November is supposed to be the month we see the best the major television networks have to offer, at least until February and May get here. I usually look forward to sweeps month, but this year I am praying for mid-season replacements.It is pretty sad when the biggest “notable” guest star’s claim to fame is “Full House.” To borrow a phrase from “Shallow Hal,” November sweeps have been “Stamosed.”

There are some shows that stand out as decent in this lackluster season.

Monday night holds the cheesy-yet-addictive new sitcom “How I Met Your Mother,” and NBC’s “Medium” is always a safe bet when you need to kill some time.

Tuesday has a fairly strong lineup with the WB’s “Gilmore Girls” continuing as strong as ever, and ABC has taken the predictable but nonetheless wise move of putting a woman in the White House for its new political drama “Commander in Chief.” Perhaps the best part of Tuesday night is the hilarious NBC sitcom “My Name is Earl” with Jason Lee. Lee plays a redneck criminal trying to repent for past mistakes when, after winning the lottery and subsequently getting hit by a car, he learns the secret of Karma in his hospital bed while watching an episode of “Last Call with Carson Daily.”

“Lost” has finally regained its pace after sputtering earlier this year, and “Veronica Mars” equals its previous season.

What is left is a sizable number of cheap imitation programs and series, like “E.R.,” which should have been cancelled years ago.

In an attempt to capitalize on the success of “Lost,” the networks brought out many shows in the same vein.

I don’t understand why both NBC and ABC have decided to use some variation of a sea monster in their series, “Surface” and “Invasion” respectively. I keep mixing the plots of the shows together. “Surface,” as we are constantly reminded by promos, is compared to “the Spielberg classics.” Although it certainly has some similarities to “Jaws,” this show jumped the shark with its first episode. Neither of the programs has drawn my attention.

Even the fairly tongue-in-cheek “The O.C.,” which is normally hilarious, has decided to offically become the dreaded prime-time soap opera it has conversely embraced and made fun of for the past two years.

The rest of the shows aren’t even worth mentioning.

I can only hope the first round of cancellations come soon.