Castle Archives - TV Breakroom

2015-2016 In Review: Cancellations, Renewals, and Surprises

Last May I did a round-up of the year in broadcast TV, and I think I’m going to make that an annual tradition. One change from last year – I now have less than 600 episodes on my to-watch list, compared to last year’s 900+!

ABC

So the innovative British guy is out, and ABC has a new president, one who’s besties with Shonda Rhimes (I don’t watch any of her shows, so you can guess how I feel about that). New gal cleaned house, canceling several of my favorite shows in the process, including Agent Carter (pictured above), Castle (which was sort of for the best, since it would have had to continue without Beckett), and Galavant (which at least ended well). ABC used to be my most-watched network, and now it is my least, with only 2 shows I watch returning next year: Agents of SHIELD and Once Upon a Time (which, like last year, sits mostly unwatched until I catch up during breaks). None of ABC’s nine new shows sounded especially appealing, though after watching the trailers I may try out Designated Survivor and the more boring-sounding of the three time-travel shows launching this year, Time After Time. I was thinking of giving Hayley Atwell’s Conviction a chance, but the promo made me think it’s not really my cup of tea.

0 new shows watched, 3 of my shows canceled, 2 of my shows returning

CBS

The Eye Network still has plenty of veteran shows I will keep watching until the end, even as they become more annoying to watch as the only broadcast network who doesn’t put their shows on Hulu. I have the no-commercials option on Hulu Plus, so watching CBS shows with all commercials live or on demand feels like a waste of time. I’d sign up for CBS All Access in a heartbeat if it got rid of commercials, but unfortunately, it doesn’t. I tried out the excellent Life in Pieces (renewed) and the doomed-to-fail Angel from Hell (canceled) this year. Person of Interest is also ending this summer. In addition to Life in Pieces, next year I’ll watch returning comedies The Big Bang Theory and just-renewed The Odd Couple. For dramas, I’m still watching NCIS (how I will miss DiNozzo!), NCIS: Los Angeles, Elementary, and Scorpion. Out of their new shows, the only drama I plan to try out is Michael Weatherly’s Bull (the premise is meh, but the 4-minute trailer looks awesome), but I will probably at least sample all of their new comedies.

2 new shows watched, 2 of my shows canceled (1 new), 7 of my shows returning

FOX

Fox actually had a cool screening opportunity in my area for 3 of their new shows – Grandfathered, The Grinder, and Scream Queens. Of the 3, I only liked Grandfathered, but only Scream Queens was renewed. I also really liked Cooper Barrett’s Guide to Surviving Life, which was canceled. Sleepy Hollow was a surprise renewal – the show will never be as good as its first season, and I still have a few episodes waiting to be watched, but I’ll keep watching as long as Tom Mison plays Ichabod Crane. I also will watch the final season of Bones, and of course awesome comedies New Girl and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. I haven’t watched any more of The Last Man on Earth, but I may try out the show again if I’m running out of comedies over the summer. Fox’s new fall shows aren’t particularly compelling, but at midseason I may try out The Mick and APB since promos look interesting. Midseason time-travel comedy, Making History (starring Adam Pally and Leighton Meester), is the one new Fox show that earned an immediate spot on my to-watch list (which means, of course, that Fox will cancel it).

2 new shows watched (2 others tried), 2 of my shows canceled (both new), 4 of my shows returning

NBC

I noted last year that NBC had only one returning show I would be watching – Grimm. I tried out two of their new shows this year, Blindspot and Superstore, both of which I enjoyed immensely and both of which were renewed, along with Grimm. So now I will have 3 NBC shows to watch next fall, plus I will definitely check out their 3 new shows, Timeless (time travel and Matt Lanter), The Good Place (Kristen Bell), and This is Us (Mandy Moore and Milo Ventimiglia). All have pretty decent spots on the fall schedule, so I’m hopeful they’ll stick around for at least a season, and I’ve enjoyed a lot of the showrunners’ previous shows, so I’m hopeful the quality will be good. Plus, NBC has a number of midseason shows I want to check out, especially the DC comics-set workplace comedy Powerless, starring Vanessa Hudgens, Danny Pudi, and Alan Tudyk. Excited that NBC seems to be turning things around.

2 new shows watched, 0 of my shows canceled, 3 of my shows returning

The CW

For the second year in a row, the CW renewed all their shows (spring show Containment, now canceled, had yet to premiere, and summer show Beauty and the Beast had already been announced as final season). I tried out and liked new shows Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Legends of Tomorrow. I’ll still be watching Arrow, The Flash, Jane the Virgin, The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, and iZombie (and Supernatural if we ever catch up – on season 6 now). I’ll probably try out their 3 new shows, and while I like the premise for No Tomorrow more, I liked the trailer more for Frequency. Though if Riverdale premieres in the spring, there’s not much hope for it (since the CW seems to cancel one spring show every year – Containment in 2016, The Messengers in 2015, Star-Crossed in 2014, Cult in 2013, etc.).

2 new shows watched, 0 of my shows canceled, 8 (9 if counting Supernatural) of my shows returning

2016-2017 Predictions

As much as I hate losing shows, it’s time for some long-running favorites to come to an end. Castle ended this year; Bones is entering its final season. NCIS: Los Angeles has lost viewers away from its parent show, and is now moving to Sundays. I wouldn’t be surprised if it or Elementary gets canceled next year, but if CBS’s new shows bomb, they’ll likely stick around. On the speculative side, The Vampire Diaries is showing its age, and if more actors are bailing, it should end. I also don’t see Once Upon a Time lasting much longer, though I do like how they’ve been exploring different realms every half season to keep things interesting. Supernatural will live as long as Jared and Jensen want to keep doing it, and the same with the cast of The Big Bang Theory.

I don’t think the CW will renew all their fall shows again this year. There’s just not space, and I’m pretty sure one of the newbies will go. And I’m guessing at least one returning show will be moved to summer.

New fall shows that I think will be renewed: Bull (everyone who liked Michael Weatherly on NCIS will keep watching his new show airing right after NCIS), Designated Survivor, This is Us, Speechless, The Great Indoors, and Timeless.

