TVSquad

I'm still not sold on that show title; Terriers makes me think of little dogs yipping and running around. But FX and Shawn Ryan created magic with The Shield, and Ted Griffin made Ocean's Eleven so much fun. So I'm really excited about the show. My excitement can even withstand the news that Donal Logue (Life) has been cast in the lead role of Terriers.

I've never connected with Logue. I thought Grounded for Life was mostly crap, and he wasn't as "amazing" as the critics told me he was going to be in Knights of Prosperity. He has done better in some of his dramatic work. Maybe I'm just bitter that the hype machine told me Knights was going to be the greatest sitcom of the last millennium, and the next.

... and I think it's a terrible idea. I have a small fascination with the titles of TV shows. They are never the total cause of a show's failure, but I do believe they can play a part. That's why my ears perked up this weekend when CBS ran a spot for Project Gary. At least, it looked like a spot for Project Gary, but my TV was now telling me it was for Gary Unmarried. What the heck is that?

It gave me a bit of deja vu. Suddenly I flashed back to September 2006 when I wrote a post about bad show titles, prompted by the name change of Let's Rob Mick Jagger. As you'll recall, that one became The Knights Of Prosperity, and things didn't work out so well. Not all name changes are bad. The CW changing Surviving The Filthy Rich to Privileged actually sounds like a good idea, but Gary Unmarried, no. I don't think the new name is going to sink them, but when combined with the fact that they didn't land in the safe harbor of the Monday night comedy block, I'm starting to get nervous for Gary.

ABC has yanked The Knights of Prosperity and The Nine off its schedule... again. Both series performed poorly in the ratings last season and were officially canceled in the spring. But, ABC was taking the opportunity to burn off the final episodes during this summer. Apparently even that wasn't garnering enough ratings for the network, because they've been replaced by reruns of According to Jim and NASCAR in Primetime.

There are still four episodes of The Nine that have not aired and two episodes of Knights that never aired. No word from ABC on whether they will ever see the light of day, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

• At 7:30, ESPN2 has coverage of the Rogers Cup tennis tournament.
• At 8, CBS has a new Power of 10.
• FOX has a new So You Think You Can Dance at 8, then a new Don't Forget The Lyrics.
• BBC America has a new What's Eating Victoria Beckham at 8.
• At 8:30, ABC has anew Knights of Prosperity (there's another new episode at 9:30).
• At 9, NBC has a new Last Comic Standing, then a new Dateline.
• TBS has two new episodes of Tyler Perry's House of Payne starting at 9.
• Discovery has a new Mythbusters at 9, followed by a new Cash Cab.
• Travel Channel has a new World Poker Tour at 9.
• At 10, ABC has a new episode of The Nine.
• There's a new Rescue Me on FX at 10.
• Bravo has a new Top Chef at 10.
• Sci-Fi has a new Mind Control with Derren Brown at 10.
• Also at 10: Food Network has a new Dinner: Impossible.

Check your local TV listings for more.

You would think that the early, painful demise of The Nine, Kidnapped, Smith, Six Degrees, and other new dramas this season that there would be more comedy pilots picked up for the 2007 season. But according to The Hollywood Reporter, that's not the case.

Except for some solid buzz from a handful of comedies, including ABC's Sam I Am, ABC's Cavemen and Miss/Guided, and several shows at CBS, it looks like more dramas will make the schedule, including NBC's Bionic Woman and Journeyman, ABC's Dirty Sexy Money and Pushing Daisies, CBS' Babylon Fields, The Man, and Viva Laughlin. The new Jimmy Smits drama might replace Close To Home on Fridays, while FOX has the much-hyped Sarah Connor Chronicles, K-Ville, and Them.

For those are you who worry a lot and get all nervous, you might want to skip this story.

Variety has a list of the TV shows that are "on the bubble," the ones that are teetering on the edge of cancellation and might not make it to fall '07. The list includes a few shows that I thought were actually doing well, and that scares me a bit (and ticks me off).

ABC: The Nine and Knights of Prosperity are probably gone, and What About Brian is on the edge too, despite getting a second life a few months ago.

• At 8, ABC has a new George Lopez, followed by new episodes of The Knights of Prosperity, According To Jim, In Case of Emergency, and Lost.
• CBS has a new Jericho at 8, then new episodes of Criminal Minds and CSI: NY.
• NBC has a new Friday Night Lights at 8, then a new Deal Or No Deal and a new Medium.
• FOX has a new American Idol at 8, followed by a new Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader.
• The season premiere of America's Next Top Model airs at 8 on The CW.
• American Life has I Spy at 8, then The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
• At 9, HGTV has a new Design on a Dime.
• At 10:30, Food Network has a new Dinner: Impossible.
• Also at 10:30: Comedy Central has a new Naked Trucker & T-Bones Show.

Check your local TV listings for more.

(S01E17) Well, they certainly are hitting all the hot buttons. The big sex episode is nothing new for a drama that deals with high school kids. Even though I knew going in that we would be traveling a familiar path, I was looking forward to it for the simple reason that we would get to see Tami Taylor's reaction. Connie Britton didn't disappoint. She continues to turn in one amazing performance after another.

The scene where she confronts Julie about having seen Saracen buying condoms was the highlight for me. It was a nice setup to the discussion she had with Eric later. With no real idea of what she was supposed to do, she just jumped right in. "I saw Matt Saracen buying condoms today." There's an icebreaker. By the end of it, she's so concerned, and so close to just losing control of her emotions. Great stuff. The interaction between Tami and Eric as they tried to deal with all of it was also very good.

