Fall Television Preview 2000: ‘Ed’ and ‘Bette,’ Standing Out in a Surly Crowd . I’m including this not ‘cuz of any particular interest in the new TV season, but for the continuing pleasure I take in Washington Post critic Tom Shales’ entertaining, caustic wit. One reader wrote to differ with me, saying Shales loses credibility by skewering absolutely everything and appreciating nothing, so I’ll point out that he actually does like a couple of the shows he’s previewing, as the headline indicates. Me? I don’t think I’ll be watching much if any TV this fall, with Homicide long gone, the X-Files tiresome and irreparable, and nothing but nothing on the horizon looking enticing. Saves an enormous timesink!