It’s that time of year again, November Sweeps. We’ve had five or six weeks of programming for most shows and now face some re-runs before the big Fall push to establish a shows status on the ratings ladder. But how are shows doing before their November extravaganzas?

I’m going to take you through the shows I watch and why I will or won’t continue to view them.

Monday

Two and a Half Men – Entering their seventh season there have been several significant changes. Charlie is engaged, Jake is growing up, and Alan is, well, Alan. Nothing changes for Alan, ex-wife makes his life miserable, can’t keep a girlfriend, and he’s still living with his brother. And the show, like Alan’s life, doesn’t significantly change. Most of the jokes are the same, just varied situations, the same brainless, horny teenage boy jokes and the mooching brother putdowns. The one ray of light to the series is the appearances of housekeeper, Berta.
Grade – C+
Viewability – Stays on my schedule for now, but could be bumped for any semi -interesting show.

Big Bang Theory – The guys returned from the Arctic research project and Penny is waiting for Leonard with open arms. And the deal breaker for any show happens; two main characters end up in bed. I was sure this would end this series by November. (Remember Moonlighting and Lois and Clark?) Instead they have shifted focus to the other characters with the relationship not being ignored, but secondary in importance. And Stewart and the comic shop will still make an appearance once and a while. Besides, how can you not love Sheldon squaring off against Wil Wheaton? Bazinga!
Grade – A+
Viewability – This show remains at the top, and won’t fall unless the writers mess up the relationship aspect.

CSI Miami – This show isn’t one of my favorites on the schedule, much less of the CSI franchise, but it’s like a car accident, and you don’t want to watch but can’t help yourself. Some characters are just getting more and more tedious as the series progresses.
Grade – C-
Viewability – Adam Rodriguez (Eric) left the series, and I may not be far behind, but I’ve said that before.

Heroes – This is a show I watch out of habit at the beginning of the season and end up completely drawn in by the end. This season is no different. The plot is weak, and there are a bunch of characters with powers introduced that seem to not have a purpose, so I’ll stick it out, for a while at least. Besides, I DVR the shows and watch in chunks, so things seem to be more cohesive. The Carney folk could be very cool. Especially Lydia.
Grade – A-
Viewability – I’ll continue to watch until the plots become an X-Men comic script.

Tuesday

NCIS – Gibbs and crew don’t change much. Ziva replaces Kate, Jimmy Palmer replaces Jerome, and Leon replaces Jen. The only other thing that changes is the ways for military people to die and reasons to kill them. But going into their seventh year no one has matured significantly, with the possible exception of Ziva. But the cast is one of those quirky lovable casts that make you want to watch.
Grade – A
Viewability – Another show that won’t drop off my schedule until the cast or the writing changes for the worse.

NCIS Los Angles – An offshoot show that developed off of a crossover from last season, this is being received with mixed reviews in my house. Linda Hunt, LL Cool J, and Chris O’Donnell seem to be the central characters and the most interesting. But there’s another set of players that don’t get the time needed to give them a personality.
Grade – B
Viewability – This show gets a pass for a while to see if they can gel into one enjoyable unit.

Sons of Anarchy – Last season the Sons survived the police, the feds, and each other. This season they’re dealing with internal strife and a white supremacy group that wants to take over Charming, and is setting the club up to take the fall for an array of crimes.
Grade – A
Viewability – The quality of story is not as good as last year but is still better than most. Not likely to drop of this seasons schedule.

Wednesday

Glee – I love to be surprised by a show, and Glee is that show this year. Jane Lynch is the reason to watch, the cast and the music is the reason to continue watching. Who thought that a feud between a cheerleading squad and the glee club would be the vehicle for good music and extreme hilarity?
Grade – A+
Viewability – A genuinely delightful series with some talented entertainers that will be on my schedule for the season.

Gary Unmarried – The show enters its second season and Gary’s going to change careers from house painter to AM radio sportscaster. The show has matured from Gary and the ex trading zingers, to the returned from Iraq brother and the son and daughter being truly funny.
Grade – B+
Viewability – Sitcoms about divorced couples are a dime a dozen and this is a rare one that is really entertaining. But it could go stale real quick.

