![\"That\u2019s](\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/ThatsEnt.jpg\" "\\"ThatsEnt\\"")
<\/a>The fall holds with it such promise, the leaves are turning crisp from their spring awakening, and the air is pregnant with anticipation that something is on the horizon \u2013 something that can change your world forever. No, this is not the lost opening sentence to an unearthed Stephen King or Danielle Steele tome. <\/p>\nIt\u2019s the way that we TV-philes \u2013 wait, that sounds unseemly, as most things ending in \u201cphile\u201d do \u2013 I meant, we couch taters (that\u2019s better) feel as there are more new \u201cchildren\u201d to adopt than Angelina Jolie or Madonna on a Third World visit.<\/p>\n
And with the new season almost winding down and marching its way into The Forbidden Zone, known as summer shows, let\u2019s take a look at the series that have either captured our imaginations or have made us channel surf away so quickly that we left a wake in our paths to distance us from them.<\/p>\n
For this report card, I was going to use the really old school check\/minus, check\/plus system, but have opted to streamline it with the A-F formula, sort of.<\/p>\n
And for the sake of argument (That\u2019s enough out of you, non-descript reader with your smart-alecky backtalk. Shoot, I was looking into a mirror!), we shall begin alphabetically \u2013 so look out ABC shows! By the way, I am still mad at you for canceling \u201cUgly Betty.\u201d <\/p>\n
Another show facing a similar predicament is the aptly named \u201cThe Forgotten,\u201d as no one I have talked to has even seen an episode of this crime procedural. Either the show really sucks or I need to expand my circle of friends. Sorry, series star Christian Slater, it looks like you are now a two-time TV loser \u2013 maybe you are your \u201cOwn Worst Enemy,\u201d when it comes to choosing roles, which was his cancelled NBC show from 2008, just in case you didn\u2019t remember it. Anyone? I didn\u2019t think so.<\/p>\n
Grade: F for the title, which isn\u2019t a good one to make viewers want to tune in. <\/p>\n
The reboot of the 1980s miniseries\/TV show \u201cV\u201d is \u201con the bubble\u201d as to its renewal. Interesting term \u201con the bubble,\u201d which means that the network is undecided \u2013 a-ha, they are finally in tune with their viewership! But, they should rename the saying as being \u201con the fence,\u201d as I was when this reincarnation appeared on the tube.<\/p>\n
Where were the cheesy effects and Marc Singer \u2013 really, the new producers couldn\u2019t have thrown him a bone? Or was he prepping to star in \u201cThe Beastmaster: The Next Generation\u201d as \u201cPop-Pop\u201d? I wanted there to be those \u201cNo way, dude\u201d moments, like an alien baby being born, which made this fodder for discussion during my P.E. class in my formative years \u2013 it was so much better than my playing sports, trust me.<\/p>\n
Plus, I like my alien-in-disguise villains to be named Diana and have big hair teased within an inch of being considered follicle abuse, shoulder pads like a linebacker and played as a \u201cDynasty\u201d beeyatch by the original\u2019s Jane Badler, thank you, and will not accept Anna (Morena Baccarin) as some pale (literally) pixie haircut knock off!<\/p>\n
Over-the-top always trumps understated in my book.<\/p>\n
Elizabeth Mitchell, you left \u201cLost\u201d to do this project? Just add a \u201csmooth move Ex-Lax\u201d and you have her career choice!<\/p>\n
Grade: What do you think \u2013 he\u2019ll give it an F, right? No a B, as in Bad Idea.<\/p>\n
\u201cFlashForward\u201d was being touted as the new \u201cLost\u201d prior to its debut. Well, it\u2019s not. It\u2019s all about the worldwide populace experiencing the titular phenomenon, which enables them to see six months into the future, following a two-minute, 17-second (give or take a second \u2013 please, can you be more specific, writers?) loss of consciousness. <\/p>\n
\u201cFlashForward\u201d to episodes in October and you can see me erasing them from my DVR and canceling its recording. <\/p>\n
We get it! The people can see their futures, and the getting there was painful to watch. If I have to see the same damn fuzzy visages of what was to come each week over and over \u2013 oh, wait, I don\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Grade: A, as in \u201cAre you serious?\u201d The new \u201cLost\u201d? Whatever! <\/p>\n
Of course, in fairness there were some A+ efforts from ABC, including \u201cModern Family,\u201d which is the funniest show on TV besides \u201cHoarders.\u201d Oh, that\u2019s not supposed to be funny? My bad. <\/p>\n
And it\u2019s so nice to see Courteney Cox and her \u201cyouthful appearance\u201d back on TV where it belongs on the poorly named \u201cCougar Town.\u201d Seriously, she only bedded one younger guy the entire season and the show is more about her inner circle (love Busy Phillips as Laurie, as much as I love the fact that someone named their kid Busy) and family. I think \u201cFriends\u201d would have been a better title. What? I do. <\/p>\n
