It’s October, which means that most of the new shows from this pilot season have premiered, some of them with extremely good numbers. There haven’t been as many early or memorable cancellations as usual. Could we be looking at a repeat of 2004, when such gems as “Lost,” Grey’s Anatomy,” Desperate Housewives,” “House” and “The Office” premiered? Or are there just a bunch of stinkers with “Two and a Half Men”-type ratings? Cadenza’s staff investigates.

New Girl

“New Girl,” Zooey Deschanel’s current outlet for adorableness, is a ratings darling and a fall frontrunner, having just secured a full-season order—but how long will the magic last? “New Girl” follows the antics of the eccentric Jess (Deschanel), who, after catching her boyfriend cheating, moves in with three guys. Deschanel’s endearing magnetism is the true attraction; without her, this would be just another sitcom about sex and awkward relationships. Right now, as Entertainment Weekly reports, the show’s ratings are admirable, as “New Girl” retained 92 percent of its audience into the second episode. But, in my opinion, this show won’t score an additional season unless it expands its appeal beyond Deschanel’s lovable Jess. The male roommates function as a unit, rather than individuals, and while their constant support for Jess is sweet, there can only be so many plotlines that involve them coming to her rescue by singing or wearing silly hats. “New Girl” has moments of cleverness and character complexity that shine even when Deschanel isn’t front and center. (For example, in the Sept. 27 episode, one of the guys had a workout mix that included “Save the Best for Last.”) For the show to continue, it will have to equally balance these moments against the charisma of its star.

Ringer

For a cult audience, this show seems to have it all. It has a rich mythology that involves identical twins—the first sister, a recovering drug addict, poses as her rich sister when the socialite goes missing. It stars former vampire slayer Sarah Michelle Gellar, and it even has a “Lost” cast member, Nestor Carbonell, thrown into the mix. It had a strong debut with 2.7 million watching the premiere (well, strong for the CW, anyway), but it unfortunately lost 18 percent of its audience on its second episode. We probably shouldn’t put the show on the bubble just yet, though—the CW tends to give its shows time to find an audience, and “Ringer” is strong enough for now. Hopefully the plot gets more engaging, though—it’s hard to care about Bridget as Siobhan when we don’t actually know anything about Siobhan, and I really want to find out about her relationship with the dashing Henry. Hopefully the pregnancy storyline should stir things up a bit. Still, I’m going to keep watching, at least until eye candy Jason Dohring (“Veronica Mars”) shows up on my screen.

Revenge

I’ll be the first to say that as much as I’m rooting for it, I don’t have too much hope for the future of “Revenge.” The show’s biggest mistake was starting with a murder five months in the future, followed by a flashback to the beginning of that summer in the Hamptons. This basically gives the show a single season schedule that spans five months, and we already know the outcome. Don’t get me wrong, this could lead into another season in which maybe Daniel (the alleged murder victim) didn’t really die, or we fast forward to the following summer during which Emily (Emily VanCamp) is still in the Hamptons. But even with those options, it’s the fact that ABC started with a 5-month timeline that scares me. They seem to have little hope. With so many other new shows this season on ABC, let alone on TV in general, I have only an ounce of faith in the success of “Revenge.” But hopefully it will be the little show that could and prove us all wrong.

X Factor

Simon Cowell’s new British import “X Factor” seems to be making quite the mark on Wednesday- and Thursday-night TV. The show’s debut had smaller numbers than the most recent season premiere of “American Idol,” but a whopping 12.5 million isn’t exactly bad. The show found some memorable auditioners in its first few outings, like Ohio burrito-slinger Josh Krajcik and 12-year-old Rachel Crow. Moving this week to Boot Camp—“X Factor”’s combination of “Idol” Hollywood week and Vegas week from “So You Think You Can Dance”—“X Factor” has the chance to show its originality and grow its audience even more. This one’s definitely a winner.

Person of Interest

I was really excited for “Person of Interest.” With a stellar team involved both behind the camera (Jonathan Nolan and J.J. Abrams) and in front of it (Michael Emerson and Jim Caviezel), it had to be good. Plus, the concept was superb—a mysterious, rich man owns a supercomputer that can predict crimes before they happen, and a Jason Bourne-esque lead tries to stop the crimes from occurring. Unfortunately, it happens to be on CBS, America’s #1 network—in procedurals. And the lead, former movie star Jim Caviezel, was just boring. Maybe it’s an acting decision, but I do not want to see him on my screen. However, Michael Emerson is awesome, and therefore this show can never be canceled. At least, I hope not. Keep this man on TV, studio powers. Maybe cast him on “Mad Men” or “Breaking Bad” or something worthy of his talent. This police procedural is not worth his time—or Oscar nominee Taraji P. Henson’s time, either. The show has enough potential to keep it going for a while and was the second-highest new drama debut. Hopefully it will become the show its talent deserves.