TV Show Fall Analyis (Early Version)

It's the time of the year when we find out the fates of our favorite television shows, especially on the big four networks. As of this morning all the schedules for the fall (and some next spring) have been released. (I will not comment on the content of *most* new shows till my next report and I find out more about them.)

CBS
Big Surprises:
First of all the cancellations of Cold Case, Ghost Whisperer and New Adventures of Old Christine caught me off guard. I always heard good things about Cold Case from people so I figured it had a fan base. As for Ghost Whisperer, the ratings were low, but it always lead Friday nights. And Christine I thought was more popular, I guess I was wrong.

As for the schedule, moving Big Bang Theory to Thursday caught me off guard but it might actually be good for the show to get even higher rating then it already is getting. The rest looks good to me, nothing crazy.

WTF Moments:
Okay, I'll bite. I'm going to have to watch S--- My Dad Says after Big Bang just for the curious factors. Finally, Hawaii Five-0 is back? Really? Who's idea was that one?


I will say, I loved Accidentally on Purpose. I thought it was a funny quirky show that took a little while to get used to. But I do appreciate the fact that at least the season finale closed all the storylines so there are no loose ends making this show ending not as big of a deal as others.

ABC
Big Surprises:
The only real big surprise was that they kept V on but canceled FlashForward. I figured, by people who have watched both shows, that it would have been the other way around. But alas, that's the decision they made. Also Scrubs finally getting canceled is NOT a big deal, it should have ended last year.

I'm not a big ABC watcher anymore to be quite honest. I think it's a very good move to have a full comedy night on Wednesdays. But other than that, no major shakeups or changes.

NBC
Big Surprises:
Number one with a bullet is the cancellation of Law & Order. The TV stable should have at least had a chance to say goodbye the right way. I mean I hear there is going to be a big TV movie sometime next year but still they should have gotten the chance the Ugly Betty and Lost got to say goodbye to their fans the right way. Also the same could be said for Heroes, which I know the ratings have been down since season one but still give it a chance to end with class. I also find it amusing that Wednesdays have officially turned into cop drama night with this new show Undercovers, L&O:SVU and the new spin-off L&O:LA.

I do like the fact that they kept Tuesdays in tact though with Biggest Loser and Parenthood staying back-to-back, I think that's huge because that's NBC's biggest night ratings wise, even bigger than their comedy block on Thursday night. I am also happy that Celebrity Apprentice is returning next year. I was never a fan of the original show but I love the celebrity version big time.

FOX
 Big Surprises:
I have to admit, I didn't expect FOX to renew The Cleveland Show and keep it on their Animation Domination block on Sunday nights. Most people I've talked to that watch it said it's lame and kinda dumb, then again the same could be said for American Dad and that show is still going strong. As for Til Death, I will say the same thing I said about Scrubs, it should have been canceled a long time ago. I tried to watch this season and it was really terrible.

Scheduling Change-ups:
The big change-ups include three of FOX's biggest shows, Glee, American Idol and Hell's Kitchen. Personally I love the fact that Glee is moving to the lead-in spot on Tuesday nights in the Fall. I think that's a HUGE move. The show deserves the chance to show how good it can be in by itself in the ratings. What I don't like is moving it to Wednesday nights at 9pm in the Spring. I think that's going to really confuse fans, so I hope they do a good job advertising the move because if not it could suffer from a massive drop. As for Idol, the Tuesday performance show is being extended to a hour and a half and the Wednesday results show is now a half hour. I like the idea of the results show being a half hour (and it is the lead-in for Glee) but not sure if even I could sit through a hour and half Idol show especially when it's down to the last couple of weeks. Hell's Kitchen is moving to Wednesday nights instead of Tuesday nights which I don't agree with personally. I have problems with the show moving time slots in the middle of a run and I don't really see a major issue with it following Glee, but then again the audience for both shows are very different so that might have something to do with it.

That's what the big four have announced for now for next year. It seems interesting for now. I wonder if they will change anything between now and August when the big fall preview issues come out.