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2014-2015 In Review: Cancellations, Renewals, and Surprises

2014-2015 has been a year of change. In October, I moved to a nearby town with another of my sisters, and both of us being TV fans, we synced our to-watch lists. So far, we watch upwards of 75% of the same shows, and we tried out many of the same new shows. The sheer volume of what we have left to watch is boggling. I have more than 900 episodes on my to-watch list. So it’s not surprising I haven’t devoted time to blogging about TV – I spend too much time watching it!

Fall 2014 brought a bumper crop of new shows to broadcast networks, many of which I tried and many of which were canceled.

ABC

New shows I tried that were canceled:

Forever – this show will be greatly missed. I’ve never seen such unanimous disappointment over the cancellation of a new show. At least things wrapped up fairly well in the last episode.

Selfie – Karen Gillan made this a guaranteed watch for me. The humor was probably a bit too niche to garner needed ratings, but I loved the My Fair Lady/Pygmalion parallels.

New shows I tried that were renewed:

Galavant – a fun, crazy musical medieval comedy. It was a big surprise to everyone that this was renewed, but I’m glad it was, especially since season one ended on a cliffhanger. It seems like ABC is going with a lot of shorter season shows to fill in gaps and provide more original content over the year.

Agent Carter – another “gap” show that was easily one of my favorites this year. Can’t wait for more of Peggy and Jarvis!

Other notes:

Agents of SHIELD followed up its amazing end of season one with an uneven season two, though the unevenness was between episodes that were amazing and some that were merely good. No matter – I’ll be watching it until the end because I love these characters. Castle is showing its age, but still tells a decent story each week. I fell behind on Once Upon a Time, so I still have half this season to watch.

CBS

New shows I tried that were canceled:

Battle Creek – I probably wouldn’t have tried this if my sister hadn’t been watching, and I ended up dropping it after a few episodes. It was too similar to other crime shows and the team didn’t gel. Five years ago, I probably would have kept watching.

New shows I tried that were renewed:

Scorpion – we watched the first few episodes and loved this, but with the busyness of all the returning and new shows and moving, we fell behind on watching and because CBS hates Hulu, we weren’t able to catch up easily and let it go. We’ll be watching the rest of season one this summer.

The Odd Couple – Matthew Perry was the main draw for watching this, but I preferred his characters on Friends and Go On. The humor is too forced for me to really enjoy it, but I’ll probably keep watching, especially since I have only a handful of returning comedies to watch next fall.

Other notes:

The Hulu-lessness of CBS made on-demand the best option for catching up, but wait too long and the episodes were gone from there too. So I have quite a few episodes of NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles (which has had a rash of terrible episodes lately – get new writers!), and Elementary to watch. I watched Person of Interest by myself, and I’m enjoying the more serialized nature it has taken. I hope that the 13-episode renewal doesn’t signal a final season. The Big Bang Theory has been its usually excellent self, which may be why The Odd Couple failed to shine when paired with it.

FOX

New shows I tried that were canceled:

Backstrom – this one I watched because of Hart Hanson and Rainn Wilson. I’ll watch the final 4 episodes, but I think the main character was too unlikable for this show to catch on. We almost stopped watching several times. But Needlemeyer is awesome.

New shows I tried that were renewed:

The Last Man on Earth – I tried this one because of the weird premise, and the main actor is pretty funny. But a couple episodes in, it was getting pretty skeezy. I might try an episode or two more to see if it improves.

Other notes:

Fox has burned me way too many times with shows, so I’m always wary to try their new ones. Empire was buzzy, and I might have tried it out because of Taraji since I liked her on Person of Interest, but the premise didn’t appeal to me. Gotham looked too dark, and while I have enjoyed the recent Batman movies, I’m not invested enough in the characters to be overly interested in their origin stories. Gracepoint (the American remake of Broadchurch, which I love) didn’t get great ratings so I expected its outcome. I thought of watching, but I couldn’t get past David Tennant’s American accent. It was just too weird. The Mindy Project’s cancellation was a shock, less so Hulu’s pickup of the show. We fell behind on Sleepy Hollow and only watched one episode this season of New Girl, but plan to catch up on both this summer.

NBC

New shows I tried that were canceled:

A to Z – cute premise, loved that it had the Mother from How I Met Your Mother, but Abbi seemed to always want to watch something else, so we fell behind but will watch the rest of the show later.

Marry Me – a watered-down Happy Endings that was still decent. Liked the main couple (which was a surprise since I only knew the guy as the sleazy PI Vinnie Van Lowe from Veronica Mars) but the supporting characters weren’t as great. Still, was sad to see it go. (Can we get Happy Endings back instead? Please?)

New shows I tried that were renewed:

None.

Other notes:

NBC has gone from being one of my most-watched networks to least-watched. I only have Grimm to watch as a returning show next year, and that’s only if I catch up on it during the summer (wasn’t a fan of what they did to Nick at the end of last season, so have only watched one episode so far this past year). We did start watching Parks and Recreation recently (which ended this season), and after a rocky first season, it has grown to be one of my favorite comedies as we start season 4. Where are your shows like this, NBC?

The CW

New shows I tried that were canceled:

None.

New shows I tried that were renewed:

The Flash – a great reminder of how FUN superhero stories can be. As an Arrow spinoff I was guaranteed to watch this, and I liked the characters in the planted pilot.

Jane the Virgin – this sounded like the stupidest show ever, until I watched the promo and loved it! Based on the over-the-top soap-opera style of telenovelas, this show knows its plotlines are ridiculous and embraces that fact fully. It balances that with grounded characters with whom you can both laugh and cry.

iZombie – I usually dislike anything zombie-related, but definitely wanted to try this new show by Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas. It’s more zombie-lite, with characters affected able to pass as human as long as they have a steady supply of brains. Said brains give the zombies who eat them personality traits of the person who used to own them as well as vision-like bits of memory that pop up when triggered. The result is a darkly hilarious show with a case-of-the week format, voiceovers by the main character, and a strong overarching mystery (much like Veronica Mars).

Other notes:

The CW is the network I watch the most, which is surprising since I didn’t start watching it until Nikita’s debut, what, six years ago? I’ve seen at least one episode of every scripted show airing on the CW this year, with the exception of the DOA The Messengers (with the entire fall lineup renewed and iZombie getting the plum post-Flash spot, the terrible ratings the premiere got only sealed the deal). While Hart of Dixie failed to impress (me, Abbi watched every episode), The 100 was too gruesome, and Reign was mostly dropped because of time, all the other shows keep me watching regularly. I’m caught up on all of those except for Supernatural, which sits on season five.

