Alright! Here we go! It’s 2012 and the second half of the network television season is upon us! December flew by didn’t it? I felt like most of these shows just went on hiatus. But in about two weeks most of them will be back and your DVR won’t be smiling. I felt like I just cleared mine off. I have a really positive outlook on the spring television season. I feel like my schedule is manageable and easy to deal with and I’m excited about the shows I’m picking up. I’m also planning a new feature or two here on ATVA which I’m also really excited about. I’m all about trying to connect with other television addicts like myself. So be sure to tell me what you are watching this spring in the comments section!
This fall was a bloodbath. I tried to give shows a chance but if they simply weren’t working for me I got rid of them. I didn’t lose any sleep when I decided to not watch Terra Nova or when I quit Ringer. If a show wasn’t working for me it lost its season pass privileges. The same goes for this spring. If a show isn’t working for me…I’m not going to watch it. I don’t have the time and the patience. I need to stop holding out hope that I’ll finally like some police procedural. It hasn’t worked out before. I don’t know why I keep testing them out. Also a new science fiction show has to hit it out of the park. I’m giving a few of them a chance but the four episode rule definitely applies. Celebrity Big Brother UK is back which is sure to make January difficult but I think things will really calm down after that ends and I won’t be floundering trying to figure out how I’m going to watch all of these episodes by my deadline.
This could be an interesting spring. It’s the end of Desperate Housewives and I’ll be shocked if Fringe is picked up for a fifth season. I’m also holding out hope that Awake and Community will be on the schedule at some point before June. Plus who knows what shows will surprise me and end up on my schedule at a later date.
- I am watching 35 shows this spring, which is probably my tipping point. I don’t think it is humanly possible to watch any more than that. Last fall I started with 38 but after dropping and adding various shows I ended up with 32. That always happens so I’ll probably end up with around 30 to 32 again this spring. So that’s 3 more than the fall’s final tally and 9 more than last spring.
- 6 Shows Are Brand New (Alcatraz, The River, Good Christian Belles, Touch, The Frame, Awake) I’m not counting out HBO or Showtime either. I’ve got my eye on Luck and House of Lies. And if Smash really kicks off I’ll probably check that out.
- 9 Shows Return (Celebrity Apprentice 5, Celebrity Big Brother UK 9, 30 Rock, Sherlock, Bob’s Burgers, Episodes, Shameless, Portlandia, The Killing) The Killing and Episodes haven’t exactly been announced, but I’m assuming they will premiere sometime this Spring
- 1 Show is New For Me and not in their First Season (Bob’s Burgers) It grew on me over the summer and the best thing to happen to FOX Sundays in awhile
- I official dropped 8 shows (Ringer, The X Factor, Boardwalk Empire, Pan Am, Terra Nova, Allen Gregory, Person of Interest, Hell on Wheels) I told you it was a bloodbath.
- 2 shows were officially canceled (The Playboy Club, Prime Suspect) I did drop these before they were canceled. I won’t be surprised if Pan Am, Terra Nova, and Allen Gregory join these three later this year
- 9 Shows Will Be Back Later (Big Brother UK, Doctor Who, Breaking Bad, Top Shot, Luther, Downton Abbey, 24 Hours in the ER, American Horror Story, Case Histories) Downton Abbey Series 2 premieres on Masterpiece sometime soon, but I’ve already watched it. I’m not sure if there will be a second season of America in Primetime so I’m going to leave it off the list right now.
- As usual I’ll do my premiere and mid-season premiere reviews, along with various online and DVD reviews. There are two new features I’m implementing this spring as well. As always Survivor, Fringe, and Celebrity Big Brother UK, will get their usual recaps on every episode. Since it is the last season of Desperate Housewives…I might review a few of those episodes as well.
- Shows will fall under three categories. If there is a time next to the show they will have priority on my TiVo. If it has “TiVo” next to the show title than it isn’t a priority but will still get recorded. The third category is Online. Meaning that two shows are taking priority over this third show and I’ll watch that at a later time or I can’t access that show based on my cable package.
- As always there might be one or two alterations to this schedule.
Sunday
7:30 – The Cleveland Show
8 – The Amazing Race 20
9 – Desperate Housewives
10 – Good Christian Belles
TiVo 8 – Once Upon A Time
TiVo 9 – Family Guy
TiVo 9:30 – American Dad!