• At 8, ABC has a new George Lopez, followed by a new episode of The Knights of Prosperity.
• CBS has the special Return To Jericho, which will get fans and non-fans up to speed. It's followed by new episodes of Criminal Minds and CSI: NY.
• NBC has a new Friday Night Lights at 8, then a new Deal Or No Deal and a new Medium.
• There's a new Bones on FOX at 8, then a new American Idol.
• The CW has new eps of Beauty and the Geek and One Tree Hill.
• American Life has I Spy at 8, then The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
• At 9, HGTV has a new Design on a Dime.
• At 10, ABC has a new Lost.
• Bravo has a new Top Design at 10.
• At 10:30, Comedy Central has a new Naked Trucker and T-Bones Show.
• Sci-Fi has a Psych marathon until 11.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, ABC has a new George Lopez, followed by a new Knights of Prosperity, a new guide to Lost, then the second half premiere of Lost (new time).
• NBC has a new Friday Night Lights at 8, then new episodes of Deal Or No Deal and Medium.
• FOX has a new Bones and a new American Idol.
• The CW has a new Beauty and the Geek at 8, then a new One Tree Hill.
• PBS has a new ep of America's Ballroom Challenge, then a new ep of The Supreme Court.
• Also at 8: TCM has Inherit The Wind.
• At 9, CBS has a new Criminal Minds and then a new CSI: NY.
• There's a new Design on a Dime at 9 on HGTV.
• At 10, Bravo has a new Top Design.
• Comedy Central has a new Naked Trucker and T-Bones Show at 10:30.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, ABC has a new George Lopez Show, followed by new episodes of The Knights of Prosperity, According To Jim, In Case of Emergency, and Primetime.
• NBC has a new Friday Night Lights at 8, then new episodes of Deal Or No Deal and Medium.
• FOX has a new Bones at 8, then a new American Idol.
• The CW has a new Beauty and the Geek at 8.
• PBS has a new America's Ballroom Challenge at 8, then The Supreme Court.
• At 9, Bravo has the finale of Top Chef, followed by the debut of Top Design.
• The History Channel has a new Modern Marvels at 9, focusing on the canning and packaging of foods.
• At 10, Food Network has a new Good Eats, then a new Dinner: Impossible.
• Fox Movie Channel has Paul Newman in The Verdict at 10.
• Also at 10: HBO has a new Inside The NFL.
• At 10:30, Comedy Central has a new Naked Trucker and T-Bones Show.

Check your local TV listings for more.

Remember way back last fall? ABC was knocking heads with the Dancing with the Stars results show at 8 and Lost at 9. Boy, how things have changed. The network has been getting kicked around by everyone since Emmit walked away with the big silver disco ball and Lost went into hibernation.

This past Wednesday was rock bottom. The network found itself in fourth place both in total viewers and the 18-49 demo. Most disturbing was the performance of the new sit-coms Knights of Prosperity and In Case of Emergency. They managed to attract just 3.58 and 2.98 million viewers respectively. They were up against American Idol, but still... Ouch.

ABC's answer? Move Knights of Prosperity to 8:30 and let According to Jim lead off that 9PM hour. Yeah, that should work. It is good news for fans of Knights. Going up against Bones is certainly an easier task than facing Idol, so it would seem that they are at least trying to give the show a fighting chance. Things don't look good for In Case of Emergency though.

(S01E01) The Knights of Prosperity is a show with all the right ingredients, and yet, the result feels more than a little half-baked.

Donal Logue plays Eugene Gurkin, a janitor who decides he wants a change when a co-worker falls over dead on the job. Gurkin doesn't want to die never having made something of himself, so after a failed attempt at securing a loan to open his own bar, he decides to rob Mick Jagger. All of this happens in about the first ten minutes of the episode, so you either buy into the concept right away or you don't. This is a sitcom after all, and not a feature film, so they have to get into it right away. Still, a little more set up would have been nice.

Well, looking back at my list from last year, Festivus Frank didn't give me anything I asked for, did he? He especially dropped the ball on the whole Sarah Chalke phone number thing, considering she got engaged a few weeks ago. But, undaunted, I'm going to give him my list for 2006, because I'm always a glass-half-full kind of guy during this time of the year:

An Emmy nomination for How I Met Your Mother: It would be great if both the show and its actors got nominated, but I don't care if it only gets a nomination in one category; it deserves the recognition. After being shut out of the Golden Globes, I realized that no one seems to be noticing that the show is rapidly becoming one of the best comedies on television. This is similar to what happened with Scrubs during its first three seasons, and I'd like to see the Academy catch up to HIMYM sooner than that. Neil Patrick Harris, Jason Segel, Alyson Hannigan, and the show itself all deserve nominations. Hopefully, Craig and Carter will sumbit "Slap Bet" to the Academy voters; that should get their attention...

I'm reminded of the great American poet Dave Mustaine who said, "Hindsight is always 20/20, but looking back it's still a bit fuzzy." You may recall that before it became Knights of Prosperity, that show was called Let's Rob Mick Jagger. And before that, it was reported to be I Want To Rob Jeff Goldblum. Unfortunately, that didn't work out because Goldblum already had a gig set up at NBC called Raines. It's about a detective that sees dead people. I like to think of it as The Ghost Whisperer minus the boobs.

Adam mentioned a couple weeks ago that Raines would be starting in March. That's still the plan, but Cynopsis is reporting that they have cut the episode order from 13 to 7, which is never a good sign. Maybe things would have been better for Goldblum had he jumped ship to get robbed over at ABC. On the other hand, given the state of the rest of the ABC midseason shows, I wouldn't bet on that one either.