Shows That Are In Trouble

We are dancing on the clouds about Fringe, Community, Parks and Rec, and Southland getting renewed. (Wow, that sounded less gay in our heads, but still. It’s accurate.)

Here are the shows that we want to see stick around that still haven’t been renewed…and the shows we hate and want to see go away. Their slots can go to good, new shows. Possibly. As for the ones we don’t mention: we either don’t care or we don't think the show is in enough danger to be on this list.

Our struggling favorites:

Chuck - Leeard is a beyond-faithful fan of Chuck, and Ern watches it when it’s on and she has nothing better to do. Still, both of us would like to see this cult fave survive yet again.

Outsourced - It’s offensive. Blah blah blah. What matters is that it’s really funny.

Off the Map - How are the Grey’s and Private Practice fans not watching this? Yeah, the pilot was awful and some episodes are cheesy. But the last episode was devoid of cheese and it’s getting better. It deserves a season two.

Lie to Me - The concept alone is worth keeping this show for. It’s been much better since they got rid of the stifling FBI stuff. Also, if they just aggressively serialized a few more elements of the show (like Bones does with its characters), it could start getting intense and making people care about the characters.

Two and a Half Men - We know, we know. You’re thinking, “What blog is this?!! It’s been taken over by imposters!” But we think it would be extremely entertaining to watch the show replace Charlie Sheen and even more entertaining to watch Charlie Sheen react to getting replaced. It will be a train-wreck ending to a horrible show. After we happily watch its demise with a glass of wine and an evil laugh, the networks can totally cancel it.

Perfect Couples - It's a way funnier version of Better with You. It could grow into something hilarious.

Shows we want gone:

The Event - We hate this show for promising to bring us a LOST-meets-24 dynamic and giving us a show we couldn’t give two craps about.

Better with You - Unfunny, sexist dribble. No one cares. Leeard is actually still watching this show, but doesn't care if it's cancelled or not. That's not a good sign.

Detroit 1-8-7 - If this goes away, then maybe its fans will console themselves with Southland, which is so much better than this cop show.

V - Die V, die! This show got a miracle second season and then proceeded to squander it by being silly, boring, and the opposite of addictive. It gives serialized drama, which we usually love, a bad name.

Perfect Couples premiere review

This show is a comedy about three different couples. First, we have Vance and Amy. They fight a lot, are immature, and then they have tons of makeup sex. Second there are Rex and Leigh, who are the controlling, drinking relationship experts who think they have it all figured out. Last, Dave and Julia, who are (relatively) normal. From the opening, we were shouting, “Cliché!” at the screen.

The premise and problems are similar to those of Better with You. What we have here is another batch of weak, one-sided characters. The writers needed to think through the individual people more, rather than just conceiving of the couples and giving them each a certain type of couples behavior. Good, interesting couples start out as interesting individuals.

But this show has a zany side and a good tone to it, so it is superior to Better with You. While the start is weak, it may show improvement as the show progresses. It’s on a channel and a night that’s good for comedies. The actors are good. It’s ho-hum now, but don’t so many great comedies start out iffy before they find their voice? There is hope. As for Better with You, there was never hope (even though one of us is still watching).

Episode Grade: C+, but a hopeful C+