Unraveling the mysteries of new fall shows

The upcoming TV season raises nothing but questions, with a wave of new shows that feature mysteries ranging from criminal to supernatural. Here are some clues to tell them apart.

The Forgotten ABC
– Missing persons
– Dogged detective (Christian Slater, PI, is on the hunt for lost souls)

Melrose Place The CW
– Season-long mystery (Who killed Sydney (Laura Leighton)?)
– Everybody’s a suspect (Was it the doctor, the bitch, the thief, or the bartender?)

Flashforward ABC
– Season-long mystery (Why did the entire world black out and glimpse the future?)
– Dogged detective (Joseph Fiennes is on the case of the biggest mass nap ever)
– Everybody’s a suspect

Bored to Death HBO
– Missing persons
– Dogged detective (Jason Schwartzman is a depressed, jilted writer-turned-unlicensed (and untalented) private dick)

V ABC
– Season-long mystery (What do the aliens really want?)
– Dogged detective (Lost‘s Elizabeth Mitchell goes underground to sniff out the ETs)
– Everybody’s a suspect