Dollhouse series premiere is all-time series low

Well Joss Whedon fans, the overnight numbers are in, and they aren’t good. Ratings for Dollhouse’s season 2 premiere marks an all-time low for the show, drawing just 2.5 million viewers down more than 2 million from the spring series premiere. To put this in historical perspective, this is roughly half the audience for Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer on the microscopic network WB.

I’m certainly not an expert, but I can’t see this show lasting through the season unless something drastic happens. Shows on the CW don’t survive these kinds of numbers, let alone the much more successful Fox.

Ranking the New Shows: #6 – Nurse Jackie

In an early, draft of this list, we had Showtime’s “Nurse Jackie” ranked as high as #2, but over time it slid down to#6.

The show: “Nurse Jackie“

Synopsis: A Vicodin addicted nurse tries to balance a hectic work life with a messy love life

Debuted: June 9th, 2009

Our take: I started out really enthusiastic about Nurse Jackie, but by the end of the season my interest had petered out. The way the characters were first introduced was great- nursing student Zoey hovers awkwardly until Jackie snaps. Jackie manipulates her boyfriend into giving her drugs without him realizing that’s all she’s interested in.  And then the show seemed to be dragging it’s feet, which is bad news when your episodes are only half an hour long. The half hour format in itself is an odd fit- I think they were going for a Weeds-style dark dramedy, but a lot of the humor after the first few episodes didn’t work.

For the first few episodes, Nurse Jackie was “gray”- she was snorting pain killers and unabashedly using her boyfriend to get more (behind her husband’s back, of course), and you’re not really sure how you feel about all of this. Mid-season Jackie becomes almost two separate characters- in some scenes she’s clearly written so the audience is with her. In others we’re meant to be against her. There’s something ballsy about putting a character out there that you’re not entirely sure how the audience will react to, and I feel like the writers of “Nurse Jackie” lost their nerve. They write to manipulate, knowing how the audience will react to every scene. A better and more consistent “gray” character can be found in Mad Men’s Don Draper.

What it would need to do to keep me watching: Bring sassy, cynical, verging on angry Jackie back, and let us decide whether or not we’re disgusted or not by her behavior. Oh yeah, and leave the weird slapstick comedy moments out.

Handmade Awesomeness: Fall Premiere Edition

It’s Fall!  Crunchy leaves, apple cider, and best of all… our favorites tv shows are back!  Can you guess which returning series these handmade goods from Etsy.com represent?

Ranking the New Shows: #7 – Eastbound and Down

Danny McBride’s HBO comedy, “Eastbound & Down,” comes in at #7.  Of the 3 half hour comedies in our top 10, this is easily the foulest.

The show: “Eastbound & Down“
Synopsis: Former professional baseball star returns home in shame to teach a high school gym class before mounting his comeback attempt.
Debuted: February 15th, 2009
Our take: There are fairly consistent laughs, mostly coming from McBride and his trusty sidekick Stevie (Steve Little).   The show is largely adlibbed, which winds up being a gift and a curse.  When it works, it’s pretty much hilarious and completely unique.  The problem arises in that it misses just as often, and it comes off as lazy and uninspired.  There are stretches where it seems like no one is trying.  There are also scenes where it seems like the actors are fighting each other for attention, hamming it up to be the funniest one in the scene and those fall really flat as well.  We were also a little disappointed in the way that former “Deadwood” star John Hawkes was used (or should we say wasn’t used?)

What it would need to do to keep me watching: The first season was only 6 episodes.  It’s hard to imagine where the show will go from this point.  It almost has to change directions to some degree, so that could be interesting.  If it showed a little more discipline, it could be one of our highest rated.

Ranking the New Shows: #8 – True Blood

Crap! Fall is here and we’ve falling behind on our rankings.  Let’s try to speed this up.
“True Blood” is up at number 8. The show is incredibly faithful to the whole vampire thing… and by that I mean it sucks.

The show: “True Blood“
Synopsis: Girl bangs vampire.
Debuted: September 7th, 2008
Our take: It’s a good thing for HBO’s “True Blood” that I ranked these shows before the second season came out. While the show’s Nielsen ratings have doubled from last year, they lost at least two viewers in the TV Casualties screening room.

