Examining Fall TV

What is up with fall TV this year? Or more to the point, what is up with the new programs this fall? Each of the major networks introduced their normal pre-requisite amount of new dramas over the course of the last month or so.

But, have any of them performed well? Three of them have already been canceled after airing only about 2 episodes each – that would be Lone Star, My Generation and Outlaw.

Is there one breakout new series of the fall? The simple answer: no! Sure, the top two new shows of the fall – in terms of overall ratings – belong to CBS; those being Hawaii Five-0 and Blue Bloods. But are either of these shows the next big thing from this TV season? Simply put – no, they are not.

Meanwhile, there are new shows like The Event, Undercovers and No Ordinary Family that were expected – prior to their debuts – to be big hits because of their mysterious storylines (ala the groundbreaking series Lost), the “powers that be” behind the series (that would be J.J. Abrams) and the great casting (Julie Benz from Dexter, Michael Chiklis from The Shield and Autumn Reeser from The O.C.) – in that order respectively – but all three shows have failed to live up to expectations.

Of these three shows only The Event has been given a full season order, allowing the show to air the rest of the current TV season while Undercovers and No Ordinary Family have received additional script orders; but that doesn’t mean they are safe from the cancellation axe just yet.

Then there are the new procedural shows – that typically work well with the general viewing audience – Chase, The Defenders, Detroit 1-8-7, The Whole Truth and Law & Order: Los Angeles – that should have performed well in the ratings; but only one of the aforementioned shows has garnered over 10 million viewers a week.

Can you guess which of these shows that would be? To dispel the mystery, the answer is The Defenders. This CBS legal drama, like Chase and Law & Order: Los Angeles, have been picked up by their respective networks for a full season. The fate of The Whole Truth hangs in the balance because of its consistently low ratings since its debut. Meanwhile, no decision has been made, as yet, for Detroit 1-8-7, which has actually performed better than expected, averaging 8.5 million viewers.

Of course, there are two little dramas– Hellcats and Nikita on The CW – that, while not on par with the major networks in terms of their overall ratings simply because this network doesn’t reach as many markets as its counterparts, still performed well enough to both receive full season pick-ups by the network.

Moving over to the cable shows that have been introduced this fall, there is Boardwalk Empire on HBO which performed well enough in two episodes to spur the network to renew it for a second season. Then over on the Cartoon Network is the network’s second live-action series Tower Prep that just debuted last week and garnered an impressive 1.3 million viewers. The same cannot be said, unfortunately, for the new FX series Terriers, which probably has one of the worst series names but is probably the best new show of the fall season that people are simply not watching.

NOTE: I do not follow comedies so I will not be focusing any time on them.

So, what does all this mean? This fall TV season has been lackluster to say the least and has disappointed a lot of couch potato fans (like me) as well as the average viewer who may only have time to watch a couple shows a week. It’s really a shame, to be honest, since there is so much talent out there in the entertainment world.

If you look back at your viewing habits since the beginning of the fall TV season, what new shows have you really enjoyed watching? Which one is the big hit for you? Or, are you as disillusioned with the new season as many other viewers? Please share your thoughts.

Transcendence by Adele Lorienne

Artist’s Spotlight: This month’s artist’s spotlight is on Adele Lorienne, a twentysomething artist who lives in the misty forest of Oregon with her cat Sebastian. She is a self-taught artist, who learned to draw over the years by study, observation and practice. Adele believes “practice is the key to becoming an artist – all good artists come from cruddy ones who refused to give up.” She has been doodling since she was a child, but started to seriously draw when she was a teenager

Adele works mainly in graphite pencil and digital although she has been known to use watercolors and colored pencils. Most of her artwork is fantasy-oriented and heavily influenced by nature, revolving around original characters of her own design and their worlds.

Her sample piece is called “Transcendence” and is a mixed-media painting like most of her work. It was drawn first in pencil, then hand-painted digitally. While it is an older piece from 2006, it was chosen here because it illustrates a common theme in her work––butterflies and moss, often paired with her trademark character “Faeren.”

You can learn more about Adele Lorienne, her artwork and the stories behind her illustrations by visiting her website. You can also find her work at DeviantArt. If you would like to contact Adele, you can email her at saimain@yahoo.com.