It’s that time of year when the networks are adding even more new programming to our already full TV plates. But before we get started on the reviews in the new year, Amber West and I decided to recap our 2012 Why It’s Worth a Watch Wednesday ratings.
First, let’s take a quick look at the review system:
GTV (Gourmet TV): Everything we want and more
MacTV (MacNCheese TV): Guilty pleasure. Not perfect, but is satisfies
GMacTV (Gourmet MacNCheese TV): A combination of fine wine and comfort food
JFTV (Junk food TV):It’s not great for us, but we’ll go back for seconds
TBPTV (Twice Baked Potato TV): Part gourmet and delicious, while absolutely horrible for our cholesterol
SSTV (Still Simmering TV): It has potential, but the jury is still out
NIV (NyQuil Induced Viewing): Perfect for that late night television sleep timer
LOTV (Liver&Onions TV): Do we really have to explain? Blech
It makes the most sense to me to begin with my favorites, the best of the best—the Gourmet TV (GTV) rated programs. Leading the way for this television viewer in 2012 will always be Revenge and Pretty Little Liars. Neither of these shows can sit on the DVR for more than an hour without burning a hole through the box—they are that hot.
Television also removed one of my all-time favorite GTV dishes from the menu this year, and that’s TNT’s The Closer. I will miss the drama of the Major Case’s cases; I will miss the goofiness of Provenza and Flynn; I will miss the dry humor of Sanchez; I will miss the wittiness of Tao; I will miss Gabriel’s trying to keep everyone in line; I will miss Buzz and his electronic equipment; I will miss Pope’s and Taylor’s tendencies to only cover their own butts; I will miss Brenda Leigh’s ability to close; and, lastly, I will miss Brenda Leigh and Fritzy—one of the best love affairs on television today.
Now to the more affordable dishes…
Most of us enjoy a homemade meatloaf with the rich and creamy guilty pleasure MacNCheese TV (MacTV) on the average night. And what goes better with this more affordable meal than the hilariously funny comedy Whitney? Or Survivor, my favorite reality program about to enter its 26th season? Or how about one of my summertime delicacies, A&E’s The Glades? Or the TNT drama with two strong female leads in Rizzoli & Isles? Or how about what is slowly becoming one of my favorite freshmen hits of the television season, Grimm?
Probably my favorite MacTV show of the year goes to the reboot of the classic Dallas. TNT picked up right where the original series left off… those Ewings are one messed up family—and I love it!
Seriously though—try it. Curl up on the sofa with a warm bowl of the cheesy favorite, and check out one of these programs. They’ll promise to fill you and leave you satisfied, wanting more.
Over the years, there have been quite a few cancellations of shows that I personally thought were really good. 2012 was no different. Take the MacTV rated The Firm for instance. What a fantastic serial crime drama! But, now it’s gone. Go figure.
But it’s not alone… one of my absolute favorite MacTV shows of the 2012 season has also been dropped already—666 Park Avenue. Maybe it was just a bit too dark and weird for the regular ABC Sunday night audience? FX should pick it up and pair it with American Horror Story!
Moving on…
Television’s equivalent to the Junk Food TV (JFTV) bag of tasty goodness is the same—it’s not the best thing in the world for us, but we must have more than one episode. Which TV programs fell into this ranking in 2012? Being Human, Breakout Kings, Lost Girl, and Men at Work.
And let’s not forget about Arrow… that Oliver Queen guy has me glued to the television screen. I find myself lost in a trance while watching this CW hit, and before I know it I’ve consumed an entire bag of Hersey’s miniature chocolates.
Now, this YA writer particularly loves a few young adult themed television shows (everyone knows how I feel about Pretty Little Liars…), and in 2012 I reviewed another ABC Family series that I now never miss: The Lying Game. Granted, I awarded this teen show with the JFTV rating, but I do like it a bit more than most junk food TV series…
Sadly, there were more than a few casualties in the JFTV category this year. First, and most importantly, we want to remember Michael Clarke Duncan, the cinematic giant who first captured my heart in the major motion picture The Green Mile. Secondly, we want to pay our respects to his Fox TV show that didn’t make it past its freshman season, The Finder. Sad, really; it was a fun show and his character was great.
Next, we want to remember Sarah Michelle Gellar’s CW series, Ringer. Man, I LOVED this serial mystery! Unfortunately, I was one of the very few… obviously because it too received a swift ax to the reel before answering so many of the viewers’ questions.
The sitcoms weren’t excluded from the JFTV series swept away a bit early either, like Amanda Peet’s Bent. I consider this a blessing because the love interest from Bent is now Jess’ love interest on New Girl. That David Walton guy is a cutie!
Also not surviving were those good Christian Bs or Belles from Texas, whatever you want to call them, on ABC’s GCB. Granted, it was a bit over the top for me, being a Texan and all, but I did watch every single episode.
USA’s Fairly Legal also recently fell victim to the latest JFTV slayings. And here I thought the addition of Ben would help the show out? Guess not. It’s gone.
Somewhat regrettably, we left 2012 with a few programs Still Simmering (SSTV) on the back burner and completely forgot to pay more attention to them, but we will…
First, we have Are You There, Chelsea?. Obviously we weren’t the only ones who couldn’t decide how to rate the Chelsea Handler based sitcom; it was cancelled. I’m not even sure they aired all of the episodes.
