Somehow the fall TV season sort of snuck up on me, so I’ve been furiously setting TiVo to ensure I don’t miss any of my returning faves, plus the premieres of a few new shows I’m willing to give a shot. This year, it would take just one hand to count what makes the latter category (which, come to think of it, I’m actually pretty happy about).

One freshman offering that didn’t originally make my must-watch list is FOX’s Lone Star, the story of a Texas con-man living two separate lives with two different women. A preview of the pilot was made available to TiVo subscribers, which I download awhile back but only got around to watching yesterday. The show’s real premiere was on Monday night, and it turns out most folks tuned elsewhere; Lone Star was trounced by Dancing With The Stars, trumped by Two and a Half Men, and pummeled by The Event (really?!). Such a dismal debut has Lone Star creator Kyle Killen rightfully panicked, blogging for a “minor miracle” to save his drama.

The first episode roped in 4.1 million viewers, and deserves at least a few million more. I enjoyed Lone Star, at least enough to see what happens next week. It’s not often that television delivers an original concept, and I thought the pilot was nicely paced, the characters intriguing, and the actors’ performances top-notch. I did have to remind myself a few times that no, that wasn’t Kyle Chandler taking a break from Friday Night Lights to play the lead role, but newcomer James Wolk as the tall, dark, and handsome (and winningly deceitful) Robert Allen.

But what I enjoyed most about Lone Star was the music. Seriously, whoever is serving as the show’s Music Supervisor is doing a bang-up job, because I found myself reaching for my iPhone several times during the pilot so I could Shazam the song playing under the scene.

While there were a couple of tunes I was previously unfamiliar with (The Antlers’ “Kettering,” for one), watching the show reaquainted me with Cold War Kids’ “Hang Me Up To Dry,” Jose Gonzalez’ “Heartbeats,” and this driving little ditty from London’s Mumford & Sons that never fails to endear, “The Cave”:

Lone Star airs Monday nights on FOX at 9/8c, and is worth checking out if only for the music. I know I’m looking forward to Shazam-ing my way through next week’s episode. And really, The Event sucked anyway, didn’t it? Give Lone Star a shot. And remember, if you do tune in, creator Killen did dangle the promise of a sensual massage in return, and it is beginning to get a wee bit chilly this time of year. (Catch up with the pilot episode here.)

Purchase Mumford & Sons – “The Cave” via iTunes, Amazon MP3.