If you follow CliqueClack on Facebook or Google+, you’ve been kept up to date on all of the networks’ axings, renewals and pickups for the coming season. It was a bloodbath for fans of some beloved shows, like ABC’s The Neighbors (which the network never properly promoted, but seems to have a huge fan base if you follow the show and the actors on Twitter) and NBC’s Community which will never live up to the hashtag #sixseasonsandamovie … unless some other network (or streaming service, ahem, Hulu Plus) steps in to save it.

On Sunday, May 11, NBC was the first of the networks to announce its fall lineup ahead of its official upfront presentation on May 12. Did your favorite shows make the cut? NBC has officially canned Community (but Sony is expected to shop it around), Revolution, Dracula (which was intended to be a limited series unless ratings dictated a second season), Believe, Crisis, Growing Up Fisher, Ironside (I believe the first cancellation of the season), Welcome to the Family, The Michael J. Fox Show (which gives him the opportunity to return to The Good Wife), Sean Saves the World, The Million Second Quiz, and Camp.

So what does the fall schedule look like? NBC has six new series premiering in the fall, has confirmed final seasons for some long-running shows, and is shifting it biggest 2013-2014 hit to a new night. On top of that, say goodbye to the Must See TV comedy block on Thursday … which honestly hasn’t had many “must see” comedies in that two hour block for years. NBC’s biggest hit, The Blacklist, will debut in its normal Monday timeslot in the fall, but will shift to Thursdays at 9:00 PM in February which NBC hopes will help to rebuild its beleaguered Thursday ratings. Of prime concern to the net’s Thursday woes is CBS’ acquisition of Thursday Night Football, which consists of sixteen games between September and December. “The multi-pronged strategy behind moving The Blacklist, which has shown enormous linear ratings and record time-shifting, is to not only enliven our Thursday night lineup but also create two desirable timeslots — lead-outs from The Voice (on Monday) and The Blacklist (on Thursday),” said NBC Entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt.

NBC is still committed to comedy though, but will be holding most of their big guns for mid-season. NBC Entertainment president Jennifer Salke did confirm that season seven will be the last for Parks and Recreation, and Tina Fey and Robert Carlock’s Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, the Ellen DeGeneres-produced One Big Happy, Mission Control from Will Farrell and Adam McKay, and Mr. Robinson starring Craig Robinson will join the schedule in 2015. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt was originally intended for the fall when the network order the initial 13 episodes. New comedy Marry Me gets the post The Voice Tuesday slot at 9:00 PM followed by returning fave About a Boy, which shifts to 9:30 PM.

NBC also has more big event series planned to debut in the second half of the season including Mark Burnett and Roma Downey’s The Bible follow-up A.D. (which will launch on Easter Sunday), the Wizard of Oz event series Emerald City, David Duchovny’s Charles Manson drama Aquarius, and the Heroes revival Heroes Reborn. It looks like NBC is really banking on 2015 to reverse their fortunes by holding most of their big shows until mid-season, so it will be interesting to see what floats or sinks in the first part of the year and what makes an earlier than planned debut if something tanks early on. As of now, this is what the NBC 2014 schedule looks like:

Monday
8-10 p.m. — The Voice
10-11 p.m. — The Blacklist / State of Affairs (the Katherine Heigl drama begins Nov. 17)

Tuesday
8-9 p.m. — The Voice
9-9:30 p.m. — Marry Me
9:30-10 p.m. — About a Boy
10-11 p.m. — Chicago Fire

Wednesday
8-9 p.m. — The Mysteries of Laura (starring Debra Messing)
9-10 p.m. — Law & Order: SVU
10-11 p.m. — Chicago P.D.

