Bi-Monthly Power Rankings- Honorable Mentions

Even though most prime time television has been on hold for the holidays, and I've been watching The Santa Clause 2 for most of December, that doesn't mean things don't change in the Quiet Pool Perspective's Bi-Monthly Power Rankings. My first ever post on this blog was the Pre-Season TV Power Rankings in September of 2007. Three series from the top ten on that list are currently in the top ten as we begin 2011. As always, the January edition of the Pool's Power Rankings take into account both past and current performance. I am not a prisoner of the moment, but I do take the current state of a series into account. Enjoy and feel free to disagree with me, as I know most of you do.

We begin, per the usual, with the honorable mentions. These shows are not my ten favorites after the top 20, but rather a list of shows I feel deserve a mention as we head into the next two months of tv watching. Whether they have improved, gotten worse, or are merely returning from a long hiatus and thus need to be talked about, these shows are getting a mention at the Pool.

Show- (last time)...red=moving down, green=moving up

30 Rock- (12) Thursdays on NBC
I was definitely a little too quick on the draw, moving 30 Rock up to 12 back in November, but I may be a little too harsh dropping it off the list completely this time around. It has been better than last season, but still not as good as the other three NBC comedies (no, I'm not counting Outsourced). 30 Rock returns on Thursday, January 20 at 10:00 PM.

The Amazing Race- (-) Sundays on CBS

Flight Time and Big Easy on Amazing Race

The Amazing Race is a great show to have on while you're doing something else. And this season should be better than normal for a couple of reasons. First, it will finally be making the move to HD, and second, it is an All-Star season. Many of your favorite contestants are back, including the Globetrotters and the Cowboys. The Amazing Race returns Sunday, February 20 at 8:00 PM.

Archer- (-) Thursdays on FX
Archer has received plenty of critical acclaim since its first season premiered sometime last year. It is not my favorite comedy out there, or even my favorite animated series, but there are definitely some good bits every now and again. Archer returns on Thursday, January 27 at 10:00 PM.

Greek- (-) Mondays on ABC Family
In the next couple of days here, Greek will begin airing its final season. While it is not of the same popularity or quality of a show like Lost, I am glad that it took the same strategy of ending on its own accord. Since they knew that this would be the end for our friends at Cyprus Rhodes, let's hope everything cleans up nicely by the time it finishes. Greek returns on Monday, January 3 at 9:00 PM.

Hannah Montana- (-) Sundays on Disney Channel
This is epic people. If wikipedia is correct, there are only two episodes left in the history of Hannah Montana. After that, the only time we'll get to see Miley Cyrus is when she's taking bong hits on TMZ. She's already told the world her secret, so where will the two part series finale, titled "Wherever I Go", take Miley Stewart and the rest of the gang? Hannah Montana returns on Sunday, January 9 at 8:00 PM.

Human Target- (-) Wednesdays on FOX

Cast of Human Target

I am still two episodes behind on Human Target, which proves that I can't be THAT in love with it, but it still deserves to be given a chance (if you watch the show, you'll get the pun in there). If you like action, you will like Human Target. Now that former Chuck writer Matt Miller is in charge, I see this second season taking a step up in both comedy and overall story. Human Target returns on Wednesday, January 5 at 8:00 PM.

Men of a Certain Age- (-) Mondays on TNT
Sometimes I have a difficult time deciding if Men of a Certain Age is great television or something is just there. It can be a bit boring at times, but the characters are so very rich that it is tough to look away. Ray Romano continues to shine in the lead role of Joe Tranelli, but Andre Braugher and Scott Bakula have yet to live up to the billing I gave them before the series started. Men of a Certain Age continues Monday, January 3 at 10:00 PM.

Nikita- (-) Thursdays on The CW
I am definitely a few eps behind on Nikita as well. There is nothing about this show that is making me tune in every week, but when I have some down time it is a pleasant enough show to stick on the tube for 45 minutes. If you can get past Shane West's Batman-esque voice then it is enjoyable. Maggie Q definitely isn't what people were playing her up to be, but Lyndsy Fonseca's Alex has more than made up for it. Nikita returns Thursday, January 27 at 9:00 PM.

The Ricky Gervais Show- (-) Fridays on HBO

Animated Ricky Gervais and crew

Karl Pilkington is a buffoon. Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant laugh at his ridiculous stories. If this sounds remotely interesting to you, then you'll love The Ricky Gervais Show. Taken straight from Gervais's podcast, the show puts the three guys in animation and uses the cartoons to give pictures to Karl's wacky stories. The Ricky Gervais Show returns on Friday, January 14 at 9:00 PM.