What canceled and renewed new shows did you check out last year?

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Zombies Cannot, And Will Not, Be Stopped

Guest Post

In case you haven’t been paying attention, zombies are pretty much everywhere. In fact, they’re so widespread in the entertainment portion of our culture that one famous actor even thinks we’re on the brink of an epidemic. In an interview with the HuffingtonPost.com, living legend Morgan Freeman said that he believes “[we] may already be in the midst of a growing zombie apocalypse.” Fair enough. He also said that we have all become so obsessed with these undead creatures because of “our desire for immortality.” He may have a point there, though it’s one more existential than simply stating what may be the obvious at this point: zombies cannot, and will not, be stopped.

Seriously, let’s take a quick look back at the television side of things, where these brain-noshing jerks have invaded a number of networks. The most prominent and well-known example, of course, is The Walking Dead, the acclaimed series that centers on survivors making their way through a zombie apocalypse. That’s an obvious example, though, and one that neglects to mention, say, Castle‘s run in with these particular monsters. They also showed up on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which Katie Hart discussed in an article on the episode “Dead Man’s Party” a few years back.

The zombies outbreak goes well beyond the small screen. In terms of feature films, it would be a thankless task to even simply list the zombie movies that have been released in the past decade alone. That’s partially because there are a plethora of B-movies out there that cashed in on the craze surrounding these monsters. That being said, there have been plenty of notable releases with zombies at the center of it all. They include the Brad Pitt-starring World War Z (2013), the fantastic kids’ movie ParaNorman (2012), and the flat-out hilarious Zombieland (2009) that featured Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg. If this sort of thing tickles your cinematic fancy, you should probably check out Boston.com for their list of the best zombie movies ever released.

There are then the various zombie-themed franchises running rampant through both cinema and another branch of entertainment: video gaming. You’d probably have to be living under a rock (for at least 10-15 years, at this point) to not have heard of the Resident Evil series and its many games, books, movies, etc. But it’s not the only zombie-heavy gaming content to sweep over the industry. One can simply look to arcade hub Intercasino.com for several examples of the undead further crossing over into mainstream popularity. Namely, they host a goofball, family sitcom-inspired game, “The Zombies,” in addition to a survival horror-leaning experience, “Zombie Rush.” The latter falls somewhere between what you’d expect from Resident Evil if it had less of a we-want-to-scare-the-pants-off-you vibe.

So what, then, does this mean for the connection between entertainment and the undead moving forward? Plenty, it would seem. Given the popularity of The Walking Dead and everything else mentioned here, it’s extremely doubtful that we’ve seen the last of the zombies for, at the very least, the next several years. That’ll be particularly true if that Walking Dead spinoff can capture the same fire as the original.

Rick Sanchez is a longtime zombie enthusiast who’s constantly researching what to do if the undead actually do take over the world. He lives in New York with his girlfriend and two dogs, Frank and Gizmo.

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May Madness Final: Castle vs. MAS*H

And here we are, the final match of the tournament! Our drama winner, Castle, faces our comedy winner, M*A*S*H! Vote for which show you think is best, and worthy of the title tournament champion!

May Madness - Final Round

Castle (97%, 813 Votes)
M*A*S*H (3%, 28 Votes)

Total Voters: 837

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This poll will only be open 72 hours, so vote and share the link!

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May Madness: Castle vs. Beauty and the Beast

We’ve reached the drama final match! Castle narrowly beat White Collar in one of our most-voted-on polls of the tournament, and Beauty and the Beast overtook Buffy the Vampire Slayer in the final few hours of the poll!

This poll will be open for 72 hours, and the winning drama will face the winning comedy for tournament champion!

May Madness - Drama Final

Castle (50%, 1,417 Votes)
Beauty and the Beast (50%, 1,399 Votes)

Total Voters: 2,806

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Share this poll and spread the word!

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May Madness: White Collar vs. Castle, I Love Lucy vs. MAS*H

Round four of our tournament begins with fan favorites White Collar and Castle battling each other, while I Love Lucy faces M*A*S*H!

These round four polls will be open for about 72 hours, so be sure to spread the word quickly if you want your favorites to make it to the next round! After this round, only 2 dramas and 2 comedies will remain to compete, first for the top drama/comedy, and then for the May Madness champion! As always, you can find the links to all the current matchups on our main post. Please try to vote in all the polls, not just the one with your favorite show!

May Madness - Drama, Round 4.1

Castle (52%, 1,046 Votes)
White Collar (48%, 955 Votes)

Total Voters: 1,993

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May Madness - Comedy, Round 4.1

M*A*S*H (56%, 487 Votes)
I Love Lucy (45%, 393 Votes)

Total Voters: 875

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These round four polls will launch every other day, and be open for about 72 hours, so be sure to spread the word quickly if you want your favorites to make it to the next round! As always, you can find the links to all the current matchups on our main post. Please try to vote in all the polls, not just the one with your favorite show!

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May Madness: Castle vs. The X-Files, I Love Lucy vs. The Andy Griffith Show

For our first matchups of round three, two will-they-or-won’t-they couples face off as Castle battles The X-Files. We also have two black-and-white classic comedies facing each other, I Love Lucy and The Andy Griffith Show!

These round three polls will launch every other day, and be open for about 72 hours, so be sure to spread the word quickly if you want your favorites to make it to the next round! As always, you can find the links to all the current matchups on our main post. Please try to vote in all the polls, not just the one with your favorite show!

May Madness - Drama, Round 3.1

Castle (60%, 32 Votes)
The X-Files (40%, 21 Votes)

Total Voters: 53

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May Madness - Comedy, Round 3.1

I Love Lucy (62%, 23 Votes)
The Andy Griffith Show (38%, 14 Votes)

Total Voters: 37

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Feel free to leave a comment about which show(s) you voted for and why! I may quote your comment in a Facebook post or tweet promoting this poll. Also, there may be a bit of a lag if a lot of people are voting, so make sure the first poll finishes loading your results before submitting your vote for the second poll!

