Benjamonster's TV

ROCK CENTER WITH BRIAN WILLIAMS Hosted by Brian Williams Featuring Harry Smith, Kate Snow, Ted Koppel, Meredith Viera, Richard Engel, Nancy Snyderman, Matt Lauer, Ann Curry, and Natalie Morales Rock Center with Brian Williams is the first new primetime newsmagazine to debut in years. Featuring NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams and pretty much every other NBC correspondent, Rock Center features a mishmash of serious stories, human interest stories, and in-studio guests (Jon Stewart on the pilot tonight). THE GOOD: Brian Williams is likable and a personality that's fit for a primetime newsmagazine as he always wants to be looser than he is on the Evening News. Plus, he loves to be on TV and that's apparent from this debut. Like any show, it will rise and fall in quality based on the intrigue of the story and that will be the case here. It was smart to get Jon Stewart as an interview guest because he can always make for interesting TV. THE BAD: There seemed...

Two weeks ago, I counted down my Top 10 Shows of the 1960s . Now it's time for the 1970s. While I was making this list, I realized there are far fewer shows I like from the 1970s than the 1960s therefore there will be no close calls and only a Top 9. Once again, for a show to qualify, it must have had the majority of its episodes during the 1970s. 9. M*A*S*H (1972-1983) I'm not as big a fan of this show as many are but it is still a classic from the era. I also haven't seen as many of the later episodes, but from what I can tell, the early years with Hawkeye and Trapper John McIntyre and Henry Blake are far superior as the show started to take itself too seriously when it became "The Alan Alda Show." Those early episodes are really strong though and the friendship between Hawkeye and McIntyre plays like a very genuine friendship. Sometimes it's hard for me to believe this was as big a hit as it was, but it's still a well-written, well-acted show. Episo...

ALLEN GREGORY Starring: Jonah Hill, French Stewart, Nat Faxon, Christina Puccelli, Joy Osmanski, Renee Taylor, Leslie Mann Created by Jonah Hill, Andrew Mogel, and Jarrad Paul Written by Jonah Hill, Andrew Mogel, & Jarrad Paul, Directed by Bernard Derriman Allen Gregory is an absurd new cartoon addition to FOX's Animation Domination lineup created by and starring Jonah Hill as pretentious 7 year old Allen Gregory. Homeschooled by his gay dads (French Stewart and Nat Faxon), he must attend a regular elementary school when his dads get in money trouble. However, he doesn't quite fit in - bringing pinot grigio to lunch, calling his teacher (Leslie Mann) by her first name, and developing a crush on his elderly principal (Renee Taylor). THE GOOD: I'm not a big fan of cartoons but Allen Gregory does have his funny moments. The little comments that Allen Gregory makes under his breath that make him such a pretentious snob had me chuckling (lines such as "...

ABC   8:00 College Football Viewers: 8.4 million, 18-49 demo: 2.8 CBS 8:00 How I Met Your Mother (Repeat) Viewers: 2.1 million, 18-49 demo: 0.6 8:30 How I Met Your Mother (Repeat) Viewers: 1.8 million, 18-49 demo: 0.6 9:00 Criminal Minds (Repeat) Viewers: 3.3 million, 18-49 demo: 0.7 10:00 48 Hours Mystery Viewers: 5.6 million, 18-49 demo: 1.3 NBC 8:00 Chuck (Repeat) Viewers: 1.9 million, 18-49 demo: 0.3 9:00 Grimm (Repeat) Viewers: 2.3 million, 18-49 demo: 0.5 10:00 Law & Order: SVU (Repeat) Viewers: 3.9 million, 18-49 demo: 0.9   FOX 8:00 America's Most Wanted Special Viewers: 4.3 million, 18-49 demo: 1.5

GOOD WEEK: FAIRY TALE DRAMAS Many TV experts weren't sure these shows could work for mainstream audiences and they still might not but ABC and NBC's attempts at supernatural fairy tale dramas had awesome starts for their respective networks in the past week. First up, ABC's Once Upon a Time premiered to a huge 12.9 million viewers and 4 demo. The demo is the best premiere for any network drama so far this season and it came in a difficult Sunday 8pm timeslot. It had positive buzz too as reaction to the pilot has been strong. Then just last night, NBC's Grimm posted a surprising 6.5 million viewers and 2.1 demo (preliminary). This is NBC's best drama premiere this season and it came against Game 7 of the World Series. Buzz hasn't been as good but NBC did a good job promoting this show and it could have been higher if it wasn't for the MLB competition. It will be very interesting to see how both shows do in Week 2 but maybe, just maybe, they are tapping into ...

