thePeanutBloggery

Welcome to the post you’ve all been waiting for, the ninth and final part of the Fall Premiere Challenge. Before we announce the six winning series, we have some business to wrap up.

First, we have a couple of updates. There continues to be little activity from the networks in the form of pick-ups and cancellations; perhaps they’re waiting to find out whether they’ll have a writers strike to contend with come November 1st. However, CBS did pick up “The Big Bang Theory” this week. This show has successfully built on “How I Met Your Mother”’s audience (the show that airs before it), so it has been rewarded with a full season order.

CSB has also made the first cut of the season. Fear not, it’s none of our favorites. Last Thursday “Viva Laughlin” premiered with a follow-up episode airing on Sunday. The ratings were abysmal and rightfully so. This show doesn’t simply feature musical numbers, but they consist of the actors (including Hugh Jackman) singing over original recordings of songs like “Viva Las Vegas” and Blondie’s “One Way or Another”. It feels like an elementary school production. Add an unlikable group of characters and a weak plotline, and you’ve got a guaranteed flop. Thankfully I learned of the show’s cancellation before I made it through the second episode. Good riddance.

We also have two outstanding shows for which we need final scores.

Pushing Daisies (ABC) – This fairytale on speed continues to entice its audience with apple pies with gruyere baked into the crust, sword fights, and plastic-wrapped kisses. If you’re a lover of desserts, this show is not to be missed. First Week’s Score: 9. Last Week’s Score: 8. Score: 8. Final Total: 25

Life is Wild (CW) – This show is fantastic! Just kidding. It still sucks. First Week’s Score: 5. Last Week’s Score: 5. Score: 5. Final Total: 15

So without any further exposure to bad television, I give you the winners of the Fall Premiere Challenge.

Reaper (25) – Tuesdays at 9pm on the CW
Pushing Daisies (25) – Wednesdays at 8pm on ABC
Dirty Sexy Money (24) – Wednesdays at 10pm on ABC
Life (23) – Wednesdays at 10pm on NBC
Gossip Girl (22) – Wednesdays at 9pm on the CW
Big Shots (22) – Thursdays at 10pm on ABC

We’ve also selected four series to place “on the bench” (like Landry Clarke). We took both final scores and overall improvement into consideration when choosing these runners-up. They are “Back to You”, “Chuck”, “The Big Bang Theory”, and “Women’s Murder Club”.

We’d like to thank everyone for their comments. Hopefully these six shows will continue to deliver.

If you’re interested in watching any of the shows you missed, most are available for download on iTunes. You can also check out the shows’ websites. Many of them stream episodes for free.