Please renew 'Class'

CBS executives can do one little thing for me that will make me a friend for life.

Renew "The Class" for next season.

Please? Pretty please?

I'm not just asking for myself. I'm asking for the millions of viewers who have caught on to the fact that this is the funniest sitcom on TV.

I'm also asking on behalf of the tens of millions who haven't caught on yet.

Tonight (7:30 p.m., Ch. 2) is the season finale of "The Class." Given the show's somewhat iffy ratings, it might be the series finale. Adding to the level of uncertainty is the fact that CBS cut back on the number of episodes it ordered this season, from 22 to 19.

Then there's the fact that the astonishingly lame and unfunny sitcom "Rules of Engagement" has done surprisingly well on Mondays since it debuted last month.

But let's keep this positive. "The Class" is a great show that's only gotten better as the season has gone along.

I've said it before, but it's true — "Class" is "Friends" for the new millennium, and not just because executive producer David Crane co-created both shows.

It's quick-witted and clever. It's full of truly endearing characters who are nonetheless hugely flawed. It's laugh-out-loud funny.

And it's got three engaging relationships going on — the decidedly odd romance between Richie (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and Lina (Heather Goldenhersh); the just-realized-they-have-feelings-for-each-other Ethan (Jason Ritter) and Kat (Lizzy Caplan); and the star-crossed Duncan (Jon Bernthal) and Nicole (Andrea Anders).

Last week, Nicole was about to leave her ex-NFL star husband Yonk (David Keith) for her true love, Duncan. But Yonk suffered a massive heart attack, and the whole gang gathers at the hospital tonight to see what's going to happen next.

It's sort of like waiting hear if CBS picks up "The Class" for a second season. And that may not be until May.

Please renew it. Pretty please.

NBC COULDN'T WAIT to ditch "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" in favor of "The Black Donnellys." The network even pushed up the debut of "Donnellys" a week (to last week) so that the show could air behind new episodes of "Heroes" its first two weeks on the air.

Didn't work. Viewers rejected "The Black Donnellys" in less than an hour.