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GOOD WEEK/BAD WEEK: February 9, 2013

GOOD WEEK: "SCANDAL"
This season has seen an impressive rise by Scandal. After a modest debut season of seven episodes last spring, Scandal was renewed but seemed to be the next Private Practice - a show that always did well enough due to a strong lead-in from the same creator (Grey's Anatomy). Then something happened - Scandal caught fire thanks in large part to the twisty path it has been on creatively. And the ratings have reflected the uptick in quality as it keeps rising, tying a series high this week. It is now TV's top 10pm drama and easily beating CBS' Elementary. It seems like it hasn't even reached its ceiling yet.

BAD WEEK: "SMASH"
After last year's buzzy season full of promise and disappointment including lots of hate-watching, we have heard for months about Smash's re-launch. For the second season in a row, NBC has spent half the year promoting this show before actually premiering it. It has gotten magazine covers, countless online articles, and a media blitz emphasizing its re-tooling. And then the ratings came in and were hugely disappointing - an incredibly meager 1.1 demo average with a trending downward trend across its two hour premiere. The question is what does NBC do now? It has put so much into this show, I think they will continue to give it a little marketing muscle. But the future is not nearly as bright for this show as it was even a week ago.

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