Battle of the Network DVRs

ABC has announced their fall schedule, making it the final network to do so and giving me a look at what's happening this fall.

Which is basically that I'm getting a second DVR.

OK, OK.... not really.

I'm just going to figure out how to add more hours to the day.

Or stop sleeping.

Whatevs, I'm totally cool!

Here are some snap judgments about the fall lineup:

Hey! It's less complicated than last year! 

It looks to me that the only times my DVR is going to be overloaded (meaning more than two shows at a given time I want to record) are Mondays at 10/9c, Tuesdays at 9/8c, and Thursdays at 8/7c. That's only three time slots, and it's much better than the five or six I had last year.

So what will I do about it?

Monday is the Castle/Revolution/Hawaii Five-0 face-off, and although I'm not nuts about what has to happen here, it's pretty easy to give the hotties in Hawaii a pass - for as long as Revolution sticks around. I love Castle, and Revolution is going to be one of those JJ's-got-a-big-mystery! shows, so you have to keep up. Thursdays aren't actually that big of a deal because I can watch 30 Rock online, so the nerds (Big Bang Theory) and the pretty vampires (The Vampire Diaries) can get the spots.

But Tuesdays. What to do on Tuesdays?

Happy Endings, New Girl, and the new Matthew Perry show Go On are all at 9/8c, followed by Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23, The Mindy Project (starring The Office's Mindy Kaling), and Ryan Murphy's new sitcom The New Normal.

I want to watch all of those things.

Duh, networks. Those shows all reach the same demographic - mine. Why wouldn't you try to spread it out?

Ugh, looking at the schedule, I get it. There really wasn't anywhere else to go. But seriously, what's a poor little TV blogger to do?

Oh, right. Assume most of that will get cancelled by October.

You know, ABC, you might be onto something....

Friday nights are a weird place in television. They call it the TV wasteland, a sure sign of cancellation, but that doesn't entirely seem to be true. CBS has been successfully running Blue Bloods and one of the CSIs on it for several years, and Fringe will finish up its run this fall, most of which has been on Fridays. It seems to be a great spot for a specific type of show.

I think ABC is attempting to bring back the golden age of Friday night sitcoms (a la the 90's-era TGIF) by running the cheesy traditional sitcoms Last Man Standing, starring Tim Allen, and Malibu County, starring Reba McEntire. And if you think about it, that kinda works. The networks are desperate for people to watch their shows live, and it just seems like the kind of people who might watch those programs are likely to be home on a Friday night, doesn't it?

Wait, they didn't hopelessly doom any of the new shows? 

For the most part.... no.

I know, I'm as surprised as you are! NBC gave Revolution the coveted slot after The Voice, a smart choice because it is their tent-pole project for the fall, and the one they need most to succeed. ABC gave Suburgatory the prime real estate after Modern Family, and followed that up with the sure-to-be-a-hit Nashville, in a great spot with little competition from the other networks. They also made a smart choice putting the supernatural drama-fest 666 Park Ave on Sundays following hits Once Upon a Time and Revenge. I think most were expecting ABC to pair Nashville with their successful Sunday night chick-fest, but I think it's a lot smarter to give 666 the sell - it's a more difficult show.

FOX put the Jordanna Spiro drama The Mob Doctor at a good spot on Monday following Bones, which makes a lot of sense, and moved Glee to after The X Factor results show, giving it a boost now that the regular cast has been "adjusted" (or whatever buzzword they're using).

So what didn't work? NBC's Do No Harm is in a hopeless spot on Sundays, as are their sitcoms on Tuesdays (I won't even bother with names, first cancellations of the season) and the CW's new Beauty and the Beast on Thursdays and Emily Owens, M.D. on Tuesdays - just too much competition. And ABC's Last Resort is a weird choice for a 8/7c show - I think it would have worked better at the 10/9c hour.


So what do you think, Freaks? Excited for Fall? Confused about all the choices?

Laughing because you totally don't watch network TV anymore?

Sound off below!