Thursday
8-9 p.m. — The Biggest Loser (new night)
9-9:30 p.m. — Bad Judge (The Blacklist moves into this timeslot Feb. 5)
9:30-10 p.m. — A to Z
10-11 p.m. — Parenthood (most likely its final season)

Friday
8-9 p.m. — Dateline NBC
9-10 p.m. — Grimm
10-11 p.m. — Constantine (look for Hannibal to return here in 2015)

Saturday
8-11 p.m. — Encore programming

Sunday
7-8:20 p.m. — Football Night in America
8:20-11:30 p.m. — NBC Sunday Night Football

It will be interesting to see where NBC plugs in all of their 2015 shows. You can expect Parks & Recreation to return to the Thursday at 8:00 or 8:30 slot after The Biggest Loser ends its season, possibly followed by Tina Fey’s new series (seems a natural match). Parenthood will vacate it’s Thursday slot after (most likely) 13 episodes, and the only real wild card here is the Debra Messing drama which could open up that hour block sooner than NBC hopes.

When Kristin Wiig decided to depart Saturday Night Live at the end of her contract last season, there was almost universal teeth-gnashing and hair-pulling (yes, there are some who are glad to see her gone) about who could ever replace her, and if the show would ever be funny again. Okay, we usually say that last part after every episode, but in Wiig’s case she could pretty much save any sketch. The viewers knew it, the writers knew it. So how could the show ever replace someone who had become its Most Valuable Player?

Towards the end of last season, a new face was added to the Featured Players on the show, after Paul Brittain’s sudden exit. Surprisingly, the newly open spot was filled by a woman, Kate McKinnon, a virtual unknown to the viewers of SNL. Turns out McKinnon has had plenty of experience doing sketch comedy, appearing on all three seasons of Logo’s Big Gay Sketch Show (McKinnon is the first openly gay female performer on SNL, by the way), and was also a regular performer at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York City. McKinnon also won a NewNowNext Award in 2009 as Best Rising Comic. With these impressive credentials, would McKinnon be able to put all of that talent to good use on SNL?

Look back at her debut on April 7th when she appeared as Tabatha Coffey on the spoof of Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live! She absolutely nailed the impression and generated a lot of excitement with her debut. The season ended not long after that, but McKinnon wasn’t given much to do on the last couple of shows, and she was virtually unseen in the first two episodes of the new season.

But with the third episode of the year, McKinnon was back and rarin’ to go. McKinnon showed us on her first show that she’s a great celebrity impersonator, and she demonstrated that talent once again with the Bond 50 commercial in which she played “Bond girls” Jodie Foster and Ellen Degeneres. The Foster impression was good, but her Degeneres was spot on hilarious.

She followed that with a very brief, but funny, take on MSNBC’s S.E. Cupp. I’ve only seen Cupp one time on Real Time with Bill Maher. McKinnon had the look down, and pretty much nailed Cupp’s personality.

That was followed immediately by another excellent filmed segment with McKinnon portraying the Long Island Medium. I’ve only ever seen commercials for this show, and McKinnon and the writers got everything down to perfection. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear this was the real Theresa Caputo.

McKinnon had a short turn as a Cockney pub waitress in a later sketch, but her pièce de résistance came on the Weekend Update. Big news was made recently after a woman in Spain apparently took it upon herself to “restore” a faded and peeling fresco of Jesus, except she had no formal training and pretty much destroyed the artwork with her “Monkey Jesus” restoration. After people were drawn to the church to see the travesty, the woman felt she should profit from her artwork. McKinnon portrayed the woman, Cecilia Giminez, explaining her work and why she wanted the money. The bit was hysterical and holds up to repeat viewings.

McKinnon has proven that she can do great impressions of real people, so the question now is does she have any original characters in her arsenal? She did have characters on Big Gay Sketch Show, but it’s doubtful she’ll bring a character like Fitzwilliam, a boy who wants a vagina, to SNL. To really thrive on the show, she’s going to have to develop characters that can be used over and over again. So far, I think McKinnon has the potential to be the next Kristin Wiig as long as she can mix her own original characters in with the celebrity impersonations. We will be watching closely, but for the time being, I’m going to crown McKinnon as the show’s new MVP.