ABC   8:00 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Viewers: 4.1 million, 18-49 demo: 1.0 9:00 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Viewers: 4.2 million, 18-49 demo: 1.1 10:00 20/20 Viewers: 4.7 million, 18-49 demo: 1.2 CBS 8:00 A Gifted Man (Repeat) Viewers: 5.8 million, 18-49 demo: 1.0 9:00 CSI: Miami (Repeat) Viewers: 7.0 million, 18-49 demo: 1.1 10:00 CSI: NY (Repeat) Viewers: 8.1 million, 18-49 demo: 1.4 NBC 8:00 Chuck Viewers: 3.4 million, 18-49 demo: 1.0 9:00 Grimm Viewers: 6.6 million, 18-49 demo: 2.1 10:00 Dateline NBC Viewers: 5.2 million, 18-49 demo: 1.3 FOX 8:00 MLB World Series Game 7 Viewers: 25.4 million, 18-49 demo: 7.4 FOX was easily on top with Game 7 of the World Series on Friday night as the series picked up steam thanks to some great games but the bigger news for TV fans was NBC's results. Grimm stunned most observers with a solid 6.5 million and 2.1 demo premiere. While those numbers may not look great, they are great for a Friday (especially ag...

ABC 8:00 It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown Viewers: 7.4 million, 18-49 demo: 2.3 9:00 Grey's Anatomy Viewers: 9.9 million, 18-49 demo: 3.7 10:00 Private Practice Viewers: 6.4 million, 18-49 demo: 2.4 CBS 8:00 The Big Bang Theory Viewers: 14.5 million, 18-49 demo: 4.6 8:30 Rules of Engagement Viewers: 10.6 million, 18-49 demo: 3.3 9:00 Person of Interest Viewers: 11.6 million, 18-49 demo: 2.7 10:00 The Mentalist Viewers: 12.4 million, 18-49 demo: 2.5 NBC 8:00 Community Viewers: 3.4 million, 18-49 demo: 1.4 8:30 Parks and Recreation Viewers: 3.9 million, 18-49 demo: 1.8 9:00 The Office Viewers: 5.5 million, 18-49 demo: 2.9 9:30 Whitney Viewers: 4.2 million, 18-49 demo: 2.0 10:00 Prime Suspect Viewers: 4.0 million, 18-49 demo: 1.1 FOX 8:00 MLB World Series Game 6 Viewers: 21.1 million, 18-49 demo: 6.5 An epic Game 6 of the World Series dominated the ratings on Thursday night but the other networks didn't fall apart in the wake of the compet...

GRIMM Starring: David Giuntoli, Russell Hornsby, Bitsie Tulloch, Silas Weir Mitchell, Sasha Roiz, Reggie Lee Created by Stephen Carpenter, David Greenwalt, and Jim Kouf Written by David Greenwalt, Jim Kouf, and Stephen Carpenter, Directed by Marc Buckland Grimm is a dark new fantasy crime drama on NBC. The pilot played like a twist on a procedural drama but the overall premise is much more complicated. Nick Burnhardt (David Giuntoli) is a homicide detective who discovers he is a descendant of the Grimms who are hunters that fight the supernatural. He can see through the supernatural villains in their everyday appearance. In the pilot, he discovers his identity and that he is the last one left of his kind as he and his partner (Russell Hornsby) investigate a murder case that parallels Little Red Riding Hood in many ways. THE GOOD: Grimm does a great job of creating a moody world and ambiance which is fitting for the dark tone of the drama. It's always good when a se...

