Post Mortem – The Crazy Ones

the-crazy-ones-5240836e03383Last fall, CBS made a big push on The Crazy Ones, featuring the television return of Robin Williams as an ad executive.  Sarah Michelle Gellar was also on board as Williams’ daughter and business partner.  After debuting as the fall’s highest rated premiere, the ratings quickly dropped as the show tried to find its footing.  Which, in my opinion, it eventually did.  While it wasn’t the best show, I certainly found it enjoyable.

CBS, however, felt otherwise.  The first chink in the armor came in February, when the show lost its timeslot to the over-the-hill Two and a Half Men.  Finally, in a surprising move, CBS pulled the plug in May.  Between Williams and Gellar, the network was expecting a break out hit.  What they got instead was a steady, if unspectacular, performer, which will not be given the chance to build upon its improving first season.

Midseason Review – Thursdays

old-tv-set1Thursday night is traditionally the busiest night of the television week. Here’s our look back at my pre-season thoughts on what’s on the slate for this season.

7:00

The Big Bang Theory – Entering its 7th season, the show’s ratings continue to grow.  Everyone is in a relationship now, so we’ll see how the show handles that.

The continues to be a ratings juggernaut while still being a good comedy.

Once Upon A Time In Wonderland – Originally conceived as a mini-series to air while Once Upon A Time was in hiatus, ABC execs were so enamored with this spinoff show that they moved it to the fall and gave it its own timeslot.  Will 2 hours of weekly fairy tales prove to be too much?  Only time will tell.

I made it through about 2 episodes of this train wreck before I had to drop out.  Turns out there is a limit to the amount of fairy tales I can handle in a week.

8:00

The Crazy Ones – Robin Williams returns to television for the first time since Mork & Mindy, which is not something I would ordinarily be interested in.  Add in David E. Kelley, who has been more miss than hit lately, and this would likely get a pass from me.  However, the inclusion of one Sarah Michelle Gellar has guaranteed that I will at least check it out.

The show has done a tremendous job of toning down the Robin Williams factor to a reasonable level and has been one of the surprises of the new season.

Grey’s Anatomy – Back for a 10th season, the show was revitalized a bit last season with the addition of a new group of interns.  Hopefully they can keep it up this year.

The show continues to entertain, even if it isn’t the ratings hit it was in its earlier days. Continue reading →

2013 New Fall Season – Thursdays

old-tv-set1Thursday night is traditionally the busiest night of the week.  Here’s what’s on the slate for this season.

7:00

The Big Bang Theory – Entering its 7th season, the show’s ratings continue to grow.  Everyone is in a relationship now, so we’ll see how the show handles that.

Once Upon A Time In Wonderland – Originally conceived as a mini-series to air while Once Upon A Time was in hiatus, ABC execs were so enamored with this spinoff show that they moved it to the fall and gave it its own timeslot.  Will 2 hours of weekly fairy tales prove to be too much?  Only time will tell.

8:00

The Crazy Ones – Robin Williams returns to television for the first time since Mork & Mindy, which is not something I would ordinarily be interested in.  Add in David E. Kelley, who has been more miss than hit lately, and this would likely get a pass from me.  However, the inclusion of one Sarah Michelle Gellar has guaranteed that I will at least check it out.

Grey’s Anatomy – Back for a 10th season, the show was revitalized a bit last season with the addition of a new group of interns.  Hopefully they can keep it up this year.

Continue reading →

CBS Upfronts

PersonOfInterestRelevance1The big news out of the CBS upfront presentation wasn’t what they did pick up for the fall, but what they didn’t.  Leslie Moonves and company passed on yet another NCIS spinoff and a Beverly Hills Cop sequel with Eddie Murphy on board for a recurring role.  Instead, the network decided to take some chances in favor of higher-concept dramas and single camera comedies.  Hawaii Five-O gets shunted off to Fridays.  Person of Interest, with Sarah Shahi onboard as a series regular, moves to Tuesdays.  Thursday’s comedy block expands to two hours, where The Crazy Ones, a new series created by David E. Kelley and starring Robin Williams and Sarah Michelle Gellar anchors the second hour.  Beyond that, a lot of CBS being CBS.