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May Madness: Doctor Who vs. Castle, The Andy Griffith Show vs. Get Smart

As we near the midway point of round two, heavy-hitters Doctor Who and Castle face each other, while classic comedies The Andy Griffith Show and Get Smart battle it out!

These round two polls will be open for about 72 hours, so be sure to spread the word quickly if you want your favorites to make it to the next round! As always, you can find the links to all the current matchups on our main post. Please try to vote in all the polls, not just the one with your favorite show!

May Madness - Drama, Round 2.3

Castle (55%, 24 Votes)
Doctor Who (45%, 20 Votes)

Total Voters: 44

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May Madness - Comedy, Round 2.3

The Andy Griffith Show (62%, 21 Votes)
Get Smart (38%, 13 Votes)

Total Voters: 34

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Feel free to leave a comment about which show(s) you voted for and why! I may quote your comment in a Facebook post or tweet promoting this poll! Also, there may be a bit of a lag if a lot of people are voting, so make sure the first poll finishes loading your results before submitting your vote for the second poll!

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May Madness: The Andy Griffith Show vs. Modern Family, Castle vs. Gilmore Girls

And Round One keeps speeding along! The Andy Griffith Show takes on Modern Family, while the ruggedly handsome Castle is pitted against the quick-witted Gilmore Girls.

These polls will be open for about 72 hours, so be sure to spread the word quickly if you want your favorites to make it to the next round!

May Madness - Comedy, Round 1.5

The Andy Griffith Show (62%, 21 Votes)
Modern Family (38%, 13 Votes)

Total Voters: 34

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May Madness - Drama, Round 1.5

Castle (73%, 30 Votes)
Gilmore Girls (27%, 11 Votes)

Total Voters: 41

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Feel free to leave a comment about which show(s) you voted for and why! I may quote your comment in a Facebook post or tweet promoting this poll! Also, make sure the first poll finishes loading your results before submitting your vote for the second poll!

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May Madness 2014

At last, it is time for the 64 TV shows YOU chose to battle it out for the best TV show of all time! Over the next few weeks, shows will face each other in 72-hour single elimination matchups! Everyone who responded to my question about whether to have comedies and dramas mixed throughout the tournament preferred to have the genres battle it out separately and the top comedy and top drama face each other in the final match, so that’s what we will do!

This post will be your go-to reference for current and upcoming matches, so be sure to bookmark it and check back daily! I will add the links as the posts go up. Or, subscribe to our RSS feed to get the latest posts!

TOURNAMENT FINAL

Castle vs. M*A*S*H

DRAMA FINAL

Castle vs. Beauty and the Beast – Winner: Castle!

COMEDY FINAL

M*A*S*H vs. Friends – Winner: M*A*S*H

Round four begins with only eight shows remaining! Each of these polls will be open 72 hours.

DRAMA – ROUND FOUR MATCHUPS

White Collar vs. Castle – Winner: Castle!

Beauty and the Beast vs. Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Winner: Beauty and the Beast!

COMEDY – ROUND FOUR MATCHUPS

I Love Lucy vs. M*A*S*H – Winner: M*A*S*H!

Friends vs. Will & Grace – Winner: Friends!

And now we’re starting round three, as the remaining 16 shows face off! The lists will be completed as the round one matchups finish, and links to each new poll will be added after they go live! Each of the round three posts will contain two matchups: one drama battle and one comedy battle. All polls will be open 72 hours.

DRAMA – ROUND THREE MATCHUPS

White Collar vs. House – Winner: White Collar!

Castle vs. The X-Files – Winner: Castle!

Beauty and the Beast vs. Once Upon a Time – Winner: Beauty and the Beast!

Buffy the Vampire Slayer vs. Supernatural – Winner: Buffy the Vampire Slayer!

COMEDY – ROUND THREE MATCHUPS

M*A*S*H vs. Golden Girls – Winner: M*A*S*H!

The Andy Griffith Show vs. I Love Lucy – Winner: I Love Lucy!

The Mindy Project vs. Friends – Winner: Friends!

Will & Grace vs. The Dick Van Dyke Show – Winner: Will & Grace!

Here are the round two matchups!

DRAMA – ROUND TWO MATCHUPS

White Collar vs. Leverage – Winner: White Collar!

Veronica Mars vs. House – Winner: House!

Castle vs. Doctor Who – Winner: Castle!

ER vs. The X-Files – Winner: The X-Files!

Beauty and the Beast vs. NCIS – Winner: Beauty and the Beast!

Once Upon a Time vs. Agents of SHIELD – Winner: Once Upon a Time!

Criminal Minds vs. Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Winner: Buffy the Vampire Slayer!

Supernatural vs. Sherlock – Winner: Supernatural!

COMEDY – ROUND TWO MATCHUPS

Scrubs vs. M*A*S*H – Winner: M*A*S*H!

The Office vs. Golden Girls – Winner: Golden Girls!

The Andy Griffith Show vs. Get Smart – Winner: The Andy Griffith Show!

That 70s Show vs. I Love Lucy – Winner: I Love Lucy!

Suburgatory vs. The Mindy Project – Winner: The Mindy Project!

The Cosby Show vs. Friends – Winner: Friends!

Will & Grace vs. Hogan’s Heroes – Winner: Will & Grace!

The Dick Van Dyke Show vs. Gilligan’s Island – Winner: The Dick Van Dyke Show!

These will be the matchups for round one. This list was randomly generated, and each of the round one posts will contain two matchups: one comedy battle and one drama battle. I may post several times in a day during this first round so that this bracket won’t go too far into June, but all polls will be open 72 hours. If any of the choices below seem impossible, remember, your decisions will only get more difficult as the tournament progresses! Have fun!

COMEDY – ROUND ONE MATCHUPS

Scrubs vs. Raising Hope – Winner: Scrubs!

How I Met Your Mother vs. M*A*S*H – Winner: M*A*S*H!

The Office (US) vs. 2 Broke Girls – Winner: The Office!

Golden Girls vs. New Girl – Winner: Golden Girls!

Modern Family vs. The Andy Griffith Show – Winner: The Andy Griffith Show!

Get Smart vs. The Crazy Ones – Winner: Get Smart!

That 70s Show vs. The Big Bang Theory – Winner: That 70s Show!

