ToolAcademy

It takes a big network to admit that it's been bad. And when VH1 decided to blow up most of its schedule and announce 44 new shows earlier today, that's exactly what they did.

Pretty much all the shows that have been part of the VH1 lineup over the last few years -- shows like 'Flavor of Love,' 'Rock of Love,' 'Tool Academy' and other high art -- are going to fade away in favor of more documentary-style shows. And, shocker of all shocks, music is coming back, with more music-video-centric shows and the revival of 'Behind The Music.'

Even the network's president, Tom Calderone, seems to think that its high time for the network to ditch its recent tawdry past. "(O)ur audience was getting a little fatigued by all those manufactured reality shows," he told The Hollywood Reporter. "They want more authenticity in their reality, which isn't to say that it can't be comedic and light."

But is fatigue the real reason why VH1 is classing it up? And are they really classing things up at all? A closer examination makes both answers a little less obvious.

It's interesting when one takes the time to look back back at 2009, several scandals that occurred this year were related to television. There were four big reality scandals that occurred in 2009, most of them happening in the second half of the year. They have stayed fresh in pop culture buzz.

This list doesn't count Jon & Kate's drama, all the injuries on Survivor, So You Think You Can Dance, and Dancing with the Stars, Chima's explosion on Big Brother, or Adam Lambert's sexual preferences. Those events pale in comparison to the five scandals listed.

'Breaking Bad'
(Sun., 10PM, AMC) 2nd season premiere
See the performance that nabbed a Best Actor drama Emmy for funny guy Bryan Cranston.

He kicks off his sophomore season as Walt, the mild-mannered chemistry teacher who creates a meth lab to earn cash and secure his family's future after he's diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Walt and his former student/partner Jesse (Aaron Paul) think they may have made an error in judgment when their drug lord partner Tuco takes his violent tendencies to a new level tonight, but breaking up with a drug lord can be, well, tricky. Meanwhile, Walt's also fretting that his brother-in-law, local DEA agent Hank, is hot on his drug-cooking trail.

'24'
(Sun., 8PM, Fox) 7th season premiere
Jack Bauer's on trial for his interrogation tactics, Tony Almeida's alive and CTU has been disbanded, which proves to be just the right amount of drama to get this new season off to a great start.

Fans have been waiting for more than a year (that darn writers strike!) for new episodes, and these first four hours (which continue Monday night at 8) were worth the wait, as the first female President of the United States (Cherry Jones) faces a national security threat and calls on – who else? – Jack to help ferret out the terrorists behind it.

And it's that search for the bad guys that leads to a very familiar – and previously very dead, or so we thought – face.