Now that the fall season is hitting the two-month-old mark it's probably safe enough to start grading how some of the new and returning shows are doing. Our friends over at AOL Television have done such a thing and are giving you a chance to grade the TV shows as well.
Thirty shows were chosen for their fall TV scorecard and range from long-running shows such as CSI and ER to fresh out of the box programs like Pushing Daisies and Private Practice. The highest marks go out to House, which has reinvented itself this season with a set of new doctors for Greg House to abuse; Pushing Daises, which AOL TV describes as the best new show of the season; Ugly Betty, a show that has yet to enter a sophomore slump; Reaper, one of the brighter spots for the slumping CW network; Desperate Housewives, 30 Rock and Friday Night Lights.
At the bottom of the list are the new CBS vampire series Moonlight (which I totally agree about), Big Shots and Prison Break. Somewhere in the middle are the shows ER, Grey's Anatomy, Carpoolers, Cavemen (?), Dirty Sexy Money, Samantha Who, Journeyman and Private Practice.
For the most part I agree with the grades AOL Television has given out. For example, while my wife really likes Private Practice I'm not really feeling the love with that show. I do have to differ with them on the grade of 'C' that they gave to ER. Even though the show is in its last days (the series looks like it will end by the end of this season) it has been much more exciting these last few seasons. I Also differ a bit with their opinion of Samantha Who?. Frankly, I'd rather see more of good Samantha than extra funny flashbacks of funny Samantha.
What I was surprised about was the lack of shows like Bones and Life. From the reviews I do on these shows both are fan favorites. Yet, nary a peep about them on the scorecard. That's too bad because these are two shows that seem to have a long-term life ahead of them.












Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
11-01-2007 @ 9:17PM
radwimp said...
I feel pretty much the same as most of AOL's grades... I'd knock down Heroes and Caveman a grade. Is no one watching Criminal Minds anymore? This season has started pretty awesome...
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11-01-2007 @ 9:26PM
Awperator said...
I'm a big fan of Life. I tried to watch the Reaper pilot but it seemed too juvenile for me.
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11-01-2007 @ 10:07PM
Fred said...
A little annoying how they allow themselves the pluses and minuses and not the rest of us. But still, I'm largely in agreement with the handful of shows I've seen (or not far off). This has been a season mostly of sort of okay shows, more than a few I enjoy watching...but I'm not sure I enjoy enough to keep coming back. The only real standouts so far, for me, have been "House" among the old and "Pushing Daisies" among the new. Lots of other decent programs, and a few really dreadful ones, but not the most exciting season of television thus far.
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11-01-2007 @ 10:08PM
Jake said...
I'll play. Here are my grades:
Heroes B+ - I like most of the new characters, because A, they are all connected to the established characters, and B, better to kill them off than the ones from season 1. If it weren't for the lame powers that Maya and Alejandro possessed i'd bump up heroes to an A-. I think the new Monica character is awesome and so are the new older heroes. West is the only other character I don't care for. So that's 3 out of the new 7-8. Sometimes critics don't know what they're talking about.
HIMYM - A- Great show, getting back to the mother part and focusing on Marshall and Lilly is AWESOME.
30 Rock - B+ - It'd be an A if 30 Rock hadn't whored itself out to the now unfunny Jerry Seinfeld and his stupid B movie. (pun intended).
Ugly Betty - A- - Love triangles are dumb. Betty writers fell for the overused plot device.
Bionic Woman - C - I expected more from David Eick. I guess Ron Moore is the real creative force behind Battlestar because Bionic's dialgue is silly, the main character is not as interesting as the "evil" bionic woman, and Alias did the whole keeping secrets from friends thing a whole lot better.
Pushing Daisies - B - I like the concept, but Chuck is sort of annoying at times and the longevity of the show is questionable.
Chuck - B+ - I like the show and its growing on me every episode.
Prison Break - F. Couldn't get through the first episode of the season and dropped it.
Grey's - D - Burke is gone. George character is dumb. Callie character is dumb, Meridith character is dumb. Izzie character is dumb. etc. etc.
The Office - (1 hours - B) (1/2 Hours - A). The show is better as a half hour. I don't think it is as bad as the critics made it out to be.
