Bi-Monthly Power Rankings- Honorable Mentions

I recently finished listing all of my favorite shows of the year, but what about now? What shows that are still on the air are the series you all should be watching? Well that's what the Quiet Pool Bi-Monthly Power Rankings are for. In the first rankings of 2012, we will recognize the shows that have been succeeding as of late, and some that will be returning to our screens for the first time in a while this winter. First up are the honorable mentions, which are not necessarily ranked 21-30 on my list.

Show (Last Time) red=moving down, green=moving up

American Horror Story (HM) Wednesdays on FX
I wasn't the biggest fan of the first season of American Horror Story, but it was definitely interesting, and I can't complain about what they decided to do in the future. I said throughout the first season that there was really nowhere this story could go following the events that were occurring. Making it an anthology, almost a la The Twilight Zone, gives it enough legs to stay on the air for a number of seasons. It was surprising, though, that they didn't try to keep stars McDermott and Britton on for the entire ride.

Boss (-) Fridays on Starz
Kelsey Grammer was fantastic in the leading role of Boss. The series was extremely well made, but lacked a bit in holding my interest overall. It did help that there were only eight episodes in the first season. Also, I will watch anything with Kathleen Robertson.

Fringe (-) Fridays on FOX
I don't even want to say much here, because I am speeding through this series so quickly at this point. Starting with the pilot about 11 days ago, I am now midway through the second season. If given time, I hope to write an entire post about how much I am loving Fringe. I highly recommend catching up on this sci-fi series if you have yet to watch it.

The Good Wife (-) Sundays on CBS
After watching five episodes of the last season before the Emmys, I was impressed by The Good Wife. Now that I've seen the first half of this season, I'm much less impressed. At times I have been bored out of my mind, and there haven't been nearly enough highs to make up for those lows.

Hell on Wheels (-) Sundays on AMC
This AMC series hasn't yet turned the corner of must watch television, but Hell on Wheels has definitely been one of the better new shows of the fall. Cullen Bohannon is a fun lead character, and Common has been a surprisingly strong number two as Elam the slave.

The League (HM) Thursdays on FX
It's had its moments this season, but there is no arguing that The League was a major step down from season two this fall. It came on strong down the stretch, mostly thanks to Kevin going insane over his need to win a championship, but most of the time it missed on a lot of jokes. Sometimes it just became to crude for its own good.

Modern Family (19) Wednesdays on ABC
This is the first time Modern Family has been out of the Top 20 since November of 2009. It has been on a long and slow journey downhill since bursting onto the scene. This year has just been extremely lackluster, and I can't help but not laugh while watching it these days. Phil continues to be the highlight, but other than him and the one sentence Luke gets each week, Modern Family just isn't all that funny.

New Girl (HM) Tuesdays on FOX
Zooey Deschanel has been terrific as Jess on the New Girl, and the show is worth it just to watch her light up the screen, but the rest of the cast is really dragging it down. Schmidt is off and on, Winston has given nothing, and Nick is just the absolute worst. Just make it all Jess all the time.

Once Upon a Time (HM) Sundays on ABC
If you can look past the absolutely awful special effects, Once Upon a Time has a great start to its first season. The story telling is fun. The characters are likable. Most importantly, I can't wait to figure out the inner workings of this universe. That's something that can make a show work so well.

Next Iron Chef (-) Sundays on Food Network
If you enjoy Top Chef, you really should start watching this cooking competition. On this most recent season, the contestants were all ridiculously talented and famous. You don't get all of the terrible food that some of the awful cooks on Top Chef put on the plate, but instead, you get fantastic food by fantastic chefs that you know. And as a bonus, the winner becomes an Iron Chef and joins the pantheon of greats in America.

Weekly Roundup- Alex, Max

As we near the holiday break some things are starting to heat up, while others are taking a turn for the worse. The big three continue to stay near or at the top of the Weekly Comedy Rankings, while a couple of familiar faces remained in the Top Five of the Week in its second edition. Let's take a look.

Weekly Comedy Rankings

1. Happy Endings
2. Community
3. It's Always Sunny
4. New Girl
5. South Park
6. Parks and Rec
7. Family Guy
8. Last Man Standing
9. Modern Family
10. The Office
11. Suburgatory
12. The League
13. Good Luck Charlie
14. Bored to Death
15. Rules of Engagement
16. Wizards

I went with Dean Pelton as the MVP of the week for his ridiculous actions on Community. Jim Rash was fantastic as he made both T-time and Jaydon's best moment of the week. Jaydon loved when he uttered "I loved you innnnnnnn, IMDB," and T-time thought the funniest thing on tv this week was the Dean loving Jeffrey's impression of the bald man.

