The March Network, Primetime, Half-Hour, Live-Action Sitcom Rankings



Here are the March sitcom rankings. This goes through all episodes that have aired to date. Ratings and viewership numbers are considered, but it is mostly opinion based.

 

Rank	Prev.	Show	Network	% of Next Seas.
1	1	Community	NBC	100
2	4	Parks and Recreation	NBC	100
3	3	How I Met Your Mot…	CBS	100
4	2	The Big Bang Theory	CBS	100
5	6	The Office	NBC	100
6	7	30 Rock	NBC	100
7	5	Modern Family	ABC	100
8	8	Cougar Town	ABC	100
9	10	Mike and Molly	CBS	95
10	11	Raising Hope	Fox	100
11	9	Two and a Half Men	CBS	66
12	13	The Middle	ABC	100
13	14	Mr. Sunshine	ABC	66
14	12	Better with You	ABC	50
15	15	Perfect Couples	NBC	1
16	16	Rules of Engagement	CBS	50
17	17	Mad Love	CBS	25
18	18	Outsourced	NBC	40
19	19	Traffic Light	Fox	33
20	20	Running Wilde	Fox	0
21	21	$#*! My Dad Says	CBS	60

 

-Perfect Couples has not been officially canceled, but most of its Thursday night cohorts were picked up (other than Outsourced), it was pulled from the schedule starting next week, and star Olivia Munn seemed to tweet it was dead. I'm giving it a 1% chance of survival since it's not officially cancelled and if the stars of The Office, 30 Rock, Parks and Rec, and Community were to all suddenly disappear, NBC would probably have no choice but to pick it up. But it's dead.

 

-Parks and Rec, Community, The Office, and HIMYM (x2) were all officially picked up, and Mike and Molly appears to be a lock as well.

 

-Two and a Half Men continues to be an enigma. Who knows what's going to happen with that?

 

-Community is just holding off Parks and Rec. The Office is coming off it's best episode since the hourlong Niagra last season. Mr. Sunshine continues to improve, while Mad Love regresses.

 

-April includes the debut of three new sitcoms. Breaking In on Fox, which was not picked up until November and therefore not included in the season preview, starts up this week. Next week will include ABC's Happy Endings and NBC's The Paul Reiser Show. Those will all be included in the April rankings.

Some Random Thoughts About SNL 36x18 Elton John

Tonight Elton John hosts SNL for the first time. I don't know why. He does not have an album coming out, or a new Broadway show he produced, or anything. My best guest is he's promoting the royal wedding, coming up later this month. But he's hosting.

And he's the musical guest. He has done this once before, as musical guest in a 1982 episode hosted by Johnny Cash.

Some predictions:
-It has already been confirmed that the Knicks' Carmelo Anthony will have a cameo in 2 sketches. I'm gunna say the first of these is What's Up With That. And since Elton is pulling double duty, Anthony will likely introduce him as musical guest.
-Elton John will NOT perform a musical monologue. Just to switch things up.
-Elton John will dress in drag. He spoiled this one on Fallon on Thursday.

See you at 11:30.

Sketch 1- The show's worst recurring sketch, The Lawerence Welk show, is our open. And here's Elton as a piano virtuoso/confirmed bachelor. And tonight the sisters are being played by Elliot, Pedrad, Bayer, and of course, from inside the piano, Wiig. Not only is this sketch nontopical and not funny, it's exactly the same every single time. On the count of sketches where Elton sings, this is 1. C-.

Monologue- Elton mentions that he was musical guest back in '82, and "of all the things I tried once in the early 80s, this seemed like the safest one to do again." Elton mentions that he just had a son, and pokes fun that he has yet to lose the baby weight. He's being very self depricating, but it's much funnier than when Miley did it. Now he sings a line of Your Song (#2) just to grab the royalties. Much funnier than I expected. A.

Sketch 2- Midbreak- Some ESPN set, maybe women's sports or Greg and Randy? Yup, ESPN Classic, and here's a cameo return by Will Forte as Greg Stink joined by Sudeikis' Pete Twinkle. We've got women's shotput with Wiig vs. Carmelo Anthony. Stink making his classic offtopic comments. I've missed this sketch. And there's the sideline reporter, Stink's brother Steve, played by Tom Hanks! Hanks manages to have the Stink voice down perfectly. Excellent. A+.

