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

E vs. Vince take one

It's that time again. The Quiet Pool Perspective's Bi-Monthly Power Rankings are back for its second September version. I can't believe I've kept this up for an entire year. Before we talk about our honorable mentions, let's take a look back at where my head was in September of 2009. I obviously wasn't watching as much tv, because I only had six honorable mentions. Now I have to just rotate who gets a mention in this first post of the power rankings because there are too many that deserve a nod.

The six series were (in alphabetical order) The Amazing Race, Entourage, Gary Unmarried, Gossip Girl, Mad Men, and Rules of Engagement. Right off the bat I notice that the Jay Mohr comedy has been cancelled. Next there are those that I still watch but aren't on this month's edition; The Amazing Race, Gossip Girl and Rules of Engagement. Gossip Girl is the only one of the three that I feel got considerably worse over the course of last year. And Mad Men, as is noticeable by many of the previous rankings, has moved up the chart since this time last year. But that may be because I've catered to the masses.

Anyway, these are some of the shows that you might want to think about watching.

Honorable Mentions

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

American Idol- (20) Tuesdays on FOX
This time last year Idol was 10th. Just two months ago it was still in the top 20, but with the departure of Simon Cowell and the unknown of who will be judging come January, I can no longer rank this in the top 20. It is now out of my current top three for reality competition series. Which is that third series you may ask. Find out tomorrow.

Covert Affairs- (-) Tuesdays on USA
I posted on the new spy series last week, but I think it deserves another mention here. It's light but fun. The characters are great. There is definitely less serialization than I thought there would be at the start, but it's still worth it during the summer.

Entourage- (-) Sundays on HBO
Since it's my job to review Mad Men and Hung on Sundays, I have yet to speak about this season of Entourage. It has definitely been a marked improvement. Steven James Snyder wrote a nice piece over at TIME about how the story lines were much more interesting, and I couldn't agree more. Finally seeing Vince get punished for his foolish actions is a nice change. In a Don Draper-ish fashion we're watching to see how far he can sink this season. The addition of Scott Caan and the evolution of a much less irritating E has made for a good season overall.

Hannah Montana- (-) Sundays on Disney Channel
I didn't go out and buy The Last Song on Blu Ray, like some other people I know, but I love me some Miley Cyrus. Both the rise in effectiveness of Emily Osment's Lilly and the loss of Mitchell Musso's Oliver have been an added bonus to an already stellar comedy.

Hard Knocks- (-) Wednesdays on HBO
One of the best fringe benefits of getting six months of free HBO. I would have downloaded True Blood, Entourage and the like, but I probably wouldn't have gotten around to Hard Knocks. Having it on my DVR? Great! It's just a great inside look at the sport I love to watch most. It doesn't hurt that Rex Ryan is loud and cursing all the time, Antonio Cromartie can't remember his kids' names, and Mark Sanchez acts like a little baby during practices. All good stuff.

Ron and Sam fight

Jersey Shore- (-) Thursdays on MTV
As Bill Simmons and the Czar of Reality TV Dave Jacoby talked about, it's hard to find someone who watches a bit of Jersey Shore and doesn't like it. When I first heard about it, I was like "ehhh another reality show where the people are ridiculous but uninteresting. No thanks." Well after my boys in NYC talked it up, I started watching, and began to really enjoy it. Most of these people actually are interesting. My only problem with the second season so far is that every episode has dealt too much with Ronnie and Sammy. No matter what Simmons says, Situation is the MVP. Always has been, always will be. The dude is awesome and he needs to be the focus of every episode.

The League- (-) Thursdays on FX
With the start of football season coming up, The League needs to get mentioned here. A show that improved over its first season, I wouldn't be surprised to see it take another step forward. If it has more fantasy football plot in the second season (as is rumored by Alan Sepinwall) then I will be much more happy with it.

Rubicon- (-) Sundays on AMC
Here's a show that has taken advantage of the situation. It's the third original series on AMC. Coming after the critically acclaimed Mad Men and Breaking Bad, everyone assumes this is automatically going to be fantastic. I'm intrigued so far, but not overly excited about it. It's slow and none of the characters are interesting at this point. James Badge Dale is great, but he hasn't shown me anything good thus far in Rubicon.

Spartacus- (-) Fridays on Starz
Now that Mo Ryan and Ryan McGee have admitted to loving this show, I feel that I can actually write that I watched and enjoyed the first season. It is now socially acceptable. By no means is it great television, but there are moments of action and drama that are extremely watchable.