As I sat down to watch my three DVRed episodes of The X Factor yesterday, I noticed that there was no host for these past few episodes. I’d known Steve Jones was removed, and I like that decision because I though he was pretty robotic. I’ve heard rumors floating around about new hosts (Kardashian? ugh) as well as Mario Lopez (who I quite liked when he hosted America’s Best Dance Crew – although he’ll always be Slater to me).

But I actually liked the “no host approach” to these auditions. It felt a little more like a narrative without the annoying voiceover repeating things that have already been said, and there is less wasted time with the host onstage — meaningless banter, unnecessary announcements, repetitive interviews with contestants, and grating personalities.

However, what I found a little creepy was that the portions of the show happening in between the singing had that Real Housewives/The Hills/”scripted reality” show feel. The contestants talking smack about one another was dumb. Yet, I found the judges’ conversations in the dressing room/makeup room kind of endearing.

I guess when the host(s) return, I’ll be able to better see what I prefer. But I put this question out to my fellow Clackers: do you prefer The X Factor, or any talent competition really, with or without a host? Is a host actually needed when there are now tons of judges, all with unique (and sometimes clashing) personalities of their own? Here’s what they had to say.

Jeremy: I have found these episodes far more watchable than the first season — but the backstage stuff is really hit or miss. Sometimes it’s about the obvious villain setup which can be a bit tiresome, but the dynamic of the judges is a lot more interesting than with Nicole the Black Hole of Charisma.

Carla: I only watched the first episode last year and then a few minutes here and there. I’ve watch all of this season so far and I love the judges.

When the show moves to the live format it will have 2 hosts. Khloe Kardashian and Mario Lopez are the favorites, but Khloe’s running into contract problems with E! The other potential host is Corbin Bleu.

Me: Yeah, I actually really like Britney and Demi – more than I thought I would.

Tara: I covered this show last year. Here and there, I’ve caught moments, but I sat and watched it tonight.

Anyway, I guess I’m in the minority here, because Britney and Demi leave me cold. I guess anything is preferable to Nicole, as Jeremy pointed out. But Britney looks half dead even with twelve tons of makeup on, and I wonder why I should give a rat’s ass what Demi Whoever says.

The “Camina Burana” music in the background causing needless drama, and the canned and edited responses of the audience give it an even more false feel for something that was taped live. (The girls in the audience crying when they see Britney is just over the top.)

The absence of Steve Jones is welcome, I agree.

And even though I’ll love Simon forever, he seems like he’s trying to talk me into believing they’re finding the next “star” here. There’s no driving force here. Nothing to keep it moving and exciting. That’s why a host is desperately needed. Say what you will or won’t about Crusty, but he can keep you interested. Lord help us all if it’s a Kardashian. I’m not understanding host or judge picks for most of these singing shows lately.

I’m liking The Voice a lot better than this show. The blind auditions are fun.

Me: Tara, I feel exactly the same way about the music! That’s one of the main reasons I stopped watching The Biggest Loser.

Michael: Between The Voice and The X Factor, there sure is a lot of monkey business going on.

Hosts sometimes make the grandest of impressions … usually unintentionally.

• Ryan Seacrest of American Idol attempting to high-five a legally blind Scott MacIntyre.
• Steve Jones on last season’s The X Factor announcing the ousted one evening: “… in no particular random order …”
• Vernon Kay on Skating With The Stars (there are so many):

1. “Welcome to Skating With The ***** … !!!” Vernon exuded while spreading his hands out wide as could be and effectively losing his voice in the process for lack of a mike at the last word.
2. “If you like watching stars fall over — and who doesn’t? — you’ve come to the right place!” Vern gushed at the start of the show.
3. “Still standing — so far, so good!” Vern noted part way through!
4. “Tune in next week for Round Two!” Vern cried as he held up all five fingers of his left hand

Shows need hosts. Please.

