TVSquad

Mere hours after the series premiered on the cable net, Showtime has renewed Nurse Jackie for a second season. Why so fast, you might wonder? Well, Showtime could point to the biggest premiere since 2004, but because it was on pay cable the total number of viewers is less than two million. Those are the kind of numbers that would get it canceled on USA or TNT, not to mention ABC or CBS, but for Showtime it's excellent.

Excellent is also what a majority of TV critics and bloggers -- including Jane -- had to say about the Edie Falco dark comedy. Some were more effusive than others, but for all intents and purposes, the press was pro-Jackie from the get-go. But not everyone loved the show. Nurses complained loudly about the depiction of their profession.

Okay, the other day I applauded Fox for giving Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles a pick up for the remainder of the 2008-2009 season. Even though the critics have been expecting more from the sci-fi series, Fox chose to stick with the show and give it a chance to evolve. Good for them!

That said, the news today that NBC has given Knight Rider a full season order leaves me cold. That's an order for nine more episodes, and it strikes me as throwing good money after bad. Knight Rider has been struggling in the ratings and generally dissed by the critics. It hasn't earned a pick up to be perfectly frank.

So why would NBC give this remake of the 1980's action drama a vote of confidence? Well, it could be that it's considered one of NBC programming chief Ben Silverman's pet projects.

Try this experiment: mention The Simpsons anywhere and see how long it takes for someone to say, "Oh, right, The Simpsons, yeah, they were good for the first ten seasons, but after that, they just got SO UNFUNNY! I don't know why people watch anymore!"

Since Fox decided to release a Simpsons movie (apparently under the radar -- I mean if you're going to release a movie, you should at least market it! you know?), I've been hearing that sentiment approximately once every thirty-four seconds. It annoys me every time I hear it, but it wasn't until today that I realized exactly why this was so.

It's because the people expressing it are confusing their ignorant negativity for intelligent commentary.

Comedian and actor Louis C.K. recently spoke with the AV Club about his career, including his latest stand-up special for HBO, and his short-lived HBO sitcom, Lucky Louie, an uncensored and often uncomfortably candid series shot like a basic sitcom, but without the restrictions of network TV.

I liked Lucky Louie. I didn't think it was perfect, but those moments I didn't like (stiff dialogue, some moments felt a little too forced) are common for all new shows as they work out the kinks and improve in subsequent seasons.

Despite the presence of Seth McFarlane, Matt Groening, David Kelley, and Tim Minear, every critic in the room knew what the biggest panel of the day was going to be at FOX's press tour day: American Idol. Between the charges that Simon and the other judges are being meaner than ever this year, and Paula is being loopier than ever, it promised to be a lively session. The tension built as we waited. And waited. And waited.

When the session finally started, 45 minutes late (Simon apologized for that; he flew in late from London), the tired and cranky critics began clapping in unison, prompting Peter Liguiori to say, "I feel like I'm at a Black Sabbath concert." Then the big guns came out: Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, Simon Cowell, and Ryan Seacrest, accompanied by the show's executive producer, Ken Warwick.

After this season's nominations, we all know that the Emmys are a load of crap. Now the television critics over at TV Week think they know what are the best shows on television. In a semi-annual poll, critics voted Lost and The Sopranos as their favorite shows. Grey's Anatomy ranks No. 3. They also voted Unan1mous and The War at Home as the worst shows on television. Battlestar Galactica moved up to No. 11 and Desperate Housewives fittingly dropped from No. 2 to No. 23.

While I won't disagree on their picks for the worst programs, I do disagree on their choices for best television. This season's Lost wasn't so hot and The Sopranos seems tired. My hands-down favorite television program right now is The Office (tied for 19th among the critics). This season, I came to adore the characters. Everytime I hear the music for the opening credits, I can't help but bounce on the couch and clap my hands like a two-year-old.

What do you think is THE BEST show on television? Choose only one.

This is both hysterical and bittersweet. Someone has found footage of film critic Roger Ebert and his late partner in crime, Gene Siskel, shooting promos for their syndicated program Siskel & Ebert & the Movies. Listen as they both go off on a hilarious tongue-in-cheek rant about WASPs and Protestantism, laugh as they try to get through yet another promo while lobbing insults at one another, and try not to wet your pants when Gene explains that Roger's answer to every question he's asked at McDonald's is "yes."

Funny as all of this is, it does make me miss watching these two guys lock horns with one another. Richard Roeper does okay holding his own against Roger, but it's nothing compared to how he and Gene used to go after one another in what often seemed like an extremely vicious and callous manner. And yet, when it was all said and done they still remained friends.

Note: Links above contain swearing, so probably NSFW.

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Every week, two of the most prominent TV critics in the country answer questions from their loyal readers, but they do things a little differently. Matt Roush of TV Guide (pictured) takes questions that are e-mailed to him and answers them in a pre-written column twice a week, while Robert Bianco of USA Today conducts an online chat once a week (usually Mondays, but he did a chat today because of the holiday).

They're fairly similar critics, in both writing style and in likes and dislikes. Bianco seems to be more of a "nose in the air" critic than Roush -- for instance, he was one of the only major critics to express his extreme distaste for Everybody Loves Raymond -- but they both seem to take all queries seriously, and only gently kid readers who can't let go of a particular show, or who like a show that said critic can't stomach.