The 21 hour challenge continues with what appears to have become “Reality Show Tuesday” for me this year. With House’s move to Monday night, 8PM Tuesday now holds three of the best reality shows on TV, all of which worth a look. Shark Tank apparently will take up permanent residence in that slot after a stellar kick off on Sunday nights (I say apparently, because all online sources still have it as debuting on Sept. 29th, but unless it’s a mass delusion I think I’ve already seen 4 episodes.) and The Biggest Loser remains compelling and features a returning contestant this season for the first time. The highlight, though, has to be the move of “So You Think You Can Dance” to a fall slot, where it can show that lousy “celebrity” dancing show what real dancing looks like. When you watch SYTYCD you don’t ask frivilous questions like “Will Tom Delay manage to stay on his feet and sweat less than a contestant at the World Sauna Championships, you ponder things like the power of addiction or a friend’s fight against cancer. Yeah, yeah, I’m getting a bit high and mighty for a guy who loves “Wipeout”, but there is a lot of heart and depth to this reality show and it should be getting a little bit more attention than it does. The only other show that looks interesting is The Forgotten, if for no other reason than to see if Christian Slater can have back to back failed dramas in consecutive seasons (That would be a record, right?) It’s also worth noting that CBS has apparently decided that they want to air nothing but procedural dramas from here on out, adding NCIS:LA to NCIS while continuing to run CSI, CSI:NY, CSI:Miami, and Criminal Minds. Enough is enough already, we get it. Now that I think about it, it’s actually hard to believe that there is any make believe crime even left with all these brilliant investigators on the loose.
The color coded breakdown:
8PM
ABC – Shark Tank
CBS – NCIS
CW – 90210
Fox – So You Think You Can Dance
NBC – The Biggest Loser
9PM
ABC – Dancing with the Stars
CBS – NCIS: Los Angeles
CW – Melrose Place
10PM
ABC – The Forgotten
CBS – The Good Wife
NBC – Jay Leno (again)
Tuesday’s Total: One 1 hour drama, One 1 hour Reality, Two 2 hour Reality 6 hours
Overall Total: 5 hours drama, 5 hours Reality, 10 hours