ABC 8:00 The Middle Viewers: 10.2 million, 18-49 demo: 3.2 8:30 Suburgatory Viewers: 9.7 million, 18-49 demo: 3.4 9:00 Modern Family (Repeat) Viewers: 11.3 million, 18-49 demo: 4.5 9:30 Happy Endings Viewers: 8.3 million, 18-49 demo: 3.5 10:00 Revenge Viewers: 8.7 million, 18-49 demo: 2.7 CBS 8:00 Survivor Viewers: 11.8 million, 18-49 demo: 3.5 9:00 Criminal Minds (Repeat) Viewers: 11.3 million, 18-49 demo: 2.8 10:00 CSI (Repeat) Viewers: 9.1 million, 18-49 demo: 2.0 NBC 8:00 Up All Night (Repeat) Viewers: 3.5 million, 18-49 demo: 1.1 8:30 Whitney (Repeat) Viewers: 3.8 million, 18-49 demo: 1.1 9:00 Harry's Law (Repeat) Viewers: 4.5 million, 18-49 demo: 0.8 10:00 Prime Suspect (Repeat) Viewers: 3.5 million, 18-49 demo: 0.8 FOX 8:00 Glee (Repeat) Viewers: 2.5 million, 18-49 demo: 0.7 9:00 Glee (Repeat) Viewers: 2.3 million, 18-49 demo: 0.7 With a Halloween lineup and lots of repeats as competition, ABC soared in the ratings and had a great perfor...

ABC 8:00 Last Man Standing Viewers: 9.9 million, 18-49 demo: 2.8 8:30 Man Up! Viewers: 6.8 million, 18-49 demo: 2.0 9:00 Dancing with the Stars Results Viewers: 14.1 million, 18-49 demo: 2.6 10:00 Body of Proof Viewers: 9.4 million, 18-49 demo: 1.8 CBS   8:00 NCIS Viewers: 19.4 million, 18-49 demo: 4.1 9:00 NCIS: Los Angeles Viewers: 15.9 million, 18-49 demo: 3.7 10:00 Unforgettable Viewers: 11.3 million, 18-49 demo: 2.5 NBC 8:00 The Biggest Loser Viewers: 5.5 million, 18-49 demo: 2.0 10:00 Prime Suspect (Repeat) Viewers: 2.8 million, 18-49 demo: 0.9 FOX 8:00 The X-Factor Viewers: 12.1 million, 18-49 demo: 4.4 ABC had good news and bad news on Tuesday night. At 8pm, Last Man Standing was down four tenths in viewers and three tenths in the demo. While it dropped again, this seems like a self-starter and if it can stabilize here, that is a success story for the timeslot. A full season order should be coming soon. At 8:30pm though the news was not nearly a...

Two freshman CBS dramas have been given full season orders in a move that's been coming for a couple weeks. New procedural Unforgettable had the best debut of any drama to date this season with 14.1 million viewers. Taking over for The Good Wife on Tuesday night, it has skewed old like Wife but is doing better than Wife was last spring. While it doesn't seem like a long term player for Tuesday nights (could it head to Fridays eventually?), it probably will stay in this slot all year. The drama just wasn't a high priority for me and I haven't seen an episode since the pilot. Through five episodes, Unforgettable has averaged 12.3 million viewers and a 2.5 demo. New Thursday thriller Person of Interest has also earned a full season order despite a start that was less powerful than expected. It inherited the Thursday 9pm slot that CSI held for a decade but it wasn't hot off the gate and routinely finishes fourth in the demo at 9pm behind Grey's Anatomy, The X-Fa...

ABC 8:00 Dancing with the Stars Viewers: 17.2 million, 18-49 demo: 3.2 10:00 Castle Viewers: 10.8 million, 18-49 demo: 2.4 CBS 8:00 How I Met Your Mother Viewers: 9.8 million, 18-49 demo: 4.3 8:30 2 Broke Girls Viewers: 11.2 million, 18-49 demo: 4.5 9:00 Two and a Half Men Viewers: 15.3 million, 18-49 demo: 5.5 9:30 Mike & Molly Viewers: 12.2 million, 18-49 demo: 4.2 10:00 Hawaii Five-0 Viewers: 10.7 million, 18-49 demo: 3.1 NBC 8:00 The Sing Off Viewers: 4.2 million, 18-49 demo: 1.5 10:00 Prime Suspect (Repeat) Viewers: 2.4 million, 18-49 demo: 0.7 FOX 8:00 MLB World Series Game 5 Viewers: 14.3 million, 18-49 demo: 4.2   CBS Mondays are just not slowing down this fall as every show was up or even this week (last week all but one show was up or even). At 8pm, How I Met Your Mother was even in viewers and up a tenth in the demo. New freshman hit 2 Broke Girls was down three tenths in viewers but up a tenth in the demo. This show is the real deal. So...

