So, until January comes and brings back Burn Notice (on 1/21--saints be praised!), Psych (1/27--which is a Wednesday, so yeah, that'll suck), Leverage (1/13--which was a bit shaky in season 1, but totally won me over with the first half of season 2) and various others, I'll just have to watch History International and the spate of screwed up people on A & E (seriously, between Intervention and Hoarders, you can't not walk away feeling a bit better about yourself and considerably worse about humanity in general). History International is one of the best networks out there. If you've been underwhelmed by the History Channel proper, you're not alone, but don't take that prejudice out on History International, which is excellent. Seriously, all the History Channel has is random crap and a whole bunch of World War II. If you're looking for anything beyond that, you'll need to switch over to History International. I watched a show on the War of 1812 last night which was superb. (Just when you thought I couldn't possibly get nerdier, here we are...) Honestly though, I'm continually amazed at how interesting history actually is versus how mind-meltingly dull it was in school. I don't know what history teachers do to make it as bland as they do, but it's a sad commentary on our public schooling system. Not that I will ever have children (saints be praised, yet again!), but if hypothetically I did, I would never ever send them to a public school in the US. It was a waste of time when I went through it and it's only gotten worse since. I'm not saying there aren't exceptions, but by and large, I learned a whole lot of nothing in school, and yet was somehow an excellent student.
Moving on (finally, right?), here's how shows are stacking up as far as being saved or cancelled is concerned. (I'm picking up roughly where I left off, so this list will only contain shows which haven't already been referenced here. It also doesn't include obvious pick-ups like House or Grey's Anatomy.)
PICK-UPS (FOR A FULL SEASON, ANOTHER SEASON, OR FOR EXTRA EPISODES)
- FLASH FORWARD (full season)
This show started off kind of equivocally for me, but I erred on the side of potential winner. I'm rather enjoying the show, but as with V, there's really only one angle the show can have... In spite of this, the show still has me invested and the more that is unraveled, the more interested I become, but I'm not exactly on pins and needles waiting for the next episode to air. I'll certainly keep up with it through this season, but I have a sneaking suspicion it won't get picked up for next season... The ratings haven't been awful, but they're a bit below where ABC would like them. I think it all depends on whether ABC's mid-season bears any fruit... - THE CLEVELAND SHOW (full season)
As you can now clearly see, the order of list is not based on my interest in the show or the show's quality... I'm just listing these in order of when I heard that they had been picked up. - CASTLE (full season)
Yay! There were those out there who didn't think Castle would pull through, but I kept the faith. The fact that ABC's fall line-up hasn't performed quite as consistently as hoped certainly helped the matter, but now that Dancing with the Stars is over and Castle will have a new lead-in, things could get dicey. It's been picked up for a full season, but unless the numbers stay where they are (for the most part), it will likely be on the bubble for a season 3 renewal. Here's hoping! - THE VAMPIRE DIARIES (full season)
Okay, I was underwhelmed with the teen-angstiness of this show at first, but I have to admit, it's actually gotten pretty good and I'm totally sucked in. As always, this is mostly due to Ian Somerhalder, but in a nice change of pace, the rest of the cast is kind of growing on me as well. It has the best ratings on the CW, so a full-season pick-up was a no brainer. It will undoubtedly be picked up for a second season as well (unless the CW folds entirely), so have no fear. - MELROSE PLACE (+5 episodes)
The numbers for this show haven't been very good, but the CW ordered a few extra scripts so that Heather Locklear could come back and hopefully save the sinking ship. The CW doesn't have a whole lot going for it these days (as opposed to the good old days when it had shows with huge numbers? We'll call those the WB days...), so it has to take what it can get. Hopefully the relative failure of this sucker will dissuade the network from remaking any other nineties shows. - TOP CHEF MASTERS (another season)
This show wasn't as riveting as I had hoped, but it was all right. It got quite good toward the end, and it was pretty satisfying to see some of these chefs who had skewered Top Chef contestants in the past get skewered themselves. Nice. - IN TREATMENT (another season)
I've never seen this one and henceforth have very little to say about it. Ummm... good for them? - COMMUNITY (full season)
Yay! This is easily one of my favorite new shows of the fall and I dare say my favorite new comedy (it's a close call between this and Modern Family, which has also been picked up). Joel McHale never ceases to amuse me--and on a semi-related note, when did he become a looker? I never thought of him as a bad looking guy or anything, but until Community, I never really thought of him as an attractive guy either. Turns out Missy was right all along... :) - PARKS AND RECREATION (full season)
I gave up on this show after a lackluster first season, but from what I'm hearing, its second season has been awesome. I keep trying to put it back on my regular rotation, but it just doesn't seem to happen. Maybe someday... - MERCY (full season)
Oh dear god, NBC, just give up already! Jeff Zucker (the current head of NBC and resident dumbass) needs to be drawn and quartered for what he's done to this network. It's just pathetic and sad when a crap-fest like Mercy gets picked up on any network, let alone a one-time heavy hitter like NBC. The network has been circling the drain since he took over and just seems to defy plausibility by getting worse when think it simply can't get worse. Oy. The halcyon days of ER, Friends, and Seinfeld are definitely gone and if days could spin in a grave, they would be. - AMERICAN DAD (uh... full season?)
