[B]Shows that should be flushed now to save face for the networks (per MSNBC)[/b] - [I]I agree with everything but the assessment of Life.
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[B]"Cavemen" (ABC)[/B]
OK, so this is a no-brainer — or is it? Clearly, someone at ABC thought “Cavemen” was worth producing in the first place and I lost five bucks in an office pool when the third episode hit the airwaves. But the most insulting aspect of this show’s continued presence on ABC’s schedule is that it’s taking up a spot that should be filled by the brilliant “Notes from the Underbelly,” which aired just eight episodes last season but did well enough to earn a spot as a mid season replacement this year. Now, if we could just get rid of those “Cavemen.”
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[B]"Big Shots" (ABC)[/B]
Speaking of cavemen, the testosterone-filled drama “Big Shots” that follows four spoiled, rich guys overstayed its welcome about halfway into the series premiere. It’s just difficult to determine what’s more impressive: that it’s so tremendously annoying, or that it’s managed to be so tremendously annoying despite starring three incredibly likable actors (Hint: The odd man out in this case hadn’t previously appeared as a regular on ABC). The fact that it’s hemorrhaging viewers from its “Grey’s Anatomy” lead-in (losing more than half the “Grey’s” viewers each week) proves it’s wasting a time slot that would be better served by “Dirty Sexy Money.”
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[B]"Life" (NBC)[/B]
These 5Top items are meant to be 100 words long, but when a show as irrelevant as “Life” comes along, it’s difficult to muster even that much energy. The big, sweeping concept here — a cop wrongly convicted of murder served 12 years for a crime he didn’t commit, then got released from prison, got a $50 million settlement but wanted his job as a cop back because that’s what any normal person would do, right? — just doesn’t hold water. Besides, Damian Lewis — one of the bright spots of “Band of Brothers” — just isn’t likable as this cop with a massive chip on his shoulder.
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[B]"The Big Bang Theory"(CBS)[/B]
It’s ironic that a show about a couple of geniuses could be this brainless. What’s more inexplicable is that “The Big Bang Theory” is getting better ratings than its lead-in, “How I Met Your Mother,” which is CBS’s funniest sitcom in years. The show tries to milk the social awkwardness of its protagonists, Leonard and Shelton, who are modern-day Einsteins who live together and have trouble talking to women. This is a one-note wonder that shouldn’t have lasted more than 30 minutes, yet somehow just received a full season order. What’s the opposite of genius?
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[B]"Kid Nation" (CBS)[/B]
The network tried and tried to drum up intrigue and controversy toward the end of summer around “Kid Nation,” a “social-experiment”-type reality show that stuck 40 kids in a New Mexico ghost town (revealed to actually be a reconstructed area once used as a movie set) so they could build a new society. But what attempted to be an innovative, kids-teach-adults-a-lesson type of deal just turned into a bunch of whiny, screaming kids running through a huge, contrived mess and “conflicts,” such as introducing religious prayers into their town meetings, that clearly came at the urging of producers.
[URL]http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21381811/[/URL][/INDENT]
