TVSquad

Adam Finley
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Fred Thompson's plans to announce his candidacy for the 2008 presidential race once again brings up the question of "equal time" provisions that are in place to assure a single candidate is not given more airtime on television than anyone else.

Thompson, a Republican and former Tennessee senator, played DA Arthur Branch on NBC's Law and Order for five seasons. NBC, in keeping with the provisions, has stopped airing episodes that feature Thompson, but TNT, whose schedule overflows with Law and Order reruns, will keep airing the Thompson episodes.

Leverage has been added to TNT's list of drama pilots, only one or two of which will be chosen for next summer's schedule to air alongside popular series The Closer and Saving Grace. The other dramas include an untitled legal drama from Stephen Bochco starring Jane Kaczmarek and Mark-Paul Gosselaar, the William H. Macy dramedy Family Man, and Truth in Advertising, a drama about an ad agency.

The folks behind some of my favorite series of the past decade talking about the TV comedy business? Yes, please.

Golden Fiddle has a transcript of a panel discussion with David Cross (Arrested Development, co-creator of Mr. Show), Bob Odenkirk (the other co-creator of Mr. Show), Chuck Tatham (writer, Arrested Development), and Wonder Showzen creators Vernon Chatman and John Lee.

As I said when Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters was released in April, the film is essentially review proof, which is why I loved it and a lot of critics hated it. I was drawn to the series since it first appeared in 2000, because it fed my love for the absurd and nonsensical. Quite honestly, if the feature film had been a critical favorite I might have considered that a failure in many ways. Aqua Teen Hunger Force gained popularity precisely because it was a weird little show buried in the late night schedule of Cartoon Network, a diamond in the rough fans had to discover on their own. Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters, and the aptly titled Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters for DVD are for those who are already in on the joke . . . or really high.

A few days before an advanced copy of Robot Chicken Season Two arrived in the mail, I had been watching my Mission Hill DVD. For those who don't know, Mission Hill was the creation of Simpsons writers Josh Weinstein and Bill Oakley. It focused on a college graduate named Andy French, living the typical slacker existence of an aimless college grad. The series aired when I myself was an aimless, slacking twentysomething, so I found the series funny, poignant, and often heartbreakingly real.

I realized while watching it that Adult Swim hasn't had a series with that kind of substance in a long time. Series like Baby Blues and Home Movies have been replaced by weird post-modern fare like Aqua Teen Hunger Force* and the works of Tim and Eric, with very little programming left with any real emotion.

Citing information from "animation insiders," Animation Magazine is reporting that Disney may have its sights set on securing broadcast rights to Clone Wars, the CGI-animated cartoon series based on George Lucas' Star Wars universe (the series would take place between episodes Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith). The series' debut has been set at fall 2008 for some time now, but no official announcement has been made as to which network or cable station would air the series. Rumor has it that both FOX and HBO would also like to broadcast the series.

Like everyone else, I'm looking forward to the end of summer reruns, and for the new fall season to kick off over the next several weeks. In addition to returning shows and new offerings from the networks and studios, I'm also quite interested in Ken Burns' new documentary for PBS, The War, which debuts on September 23 at 8:00 p.m. and is scheduled to air in seven parts. Check your listings for airtimes in your area.

I've been drawn to the idea of a lengthy documentary about World War II partially for the historical aspect, but moreso because of the human aspect. Growing up, my exposure to that era was through films featuring rugged heroes and clean, bloodless battles. Combine this with the solipsism inherent in all young people, and the result is a skewed --if not completely false-- perspective on what it was really like to be alive during that era, not only for the soldiers on the battlefields overseas, but also for the people back home.