futurama

The Space Pope has answered our prayers! After years of cancellations, network changes and direct to DVD purgatory, Futurama, Matt Groening and David X. Cohen's genius vision of the year 3000, will return to the air with original episodes.

To look at his academic résumé, you wouldn’t think David X. Cohen was funny. The son of two biologists, Cohen left his hometown of Englewood, New Jersey, in 1984 to major in physics at Harvard University. He followed up with a master’s degree in computer science from the University of California at Berkeley and was on track to earning his doctorate. Then came Beavis and Butt-Head. Cohen had been an amateur comedy writer since Harvard, and in 1992, one of his scripts landed him a job writing for the now-classic MTV animated series. That was the end of grad school.

This year’s fall TV lineup couldn’t be geekier. With two new network shows breaking out the beakers and several returning shows ratcheting up the scientific tension, it seems lab coats have taken over the small screen, no doubt to the chagrin of grizzled cops, desperate housewives and testy lawyers.

In this gallery, we tell you which shows should top your TiVo queue, which ones are as fun as math camp, and which you can watch with your girlfriend. (Just kidding, we know you don’t have a girlfriend.)