Spanking the networks

A couple of articles today take the networks to task for being so unforthcoming with, well, shows we'd like to watch.

USA Today's Robert Bianco offers the networks some no doubt unwanted advice. A lot of it's stuff we've been saying here, but it bears repeating:

* Come up with your own shows, and quit swiping ideas from overseas ("This willingness to base U.S. schedules on foreign ratings reflects both a laziness and a lack of confidence among network executives," Bianco notes).

* Would it kill you to cook up a funny comedy?

* And developing shows on the fly clearly doesn't work (as "My Own Worst Enemy" - four million viewers last night - and "Kath & Kim" demonstrate).

Meanwhile, David Bianculli waxes nostalgic for the days when a sweeps month (such as this one) once meant some genuinely interesting, eye-popping programming from the broadcast networks, not just a guest appearance by Whoopi Goldberg on "Life on Mars."

By his reckoning, there are three pieces of event-like programming coming our way this month: Fox's "24: Redemption" (Nov. 23), HBO's Ricky Gervais stand-up special (this Saturday) and FX's series finale of "The Shield." Sounds about right to me, though he may be forgetting Fine Living Nework's Sunday-after-Thanksgiving mini-marathon of "Whatever, Martha!"

Two of those, Bianculli points out, are on cable, not the broadcast networks. It's like they've just given up.