I Love Lucy vs. Brooklyn Nine-Nine – Winner: I Love Lucy!

30 Rock vs. Suburgatory – Winner: Suburgatory!

The Goldbergs vs. The Mindy Project – Winner: The Mindy Project!

The Cosby Show vs. Parks and Recreation – Winner: The Cosby Show!

Friends vs. The Middle – Winner: Friends!

Will & Grace vs. Seinfeld – Winner: Will & Grace!

Community vs. Hogan’s Heroes – Winner: Hogan’s Heroes!

Enlisted vs. The Dick Van Dyke Show – Winner: The Dick Van Dyke Show!

Last Man Standing vs. Gilligan’s Island – Winner: Gilligan’s Island!

DRAMA – ROUND ONE MATCHUPS

Dexter vs. White Collar – Winner: White Collar!

Angel vs. Leverage – Winner: Leverage!

Glee vs. Veronica Mars – Winner: Veronica Mars!

Game of Thrones vs. House – Winner: House!

Gilmore Girls vs. Castle – Winner: Castle!

Magnum, PI vs. Doctor Who – Winner: Doctor Who!

Moonlight vs. ER – Winner: ER!

The X-Files vs. Suits – Winner: The X-Files!

The Vampire Diaries vs. Beauty and the Beast – Winner: Beauty and the Beast!

NCIS vs. Charmed – Winner: NCIS!

Arrow vs. Once Upon a Time – Winner: Once Upon a Time!

Agents of SHIELD vs. JAG – Winner: Agents of SHIELD!

Criminal Minds vs. Dollhouse – Winner: Criminal Minds!

Dark Angel vs. Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Winner: Buffy the Vampire Slayer!

Supernatural vs. Firefly – Winner: Supernatural!

Bones vs. Sherlock – Winner: Sherlock!

Which round one loss are you most disappointed by? Leave a comment and let me know!

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Monday Madness: Favorite Hero/Villain Duo

This Monday Madness, vote for your favorite hero/villain duos! The hero of any TV show, whether comic-book-based, sitcom, or procedural drama, always faces opposition in the pursuit of his/her goals. Often, that opposition comes from the people around our hero. But sometimes, one opposing person stands out from the crowd. They may be a twisted version of our hero, or just amazing at being evil. But you can be sure that an epic battle (of wits, weapons, or fisticuffs) is about to begin!

The pairs below are some of the more popular hero/villain duos, along with several nominated by readers of this blog. Which are your favorites? Go forth and vote!

Also, this poll is not as limited as previous ones – feel free to include older shows and villains who aren’t around for very long – just be sure to nominate ones that make an impression!

The winners of last week’s poll are here.

This poll will be open for one week, and you can choose up to 5 of your favorite TV hero/villain duos. Be sure to spread the word so your favorites will win!

I had a hard time coming up with duos for this list, and I know there are many more epic heroes and villains out there! As always, you can cast write-in ballots by leaving a comment, and if I receive several nominations, I may add them to the poll! Want more of a say in what makes it onto the poll each week? Be sure to follow me on Twitter, since I usually ask for nominations for the next Monday Madness the weekend before the new poll. Stay tuned – I have something special in mind for the rest of April and May!

Without further ado, here’s the poll for this week’s Monday Madness! Voting ends around 12AM April 7th.

Which is your favorite TV hero/villain duo? (Choose up to 5!)

Elena Gilbert vs. Katherine Pierce (The Vampire Diaries) (11%, 38 Votes)
Sherlock Holmes vs. Jim Moriarty (Sherlock) (9%, 32 Votes)
The Doctor vs. the Master (Doctor Who) (8%, 29 Votes)
Emma Swan vs. Regina Mills (Once Upon a Time) (7%, 25 Votes)
Steve McGarrett vs. Wo Fat (Hawaii Five-O) (6%, 20 Votes)
Nick Burkhardt vs. Adalind Schade (Grimm) (5%, 16 Votes)
Sheldon Cooper vs. Wil Wheaton (The Big Bang Theory) (4%, 15 Votes)
Dr. Horrible vs. Captain Hammer (Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog) (3%, 12 Votes)
Col. Robert Hogan vs. Col. Wilhelm Klink (Hogan's Heroes) (3%, 12 Votes)
Will Schuester vs. Sue Sylvester (Glee) (3%, 11 Votes)
Temperance Brennan vs. Christopher Pelant (Bones) (3%, 11 Votes)
Richard Castle vs. 3XK (Castle) (3%, 10 Votes)
Merlin vs. Morgana (Merlin) (3%, 10 Votes)
Patrick Jane vs. Red John (The Mentalist) (3%, 10 Votes)
Agent Phil Coulson vs. the Clairvoyant (Agents of SHIELD) (3%, 10 Votes)
Luke Danes vs. Taylor Doose (Gilmore Girls) (3%, 9 Votes)
Robin Hood vs. the Sheriff of Nottingham (BBC Robin Hood) (3%, 9 Votes)
Chuck Bartowski vs. Daniel Shaw (Chuck) (3%, 9 Votes)
Buffy Summers vs. Glory (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) (2%, 8 Votes)
Nikita vs. Amanda (Nikita) (2%, 7 Votes)
Harold Finch vs. Root (Person of Interest) (2%, 6 Votes)
Veronica Mars vs. Sheriff Lamb (Veronica Mars) (1%, 5 Votes)
Sydney Bristow vs. Arvin Sloane (Alias) (1%, 5 Votes)
John Bates vs. Thomas Barrow (Downton Abbey) (1%, 4 Votes)
Annie Walker vs. Henry Wilcox (Covert Affairs) (1%, 4 Votes)
Alice vs. Jafar (Once Upon a Time in Wonderland) (1%, 4 Votes)
Agent G. Callen vs. Marcel Janvier (NCIS: Los Angeles) (1%, 4 Votes)
Jane Rizzoli vs. Charles Hoyt (Rizzoli & Isles) (1%, 3 Votes)
Claire vs. Sylar (Heroes) (1%, 3 Votes)
Michael Westen vs. Anson Fullerton (Burn Notice) (1%, 3 Votes)
Dr. Lee Rosen vs. Stanton Parrish (Alphas) (1%, 3 Votes)
Tessa Altman vs. Dalia Royce (Suburgatory) (1%, 2 Votes)
Dr. Gregory House vs. Michael Tritter (House) (1%, 2 Votes)
Ryan Hardy vs. Joe Carroll (The Following) (1%, 2 Votes)
Vince Farraday vs. Peter Fleming (The Cape) (0%, 1 Votes)
Jessica Pearson vs. Daniel Hardman (Suits) (0%, 1 Votes)

Total Voters: 125

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Fall TV 2013 – Part One

Fall TV season has begun, and I have returned to blogging about it! Right now we’re halfway through premiere week (with Fox getting a jump on other broadcast channels by premiering most of its shows a week early), so I thought it would be a great time to see how the fall season is shaping up so far. Besides, Wednesdays are my “light” TV night, so I have a bit of time to catch up and share!

