NEW YORK – Don’t look back.
Maybe that’s one lesson to be drawn from TV in the year past. At least, nostalgia didn’t exactly pay off for the networks. ABC’s Kennedy-era drama “Pan Am” hasn’t soared in the ratings, and even with all the bunnies, NBC’s short-lived “The Playboy Club” was clearly missing a lucky rabbit’s foot, Meanwhile, ABC’s update of the 1970s hit “Charlie’s Angels” was instantly bedeviled by low ratings before its merciful demise.
This year, Charlie Sheen made a lot of noise, both on and off his (former) CBS hit sitcom, “Two and a Half Men,” while “60 Minutes” resident essayist Andy Rooney fell silent after 33 years on the CBS newsmagazine, delivering his 1,097th commentary in October, and passing away at age 92 in November.
Ratings-challenged NBC continued to hover near extinction this year, propped up largely by football. And as 2011 draws to a close, the network again demonstrates it’s willing to try anything: it has brought back the aptly named “Fear Factor” this month, five long years after that daredevil competition was first axed.
Fear and foolishness remain plentiful on the TV landscape. But in 2011 there were also moments of excellence and crazy distinction.
• For example, Ricky
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