Having spent the better part of our TV blogging “career” railing against CBS’ inexplicably popular brand of cookie-cutter procedurals, we were as surprised as anyone to discover that our favorite new show of the fall — PERSON OF INTEREST — is just that! In fact, thanks to the budding bromance between Reese (Jim Caviezel) and Fitch (Michael Emerson), the ever-expanding cast of morally dubious supporting players (Enrico Colantoni FTW!) and the addictive allure that comes with creator Jonah Nolan’s storytelling prowess, we can’t recall the last time we were this excited to find out what happens next.
If one had asked us at the start of the television season to pick our “guaranteed locks” for favorite Fall show, there is no question in our mind that we would have bet the farm on the likes of 2 BROKE GIRLS, NEW GIRL and UP ALL NIGHT based solely on the like-ability factor of stars Kat Dennings, Zooey Deschanel and Christina Applegate. Unfortunately, now almost mid-way through the television season the only prediction we care to make with regards to UP ALL NIGHT and to a lesser extent NEW GIRL is that they are both perilously close to being dumped off our weekly sked alongside the already forgotten 2 BROKE GIRLS . Suffice it to say, likeable leading ladies with an off-the-charts “Q Score” can only do so much where weak writing is concerned.
If the popularity of NCIS and unpopularity of PARKS AND RECREATION have illustrated anything over the course of the past few seasons it’s that when it comes to viewing habits, America and the TV Addict don’t exactly see eye-to-eye. Until now. Enter ONCE UPON A TIME, ABC’s fairy tale-infused drama that has captured not just the our imagination, but the rest of North America’s as well. And while we don’t pretend to know if the hit ABC series which continues to retain a remarkable amount of their 13 million plus eyeballs on a week-in-and-week-out basis will continue to deliver a happy ending, we sure as heck are pleased with its storybook start.
What’s the only thing more surprising than yesterday’s news that has NBC’s benching COMMUNITY to make room for the returning 30 ROCK come midseason? How about the fact that it took so long to shuffle the ratings anemic series off the schedule. Look, as much as it pains this card-carrying member of the Jeff Winger Fan Club to say so, the facts are these: If two plus seasons of middling ratings are any indication, the majority of Americans have zero interest in enrolling in Greendale Community College. What’s more, if NBC ever hopes to climb its way out of the basement, step number one is moving the ratings-repellent series out of its Thursday night time slot. Don’t shoot the messenger.
Does the somewhat disappointing ratings for THE X FACTOR (Read: The most over-hyped reality show in the history of broadcasting) signify the beginning of the end for the scourge on our society that is reality television? Considering Network Executives constant need for cheap alternative programming, probably not. But it sure as heck won’t stop us from taking a perverse amount of pleasure in the recent downward ratings trend that reality shows across the board are seeing coupled with the resurgence of interest in quality scripted comedy and dramas on behalf of the major networks. We’re just sayin’ 