NEXT WEEK: HELEN MIRREN AND FOO FIGHTERS!!!

Sketch 3- Midbreak- Looks to be some convention of wizards. It's a British antique show called "Fancy a Jar, Do You?" Interrupted by a BBC News update. A dragon is attacking London. The Knights of the Realm have been activated, those are the celebrities knighted by the Queen. Elton is himself, Hader as Richard Branson, Samberg as Bono, Hanks as Michael Caine, Killam as Ian McKellen, and Kenan as Sir Mix-a-Lot. And Armisen as Ringo, even though he's not a knight. Elton makes a Spiderman joke at Bono and points out the Lion King is still in theaters (by singing, #3). And the dragon was killed by Sting. and back to "Fancy a Jar..." A+

Sketch 4- Digital Short. Hanks is pitching a Laser Cats musical in space to Lorne. There's singing, laser cats, and an unnecessary Space Jam reference. And Melo! And the Dr. Oz set. Elton sings #4. A joke about the gap in Elton John's teeth! And Wilson from Castaway! Just fun. A.

Music 1- Tom Hanks introduces Elton John and Leon Russell, who collaborated with John on his last album. They sing "Hey Ahab."

Weekend Update- Libya. Employment increase. Trump and birthers. "Trump thinks any publicity is good publicity, just like he thinks any hair is good hair." Food coloring investigation. Here's Armisen as Khadafy. That goes pretty much like you think it would, but longer. Obesity stigma. Separated siblings dating online. Plastic surgery lawsuit. Kenan as zookeeper Barry Lewis, who caught the Bronx Zoo cobra. He brought the snake, but lost it. Then he finds it and kills it. Not funny. College dating. Opening day baseball. Hitler house. Bronx- the unhealthiest place in NY. "Get in the Cage" with Nic Cage (Samberg) where he asks other actors questions; tonight Jake Gyllenhaal (actually him). Cage is looking to make another "blockduster." Perez Hilton's childen's book. New everyday Lamborghini. Time Square food service. Solid, but the first two guests were boring. B-.

Sketch 5- Midbreak- We seem to be in some fancy room with an older Hader and Killam. And it's a royal wedding sketch. As seen in the Anne Hathaway episode, Samberg is Prince William, Armisen is Queen Elizabeth, and Hader as Prince Philip. Elton John has come to discuss performing at the wedding. As seen before, when William steps out, they the Queen and Prince become cockney ass holes. Now the three of them have become a punk rock group. Weird. B.

Sketch 6- Midbreak- Some sort of studio maybe? It's a show called "The Silver Screen" on Logo. Killam and Elton are playing the flamboyant hosts. Claudette Colbert- "those bangs just scream sex." And now, promoting Suckerpunch, Vanessa Hudgens, played by Pedrad. And there's a kiss between Killam and Elton that might just make Colbie Smulders jealous. And another. Pedrad's expression of confusion matches mine right now. C-.

Sketch 7- Midbreak- Looks like an old-timey bar/shoppe. It is, in fact, an old Western bar. Elton John rides in on a Unicorn. He's gay, but Wiig can't pick up on it. Very, very strange. But amusing. Oh there's a late twist that makes it funnier. B+.

Music 2- Melo introduces Elton and Russell again. They perform "Monkey Suit." Sadly, no classic Elton tonight.

Overall- A very strange episode. Only 7 sketches, a sketch without the host early, four cameos without What Up With That, mostly Elton playing himself or versions of himself. It peaked early but was never truly awful. The early stuff was some of the best in a long time. A-.

The Obvious Choice to Replace Steve Carell

Since Steve Carell announced he would be leaving The Office following this, the seventh season, there has been tremendous speculation as to who would replace him. Would it be someone already on the show, like Ed Helms, Craig Robinson, or Rainn Wilson? Would a past sitcom star, such as Will Arnett or Matthew Perry, take over? Others suggested the man who created the show in England, Ricky Gervais. Almost certainly, someone somewhere wrote that Rob Lowe was in discussions to join the cast. And just last week, Will Ferrell stated he was joining full time, although both Robinson and Wilson publicly doubted this.

But the one, obvious choice has never been discussed. The comedian America loves the most could easily fill the shoes of Michael Scott.

