As Seen On TV (October 6th, 2005)

(B. Schatz)

As Seen On TV (October 6, 2005)

The new TV season has just begun, and it’s time to take a quick look at some of the winners and losers of the past few weeks.

The Winners

• “Veronica Mars”, the oxymoronically critically acclaimed UPN show, received it’s highest viewer ratings ever when it premiered for it’s second season last week. The show, which uses the formula of creating season long mysteries with actual tangible payoffs, was a poor performer for UPN last year, however the network renewed it for a second season, and placed it in it’s plum post-America’s Next Model slot.

     However, no matter how good it does, it still seems sad that UPN’s      greatest gift to the show is a lead in touting the joys of anorexia.

• “My Name Is Earl”, the NBC show that ripped “Scrubs” from it’s precious timeslot, is actually doing quite well in the ratings, drawing in a crowd 61% above last year’s averages for the Tuesday timeslot. NBC has subsequently renewed it for a full 22 episodes. And while part of me is sad that this leaves “Scrubs” without a timeslot when it returns for it’s fifth full season later in the year, another part of me is glad that “the sitcom” is not yet dead (as was prophesied last year).

• The second new show to receive a full season is another UPN media darling called “Everybody Hates Chris”. The show, which is described as Wonder Years distilled through Chris Rock, gave UPN the highest ratings it has ever received for a sitcom since it’s inception.

The Losers

• The first new show to be cancelled this season has been the Fox helmed “Head Cases”, which starred Chris O’Donnell and Adam Goldburg as two remotely crazy lawyers. The karma for Batman & Robin is kicking in. I call for the head of George Clooney next.

• Not yet cancelled, but pulled from NBC’s schedule for one week, is the dismal performer “Inconceivable”. It’s a procedural show about work at a fertility clinic. How was it a good idea in the first place?

• And showing the world that it hasn’t strayed far from it’s red-headed step child ways, UPN’s The O.C-lite show “Sex, Secrets, & Lies” has stopped production, presumably for poisoning the water table of the existence itself.