Bi-Monthly Power Rankings- 20 Through 11

Although it has been three months since the last installment of The Quiet Pool Perspective Power Rankings, they will keep the Bi-Monthly moniker, because I am simply shifting everything back one month.  August, October, December, February, April, and June works better anyway.  There's that, and there's the fact that I was way too busy moving and starting a new job to post anything at the start of July.  I still don't have time to say a lot, but I do have some new rankings for y'all so take a look...

Rank. Show (Last Time, Highest Ranking) green=moving up, red=moving down

20. Cougar Town (-, -) Unknown on TBS
Jules and crew have really come into their own after a dreadful start to the series.  This show is worth it for the Bobby/Andy bromance alone.

19. Survivor (17, 14) Wednesdays on CBS
It's still the most watchable and interesting reality competition out there.  If they could just find more successful ways of tweaking it every season.

18. Shameless (16, 16) Sundays on Showtime
I continue to be surprised at how much I enjoy Shameless given how many characters I absolutely detest on screen.

17. Sherlock (-, -) Sundays on PBS
If this series kept its quality while changing the episode style to 12 eps of an hour, it would be one of my favorites on television.

16. 30 Rock (14, 2) Thursdays on NBC
Wait really?  30 Rock is still this high?  It hasn't had a bad season yet, which means it's getting by on decent years with at least some laughs in every episode.

15. Parenthood (15, 13) Tuesdays on NBC
There probably isn't much time left in Parenthood's lifetime, so we better enjoy it while we have it.  Maybe if they got rid of Jabbar more people would tune in.

14. Boardwalk Empire (13, 12) Sundays on HBO
A fantastic finale leaves me excited for the story to be told in season three.  The issue is that they killed off one of the most intriguing characters.

13. Mad Men (12, 3) Sundays on AMC
The most recent season wasn't bad at all, but it kept feeling like nothing was happening.  Slowly but surely, things happened, but it didn't feel that way while watching.

12. Wilfred (19, 12) Thursdays on FX
Easily the best comedy of the summer, Wilfred stepped up in a big way this second season.  They continue to come up with hilarious situation after hilarious situation.

11. The Vampire Diaries (11, 11) Thursdays on The CW
Unfortunately it seems my favorite version of Klaus won't be with us in the near future, which has me worried.  On the other hand, there's always Damon Salvatore.

Bi-Monthly Power Rankings- 20 Through 11

It is that time again, and with the Fourth Annual Poolies only a month away, the most recent installment of the Quiet Pool Bi-Monthly Television Power Rankings could not be any more relevant.  As always, these rankings take into account current success or failure, as well as those achievements or defeats that occurred well in the past.  We now move onto those ranked 20 through 11.

Rank. Show (Last Time, Highest Ranking) green=moving up, red=moving down

20. Top Chef (-, 18) Wednesdays on Bravo
It wasn't the best season that Top Chef recently finished, but you can never go wrong with sitting down to a nice and easy episode of this cooking classic.  If the unbelievably annoying Sarah hadn't made it to the final three, this reality competition might have made its way even further up the rankings.

19. Wilfred (16, 16) Thursdays on FX
This strange comedy returns to television screens in less than two months, premiering its second season on June 28.  Jason Gann and Elijah Wood were terrific in the first season, with the former putting forth one of my favorite individual performances of the year.

18. The River (HM, 18) Tuesdays on ABC
In all likelihood, with the below average ratings it continually brought in, The River was probably a single season endeavor.  It was a pretty good season though.  The eight episode run made it possible to keep things tight and not bore the audience at all, while the mystery always kept me guessing.

How long could this mockumentary go on with The River?

17. Survivor (14, 14) Wednesdays on CBS
While I still find it as the top reality show in the game, Survivor takes a bit of a drop due to the severe lack of talent on this year's cast.  Thanks to the fact that the women have taken control of the game, we are probably in for a mediocre end to the season, especially since the lone entertaining dude - Troyzan - is out the door.

16. Shameless (18, 16) Sundays on Showtime
Even though the show found a way to ruin my favorite first season character - Lip - Frank and Kevin made such great strides in season two that Shameless continues to climb up the Power Rankings.  Now that I'm thinking of it, Frank's ex, his mom, Sheila, and Ian all were absolutely worthless as well.  Maybe I didn't like this season as much as I thought I did.

