Editor's Note: This is a weekly guest post from BuddyTV. Check back every Wednesday for more from BuddyTV.com on the state of television and your favorite shows like Prison Break, Heroes, Lost and Gossip Girl.

There's a classic Simpsons joke with Homer sitting on the couch preparing for the mid-season TV lineup, his second favorite TV season of the year. This year, ironically, mid-season is actually the best TV season.

Back in September, the fall TV season was as disappointing as it could possibly be. With such instantly forgettable shows as Do Not Disturb, The Ex List, Easy Money, etc., new shows suffered and returning shows like Heroes saw a dramatic decline in viewers.

Now, however, January brings with it so many premieres that even with three TiVos, it would be impossible to watch everything. Major networks are bringing out heavy hitters like American Idol, 24, The Bachelor and Lost. Fans also get new reality shows like Superstars of Dance, True Beauty and 13: Fear is Real. There are also new episodes of Scrubs to look forward to, plus the return of all the top fall shows.

If that's not enough, cable networks are also getting in on the action with a lineup of season premieres that will make every night a cable night.

MONDAY
ABC Family has The Secret Life of the American Teenager and Kyle XY for the tween crowds. If you want more mature drama, TNT brings back cable's highest rated series The Closer on January 26, along with the new advertising series Trust Me, starring Tom Cavanagh and Will and Grace's Eric McCormack.

TUESDAY
There's plenty of reality on Tuesdays, like A Double Shot at Love, MTV's bisexual dating show, or The Real Housewives of Orange County. But for fans of truly outrageous behavior, look no further than FX's Nip/Tuck, slicing and dicing another season at 10 pm.

WEDNESDAY
The latest season of MTV's reality classic The Real World premieres tonight at 10 pm. More importantly, so does Damages on FX, the multiple Emmy-winning legal drama starring Glenn Close.

THURSDAY
Thursdays offer a wide variety of cable delights. MTV has the third season of the hip America's Best Dance Crew starting January 15. That same night at 10 pm, A&E brings its newest drama The Beast, starring Patrick Swayze as a renegade federal agent. For something a bit lighter, USA's ex-spy series Burn Notice returns on January 22.

FRIDAY
This week, USA's one-two comedy punch of Monk and Psych returns starting at 9 pm. But if you're a true TV fanatic, you'll be gearing up for the final 10 episodes of Battlestar Galactica, starting January 16 at 10 pm.

SUNDAY
For the weekend, HBO and Showtime are starting up their engines once again with an all-out premiere battle on January 18. At 9 pm, HBO has season three of the polygamist drama Big Love, while Showtime has the final season of its lesbian series The L Word. Then at 10 pm there's a war of comedies, with HBO's delightful Flight of the Conchords against Showtime's multiple personality comedy The United States of Tara starring Oscar nominee Toni Collette.

As you can see, no matter what the night, you can find plenty of TV on a major network or cable. After a very disappointing fall, it's time for the real TV season to begin.

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