The Sing Off- (-) Winters on NBC
The Sing Off got a ratings bump in its second season, and why not? It has a great format and a ton of great talent. While Ben Folds didn't live up to his first season excellence as judge, the second season of the a capella show was still fantastic. It's short. It's sweet. The Sing Off doesn't drag on and on like American Idol. It gets you the music and gets out. Nobody gets hurt. The Sing Off may or may not return next December.

Also fallen out of the Top 20...The Event (20) and Terriers (Cancelled)

Bi-Monthly Power Rankings- Honorable Mentions

Since many shows are on hiatus during the summer, and I am getting ready to leave for an LA vacation (writing this on Sunday), I'm only going to post a few notes on each series. The honorable mentions are some shows that I watch that don't currently make my top 20. They're not necessarily 21-30, but I enjoy them and others should think about checking them out. Without further ado, here are July's Quiet Pool Perspective Power Rankings.

Honorable Mentions

Show- (last time)...red=moving down, green=moving up

30 Rock- (12) Thursdays on NBC
The TGSers seem to really be falling out of good graces at the Pool as 30 Rock falls from 13th to honorable mention after a strangely bad season.

Eastbound and Down- (-) Sundays on HBO
The Danny McBride comedy finally has a second season premiere date. Kenny Powers will return to the screens, where he's always f'ing in, on September 26th on HBO.

Greek- (-) Mondays on ABC Family
Cappie and company are on what I believe will be a quick hiatus. Greek returns for a fourth and final installment before the end of the summer.

Hung- (-) Sundays on HBO
I'm not a big fan of the HBO quasi-comedy, but since I'm writing about it for TVFanatic.com, I figured I'd give it a quick plug here.

Jonas LA- (19) Sundays on Disney Channel
The reinvention for season two takes a dip in comedy but the corny drama is still really good.

Men of a Certain Age- (-) Mondays on TNT
Ray Romano is getting Emmy buzz for his dramatic role as Joe Tranelli, and deservedly so.

Mentalist, The- (16) Thursdays on CBS
The procedural is losing no steam in terms of ratings, but for personally I'd like to see a bit more serialization here.

Persons Unknown- (-) Mondays on NBC
The first three episodes have been decent to good. It's a nice summer thriller if not nearly on par with last season's Harper's Island.

Ricky Gervais Show, The- (-) Sundays on HBO
Probably just as good as a podcast, but the added animation puts it at the top of my animated series list. Can't beat Ricky's laugh.

Top Chef- (-) Wednesdays on Bravo
Quality reality competition currently airing this season from D.C.

The Flintstones Award- Best Animated Series

Named For: The Flintstones (ABC) 1960-66
Awarded To: Best animated series from June 1, 2009 - May 31, 2010
Last Year's Winner: Family Guy (FOX)

Place. Show (Network) Points (My Vote)

5. Archer (FX) 4 points (3rd)

4. The Simpsons (FOX) 6 points

3. The Ricky Gervais Show (HBO) 6 points (1st)

Runner-Up
2. South Park (Comedy Central) 12 points

and the Poolie goes to...
1. Family Guy (FOX) 15 points (2nd)

Family Guy is what it is. It was once ridiculously hilarious. It is now ridiculously hilarious, in spurts. Whether McFarlane and company have spread themselves too thin through three animated series, or they've just run out of jokes for certain characters, Family Guy has slid in its quality.

Oh, this is supposed to be a positive review right? Well Family Guy is still funny. Between Peter and Stewie you have two of the funniest characters on tv right there. It's just too bad that the schtick has worn thin on me. The wild tangents and constant allusions have gotten tiresome. Shoot! Did it again.

Yeah sure it's not that stacked of a category, but it should still be proud of this win. I think the second Star Wars spoof helped its cause quite a bit...at least in getting my second place vote. Something, Something, Something Dark Side wasn't as good as Blue Harvest, but this Star Wars fan will tell you that Empire Strikes Back isn't as good as the original Star Wars so they had less to work with. Yeah, yeah. I know what you're saying. Empire Strikes Back is well known as the best Star Wars movie. Agree to disagree. Back to the matter at hand. The season finale was a great punctuation on a subpar season, as their full fledged parodies are always better than trying to fit a bunch of spoofs inside of one ep.