Criminal Minds – Heading into their sixth season everyone’s faced their own personal demons, physical trauma, or both. But the personal problems are secondary to the stories, and the stories range from good to I won’t be able to sleep tonight. That alone is reason to watch.
Grade – A
Viewability – The weirdness of the cases may not be everyone cup of tea, but it’s mine.

CSI New York – With the exception of Gary “Lt. Dan” Sinise this cast of not well known actors has been holding their own and thrilling audiences for five seasons, and their sixth seems to be no exception. Picking up a couple months after last season, the first case to solve involves one of their own. And of course there’s the Compass Killer still on the loose.
Grade – A
Viewability – Not going away anytime soon.

Mercy – Another medical show centered around a group of nurses, but there wasn’t anything special about it. Not bad, just not exciting. Even Michelle Trachtenberg didn’t make this show special.
Grade – C-
Viewability – I’ll watch it when re-runs are on but it’s not worth going out of my way for.

Thursday

Bones – Booth is back from his surgery and is coping with his feelings for Bones after a dream he had while anesthetized. This almost ruined the show, but things went back to normal, Fleshless bodies and murders to solve. And Sweets has a girlfriend, and Angela’s still celibate.
Grade – B
Viewability – Still a good show but going into their fifth season you’d think Bones’ social skills would progress. Could slip off the list if the right program comes along.

Vampire Diaries – Based on a book series, this is a case of good vampire, bad vampire, and girl that looks like someone from their past. Sadly, what could have been compelling viewing is simply cashing in on the Twilight phenomenon.
Grade – D+
Viewability – I gave this three episodes before I relegated this one to watching during re-runs.

CSI – The franchise original is still going strong. There were some major cast changes last year, but things have settled somewhat and the team has gotten down to locking up Las Vegas’ worst.
Grade – B
Viewability – Solid viewing pleasure.

Fringe – Olivia returns from visiting the elusive William Bell in an alternate dimension. By crashing through the windshield of an SUV. And she brought with her a long term plot concerning an invasion from another dimension. But not all the episodes deal with the invasion plot. Imagine if Lost and X-Files had a baby.
Grade – A
Viewability – Should’ve been an A+ but I’m superstitious of a shows sophomore season.

Grey’s Anatomy – I watched the first episode and realized that I just didn’t care. A classic case of recycling stories because you were the hot show for a while.
Grade – D-
Viewability – Watchable, but unexciting.

Private Practice – The spin-off of Grey’s Anatomy has a great cast and characters, and some great predicaments for the patients. The problem is there’s just too much soap opera for some viewers.
Grade – C-
Viewability – Just a show I can’t get serious about anymore, but I still watch.

Friday

Dollhouse – Friday night primetime has long been a leper colony for TV programming, especially for Josh Whedon. Dollhouse seems to have found a way to survive the banishment and thrive. The character changes have been minimal from last season; the most notable is the departure (?) of Amy Acker. Notably is the maturing of the storyline. Key dolls are regaining/retaining memories, and this is leading to problems within the system. Is there anything Josh can’t do?
Grade – A
Viewability – I recommend that you DVR the episodes and watch in blocks.

Medium – Allison survived her brain tumor, just as the show survives being cut. I like the use of the daughters as having powers similar to their mother, but I think the writing staff has come to rely on them to often. I also think that the shows move from Monday to Friday is a nice way to let the writers salvage the show or a way to let the show come to a gradual, pleasant conclusion.
Grade – B
Viewability – I enjoy the show, but realize they can only do so much before making mom a superhero or a basket case.

Smallville – Heading into the ninth season we have watched the Superman mythos be torn apart and rebuilt, continuity changed, and unfamiliar costumes worn. So why watch? Clark has a costume (though he looks like a flasher), Oliver Queen has an addiction, and Chloe operates out of the Watchtower. It’s the hope that all the heroes and villains we’ve been teased with, that the show will get on track with proper costumes and teams. We even saw Clark walk out of a phone booth in one episode this season.
Grade – C-
Viewability – Me, I’m hoping for blue spandex and a Titans/ Outsiders team.

Of course there’s more quality viewing on the cable channels. USA, TNT, TBS, SYFY, Food Network, Discovery, and History Channel all have entertaining programming for our pleasure. And There's always football and wrestling.

So let me know what you think. What did I miss, or what did I just plain get wrong, and what should I be watching.