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. The CW shows Penn and Teller: Fool Us and Whose Line is it Anyways? CBS is showing Blue Bloods, Fire Country, and S.W.A.T. ABC is showing 20/20 and Shark Tank. NBC shows Dateline, Lopez versus Lopez, and Young Rock. FOX is now just airing Friday Night Smackdown, also known as WWE Smackdown. Beware that most of the shows come here to die and they are only here right now to enjoy them before they are gone, although some shows have thrived here since they have never really seen another night throughout most of their run or even after having previously not been on Fridays.
Lopez versus Lopez: Status- Currently on NBC at 8/7 Central. Why I’ve seen it- I now try to watch every new NBC show at least once. Description- This is a family sitcom with a woman reconnecting with her father and now roommate after a long time. Notable People- This stars George Lopez from the sitcom George Lopez and the late night show Lopez Tonight. Pros- You know what to expect from this. Cons- It was pretty dumb and didn’t work. Note to Parents- I didn’t think that there was much, of anything, wrong with this. Recommendation- Don’t watch this. My Viewing Habits- I watched only one episode of this and I’ll never see it again as I didn’t like it. Prediction- I’d put this as a toss-up for now. Reception: average. Grade: F. New review
S.W.A.T.: Status- Currently on CBS at 8/7 Central on Fridays. Why I’ve seen it- I always watch a CBS show once under most circumstances. Noteworthiness- This is a remake of a show with the same name. Description- This is about a team of people who try to help others in different situations. Just insert standard CBS drama into the plot line here. Notable People- It stars Shamar Moore, who used to star in Criminal Minds. Pros- The show works and has interesting plots. Cons- It doesn’t seem that different from other shows. Note to Parents- This has the standard amount of material that you would find wrong with a show. It has more violence in it than sex, but there is a bit of the second one on occasion. Still, there are worse shows in terms of violent content. Recommendation- I think that it is good to watch, unless you have better things to do with life. My Viewing Habits- I missed the first episode due to issues with the recording of it, but stayed with it from the second one onward. Prediction- This seems likely to last. Reception: mixed. Grade: A.
Shark Tank: Status- Currently on ABC at 8/7 Central on Fridays. Why I’ve seen it- I was flipping channels and 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 an entrepreneur. Pros- The segments are usually 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. Note to Parents- Mostly everything in this is acceptable for kids. Maybe some products pitched aren’t for kids, but most of the episodes are okay for younger audiences. Recommendation- Take it or leave it. I like it and you might but whether you should watch or not is up to you. My viewing habits- Prediction- It will stay on as it gets good ratings on Fridays. I’m not sure what could end it, although it getting different people doing the deals might cause some problems. Reception: positive. Grade: B+.
Penn and Teller: Fool Us: Status- It airs on the CW at 8/7 Central on Fridays. Why I’ve seen it- It being a magic show interested me enough into watching it. Noteworthiness- Originally, this was a foreign series that had lasted a single season and was cancelled. It aired in Britain, but not in America for a while. After it aired in this country, the show was brought back for a second season and it has been on the CW during the summers and oddly timed reruns and other episodes since then. Description- Various magicians compete for a chance to be an opening act for Penn and Teller. They get to do a trick for them and get to be the opening act if Penn and Teller can’t explain how the trick was done. Pros- With a standalone format, this is the type of show that you don’t have to watch every week. The tricks are entertaining, regardless of if Penn and Teller are fooled. You get to see them perform a trick at the end of the show to keep things interesting. Cons- Whether or not Penn and Teller are fooled, we don’t know what the secret is behind the trick. So, basically, if people don’t fool Penn and Teller, we still don’t know how they aren’t fooled. I will say this, though, the tricks that fool tend to be better. Also, it can be rather annoying when people who have been on before, especially if they have already fooled them, are back on another time. Note to Parents- Anything potentially offensive in this show is relatively minor compared to most other shows. I’d be wary of the sexual things that show up from time to time. Recommendation- If you can watch it, then you probably should. My Viewing Habits- I haven’t always watched this compared to other shows. I do watch it if there is nothing notable I feel competes with it, which it doesn’t at the time. Prediction- I think that this show will last a while, although it will obviously end if something happens to Penn and/or Teller. Whether or not the buyout of the CW means that this could be ending soon is unknown, but likely. Reception: positive. Grade: B-. Move to Fridays
