GOOD WEEK/BAD WEEK: January 26, 2013

GOOD WEEK: "THE FOLLOWING"
FOX has had a real rough fall especially with its new shows - The Mob Doctor and Ben and Kate have been cancelled while The Mindy Project has been a huge disappointment. FOX has very little on the bench so its last best hope is The Following. So far, so good after a strong Monday premiere that gave FOX some hope for the future. Now of course the 3.1 demo premiere is similar to last year's failed Terra Nova and Alcatraz, but the show has had real positive feedback. The best sign to me is that it held up well over the hour which means it didn't turn off viewers with the gore and spookiness. FOX is running it for 15 weeks straight and the competition isn't any tougher until The Voice and Dancing with the Stars return in late March.

BAD WEEK: TUESDAY COMEDIES
Heading into the season, there was a lot of talk about how much comedy there was on Tuesday night including a logjam at 9pm. Now several months in, the results are not good. ABC's adult 9pm block has tanked with Happy Endings struggling and Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 yanked this week. NBC was doing well until The Voice ended and now Go On and The New Normal have been in freefall, plunging to new lows. FOX's sitcom block has struggled mightily with Ben and Kate cancelled and New Girl being the only show that can break a 2.0 demo. Tuesdays seem like a wasteland for broadcast TV out of the NCIS twins on CBS and it looks like comedy is not the answer.

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EPISODE GUIDES: That 70s Show Season Seven

On Thursdays, I go through classic series with a critical look at each season. Today I am looking at Season Seven of That 70s Show ! THAT 70s SHOW: SEASON SEVEN 2004-2005 25 episodes The seventh season of That 70s Show is the final season with Topher Grace as a series regular and also the final full season for Ashton Kutcher. Despite still having both of those cast member, the show finds itself flailing especially with Topher Grace's Eric, who is stuck in a terrible arc for most of the season. The show also brings many characters back at one point or another but everything just feels tired. This season actually graded out the worst for me. Even worse than the often maligned final season (more on that next week). Every title this season is named for a Rolling Stones song. Starring Topher Grace as Eric Forman (25 episodes) Mila Kunis as Jackie Burkhart (25 episodes) Ashton Kutcher as Michael Kelso (25 episodes) Danny Masterson as Steven Hyde (25 e...

EPISODE GUIDES: Rhoda Season Five

On Thursdays, I go through classic series with a critical look at each season. Today I am looking at Season Five (the final season) of Rhoda ! RHODA: SEASON FIVE 1978 13 episodes Rhoda' s final season was a truncated one as the show was cancelled in December 1978 after only 13 episodes had been produced (and only nine had aired). This feels like a continuation from season four in many ways except with the ill-advised split between Ida and Martin (more on that below). While Rhoda has an occasional good moment and even a couple decent episodes, it is a show that seems so wildly different from season one and not in a good way. Rhoda could never figure out what it fully wanted to be and only made it four and a half seasons as a result. Starring Valerie Harper as Rhoda Morgenstern (13 episodes) Julie Kavner as Brenda Morgenstern (13 episodes) Ray Buktenica as Benny Goodwin (11 episodes) Kenneth McMillan as Jack Doyle (9 episodes) Nancy Wa...

SCHEDULES OF THE PAST: 1995-1996 Thursdays

On Tuesdays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Thursdays in the 1995-96 season! ABC 8:00 8:30 9:00 10:00 Sep Charlie Grace The Monroes Various Programs Oct Murder One Nov Various Programs Dec Various Programs Thursday Night Movie Jan Feb World’s Funniest Videos Before They Were Stars! Mar Apr May NBC was the powerhouse on Thursday nights but ABC still gave it the old college try in the Fall of 1995 with a trio of new dramas that they hoped would help them cut into the Peacock's dominance. Headlining their night was Murder One , a high profile new show from Steven Bochco that received much of the network's attention before the season started. The series focused on one murder case for an entire season, whi...

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