TVSquad

If you've been watching NBC's Olympic coverage, you must have seen all of the promotion they have been doing for their fall season. New shows My Own Worst Enemy, Crusoe, Knight Rider, Kath & Kim, and America's Toughest Jobs have all had plenty of play. As have the returning Chuck and Life. Given that the latest Olympiad is closing in on becoming the most watched television event of all time, you might think those promo spots were pretty valuable.

Apparently, not so much. The Hollywood Reporter runs down the record for the network promoting new shows during past games. In 2004, the Athens games led to one show, Joey, making it beyond its first season. Likewise for the Sydney games in 2000, which brought us Ed, and nothing else. Things were a little better in 1996 from Atlanta. Profiler, The Pretender, and Suddenly Susan all lasted another four years. Not a stellar track record and it leaves you thinking that those precious spots might have served the network better pitching more beer. It has the makings of a good poll though. After the jump, place your vote for the one new show that will make it out of season one.

The letter I got this week required me to do a little digging but I eventually found the answer...

"Dear Paul, I was wondering if you knew which building exterior was used as "The Center" on "The Pretender" - it is a HUGE building. I hope you can help me - you haven't let me down yet! Wishing you happy holidays. All the best, Tamara"

I think I may be one of the very few die-hard Friends fans who think that Monica and Chandler should never have been put together. I think that she should have stayed with Richard. Courtney Cox and Tom Selleck had a lot of chemistry together, it added another dimension to the show, and I think already having two of the core friends get together (Ross and Rachel) was enough (jeez, why didn't they just go all the way and pair up the other two, Joey and Phoebe?)

And who should Chandler have ended up with? No, not Janice! He should have ended up with Kathy, played by Paget Brewster. They were great together, and that was one of the best seasons of the show. Brewster is joining the hit CBS show Criminal Minds as a regular (she'll play a new profiler).

Albert was the son of actor Eddie Albert (Green Acres), and a veteran actor in his own right. Besides starring in movies like Butterflies Are Free, Guarding Tess, Death Cruise, and The Greek Tycoon, Albert was a regular on the TV shows Dr. Quinn, Port Charles, and Power Rangers Time Force, as well as guest starring on everything from Kung Fu and Ellery Queen to Nash Bridges and Profiler.

For the past several years he took care of his dad, who died in 2005.

Albert died last week in Malibu, CA of lung cancer.

Our site is pretty much one big "Convince YOU to watch it", so this is your chance to get back at us, and tell us if we're missing out on something great. This is the first "Convince me to watch it" I've done where I've never even watched a single episode of the show. Criminal Minds is supposed to be one of the best new dramas this year, but I've found that just about every crime drama now-a-days pales in comparison to CSI. Mandy Pitinkin used to be a little like David Caruso for me; a decent actor who felt this urge to overact, but the horribly short Dead Like Me brought me back around to his side.