I don't care about the rest of the shows they graded. At least not enough to agree or disagree with what AOL gave them.
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11-01-2007 @ 10:39PM
lucyfan62 said...
I think it's been a pretty good season so far for new shows. What new shows I'm watching and enjoying: CHUCK; ALIENS IN AMERICA; JOURNEYMAN; SAMANTHA WHO?; CAVEMEN (it's really not that bad); CARPOOLERS; REAPER; PUSHING DAISIES (my favorite new show); DIRTY SEXY MONEY; BIG SHOTS; MOONLIGHT (yeah, I'm liking this one too). The one show I hated and didn't watch after episode 1 was BACK TO YOU (Patricia Heaton is so annoying). BIONIC WOMAN is a disappointment but I'm sticking with it to see what happens with the new show runner (FEMBOTS NOW!).
Returning shows I'm still with: THE SIMPSONS; DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES; BROTHERS & SISTERS; DANCING WITH THE STARS; PRISON BREAK (even in its tediousness - but looking forward to the proposed women in prison spinoff...PRISONER: CELL BLOCK H anyone?); EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS (so far not as funny as last season); HEROES (a little sluggish so far); BEAUTY AND THE GEEK; THE BIGGEST LOSER (although now that people are playing it to win money instead of improve their lives has taken some of the interest out of it); UGLY BETTY; SURVIVOR; SMALLVILLE; SUPERNATURAL; 30 ROCK; SCRUBS.
There's a lot of good stuff on off-network channels I like too: AMERICA'S MOST SMARTEST MODEL; TORCHWOOD; MEGA DISASTERS; GHOST HUNTERS; SOUTH PARK; PAGEANT PLACE; THE SOUP.
Now there's just that long wait for 24; LOST and JERICHO. Yeah, I watch a lot of TV but I actually do have a life as well!
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11-01-2007 @ 10:41PM
lucyfan62 said...
I forgot GOSSIP GIRL! What a guilty pleasure that has turned out to be!
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11-01-2007 @ 10:50PM
Oreo said...
I'm sorry but any list that doesn't include Bones isn't worth my time.
Bones is probably the best hour long show on TV.
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11-01-2007 @ 11:07PM
Aberdeen said...
I watched the first 10 minutes of Pushing Daisies and was more annoyed than anything else. I love quirk, but this show just does nothing for me. Ditto for Reaper. I'm bummed that Bionic Woman didn't get a better review, Journeyman, too. Was Life even on that list, I don't think so?
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11-01-2007 @ 11:08PM
Todd said...
They are spot on with Desperate Housewives, it has really come back into the swing of things this season and remains one of my favorite shows on tv.
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11-01-2007 @ 11:25PM
Oreo said...
I hated Pushing Daisies too, but the last 2 episodes have been quirky and not as terrible as the first few.
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11-01-2007 @ 11:39PM
Becky said...
I think that Moonlight is one of the best new shows of the fall season! The cast is terrific and they really have a chemistry on-screen. It is actually the only show that I look forward to watching each week and classify as a "can't miss" series. In my book, it gets an "A+" grade!
Other new shows that I like are Chuck, Life, and Journeyman (although I am not sure how long this premise can last without getting redundant with him popping in and out randomly).
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11-02-2007 @ 12:12AM
Matt said...
I don't disagree with the Heroes assessment. I've been kind of bored with this season. It's slowly getting better, but feels so scatterbrained right now. They need to get the Heroes all back on the same continent, for bleep sake.
Pushing Daisies is still very good, but I'm not as in love with it as I first was. Grey's is also still somewhat good, but is definitely losing me as the weeks go on.
The Office and Friday Night Lights have me as hooked as ever. 30 Rock is consistently great. Chuck has been a very nice surprise, as has Reaper and The Big Bang Theory. I can't believe I'm actually watching a CBS show again.
There's a few shows I'm disappointed they left off, however, I'm sure they were left off because they're not on basic cable. Regardless, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia and South Park are having amazing seasons, once again. Sunny is just flat out excellent, there's no two ways about it. South Park continues to stretch the limits, and hit a home run with Imaginationland.
However, Life is a network show, yet it was inexplicably left off the list. Why, I don't know, because it's one of my favorite new shows of the year, and really gets better every week.
