With the new season upon us, season sets from the big shows are dropping all over the place. This week offers some great choices. Leading the pack is The Big Bang Theory. And if you like that, please do check out my pick of the week, The IT Crowd. Other comedy offerings include It’s Always Sunny, and the final season of My Name Is Earl. For the more medically inclined viewers, Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice have their latest seasons ready.

On the sci-fi side, we have the Doctor Who 2008 Christmas Special, and Sanctuary. The big shows are rounded out by Crash, CSI: Miami, Primeval, The Clone Wars, and Fear Itself. If nostalgia is your thing, also look for new sets from Bonanza, Fame, Dark Shadows, One Step Beyond, and Transformers. And that’s just for starters. The full list is after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

A few months back, I took cursor to digital paper and wrote an ode to shows that I’ve lost over the years. With yet another network television season complete, I believe it’s time to revisit that list, and add an addendum cataloging the massacre that accompanies the close of each season.

For all of you still out there fighting the good fight for these shows, this should in no way be seen as final. I’d love to come back and correct myself. So, keep sending those watches, bulletproof vests, lottery tickets, live butterflies, pitchforks, or whatever else you can think of. But, if this is the end, I figure now’s as good a time as any to pay my respects. And, if you’re wondering why the following’s light on the jokes … the fresher the wound, the deeper the hurt.

I’ve already written about the plight of The Unusuals. A lot of people have applied the show’s title to the conceit, and either used it as a pro or a con for what they see as different or ordinary, respectively. The only thing “unusual” about the show was the following: it was great from the get go. Sure, each character had a quirk, and there was an otherwise infrequently seen mix of excitement and comedy to the scripts, but what stood out the most for me was honestly how enjoyable an hour it was to spend in front of my television. I’d absolutely love to see it live to air another day (beyond closing out the episodes already in the can), but if it’s not to be, at least it went out as great from beginning to end. Read the rest of this entry »

The 2008-2009 television season is quickly coming to a close. Last week saw some 30 season/series finales hitting our screens. The resulting numbers were all over the place. Some shows took advantage of the situation, pulling out all the stops and hitting numbers they hadn’t seen in some time. Others held steady. And a few signed in with troubling drops.

I’ve mentioned before that these final numbers could hold sway as the networks prepare to release the fall schedules this week. That does still apply, although, after all the shenanigans over the weekend, with Dollhouse and Better Off Ted being renewed, just how much sway becomes a little more cloudy. Read the rest of this entry »

Not an easy question, my friends.

You know, we love to reminisce about the wonder that once was NBC’s Must See TV Thursday, but I don’t know if they ever gave us four consecutive comedy powerhouses in the eight to ten slot. To be honest, I think the issue is less about consistency, and more about how great the cornerstone shows are.

Not since 1987 have there been four great shows on, one after another: The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Cheers, and Night Court. The constant shuffling of the schedule has provided some cheers, and some jeers (1997’s Friends, Union Square, Seinfeld, and Veronica’s Closet was a bit of a stinker sandwich).

Like I said, it’s really an overall strength that makes or breaks the night. The Office? Not there yet on the audience side, but it can definitely stand amongst the greats as far as humor goes. 30 Rock I have some issues with, but I’ll concede to the fact that it rises far above the pack, although not to the top quite yet. The 8:30 slot is still falling on its face, and even with the renewal, Parks and Recreation is not long for the scrap yard. But, what about My Name is Earl?

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We’re on the verge of it now. Over the next two weeks all of our favorite shows are going to be ending, and some of those tough decisions will have to be made by the networks. These final few ratings numbers will play heavily in those decisions. With that in mind, the week brought good news for a couple of bubble shows (Castle, Lie To Me), and bad news for others (Better Off Ted, Cupid, The Unusuals, Dollhouse, Reaper, My Name Is Earl). Read the rest of this entry »

And just like that, finale season is upon us. Over the next few weeks, all of our favorite shows will be pulling out all the stops and heading off into the summer break, with hopes of returning for another go in the fall. Some of them, no doubt, will be disappointed in that regard. Aside from the marriages, pregnancies, and lives left hanging in the balance, finales are interesting from a ratings perspective because they provide the possibilities of a numbers boost. One last data point to point to as you make the case that this show shouldn’t be canceled. NBC got the ball rolling last week as Chuck and Heroes both fired off their finale salvos. The results were something less than stellar. The news was better for Fringe, the NCIS spinoff, and the CW Thursday. Read the rest of this entry »

Last week was a bit of an odd one for programming as the networks went a bit experimental. Over at FOX, Bones tried its third night in a week. On ABC, The Unusuals took over for Cupid and someone gave the OK for another Lost clip show.  CBS continued the shuffling of their procedurals by bumping NCIS, The Mentalist, and Criminal Minds back an hour. The results, as you might have suspected, were varied. While a lot of that was strange, the biggest surprise of the week was Thursday, which found just about everything  taking a hit in the ratings. In other news, According To Jim still stinks out loud. Read the rest of this entry »