ABC 7:00 America's Funniest Home Videos Viewers: 6.6 million, 18-49 demo: 1.5 8:00 Once Upon a Time Viewers: 12.9 million, 18-49 demo: 4.0 9:00 Desperate Housewives Viewers: 9.2 million, 18-49 demo: 3.0 10:00 Pan Am Viewers: 5.7 million, 18-49 demo: 1.8 CBS 7:00 60 Minutes Viewers: 12.6 million, 18-49 demo: 2.3 8:00 The Amazing Race Viewers: 9.6 million, 18-49 demo: 2.7 9:00 The Good Wife Viewers: 9.8 million, 18-49 demo: 2.0 10:00 CSI: Miami Viewers: 9.8 million, 18-49 demo: 2.1 NBC 7:00 Football Night in America Viewers; 4.9 million, 18-49 demo: 1.9 8:00 NFL Pregame Viewers: 8.8 million, 18-49 demo: 3.3 8:30 Sunday Night Football Viewers: 12.5 million, 18-49 demo: 5.2 FOX 7:00 NFL Overrun/The OT Viewers: 24.3 million, 18-49 demo: 8.7 8:00 MLB World Series Viewers: 15.2 million, 18-49 demo: 4.2 ABC had some really positive news on Sunday night as the series premiere of Once Upon a Time got off to a magical start. To start off the evening, America...

ONCE UPON A TIME Starring: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison, Lana Parrilla, Josh Dallas, Jared S. Gilmore, Raphael Sbarge, Jamie Dorman, and Robert Carlyle Created by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz Written by Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz, Directed by Mark Mylod Once Upon a Time is a lavish new drama from ABC that blurs two worlds - the fantasy land of "Once Upon a Time" and modern day Storybrooke, Maine. The complicated plot involves a curse from an Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla) on Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Prince Charming (Josh Dallas) that sent all the fairytale characters to the present day only none of them know they are fairytale characters. The Queen is the Mayor of the town, Snow White is a teacher, and Prince Charming - injured in a fight before the curse - is a comatose unknown patient at the hospital. Rumpelstiltskin (Robert Carlyle) tells Snow White and Prince Charming that their unborn daughter will return on her 28th birthday to batt...

ABC   8:00 College Football Viewers: 3.5 million, 18-49 demo: 1.1 CBS 8:00 Two and a Half Men (Repeat) Viewers: 4.1 million, 18-49 demo: 0.9 8:30 Mike & Molly (Repeat) Viewers: 3.9 million, 18-49 demo: 1.0 9:00 Hawaii Five-0 (Repeat) Viewers: 4.3 million, 18-49 demo: 0.8 10:00 48 Hours Mystery Viewers: 5.5 million, 18-49 demo: 1.1 NBC 8:00 College Football Viewers: 3.2 million, 18-49 demo: 0.9 FOX 8:00 MLB World Series Game 3 Viewers: 11.2 million, 18-49 demo: 3.2  

GOOD WEEK: HIT SITCOMS The year of the sitcom keeps marching along. Most of the attention has been towards new hit sitcoms like New Girl, 2 Broke Girls, Suburgatory, Up All Night, and Last Man Standing . But it's worth pointing out how well long-running sitcom hits are performing. Not one, not two, but three sitcoms posted a demo in the 5s this week. By comparison, no show did that during this same week last year. ABC's Modern Family was tops with a mammoth 5.7 (though that was actually down week-to-week). CBS's Two and a Half Men has come back from its heights at the beginning of the season but was still up year-to-year significantly with a 5.3. And CBS's The Big Bang Theory posted its best Thursday numbers ever with a 5.1. To be only the third best performing sitcom with a 5.1 demo means things are going well. Sitcoms are back in a big way this fall and these three are leading the pack. BAD WEEK: "HAPPY ENDINGS" ABC is trying desperately to make this sho...

ABC   8:00 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Viewers: 5.1 million, 18-49 demo: 1.2 9:00 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Viewers: 6.1 million, 18-49 demo: 1.7 10:00 20/20 Viewers: 7.6 million, 18-49 demo: 2.0 CBS 8:00 A Gifted Man Viewers: 8.7 million, 18-49 demo: 1.2 9:00 CSI: NY Viewers: 10.7 million, 18-49 demo: 1.8 10:00 Blue Bloods Viewers: 10.9 million, 18-49 demo: 1.7 NBC 8:00 The Office (Repeat) Viewers: 2.0 million, 18-49 demo: 0.6 8:30 Parks and Recreation (Repeat) Viewers: 1.7 million, 18-49 demo: 0.6 9:00 Dateline NBC Viewers: 4.1 million, 18-49 demo: 1.0 FOX 8:00 Kitchen Nightmares Viewers: 3.5 million, 18-49 demo: 1.4 9:00 Fringe (Repeat) Viewers: 1.6 million, 18-49 demo: 0.5   ABC had its new lineup on Friday night with Extreme Makeover: Home Edition moving to the night after many years on Sunday. It got off to an ok start at 8pm but the 9pm episode posted very solid numbers for ABC Fridays. A 1.7 demo is not bad at all with lower exp...

