In TV's constantly shifting landscape, there was one thing you could always count on: NBC owned the antipodes.

For decades America started ("Today") and ended ("Tonight") its day with the Peacock. NBC was the house that Dave Garroway and Jack Parr built.

Holding TV viewers in a Chinese finger trap benefited the entirety of NBC's schedule. Who knows how many millions of people sat through vapid shows like "Chico and the Man" and "Caroline in the City" simply because they were too lazy to change the channel?

Lately NBC seems determined to squander its immeasurable, imperishable advantage.

First it drove "Today" into a ditch. What network genius thought Ann Curry would make a viable anchor? Who could stand a steady diet of her neediness?

To compound its error, NBC then made it clear they were dissatisfied, but still left her twisting on-air for weeks.

It was like watching a helpless baby seal get clubbed, not a pleasant prospect over your shredded wheat.

Now, after severely wounding "The Tonight Show" with the Conan debacle, NBC is moving in for the kill.

Jimmy Fallon? Really? Weak monologuist, dreadful interviewer and a desire to please so desperate that it drips off Fallon like flop sweat.

If you've seen any of his innumerable commercials for Capitol One, you've got a pretty clear idea of his hosting chops.

In fairness, Jimmy is a really good impersonator of singers and writes funny song spoofs. So give him a channel on YouTube; don't hand him over broadcast TV's last great institution.

The whole process is kind of fascinating to watch, though. NBC is steadily destroying the ends that justified its meager means.

-The earlier, the better: I don't think I've ever seen a promotional campaign as ambitious as the one HBO employed for "Game of Thrones."

Leading up to this week's season premiere, the pay cable titan bought up more ad time than a presidential candidate for its knights-and-knaves series.

Methinks maybe even went overboard. I was watching the MLB opener on ESPN on Sunday night when yet another commercial for "Thrones" aired. Except at the time of the commercial, the episode was more than half over already.

That doesn't seem like a smart allocation of ad dollars. What's the message? "Look what you just missed"?

-Is it tripe yet? I found myself transfixed by this week's debut of "Hannibal." Until I saw the credits. When your show's protagonist is a blue-ribbon cannibal, do you really need a "culinary consultant" on your crew? Just seems creepy.

-A secret passion: Neatly executed TV cross-reference on CBS' "The Good Wife" this week. When Diane (Christine Baranski) is being considered for a judicial appointment, she instructs her investigator Kalinda (Archie Panjabi) to vet her thoroughly as a precaution.

Kalinda discovers a skeleton: some torrid bodice-ripping prose on Diane's computer that turns out to be fan fiction from the CW's lurid blood-sucking teen romance, "Vampire Diaries."

The distinguished Diane of course denies all knowledge of the story and of the show on which it is based.

But why, Di? An obsession with the Elena-Damon-Stefan love triangle only makes you more attractive.

David Hiltbrand: dhiltbrand@phillynews.com

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