How to be...canceled

She called it! Well, kind of. Technically, How to be a Gentleman was not the first show of the season to get canned (The Playboy Club, Free Agents and H8R beat it to the punch.) Again, technically, it hasn't even officially been canceled - yet. But CBS has moved this lackluster performing series to Saturday night and is halting production, all before its third episode has even aired. Next inevitable step, cancellation. Thank you, CBS for listening to me. Now, about Ashton's ratty hair...

His week in review (w/o 10/2)

Well, another week is in the books, as are the hopes of two shows (Playboy Club and Free Agents). I'm surprised that it is only those two at this point. People have settled in to the shows they like, have locked their remotes into CBS and probably aren't going to be swayed to tune in at this point. Shows on the bubble, beware.

Goodbye too soon: As you know, just 3 episodes in we had to say goodbye to one of my early favorites of the season, The Playboy Club. I talked to a few people about this to get their perspective and everyone agrees this show is obviously better suited for HBO, Bravo or some other cable station. The other concern (which is valid) is whether a concept like this has enough legs (plot-wise, not bunny legs) to hold on as a TV show. Would it have been better suited as a mini-series or a movie? From the sounds of it, they are continuing to tape the remaining episodes with the hopes that someone will pick it up. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

Solid rebound: After a shaky pilot, I thought that Pan Am had a solid 2nd week out last week. I'm afraid that this show could suffer a similar fate as The Playboy Club, however Pan Am does benefit from a much better time slot and can capitalize on the Desperate Housewives lead-in. Really hoping they can land another good one for us on Sunday. Pun intended.

Love is in the air: How many episodes until Steve McGarrett and new Five-0 task force profiler Lori Weston hook up? He thinks she's annoying and is mad she was just placed on the team. She thinks he's a neanderthal that can't be controlled. Sounds like the makings of a perfect relationship to me. I give it 2 more weeks. While we're here, I think something isn't quite right with Joe White (played by Terry O'Quinn, or Locke, whichever you prefer). I think we're going to find out he had something to do with Steve's father's death. Probably right around sweeps.

Best dance scene: Goes to Jess and the boys from New Girl. Slow chicken dancing at a wedding? Classic. Thought about breaking that one out at the bar last night but couldn't pull the trigger. Not quite as funny as singing Dirty Dancing in a restaurant, but it was up there. Another solid week for one of our follower's top new comedies.

We lost it

You can't say I didn't try.

The first casualty of the fall season has been announced, and as we had feared it is NBC's The Playboy Club. It just couldn't compete in a tough time slot and didn't have the ratings to keep NBC from pulling the plug. Especially with the criticism the show was receiving.

Of course, Two and a Half Men was the #1 show of the night. So predictable.

His Monday must-watch (10/3)

Tonight is a pretty important night. One show that shouldn't be canceled is on the chopping block and needs serious viewer support. Another show that has been atrocious and gets 20 million viewers a week is getting one last chance from me, and should be on the chopping block but isn't.

I'll start with the latter. I'm going to give Two and a Half Men one more post-Sheen chance tonight, but I'm really not happy about it. I don't consider a "must-watch" because to be honest, it's just not as good as it used to be. Maybe I just don't like the story line of Walden, or maybe I'm just sick of Alan's character. Whatever it is, I know that watching this show last week was more of a chore than an enjoyment. If it has another week like that it might be the end of the road for me, and should be the end of the road for some of those other 20 million that keep tuning in.

My true must-watch for tonight is The Playboy Club. It's probably going to get canceled soon. It might even get canceled tomorrow. So this is quite possibly the last chance to enjoy it. As I mentioned this weekend, it is a good concept for a show with some nice characters that is suffering from a terrible time slot. It's a sinking ship that needs some support, so I'm going to support it until the bitter end.

How does Men get 20 million viewers when Playboy Club can't even get 2 million? Well, Club has an audience that most likely doesn't watch TV religiously. They watch it on demand, or watch mostly shows on HBO. Everyone watches Men because of Sheen, what was going to happen after Sheen, and because apparently most people's remotes don't work and their TV is stuck on CBS.

So please people, I'm asking you for your support. Watch The Playboy Club tonight. If you haven't seen it yet, go back and watch the pilot. Stealing a quote from Empire Records - Damn the Men. Save the Empire (well, club, but you get what I mean).

Her Monday must-watch (10/3)

Before I get into tonight's must-watch, I want to encourage you all to tune in to The Playboy Club tonight, as it's need of some desperate ratings help. As Perez Hilton and others have speculated, it very well could be the first show canceled this season if things don't turn around fast. I'm enjoying this show and the character stories that are developing, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

So why isn't The Playboy Club my must-watch? Well, I'm afraid it may be too late for this show no matter what I say, but a girl can dream. More importantly, there's one other show that I can't not throw my must-vote watch to because of the importance of it's third episode of the season tonight: Two and a Half Men.

