I visited a TV chat room two weeks ago on Philly.com. The discussion was led by Ellen Gray, a TV critic for the Philadelphia Daily News.

I really appreciated her response when asked her thoughts on the glut of reality television on all networks, where owning a pawn shop, being a hoarder and raising 18 children all warrant more than 15 minutes of fame.

I sometimes long for the days of singing competitions, finding love and wilderness survival.

Here is what Gray said:

"Finally, someone who understands my pain. There IS too much TV out there. There's more good TV than there's ever been, but there's also at least a hundred times more bad TV than there's ever been.

"And because a lot of those cable channels don't need many viewers to make money — they get a tiny slice of each of our cable bills, plus ad money — they're not holding themselves to a high standard.

"On the other hand, if so many people didn't watch the first pawn shop show — would that be "Pawn Stars" or did it have a predecessor? — five more wouldn't spring up overnight. ...It's just that they've now equipped the monkeys with digital video cameras and set them loose."

I couldn't agree with Gray more.

I often wonder if we weren't better off when when had 12 choices (VHF), that way everything wasn't so watered down. Networks competed for quality, well-written shows.

Now most of the funny comedies and thought-provoking dramas are on premium channels like HBO, Showtime or Starz.

It is easier and less expensive to give a video recorder to someone tracking down a fugitive, someone selling a potentially rare coin or someone whose father was a lawyer representing O.J. Simpson and whose stepfather was in the Olympics.

Everyone can't be that interesting, and therefore everyone does not deserve a show.

Renewal: Showtime renews "Nurse Jackie."

Xfinity.com: CNN and HLN's 24-hour television networks are now available at Xfinity.com/tv. Comcast said you can also access CNN programming through the CNN app for iPhone and iPod Touch.

Emmy Awards: ABC Network, with 56 nominations, topped the 2012 Daytime Emmy Awards list, with soap "General Hospital" first among individual programs for the June 23 ceremony.

PBS had 51 nominations, CBS 33 and NBC 24. A year ago, PBS had the most nominations for any network with 57, while "General Hospital" topped all individual programs with 21.

Getting a shot: Cynthia Littleton, of Variety, said Dane Cook will get a shot on NBC with a six-episode midseason order for the comedy "Next Caller."

Switching networks: TBS has swooped in to rescue the Courteney Cox sitcom "Cougar Town" from ABC.

The show's fourth season will premiere on the basic-cable channel early in 2013 and has also acquired rerun rights for the 61 episodes from the first three seasons.

When I first read this, I thought, "Why save this show?" On second thought, though, TBS and TNT have made good saves and choices in the past. TNT saved "Southland," which gets great reviews and has increased its following since leaving NBC a few years ago.

TBS picked up "Big Bang Theory" in syndication. The show has become quite popular over the last few years. TBS uses it to lead into its new show, "Men at Work."

Sheen's new show: "Anger Management" will launch at 9 p.m. June 28 on FX with back-to-back episodes. Charlie Sheen plays a therapist with a few issues of his own.Ten episodes have been ordered.

Staff writer Eric Stark discusses trends and tidbits in broadcast media each week in the Sunday News. He can be reached at estark@lnpnews.com.