November Sweeps to the Rescue

It's the end of the world on Heroes, there's a wedding in the works on Ugly Betty, and detectives from CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Without a Trace are about to join forces on a case. This confluence of stimulating television events can only mean one thing: The November sweeps have begun … and not a moment too soon.

I never thought I would say such a thing, but I welcome the arrival of this sweeps period, which begins today and continues through November 28. I have felt for many years that the sweeps concept is outdated and damaging and, in this new world of ever-increasing competition from the ever-expanding media, somewhat ridiculous. Shouldn't the broadcast networks be giving us their best every month, given the mounting alternatives? What is the sense in having them try to crush each other with atypical scheduling three months every year?

But this fall I feel differently, because the first two months of the 2007-08 broadcast season haven't exactly rocked the world. The medium needs a sweeps stunt or ten to come alive.

Other than ABC's sizzling and consistently surprising Dancing with the Stars, it has been increasingly difficult in recent weeks to identify a show that has captured the attention of the general public. ABC has two early successes in Pushing Daisies and Samantha Who?, but the buzz for these shows seems to be largely confined to the media. Conversely, last fall at this time it was impossible to go anywhere without hearing people excitedly talk about two brand-new hits, NBC's Heroes and ABC's Ugly Betty. Tellingly, there was much interest beyond Hollywood and Manhattan in NBC's Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and Friday Night Lights and CBS' Jericho, too, though it wasn't reflected in the ratings for these programs.

There are other modest successes early in this new season, including ABC's Private Practice, NBC's Chuck and Bionic Woman and CBS' The Big Bang Theory, but it is my belief that if any of these shows were to leave us there would be little outcry from feverish fans. (A note here: The preview for ABC's upcoming Dancing with the Stars spin-off Dance War that was included in Tuesday's Dancing results show was terrific. If it lives up to the promise of its preview, War could be the hottest new series of the 2007-08 broadcast season.)

Several veteran shows aren't exactly cooking with gas these days, either. Heroes has lost its punch. (It needs a central unifying storyline, and fast.) ER has gone flat. (This is the medical drama that needed an infusion of interesting young interns; not Grey's Anatomy.) House has grown tired. (Or maybe I'm just tired of all those "candidates" and want the old team back.) Boston Legal has eliminated one too many "normal" characters and added one to many oddballs. (I wish the producers would send John Larroquette's Carl Sack packing and return Rene Auberjonois' Paul Lewiston to the canvas.)

What exactly is happening here? Why so much disappointment after so many consecutive fall seasons during which new shows energized all of broadcast (from Fox' 24, ABC's Alias and The WB's Smallville back in 2001 to the aforementioned Heroes and Ugly Betty in 2006)? There just doesn't seem to be any real excitement or energy coursing through broadcast at the moment, except for certain nights on ABC.

Perhaps what we are dealing with here is the cumulative effect of the networks' efforts in recent years to focus so intently on the month of January, spearheaded by Fox. I don't think I am too far off in noting that for millions of people the new television season begins not in September, when the networks throw dozens of new programs at the tube and wait to see what sticks, but January, when American Idol and 24 return to Fox' schedule. Even in this autumn of our discontent, I constantly hear people tell me that they cannot wait for those two shows to return.

Similarly, there seems to be much anticipation building for the return of ABC's Lost, which is set for February. And don't forget the minions that bombarded CBS with peanuts in protest of the cancellation (since reversed) of Jericho. Presumably, they will respond when the network brings that show back in early 2008.

One might also point to the delay in daylight savings time, which has done little more than increase this country's consumption of energy and decrease the ratings for its broadcast networks. It would seem that when it gets darker earlier, people stay in their homes for longer periods of time and are thus more inclined to watch TV, especially in the early evening.

Also warranting significant consideration is the quality of the content that several basic cable networks presented from late June thru early October. It is seriously difficult to sit through a number of broadcast dramas (especially the new ones) and take any satisfaction in them after a summer that brought us AMC's Mad Men, FX's Damages and Rescue Me, TNT's The Closer and Saving Graceand USA Network's Psych, among many others. Why were those shows so damn good, and why are so many new network dramas so bloody awful?

I don't blame broadcast executives. I blame their writers. Somehow, the idea that these people are threatening to go on strike and compromise the current broadcast season doesn't seem all that upsetting, given what they have been serving up of late.

I'd like to end this column on a positive note, because amid the mounting disappointments there are still many good series on broadcast television (including a couple of reality efforts) and many talented writers and producers fueling them. The bright lights of this dim fall include ABC's Desperate Housewives, Brothers & Sistersand Ugly Betty; CBS' Survivor, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Without a Trace and its oddly interesting newcomer Moonlight; NBC's 30 Rock, The Office, Friday Night Lights and Las Vegas; Fox' The Simpsons and Bones; and The CW's America's Next Top Model, Smallville and Supernatural. I'm also sending positive thoughts to two struggling CW freshmen: Life is Wild and Gossip Girl. There are potentially entertaining shows inside them that are struggling to get out.