FOX

CHICAGO – The fascination with extreme criminals basically fuels the most popular prime time TV dramas. In “The Following,” it’s a serial killer – in the mold of Hannibal Lecter – that befuddles an FBI agent portrayed by Kevin Bacon. The premiere is on FOX on January 21st, at 9pm ET/8pm CT.

CHICAGO – TV on DVD has been shaped by Twentieth Century Fox and their releases for “The Simpsons,” one of the best shows in the history of television. It makes a certain degree of sense that one of the longest-running and most beloved programs in history would get the most detailed and elaborate DVD releases but the producers of “The Simpsons” always go above and beyond, as they have again with “The Simpsons: The Complete Fifteenth Season.”

CHICAGO – What do a multi-year procedural like “Bones,” a tragically canceled show like “Alcatraz,” and a struggling new show like “Touch” share other than the fact that you’ll find their most recent (or only) seasons the New Release shelf at your DVD & Blu-ray store? Not much other than the fact that all three are strong examples of how FOX has had difficulty finding an identity in recent years.

CHICAGO – Why are audiences turning away from “New Girl” this season? I would hope that it’s purely a question of time slot competition (Tuesdays have gotten crowded all of a sudden) and overall decline in FOX ratings because it sure as Hell has nothing to do with quality. This is a show that increased steadily in laughs-per-minute over its first season, just released on DVD, and continues to work at the start of its second. Check out the new Fox DVD release to see how it all went down.

CHICAGO – You’re probably still processing the news that Seth MacFarlane is hosting the Oscars next year and wondering if his TV show is still as funny as it used to be. Quick review? It’s not. The show has suffered creatively for a few years now as I think MacFarlane was spread too thin with his dozen or so projects. However, the DVD releases from FOX are still stellar, packed with special features.

CHICAGO – The new Sunday ABC line-up of “Once Upon a Time,” “Revenge,” and “666 Park Avenue” looked very promising on paper. I think I even called it one of the smartest moves of the season. I was wrong. While the first two sophomore programs had decent ratings on their first night of the ‘12-13 season, “666” is empty, producing the kind of numbers that start the cancellation clock ticking. ABC just can’t win at 9pm on Sunday nights.

CHICAGO – With shows like “Archer” and a still-creative “South Park” leading the way in TV animation along with all of the fascinating risks being taken by Adult Swim, what are we to make of a Sunday night lineup on FOX that feels more creatively stagnant than ever?

CHICAGO – Two of our most promising new shows of 2012 were respectably sampled last night on the first Thursday of the Fall season as viewers turned “Elementary” into a solid first-week hit and enough people checked out “Last Resort” opposite the #1 show of the evening to call that a success as well. CBS won the night easily while ABC has plenty to be happy about. FOX should be more concerned and NBC may just want to go dark on the night that they used to own in the ratings.

CHICAGO – The first new Wednesday of the Fall 2012 season told a predictable story — CBS and ABC are doing well, FOX is still under-delivering, and NBC is in dire shape. As for new shows, “The Neighbors” was well-sampled out of mega-hit “Modern Family” but we’ll see if that lasts while “Animal Practice” and “Guys with Kids” can practically feel the blade of the cancellation axe already.

CHICAGO – Network ratings continued to erode across the board on the first full Tuesday of the Fall 2012 schedule but the news is relatively good for fans of the new show “Vegas” and not so good for anyone who likes what FOX is doing on Tuesday nights with “New Girl,” “Ben and Kate,” and “The Mindy Project.” Meanwhile, NBC’s “Go On” and “The New Normal” appear to have stabilized to the point that they will likely stick around for awhile.