Next, we left The River flowing all by itself in the Amazon… and so did ABC. It won’t be back, so why should we recategorize it? We won’t.
We’re still not done! Let’s add Ashley Judd’s Missing to this list of 2012 SSTV programs never returning. At least the writers somewhat wrapped up this show for us so that it seemed a bit more like a mini-series than a cancelled freshman flop. BUT then they had to throw in that one little twist at the end to leave us all hanging. And now we’ll never know what happened.
And, yet another… NBC’s Animal Practice. I honestly don’t know if this sitcom ever survived the viewing audiences’ fury when the closing ceremonies of the Olympics were cut short so the network could air this pilot. NBC’s actions definitely left a sour taste in viewers’ mouths and this comedy never really had a chance.
And, another… Fox’s Mob Doctor. The network is still airing new episodes, but the series has been cancelled. So, I see no need to revisit this one either.
Now, there are a few simmering dishes that are actually still on the menu—Fox’s Ben and Kate, NBC’s Chicago Fire, and CBS’ Vegas. These shows may still be on air, but I haven’t watched many of the episodes since the first few. Maybe I’ll give ‘em another go and re-review for our WatchWed readers?
Well, we’ve made our way to the bottom of the pile… and just like my dinner plate, there will be no Liver and Onions TV (LOTV) for the audience today. Yuck!
However, I do have at least three NIV programs that I might tune into again on those nights where I need some sort of white noise on the television while I fall asleep: Lifetime’s 7 Days of Sex and The Client List, and ABC’s comedy The Neighbors.
And, last but not least, there’s one NIV rating that will probably never find itself on my television screen again… and that’s Charlie Sheen’s Anger Management. I don’t care if he has ninety episodes to go.
Before we go, I wanted to mention one of my reviews in 2012 that actually forced me into a small rant: CBS’s Made in Jersey. The show itself didn’t upset me, it was pretty entertaining… it was the network’s decision to cancel it and remove it after only two episodes. Maybe someone heard me or the others who slammed the network because they aired the rest of the taped episodes over the holiday. And know what? The show was seriously not that bad. But whatever. It’s gone now.
Well, there you have it! My 2012 Why It’s Worth a Watch Wednesday in review. Your turn:
What do you think? Did our reviews convince you to check out any of these programs? Are there any new shows in 2013 that you’d like for us to review? We’d love to hear from you!
Now click over to Amber’s blog and catch up her 2012 year in review…
Come back next week when Amber and I begin the new season of Why It’s Worth a Watch Wednesday!
Remember to stop by the #watchwed hashtag in Twitter to discuss any of today’s reviews, or to mention any television programs that you’d like to see on Why It’s Worth a Watch Wednesday in the future.
Tiffany A White's Ooo Factor 
Geez, most of these shows I completely missed, but it is sad how many aired a few times and then were scrapped. I saw one episode of Animal Practice because I loved that it had Andy from Weeds in it. Yah, it wasn’t going to last.
Hey, what are you thinking of the new American Horror Story: Asylum? I may have missed a blog about it if you already reviewed it. I watched the first season on DVD and I think it gave me nightmares. Creeeepy! Even the theme song!
The fact that Animal Practice had Andy from Weeds in it was the only reason I checked it out. Oh, and the monkey. But, I only watched the one episode. I miss Weeds.
What do I think about American Horror Story: Asylum? Funny you should ask… I just caught up on all of my episodes over the holiday break. For me personally, I liked season one much better. The Murder House, the ghosts and the infidelity twists throughout really kept me on my toes. And you are right; even the music is super creepy. But this season? I’m not nearly as spooked. I do like how most of the season one cast members have come back in cameo roles… that’s a plus. I really love Jessica Lange and Evan Peters. And, well, I like how NO ONE on the cast is safe from death. I guess we’ll just have to see where this season takes us…
AND, what season three will have in store for us. It has already been announced that AHS has been picked up again.
I have a few Tele-Tuesday posts already lined up, but maybe I’ll throw in an Asylum review soon for you, Jess. Thanks for the suggestion!! 🙂
ABC has cancelled so many good shows.
So many good shows, Emma. And my list is only half of what we reviewed this year. I know Amber reviewed Last Resort and really liked it… and it’s gone now too. I wonder why ABC keeps scrapping shows? Whatever they are replacing them with sure aren’t doing much better. Okay, I’ll stop complaining now…
Now, I will say that ABC has two potentially good ones on the horizon this winter. I’m blogging about them Tuesday. Maybe these two shows will break them out of their slump. If not for Revenge and Scandal, I wouldn’t watch much ABC.
They’re not showing respect for reviewers.
The second series of Revenge just started here.
What? No Beauty and the Beast? I actually like it better than Arrow, though not by too much.
I agree with several on your list, especially Grimm.
Pan. Flash. Gone.
It’s a shame that networks give some shows so little time to catch on. I wonder if we shouldn’t look back and see how some of the greats (like Seinfeld or The Cosby Show) fared in their first season. We might be surprised to see that some shows took a bit of time to find their groove.