Ultimate Catch- (-) Sundays on VH1
I am not one to enjoy a reality dating show, but I'll make an exception on this. As a football fan, I'm enjoying watching Chad Ochocinco do his thing with the ladies. His taste and decisions are extremely suspect at times, but it's still interesting to see what he thinks in every situation.

Summer Poolies Watch- Comedy

Before I get into chatting about the comedies that have been airing this summer, I'd like to give out a two-sided warning. If you are one of my readers that love the Disney Channel shows, continue on excitedly. If you are one of my readers that write off the Disney shows without ever giving them a chance, then stop here because Party Down is really the only other comedy that's been on the air so far this season.

Let's take a look at the big one. The Seinfeld Award for Best Comedy Series. The only series nominated last year that that has aired is Jonas and after a revamp of the show, I'm shifting it to the drama category. So who then who is vying for a spot thus far? Well Party Down is right there on the cusp, but it's schedule really hurts it for the Poolies. Six eps of the second season aired during last year's time frame, and then four more came out in June. With no third season in sight, it's hard to imagine a nomination for four eps.

So now we get to the Disney shows. Here is my current order of how good they've been since June 1st. 1) Sonny With a Chance. 2) Hannah Montana. 3) Wizards of Waverly Place. 4) Good Luck Charlie. Sonny has excelled thanks to the vast improvement of Demi Lovato and an awesome two-parter in 'Falling for the Falls.' Hannah is off to a good start in its final season, with the exit of Smokin' Okin coming as a pleasant surprise.

What else have I been checking out on the comedy circuit? TVLand's Hot In Cleveland and FX's Louie. Neither have done much for me. Even though Louie is getting rave reviews, it's all Mr. CK and his down on his luck character/personality is not funny to me. And then with Cleveland we have a 90s style sitcom, which I'm mainly watching for the appearance of Joe Jonas later this season.

I only have four dudes in the running for the Cory Matthews Award for Best Lead Character in a Comedy, but does anyone other than Larry David have a shot if Curb comes out before June 2011? Henry Pollard and his final four eps lead the way, while Justin Russo and Chad Dylan Cooper, from Wizards and Sonny, respectively, have had good starts to the season. Louie CK, who some feel is the funniest man in the world, rounds out the group.

The Arthur Spooner Award for Best Supporting Character in a Comedy has had more competition early on. You have a trio of Party Downers in Kyle, Ron and even Roman who wasn't as annoying to me this season. Robby Ray Stewart has kept up his obnoxious antics so far and should be able to secure a second straight nomination if things continue the way they have. Although Sonny's Grady Mitchell knocked it out of the park with his "coupon" lines, Max Russo of Wizards is the only other one with a chance.

Quietly becoming one of the toughest categories to crack, the Phoebe Buffay Award for Best Female Character in a Comedy is off to a good start. What can you say, but adult television doesn't know how to create funny female characters. They leave that to the kids shows. The triple Disney threat of Sonny Munroe, Alex Russo and Miley Stewart will most likely be my one, two and three next June no matter what else happens. Casey Klein of Party Down had a very good showing this season and should be in the running for a nomination. Then there is Lilly Truscott of Hannah and the Duncan girls of Good Luck Charlie.

Not much to hate so far in the world of comedy. One comes to mind though. Lydia Dunfree of Party Down. As a replacement for Jane Lynch's Constance, she annoyed the heck out of me every time she was on screen. Also a couple to hate from Sonny are Nico, who was nominated last year, and Zora who should have been.

And finally we have the 'The Dealership' Award for Best Comedy Episode. I've got two in mind so far. Party Down's 'Company Picnic' and the aforementioned 'Falling for the Falls' of Sonny With a Chance.

And next we will have a look at the early season drama doings here at the Pool.

Bi-Monthly Power Rankings- Honorable Mentions

As the winter hiatus is upon us, four months of the television season has passed us by. A lot has happened since The Perspective's November Power Rankings, so let's see where everyone stacks up at the beginning of 2010. These Bi-Monthly Power Rankings take into account both current and past performance. For example, although I have enjoyed Modern Family much more than 30 Rock this season, the NBC comedy stays on top of the ABC laugher because of its historical performance. Without further ado here are the Quiet Pool Perspective's January TV Power Rankings.

Honorable Mentions

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

Bored to Death- (HM) Sundays on HBO
Jonathan Ames and friends finished their short first season run a while ago and won't be back until late this year. It's hard to get a grasp on how good it really is, but what I've seen I've really enjoyed.

