Two new series have been dumped so far this season —”Southland,” axed by NBC and shuffled off to TNT, and “The Beautiful Life,” nixed by CW after two episodes.
But the 2009 prime-time television season as a whole shows promising signs of life.
Comedy is back in fine form. A handful of freshman comedies are winning much-deserved ratings success. The new hospital dramas? Not so much. But at the same time, ambitious sci-fi dramas are vying for attention. Our DVRs runneth over.
Taking stock of the 2009 TV season, the networks’ personalities are clear.
CBS keeps making the same show and winning viewers, as “NCIS” and “NCIS: Los Angeles,” and the “CSIs” (NY and Miami) reliably score near the top of the weekly ratings.
ABC is easily the destination for the best comedies and most inventive dramas of the year, with “Modern Life,” “FlashForward” and “V” on its slate.
Fox is grateful for the World Series but otherwise wishes January would get here, already, with its scorched- earth strategy called “American Idol.”
CW is zeroing in on its tween girl audience as “Vampire Diaries” shows teeth in the ratings.
And NBC, at the back of the pack, just hopes Jay Leno was a smart accounting move while viewers flee to competing networks.
The season is still new, but a number of trends are apparent.
Viewing levels are up, and in a surprise turn, the effect of DVRs, once thought to be the enemy of prime-time TV, is quite positive. Shows benefitting most from Nielsen’s counting of DVR playback are Fox’s “House” (ratings up 40 percent); ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” (up 37 percent); NBC’s “The Office” (up 42 percent); CBS’s “The Big Bang Theory” (up 29 percent), and ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” (up 30 percent).
Following are the hits and misses.
Hits
“Modern Family” The best new comedy of the season boasts a great cast and sharp writing that fashions fully formed characters out of what might have been gross stereotypes. Nearly 10 million viewers a week have caught on to this faux documentary. The scripts play with of-the-moment topics (gay dads, blended families, trophy wives), proof positive that the sitcom continues to evolve. This week’s figure-skating bit was typically edgy and endearing.
“Cougar Town” This risque sitcom is a surprise success, riding on the strength of Courtney Cox’s delivery. The gimmick — divorced mother seeking to return to the dating world in midlife — doesn’t get in the way of sharp dialog.
“The Good Wife” The big surprise is that this hour-long drama has evolved into more than a lawsuit-of-the-week for Julianna Margulies. She plays the betrayed wife of a politician (Chris Noth) who was felled by scandal and is now in prison. Gradations of resentment, remorse, maybe even forgiveness play out in her expressions. The writing cleverly interweaves her personal recovery as wife and mother with her professional rebirth as a lawyer. More than 13 million viewers agree she’s good.
“The Middle” With its classic focus-on-a-family setup, this series finds abundant and smart humor in the rigors of making do within a middleclass, midwestern family during a recession. Whether dealing with a daughter’s failed school photo, a teenage son’s willfulness, a younger son’s habit of stage-whispering, trouble at the used-car lot, or just getting a facsimile of dinner on the table, Patricia Heaton nails the scene and the wry voiceover: “I’m Frankie Heck, Salesmom!”
“Glee” With a CD due next month, record-shattering iTunes sales and hot guest stars (Kristin Chenoweth, Josh Groban), Fox’s exuberant high-school musical is the TV success of the year. Engaging viewers as both drama and musical-comedy, with several well-choreographed production numbers per episode and with Jane Lynch stealing scenes as the scarily narcissistic gym teacher, the series continues to build. Just wait until January, when its lead-in will be a certain Fox singing competition.
Misses
“Trauma” Once viewers got past the expensive pilot and noisy, crash-bang effects, there was no reason to stick with the EMTs of this tedious medical drama. NBC won’t pick up any episodes beyond the original 13.
“Three Rivers” Alex O’Loughlin is handsome, the set is sprawling, but there’s no life in this series about organ transplants. A ratings and critical disappointment from the start, this one you can expect to flat-line soon.
“Hank” Yank, now. Kelsey Grammer (executive producer, as well as star) should be ashamed of this, the most depressing so-called comedy on the schedule.
“The Forgotten” This show would be gone already if it weren’t just burning off episodes as a cheap way of filling time.
Could go either way
“FlashForward” The heavy mythology in this show bears scrutiny, but the acting can be deadly dull, starting with Joseph Fiennes. It’s tough to draw new viewers once the heavily serialized tale is this far along.
“Eastwick” In the same femme-fantasy vein as “Desperate Housewives” and “Pushing Daisies,” and taking off from “The Witches of Eastwick” movie, the series clearly has potential. (It will be pre- empted for a Janet Jackson special Nov. 18.)
“Community”This quirky comedy could edge into the “hit” category, it is so off-beat and at times rewarding. Often, however, it is just off-putting. If Joel McHale’s protagonist were slightly warmer, the way Jason Bateman’s was in “Arrested Development,” the audience would have more reason to follow. (And no thanks to Chevy Chase).
“Mercy”This deeply mediocre medical drama, told from the nurses’ perspective, while low-rated, has been picked up by NBC. For now.
Joanne Ostrow: 303-954-1830 or jostrow@denverpost.com