Solid Start

One of the most-talked about new shows is Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD, and the pilot did not disappoint! To be honest, I love all of Whedon’s TV shows, so the only thing I was a bit nervous about going in was the cast, since most of them are newbies. Still not sold on Chloe Bennet, who plays Skye, and Brett Dalton has a difficult job getting people to relate to his stoic character, Ward (though the Granny bit helped – wish they’d had time to show more of that scene). I think the show unveiling of characters will make the show better, I just hope people won’t get impatient and tune out. For me, as soon as the truth serum shot happened, I knew this was my show.

Disappointing Beginning

Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s promo bumped it to my “will watch” list and made it one of my top 3 anticipated comedies of the season, which made the fact that the first two episodes weren’t funny at all that much more disappointing. I could forgive the pilot, since the promo gave away all of the episode, but the second episode was even less funny. I may give the show one more episode to win me over, since it has so much potential, but otherwise, farewell.

Creepy Commencement

Sleepy Hollow was on my to-try list, but recommendations from friends and a high premiere rating made me make checking out the pilot a high priority. So glad I did! After catching up on Grimm, I was in the mood for another spooky/cop show, and I love stories about the American Revolution. Tom Mison is pitch-perfect as the fish-out-of-water Crane, and I’m quickly warming up to the rest of the cast.

As well as marathoning through Grimm, I recently caught up Bones, Castle, The Neighbors, and Suburgatory to prepare for their next seasons. Unfortunately, that meant that I was spoiled about many events in season finales, but at least I don’t have to wait as long for resolution to the cliffhangers.

For shows that have already returned, here’s a few quick thoughts: How I Met Your Mother is poised to deliver an amazing final season, with a likeable and perfect-for-Ted mother. Can’t imagine what NCIS will be like without Ziva, and hated that half of her farewell didn’t even include her. Liking what Bones is doing with the new season, not sure about Castle. New Girl and The Mindy Project feel a touch off, waiting to see what the continued fall out is from major events. NCIS: Los Angeles seems to be back to normal, excluding Deeks, and Person of Interest looks like it will be a ton of fun this year.

What are your thoughts on this season of TV so far?

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What I Will Be Watching in Fall 2013 – ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, The CW

The schedules are out, the promos are released – now it’s time for me to figure out what I want to watch, what I have time to watch, what I won’t miss, and which new shows I’ll give a chance to wow me. As always, shows that aren’t live-action and scripted are ignored by this site.

New shows are in bold.

SUNDAY

Watching: Once Upon a Time

Not watching: Revenge, Betrayal, The Good Wife, The Mentalist

Only one new show is debuting on Sundays, Betrayal, and while the promo was good, the subject matter is meh in my mind.

MONDAY

Watching: Castle, How I Met Your Mother, Bones, Almost Human, Beauty and the Beast

Checking out: We Are Men, Intelligence , Sleepy Hollow

Not watching: 2 Broke Girls, Mom, Hostages, Blacklist, Hart of Dixie

Almost Human’s promo was so excellent, it got bumped right to the watching list. Of course, if it stinks, it’ll get bumped right back down. While Hostages and Blacklist had good promos, they’re just not something I’m interested in watching. Mom looks awful. Sleepy Hollow looks far better than I expected, so I’ll probably watch the pilot out of curiosity’s sake, but I doubt I’ll keep watching due to time constraints. Other than HIMYM, the returning shows that are on Mondays are the ones I fell most behind on (thinking about it now, why Castle and Bones got the short end of the stick was because we usually had a friend over on Tuesdays to watch previous seasons of HIMYM, so I didn’t have time to catch up).

TUESDAY

Watching: Marvel’s Agents of Shield, NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, Person of Interest, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, New Girl, The Mindy Project

Checking out: The Originals

Not watching: The Goldbergs, The Trophy Wife, Lucky 7, Dads, Chicago Fire, Supernatural

The only reason Supernatural is on the not watching list is because I haven’t caught up yet, and since I’m still on season one, I doubt I’ll catch up this summer. I was going to watch Dads because of Seth Green, but the promo was so awful I don’t even plan to watch the pilot (besides, it’s in a horrible time slot so I doubt it will last). I’m behind on The Vampire Diaries, so my “checking out” of The Originals may only consist of watching the planted pilot (not a huge fan of the original siblings or Haley). Agents of Shield went on my to-watch list as soon as it was announced, but I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the promo for Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Unless the first few episodes strike a very different tone, it’ll probably stay on my watch list.

WEDNESDAY

Watching: Arrow

Checking out: The Tomorrow People

Not watching: The Middle, Back in the Game, Modern Family, Super Fun Night, Nashville, Criminal Minds, CSI, Revolution, Law & Order: SVU, Ironside

Wednesdays are once again my least-watched weekday. Aside from the Amell cousins’ projects, I’m passing on the entire night. Back in the Game and Super Fun Night look awful. Ironside looks excellent, but I watch so many other excellent crime dramas that new ones need a fun sci-fi twist (like Almost Human) or to cast one of my favorite actors.

THURSDAY

Watching: Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, The Big Bang Theory, The Crazy Ones, Elementary, The Vampire Diaries

Checking out: Reign

Not watching: Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, The Millers, Two and a Half Men, Glee, Parks and Recreation, Welcome to the Family, Sean Saves the World, The Michael J. Fox Show, Parenthood

It used to be that I mainly watched NBC comedies; now I’m just waiting for Community to come back. CBS’s The Crazy Ones pairs Mork and Buffy, which pushed it onto my short list, and the behind-the-scenes promo was as hilarious as most regular trailers. Wonderland’s preview is amazing, and Reign has an interesting premise and enough actors I know for me to give it a try.

