It sure was quit the week: Melrose Place dumped two cast members to become more like 90210, Dollhouse was demoted out of the sweeps, TV's holiday season offically started with Halloween episodes and some shows took their first week of this season. Yep, it was alround entertaining again and I just can't wait until next week...

Music
These songs are in my ears this week:
The Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition was heard on 90210 this week and proved once again to be very addicting and perfectly right for background music, but let's be honest, I loved this song since last year's Greek finale and just used 90210 to give an honorable mention...
Mark Salling - Sweet Caroline was heard on Glee when Puck tries to get to Rachel. Salling seriously knocked it out of the gate by proving he was the show's best male singer with a song that was both sunny and raw, if Glee doesn't work out he should seriously consider a indie band.
Matt Hires - Out Of The Dark on Grey's Anatomy brought back that old feeling of Grey's, plus Meredith's voice over and a great episode to end to, this song is both happy as sad.

Best Revelation
It would be easy to go with who was to blame on Grey's, but instead I'm going with Chuck's confession (or more of a by the way mentioning) that he kissed guys before. It's not the deed that was surprising (I'm from Holland) but the flair and ease he told it with. Just coming back from conservative America, I was very surprised that Chuck used the same mentality we harbor in Europe; guys, girls, who cares, just chill! Who knew America could learn stuff from Gossip Girl?

Up
These shows had a better week then last week, or just continue to be awesome
Heroes: 4.06 Tabula Rasa, after giving up on this show and deciding to try again, this episode was just in time. From the scene that Peter thought he stopped the gun only to find his insides were out, to Sylar's reliving his past (and Kristen Bell's face) and Hiro's first appreciated time travel, there might be hope yet...
Gossip Girl: 3.06 Enough About Eve proved that though Blair is genius with Chuck, her real power is having manipulative plans only to find that she failed. This time she got serious competition of no less then Vanessa, and both proved they were powerless against Hilary Duff's status, even when Blair manipulated her own boyfriend into the arms of a guy. The episode ended with V and B sitting at a table, spit out by their friends, with nobody but each other...
Desperate Housewives: 6.04 The God-I'm-Not-Going-To-Spell-Out-This-Name was another great installement of DH's tour back to quality, this weeks revelation was kinda obvious, but worked well enough for a cliffhanger and Gaby's and John's upteenth closure felt real and sincere this time. Bring on the next one!

Down
These shows are not doing that great, or continue ot slide down even further
Family Guy -, true, this show is doing just fine, but we're barely into the season yet and we're already skipping weeks? Come on Fox, just because you can afford to produce less eppi's, doesn't mean you should! Forget Cleveland, I want McFarlane back in Quahog asap!

Best Quotes
These dialogues had me laughing on the floor...

Carlos: "I know"
Lynette: "You know what?"
Carlos: "You're little secret"
Lynette: "Oh God, you know about the twins?"
Lynette referring to her unborn children, Carlos referring to the assumed boob job.

"Oh he's doing his Heath Ledger impression. Too soon, Roger, too soon..."
Stan on Roger laying on the floor drooling and shacking after accidentally taking rat poison.

"So, my interest in football ended as suddenly and dramatically as the climax of West Side Story."
Mitchell about his failed attempt to like football.

"I'm not in love with you, I'm in love with abortions!"
Cartmen dressed up as a girl in a wrestling match.

"I will go to the animal shelter and get you a kitty cat, I will let you fall in love with that kitty cat and then on some dark cold night, I will steal away into your home and punch you in the face."
Sue on what she will do to Will if she doesn't get the set list on her desk in time.

Notable mentions
The Simpsons: 21.04 Treehouse of Horror XX
Having a returning episode setting works great and the Halloween episode of The Simpsons continues to rule the subgenre. With an nice Hitchcock sketch, some songs and the death of Homer (thrice if you count becoming a zomby) combine in another sweet installment of our favorite part of Halloween TV.

Best Episode of the week
Grey's Anatomy: 6.06 I Saw What I Saw
What do you do when your main character is on bed rest and the biggest star is absent to shoot a movie? For the answer just look at Rhimes who delivered an original and gripping episode that touched upon every single character in a complete new way. The editing, the chaos, the pieces of a puzzle that you are just desperate to see resolved, it was the best episode of GA's sixth season so far and one to remember. And extra kudos for being the first episode since last year's One Tree Hill premiere that I desperately wanted to watch a second time, and even then it did not disappoint.

Apologies to several shows for being sick and working a lot so I couldn't watch them, I'll pay more attention to them next week, promise! So this was my week of television, how was yours?

In the wake of NBC's cancellation of SOUTHLAND there's not much good left to say about the network that used to reign television and is now closer to The CW then to TV's most watched shows. And then to think a few months ago I was going to do a piece about how great the peacock has become. Cancelling the raw show about LA police hasn't been the only fault this network made, let's review some of the decisions and features that differ NBC from the rest...

Southland
Though I wasn't the show's biggest fan, I was still very entertained by (Ryan Atwood) Ben McKenzie making his way through the life of a policeman in Los Angeles. The cast was very good, the storytelling was unique and almost cable-like and the season one cliffhanger certainly left enough open for further seasons. Back in spring, this show looked like it literally would be the next E.R., but now it has been cancelled, before the second season even started! It feels like fixing a marketing mistake made by renewing the show in the first place and they tried to deal with after there were already six episodes ready for the new season. So why the sudden rush? Why not air the six episodes that you already have, and if you don't like it, cancel it anyway. Is there really so much money lost by airing that you just opt to lose all the money it cost to produce the whole thing? Or do I just not know enough about television making to make sense out of it? Point is, a darn good show was canceled without any real good reasons. So anticipating the shows return this summer was a complete and utter waist. I am surprised at how inventive networks can get when it comes to bringing the news about cancelation considering the lack of originality they usually bring with the programs that replace the dearly departed. Bad, bad choice. Talking about bad choices, why do they cancel good performing shows like LAS VEGAS with a big core of fans, only to replace it with shows that don't even get time to build fans?