And now he's available.

He has name recognition.

He has sitcom history, with guest spots including 'Til Death, Becker, and Married...with Children.

He's been in some of America's most beloved films, including Aladdin, Aladdin: The Return of Jafar, and Aladdin and the King of Thieves.

And he has what matters most for an NBC sitcom star, a history at SNL.

It's time to bring Gilbert Gottfried to Scranton.

More Mad Men. Ugh.

So they reached a deal to bring Mad Men back.

There's a reason why they didn't want to give into Matt Weiner's ludicrous demands.

Nobody watches the show.

Sure, it wins Emmy Awards. You know what else wins Emmy Awards? Neither do I. Who cares?

The show is out of date. Where are the vampires? Why don't they sing?

Seriously, who watches this garbage?

A Random Look at Theme Songs: Lost

This is part of an occasional look at TV theme songs. I like TV theme songs. I have almost 300 on my iPod. So every now and then, I'll do a post on them.

Presumably the most popular part of the hit ABC series Lost was it's intricate and thorough theme song.

It is hard to say if any show has ever thoroughly encapsulated the entire series into the weekly intro as well as Lost.

The tune is catchy. The lyrics get stuck in your head. And, even for a show filmed in Hawaii, the images are stunning. Imagine seeing that in HD. Breathtaking.

There is little more that can be said about the theme to Lost. Perhaps the greatest thing to ever air on broadcast television.

13 Hours of TV to Watch this Summer When You're Not Watching Mad Men

Look, Mad Men is good. It's really good. It's probably the best show on television. The Emmy voters certainly seem to think so. It might even be one of the top television dramas of all time. I don't know, I never watched The Sopranos or The Wire. But either way, it's up there.

And it won't air in 2011.

It might never air again, it might eventually air with dramatic changes, or it might come back in the winter of 2012 as strong as ever. But it definitely will not air in the Summer of 2011. (UPDATE: Mo Ryan of AOL is now reporting creator Matt Weiner has reached a deal with AMC for 2, and possibly 3 seasons. So Mad Men will be back in 2012. Hooray!)

So what will you do for those 13 hours of your life? You could rewatch some of your favorite Mad Men episodes of the first four seasons. AMC would certainly like you to watch The Walking Dead or Breaking Bad or whatever else they air in that slot.

But here are 13 hours of television I would suggest watching. Probably none of them are the quality of Mad Men, but they feature top notch performances from the Mad Men cast.

30 Rock- "Generalissimo" and "St. Valentine's Day"

Community- "Cooperative Calligraphy" and "Conspiracy Theories and Interior Design"

Dharma and Greg- "Unarmed and Dangerous"

Gilmore Girls- "But I'm a Gilmore"

Grey's Anatomy- "That's Me Trying"

How I Met Your Mother- "Return of the Shirt" and "How I Met Everyone Else"

Parenthood- "Seven Names"

Saturday Night Live- "34x6: Jon Hamm/Coldplay"

The Office- "Customer Survey"

The West Wing- "Commencement"

Will & Grace- "Big Brother is Coming" Parts 1&2

...and the network show perhaps most inspired by Mad Men (although far less successful)...

Lone Star- "Pilot" and "One in Every Family"

The TV Musical Part II: Covers

This is part two of a two part post on musical tv moments/episodes. Today we focus on TV shows featuring covers of songs in advance of tonight's Grey's Anatomy's musical episode, "Song Beneath the Song." Two weeks ago we looked at TV performances of original songs in advance of the Glee episode "Original Song." 

Grey's Anatomy has been notable for popularizing several songs, most notably The Fray's "How to Save a Life" and Snow Patrol's "Chasing Cars." Tonight, the show ventures into performing many of the songs that have appeared on the show, including those two.

While Grey's has the talent for musical performances (Sara Ramirez won a Tony award for her performance in Spamalot in 2005 while Chandra Wilson starred on Broadway in Chicago a few years ago), the show does not naturally lend itself to Glee-like production numbers. It will be interesting to see what direction they take this in.

It is certainly not the first time a scripted tv series has had its stars break out into well known songs. While Glee does this on a week to week basis, several other shows have featured out-of-character musical numbers from their stars.