T-time went with Alex from Happy Endings as his MVP, and after a second watch, I have a really tough time disagreeing. I gave Elisha Cuthbert's character best moment for when she wanted to make out with Max, but basically everything she did in this episode was revolved around that same concept, so an MVP vote could have been necessary.

Top Five of the Week

1. Homeland
2. Once Upon a Time
3. Sons of Anarchy
4. Revenge
5. Hell on Wheels

Homeland might have had its best episode yet this past Sunday, Once Upon a Time continued to improve in the early part of its first season, Sons of Anarchy had 90 minutes worth of heart-wrenching stuff, and Emily Van Camp continued to shine in another episode of Revenge, but I was extremely pleased with what Hell on Wheels put forth in its second installment.

Anson Mount has been electric in his first two episodes as Mr. Bohannon. With the introduction of The Swede in episode two, I already have two characters I enjoy 10 times more than anyone through 11 episodes of The Walking Dead. As T-time and I chatted about a couple days ago, TWD seems to be pulling a bit of a Sons of Anarchy season three situation, in that they're dragging a two episode arc into six. Let's move on and pick up the pace.

2011-12 Season Outlook- Cable

Here at the Quiet Pool Perspective we like to give you a head start on figuring out what to watch heading into a new television season. Although we aren't cool enough to get all of the pilots in advanced, we have seen each and every trailer, have done the research, and have listened to what the critics are saying about all of the new shows for the 2011-12 season. So below are some my opinions on what should be watch, as well as some early insight on what I will be watching this year.

Here’s what’s new on cable…

A Quick Look

Excited For
  1. Luck
  2. Homeland
  3. Hell on Wheels
Interested In
  4. American Horror Story
  5. Boss
Giving a Chance
  6. Enlightened

And Some More Depth

American Horror Story – FX – Premieres 10/5
Need to Know: It comes from Ryan Murphy of Glee and Nip/Tuck infamy. From the title and the commercials it seems to be very creepy. It stars Connie Britton and Dylan McDermott.
Quiet Pool Plan: I am all for the crazy and the creepy so I will give this a whirl. I have been told Nip/Tuck was good before getting too crazy, and I’ve enjoyed Glee to a point, so I’m sure this will start out with a bang, even if it falls quickly.

Britton and McDermott on American Horror Story

Boss – Starz – Premiers 10/21
Need to Know: It’s not Hank. Kelsey Grammer returns to tv after his most recent failure for this Starz drama. He plays the mayor of Chicago with a terrible neurological disorder. It also stars Kathleen Robertson as Grammer’s personal aide.
Quiet Pool Plan: The guy from Back to You and Claire Arnold? That will hook me for a while. Starz doesn’t have the greatest history of scripted drama, but you gotta start somewhere right?

Enlightened – HBO – Premiers 2011
Need to Know: Half hour series starring the Jurassic Park lady and Luke Wilson. That’s all there is to know.
Quiet Pool Plan: It’s HBO, so they’ve earned my attempt.

Hell On Wheels – AMC – Premiers 11/6
Need to Know: It’s a western about a confederate soldier, who is seeking revenge on Union soldiers that killed his wife.
Quiet Pool Plan: Since I am now a southerner, I am all for getting back at those terrible Yankees. And I love me some period drama, so I am in this one.

Homeland – Showtime – Premiers 10/2
Need to Know: It’s the pick by most critics as the best new drama of the season. More importantly, I will be reviewing it this fall for TV Fanatic. It’s a psychological thriller starring Claire Danes as a CIA agent. A marine POW Damian Lewis returns to the U.S. and Danes thinks he was turned by Al-Qaeda and is a threat to the country.
Quiet Pool Plan: Even if I wasn’t getting paid to watch this, I would be excited. It sounds a lot like what Rubicon wanted to be, but failed so miserably at. It should be a good one.

Luck – HBO – Premiers January
Need to Know: This is the one folks. The one I’m probably most excited about. It stars Dustin Hoffman and Nick Nolte, and it’s about gambling at a horse track. It will be run by David Milch of NYPD Blue and Deadwood fame. The pilot was directed by decorated filmmaker Michael Mann.
Quiet Pool Plan: This is as easy as it comes. I am on board. Let’s start the train now folks.

Dustin Hoffman in Luck