Friday Night, Medium Lights
I don't like the show at all, but I have to admit, the deal NBC worked out with DirectTV is worth being praised for. Speaking of someone who lost many quality shows because nobody would take them over is very, very happy to see that some shows do get a new home. And it probably wasn't a big deal for CBS, but taking over my personal on-off favorite MEDIUM earned some appreciation too. It was foolish to let either one of them go to be honest, but I honestly believe that we should thank NBC for green lighting these shows new homes.

Bringing back the main-stream shows
A while back I screamed that television needed some good main stream shows that satisfied the demand of the category they would be in. It seems like now E.R. is gone covering the medical category, NBC listened well by adding SOUTHLAND (cop), MERCY (hospital) and TRAUMA (action) to the mix. Well, they should learn not to listen to a teenager, because apparently audiences don't want GREY'S ANATOMY left-overs and shows that only have action-filled pilots and weaken afterwards. My bad.

Tips?
They used to rule the world, and now they just have Tina Fey, and apparently she's only good for critical acclaim. HEROES is not so much slipping as it is shooting downhill and there's not much that attracts the viewers for NBC, unless you're talking about a certain OFFICE. I think they should try and get a mainstream comedy with a pretty cast and really good jokes. Yes it sounds like FRIENDS, but at least that brought in the big bucks. All you need is pretty people and really funny writers, that can't be that hard to find? And how about sticking with your guns? Rome wasn't build in one night (the city or the show, you're choice), so instead of cancelling something after one season and thinking it's going to do bad, at least let it show you it's doing bad and then cancel it, like Fox is doing with DOLLHOUSE. Also, spending money isn't always the key. TRAUMA can have a action-packed pilot, but cutting the budget down for the rest of the season isn't helping anyone. Cutting budget on HEROES seemed to force the story back to the characters, which in one way is good, but it's still a blockbuster show, you can't just bust their blocks off. All I have to say is, keep up the good work with opening credits, I'm glad at least one network hasn't given up on what makes television shows really authentic.

The verdict is in. I've spend (too) many time on watching this year's premieres and with a couple of weeks into the season, it's clear which shows are here to stay and which ones are goners, heck, there has already been a cancelation and multiple full-season pick-ups! But whatever the networks decide, here are my favs....(with the apologies to those who haven't aired yet)

Best New Comedy
5. BROTHERS very dramatic, but still funny
4. COUGAR TOWN Courtney rocks
3. MODERN FAMILY descent cast, funny daily events
2. ACCIDENTALLY ON PURPOSE started amazing, but it's already slipping
1. COMMUNITY is funny. It has hilarious plots and kicking characters with different backgrounds thrown into one bunch that can not stop joking. It's simply delicious and has a really great feel to it. This could turn into one for the long haul. Worst:
THE CLEVELAND SHOW fails in every way. There are no funny characters, no really great jokes and Cleveland's voice was hard to ignore on FG, having his own show makes it impossible, besides simply skipping the whole thing. Best Returning Comedy
5. SOUTH PARK is still doing awesome, there's just so much retarded stuff 4. THE OFFICE just discovered it and really like it
3. FAMILY GUY they are back with very, very funny episode and storylines
2. HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER even when it's not funny, it's hilarious
1. PARKS & RECREATION is hated by every critic, but I simply can't get enough of it. The awkward humor is fantastic and Leslie is hilarious whatever she does. I completely adore the show and all of it's crazy settings. It's just too ridiculous to be true. Best New Drama
5. NCIS: LOS ANGELES fresh, fun and sunny
4. THE GOOD WIFE heartfelt, well written
3. FLASHFORWARD potential, let's hope it won't fail
2. MELROSE PLACE turn your brain off and enjoy the drama
1. GLEE is the new Pushing Daisies. There's nothing quit like it on television and it will most likely be canceled after two seasons, that's just how it goes. The dramatic side is very realistic and reflects a lot of what high school actually entails, but then there's the bursting out into singing part that would make any HSM-actor uncomfortable. The cast is majorly talented, the performances are amazing and the entire concept is pure awesome.

Worst:
THE FORGOTTEN is about a bunch of normal folks trying to solve murders. It's just like every cop show since these "normal" people have the same methods as the actual police and there is absolutely nothing refreshing to it. They trie to make it like they are closer to the story, like it's more personal, but the characters are so cliche you'd walk right through them and there's absolutely nothing refreshing. Let's just forget about this one.

Best Returning Drama
5. GOSSIP GIRL doing less then last year, but there was no way up anyway
4. CSI: MIAMI surprisingly reinventive and suddenly more attracting then before
3. GREY'S ANATOMY it's back and it's good
2. 90210 reinvention is necessary, and it became one of the highlights of the week
1. DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES after it being written off for good, the premiere knocked everybody out of their socks, with a perfect blend of humor and powerful drama the show is back to it's awesome core Worst:
TWO AND A HALF MEN is loved by a lot of people and so I won't spend much time expressing my utter hatred towards it. It's not even funny, I feel retarded for just recognizing the attempted jokes.