FRIDAY

Watching: The Neighbors, Bones (once it moves), Enlisted, Grimm

Checking out: Dracula

Not watching: Last Man Standing, Hawaii Five-O, Blue Bloods, Raising Hope, The Carrie Diaries

Enlisted was one of my most anticipated series contenders thanks to a great cast, and the promo shows that it’ll be funny as well. I probably won’t watch Dracula, but I do want to see where they’re going with the story, so I should preview the pilot.

That gives me 22 shows that I plan to watch (8 comedies and 14 dramas for 18 hours total) and 7 that I want to check out (1 comedy and 6 dramas for 6.5 hours total).

What shows are you watching next fall? Vote below and spread the word!

What broadcast shows do you plan to watch during fall 2013?

Marvel's Agents of SHIELD (6%, 19 Votes)
NCIS (5%, 16 Votes)
Supernatural (4%, 15 Votes)
Arrow (4%, 15 Votes)
Castle (4%, 15 Votes)
The Big Bang Theory (4%, 14 Votes)
Elementary (4%, 13 Votes)
Grimm (4%, 13 Votes)
Once Upon a Time (4%, 13 Votes)
Bones (4%, 12 Votes)
NCIS: Los Angeles (3%, 10 Votes)
Criminal Minds (3%, 10 Votes)
How I Met Your Mother (3%, 9 Votes)
Person of Interest (2%, 8 Votes)
Dracula (2%, 8 Votes)
Once Upon a Time in Wonderland (2%, 8 Votes)
Almost Human (2%, 8 Votes)
The Mentalist (2%, 7 Votes)
Sleepy Hollow (2%, 7 Votes)
The Vampire Diaries (2%, 6 Votes)
Hawaii Five-O (2%, 6 Votes)
New Girl (2%, 6 Votes)
The Tomorrow People (2%, 6 Votes)
Grey's Anatomy (2%, 6 Votes)
Blue Bloods (1%, 5 Votes)
Revolution (1%, 5 Votes)
Revenge (1%, 5 Votes)
The Good Wife (1%, 4 Votes)
Modern Family (1%, 4 Votes)
Scandal (1%, 4 Votes)
CSI (1%, 4 Votes)
Law & Order: SVU (1%, 3 Votes)
Ironside (1%, 3 Votes)
Two and a Half Men (1%, 3 Votes)
Enlisted (1%, 3 Votes)
Raising Hope (1%, 3 Votes)
The Michael J. Fox Show (1%, 3 Votes)
The Crazy Ones (1%, 3 Votes)
Glee (1%, 3 Votes)
Nashville (1%, 3 Votes)
Hart of Dixie (1%, 3 Votes)
Brooklyn Nine-Nine (1%, 3 Votes)
The Mindy Project (1%, 3 Votes)
The Originals (1%, 3 Votes)
Beauty and the Beast (1%, 3 Votes)
2 Broke Girls (1%, 2 Votes)
Reign (1%, 2 Votes)
Dads (1%, 2 Votes)
Hostages (1%, 2 Votes)
Parks and Recreation (1%, 2 Votes)
Parenthood (0%, 1 Votes)
The Goldbergs (0%, 1 Votes)
Last Man Standing (0%, 1 Votes)
Blacklist (0%, 1 Votes)
Mom (0%, 1 Votes)
Chicago Fire (0%, 1 Votes)
Super Fun Night (0%, 1 Votes)
Back in the Game (0%, 1 Votes)
The Neighbors (0%, 1 Votes)
We Are Men (0%, 0 Votes)
Betrayal (0%, 0 Votes)
Sean Saves the World (0%, 0 Votes)
Welcome to the Family (0%, 0 Votes)
Trophy Wife (0%, 0 Votes)
Lucky 7 (0%, 0 Votes)
The Millers (0%, 0 Votes)
The Middle (0%, 0 Votes)
The Carrie Diaries (0%, 0 Votes)

Total Voters: 31

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Monday Madness: Favorite Christmas Episode

It’s hard to believe Christmas will be here in about a week! One of my favorite parts of the season are the awesome holiday episodes shows put out, and now it’s your turn to vote for your favorites! I purposely saved this poll for right before Christmas so I could add in some of 2012’s holiday episodes.

Fans have used Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, forums, Reddit, Pinterest, blogs, and chatboxes to get the word out about past polls. Our toolbar at the bottom of the page has lots of quick links to help you share this post, or you can mouse over the image above!

I know I’m missing some of your favorite Christmas episodes, so feel free to nominate more episodes on our Facebook page, tweeting me at @waterfallbooks, or by leaving a comment below. Please include both the show and episode name, and yes, you can nominate this year’s holiday episodes! (Be sure to stick with live-action, scripted shows, though it’s fine if just this one episode has some animation, like with a certain Community episode.) Please only nominate Christmas episodes that are part of a regular show, not one-off specials like “A Charlie Brown Christmas” or movie-related specials like “Shrek the Halls.”

Without further ado, vote for up to fifteen of the episodes below! Poll will close Sunday night, December 23rd, giving you one week to spread the word!

What's your favorite Christmas episode? (Choose up to 15!)

