GOOD WEEK/BAD WEEK: February 8, 2014

GOOD WEEK: CBS MONDAY
CBS Mondays have had a tough go recently with 2 Broke Girls not working as an anchor, instant bombs in We Are Men and Partners, and a huge hole at 10pm. Things still aren't great but they're looking up as How I Met Your Mother heads towards its final episode at the end of March. Mother has been delivering a powerful 3.8 demo at 8pm the past two weeks and it has brought the entire night up, even Intelligence at 10pm. CBS needs as many good weeks as possible before Mother leaves because then there are major questions about what will happen to a night that has had comedy institutions like I Love Lucy, The Andy Griffith Show, Murphy Brown, and Everybody Loves Raymond for decades.

BAD WEEK: SUPER BOWL LEAD-OUTS
The Super Bowl lead-out slot is seeming less and less important with each passing year. Last year, CBS gave the slot to new drama Elementary. After delivering low numbers for a post-Super Bowl show, Elementary got no bump in its Thursday night slot. This year, FOX gave the slot to New Girl and the buzzy but low-rated Brooklyn Nine-Nine. They did decently out of the Super Bowl but then were actually down from the previous week in their regular timeslot. Since established shows are doing nothing here, the networks need to consider either reality (The Voice did huge numbers in 2012) or launching a brand new show. Something like the pilot of an event series might work well.

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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...

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...

DECADE IN REVIEW: The Best Comedies of the 2010s

During the month of December, I will be looking back at the decade that was the 2010s on TV. I will be sharing my favorite sitcoms, dramas, the best episodes, the best performances and the worst shows of the decade. To be eligible for this list, a show had to air the majority of its episodes in the 2010s. However, for the rankings and determination, all episodes were taken into account, including ones that may have aired before 2010. I will also preface that there are comedies that have aired this decade that I haven't watched yet so this is the best of what I have watched. To be fair, that preface is more true for dramas. There's not a ton of unwatched comedies sitting in my Netflix or Amazon watchlist. So here are my Top 10 comedies of the 2010s! Close Calls: Master of None (Netflix) - An inconsistent but occasionally fascinating commentary on many life issues done so with innovative storytelling. The Good Place (NBC) - A show that aims high with a fascinating premis...

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