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11-02-2007 @ 12:19AM
Jim said...
I tried to watch Back To You once and was sorely disappointed. Big Bang Theory, on the other hand, is pretty cliched but highly entertaining. To me, it's the biggest surprise of the year.
The other shows I watch/graded: 30 Rock, A; Chuck, B.
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11-02-2007 @ 12:20AM
Jim said...
Oh yeah, and The Office gets a C from me.
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11-02-2007 @ 12:23AM
Jim said...
Last word from me, I promise: Anyone who didn't catch Mad Men on AMC this summer missed out on something very special. A+.
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11-02-2007 @ 5:09AM
Tina said...
I love this show. The actors are very handsome. Seems one of them has posted his personal ad to a celebrities dating site for several months. That site called http://searchingmillionaire.com. I just visited his profile page yesterday, seems he has not logged in recently.
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11-02-2007 @ 6:02AM
Thomas said...
The show I'm most disappointed in is Reaper, it's not the worst but I had high hopes for it. Someone previously mentioned how they thought it was juvenile, personally I don't think it's juvenile enough. I think it needs to embrace how absurd the premise is and amp up the funny. I had hopes that it would be very view-askew-esque (especially with Kevin Smith directing) but so far it isn't very funny and the hunting of the souls is predictable.
I've commented previously how I see Ghostbusters as being a good template for how Reaper could work and I think it holds true. The scenes where they kitted themselves out in the gear from their work really reminded it of me and I'd personally like to see things be a bit more "wacky" (for want of a better word), the devil is a great character but I feel they could make more of him, have him toy with Sam more.
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11-02-2007 @ 7:21AM
Tracey said...
I have enjoyed "Private Practice" more and more lately. "Pushing Daisies" had me hooked but I don't think it will last because of the premise; it's visual quality is new and different. It's only been on for 3 episodes but "Samantha Who?" has been fun to watch. I'm a little disappointed with "Back to You" and "Bionic Woman" but only because of the hype. I think BTY is a decent show; it has a good pedigree but it needs to find its legs. BW seems to meander and it has an outstanding supporting cast but the lead part may be it's downfall (no offense to Ms. Ryan.)
I choose to grade only the recurring shows that I watch because I have something to compare it to:
30 Rock A+
The Office A
ER B+ (This show is still, surprisingly, really good!)
Desperate Housewives B+ (Wow what a turnaround.)
Boston Legal B+
Brothers & Sisters B
Grey's Anatomy C (This show has lost its magic.)
Heroes D (I'm done with this one.)
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11-02-2007 @ 7:37AM
TheH2s said...
Three words...Big Bang Theory. It is consistently one of the funniest shows on tv right now. Watch this people it really needs to return next year.
The 4 guys in that show are very, very funny.
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11-02-2007 @ 8:13AM
bruce said...
I really love Life and Dirty Sexy Money (although I hate the title of the latter, they couldn't come up with something better for this show?). Two great new shows. I refuse to even watch 30 seconds of the extended Geiko Insurance commercial that is Cavemen. Big Bang Theory is entertaining, the two nerds are done very well and have a unique chemistry. I sure hope Life and DSM stick around.
Prison Break has been destroyed solely due to Sarah Wayne Callie's decision to get knocked up and leave the show to be a full time mommy. Unlike every other actress, she apparently can't afford a nanny to take care of her baby (either at home or in her on-set trailer) while she does her scenes. Traylor Howard didn't quit Monk when she got pregnant. She didn't even take a leave of absence. I don't see why they don't have mandatory abortion clauses in the contracts of TV show actresses (who voluntarily accept their roles, keep in mind).
30 Rock is still great (except for the Bee Movie crap, I agree, I'm sick of Seinfeld whoring himself out for this idiotic crap). Ugly Betty is still really good, too.
I think Private Practice is fairly decent, although very derivative of Grey's Anatomy, though maybe that's their goal. Addison has always been one of my favorite chars on GA, and I find myself entertained during the hour of PP, though the show certainly has its flaws (primarily in some of the characters).
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia has been great so far this season. By far the edgiest, funniest show on TV (with 30 Rock far but directly behind it).
Chuck has been good so far, though it is in serious danger of getting old real quick. The next episode sounds like it may break the monotony, though.
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