfing and watching commercials. And keep in mind that watching commercials fills you with longing for items you either can't afford or don't need anyway. So, reducing your exposure to television commercials could help you save money because your shopping impulses will not be triggered as much.