ABC 8:00 Charlie's Angels Viewers: 5.6 million, 18-49 demo: 1.2 9:00 Grey's Anatomy Viewers: 9.5 million, 18-49 demo: 3.6 10:00 Private Practice Viewers: 6.4 million, 18-49 demo: 2.3 CBS 8:00 The Big Bang Theory Viewers: 14.9 million, 18-49 demo: 5.1 8:30 Rules of Engagement Viewers: 11.5 million, 18-49 demo: 3.6 9:00 Person of Interest Viewers: 12.4 million, 18-49 demo: 2.7 10:00 The Mentalist Viewers: 12.5 million, 18-49 demo: 2.5 NBC 8:00 Community (Repeat) Viewers: 2.4 million, 18-49 demo: 0.9 8:30 Parks and Recreation (Repeat) Viewers: 2.5 million, 18-49 demo: 1.1 9:00 The Office (Repeat) Viewers: 3.3 million, 18-49 demo: 1.5 9:30 Whitney (Repeat) Viewers: 2.6 million, 18-49 demo: 1.1 10:00 Prime Suspect (Repeat) Viewers: 2.8 million, 18-49 demo: 0.8 FOX 8:00 MLB World Series Game 2 Viewers: 14.3 million, 18-49 demo: 4.0 CBS had a great start to Thursday night. At 8pm, The Big Bang Theory was up a big 1.3 million viewers and half a demo po...

ABC 8:00 The Middle Viewers: 9.1 million, 18-49 demo: 3.0 8:30 Suburgatory Viewers: 8.8 million, 18-49 demo: 3.1 9:00 Modern Family Viewers: 13.0 million, 18-49 demo: 5.7 9:30 Happy Endings Viewers: 6.8 million, 18-49 demo: 3.0 10:00 Revenge Viewers: 8.0 million, 18-49 demo: 2.5 CBS 8:00 Survivor Viewers: 11.2 million, 18-49 demo: 3.3 9:00 Criminal Minds Viewers: 13.2 million, 18-49 demo: 3.9 10:00 CSI Viewers: 10.8 million, 18-49 demo: 2.6 NBC 8:00 Up All Night Viewers: 5.6 million, 18-49 demo: 2.1 8:30 Whitney (Repeat) Viewers: 4.1 million, 18-49 demo: 1.2 9:00 Harry's Law Viewers: 8.4 million, 18-49 demo: 1.3 10:00 Law & Order: SVU  Viewers: 7.7 million, 18-49 demo: 2.2 FOX 8:00 MLB World Series Game 1 Viewers: 14.2 million, 18-49 demo: 4.2 ABC had another really strong Wednesday night with its lineup of comedies and Revenge . At 8pm, The Middle was up two tenths in viewers and a tenth in the demo. A 3 demo is great considering this show was...

MAN UP! Starring: Mather Zickel, Dan Fogler, Christopher Moynihan, Teri Polo, Amanda Detmer, Henry Simmons, Jake Johnson Created by Christopher Moynihan Written by Christopher Moynihan, Directed by Beth McCarthy Miller One of the last fall shows to premiere - ABC's Man Up! - is a new sitcom paired with Tim Allen's Last Man Standing in a sort-of "revenge of the man" hour. In this show, three friends - Will, Kenny, and Craig (Mather Zickel, Dan Fogler, and Christopher Moynihan) deal with the "challenges" of being a man in 2011 where they bow down to their wives and girlfriends and can't act like real men. Rounding out the cast is Will's wife Theresa (Teri Polo) and Kenny's ex Bridgette (Amanda Detmer). THE GOOD: Not that I judge books by their covers, but I went in to this show expecting to hate it. And the truth is, I didn't hate it. I didn't like it either but we'll get to that in a bit. It had a few funny moments - D...