It’s September, which means I’m putting my DVR through it’s last chance workout getting ready for all the new television that’s getting ready to head our way. It also means it’s time for my annual 21 hr. challenge! Since 2007 I have taken each fall to cull down the cornucopia of network television to 21 broadcast hours per week. Each day this week I will run down the network schedule and identify three types of shows. In green are the shows that made the cut for me, in blue are shows I don’t mind but don’t have time for, and in red are the shows that I wouldn’t watch even if I were The Doctor and could take my Tardis back and reclaim the wasted time. At the end of the week, I will add up the total and make any final cuts needed to get under the necessary 21. I will also select one show each day as the “must”, meaning I think it’s likely to be the one show not to miss on that night.
Friday:
Weekends on network TV are dead. Friday is where shows go to die, Saturday is the mortuary, and Sunday is where shows that won’t die go to live out their days. But just because there isn’t a lot here doesn’t mean there aren’t some jewels to find among the tombstones. Friday, sees an interesting move of “The Amazing Race” which hasn’t shown much signs of life in recent season even if the premise and execution are still interesting enough. Tim Allen is still funny and Last Man Standing is a nice little weekend distraction, and Shark Tank makes me feel like I can pull off using phrases like “majority shareholder” and “mishandled evaluation”. Other than that, you may enjoy some improv with Whose Line being back on TV, some more reality TV with Top Model or Utopia, or Constantine, a comic book show that may have flown under your radar.
MUST: The Amazing Race
The rest of the week:
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
The Weekend
The color coded breakdown:
8PM
ABC – Last Man Standing
CBS – The Amazing Race
CW – Whose Line is it Anyway
Fox – Masterchef Junior
NBC – Dateline NBC
8:30PM
ABC – Cristela (New)
9PM
ABC – Shark Tank
CBS – Hawaii Five-O
CW – America’s Next Top Model
Fox – Utopia
NBC – Grimm
10PM
ABC – 20/20
CBS – Blue Bloods
NBC – Constantine (New)
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Saturday:
Sports and repeats! Woo-hoo!
and by woo-hoo, I mean, moving on.
The color coded breakdown:
8PM
ABC – College Football
CBS – Crimetime Saturday
Fox – Fox Sports Saturday
NBC – Repeats
10PM
CBS – 48 Hours
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Sunday:
Have you ever heard a celebrity did something and then thought, “Wait, they are still around?” That’s Sunday nights on network tv. America’s Funniest, 60 Minutes, Simpsons, and CSI have over 100 years on the air combined just by themselves and that’s not even counting Family Guy, a show left for dead that is somehow still kicking around of Fox. Of those I only have an interest in The Simpsons which still makes me laugh 26 seasons in. I’ll also stick around for more of ABC’s Disney collab Once Upon A Time, if for no other reason to see how they incorporate the “Frozen” phenomenon into it.
But it’s not all oldies. Last years funniest new comedy “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” makes an interesting move to Sunday night, along with “Mulaney” a comedian I love with a show I’m almost sure to hate.
You can also tune in for Football if you like, but from the looks of things recently that one might get cancelled before too long too.
Must: Brooklyn Nine-Nine
The color coded breakdown:
7PM
ABC – America’s Funniest Home Videos
CBS – 60 Minutes
Fox – NFL OT
NBC – Football Night in America
7:30PM
Fox – Bob’s Burgers
8PM
ABC – Once Upon A Time
CBS – Madam Secretary (New)
Fox – The Simpsons
NBC – Sunday Night Football
8:30PM
Fox – Brooklyn Nine-Nine
9PM
ABC – Resurrection
CBS – The Good Wife
Fox – Family Guy
9:30PM
Fox – Mulaney (New)
10PM
ABC – Revenge
CBS – CSI
And just like that I’m done with an hour to spare! Maybe I’ll use it to explore this “outdoors” thing I keep hearing good reviews about. I wonder if they’ve got past seasons on Netflix.
Weekend’s Total: One 1 hour dramas, Three half hour comedies, Two 1 hour reality, 4.5 Hours
Final Total: 9 hours drama, 4 hours comedy, 7 hours Reality = 20 hours