Sunday, April 8, 2012

Friday Shows

Finally, I can post something new. I realize that I forgot to post the reason that I ever watched any of these shows in the first place, so they will be included from now on. I hope that I will be able to update the rest of the days of the week in the future.

Fridays are the least competitive nights on television although there are some good shows out there. Viewers aren’t regular, but those that are and even those that aren’t, give the show these ratings. It only seems like CBS and the CW care about good programming on this night although it doesn’t always catch on. ABC handles the night best with stand alone episodes of reality shows. The CW shows Supernatural and Nikita. CBS is showing Blue Bloods, Undercover Boss, and CSI: New York. ABC shows 20/20, Primetime: What Would You Do?, and Shark Tank. NBC shows Dateline and Grimm. FOX shows Fringe. FOX hates its 8 pm time slot on Fridays, but there tends to be good shows on at this time sometimes. I will now tell you about what I’ve seen that isn’t cancelled. Beware that most of the shows come here to die and they are only here right now to enjoy them before they are gone.

Undercover Boss: Status- Currently on CBS at 7 Central on Fridays. It was a midseason replacement this year despite airing two previous seasons. It replaced A Gifted Man in a way. It has been renewed for another season. Why I’ve seen it- It looked interesting. Noteworthiness- Cameras are used by explaining that the person in the show is competing with someone else or to see if they would be chosen for the job. Nobody is seen on camera in more than one episode, except for maybe the pretend competitor. Description- Head people of different companies, some well known companies and some not as much, go undercover in their own companies at entry level positions. Pros- CEOs are shown to be actual human beings. The everyman is helped. The incompetence of the bosses in entry level positions is quite humorous. Cons- Editing could be better as some minor things that are referenced later on are not explained. If you’ve seen one episode, you’ve seen them all. It could be said that the bosses are only on the show to promote their own business. Recommendation- Watch it if you have a chance. I think that it is very good. Prediction- It will last a long time. Grade: A.

Shark Tank: Status- Currently on ABC at 7 Central on Fridays. Why I’ve seen it- Flipping channels, stayed here because it seemed interesting. Description- A reality show where a group of rich sharks, as they’re called, decide whether or not to buy into a business of young business person. Pros- The segments are short and the decisions are interesting. It can be very intense. These are actually proceedings among people which makes it more real. Cons- You may not like their decisions. It is hard to find a rerun. You might not watch unless you’re a regular viewer. Recommendation- Take it or leave it. I like it and you might but whether you should watch or not is up to you. Prediction- It will stay on as it gets good ratings on Fridays. Grade: C.

Nikita: Status- Currently on the CW at 8 Eastern/7 Central on Fridays. Why I’ve seen it- Looked interesting. Noteworthiness- It is the remake of another old series. Remakes are popular on this network as well as shows based on pre-existing things. In fact, it is hard to find a completely original series on this network. Description- A former female spy seeks to stop the place that trained her. Pros- A good drama that keeps you interested in the storyline. Cons- I don’t see it lasting that long. It can be very confusing and if you miss episodes, you’ll be lost to the storyline. Recommendation- Watch it if you can. Prediction- It is more than likely going to get cancelled with its low ratings. Grade: B+.

CSI: New York: Status- Currently on CBS at 8 Central on Fridays. It is the third addition to the CSI franchise. It almost got cancelled last season. Why I’ve seen it- Regularly watched CSI: Miami and decided to watch this as well. Description- A team of Crime Scene Investigators in New York City helps solve crimes. Pros- It is a different CSI if you don’t like the other two. The cast from this show has changed the least. Cons- Like the other two, women aren’t represented well in it. The plots can be dark. Recommendation- Take it or leave it. Prediction- If it does get cancelled, another network could be interested since they are in need of their own ratings hits which it would be if it weren’t on CBS. With two other CSIs on CBS, it’s likely that they’d keep at least one of them. The Friday night time slot isn’t helping them. It doesn’t have a full season which is normally a death sentence for a show on this network. Also, with its low ratings it’s unlikely to last much longer. Grade: C.

Grimm: Status- Currently on NBC at 8 Central on Fridays. I think that there will be another season of the show because it got renewed. Why I’ve seen it- Promise to watch a new NBC show this season. Description- A police officer discovers that he is a “Grimm,” a person who can see fairy tale people in real life. It is more of a police drama with a twist than a fairy tale drama. Pros- Since it is on Fridays, it doesn’t matter that it has worse than usual ratings. It is pretty interesting. Cons- It airs at a bad time. The fairy tale angle is unoriginal. Recommendation- I haven’t seen enough to give you a good rating, but I like it and watch it when I can. Prediction- Toss-up, but it will have at least one more season, I think. Grade: B.

Primetime: What Would You Do?: Status- Currently on ABC at 8 Central on Fridays. It is a spin-off of 20/20. ABC news helps with this show. Why I’ve seen it- Commercials made it seem interesting. Cancellation of The Good Guys helped me decide to watch it. Noteworthiness- It is the first hidden camera show I’ve seen that wasn’t out to exploit people for laughs. It is actually very serious. Description- Different situations are set up to see how people react to them. The point is to get people to react to a situation and get them to help people out. Very serious situations are acted out using issues such as coming out, unwanted pregnancy, racial issues, gender issues, and more. Pros- It shows the good side among people and how they actually help sometimes. It is very interesting and could make good teaching material. There are different segments in each episode to keep you interested. It probably is a more realistic version than any scripted show could come up with. Cons- Some segments are better than others. A certain amount of deception is involved with the people. All the shooting locations tend to be in New England. One can question the legalities of this show. Recommendation- Everyone should watch this show. This is the best show currently on television. Prediction- It should be on until they run out of ideas, which is unlikely that they will. Whether it will stay around is for the viewers to decide. I think that it will last a while. Grade: A++.

Blue Bloods: Status- This is currently on CBS at 9 Central on Fridays. It was new last season, replacing Miami Medical. Why I’ve seen it- It is on CBS. Nothing else good was on. Description- This is a cop show where the cops are related. It is set in New York City. Notable People- Pretty much everyone who works on the show is famous in some way. Tom Selleck is present, but is not the main character. Pros- Something good exists on Friday nights for you to watch. A partial family aspect is added to the show. Cons- The ways the officers catch and interrogate some of the suspects/criminals is unethical sometimes. It can be like a lot of other dramas. Some episodes are better than others. Recommendation- Take it or leave it. I like it. You might too. It makes you think sometimes. Prediction- It is renewed for another season and will hopefully stay for much more. Grade: B-.

20/20: Status- This is currently on ABC at 9 Central on Fridays. It is the longest running primetime news show on ABC. Why I’ve seen it- It looks interesting, depending on the news story. Description- This is an in-depth news show regarding issues relating to current events or just anything like a murder mystery. Pros- Can be quite interesting if you don’t watch anything else at that time. Cons- There’s a show like this on every network. Virtually no re-runs exist. Some episodes are better than others. Recommendation- I like it, but don’t watch it unless I know that I want to. Maybe you’ll like it or consider it a complete waste of time. Prediction- It will last forever. Grade: A.

Dateline: Status- This is currently on NBC at 9 Central on Fridays. It is the longest running primetime news show on NBC and sometimes airs twice in one week. Why I’ve seen it- Nothing else on and it seemed interesting. Description- Pretty much an NBC version of 20/20. I don’t know which came out first. Pros- It can be interesting. Cons- It can only be interesting if you like it. I haven’t seen enough of it to find out how different it is from other networks versions of this show. Recommendation- Take it or leave it. Prediction- It will last forever. Grade: A.