In the first two episodes, everything that was needed to set up this season has been taken care of. Here's the rundown: Bury Charlie Sheen - I mean Harper; introduce Ashton Kutcher's character Walden Schmidt; have Walden move into Charlie's old house; have bikini-clad (presumably) former lover of Charlie stroll in from the beach looking for him only to find out he's dead and hit on Walden instead; meet Walden's wife, who was the reason Walden tried to drown himself and ended up at Charlie's beach house in the first place; have Walden hire housekeeper Berta and ask her to move in; and of course, make life so awkward for Alan at his mother's house that when Walden asks if there's any way he can repay Alan for everything he's done for him, have Alan say "Mind if I stay here a while?" And there you have it.

So far the ratings for a Sheen-less Men have been HUGE. Like Walden Schmidt huge (as we learned in episode one). But episode three is where the setup ends and the real future of Men begins. Will viewers stay interested? I can't wait to find out.

Also, previews show Ashton will be sporting a half-up ponytail do. That image alone is worthy of a pause button moment.

Official Request

NBC - consider this my official request to have you move The Playboy Club to Friday nights. I'm going to give you a few reasons why, and I really don't want to hear any argument.

1) It's off to a decent start plot-wise, but terrible start in the ratings

2) It cannot win in the Monday 10pm time slot (not up against Castle and Hawaii Five-0)

3) It has major "cult following" potential, as did another Friday night NBC great, Friday Night Lights

4) There really is nothing else that great on the tube on Fridays, so you can take advantage of the "well I'm watching TV, and nothing else is on so I'll just watch The Playboy Club" people

Look, the show got terrible ratings the first few weeks, but I honestly thought it was just as entertaining as a few of the other new dramas. It has NO shot of surviving in its current time slot, so NBC has to move it or cancel it. It's a cool concept, and just needs a little love. Your network managed to save FNL and Chuck. So NBC, please move The Playboy Club to Friday night.

Regards,

Him

Her week in review

Over the last week, we've said goodbye to Charlie Harper on Two and a Half Men, hello to many new fall shows, and most importantly, started the He vs. She on TV blog! So here comes my very first week in review.

Best use of abs: This one's a tie between Ashton Kutcher and that guy on 2 Broke Girls. Unfortunately, Max (Kat Dennings) breaks up with gorgeous ab-guy with those things on the side by the end of the 2 Broke Girls pilot, so I'm afraid we may not see his again. Fortunately, Ashton aka billionaire Waldon Schmidt's midsection almost distracted me from his ridiculous long hair. Almost. Here's hoping he cuts that pronto. Hair can make or break a show. Just ask Felicity.

How long can they possibly keep this going award:  And the winner is, 2 Broke Girls. I actually thought the writing was clever and laughed a lot during this first episode. But in the final scene we learn Max and Caroline (Beth Behrs) plan to save their waitressing tips to open a cupcake business, and their current tally is shown to us in the last shot. We can only assume that each episode will end with an updated tally, and so I ask, how long can they possibly keep this going? Somewhere in TV land the How I Met Your Mother folks respond: "Well, we're on our 7th season, so, maybe longer than you'd think."

Biggest comeback: Congratulations, Up All Night! You went from a so-so premiere to a pretty decent second episode. Will Arnett's Chris Brinkley just may be my new favorite funny guy. His delivery of such notable quotables as "I said teqweela" and "These pants are tight, but they look great" may keep viewers coming back enough to keep this show off the chopping block.

Most pleasant surprise: I have to admit, I didn't even DVR The Playboy Club out of the gate. But I watched it later in the week On Demand, and I'm glad I did. Eddie Cibrian is extremely likable as Nick Dalton (I see the attraction, Leann Rimes). As is Amber Heard as bunny Maureen. Add to that some very interesting main and side story lines, and this show has been bumped up to DVR worthy for me. I hope enough other people give it a chance and stay tuned that it doesn't become an early casualty in the fall lineup.

Most disappointing: It pains me to say this about the fictional love of my life, but most disappointing of the week goes to Damon's (Ian Somerhalder's) hair on The Vampire Diaries. My sweet Damon, why are you letting those gorgeous locks grow and trickle down the back of your neck? Remember, you're a vampire, not a werewolf.

Quote of the week (that also makes up for the "Most disappointing" award above): In response to The Vampire Diaries' Elena (Nina Dobrev) asking why he needs to hear her say that she cares about him, Damon says: "Because when I drag my brother from the edge and deliver him back to you, I want you to remember the things you felt while he was gone." Suh-woon. Can this character be any more amazing? I can't wait for the inevitable round two of this pair's near-deathbed kiss. Sorry, Stefan. You can suck it.

And those are my highlights of the week! Share your thoughts in the comments.