TiVo Repeat – The Walking Dead
Online – Celebrity Big Brother UK 9, Shameless, Sherlock, The Celebrity Apprentice, Bob’s Burgers
Monday
9 – Alcatraz / Touch
Online – Celebrity Big Brother UK 9
Tuesday
9:30 – Raising Hope
10 – Parenthood
TiVo 9 – The River
Online – Celebrity Big Brother UK 9
Wednesday
8 – Survivor 24: One World
9 – Modern Family
9:30 – Happy Endings
10 – Revenge
TiVo 8 – The Middle
TiVo 8:30 – Suburgatory
Online – Celebrity Big Brother UK 9
Thursday
8 – 30 Rock
8:30 – Parks and Recreation
9 – The Office
9:30 – Up All Night
TiVo 9 – Grey’s Anatomy
Online – Celebrity Big Brother UK 9
Friday
9 – Fringe
Online – Celebrity Big Brother UK 9, Portlandia
Saturday
Online – Celebrity big Brother UK 9
TBA
Community
Awake
The Frame
The Killing
Episodes
For some reason this doesn’t seem that bad. The only real problem is going to be Sunday nights. The good thing about Sundays is the staggered premiere dates. Celebrity Big Brother UK and Sherlock will already be over by the time Good Christian Belles and Bob’s Burgers premiere. Plus The Walking Dead will finish its second season a week after Bob’s Burgers premieres so I won’t really have to worry about that. So maybe it won’t be that big of a deal after all.
The same thing goes with Mondays. FOX is giving Alcatraz and Touch the same spot on their schedule. So when Alcatraz ends, Touch will begin. That is if Alcatraz is any good and so far I haven’t heard the best things. Tuesdays are relatively the same except the premiere of The River. I have high hopes for that show and I hope it doesn’t disappoint.
Wednesday works perfectly with Up All Night now on Thursdays. I can record everything I want with no issues at all. I kept forgetting about it because I didn’t record it. The same goes with Thursdays. Now that I’ve dropped Person of Interest I can just focus on shows I’ve recorded on my TiVo. It’s also nice to watch NBC Thursday’s complete comedy block. I don’t have to see those horrible commercials for Whitney anymore.
Fridays are a perfect way to end the week. I’m sure Fringe will be explosive during its second half. Plus Portlandia is finally back! I’ve been rewatching that on Netflix and I’ve really missed it. Plus what’s a Friday without a Celebrity Big Brother UK eviction?
So it really doesn’t look like it will be that bad. The only problem is the five shows that don’t have premiere dates yet. Throw in Awake, Community, The Frame, The Killing, and Episodes and things might get a little dicey. But for all we know those shows could get pushed back to the summer. They might not even be an issue. But until then I’m pretty proud to say I cut back on my TV time and I’m not too worried about catching up on shows this spring. Maybe I’ll be able to read a bit more.
| Show | Date | Network | Time |
| Sherlock | 1-Jan | BBC | * |
| Parenthood | 3-Jan | NBC | Tue 10 |
| The Middle | 4-Jan | ABC | Wed 8 |
| Suburgatory | 4-Jan | ABC | Wed 8:30 |
| Modern Family | 4-Jan | ABC | Wed 9 |
| Happy Endings | 4-Jan | ABC | Wed 9:30 |
| Revenge | 4-Jan | ABC | Wed 10 |
| Celebrity Big Brother UK | 5-Jan | Channel 5 | * |
| Grey’s Anatomy | 5-Jan | ABC | Thu 9 |
| Portlandia | 6-Jan | IFC | Fri 9 |
| The Cleveland Show | 8-Jan | FOX | Sun 7:30 |
| Once Upon A Time | 8-Jan | ABC | Sun 8 |
| Desperate Housewives | 8-Jan | ABC | Sun 9 |
| Family Guy | 8-Jan | FOX | Sun 9 |
| American Dad! | 8-Jan | FOX | Sun 9:30 |
| Shameless | 8-Jan | Showtime | Sun 10 |
| 30 Rock | 12-Jan | NBC | Thu 8 |
| Parks and Recreation | 12-Jan | NBC | Thu 8:30 |
| The Office | 12-Jan | NBC | Thu 9 |
| Up All Night | 12-Jan | NBC | Thu 9:30 |
| Fringe | 13-Jan | FOX | Fri 9 |
| Alcatraz | 16-Jan | FOX | Mon 9 |
| Raising Hope | 17-Jan | FOX | Tue 9:30 |
| The River | 7-Feb | ABC | Tues 9 |
| The Walking Dead | 12-Feb | AMC | Sun 9 |
| Celebrity Apprentice 5 | 12-Feb | NBC | Sun 9 |
| Survivor 24: One World | 15-Feb | CBS | Wed 8 |
| The Amazing Race 20 | 19-Feb | CBS | Sun 8 |
| Good Christian Belles | 4-Mar | ABC | Sun 10 |
| Bob’s Burgers | 11-Mar | FOX | Sun 8:30 |
| Touch | 19-Mar | FOX | Mon 9 |
| Episodes | ? | Showtime | ? |
| The Killing | ? | AMC | ? |
| Awake | ? | NBC | ? |
| The Frame | ? | CW | ? |
| Community | ? | NBC | ? |
Hey, like your blogs. Want your opinion: What’s your favorite new network series this TV season? I’m conflicted with a couple but I really like Suburgatory over the close New Girl. What do you think?
