Syndicated

• In an effort to protect Richard, a sorceress exchanges his identity with that of a merchant’s son on a new Legend of the Seeker.

5:00p/4:00 Central

• BBC America’s version of Gladiators continues with more action. I’ve never watched it, so does anyone know if they use the giant Q-Tips on the UK version as well?

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(11/16 – 11/22)

Yes, the big story this week is that the ABC decided to cancel not renew Pushing Daisies, Eli Stone, and Dirty Sexy Money. I’m pretty sure that they are not officially calling them canceled because there are still episodes to air. And the only thing that chases viewers away from a show faster than knowing it’s canceled is Tim Kring calling them dipshits… Kidding, but the Heroes ratings did land the big boss in a little trouble this week. We’ll get to that, and take a look at another pretty swell week for the kids down at the C.B.I., after the jump.

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8:00p/7:00 Central

• It’s the first season finale of Toughest Race on Earth: Iditarod on the Discovery Channel. Nome is less than 100 miles away and it’s time for the racers to dig deep.
• Tonight on ABC, Wife Swap features switches between a mother who’s given up her own dreams to allow her husband 30 years of delusions that he can still be a rock icon and a mother of nine who rules with an iron fist. TLC brings another Real Simple. Real Life.
• Over on CBS, Melinda tries to help a man suffering from amnesia on Ghost Whisperer. And I’ll bet Jim’s hanging around, too. In fact, if you’ve seen last week’s episode take a wild guess who the man with amnesia is.
• Much easier to figure out is MyNetwork TV’s WWE SmackDown! See a man. Smack him down. All hail Vince! Have we had the wrestling edition of FOX’s Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? yet? How about the babes of wrestling edition of NBC’s Deal or No Deal?
• Chris’ popularity is put to the test in high school when the dorkiest girl in school asks him out on The CW’s Everybody Hates Chris. Then, on The Game, Melanie finds a “McHottie” at work.

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Calgary Herald

It was one of those odd weeks in television. The big election changed programming for three nights, knocking numbers in all sorts of directions. ABC came out on top in the coverage, and the four networks that went with election coverage (CW was regularly scheduled programming) combined to average nearly 40 million viewers and a 14 demo. And while we may not all agree on how the election came out, I think the one thing we can all be united on is that the NBC Friday night sucks. It could really use a little change of its own.

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NBC

I think NBC really missed out on an opportunity here. They had a chance to tell the story of Robinson Crusoe in this thirteen-episode series. From the beginning, it was billed as a thirteen-episode limited series. So I thought we might get a thirteen-part exploration of the Daniel Defoe novel. Instead, we seem to have something that has all the cheesy elements of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys minus any of the charm. Sure, there aren’t any supernatural elements, but there almost doesn’t need to be any.

I’d intended to review the series, but found myself struggling to even watch it. The series is formatted with very little continuity or depth. In each episode, Crusoe and Friday either deal with a marauding band of bad guys who’ve come to the island (which must be at a major ship crossing as often as people keep showing up … and yet they’re still shipwrecked after six years), or just gallivanting around together reaffirming their friendship. What fight scenes there are are horrendous, and aside from Tongayi Chirisa (Friday) there isn’t anybody worth watching. I watched two episodes in a row to get back on track, but I just don’t think I can review it any more after this. I can’t even watch it.

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Animal Planet

8:00p/7:00 Central

• While FOX still wants to know Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?, NBC just wants to know if it’s a Deal or No Deal.
• TLC offers up another Real Simple. Real Life. helping real women with their … real lives. Yeah, I guess that was kind of obvious. So do I have to explain what ABC’s Wife Swap is about? Do people think it’s a show about swingers? Ha! Even the official description of the series makes sure to clarify this: “The wives exchanges husbands, children and lives (but not bedrooms) to discover just what it’s like to live in another woman’s shoes.” That, my friends, is hilarious!
• MyNetwork TV doesn’t have to explain that WWE SmackDown doesn’t have men smacking their women down. Even though, I think that has happened on occasion actually.
• When a kid’s make-believe friend causes havoc, Melinda has to play a game of hide-and-seek on Ghost Whisperer. Also, does death come knocking? You know it would be sometime this month (sweeps!) if it’s gonna happen.
• The CW offers Everybody Hates Chris, with Chris trying to break up Doc’s relationship, followed by The Game, with Kelly and Jason both trying to move on. Meanwhile, Discovery is relocating Toughest Race on Earth: Iditarod to face all this competition. Tonight, Eskimo Nelson considers dropping out of the race while the Busers make a move to help Martin secure another win.

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NBC

Hey, would you look at that. Something for NBC to cheer about. The big 30 Rock premiere bested my expectations, and I’m sure many others, by a good million viewers. It actually brought in the largest audience the show has ever had. Paired with The Office, it makes for one of the few bright spots on the peacock schedule. The other nights of the week weren’t nearly so lucky. That was the big story of the week, but there was also baseball on FOX, Gary Unmarried getting a tryout following 2 1/2 Men, some time slot winning numbers from Mr. Obama, and an interesting result for an NCIS repeat.

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