# What will the Dopers be watching this fall (Thursdays)? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 28, 2004, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-dopers-be-watching-this-fall-thursdays/247465 "2004-05-28T03:24:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-dopers-be-watching-this-fall-thursdays/247465/1 "2004-05-28T03:24:12Z")
See also [Monday](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=258032), [Tuesday](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=258251) and [Wednesday](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=258399). Now I have to say, Thursday is the one I was most interested in. You’ve got “Friends” fans who’ve worked their whole schedules around leaving the night open, and what are they gonna do? A smart network will schedule their best stuff for this night. Let’s see what happens: 8:00-9:00 [ul] [li][Extreme Makeover](http://abc.go.com/primetime/extrememakeover/index.html) (ABC)[/li][li][Survivor: Vanuatu](http://www.cbs.com/primetime/survivor9/) (CBS)[/li][li][North Shore](http://www.fox.com/schedule/2004/northshore.htm)(Fox; Starts in June; replaced in October by [The OC](http://www.fox.com/schedule/2004/oc.htm))[/li][li][Joey](http://www.nbc.com/nbc/Primetime_Preview_04_05/new_shows.shtml#joey) / [Will and Grace](http://www.nbc.com/Will_&_Grace/index.html) (NBC)[/li][li][WWE Smackdown](http://www.upn.com/shows/wwe/) (UPN)[/li][li][The Mountain](http://www.thewb.com/Shows/Special/0,11116,171988%7C%7C,00.html) (WB)[/li][/ul] My choice: I’ll be flipping over to Comedy Central to catch the East Coast feed of “The Daily Show”. Yeah, I know I said in the other threads that I wasn’t going to include cable, but COME ON! Nothing demonstrates the death of the sitcom like this hour of programming right here. There’s nothing on that I would want to watch. You’ve got three reality shows (including “Smackdown”), two new overwrought dramas (one of which is to be replaced by an existing overwrought drama), a formerly groundbreaking sitcom which someone I know now refers to as “the gay Amos ‘n’ Andy”, and the followup to a long-running hit that NBC hopes will be the next “Frasier”, but IMO, stands a much greater chance of being the next “AfterM_A_S\*H”. 9:00-10:00 [ul] [li][Life As We Know It](http://abc.go.com/primetime/schedule/2004-05/lifeasweknowit.html) (ABC)[/li][li][CSI](http://www.cbs.com/primetime/csi/main.shtml) (CBS)[/li][li][Tru Calling](http://www.fox.com/schedule/2004/trucalling.htm) (Fox; starts in June)[/li][li][The Apprentice](http://www.nbc.com/The_Apprentice/) (NBC)[/li][li][WWE Smackdown](http://www.upn.com/shows/wwe/) (UPN)[/li][li][Studio 7](http://www.thewb.com/Shows/Special/0,11116,172180%7C%7C,00.html) (WB)[/li][/ul] My choice: I don’t know. I just don’t know. Maybe I’ll finally check out “Tru Calling”. Maybe I’ll discover a love of TV wrestling that somehow failed to emerge during puberty. The sitcom’s been dead only an hour, and it’s already time to get to the cemetary to dance on its grave. Otherwise, we’ve got teen drama on ABC (right after a makeover show and before a newsmagazine? Huh?), the loves and losses of game show contestants on the WB, or on NBC, that most inexplicable hit, “The Apprentice”. What’s with America? Don’t they get enough office politics _at the office?!?_ Or are that many people jobless that watching someone at work qualifies as escapism now? \ **Wouldn’t you like CSI?** I would not, could not, no, not I! **We have some other CSI’s, those in Miami or New York.** I’d rather gouge out both my eyes with my new barbecue-ing fork! \ 10:00-11:00 [ul] [li][Primetime Live](http://abcnews.go.com/Sections/Primetime/) (ABC)[/li][li][Without A Trace](http://www.cbs.com/primetime/without_a_trace/)[/li][li][ER](http://www.nbc.com/ER/index.html)[/li][/ul] My choice: “Without A Trace”. I guess. or watch the second run of “Daily Show” in case I was in the bathroom for one of the bits. “Primetime Live” isn’t so bad as newsmagazines go, but both hosts are so _cloying_. And “ER”'s been dismal for at least two seasons now. Do not speak to me of Thursday night, It is dead to me now. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-dopers-be-watching-this-fall-thursdays/247465/2 "2004-05-28T03:29:29Z")
