There's Nothing On...Tuesdays

To contact us Click HERE

New series are blocked in red; returning series in a new time slot are blocked in orange.

One of the chief complaints about television programming is that there's nothing on.  This is the third part in a daily series to look at what actually is on each night.  The focus will be on broadcast network programing and some of the key offerings on cable; there's no way to cover the hundreds and hundreds of cable networks.

The Big Gun:  NCIS Franchise (CBS)

I am not a watcher of NCIS or NCIS:  LA.  I have seen episodes, and they are certainly solidly constructed and ably acted.  There's also a lot of audience investment into the serialized nature of the story's players, which is something that former CBS flagship CSI was never able to do.  I am fascinated by the growth and nurturing of the series.  NCIS is a spinoff of JAG, a series that NBC cancelled after one season (1995-1996).  At the time, NBC was riding high on Must See TV, and CBS was desperate for any programming that could connect.  CBS picked up JAG and nurtured it to a top 20 series within two years.   Created in JAG's eighth season, NCIS is now starting its tenth season later this month; it is consistently the highest rated scripted program on television.   Created as a spinoff in NCIS' sixth season, NCIS:  LA is starting its fourth season later this month; it is consistently in the top ten series on broadcast television.  There is no end in sight for this franchise and JAG is certainly the gift from NBC that keeps on giving.

DVR Gridlock:  Tuesdays at 9:00

If you want to laugh, try Tuesdays at 9:00.  ABC has the funniest show on television, Happy Endings, followed by the oddest comedy that's mostly funny, Don't Trust the B---.  FOX airs the best new comedy from last season, New Girl, followed by the very promising The Mindy Project.  NBC enters the arena with the intriguing Matthew Perry vehicle Go On and the mostly dreadful The New Normal.  Plus, Syfy has one of the best reality competition shows on, Face Off, but it repeats later that night making it much easier to catch.

If you wish to consider history and quality, you have to go with ABC and FOX, especially at 9:00.  Happy Endings has more jokes per minute than any other series on television, and more ably carries off that Friends vibe than any other series has since even if it is a lot more shallow--though that was improving by the end of the second season.  New Girl stumbled a bit after its excellent pilot, but settled into a very fine groove last winter.  It has buzz and more importantly is buzzworthy; it makes a solid linchpin in the new FOX Tuesday comedy block.  Go On is fine having the potential to be really great, but it's not there yet.  I reviewed it earlier this summer, and am looking forward to seeing the second episode later tonight.  But I fear it will be an OnDemand watch for me in the long haul.

At 9:30, I'm really only vested in seeing more of The Mindy Project.  I like Don't Trust the B--- well enough, as there's a lot of potential there, but I could see me watching the other 9:00 shows there instead.

I have every confidence that this gridlock will clear itself by mid-season.  Either ABC or NBC, both comedy newcomers to this hour, will blink.  ABC has a potential weakness in the Wednesday comedy block (more on that tomorrow), and NBC has far too much invested in Matthew Perry.  I don't know which will happen first but before May sweeps at least one of those two series will have moved.  

Most Eagerly Anticipated Returning Show:  Happy Endings

There's so much to love about Happy Endings.  The company of actors really clicks and they're very good at creating that palpable, easy chemistry that you can only see between long time friends.  The joke writing is pop culture driven and furiously given.  There's not a faster or funnier show on television.  Its issue with fully assuming the "It's the new Friends" mantle is that there isn't a lot of emotional weight here.  Parks and Recreation and Louie have it beat hands down as a more fully rewarding viewing experience.  BUT, it's getting better.  Towards the end of last season, the writers toyed with a deeper Penny-Dave connection that played really well and gave Casey Wilson (Penny) some great material.  The spoiler in this potential development is the re-emerging connection between Dave and Alex.  Elisha Cuthbert (Alex) really came into her own this season, quickly becoming the series comic secret weapon, but the gentle romantic interplay between her and Zachary Knighton (Dave) fed nicely into both their wheelhouses.  Their simple holding of hands in the final shot of the finale provided one of the warmest moments I saw last spring, and hooked me for this fall.

Most Promising New Series:  The Mindy Project (FOX)

The Mindy Project is far from perfect as a pilot, but of all the new series on any night, it shows the most promise.  A full throttle romantic comedy, the series rises and falls squarely by the talents of Mindy Kaling, who created and stars in the series.  If you like Kaling's voice, then you will like this series.  I happen to like Kaling's voice.

Also:

--Tuesday is jam packed, which is a big change over last year, when only FOX was catching my eye. But FOX has made some big changes here by moving Glee to Thursdays and creating a two hour comedy block.  The best thing about the block?  Its flow. Raising Hope is a great family comedy, that emphasizes broadness and wackiness, while never forgetting its big heart.  Ben and Kate is not without problems but is definitely less broad than Raising Hope while bringing a more urban sensibility, which leads very nicely into New Girl.  And if there were ever two shows that needed to be paired together it would be New Girl and The Mindy Project.  Both are smart, character driven pieces featuring interesting and complicated women at their centers, but they have fundamentally different approaches.  The Mindy Project has a ways to go before it gets to be as good as New Girl, but so did New Girl.

--Parenthood is returning and bringing Ray Romano as a romantic interest for Lauren Graham.  His serio-comic sensibility last on display in the criminally under-appreciated Men of a Certain Age will slip in to this series like a glove.

--30 for 30 is a sport documentary series that ESPN created for its 30th anniversary in 2010.  The hour long episodes were of varying qualities, just like the sports they cover, but there's no doubt when they hit, they hit hard.  All of the original series are available on Netflix Instant; I'd reccomend "The Two Escobars", "Winning Time:  Reggie Miller vs. the New York Knicks", "June 17, 1994", "Into the Wind" and "Pony Excess".  I know that I may not watch every week, but I know that I'm pumped to see where they want to take me this year.

--I loves me my Face Off, but Hot Set gets me really pumped.  A competition series about set design will only attract 10 people, but I will be one of them.

--Vegas looks very intriguing, but I am concerned that the period piece will focus too much on the crime procedural aspect that drives 95% of CBS' drama series.

--I want Hart of Dixie to be better than it is, because I like to look at Rachel Bilson and find her charming and funny.

--Sons of Anarchy has good years and great years.  They have come off a fairly great year, that was marred only by the reluctance to kill a character that should have died.  I'm curious to see how this plays out however.

Series blocked in green get an unequivocal recommendation; series blocked in yellow are recommended but cautiously.