It’s perhaps the most important non-premiere/finale month in the TV Calendar, the month where shows and networks are made and broken. Now, while I’m enough of a TV Geek to know when these periods are, Wikipedia has actually taught me a whole lot more on the subject. What is a Sweeps Period, you ask?
Link: Wikipedia – Nielsen Ratings System – Sweeps
“Much of the ratings system, however, still consists of the completion by viewers of ratings diaries, in which a viewer records his or her viewing habits, generally for a week, in exchange for being advanced a nominal fee. These diaries play an especially important role during the four sweeps periods conducted in February, May, July and November in an attempt to measure smaller local market audiences in markets that are not covered by People Meter samples already…”
“Television networks and other programmers make unusual efforts to attract additional viewers during these periods, including airing mostly first-run programming as opposed to repeats, airing more special broadcasts, and including special content in programming such as guest stars, controversial and unexpected plots or topics, extended episodes, finales, and increased competition in advertising.”
So, during these periods the Nielsen ratings system is gathering data on those areas that are not usually found within their polls of the nation. As a result, this is the time when advertisers are most interested in seeing what people in the entirety of the U.S. are watching, so networks have a vested financial interest: the more different populations watching, the more advertising dollars they may be able to charge in the upcoming season.
So, much like the article says, February is defined by event programming and new episodes of shows. There are guest stars, huge new plot arcs, explosions, premieres, and just about everything else you can imagine. And, it is now my job to go back through this month and television and find out which 10 episodes stood out above all others. It’s a tough task, but I believe I’m up to the challenge.
Honourable Mentions
There are the episodes that were considered for the list, but just didn’t make the cut. Still, they represent some quality television and should be commended. Also, since I limited the final list to one from each show, some of these could have ranked quite easily.
The Amazing Race – “Beauty is Sometimes Skin Deep”
Gilmore Girls – “I’m a Kayak, Hear Me Roar”
Grey’s Anatomy – “Wishin’ and Hopin’”
Heroes – “Unexpected”
Lost – “Flashes Before Your Eyes”
The Office – “Cocktails”
Ugly Betty – “I’m Coming Out”
The Top 10 Episodes
Of February Sweeps 2007
(Episodes must air between January 29th and February 28th)
10. Veronica Mars – “Papa’s Cabin”
Airdate: February 27th, 2007
While not reaching the heights of its first season, the end of the 2nd Season Three arc on “Veronica Mars” felt more satisfying than its first. Things came together in a logical way, the perpetrator (Tim Foyle) didn’t turn into a raving lunatic at the episode’s end, and there were some nice comedic moments along the way to keep things a little bit light. The show will never be as cohesive as it was in its first season, but this episode shows that they’re still capable of ending an arc in a satisfactory manner.
9. Gilmore Girls – “I’m a Kayak, Hear Me Roar”
Airdate: February 19th, 2007
While certainly not the show’s best episode, and one that certainly won’t be remembered as a pivotal episode for the series, the fallout from Lorelai’s breakup with Christopher was incredibly well handled. Lorelai told Rory first, and then painstakingly told her mother while both were a little bit drunk. That level of mother-daughter bonding between Lorelai and Emily is rare for the series, and it was handled extremely well; when Lorelai woke up the next morning to find that her mother was now cold and angry about it all, it seemed even more natural. I’ve stopped thinking about the switch in producers for the show, and episodes like this are not changing that any time soon.
8. The O.C. – “The End’s Not Near, It’s Here”
Airdate: February 22nd, 2007
Although my detailed thoughts about the episode can be found within Thursday Night TV Club, on a simple level it was a satisfactory finale to a show that, a year ago, I had written off. While it was certainly not the simplest finale, and it was plenty contrived, it did its job well enough to deserve a spot on this list. It was an hour of television that made you forget, for just a second, that you sat through two seasons of absolute shit to get to this point; I’d say that’s a successful finale. As it ended with a young Ryan look-alike sitting, clad in his grey hoodie, looking lost, it was fitting; Ryan has turned into Sandy, and the circle continues.
