It's Over for Three

And the first three fatalities of the new TV season are:

ONLINE NATION - The CW - a review of the hottest stuff you can find online - which you can find online - without having to sit through annoying hosts and commercials....

NASHVILLE - FOX - A bad attempt at a reality documentary that wasn't very real. MTV would have canceled this one - and they'll air anything.

VIVA LAUGHLIN! - CBS - COP ROCK goes to Vegas - with worse results.

Someone cue the logo lady - "It's Over" for them.

Who's next?

PVR Ratings - My List

This year TV pundits are very excited about a new set of ratings Nielsen is publishing. These numbers take into account delayed viewing on PVRs.

If a Nielsen family watches HEROES live, that's always been counted. Now, if they watch HEROES on their TiVo on a slow Friday night, it gets counted in the show's total ratings for the week.

Seems folks were expecting more than they should have. The top 10 shows didn't get much of a bounce, or change their order much. The big boys' audiences grew about 10% versus the overnight ratings.

Which really isn't that spectacular given that PVR penetration is at 20% now.

Other folks are looking at TiVo's top 20 with some surprise. Why is TiVo's Top 20 so different from Nielsen's - easy. TiVo's Top 20 is made up of a lot of second choices.

If you're stuck between watching HEROES or K-VILLE, odds are K-VILLE's the one getting recorded.

Which leads me to ask - what is your TV watching schedule?

Here's mine:

MONDAY
PRISON BREAK
HEROES
JOURNEYMAN (haven't canceled the season pass yet, but we may be close)
K-VILLE (season pass canceled)

TUESDAY
BONES
HOUSE

WEDNESDAY
BACK TO YOU
'TIL DEATH
KITCHEN NIGHTMARES
PUSHING DAISIES
BIONIC WOMAN (season pass canceled)

THURSDAY
SUPERNATURAL
SMALLVILLE
ER
MAD MEN (can't wait for season 2 in June!)

FRIDAY
TiVo catch up night

SATURDAY
TiVo catch up night

SUNDAY
THE SIMPSONS
FAMILY GUY
AMERICAN DAD

As much as is on this list, there's less on it than last year, and there will probably be less on it next year. Awaiting the returns of 24 and LOST, and looking forward to checking out TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES in January.

What's on your list?

K-VILLE KO'd

It looks like FOX is setting K-VILLE up for the big K.O.

There's a pattern of behavior with the network when it comes to marginal shows the suits think need a boost.

Invariably, they air the episodes out of order. It can be jarring sometimes - like when they started THE WEDDING BELLS with episode #2, then aired episode #1 the following week. Yes, episode #2 may have been more compelling, but TV audiences are easily confused when characters they see grow in one week regress inexplicably the next.

The same thing happened to SLIDERS and JOHN DOE. John walked into a bar one week and new everyone on the staff. The next week, he walked into the bar for the very first time.

It's so extremely frustrating. Why can't they just let the show grow in real time?

Which brings us to K-VILLE. The episodes numbers to date: 101, 103 and 105. Next week, episode 104.

If the suits can't bother to run the show as produced, why should I bother watching it?

First Katrina, now FOX. New Orleans and yet another Tim Minear production get soaked.

Cancel my season pass.