Leverage - The Ho Ho Ho Job (17%, 154 Votes)
Supernatural - A Very Supernatural Christmas (8%, 76 Votes)
Doctor Who - The Christmas Invasion (5%, 43 Votes)
Doctor Who - Voyage of the Damned (4%, 35 Votes)
Doctor Who - A Christmas Carol (4%, 35 Votes)
Doctor Who - The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe (4%, 34 Votes)
The Big Bang Theory - The Bath Gift Item Hypothesis (3%, 31 Votes)
Psych - Gus's Dad May Have Killed an Old Guy (3%, 26 Votes)
Bones - The Man in the Fallout Shelter (3%, 24 Votes)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Amends (3%, 24 Votes)
How I Met Your Mother - How Lily Stole Christmas (2%, 23 Votes)
The Big Bang Theory - The Santa Simulation (2%, 22 Votes)
Castle - Secret Santa (2%, 21 Votes)
NCIS - Faith (2%, 20 Votes)
NCIS - Newborn King (2%, 19 Votes)
Bones - The Santa in the Slush (2%, 19 Votes)
Friends - The One With the Holiday Armadillo (2%, 18 Votes)
NCIS - Silent Night (2%, 17 Votes)
Psych - Christmas Joy (2%, 17 Votes)
How I Met Your Mother - Symphony of Illumination (2%, 16 Votes)
The Vampire Diaries - O Come, All Ye Faithful (2%, 15 Votes)
Community - Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas (2%, 14 Votes)
New Girl - Santa (2%, 14 Votes)
Psych - The Polarizing Express (2%, 14 Votes)
Community - Regional Holiday Music (1%, 13 Votes)
Community - Comparative Religion (1%, 13 Votes)
Eureka - O Little Town (1%, 12 Votes)
Warehouse 13 - Secret Santa (1%, 12 Votes)
Eureka - Do You See What I See (1%, 12 Votes)
Warehouse 13 - The Greatest Gift (1%, 12 Votes)
Arrow - Year's End (1%, 11 Votes)
Chuck - Chuck vs Santa Claus (1%, 11 Votes)
Veronica Mars - An Echolls Family Christmas (1%, 10 Votes)
House - It's a Wonderful Lie (1%, 10 Votes)
The OC - The Best Chrismukkah Ever (1%, 9 Votes)
Glee - A Very Glee Christmas (1%, 9 Votes)
The X-Files - How the Ghosts Stole Christmas (1%, 8 Votes)
M*A*S*H - Death Takes a Holiday (1%, 8 Votes)
The West Wing - In Excelsis Deo (1%, 6 Votes)
Seinfeld - Festivus (1%, 5 Votes)
The Office - Dwight Christmas (1%, 5 Votes)
The Office - A Benihana Christmas (0%, 4 Votes)
Go On - The World Ain't Over 'Til It's Over (0%, 4 Votes)
The Office - Christmas Wishes (0%, 4 Votes)
Monk - Mr. Monk and the Man Who Shot Santa (0%, 4 Votes)
The Mindy Project - Josh and Mindy's Christmas Party (0%, 3 Votes)
Suburgatory - Krampus (0%, 3 Votes)
Smallville - Lexmas (0%, 3 Votes)
Monk - Mr. Monk and the Miracle (0%, 3 Votes)
The Neighbors - Merry Crap-mas (0%, 1 Votes)
Guys With Kids - Christmas (0%, 1 Votes)

Total Voters: 276

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Top 10 Favorite TV Couples 2012

We have our winners! Our favorite TV couples ultimate showdown has ended, and now it’s time to see which couples garnered the most votes from you, their fans!

You may notice there’s “2012” at the end of the title above. That because I’ve decided to make this TV couples poll an annual event! Things will change up a little each year. I also plan to continue the spring polls with more specific categories, though I will probably change those the most – maybe divisions for comedies and dramas, or by networks. Stay tuned!

Three of these couples did not make it into their division’s top 10, yet managed to improve their rank against increased opposition. Couples from the realistic division dominated this round, winning 6 of the 10 slots and the top two spots by a large margin. None of the wildcard additions made it into the top 10, with most situated close to the bottom (Nick and Jess from New Girl, despite not being an official couple, made it the highest of the newbies – #19).

Speculative couples got a lot of shakeup from last poll to this one. Once Upon a Time had 3 couples in the top 10, now they have none. Whedonverse shows had a decent showing with 2 couples from Firefly and one from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but none got to the top 10 in this poll. Even the winner of that poll barely garnered a hundred votes this time around.

The realistic couples were much more steady. Each of the five shows represented below also had couples in the top ten of the spring poll, though there was a bit of shuffling as to who from each show made it in.

#10 – Barney and Robin from How I Met Your Mother

This time, How I Met Your Mother fans preferred this destined-to-happen couple (don’t you love those HIMYM flash forwards?) over the rock-solid Marshall and Lily (which were #9 in the realistic show poll) by more than 100 votes. In the spring poll, they were less than 50 behind their friends for a #12 finish.

#9 – McGee and Abby from NCIS

Like Barney and Robin, this NCIS couple just missed making it into the top ten in the spring (#11), but got a better rank this year while getting about the same number of votes. (Hmm, I would who would win if we combined votes? Nah, too much math for me, but you’re welcome to figure that out and post it in the comments!)

#8 – The Doctor and Rose from Doctor Who

I can appreciate this couple more now that I’m partway through season two of the show. Their rank dropped from a #4 in the speculative poll, though they managed to garner an additional hundred votes this time around.

#7 – Booth and Brennan from Bones

In the spring poll, this couple was #6 and was joined by their coworkers Angela and Hodgins at #10. Pretty impressive that they only slipped one spot in the ranking against more competition.

#6 – Scully and Mulder

This couple was ranked #13 in the speculative poll, but the original shippers rallied and got them a spot in the top 10 this time.

#5 – Arthur and Gwen from Merlin

This couple stayed rock-solid in the ranks, earning the #5 spot both times. In this poll, they received 250 more votes, perhaps an acknowledgement of the fact that we soon will be bidding them farewell. In my mind, they tie McAbby for the most adorable couple in this top ten.

#4 – Derek and Meredith from Grey’s Anatomy

This couple made a dramatic comeback in the final days of this poll, going from #32 to #4 in less than 4 days. They also improved over their rank (#5) in the spring poll.

#3 – Elena and Damon from The Vampire Diaries

This couple jumped from #6 in the speculative poll, probably aided by the current plotlines on the show. It’s interesting to note – the day that poll ended was when I tried watching the pilot, probably influenced by how many people had voted for Elena and Damon. (Although it didn’t hook me, I watched 5 episodes in one evening when I gave the show another chance 3 1/2 months later.)

#2 – Tony and Ziva from NCIS

This couple remained at first and second place for most of the poll’s run, and lost by only 123 votes, a marked improvement from their #4 spot in the spring poll. With Tiva heating up, I wouldn’t be surprised if they win next year.

#1 – Castle and Beckett from Castle

The top favorite couple in the realistic division won a much closer race to again emerge victorious! While the spring poll coincided nicely with the season finale that brought these characters together, it’s great to know fans still love Caskett even with the will they/won’t they tension gone.

Which TV couples would be in your top 10?

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