15. Parenthood (15, 13) Tuesdays on NBC
I feel like it has been forever since Parenthood has been on the air, and I've wanted to slap Jabbar across the face.  Do I just have too much hate built up right now?  There ARE characters on these shows that I enjoy.  Adam, Max, and Joel are a fantastic trio on Parenthood.  If they could find a way to get Sam Jaeger more screen time, this show could be in contention of the Top Ten.

14. 30 Rock (17, 2) Thursdays on NBC
Maybe I am still on a high from the great live show last week, which introduced us all to this instant classic - "Alfie and Abner" - but I think 30 Rock is having itself a fine season.  If Tina Fey could only figure out to write her own character in a way that didn't make me want to throw up so much, this comedy could make it back to the top of the heap.



13. Boardwalk Empire (13, 12) Sundays on HBO
Nothing much to see here as Boardwalk won't return again until this fall.  The HBO drama concluded its season in fine fashion, not unlike the similarly loved Breaking Bad.  It's just too bad that neither can figure out a way to start its seasons the way they end them.

12. Mad Men (10, 3) Sundays on AMC
Mad Men is great and all, but a conversation I had with T-Time recently helped me understand why it will never be in the same league as the top dramas on television.  The stakes are just never as high, and nothing ever seems as important as what goes on during an episode of Justified or Game of Thrones.  That's not to say that you need murders to make a show fascinating, but it is just the scope of everything that is happening just seems a bit trivial.

11. The Vampire Diaries (11, 11) Thursdays on The CW
The CW's lone hit has continued its success this season.  To go along with non-stop action, unlimited twists and turns, and some great romance among its characters, The Vampire Diaries benefits from what I have discovered is the best looking cast on television.  Top to Bottom, male and female, TVD's cast is the best looking, and I'm not sure how close it is.

Bi-Monthly Power Rankings- 20 Through 11

For my 81st post of the day, here are shows 20 through 11 of the March Power Rankings.

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

20. Dexter (17) Sundays on Showtime
I'm still holding out hope that this awful season, and the anticlimactic reveal at the end of it, haven't ruined the series completely.

19. Big Brother (-) Summers on CBS
I've missed this summer series so much that it makes its way back into the top 20.  As annoyed as I get by its contestants, it's still more interesting than most of the competitions on tv.

18. Shameless (-) Sundays on Showtime
The increased role for Steve Howey as Kevin has me thoroughly enjoying season two.

17. 30 Rock (-) Thursdays on NBC
It's been a long time since this laugher has made the power rankings, but a back-to-form sixth season will do that for you.  Jenna Maroney has been on point this year.

16. Wilfred (16) Thursdays on FX
The second season premiere date of June 28 already has me excited to watch my favorite man in a dog suit this summer.

15. Parenthood (13) Tuesdays on NBC
It hasn't gotten me as emotional as of late, but I always enjoy sitting down to watch the Bravermans.  I nice guest appearance by Kadeem Hardison a couple weeks ago didn't hurt either.

14. Survivor (15) Wednesdays on CBS
This season looks to be as good as ever, with a bunch of dudes taking out the chicks one-by-one...well except for the women winning this week.

13. Boardwalk Empire (14) Sundays on HBO
It won't return for a while, and with that finale, it's going to be tough to wait.

12. Fringe (HM) Fridays on FOX
I am still angry that I gave up on this show after seven episodes in season one.  I'm glad that I made my way back though.  It's been a fun ride, and I really hope it doesn't get cancelled this year.

11. The Vampire Diaries (12) Thursdays on The CW
The only bad thing about this underrated show is the fact that it takes such long breaks sometimes.  I wish all shows would use the cable formula of running straight through a season with no breaks.

Bi-Monthly Power Rankings- Honorable Mentions

There has been a lot of tv going on as of late, and since I am as busy as ever, I am extremely far behind on plenty of shows. To be specific, as I write this intro on Saturday, I am 48 episodes behind on shows that I am currently watching. I have also quit on more than a couple shows in the past month, which if you know me, you realize is a difficult task in itself. At the beginning of February, I skipped the regularly scheduled Poolies Watch, but nothing was going to stop me from putting the Bi-Monthly Power Rankings into the Pool for the 10th straight edition. As always, the Quiet Pool Perspective Power Rankings take into account both current and past performance. The honorable mentions are not necessarily my next ten favorite shows, but rather those that deserve mentioning at this time. So without further ado, here are the March Bi-Monthly Power Rankings. Enjoy.