While my intention was to include clips of some of my favorites as I did two weeks ago, most of these videos are not available online due to copyright issues, so we are limited to a list:

The Office has done two cast numbers of popular songs, with Kevin leading the cast in a rendition of Kenny Rogers' "The Gambler" in "Beach Day," and Andy leading the cast in Macy Gray's "I Try" in "Andy's Play."

The cast of 30 Rock performed a slightly altered version of "Midnight Train to Georgia" in "Episode 210," complete with a cameo from Gladys Knight herself.

The finale of Will & Grace included a somewhat odd duet of the classic "Unforgettable" from Karen and Jack.

Finally, before Emma was blinded by the catchy tune of the Starland Vocal Band's "Afternoon Delight" on Glee earlier this month, Arrested Development played the same joke in the episode "Afternoon Delight," featuring dueling performances by Michael and Maebe and Lindsay and George Michael.

What other musical performances would you add?

A Random Look at Theme Songs: The Big Bang Theory

This is part of an occasional look at TV theme songs. I like TV theme songs. I have almost 300 on my iPod. So every now and then, I'll do a post on them.



Most theme songs today provide nothing more than the chance for the show to quickly introduce the cast to a first time viewer.

The theme song for The Big Bang Theory provides a 20 second lesson on the history of the universe.

"The History of Everything" by the Barenaked Ladies does not show the cast until the final frame, but still sets the tenor for the show. In fact, most of this season the theme song could be considered the highlight of the episode.

The song is tremendously catchy (more than any other current tv theme, outside of maybe the irritating "Jabba the Hutts" of Parks and Recreation) and the split second images matching the lyrics is perfect. All in all, the best current tv theme song.

Links I Like: 3/29/11

Rise and Fire- CBS's Gus Johnson calling world events.

Ed "The Situation" Sullivan- AdWeek's 100 Most Influential TV Shows.

Bobby Knight is NOT going to Purdue- Jason Whitlock makes up a story.

Smart people talking sports again- Will Leitch on the Mets.

2011 MLB Predictions

Here are my annual awful MLB predictions:

NL
East
1. Phillies
2. Braves
3. Mets
4. Marlins
5. Nationals

Central
1. Reds
2. Brewers
3. Cardinals
4. Pirates
5. Cubs
6. Astros

West
1. Giants
2. Rockies*
3. Dodgers
4. Padres
5. Diamondbacks

*-Wildcard

NLDS
Rockies over Phillies
Reds over Giants

NLCS
Rockies over Reds

Awards
MVP: Ryan Braun, Brewers
Cy Young: Matt Cain, Giants
Rookie of the Year: Brad Emaus, Mets
Manager of the Year: Dusty Baker, Reds

Leaders
Batting Average: Matt Holliday, Cardinals
Homeruns: Albert Pujols, Cardinals
RBI: Ryan Braun, Brewers
Stolen Bases: Michael Bourn, Astros
Wins: Roy Halladay, Phillies
ERA: Matt Cain, Giants
Strikeouts: Tim Lincecum, Giants
Saves: Huston Street, Rockies

AL
East
1. Red Sox
2. Yankees*
3. Rays
4. Orioles
5. Blue Jays

Central
1. Twins
2. Tigers
3. White Sox
4. Royals
5. Indians

West
1. Rangers
2. Athletics
3. Angels
4. Mariners

*-Wildcard

ALDS
Red Sox over Rangers
Twins over Yankees

NLCS
Red Sox over Twins

Awards
MVP: Kevin Youkilis, Red Sox
Cy Young: Felix Hernandez, Mariners
Rookie of the Year: Michael Pineda, Mariners
Manager of the Year: Ron Gardenhire, Twins

Leaders
Batting Average: Joe Mauer, Twins
Homeruns: Josh Hamilton, Rangers
RBI: Kevin Youkilis, Red Sox
Stolen Bases: Carl Crawford, Red Sox
Wins: Francisco Liriano, Twins
ERA: Felix Hernandez, Mariners
Strikeouts: Felix Hernandez, Mariners
Saves: Joakim Soria, Royals

World Series
Red Sox over Rockies

World Series MVP
Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox

Managers Fired During/After Season
Edwin Rodriguez, Marlins
Jim Riggleman, Nationals,
Ozzie Guillen, White Sox
Ned Yost, Royals
Manny Acta, Indians