I am Mark Burnett’s bitch. Survivor and The Apprentice for me. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-dopers-be-watching-this-fall-thursdays/247465/3 "2004-05-28T11:36:38Z")
_Survivor_’s officially out of my life forever, so the _Joey/W&G_ double followed by the _Apprentice_ is a no-brainer for our household. ---
**Author:** ![yellowval](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/919ad9/32.png) [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-dopers-be-watching-this-fall-thursdays/247465/4 "2004-05-28T12:43:31Z")
I’ll give **Joey** a try. Then I’ll watch the second half of **Survivor** , followed by **CSI** and **ER**. Finally, a night that hasn’t changed too drastically! ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-dopers-be-watching-this-fall-thursdays/247465/5 "2004-05-28T12:50:46Z")
Joey will be on a local channel from 730-8 so I’ll watch it then (they did it with friends because they put survivor on at 8). Then I’ll watch survivor at 8, The Apprentice at 9, and ER at 10. ---
**Author:** ![Gorgon\_Heap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f475e1/32.png) [@Gorgon\_Heap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorgon_Heap)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-dopers-be-watching-this-fall-thursdays/247465/6 "2004-05-28T13:18:56Z")
Though I’ve only seen a few episodes, _Tru Calling_ is pretty good, IMO. Otherwise, we sometimes catch _ER_ if we are still awake. That’s it. In the past two years all the shows on TV that I watched every week have been cancelled. (OK, so there were only two of them.) Other than that, if we are actually at home and free on Fridays we watch _Joan of Arcadia_, but besides that, man, I can’t wait for football season. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-dopers-be-watching-this-fall-thursdays/247465/7 "2004-05-28T13:42:51Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > I am Mark Burnett’s bitch. Survivor and The Apprentice for me. Couldn’t’ve said it better myself. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-dopers-be-watching-this-fall-thursdays/247465/8 "2004-05-28T14:06:44Z")
_Survivor,_ then play on the computer for an hour or two. Man, this season is really going to make it easy to take some night classes! ☹ ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-dopers-be-watching-this-fall-thursdays/247465/9 "2004-05-28T14:33:45Z")
Ok, when I look at this day-to-day, this season just sucks. Maybe they want a better educated populace - night classes it is. NBC all night…if I remember to watch it. (Which I probably will with The Apprentice. Sad to say, it worked on me. But it’s only 16 weeks long, tops, what about the other 36 weeks each year, huh? I will not watch reruns of that, and doing it back to back to back will wear thin very quickly.) ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-dopers-be-watching-this-fall-thursdays/247465/10 "2004-05-28T15:06:16Z")
Ack! Damn Fox! I liked Tru Calling, I really did! It was an interesting story and good fun… but now it is up against CSI and The Apprentice?! YOU BASTARDS! Another show I’ll stop watching because the idiot network execs decided to put it up against a powerhouse show :(. 8:00 - I’ll watch something on cable or read a book… uck. 9:00 - CSI, The Apprentice, Tru Calling - in that order. 10:00 - Perhaps Without a Trace, but probably more cable stuff. ---
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-dopers-be-watching-this-fall-thursdays/247465/11 "2004-05-28T16:44:18Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > Another show I’ll stop watching because the idiot network execs decided to put it up against a powerhouse show :(. Ain’t it always the way? Nobody’s happy just to be the big fish in a small pond anymore. ---
**Author:** ![TeaElle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8491ac/32.png) [@TeaElle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeaElle)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-dopers-be-watching-this-fall-thursdays/247465/12 "2004-05-29T11:21:02Z")
I’m NBC and Donald Trump’s bitch. NBC all the way, “Joey” “Will & Grace” (which will have to improve now that Grace’s marriage has finally failed and Debra Messing isn’t trying to hide a pregnancy behind muumuus and fat jokes) “The Apprentice” and “ER.” I’ve been with “ER” from episode 1. Old habits are hard to break. ---
