“She’s still got a touch of Pazuzu.” “Buttons, please.” “Not a single morsel in the house!” “It was perfect.” “Horse?” “The Simpsons” gets really funny again tonight! A jury summons, a chocolate bunny and much more bring big laughs to tonight’s “Simpsons.” Its teleplay is credited to “Fhrek” (John Frink, I’ll assume), who should be put in charge at once. Fox says of “Treehouse of Horror XXVIII”:
Maggie becomes possessed by an ancient demon, Lisa discovers a creepy/perfect version of her family in an alternate universe and Homer cannibalizes himself.
Man oh man, do I hate me some “Star Trek Discovery,” a show seemingly shat onto our computer screens so everybody can stop saying “Enterprise” is the worst. Current Trek showrunners Gretchen Berg and Aaron Harberts, whose only prior showrunning experience was the ubershitty and quickly cancelled Rebecca Romijn Stamos dramedy “Pepper Dennis,” have no idea how to create a compelling TV show.
The CBSAA version of Trek probably hovers around the 12th percentile of all the Trek fan fiction I’ve read. The plots are dim. The characters are not compelling. The Klingons, The Vulcans and Harry Mudd are somehow now boring. The creators, I gather, want to combine Trek with the dark edginess of “Game of Thrones” but lack the basic acumen and wit to summon the quality of writing that has long driven the pay-cable blockbuster.
CBSAA and its masters need to get in touch PRONTO with the agents of “Deep Space Nine” vets Ronald D. Moore and Ira Steven Behr or original series cornerstone Dorothy Fontana, because Berg, Harberts and contributing writer-director Akiva Goldsman (“Batman & Robin,” “The Dark Tower”) have got to go go GO!
... a little more than halfway through the season’s first eight-episode run (the “second chapter” begins in January), the story lacks momentum. The dialogue is stilted. The chemistry among the still-forming central team is shaky. The series doesn’t have a voice so much as a mood, and that mood is, usually, a bummer. …
“Discovery” feels like it’s adrift between the adventure-of-the-week format of its network-TV predecessors and the kind of complex serial favored by cable and streaming. It has the trappings of serious pay-TV drama: darkness, willingness to kill major characters “Game of Thrones”-style, even profanity. (This “Trek” sets its phasers to “F.”) But they’re mostly superficial. …
[The Klingons are] a generic, bellicose mishmash of an enemy, whose subtitle-heavy scenes slow the show down rather than add depth. …
“Discovery” can be effectively eerie and moody. But it’s not urgent or inventive in a way that cuts through the somberness. Dimming the lights, it turns out, does not automatically give you a better view of the stars.
CBSAA says of tonight’s “Lethe”:
The U.S.S. Discovery crew is intrigued by new addition, Lt. Ash Tyler. Sarek seeks Burnham's help, rekindling memories from her past. Admiral Cornwell questions Lorca's tactics.