Californication- (20) Sundays on Showtime
Hank Moody and his girls recently finished their third season in fantastic fashion. Although Moody is a great character, the show itself isn't one that I can't wait to see week in and week out.

Eastbound and Down- (-) Sundays on HBO
Nobody knows when Kenny Power and crew will return to our television sets. Like Bored to Death, Eastbound only aired half a season to start its series run. Completely hilarious, but I'll hold back giving it higher praise until I can see them do it again.

Glee- (HM) Wednesdays on FOX
The singers come back on the air in April and will finish the season with nine more episodes. Although I hesitated at first, the dramedy/musical has won me over in a sense and I always look forward to the musical performances.

Gossip Girl- (19) Mondays on The CW
The boys and girls of the Upper East Side took a step forward this season when they highlighted Nate, Dan and newcomer Olivia, but kind of sputtered through the end of the fall season when Serena became the focus of the series.

Hannah Montana- (18) Sundays on Disney Channel
A fourth and final season will begin in 2010. Hannah has gotten better and better as Miley gets older and older. Her comic timing continues to improve, and Billy Ray has been a comic genius considering his absolute lack of acting chops.

House, MD- (14) Mondays on FOX
The story telling on House has fallen off the map for me. The season started on a high note with House in the mental hospital, telling more of a serialized story. Recently I have not looked forward to the same old procedural plots each and every week. Losing Kutner was brutal to the show and now without Cameron I don't see a return to the top any time soon.

Jonas- (-) Sundays on Disney Channel
The Jo Bros continue to rise up on my list of awesome dudes. I absolutely had my doubts going into my first viewing of Jonas, but the three brothers didn't disappoint when I watched most of the first season in marathon style one Sunday afternoon. Sure it is corny, but with my love of Danny McCoy and Las Vegas, you already knew I enjoy corny.

Parks and Recreation- (-) Thursdays on NBC
The Office-esque comedy came into its own in this, its second season. Amy Poehler has her moments, but it was the writers' ability to get Chris Pratt's Andy Dwyer into the Parks and Rec building after his broken leg healed. Now able to interact with all of the characters, Andy has proven to be a must see all on his own.

Sons of Anarchy- (-) Tuesdays on FX
The motorcycle gang action series just finished its second season on FX in December. Sure I've only experience half of the first season, but it shows so much promise that I'm giving it an honorable mention spot already. I only see Sons moving up as I continue to catch up.

Cable Fall Preview

Although many of these cable shows have already started, I believe they need their just due here.

HBO
Entourage
I thought I'd mention the two HBO programs that are finishing up their current seasons. Entourage has four episodes left and it has been as lackluster of a summer as ever for the entertainment dramedy. Lowlighted by Tom Brady's awful performance, season six has been less than stellar. Stop following E's love life. Nobody likes him. It's torture.

True Blood
True Blood, on the other hand, has taken as giant leap in the right direction in its sophomore season. What started out as a weak-charactered vampire show, has turned into a fantastic-storylined supernatural thriller. The 10th episode of this second season was one of my favorite eps of any show in a long time. After this past Sunday's penultimate ep, there is only one left this summer.

Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm finally returns on September 20. After what was one of the two best seasons in the show's history, Larry David had a lot to live up to this fall. He found a way to get me even more excited. Prettttty, pretttttty, pretttttty excited. A Seinfeld Reunion. All four of the main actors from Seinfeld, yes Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss and even Michael Richards, will be major contributors on this season of Curb. Not only that, but the premise of the season will be Larry and the gang putting a Seinfeld Reunion in the works.

Disney
After the DVD release of Hannah Montana The Movie this month and the television premier of Wizards of Waverly Place The Movie this past Friday, the Disney Channel's big three are picking up major steam. Joined by Sonny with a Chance, these three shows have gotten me hooked on the Disney Channel as I used to be with Even Stevens back in the day. They don't come without major success either, as the Wizards Movie recorded the highest viewership of the summer, with 11.4 million viewers. I'm assuming most of them are not 23 year old dudes.

Greek
I have yet to watch the season 3 premier of Greek that aired tonight (Monday) but I'm definitely excited for it to be back. Whether it's hating on Rusty's awkwardness, loving Cappie's wit, or crushing on Casey for some inexplicable reason, Greek always brings plenty of entertainment.

Mad Men
Mad Men is three eps in now, and it started up where it left off. Interesting, but not entertaining. I find myself a bit intrigued by the stories and historical elements of the show, but they don't manage to portray them in a way that gets me excited for the next episode. I'd much rather watch a show that can entertain without being smart (the late Las Vegas) than a smart show that fails to entertain (Mad Men).