As we do every year, we here at TV Squad are reminiscing on the top TV news stories of the year. What has 2008 brought us? Well, while we were all complaining about the lack of quality shows that debuted this season, we may have missed the second-year shows going right down the crapper.

Let's start over at ABC. Three very promising shows premiered last season -- Dirty Sexy Money, Eli Stone, and Pushing Daisies -- to praise from the critics and buzz from the viewers. Dirty Sexy Money, with the cast that could be someone's fantasy cast, started off strong. There was a mystery, unique and complex characters, and some integrity. With the writer's strike went the integrity and the ratings, and recently, we got the news that no more episodes of Dirty Sexy Money would be ordered.

• At 8, ABC has a new Pushing Daisies, followed by new episodes of Private Practice and Dirty Sexy Money.
• CBS has a new Old Christine at 8, then new episodes of Gary Unmarried, Criminal Minds, and CSI: NY.
• NBC has the special Little Spirit: Christmas in New York at 8, followed by new episodes of Life and Law and Order.
• FOX has a new Secret Millionaire at 8.
• ABC Family has Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town at 8, followed by Rudolph's Shiny New Year.
• Discovery has two new episodes of Time Warp at 8.
• Travel Channel has The Most Christmasy Places in America at 8.
• At 9, The CW has a new Stylista.
• PBS has a new P.O.V. at 9.
• Food Network has the special Dear Food Network: Holiday Roast Beast at 9.
• There's a new Ghost Hunters on Sci-Fi at 9, then a new Estate of Panic.
• At 10, TBS has two new episodes of House of Payne.
• Discovery has a new Prototype This! at 10.
• A&E has two new episodes of Parking Wars at 10.
• USA has Elf at 10.
• Travel Channel has two new episodes of Man vs. Food at 10.
• Also at 10: Bravo has a new Top Chef.
• At 10:30, Comedy Central has a new Chocolate News.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk show listings.

One of the worst words to hear for a devoted TV fan is the word "cancellation." Just having to type it makes me cringe. Hearing this word a year in advance allows fans, cast and crew to prepare and usually means that we will get a satisfying ending (I say usually because, let's face it, not everyone was satisfied with the Seinfeld gang ending up in prison or with the black screen at the end of The Sopranos... then again, can we satisfy all fans?).

What makes the "word that shall not be typed again in this post" so scary is when it is said after a series wrapped up its current episode order or when it is said almost a mere minute before said episode order is completed. When this happens, it usually means that the shows will not have the money/time/leisure to go back to the drawing board and rework what will now be known as their series finale.

When ABC announced that Dirty Sexy Money, Eli Stone and Pushing Daisies were canc... not renewed, a lot of fans frantically searched the web to know if production had wrapped up in order to find out if there was hope for some closure. Well, my fellow TV fans, I come with answers: DSM and Eli finales will offer some closure while Daisies will end with a few cliffhangers!

Slight spoilers coming up!

• At 8, ABC has a new Pushing Daisies, followed by new episodes of Private Practice and Dirty Sexy Money.
• CBS has Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer at 8, then The Grammy Nominations Concert Live, and The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.
• NBC has Christmas in Rockefeller Center at 8, followed by new episodes of Life and Law and Order.
• FOX has the series premiere of Secret Millionaire at 8.
• Discovery has two new episodes of Time Warp at 8.
• TNT has A Christmas Story at 8.
• At 9, The CW has a new episode of Stylista.
• Sci-Fi has a new Ghost Hunters at 9, followed by a new Estate of Panic.
• Also at 9: Showtime has a new Inside The NFL.
• At 10, TBS has the season premiere of Tyler Perry's House of Payne, then another new episode.
• Bravo has a new Top Chef at 10.
• A&E has two new episodes of Parking Wars at 10.
• At 10;30, Comedy Central has a new Chocolate News.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk show listings.

As you all know by now, ABC failed to pick up three of its sophomore shows -- Pushing Daisies, Dirty Sexy Money, and Eli Stone -- for a full season, essentially ending each after 13 second-season episodes (in other ABC news, Scrubs will start on Tuesday, January 6, and Life on Mars gets four additional episodes for its new post-Lost timeslot, which starts on January 28).

Daisies and DSM (and Private Practice, which is being moved to Thursdays after Grey's Anatomy in the "duh" move of the season) were both held back after the writers' strike last year and didn't come back until the fall. Seems like a logical thing to do, right? I mean, the shows had growing followings but still very modest ratings. ABC learned from the CBS Jericho disaster that holding a freshman show for any period of time will sink the ratings. Turns out, though, that holding them for even longer will sink the ratings even further. Who knew?

All sarcasm aside, though, ABC was in a tough spot. What could they have done differently? More thoughts after the jump.

