Get Ready For TV's May Sweeps

Those seemingly endless reruns are finally over. It's time to celebrate TV's Sweeps.
The May Sweeps are the final bang of the U.S. TV season with reruns dominating the landscape until fall.
Some pretty big shows are  already lining up to say farewell.
House will diagnose his last patient on Monday May 1 --the series isn't the ratings power source it once was and FOX has simply decided to cancel while still ahead.
There'll be closure on One Tree Hill on Tuesday May 17 on The CW.
Desperate Housewives leaves on Sunday May 13 after eight seasons of mischief on ABC (and CTV).
I remember interviewing the girls when they trooped into Toronto for the CTV fall launch eight years ago.
CTV liked the show enough to buy it but initially plopped the show Sundays at 4 p.m. It was intended as an additional buy until another new show faltered in the ratings which happened within months.
May also means TV weddings which are always great for a ratings blast.
CBS is always big on weddings and this year we'll see them on NCIS, the Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, Mike And Molly and would you believe even on Criminal Minds.
And then there are the ever popular crossovers. Remember when Murder She Wrote and Magnum P.I. crossed over?
Then there was Marcus Welby and Owen Marshall--it was a great gimmick for awhile.
A crossover generally only happens to two series on the same network and made by the same studio.
This year it's Hawaii Five-0 crossing over with NCIS: Los Angeles and the crossover was necessary because Hawaii's Alexis O'Loughlin was in rehab and couldn't appear for the final episode.
Romance heats up on such series as Grey's Anatomy, 90210, Smash, New Girl, you name it. Getting all sweaty always gets viewers interested in coming back in September.
There'll be Prom Nights on both Glee and The Secret Circle if anybody cares.
This May Sweeps two shows actually start their seasons: ABC's Bachelorette and NBC's America's Got Talent and both on Monday May 14.
On American Idol, Dancing With The Stars and The Voice it's down to Winner Take All time.
Other shows filmed their last shows of the season and may still be cancelled such as ABC's Brothers And Sisters (on ABC Sunday May 8). CBS's CSI: NY departs Friday May 13 and is still "on the bubble" --if CBS discovers a better show among its new pilots then it will be toast.
NBC's Chuck lost ground this season and it's likely final ever episode is on Monday May 16.
May finales sometimes end with a bang. Remember the "Who Shot J.R?" finale of Dallas that was the beginning of the cliffhanger craze.
CBS ordered that cliffhanger when star Larry Hagman got obstreperous about salary demands. Had Hagman walked CBS was prepared to have the J.R. character's bandages removed and a new J.R.day May 16. emerge --played by Robert Culp!
This year there just has to be a cliffhanger or two. Possibilities abound on such shows as Blue Bloods, Private Practice, you name it.

Got all that?