So after a quiet summer (house guests and a DVR failure meant mostly catching up with current shows on demand), we roll right into this year's Ted Marshall Open. Turns out I went 10 for 10 last season, and will be the winner if CBS decides to bring back the Southern legal drama/soap Reckless next summer (feel free to write Les Moonves and plead for its return).
But on to this year's entry. As with the past, you get 20 points if the show gets axed, and bonus points based on how you rank them (so the show you most expect to get cancelled earns an extra 10 points, 9 for the next show, etc.). Here's what I've got:
10, 9, 8, 7: Glee, Parenthood, Parks and Recreation, Two and a Half Men. All of these shows were announced as this being their final season, so easy points all. But I also missed easy points on The Late Show with David Letterman and The Late Late Show with Colin Ferguson, both of which will change over to new hosts - and thus new shows - before the end of this year's competition.
6: Selfie. This My Fair Lady for the social media set is annoyingly named and, based on early reviews, is annoying in general. It also has to take on NCIS and The Voice. It may help that it's the only sitcom in the timeslot, but I'm thinking not enough.
5: The Mysteries of Laura. Debra Messing plays a female cop who has to balance work and home, with the "twist" that her potentially ex-husband (they're divorcing, but just can't quite sign the papers) becomes her boss. This is the (assumedly) family-friendly starter to NBC's evening of cop-centered programming, though the five alarm trope alert may not help if it's not quirky enough to get beyond the cliches. It may help that the timeslot seems reasonably favorable (ABC sitcoms will draw viewers, but Survivor and Hell's Kitchen are hoary enough that they may not be as big an obstacle as they once were).
4: Stalker. I didn't know much about this drama featuring a task force that hunts down stalkers (and is made up of apparently former stalkers), but it was easily the least favorably reviewed new show from what I could find by way of reviews. I hedged a little bit as (a) I've heard of the main cast (Dylan McDermott and Maggie Q), and (b) the competition isn't incredibly strong (Nashville and Chicago PD). But it sounded too horrific to pass up.
3: Utopia. I'm always suspicious of reality shows that plump themselves as a "social experiment," kind of a lipstick on a pig thing. So I threw this on here, even with the amount of promotion Fox gave it over the summer (at least on their on demand channel). And it looks like my skepticism was justified, as ratings for the show continue to drop, although it's been getting a decent DVR bump. Still, starting with numbers this low typically means doom, and if it can't beat repeats of shows in its timeslot, how much hope do they have of being competitive when those shows return?
2: State of Affairs. Katherine Heigl returns to the small screen playing way out of type for all of the marginal rom-coms she delivered to your local multiplex. In this show she plays the CIA agent who is responsible for putting together the President's daily security briefing. It also turns out she was engaged to the President's son, who died in a terrorist attack that Heigl's character is continuing to investigate (which is also supposed to have a shocking! twist!). Pretty much everyone sees this thing crashing and burning, mostly from the idea of Heigl playing a CIA agent. My fear is that (a) Alfre Woodard, who plays the President, will bring a level of quality to the show that will prevent it from being a complete disaster, and (b) by subbing in for The Blacklist it will draw from inertia alone.
1: The Mentalist. There's talk this is its final season, but it's not confirmed. I took a flyer that it will be.
Of course, there are shows that I didn't pick that landed on the top 10 of all entries submitted. They are:
Bad Judge - the top show I did not pick, it features Kate Walsh as a judge who is a mess personally but tough and inventive in the courtroom. In retrospect this seems like a good candidate for the pool - meh premise and deadly timeslot (against football on CBS and Scandal on ABC), but with NBC struggling in the sticom department maybe it gets a pass? I for one am always in favor of having Kate Walsh on my TV.
Manhattan Love Story - it's another story of a couple trying to find true love in the city, with the wrinkle here that we can hear their inner thoughts and see how they match (or don't) with their actions. Which is something, I guess. The show has Selfie for a lead-in, which may be enough to kill it even if it's decent.
The Late Show and The Late Late Show - still mad I missed this.
So there you have it. Ten show to immortality.
