GOOD WEEK/BAD WEEK: January 11, 2014

GOOD WEEK: CBS TUESDAY AND THURSDAY
CBS had a low rated finale night for Hostages on Monday and a so-so result from the People's Choice Awards on Wednesday but they were on fire on Tuesday and Thursday. TV's two most watched shows - NCIS and The Big Bang Theory - both topped 20 million viewers for season highs. Tuesday also had the series premiere of Intelligence garner the best total viewer count of any new show this season alongside a respectable demo premiere, though it must now face Castle and The Blacklist on Monday. Every single show on Thursday was up with all four sitcoms posting their best numbers since at least mid-October. The Millers, which was looking weaker, came all the way back to tie its season premiere numbers. While January is a great time for many shows as the viewership totals tend to rise, other shows are proving that not everything works. For these two lineups, everything was chugging along.

BAD WEEK: ABC MIDSEASON PREMIERES
It has been a tough season for ABC. Everything on this side of Scandal seems to be either DOA or showing its age. And it has been really brutal for the new shows. After a fall that saw numbers ranging from disappointing (Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and The Goldbergs) to outright horrendous (Lucky 7 and Betrayal), ABC's midseason is looking even worse. Their limited replacement for Scandal, The Assets, premiered to the worst in-season numbers ever. It dropped in week two and was swiftly cancelled today after two episodes. Then Killer Women premiered on Tuesday following tons of promotion. If it was not for The Assets, it would have tied the lowest in-season premiere ever. It premiered well short of what Lucky 7 bombed to. And their remaining new shows don't look very promising. I contend however that a lot of this is ABC's own fault. They consistently premiere shows in the same slots where they continue to fail (look at Thursday 8pm and Tuesday 10pm). They air incompatible stuff like the slew of young adult sitcoms that have followed family comedies on Wednesdays. And their development, especially in the drama department, was pretty bad this year. So there may be bigger changes necessary at the Alphabet network.

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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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