I gave the show 14 or 15 episodes before I threw in the towel. Looking back, the pilot struck me as mediocre, especially considering the talent behind the series. From that point, the series went downhill quickly. I was such a big fan of Alan Ball’s “Six Feet Under” that when I first heard about HBO developing this series, I ran out and read all of the books it’s based on.  I haven’t hated a show this much since “Nip/Tuck,” and I might hate this one more because I had so much invested in it.

What it would need to do to keep me watching: There’s so much wrong with “True Blood” that I can’t imagine it surviving any of the surgical removals I’d recommend. Mainly Anna Paquin. I can’t recall encountering a more obnoxious, irrational, and just plain dumb main character in any book, show, or movie.

2009 Emmy Predictions

After a brief hiatus, TVCasualties is BACK with our mothereffing Emmy Predictions. YEAH!

Drama Series:
“Big Love” (5/1)
“Breaking Bad” (2/1)
“Damages” (7/2)
“Dexter” (10/1)
“House” (9/2)
“Lost” (15/2)
“Mad Men” (1/2)

Our Pick: Breaking Bad
In the most humble opinion of the TVCasualties, this is the best show on television. It combines the artistic quality of an HBO series with the suspenseful elements of serials like Lost and the  X-Files, making it the perfect blend of art and entertainment. From top to bottom, it’s a fucking awesome production.

Our Prediction: Mad Men
While Breaking Bad is my first choice, I wouldn’t be upset to see the favorite, Mad Men pull out a back-to-back win. The second season was better than the first, and in two seasons the show has solidified itself as one of the best shows of the decade, let alone right now.

Comedy Series:
“30 Rock” (2/7)
“Entourage” (8/1)
“Family Guy” (7/1)
“Flight of the Conchords” (12/1)
“How I Met Your Mother” (5/1)
“The Office” (3/1)
“Weeds” (10/1)

Our Pick & Our Prediction: 30 Rock
Though I would have loved to see Party Down get at least a nomination, 30 Rock remains the funniest show on TV. My only complaint is that the show has become rather gratuitous with the guest spots, and those that feature the guest prominently usually aren’t very funny.

Reality Competition Program:
“American Idol” (5/1)
“Dancing with the Stars” (1/1)
“Project Runway” (6/1)
“The Amazing Race” (5/4)
“Top Chef” (5/1)

Our Pick and Our Prediction: Top Chef
Bravo has had the best reality shows in the last 5 years. Project Runway’s last season was probably the weakest, and Top Chef has maintained the excitement throughout each season. Not that it wasn’t frustrating as hell to watch that douchebag, Hosea, win it.

Lead Actor in a Drama Series:
Simon Baker, “The Mentalist” (2/1)
Gabriel Byrne, “In Treatment” (5/1)
Bryan Cranston, “Breaking Bad” (3/2)
Michael C. Hall, “Dexter” (15/3)
Jon Hamm, “Mad Men” (2/1)
Hugh Laurie, “House” (7/2)

Our Pick: Gabriel Byrne
No show relies more on it’s lead actor than In Treatment. And because of the content and the format, no actor connects more directly with the audience than Gabriel Byrne. I’m not saying it couldn’t have been a good show without him, but it definitely would have been a different show. It’s so intensely personal that I can’t help but get the feeling that Byrne is a pretty cool dude.

Our Prediction: Bryan Cranston
Another pretty cool dude. Because of his role in Malcolm in the Middle, I’d sort of written Cranston off as a lame sitcom actor. I was dead wrong. The writers of Breaking Bad put Cranston’s character, Walter White, in an endless variety of awkward, tense, and downright disastrous situations, and he nails every scene.

Lead Actress in a Drama Series:
Glenn Close, “Damages” (1/1)
Sally Field, “Brothers and Sisters” (3/2)
Mariska Hargitay, “Law & Order: SVU” (15/2)
Holly Hunter, “Saving Grace” (5/1)
Elisabeth Moss, “Mad Men” (5/1)
Kyra Sedgwick, “The Closer” (5/2)

Our Pick and Our Prediction: Elisabeth Moss
I’m calling for an upset on this one, based partially on the strength of Mad Men, in addition to Moss becoming a more central character.