Premiering tonight:
Graves (Epix)
Talking Dead (AMC)
Walking Dead (AMC)
“Fear The Walking Dead,” the first TV series created by Robert Kirkman, is getting a new showrunner next season. Here’s why:
Fear The Walking Dead
(Adults 18-49; newer weeks to the left)
(0.8) (0.8) (0.9) (0.8) 2017
(0.7) (0.8) (0.9) (0.8) 2017
(1.0) (0.9) (1.0) (1.1) 2017
(1.3) (1.6) (1.5) (1.6) 2016
(1.5) (1.2) (1.6) (1.6) 2016
(1.9) (1.9) (2.0) (2.1) 2016
(2.1) (2.5) (3.1) (---) 2016
(3.4) (3.4) (3.3) (---) 2015
(3.6) (4.1) (4.9) (---) 2015
The Walking Dead
(Adults 18-49; newer weeks to the left)
(5.4) (4.9) (4.7) (4.9) (4.7) (5.0) (5.3) (5.7) 2017
(5.1) (5.0) (4.9) (5.2) (5.4) (5.7) (6.0) (8.4) 2016
(6.9) (5.8) (6.0) (6.0) (6.1) (6.1) (6.6) (6.8) 2016
(7.0) (6.7) (6.5) (6.2) (6.8) (6.7) (6.2) (7.4) 2015
(8.2) (7.0) (7.0) (7.3) (7.5) (6.9) (6.2) (8.0) 2015
(7.6) (7.0) (7.3) (6.9) (7.6) (7.0) (7.7) (8.7) 2014
(8.0) (6.7) (6.4) (6.3) (6.4) (6.6) (6.8) (8.2) 2014
(6.1) (5.7) (6.0) (6.2) (6.8) (6.8) (7.1) (8.2) 2013
(6.4) (5.4) (5.5) (5.7) (5.7) (5.7) (5.6) (6.1) 2013
(5.4) (5.4) (4.9) (5.6) (4.9) (5.4) (5.1) (5.8) 2012
(4.7) (3.6) (3.5) (3.8) (3.6) (4.2) (---) (---) 2012
(3.5) (3.1) (3.2) (3.4) (3.1) (3.6) (3.8) (---) 2011
(3.0) (2.8) (2.4) (2.5) (2.5) (2.7) (---) (---) 2010
ABC’s “Ten Days in the Valley” and “Toy Box” are making CBS’ “Madam Secretary” look like a success -- but of course ABC is the only Big Four network without big Sunday football games to goose ratings.
Sundays, Sept. 17-Oct. 15, 2017
(Adults 18-49; repeats in gray; older weeks in parentheses)
5.6 (7.4) (5.8) (6.3) (7.1) NFL Football
2.3 (1.1) (2.1) (2.7) (0.9) 60 Minutes
1.9 (1.4) (---) (---) (---) MLBaseball
1.3 (2.2) (---) (0.5) (1.0) The Simpsons
1.2 (1.4) (1.3) (---) (1.0) Family Guy
1.1 (---) (1.3) (---) (---) Bob’s Burgers
1.1 (1.0) (1.3) (0.8) (---) NCIS LA
1.1 (1.1) (1.3) (---) (---) Shark Tank
1.1 (1.0) (1.3) (---) (---) Wisdom/Crowd
1.0 (1.4) (1.4) (---) (---) Ghosted
0.9 (0.9) (---) (0.7) (0.7) AFH Videos
0.8 (0.8) (0.9) (0.8) (0.7) Fear/Walking Dead
0.8 (1.0) (0.9) (---) (---) Last Man/Earth
0.7 (0.8) (---) (0.5) (---) Madam Secretary
0.6 (0.7) (0.7) (0.6) (---) Keeping/Kardashians
0.6 (0.6) (0.6) (0.5) (0.5) 90-Day Fiancé
0.5 (0.5) (0.5) (0.4) (0.4) Shahs of Sunset
0.5 (---) (---) (---) (---) Squidbillies
0.4 (0.4) (0.4) (---) (---) Alaska/Frontier
0.4 (0.4) (0.5) (---) (---) Curb/Enthusiasm
0.4 (0.5) (0.6) (---) (---) Halloween Wars
0.4 (0.4) (0.4) (0.4) (---) Last Week Tonight
0.4 (0.4) (0.5) (---) (---) Ten Days/Valley
0.4 (0.4) (0.4) (---) (---) Toy Box
0.3 (0.3) (---) (0.3) (0.3) The Deuce
0.3 (---) (---) (---) (---) Edge of Alaska
0.3 (0.3) (---) (0.3) (0.4) Grocery Games
0.3 (---) (0.3) (---) (---) Hawaii Life
0.3 (0.3) (---) (---) (---) Island Life
0.3 (---) (---) (---) (---) Lip Sync Battle
0.3 (0.3) (---) (---) (---) Mexico Life
0.3 (0.3) (---) (---) (---) Ray Donovan
0.3 (0.3) (---) (0.3) (0.4) SportsCenter
0.3 (0.3) (0.3) (0.3) (---) Talking Fear
0.3 (---) (0.3) (0.3) (0.3) Vice Principals
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