MagneticMediaFed

Maybe it’s because I can’t take TNT seriously. The Law and Order/You’ve Got Mail/NBA-network has managed to exist since the near-introuduction of cable as a distrubution channel with virtually no standout programming (the NBA does count, but anyone who has flipped on TNT in the middle of a Tuesday knows the network is hardly the poster-child for basketball). And yet, silently, amazingly, TNT has managed to air the single most watched scripted program ever to air on basic-cable with the second season premiere of The Closer starring the rather attractive Kyra Sedgwick. It also got higher ratings then everything on the networks– aside from CBS who was rerunning a couple Two and a Half Men episodes.

So, is this show really that good? I guess I’ll tune in next week to check it out.

Also, the network premiered Saved after The Closer, and it held onto a good portion of the audience (its on my DVR, but unwatched as of this writing). Good work TNT, way to prove that an old dog can learn a few new tricks.

ALSO

• NBC has uploaded a four-minute preview of 30 Rock, Tina Fey’s “It’s not exactly like SNL” comedy. It looks kinda funny.
• The Lifetime cable network* is going to be launching a series of webisodes called Inspector Mom that will be jumping off from a movie of the same name. An intriguing premise. Oh yeah, and it’ll star Winne Cooper!! BAM!

*I watched the second episode of Lifetime’s new comedy Lovespring International and found it to be the funniest thing I’d seen on television in weeks. It was leaps and bounds above the pilot. Try to catch the replay this week.

The mockumentary has become a pretty well-worn format. That being said, Lovespring International succeeds almost exclusively because its on Lifetime, the least funny network in the entire cable spectrum (actually, I think Time Warner offers a channel featuring nothing but According to Jim. Oh wait, nevermind, that’s ABC). Had Lovespring been on, say, Comedy Central, it’d probably still get a pass (this is the network of Mind of Mencia and Larry the Cableguy (hmm, didn’t he quit the cable gig and start health inspecting?), but it’d surely get a little more scrutiny.

I’m still going to watch Lovespring, not so much because its this fantastic show, but because I find it awesome that my DVR is scheduled to record something each week on Lifetime. I’m also starved for televised comedy, which is of no surprise to regular readers of this site.

Perhaps the worst thing about Lovespring International is that its just funny enough to make me wish Sons and Daughters hadn’t been canceled (this, however, might change that).

Related: Dog Bites Man starts tonight at 10:30pm on Comedy Central. Come for Matt Walsh, stay for Zach Galifianakis.

Programming note, before I get started: I missed Lovespring International last night (the new comedy series on Lifetime) as my DVR became confused by a few too many bookings. Who programs a new series for 11pm? That’s Daily Show/Adult Swim/reruns of Seinfeld territory. I mean, I’m a young male, the chosen demo, surely the “women’s network” wouldn’t want to squander our viewership, right?

Anyway.

CBS has been airing this sit-com starring Julia-Louis Dreyfus called, The New Adventures of Old Christine, and it seems to be mildly successful. By mildly successful I mean it’s attracting viewers, got renewed, and has garnered, if not favorable reviews, then non-negative reviews, which is about all you can ask out of a mainstream sit-com (wow, I just reread that sentence and feel kind of depressed).

Last night’s episode had to do with Old Christine going to her son’s something at school, and how the kid finally met New Christine, who he really liked. Honestly, I laughed a few times, and if the transitive property is to be believed, I guess this means I liked the show. It should be noted, however, that my continued watching hinges mostly on the fact that it is summer and there really isn’t a lot else on the dial (my TV has a dial, does yours?).

Months ago I declared laugh tracks obsolete. While I still feel this way, two track-infused shows has crept into my TV lineup, How I Met Your Mother and now The New Adventures of Old Christine. I guess we can focus this blame on CBS. HIMYM (which looks almost dirty when abbreviated) relies frequently on editing in its jokes making a live audience an impossibility, but there isn’t any reason TNAOOC (what?!) should rely on canned laughs.

While I’m not wholly enthusiastic about it, the biggest selling point for the new HBO comedy Lucky Louie (aside from Louis C.K.’s Pootie Tang connection) is its use of an actual LIVE studio audience. I don’t care if you want to put a three-camera show on the air, but at least respect you viewers enough to give them actual laughs.