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

The Amazing Race- (HM) Sundays on CBS
This All-Star season has brought back plenty of my favorite teams from the past three years or so, including the Globetrotters, the Cowboys, and Dr. Ned Shneebly-ba-deebly and his dad. But it also has brought back the 2009 winners of the Crazy James Zinkand Award for worst reality contestants, Margie and Luke. No one wanted to see them back on the show! What on Earth were you thinking?

American Idol- (-) Wednesdays and Thursdays on FOX
The first live show of Idol begins tonight and surprisingly I'm still as into it as ever. I will no doubt be disappointed as the weeks go on, but I am thus far impressed with the judging team. I am pretty ambivalent towards JLo, but I really like Steven Tyler. Switching those two for a Simon that had gotten extremely bored, a ridiculous Ellen, and Kara - who I hated with all my being - seems like a pretty fair trade. If Simon from the first five seasons was in the mix, then I'd be really upset, but he lost his mojo a bit towards the end.

Californication- (20) Sundays on Showtime
I have yet to watch this week's episode, but I have been a little disappointed in the season thus far. Maybe I was overrating because last year's finale finished in just spectacular fashion, because other than Hank's usual charm, nothing has been exciting in season four.

Cougar Town- (-) Wednesdays on ABC
Nothing has made me realize more that Cougar Town was actually a good show than watching Mr. Sunshine after Modern Family. A show that similarly started out awful, Cougar Town did grow into itself and was really great this second season.

Episodes- (-) Sundays on Showtime
The Mat Lablanc comedy finished its seven episode run last week and it was rather mediocre. There were a few decent bits here and there, but the main problem was that neither of the main characters were remotely interesting or likable. You can be awful and likable - see: Larry David - but this woman Beverly was nothing of the sort. I honestly wanted to slap her through the television screen every scene she was in. It was not a good year for Friends comebacks.

Parenthood- (-) Tuesdays on NBC
I had a difficult time keeping this show out of my top twenty. There have been a bunch of great episodes in a row, thanks in part to Michael B. Jordan's appearance as a much more enjoyable character than his Vince on Friday Night Lights.

Perfect Couples & Traffic Light- (-) Thursdays on NBC & Wednesdays on FOX
These two get one spot because they are basically the same show; three couples at different points in their respective relationships. I'm really enjoying both shows. Roy from The Office is killing it on Traffic Light, but I'm not two big on the other two guys in that one. The reason I was excited for Perfect Couples, Kyle Bornheimer, is one of the worst parts about it at this point. There's really nothing special about either of these, but they're nice enough shows to spend 21 minutes per week on.

Shameless- (-) Sundays on Showtime
I am currently a couple eps behind on this Showtime drama, but I've been enjoying it thus far. Down on their luck family scraping by isn't exactly a revolutionary story, but their spin on it has been interesting enough. I really enjoy Fiona as the quasi-matriarch of the family, and it is always kind of ridiculous to see William H. Macy as a stumbling drunk.

Survivor- (-) Wednesdays on CBS
Like I stated in my last post about the show, I have high hopes for this cast of characters. Agent Phil is getting weekly spots with Joel McHale on The Soup, so that is a good sign.

Wizards of Waverly Place- (-) Fridays on Disney Channel
As the current gold age of Disney Channel gets closer and closer to an end - with Jonas and Hannah Montana now off the air, and Wizards and Sonny With a Chance to follow shortly - David Henrie, Selena Gomez and crew are really making it difficult on me. Justin Russo is quickly becoming one of my favorite characters on television and this recent gimmick with the angels has been a joy. They're dealt with vampires, zombies, werewolves, and now angels. What mythical creatures will be next to take on the Russos?

Fallen out of the Top 20...Friday Night Lights (6, finished its run)
Now that it has finished its run on DirecTV, I decided to take Friday Night Lights out of the rankings. I never got a chance to write about the finale, so I'll take a quick moment here to mention how awesome it was. T-time tweeted something following the last episode that really resonated with me. "FNL finale has to be one of the most satisfying conclusions in memory." I completely agree. It wasn't the best finale I've seen...I mean wasn't even close to the Lost finale (begin shouting argument now), but it was definitely the most satisfying. You cannot argue with the way they ended the show. Just fantastic decisions all around. Deciding where to leave each characters story was perfect. Great stuff by the people at Friday Night Lights. I will definitely miss this show.