THE TV COLUMN

Winners and losers wait for networks to act

— It has been about two months since the first of the new fall shows premiered and the network bean counters are searching for blood in the water.

While you’re sitting at home watching the new series you like and ignoring those you don’t, network suits are swilling Pepto-Bismol, crunching numbers and deciding the fate of their freshmen so they can regroup during the holiday hiatus.

Waiting in the wings are a number of midseason programs that many of us in the TV critic community thought were better offerings than the herd that debuted in September. The networks, however, have a lot of time and money invested in their programs and don’t want to pull any plugs prematurely.

All sorts of factors are considered. There are not only overall ratings; much more weight is given to the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic.

Besides live ratings to ponder, there’s the added factor of folks watching a program delayed on DVRs or on demand. For some shows, the added DVR numbers are significant.

Given all that, the nation’s TV critics have begun to examine the landscape for the fall season’s winners, those squatting on the fence, and the walking dead just waiting for the ax to fall.

Most of the critics’ observations tend to be similar given the same subject matter, and I agree with most of them. One of the more useful analyses came across the TV wire recently from Newsday, which broke it down by network. Here’s the gist of what was said, with my own spin slathered on top.

NBC

“About time,” is what the Peacock Network executives must be saying to themselves. NBC has been on the bottom of the heap for so long that the only way out was up.

Arkansans love pro football, and it’s scoring well on NBC with the 18-to-49 eyeballs, as is The Voice. But most encouraging is that NBC finally has a drama to which the viewers have taken a shine.

Revolution, the J.J. Abrams Monday night post-apocalypse adventure, has found a niche. It’s part Hunger Games, part martial arts action, part conspiracy thriller and part sci-fi mystery suspense.

Viewers find the characters compelling and the storytelling relatable. It’s neither as dense as Abrams’ Lost, nor as dependent on a single character, as was his Alias with Jennifer Garner.

Doing well enough to score full-season orders are Matthew Perry’s Go On and The New Normal.

The jury is still out on Dick Wolf’s foray into firehouse drama, Chicago Fire.

Already among the dearly departed is Animal Practice, with Guys With Kids barely on life support.

ABC

Nothing has broken out of the freshman pack for ABC. That includes the struggling topper on many best new drama lists (including mine), Nashville.

Instead, ABC is relying on a stable of veterans (Modern Family, Dancing With the Stars, Revenge) to do the heavy ratings lifting.

Highly hyped but in danger of being canned are 666 Park Avenue and Last Resort. The latter was No. 2 on my pre-season best new shows list. I still never miss an episode, but it’s not attracting the national audience the network had hoped.

CBS

CBS tops the networks in the number of viewers, but even old favorites (excluding NCIS) are slipping a bit.

Elementary and Vegas have gotten full-season orders, but Vegas is still searching for a solid audience.

Losers? Made in Jersey lasted only two episodes, and Partners is limping along on borrowed time. Look for it to disappear by the end of the year.

FOX

All those millions for new judges (Britney Spears, Demi Lovato) on The X Factor are not showing up in dramatically better ratings. Wait! Khloe Kardashian is a co-host for the live shows. Never mind.

New Fox shows that are holding their breath are The Mindy Project (which I could take or leave) and the adorable, nicely crafted Ben and Kate (which I love).

The one show universally panned and certainly doomed is The Mob Doctor. It wastes the talents of Jordana Spiro.

THE CW

The mini network aims for a narrow audience, and Arrow has found a place there (and a full-season order).

Emily Owens, M.D. is under performing and disappointing, and the badly written and acted Beauty and the Beast would already be gone if there was anything to replace it.

The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. E-mail:

mstorey@arkansasonline.com

Style, Pages 28 on 11/13/2012

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