7. The Office – “Business School”
Airdate: February 15th, 2007
While it may not be the show’s best episode of the season, and lacked the drama inherent within the next week’s “Cocktails,” I think that Joss Whedon defeated J.J. Abrams in the battle of the guest directors. From the hilarious “Jim the Vampire” storyline, to the handling of the bat by Dwight, to Michael’s candy bar lecture style, the episode delivered the comedy. However, it also dealt with the relationship between Ryan and Michael, an oft ignored one, and Pam’s art show provided some drama between her and Roy and a nice moment between her and Michael. It wasn’t a perfect episode, but it blended comedy and drama into a quality half hour of television.
6. Battlestar Galactica – “Dirty Hands”
Airdate: February 25th, 2007
Stuck with three filler episodes during the February Sweeps period, Battlestar Galactica managed to make one of them work to great effect. Tyrol’s return to a position of labour boss, as the episode was advertised was predictable, but it was the context which provided a great deal of interest. The idea of Baltar smuggling a book out of his prison cell is another nod to historical events, and its effects on the core storyline were immediate; painting Adama and Roslin as the aristocracy ,and then having them be a little bit crazy, paints a picture that is a fascinating microcosm of true events and one that complicates the fleet’s dynamics. Battlestar may be at its most explosive when dealing with the Cylons, but it’s at its best when it delves into the political drama inherent in their situation.
5. House – “One Day, One Room”
Airdate: January 30th, 2007
An episode so divisive that I felt like blogging about it specifically, it very much redeemed House in my eyes after it had struggled to keep my attention. While I think that the episode featuring Cuddy’s blind date may have been more entertaining, I think that this story of a rape victim that relates to House was far more interesting. The philosophical discussions were not life-changing, but they were necessary to balance out the fairly boring medical cases which had come before it.
House is at its best when it balances these elements, and this episode was something that I needed in order to continue to enjoy the show. While I can understand that some people may disagree with this, and considered the episode too preachy and abstract, I also think that neither of those are overly negative attributes. After the absolutely dreadful Tritter arc, which took the show in circles for a good six episodes, it was good to return to something on a larger scale that could actually change the titular character in some fashion. Divisive or not, the episode was the perfect example of what House needs to do to stay relevant.
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Heroes deserves to be on the list for being the most unabashedly science fiction-esque of the three series, and certainly moreso than anything else on television today. The world of superheroes, of comic book universes, is something that has remained mostly out of network television realm in recent years; you’d have to go back decades to find shows like Superman, Batman, the Green Lantern, etc. in order to find a time when these types of shows were on the airwaves. And, much as superheroes have changed over those years, so has their television shows. Heroes comes to the table with intriguing powers, apocalyptic futures, and a collection of characters which bend the normal rules of human logic to a wonderful degree. In essence, it’s science fiction television for a new generation.
However, the problem is that Heroes hasn’t yet had time to really establish itself, so it is incapable of placing higher on this list. While it certainly has proven a sensation in this its first season, I’ve talked at length in the past as to whether it can continue on this path to success. Also, although I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing, I don’t think the show has proven itself capable of balancing normal television drama with its science fiction elements. Any good piece of science fiction needs to be able to both present abnormal themes and events and, when the time calls for it, create human drama that remains relevant and real to the viewer. For me personally, outside of Company Man (Dealing with the backstory of the pictured Mr. Bennet), Heroes had yet to do it. This is why, for now, Heroes must remain on the lower end of the Science Fiction hierarchy. The future, however, could prove more kind to the series.
Lost, which breaks into the top half of EW’s list, is one of the reasons why Heroes was able to be made. For the first time since The X-Files, ABC’s hit drama was a hit with audiences despite its subtle leaning into the realm of science fiction. And, really, it was the subtlety brought to the table by producers J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof in the first season that paved the way for the show’s success, and the greenlighting of numerous Sci-Fi pilots the following year. While it is a show at its core about human drama and the plight of these castaways, this mystical island on which they live is in itself one of those characters. It is always looming, whether it’s in tangible forms (Smoke Monster) or in more metaphorical ones (The recent Magic Box, its power over Locke in the first season, etc.) It is an omnipresent force upon the show, one which remains an integral part of its success.
Cultural Learnings 