“Aliens in America” getting the boot, while not surprising (it had terrible ratings, zero promotion, and the biggest star was Scott Patterson, aka Luke from “Gilmore Girls”), is a huge bummer. The show was great (edging past “Gossip Girl” as my favorite new show of the admittedly weak ‘07-’08 season), and if you never saw it (which is most people), you missed out on a show that had one of the best balances of “genuinely funny” and “sweet and touching” (an extremely tough mix in the post-”Seinfeld” world) that I’ve seen. I saw someone say it was “crude” and “preachy,” and while that might technically be accurate, it did an excellent job of both of those things, as odd as that might sound. The lead kids were great and “Caroline in the City” vet Amy Pietz was surprisingly hilarious as the mom. Hopefully there will be a DVD set out soon, which everyone should buy (and then watch, natch).

“Back to You” wasn’t necessarily up my alley, but Kelsey Grammer is obviously a treat and this was a likable show in the old school sitcom mold, which is rare these days (as most of the few current shows in the old school sitcom mold, “How I Met Your Mother” excepted, suck big time). It was not anything I’d enthusiastically recommend, but there’s definitely other things I’d rather see go.