Young Rock: Status- Currently on NBC at 8:30/7:30 Central on Fridays. Why I’ve seen it- When I was wanting to see the last episode of Mr. Mayor live, this was what aired with it so I watched it once to see what it was like. Noteworthiness- This is based off of the life at past of Dwayne Johnson. Description- Dwayne Johnson tells the story of his life set in multiple parts of the past. Notable People- Notable wrestler and actor Dwaine Johnson is the star of the show. Randall Campbell from Fresh off the Boat is another character as well. Pros- It works as a story structure. Cons- It seems dull and uninteresting. Note to Parents- I don’t think that much was wrong with it. Recommendation- Don’t bother with this show at all. My Viewing Habits- I watched it once and won’t be seeing it again. Prediction- It seems likely to last for now. Reception: good. Grade: D. New review
Whose Line is it Anyways?: Status- Currently on the CW at 9/8 Central on Fridays. Why I’ve seen it- I liked the original show and am a general fan of improvised comedy. Noteworthiness- It is the remake of an ABC show and retains much of the original cast. Description- A group of comedians make up stuff and make us laugh while competing for meaningless points. Notable People- There are guests from certain shows that are noteworthy, whether they are the fourth member of the group (which changes) or a different special member. Aisha Tyler, who used to co-host the Talk, is the current host of this show. Pros- This is more or less the same great show that we all knew and loved when it first aired. Most of the original cast is back. Even though everything is made up, it still manages to be really funny. Cons- There are normally guests on the show that tend to slow things down and take away from the talent of the true part of the show. There tends to be some sexual related things that come up often enough. Note to Parents- Some of the humor is not things you’d want your kids watching, but most of it is okay and shouldn’t cause any problems if they watch it. Recommendation- You should probably watch it. I don’t know why one wouldn’t like this. My Viewing Habits- I try to watch this as often as possible, although I know that I miss it a lot. I watched the original version when it was on too and plan to keep watching it until it ends. I haven’t seen it when other shows I like compete against it. Prediction- This is officially airing its penultimate season right now. Reception: positive. Grade: A+.
Dateline: Status- Currently on NBC at 9/8 Central on Fridays. Why I’ve seen it- Nothing else on and it seemed interesting. Noteworthiness- It is the longest running primetime news show on NBC and sometimes airs multiple times in one week. 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. They mostly only do murder mysteries from real life. The promos for it make it seem like if you watch TV on your own, you are better off without it. Note to Parents- This show is gruesome a lot with what they show on it. They even promote it in a way that implies that the squeamish shouldn’t watch it, at least by themselves. So you probably shouldn’t let your kids watch this. Recommendation- Take it or leave it. My viewing habits- I watch at times but normally don’t care enough as I don’t like true crime shows that much, although this does catch my interest at times, but not always. Prediction- It will last forever. Reception: mostly positive. Grade: B.
20/20: Status- Currently on ABC at 9/8 Central on Fridays. Why I’ve seen it- It looked interesting when I first saw it. Noteworthiness- It is the longest running primetime news show on ABC and the longest running ABC show in primetime at least. It premiered when Jimmy Carter was president. 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. Re-runs rarely exist. Some episodes are better than others. It can be hard to watch all the time. Note to Parents- If you typically let your kids watch the news, then this is something you can let them watch. Although, I’d honestly stay clear of letting most kids watch this as it is far too grim for them. 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. My Viewing Habits- I don’t watch all the time, but I do when it works out although I tend to avoid the murder mystery episodes. Prediction- It will last unless something weird happens. Reception: currently positive, although the first episode was panned which lead to a retooling of the good show we know today. Grade: A.
Blue Bloods: Status- Currently on CBS at 10/9 Central on Fridays. 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- Tom Selleck from Magnum PI and movies is a character. Donnie Walburg, who is in the band New Kids on the Block, is a character as well. Pros- Something good exists on Friday nights for you to watch. A partial family aspect is added to the show which makes it more relatable. They rarely deal with murder and seem to deal with every sort of crime and problems that you might hear about in real life. Cons- The ways the officers catch and interrogate some of the suspects/criminals is unethical some of the time. It can be like a lot of other dramas. They have made some questionable off-camera choices regarding at least one actress who works on the show. Some episodes are better than others. There have been some episodes which use unfair stereotypes for villains. Note to Parents- This is better in terms of what is acceptable to show your kids than a lot of shows are. Recommendation- Take it or leave it. I like it. You might too. My Viewing Habits- I have seen most episodes and watched this from the very first episode. Prediction- It will stay around for a while unless they decide to end it. It could wind up on the chopping block with little to no warning. Reception: mostly positive. Grade: B-.
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