• At 8, ABC has a new Pushing Daisies, then new episodes of Private Practice and Dirty Sexy Money.
• CBS has a new Old Christine, followed by new episodes of Gary Unmarried, Criminal Minds, and CSI: NY.
• NBC has new episodes of Knight Rider, Life, and Law & Order.
• FOX has a new Bones at 8.
• The CW has a new America's Next Top Model at 8, then a new Stylista.
• PBS has a new installment of Monarchy at 8.
• Discovery has two new episodes of Time Warp at 8, followed by new episodes of Mythbusters and Prototype This!
• Also at 8: History Channel has a new Modern Marvels.
• At 9, Lifetime has the movie The Tenth Circle.
• Food Network has the special Dear Food Network: Thanksgiving Desserts at 9.
• Spike has a new UFC Unleashed at 9, followed by a new Ultimate Fighter.
• At 10, Comedy Central has a new South Park at 10, then a new Chocolate News.
• Bravo has a new Top Chef at 10.
• FX has a new Sons of Anarchy at 10.
• A&E has two new episodes of Parking Wars at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk show listings.

Blair Underwood is extremely sexy. Admit it: male or female, gay or straight, no matter what your "type" is, there's just something about him.

Playing the mysterious Simon Elder on ABC's Dirty Sexy Money -- not to mention past screen-steamers like Jonathan Rollins on L.A. Law, Miranda's boyfriend Dr. Robert on Sex and the City and New Adventures of Old Christine's hunky teacher Mr. Harris -- it's no wonder Underwood ranks so high on the TV's 50 Hottest TV Hunks -- Ever countdown over at AOL Television.

Underwood dished to us about his love for Donald Trump's reality TV show, his Barack Obama connection and what kind of trouble is coming up on Dirty Sexy Money.

A few days ago, ABC announced that Lost would premiere on January 21 from 8 to 11 p.m. and that it would take the Wednesday at 9 p.m. timeslot starting the following week. That news left the Private Practice fans wondering what would happen to their show come January 28 because the Wednesday at 9 p.m. timeslot has been PP's for over a year.

Answers have arrived and they'll affect not only the Private Practice fans but also Life on Mars's viewers.

(S02E05) That was more like it! Just as I was about to write off this week's episode as another bland installment of Dirty Sexy Money, down came an embarrassment of primetime soap riches. Letitia's trial was resolved with the kind of speed only possible in TV-land, and we got a cliffhanger and three major shocks to boot! Read on for the details.

• At 8, ABC has a new Dancing with the Stars, followed by new episodes of Private Practice and Dirty Sexy Money.
• CBS has a new Old Christine at 8, then new episodes of Gary Unmarried, Criminal Minds, and CSI: NY.
• NBC has new episodes of Knight Rider, Life, and Law and Order.
• FOX has a new Bones at 8.
• There's a new America's Next Top Model on The CW at 8, followed by a new Stylista.
• At 9, Discovery has a new Mythbusters, then a new Prototype This!
• Sci-Fi has a new Ghost Hunters at 9.
• Also at 9: Showtime has a new Inside the NFL.
• At 10, Comedy Central has a new South Park, followed by a new Chocolate News.
• Food Network has a new Dinner: Impossible at 10.
• Bravo has the season finale of Top Design at 10.
• A&E has two new episodes of Parking Wars starting at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk show listings.

(S02E04) Election night on Dirty Sexy Money was about more than simple politics. There were lost children, marriage proposals, and bribes to worry about. With so many major things happening, though, I wish some of the minor storylines had been cut from this episode. Nick's gradual transformation into the next Tripp Darling is fascinating, and we finally got a better idea about Simon's master plan. Next week's installment appears to be a lot meatier (and soapier), so I'm not worried.

'Redemption Song'
(11PM, FUSE)
Imagine the women of the 'Bad Girls Club' with rock star aspirations and you've got this deliciously drama-ridden reality series, in which 11 women with checkered pasts and scores of wasted opportunities take what might be their last shot at a career in the music industry.

In fact, the contenders – including Kendra, a self-described 'smorgasbord of crazy' – start the show with host Chris Jericho revealing that each will receive a contract with Geffen Records.

The deals are theirs to lose, and all but one of them will. And we're guessing it'll be the one who can resist what appears to be a group fondness for chugging alcohol right from the bottle.

Has anyone else noticed the lack of hair trigger cancellations thus far this season? We're a good month or more in now and only Opportunity Knocks and Do Not Disturb have had the plug pulled. And believe me those needed to happen. By now, though, your high quality shows that have underperformed like Pushing Daisies usually would be doing just that ... pushing up daisies. But, for some reason, not this year. At least not yet.

Hell, ratings-challenged shows like Knight Rider and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles are even getting full season pick-ups. And that's FOX giving Sarah Connor a chance to find an audience! FOX!! I think what we're seeing is the continuing fallout from the Writer's Strike last year. Remember when the execs were talking about how they were going to rethink their approach to television, ordering fewer pilots and possibly even altering the landscape of television in regards to seasons and sweeps? Well, the fall season started up pretty much like it always has, but I do believe there are far fewer shows waiting in the wings to replace this season's failures.

(S02E03) We already know what it's like to be a Darling: lavish parties, vast conspiracies, and emotional outbursts. This week's episode gave us some insight into what it's like to be a George: same psychological problems, less money. Letitia's upcoming trial brought Nick face-to-face with someone from his past, and this person had quite a story to tell.

(S02E02) The Darlings had to bury one of their own this week, and they sent the deceased off in style. Sure, the eulogy was written about someone else and some of the mourners were arrested, but that's part of the fun of these events. The rest of the episode was business as usual--power struggles, inappropriate sexual partners, and suitcases filled with cash. No complaints here.