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-dopers-be-watching-this-fall-thursdays/247465/13 "2004-05-29T13:10:43Z")
> [@TeaElle](#): > > I’m NBC and Donald Trump’s bitch. NBC all the way, “Joey” “Will & Grace” (which will have to improve now that Grace’s marriage has finally failed and Debra Messing isn’t trying to hide a pregnancy behind muumuus and fat jokes) “The Apprentice” and “ER.” I’ve been with “ER” from episode 1. Old habits are hard to break. I remember flipping backand forth between the first series episode of ER (caught the pilot much later) and Chicago Hope (they were on opposite each other then), for about ten minutes, unitl it was clear that there was no comparison. Nothing compared to ER in its prime, but for me, that time has passed. We used to look forward to Thursdays, 10PM. But not for the last two years. ---
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-dopers-be-watching-this-fall-thursdays/247465/14 "2004-05-29T13:14:35Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > I am Mark Burnett’s bitch. Survivor and The Apprentice for me. This is about the 12th time I’ve read that post, and I’m still laughing. 🙂 I will never forget when my best man flew into town for our wedding, and the only thing he demanded in return for his trouble was that he be in front of a TV, undisturbed, for the finale of the first “Survivor”. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-dopers-be-watching-this-fall-thursdays/247465/15 "2004-05-29T16:02:51Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > I am Mark Burnett’s bitch. _Survivor_ … \ … for me. Me, too. No Apprentice for me, though, just Survivor. Then _CSI_ and _Without A Trace_ while I tape _ER_ for later viewing. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-dopers-be-watching-this-fall-thursdays/247465/16 "2004-05-29T16:26:38Z")
Well, looks like another free night for me. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Tonya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/4491bb/32.png) [@Queen\_Tonya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Tonya)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-dopers-be-watching-this-fall-thursdays/247465/17 "2004-05-29T17:01:02Z")
I’m programmed to watch NBC, we’ve built an entire girls night out at my house thing around thursday’s mustseetv. I really really hope Joey is decent! ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-dopers-be-watching-this-fall-thursdays/247465/18 "2004-05-29T18:12:34Z")
I’ll watch an episode of The OC to see if Mitch’s new show is any better than Tarzan. I taped the entire first season of Tru Calling…but I’ve only seen the first episode yet. I planned to watch it and In The Line of Fire (new 2-hour episode of that next week) over the summer. If I like Tru I’ll probably do the same thing this year too. And I’ll watch E.R. and Tape Without A Trace(another “summer” show for me) like I have the last two seasons. Does anyone else do that? Tape a season of a show to watch later? I started with Without a Trace last season, and it did break up the tedium of summer reruns! Video tape is cheap. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-dopers-be-watching-this-fall-thursdays/247465/19 "2004-05-29T18:14:21Z")
Hey! My sentence got et by my new keyboard’s proclivity to delete as you make changes. It should say " I’ll watch The OC, and at least an episode of The Mountain to see if Mitch’s new show is any better than Tarzan." The OC I know I like. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-dopers-be-watching-this-fall-thursdays/247465/20 "2004-05-29T19:02:43Z")
I said in the Friday thread that the only shows I am interested in are \*Enterprise \* and _Joan of Arcadia_ but I forgot about \*Joey \* on Thursdays. Make that three shows instead of two. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-dopers-be-watching-this-fall-thursdays/247465.md?page=2)