Hey all,
Before we get into today's pair of polls, a quick look back at the first round now all polls have been completed. We lost three seeded shows - The Vampire Diaries, Leverage, and former winner Castle. Interestingly, all three are ended series with two crashing out to current shows, suggesting that the staying power of some is limited very much to nominations. The Flash and Teen Wolf were a couple of notable exits on the left-hand side of the draw, but their opponents (Supernatural and Game of Thrones, respectively) were no underdogs. Friends failed to make the second round for the first time since 2011, while The X-Files succeeded in doing so for the first time since 2014, when it was last considered an ended show. And a handful of close ties saw Grey's Anatomy, Sense8, and Dexter - that by one vote - lose by a margin of four or fewer votes. These early rounds are where it is especially clear that every vote matters, so make sure you're voting for your favourites and encouraging other fans to do the same. It will make a difference!
Anyway, for those less statistically inclined than me who didn't skip past that paragraph, let's move on.
Game of Thrones has now wrapped its penultimate seventh season and participates for the first time since doing so. This year's competition comes at something of a unique time for the series, given that it began with the show airing and will end after the first Emmys in which Thrones is absent. The buzz around that timing, on both ends of the spectrum, probably gives it something of a boost that it wouldn't have otherwise had. Prison Break knocked out 2015 runner-up Hannibal in the first round but faces the gargantuan task of trying to eliminate the biggest show on the planet. It too received a boost after its springtime revival. I wonder which boost will be greater.
They aren't the only shows perhaps revitalised: Psych, soon returning for a wrap-up TV movie, was hugely successful in nominations, taking the top spot on the ended list. Smallville, once a moderately heavy-hitter, was little trouble for it. Indeed, the only show without some form of assistance today is House - no revivals or TV movies for Hugh Laurie's medical drama. Victory today would guarantee the series to gain at least its second-best return, and it certainly cannot be dismissed easily. But I suspect it won't be able to get over the line here.
A reminder of the rules:
1) Two shows will go into battle in a poll, where after exactly 24 hours, the leading show will win the battle and will progress into the next round. Each poll will open at 12pm ET on a given day.
2) Vote for your favourite and spread the word with your friends & fans.
3) One vote per person per poll.
4) Comment on what you voted for on in the comments below.
5) Have fun. This is a friendly & competitive competition. Please do not start attacking other fans or fangroups in the comments, because this really isn't what this competition is about.
Click here to view the draw in a new window
Don't forget to Facebook, Tweet, and share the poll with your friends! The more people that you get to vote, the better chance your favourites will win!
Remember to check back tomorrow for Outlander vs. Supergirl and Gilmore Girls vs. The Big Bang Theory!
