TVSquad

I really enjoyed Life last season but this year feels gutted so far. Chuck was always just slightly on the sunny side of 'meh' but even they played the big old reboot card and I feel like i'm watching reruns of last season.

And Heroes? HAHAHAHA... I'm just going to pretend the show ended with the first season... like it should have.

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Supernatural, True Blood, and Little Britain USA are the only shows that I really look forward to these days...

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And can understand it to a certain extent. Funny enough the shows that are suffering are either up to par or even better than last season and a pretty unique. Three of my favorite shows (Pushing Daisies, Chuck, Terminator) are down on the floor and they are top-notch. You won't find anything like Pushing Daisies on TV right now, Chuck doesn't have a show similar to it and T:TSCC may not be unique, but has actually improved.
I also don't think that these shows are hard to get into. Even after the long hiatus you can sit in front of your TV, watch 5 min of "Chuck" and you know what it's about. "Heroes" not so much... I have seen every episode, but when 3x01 aired I constantly went "oh, I totally forgot about that!".
Ken Levine wrote in his blog, that now is the time for comedy, and I think he may be on the right track. Maybe the mood has changed, presidential race, economical crisis and all and people are looking for light entertainment, something to laugh about. Like "Big Bang Theory" for instance.
I, for one, am panicked that my shows will get axed. T:TSCC seems to be already cancelled, considering it's budget "Daisies" will have a hard time, too. With "Chuck" there's still some hope left, I think NBC will hang on to it. At least for a while...

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You know, I just can't stop watching news coverage of the presidential race. All my regular shows are piling up on the DVR because I don't have time with all the politics. And with the rating numbers from the presidential debates, it might be possible that people are just not watching their shows live because they are watching political coverage. And even my DVR viewing is off, as I am watching shows that aired 3 weeks ago this week. Maybe after the election we'll see a shift back to normal, since evidently people are in front of their tvs, as you suggest.

As far as the quality of the shows, I have to admit that many are feeling boring. I watched the premiere of Pushing Daises yesterday and was bored out of my mind. I am also watching less shows... I have 4 Monday shows(HIMYM, Chuck, Boston Legal, Heroes) and 3 Thursday shows(Office, Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy) and Pushing Daisies on Wednesday and that's it.

I also like Dexter, House, and The Shield, but I usually catch those on DVDs over the summer months. I haven't picked up any new shows because nothing looks remotely interesting and the one that does (Life on Mars) I am waiting on because I don't want to waste time with a show that's going to be canceled. I already fear that Chuck and Pushing Daisies are on that list, so why should I watch any other new shows?

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I have invested time in new shows only to see them canceled.
I too have seen nights where I have forgot that a show was on.
Recent example, Boston legal last night was missed.
To me the writers strike put a lot of shows on the last series shelf and now I'm watching more movies.

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In the past few years I have lost Journeyman, Kitchen Confidential, The Sopranos (not cancelled, but it could have gone on longer...or forever, it's the Mafia afterall), Lucky Louie, Andy Barker PI, Arrested Development, Futurama (though it's back on DVD), Scrubs (though picked up by ABC), Carpoolers, and Raines to name some. Many people don't watch scripted shows anymore because the networks move them around and cancel them before they can gain a following. It took Seinfeld until season 3 before it started to become a true hit and many shows had seen ratings drop in the second or third season to see them rebound later on. Instead we are subjected to more and more "reality" shows that make my head hurt just listening to them. With the advent of DVRs, it's more and more difficult to introduce audiences to new shows as well. I won't record Kath and Kim simply because I record Earl and The Office...but I may have watched that (horrible) show every week if I didn't have a DVR.

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I think the TV industry needs to just wait it out until after the election. I'm spending more time on the web and/or reading mags/newspapers and very little time watching TV because it's just more important to pay attention to the news these days. The shows aren't better or worse, it's our attention span that's changed, and for good reason.

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I can has Journeyman back plz? thx

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Bob, I actually completely agree with you. Maybe it's because of the DVR, but I really don't have any appointment TV that I make sure to watch.

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Well, since EVERY new show this year has been mediocre at best, maybe that will help these old shows catch back up...

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Well, for many shows like Life, Chuck or Pushing Daisies, it might be that about 10 months without promotion or reruns had people forget about the shows, think they had been canceled and move on.

I think Life is still very good, and the best show on NBC, and last episode was really awesome. Of course, NBC messing it up with crappy scheduling moves, the Friday slot, and messing creatively (see Dani's new look) doesn't help, either.

About the new series, maybe people don't want to bother with stupid remakes from old or British/Australian series, maybe something really new & fresh would be welcome.

(Side note: I'm convinced that millions of people watch Knight Rider because it is so bad it's actually funny... Sad, but true, I'm sure.)

It's true this season feels like it's been missing a really big hit, something really good, new, maybe different, definitely exciting...

But hey, let's not give up already, there's still Dollhouse and Castle to look forward to!

http://tvoholic.com/news/preview-nathan-fillion-in-castle/

PS: Also, I'm really loving and would recommend HBO's new animated series, The Life & Times Of Tim. It's on Sundays at 11.00 but it's really hilarious, you should check it out if you haven't already.

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As a lowly viewer and not a "top critic," I've quite enjoyed this season of TV. Most seasons I've get maybe 2 or 3 shows I'm interested in viewing. This season in addition to my usual NCIS, Bones and Supernatural, I also get The Mentalist, Fringe, My Own Worst Enemy, Life and Eleventh Hour! As a FT student and FT employee, there's not enough time in the week! I say critics need to climb down off their high horses and just enjoy some good entertainment. Get your highbrow fix from Mad Men, Breaking Bad and Damages while the rest of America enjoys some creative and entertaining TV. Learn when to critique, when to be constructive, and when to let your hair down and enjoy a good program.

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The shows this season are little lame compared to last season... but in retrospect, they are still really great shows. I used to hate tv and how there are so many shows that I follow (chuck, pushing daises, terminator, life, californication, weeds, true blood, samantha who, heroes, lost, 30 rock, how i met your mother, battlestar galactica, house, fringe, bones, ugly betty, etc.).

I do think they shows need to spread monday night's lineup out... I mean, how does a girl choose?

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Please tell me you can acknowledge the absolute crap that Heroes has turned into. I mean, Suresh as a freakin' goo-handed evil Spiderman! Please! Hiro fucking stabbing Ando last week was just beyond the pale. I'm sure Ando will turn out alright, but the entire situation didn't make sense. When the hell did Hiro decide he wanted to join his "nemefis" (I am so royally sick of Hiro's accent. The actor actually speaks English very well, so I don't know why they aren't having Hiro speak better now. I suppose it was part of what made Hiro cute, but he is so unbelievably past cute now) Not to mention Peter getting all brain hungry and Sylar turning into a choir boy.

Fucking unreal. You would have to be blind, deaf, and dumb to think that Heroes is even close to the quality it had in the first season (or even the second season).

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