Lead Actor in a Comedy Series:
Alec Baldwin, “30 Rock” (2/3)
Steve Carell, “The Office” (2/1)
Jemaine Clement, “Flight of the Conchords” (15/2)
Jim Parsons, “The Big Bang Theory” (5/2)
Tony Shalhoub, “Monk” (15/2)
Charlie Sheen, “Two and a Half Men” (5/1)

Our Pick and Our Prediction: Alec Baldwin
This will make it two in a row for Baldwin. He’s still the funniest character on the funniest show.

Lead Actress in a Comedy Series:
Christina Applegate, “Samantha Who?” (4/1)
Toni Collette, “United States of Tara” (5/2)
Tina Fey, “30 Rock“  (1/3)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “The New Adventures of Old Christine” (15/2)
Mary-Louise Parker, “Weeds“  (8/1)
Sarah Silverman, “The Sarah Silverman Program

Our Pick and Our Prediction: Tina Fey
30 Rock outclasses all of the other shows by a long stretch, plus Fey can pull of pretty much any style of comedy- self deprecating, silly, awkward, robot-penis, and more,

Reality Host:
Tom Bergeron, “Dancing with the Stars”
Tom Colicchio & Padma Lakshmi, “Top Chef”
Phil Keoghan, “The Amazing Race”
Heidi Klum, “Project Runway”
Jeff Probst, “Survivor Vanuatu”
Ryan Seacrest, “American Idol”

Our Pick and Our Prediction: Tom Colicchio (& Padma Lakshmi)
I actually wish it were possible for only Tom to win this award, because Padma has become a real harpy lately. Some of her comments (in particular, calling  Stefan’s dessert in last year’s finale “pedestrian at best”) were so pretentious I almost projectile vomited on the tv screen. Strong words for a chick who gets paid to stand there and look pretty as she nibbles amuse-bouche.

Supporting Actor in a Drama Series:
Christian Clemenson, “Boston Legal” (15/2)
Michael Emerson, “Lost” (3/2)
William Hurt, “Damages” (20/23)
Aaron Paul, “Breaking Bad” (4/1)
William Shatner, “Boston Legal“  (5/1)
John Slattery, “Mad Men” (3/1)

Our Pick: John Slattery
I can’t quite put my finger on why I like this guy so much, but I do. He’s one of those guys where I get the feeling that there’s a little bit of himself in the character, but there’s also not another character on TV quite like it.

Our Prediction: Aaron Paul
While Slattery is our pick, we won’t be disappointed at all if Aaron Paul wins. He’s a fanfuckingtastic character on one of our favorite tv shows. Cranston did a lot of the heavier lifting in the first season, but season 2 was an emotional rolly-coaster for Aaron’s character, Jesse. This is one of the most pathetic characters that you’ll still end up rooting for.

Supporting Actress in a Drama Series:
Rose Byrne, “Damages“  (5/4)
Hope Davis, “In Treatment” (13/4)
Cherry Jones, “24” (4/1)
Sandra Oh, “Grey’s Anatomy” (11/2)
Dianne Wiest, “In Treatment” (11/2)
Chandra Wilson, “Grey’s Anatomy” (1/1)

Our Pick and Our Prediction: Dianne Wiest
And it’s not just because she was the mom in the original The Lost Boys movie. It’s immensely entertaining to watch her and Gabriel Byrne play a sort of chess match with complex psychological and emotional concepts.

Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series:
Jon Cryer, “Two and a Half Men” (7/2)
Kevin Dillon, “Entourage” (15/2)
Neil Patrick Harris, “How I Met Your Mother” (4/7)
Jack McBrayer, “30 Rock” (5/1)
Tracy Morgan, “30 Rock” (5/2)
Rainn Wilson, “The Office” (3/1)

Our Pick: Kevin Dillon
Entourage as a show would be boring at this point without Dillon’s character.

Our Prediction: Neil Patrick Harris
He’s the hostest with the mostest… and he’s hilairous, too. The fact that I still hear people uttering words of shock when they find out that “Barney is GAY?!” makes it even better.

Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series:
Kristin Chenoweth, “Pushing Daisies” (9/4)
Jane Krakowski, “30 Rock” (27/20)
Elizabeth Perkins, “Weeds” (5/1)
Amy Poehler, “Saturday Night Live” (3/1)
Kristin Wiig, “Saturday Night Live” (7/2)
Vanessa Williams, “Ugly Betty” (9/4)

Our Pick and Prediction: Jane Krakowski
Being able to keep a straight face when she bursts into song mid-sentence deserves an award in itself.