When Kardashian comes on, I don’t expect anything from her. I’m reserving judgment. I have no point of reference when it comes to those folks.

P.S. The Voice is killing me right now, what little I’ve seen of it. Christina‘s chest is falling out all over the place, Cee Lo is pointless, Adam is annoying as all get out, Blake is verging on ridiculous. I’m with Tara — thus far, Britney and Demi are lethargic and verging on Ellen Degeneres on Idol.

What do you think, viewers? Is The X Factor better off without a host, or would something crucial be missing?

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I have a challenge for you. Think about this for a moment:

Can you name an artist who has transcended cultural barriers, who writes, produces and records his own material, who has created a dance phenomenon craze courtesy of a massively popular tune and done it in a foreign language? And just for the fun of it, let’s toss in ultra-popularity as an added bonus. Ready? Go. Hit me with your best shot.

I’ll toss out a few to get the ball rolling to see if there’s any comparison:

• Ritchie Valens: Self-taught musician and one of the rock ‘n’ roll pioneers (not to mention an influence to the likes of Carlos Santana, Los Lobos, Selena and many more), “La Bamba” was big, sung in Spanish and hugely popular in its day. But … it wasn’t original (it was originally based on a Mexican folk song) and it never spawned a dance phenomenon. (Interestingly, Valens didn’t speak much Spanish and had to learn the lyrics to “La Bamba” in order to record it.)
• Chubby Checker: Talk about your dance craze, “The Twist” was sweeping in its take over of America. There’s no denying its legacy … but it wasn’t Checker who wrote it, the song wasn’t original (it was not only recorded previously, but was a previous hit) nor was his “The Twist” an original dance. Checker expounded on Hank Ballard’s earlier R&B hit. Plus, no international recognition to speak of.
• Elvis Presley: Elvis might be everywhere (and still is … and he might need boats, too) with multi-cultural influence, irrepressible dance moves and overwhelming popularity that still reigns today, but he never wrote any of his recorded tunes.
• The Beatles: Undeniably a corner stone of rock ‘n’ roll history, but where is that international flavor? “Michelle” you say? Well, it was an original song, a Grammy award winner and internationally popular, complete with foreign lyrics. But “swaying” isn’t a dance craze … and it was by a group, not a single artist.
• Michael Jackson: MJ is the only artist who comes close to the criteria above. But … where’s that foreign tune? He doesn’t have that multi-lingual or foreign language track in his arsenal of songs, either.

Park Jae-sang (better known as “Psy”) is all of these. Boston University and Berklee College of Music taught, this South Korean is a phenomenon in the Korean pop circles, regardless of the fact he rather shuns — and is a polar opposite of — the K-pop brand. Not only comedic in his performances and videos, he wasn’t the perfect child by any means and has had a bit of a checkered past.

But … to my points:

• Transcended cultural barriers? Check. He’s a South Korean and also speaks fluent English.
• Does he write, produce and record his own material? Check.
• Dance craze phenomenon? Check. Courtesy of his internationally famous, viral and mega-popular “Gangnam Style” which has infected the radio airwaves, clubs and YouTube (to the unbelievable 221+ million hits — that’s right: more than 221,000,000 million – and counting), television and popular culture like nobody’s business. And if it hasn’t yet, be prepared to dance to it at the next wedding you attend. Mark my words.
• Ultra-popularity? You betcha. YouTube. Cemented Korean-pop cultural figure. The Ellen Degeneres Show. NBC’s The Today Show where he taught the anchors his moves. Saturday Night Live. More to come.

Is Psy a one trick pony? Not overseas. He’s been popular there for more than a decade. While rather unique, “Gangnam Style” might still position Psy in the novelty section as his only hit here in the states. And whereas it might sound typically cheezefest on an initial spin, the song is infectious and can become an earworm rather quickly.

By the way: Did you come up with any artist who falls into the categories I listed above? I didn’t think so.

Oppa Gangnam Style, indeed.

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