QUICK HITS: Monday, October 14

How I Would Rank the New Comedies So Far:
1) Brooklyn Nine-Nine (FOX) - Hands down the funniest and best written new comedy
2) Trophy Wife (ABC) - Great characters and funny writing
3) Mom (CBS) - Surprisingly enjoyable thanks mainly to Anna Faris and Allison Janney
4) Back in the Game (ABC) - I like everyone in this, I just wish it was a little bit funnier
5) The Goldbergs (ABC) - It's most recent episode struck the best tone yet but it's still figuring it out
6) The Crazy Ones (CBS) - Funny at times but also struggling to strike the right tone
7) The Michael J. Fox Show (NBC) - The biggest disappointment of any new show so far
8) Super Fun Night (ABC) - I actually might give this one another week only because it's slightly exceeding my expectations. Emphasis on slightly.
9) The Millers (CBS) - Haven't watched the second one yet, and may not
10) Sean Saves the World (NBC) - See The Millers
11) Welcome to the Family (NBC) - See Sean and The Millers
12) Dads (FOX) - I have no interest in giving this show another chance
13) We Are Men (CBS) - Deservedly the first comedy cancellation

How I Would Rank the New Dramas So Far
1) The Blacklist (NBC) - Easily the most thrilling new hour on TV. James Spader is amazing in this.
2) Hostages (CBS) - There's a big gap between #1 and #2. I know nobody is watching this show but I don't hate it
3) Ironside (NBC) - I liked the pilot more than I thought I would but episode two was a snooze. I'll give it one more chance.
4) Once Upon a Time in Wonderland (ABC) - It's hard to judge on only one episode but I'll give it at least one more week
5) Sleepy Hollow (FOX) - I'm not watching this anymore. There were things I liked but nothing I loved.
6) Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (ABC) - Only watched the pilot, not my thing.
7) Lucky 7 (ABC) - A deserving first cancellation
8) Betrayal (ABC) - The biggest snooze of a new show.

The Only Freshman from Last Year I'm Still Watching is... Chicago Fire. I will probably watch The Following when it returns but I have given up on Nashville and all the rest. Only Chicago Fire has kept me interested, who would have thought? But the characters and stories are solid, it's underrated in my opinion.

I'm a Fan of Being Patient With New Shows But... Come on. It's time to pull Welcome to the Family and Betrayal. Those shows have no future. Hostages doesn't either but it's only a limited season so I don't have a problem with CBS riding it out.

After three years I have returned to... Blue Bloods. I liked this show in its first year and watched it sporadically but I would never watch it live since it was Friday night and it just wasn't a priority to watch later. Then I also started to be annoyed by Jennifer Esposito's character. Well now Esposito is gone and I'm lamenting no good cop drama right now (sorry Ironside) so I gave Blue Bloods another chance and I'm re-hooked. I still don't watch it live but now it's worth making time for later.

Some not-so-quick hits on NBC Thursday...
NBC Thursdays are a disaster and making news all over the place for their historic low numbers. But the problem is the shows. Yes, I love Parks and Recreation, but it's only going to get so many people to watch at this point. The only three shows though could have found a bigger audience if they were actually quality. It wasn't gangbusters but The Michael J. Fox Show had a respectable premiere. But it has had one of the worst three week trends of any new show and that's because it's just not very good. Same with Sean Saves the World and Welcome to the Family. Yes, the competition is tough from CBS and their more successful comedy lineup but their shows are better/more promising. I would be lamenting the fact that classic stars and family comedies aren't working on NBC if these were actually good shows. I'd be downright sad if the 8:30-10pm slots were Back in the Game, Trophy Wife, and The Goldbergs and they were getting 0.8, 1.0, and 1.2 demos because I think those shows have potential. But the current crop doesn't. Only the incompatible Parks is good in terms of quality and none of the four are captivating audiences at all. NBC can be annoyed that their comedies aren't working but it goes back to better development. Not the talent, not the scheduling. It's the fact that the shows are bad. So what can NBC do now? My suggestion is to ride it out to an extent before the Olympics but replace Welcome to the Family with Community. When Sean Saves the World airs its 13 episodes, yank it and double pump Parks to get it done before the Olympics. After the Olympics, reduce the comedy block to one hour and put a show like The Biggest Loser at 8pm. They have 22 episodes of The Michael J. Fox Show so they may as well keep that at 9:30pm but I'd give 9pm to About a Boy, which comes from Jason Katims and seems more promising than anything they have on right now. Then focus on better development to try again next year.