I don't even know enough about this show to know if it's currently in the middle of a season and has been picked up for a full season or if it's been picked up for another season to come... - SOUTHLAND (it's complicated)
What's that you say? Southland has been picked up? But I thought you just said it had been cancelled? Well, here's the deal. NBC axed this promising returning show (thanks again, Zucker!) before it even premiered its second season. Well, amid the fervor this sparked, TNT has picked up the show (in a manner of speaking). From what I hear, TNT will air all 13 produced episodes and then decide if it's worth ordering more episodes. It'll really hinge on ratings whether or not any new episodes are produced. At least they'll get to air what they've already filmed, right? - DANCE YOUR ASS OFF (another season)
This most exploitive of weight loss shows will be back for another round. As shameless as it was, it was kind of interesting to watch (you know, like a train wreck). - ACCIDENTALLY ON PURPOSE (+5 episodes)
To understand why the hell CBS would order more episodes of this horrid show you'd really need to be pretty attuned to how TV works and I'm simply not in the mood to explain it all. It's a terrible show with so-so ratings, but it's a half-hour comedy, so it got a reprieve. Comedies are cheap to produce and have to come in pairs is the short answer. Blah. - JONAS (another season)
Yeah, apparently the Jonas brothers have a TV show. Who knew? This is just to prove that I receive all manner of TV news, whether I want to hear it or not... (I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit...) - THE FORGOTTEN (+5 episodes)
Okay, this one comes as a bit of a quandary to me. The ratings aren't so good and the show is even worse. So why then did ABC order 5 more episodes? All I can think is that it needed a slot filler until mid-season or after the Olympics and didn't want to have to come up with something original. Also, ABC has been trying to get into the crime procedural racket for some time now, I suspect, so they're probably more willing to give this one more time to magically build a real audience. - PSYCH and BURN NOTICE (another season-s)
These were obvious pick-ups, but I figured I'd list them anyways. :) - LIE TO ME (full season)
The initial order was for 3 more episodes, but Fox finally manned up and gave them a full order. I really hated this show at first, but with a new showrunner at the helm this season, it's gotten much MUCH better. It'll never be a top tier contender, but it's a decent slot filler and I'm pleased that it got picked-up. It'll certainly be on the bubble come the end of the season, and unless it improves its ratings and retains more of its House lead-in audience, it could be in some serious trouble.
CANCELLED (BOTH OFFICIALLY AND UNOFFICIALLY)
- TRAUMA (it's complicated)
Okay, so here's yet another complicated deal at the hands of NBC. Officially, it's been cancelled. But, in light of the fact that NBC has a whole lot of nothing to replace it, they've actually ordered a few more scripts. You can see where it was difficult to figure out which column to put this one in. It's not a bad show, but the ratings really need to be better to justify a show with this kind of budget. Unless the ratings magically spike, it'll remain officially cancelled, even if they're technically producing more episodes. (In news that practically no one but me would care about, the blonde lead on the show is the younger sister of Jamie Barber (aka Apollo). That wasn't interesting at all, was it...). - NUMB3RS (officially ending its run (-6 episodes))
The show has been informed that this is its final season and that the total episode order has been cut by 6. I've only ever seen a couple of episodes, and was never that enthralled, but it has a Whedonverse alum at the helm, so I have to be a bit sad. I'm hearing that viewers will definitely get closure and that the writers are crafting this season intentionally to wrap things up. - EASTWICK (unofficially, but basically dead)
No official word has come down yet (that I've come across), but this sucker is basically a goner. A few wayward fan campaigns have sprung up, but from what I'm hearing, nothing is going to save this one. I'm, uh, crushed? Yeah, that's it. - HANK (officially (and mercifully))
This was really a foregone conclusion, but it's nice to see that this steaming pile of horrible has officially been given the axe. This sucker never should have been greenlit in the first place... wow. - DOLLHOUSE (officially and unsurprisingly)
This comes as no surprise to anyone, given the abysmal ratings, and in the end, it's probably for the best. As much as I enjoy the show, it seems to be spinning its wheels as a result of some inherent design flaws that the second season simply couldn't overcome. "Epitaph One" gave us all some hope, but at the end of the day, you just can't have a cast of characters who don't remember what happened last week. In clear penance for what they did to Firefly, the new brass at Fox has assured fans that all 13 episodes will air. They'll be airing two at a time for the month of December and then polish things off in January. - RAISING THE BAR (officially)
This legal drama started off strong on TNT, but ultimately sank. I gave it a shot when it first premiered, but I wasn't impressed and kind of annoyed in fact. I won't miss it, that's for sure. Looks like Mark Paul Gosseler's improved hair simply couldn't improve the ratings... Heh. - THREE RIVERS (officially)
And the Alex O'Laughlin lovers shed yet another tear... This cancellation comes as no surprise, but I'm sure it still stings those Moonlight cultists out there. Alex can do better, peeps, I promise. This was a terrible show with deservedly terrible ratings. I have heard that the initial order of 13 episodes will be produced, but there's no word yet on whether or not they'll ever air. As of now, the show has been pulled from the schedule and will be replaced with NCIS or other crime procedural reruns, so my money's on "no."
And that my friends is how the cookie crumbles. I'll keep you apprised of any new pick-ups and cancellations as they come, but until the mid-season starts up, there probably won't be any news in this regard for a good long while. I am, however, getting pretty excited for the mid-season to start up so I have some new shows to review. The drought it kind of killing me...
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