I like quirky shows. I do. And I wanted to like Glee. I even sort of liked the pilot last season. I didn’t love it, but I liked it well enough to commit to trying it in the fall. When it returned, I hated it. Oh, there are certain charming aspects, and of the three episodes I’ve watched since the fall premiere there have been moments that make me really want to like the show. But there’s something about it that just rubs me the wrong way. I finally figured out what it is: This is one of the most misogynistic shows on TV right now.

Every single female on the show is lying, scheming, manipulative or just downright evil. The only exception is Emma, who is crazy, instead. Females are treated pretty poorly on TV in general, but I can’t think of any other show where there is not at least one female who is presented in a more positive light. Even Dollhouse, which people love to accuse of misogyny, doesn’t present the whole female population as either crazy or manipulative.

Now, if the show presented everyone, male and female, in similar lights, that would be another story. But the males on the show are all innocent, good people. Every lying, scheming woman, is lying and scheming to a man. Not the other way around.

So while there are reasons to enjoy the show, I’m glad I’ve pinpointed the reason why I can’t. It’s a much more definitively answer to give to people who ask why I’m not watching than just, “Half the time, it makes me want to throw my TV out the window for some reason.”

I know, I know.  You love John Noble as Dr. Walter Bishop.  You just want to pinch his cheeks.  You wish that Astrid had a bigger role.  You liked that you got to learn more about Agent Broyles last night and you even got to see him crack a smile in last night’s opener.

You loved the special effect of the dead  “dust people” and the “shadow man”.

Generally, you think the Fringe has gotten better in season two.

You were worried when FOX moved the show to Thursday.  But we told you to relax, that FOX was just looking to improve its overall standing on Thursdays (and the fall in general, for that matter) and could tolerate big decreases over last year’s numbers. And all that was probably true at the time, but now is another time, with another truth.

Sure the ratings were a bit worrisome before last night.  Now they are quite worrisome.

There are some common misconceptions:

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Congratulations to Jay Aquino who won our “guess the ratings” contest for the second episode of USA Network’s White Collar.   Jay’s guess of 5.068 million was only 7,000 viewers off the actual total of 5.075 million.

Jay won  The White Collar Ultimate Gentlemen’s Bag. A prize package worth over $500 (FTC disclosure: prizes courtesy of USA Network):

Inspired by Neal Caffrey’s classic style and taste for luxury, the Ultimate Gentleman’s Bag features a collection of sophisticated essentials that will delight both male and female stylemakers alike.  Neal himself will want to get his hands on this bag, the perfect accessory for fall.

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Lacey Rose interviewed House producers Katie Jacobs and David Shore (who also created the show) for Forbes:

As a broadcast storyteller, what’s the biggest challenge facing you today?

Shore: If you’re referring to broadcast, as opposed to cable, there’s obviously a difference, but I have very rarely felt hamstrung in my storytelling. We obviously can’t show nudity, we can’t curse and we have to have commercial breaks built into it, but the essentials of the story wouldn’t be any different anywhere else.

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Will the Parents Television Council do anything it possibly can to promote ITSELF, even if that is cross-purpose from its stated agenda?

The answer appears to be yes.

I mean c’mon. Hardly anyone was watching Gossip Girl anyway, if your goal is to keep people from watching it, why do anything that draws more  attention to it?

From The Wrap:

The Parents Television Council is threatening to declare war on CW affiliates who broadcast next week’s Very Special Threesome episode of “Gossip Girl.”

In a letter to affiliates obtained by TheWrap, PTC chief Tim Winter blasts the scheduled storyline as “reckless and irresponsible” and claims the show is “expressly targeted to impressionable teenagers.” The head of the right-wing political action group says CW affiliates which air the episode will be “complicit in establishing a precedent and expectation that teenagers should engage in behaviors heretofore associated primarily with adult films.”

At long last, V finally airs tonight, and I will re-watch at least the first 9.5 minutes just to see the opening on the big screen in high definition.  I liked the pilot, but I’m not expecting much from the next few episodes that follow based on the reported turmoil with show production.

The good news for V is that ABC did give it a bit of promotion.  We weren’t pelted with it for 3 months like we were with Flash Forward, but I saw lots of promos for it on ABC and ESPN.  More good news, there’s no World Series game up against it or NFL football.  It does face off against the beat that is Leroy Jethro Gibbs NCIS as well as The Biggest Loser and So You Think You Can Dance, but,I suppose it could’ve been worse.

I always seem to predict too conservatively, and this might not be an exception. With that caveat, my guess is 9.25 million average audience and a 3.2 adults 18-49 rating in the overnight numbers.

While much has been made of TNT airing the already produced episodes of Southland, Eric Deggans of the St. Peterburg times asks the question that may wind up being the biggest news of the move to TNT: will TNT bleep the profanity?

Southland famously allowed its police to speak the way officers working a city tough as Los Angeles might talk in real life, bleeping the expletives. But TNT has a looser standard; early episodes for the Ray Romano dramedy Men of a Certain Age, features a fair amount of profanity unmasked, including a salty joke about a prostitute featuring a reference to the female anatomy which can also refer to a housecat.

A Twitter message from TNT’s publicity department today — sometimes the instant nature of social media is really cool — maintained the channel hasn’t decided what to do. “We’re still working on our plans,” the tweet read. “TNT does air shows with a TV MA rating, which covers certain language for mature audiences.”

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via Whedonesque:

An Open Letter to the Terminator Owners. From a Very Important Hollywood Mogul

Dear Sirs/Ma’ams,

I am Joss Whedon, the mastermind behind Titan A.E., Parenthood (not the movie) (or the new series) (or the one where ‘hood’ was capitalized ’cause it was a pun), and myriad other legendary tales. I have heard through the ‘grapevine’ that the Terminator franchise is for sale, and I am prepared to make a pre-emptive bid RIGHT NOW to wrap this dealio up. This is not a joke, this is not a scam, this is not available on TV. I will write a check TODAY for $10,000, and viola! Terminator off your hands.

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