Pasadena

It's a busy time of the year for those of us involved in the TV criticism business. First, a whole stream of pilots come in. Then, the insanity of Comic-Con descends upon us. But when that ends, there's hardly time to rest; many of the writers and critics who braved the crowds in San Diego are now headed up to Los Angeles for the Television Critics Association press tour

John Scott Lewinski did a bang-up job of covering the Con for us; now I'm off to L.A. for the press tour. This summer, the tour will take place at the lovely Langham Huntington Hotel & Spa in Pasadena, where cable, PBS, and the broadcast networks will parade their new and returning shows in front of critics and writers for almost two weeks. There will also be set visits and a few other fun things going on.

As I've done in the past, I'll try my best to give you the entire picture: dispatches from the panels, one-on-one interviews, executive tap-dancing, and more. I'll also be tweeting away on TV Squad's Twitter feed, so be sure to look there for the most up-to-the-minute news.

Welcome to TV Squad Lists (formerly 'The Five'), a feature where each blogger has a chance to list his or her own rundown of things in television that stand out from the rest, both good and bad.

No matter how much TV I watch, I can't seem to get over the first rule of television programming; if it doesn't get the numbers, it doesn't get renewed. I have watched many a beloved show get yanked from the schedule due to low ratings, even though critics and fans alike all raved about it.

Here are some examples of shows that were too good for the small screen.

Pasadena
The potential for greatness was here, sadly Fox didn't promote the show and nobody watched. I was lucky enough to watch the entire season on and finally get answers to some really nagging questions.I also got see favorites like Mark Valley & Dana Delaney really chew the scenery.

The Bob Newhart Show (the variety show on NBC)
This show won a Peabody award, but was clearly ahead of its time. It's pretty hard to find these days, but Tv icons like Ken Berry and Joe Flynn were regulars and the comedy was superb.

How's this for a wacky trend - singers performing at live televised events without lip-syncing? American Idol competitor Katharine McPhee is pulling a reverse Ashlee Simpson at the Rose Parade this coming New Year's Day. She'll be singing from a float live - without a guiding vocal track or, heck, anything but what God gave her coming out over the airwaves.

McPhee will be riding the "Clean Water" float. Standing in a lush garden setting between a "giant leaping frog" and a working faucet dumping 400 gallons of water per minute, she'll spread McPheever through the streets of Pasadena. You know, I'm actually not all that bothered to find out when people are lip-syncing. The demands of television production sometimes require it. Would you blame Katharine for not wanting to sing live from atop of moving vehicle with a giant frog straddling her head? I should hope not.