FOX renews Touch, cans Alcatraz and The Finder [Deadline]
- There's nothing too unexpected about this. Touch performs decently and Kiefer Sutherland helps, while the other two were just doing awfully.
FOX orders a bunch of shows [TV Line]
- Noteworthy are the number of comedies. My guess is a 2-hour comedy block on Tuesday, and moving Glee to Thursday.
NBC renews Law & Order: SVU, picks up Chicago Fire and Guys With Kids [TV Line]
- You can't blame NBC for not trying. It's going the hot girls/hot girls route with Chicago Fire and maybe Guys With Kids to pair with Up All Night.
List of 31 rotten parts in pop culture[AV Club]
- This was published a few days ago, but I just read it today. It's a fun list, as all lists are, but I have some quibbles. The biggest problem I have is Buffy the Vampire Slayer's first season. First seasons can be good if the showrunner has a clear idea in his/her mind beforehand, but more often than not, first seasons turn into sketchbooks where writers can work on things before really digging into the meat of the show. I'd agree that the first season is weak, but so are large parts of the sixth and seventh seasons. And even if we were going with the very weak first season criteria set for Buffy, there is one obvious choice that comes to mind, Star Trek: The Next Generation. While first season of Buffy is very watchable--cheesy but definitely watchable, TNG's first season is painful, lacking the intelligence or intensity of later episodes and Buffy's innate humor.