Posted by mediatvref | January 3, 2012, 2:16 amI’m probably going to have to say Once Upon A Time. It isn’t perfect but I really like the flashback episode structure. I’m sure part of the reason is because I miss Lost and I’m expecting Once Upon A Time to become bigger and better in the second half of the season. It’s an addicting show to me. I started it a few weeks late and just flew through the episodes. Revenge is also pretty good but feels more like a guilty pleasure. I’m not completely sold on Suburgatory yet but I think it is getting better and I haven’t seen New Girl. Should I give it a shot?
Posted by Andy Wilson | January 3, 2012, 10:23 amNew Girl is a definite “awkward” show. It’s not a laugh-out loud with its jokes than it is a laugh-out loud with how Jess (the main character) is the most awkward person on the planet. Zooey Deschanel is spectacular, hitting the line of awkward and funny; but I hesitate suggesting this show to people. Usually people who like this show like Glee-ask shows and the awkwardness is too weird to them otherwise. New Girl is definitely a “Community”: there will only be a dedicated fan base for it, and I don’t see it dramatically increasing in viewership. I say it’s worth the watch. I always tell people give it the “Rule of 3″. 3 episodes and out. Suggestion: Watch Episodes 1, 3, and 5. Then, if you still like it after that, watch 6, 8, and 9. Episodes are all syndicated, so you won’t have dangling plotlines that you won’t understand by skipping episodes. Ep 6 is my favorite so far.
And you’re right, Suburgatory is getting there, and I really like their direction. They were trying to find where their characters go from here and their general direction has been good. Worth the watch, at least for me. And better than other shows I’ve watched. I’ll give Once Upon A Time a chance, but usually those sorts of shows (Lost-like) don’t intrigue me. Revenge wasn’t interesting at first, but I saw this 2-minute recap trailer on ABC before its return this week…and man…it looks intense. I might give it a go. Another show I didn’t see on your radar: Grimm. It’s surprisingly good.
Btw, I actually watched the Alcatraz’s pilot. The pilot is really good, and for FOX, it’ll be a decent show. However, I’m not sold on the main character and its long-term story-arc may not be strong enough to get me back for each episode. But it’s worth my Rule of 3.
Posted by mediatvref | January 3, 2012, 1:18 pmHaha, I love the 3 episode rule. I usually tell people to give a show 4 episodes before they decide to continue on or not. I downloaded New Girl’s pilot on iTunes but never got around to watching it. I’ve always really liked Zooey Deschanel so maybe I’ll give it a shot before everything kicks back in next week. I like a lot of cult favorites so it might be perfect for me. Plus I like awkward humor and not shows like Glee so we will see.
I don’t know if Once Upon A Time is for you if you didn’t like Lost…cause that’s exactly why I like it. It obviously isn’t the same show but it’s sort of set up the same way, a slow burn mythology heavy series. Revenge really surprised me. It’s definitely a soap opera but it’s very enjoyable.
I’ll have to check out Grimm. The previews reminded me too much of Angel and Buffy which I’m not a huge fan of so that’s why I didn’t give it a shot. I’m really hoping Alcatraz works out, I haven’t seen the pilot but I’m started to see a lot of mixed reviews on it.
Posted by Andy Wilson | January 3, 2012, 2:50 pm