Over on the CW (or The Dub, as the cool kids call it), \u201cMelrose Place\u201d is also on the endangered species list. Bear in mind, this is the network that gave the go-ahead to producing \u201cHigh Society\u201d and \u201cFly Girls.\u201d <\/p>\n
Okay, now stay with me on this one. I have to admit I didn\u2019t think the new version was all that bad. And if you think about it (again, stay with me), this revamp has traversed the same territory as its predecessor. <\/p>\n
The show was floundering in the ratings from the get-go, with some bad characters, mostly in the guise of Ashlee Simpson. Hopefully after she \u201cleft the show\u201d (cough, \u201cwas fired\u201d) she took non-annoying acting classes. <\/p>\n
Then along comes Heather Locklear for a few episodes in November, after Michael (Thomas Calabro), Jane (Josie Bissett sans her Wilson Phillips hairdo, guess it couldn\u2019t \u201cHold On\u201d for one more decade) and Jo (Daphne Zuniga) had already happened by their old stomping grounds, just like it was 1993 again when Locklear saved the show before. <\/p>\n
And wouldn\u2019t ya know the show gets really less bad than it was. Plus, Ella (Katie Cassidy) has become more of a scene stealer than the artist formerly known as Sammy Jo is. The problem is there was about a four-month lag time between Amanda\u2019s first appearances and new Simpson-less episodes in March, which doesn\u2019t help a fledgling show. <\/p>\n
Grade: YB, as in \u201cyou boogers.\u201d You killed Sydney! Actually, she was already \u201cdead\u201d during the original run on Fox (plausibility, smausibility \u2013 it\u2019s \u201cMelrose Place\u201d and now I\u2019m Fran Drescher!), but Laura Leighton was discovered freckled face down in the famous courtyard pool in the first episode!<\/p>\n
Whoops, I skipped over CBS shows! Next! The only new Fox show that merits any mention is \u201cGlee,\u201d which makes \u201cHigh School Musical\u201d look very tame, like \u201cRomper Room,\u201d by having plots revolving around teenage pregnancy (you shouldn\u2019t do a solo during your first trimester, by the way) and sexuality. It has quickly become a favorite, due in large part to lesbian actress Jane Lynch\u2019s hilarious turn as cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester. Hold up! Aren\u2019t female gym teachers usually, um? Well, let\u2019s just say good casting job to the show\u2019s creators.<\/p>\n
Grade: I\u2019m going off my grading curve here and giving it a G, as in \u201cgay, gay, gay.\u201d Please, if high school had been like this, I might have gone more often! <\/p>\n
\u201cCommunity\u201d is the lone NBC show I will discuss, because the medical drama \u201cMercy\u201d needs to have the plug pulled on it. I love that this show is an unabashedly extended version of John Hughes\u2019 seminal (snicker) 1985 film \u201cThe Breakfast Club,\u201d and has acknowledged it with a nudge\/wink mentality throughout its freshman season. Besides, now one of its stars, Chevy Chase, has been brought out of retirement. Oh? He never made that official announcement? Did you see \u201cVegas Vacation\u201d? \u2019Nuff said.<\/p>\n
Grade: This one gets a C, naturally \u2013 for \u201ccomedy well-done.\u201d Oh, and because it\u2019s called \u201cCommunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although the networks won\u2019t reveal their next season\u2019s lineup until May and June, it didn\u2019t mean I couldn\u2019t give my two-cents worth right now. All right, I\u2019ll cop to my penchant for gabbing. Make that three cents worth! <\/p>\n
And that\u2019s entertainment!<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Tim Parks SDUN Columnist The fall holds with it such promise, the leaves are turning crisp from their spring awakening, and the air is pregnant with anticipation that something is on the horizon \u2013 something that can change your world forever. No, this is not the lost opening sentence to an unearthed Stephen King […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":243376,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11555","_seopress_titles_title":"That\u2019s Entertainment: TV Report Card","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11551,11555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-243375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-uptown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=243375"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243375\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/243376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=243375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=243375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=243375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}