You see that palm tree beside Michael Westen? The blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean in the background? Well, you can count on seeing all that Miami Beach ambiance on Burn Notice from now on. You might think, "Wait a minute. Why would they even consider leaving South Florida?" Well, last week the Miami commissioners threatened to demolish the Burn Notice studios.
Burn Notice is the only Miami set TV show that actually is filmed in Miami. CSI: Miamiand Dexter, for example, fake it with Los Angeles locations. When you see South Beach on Burn Notice, you're seeing the real thing, same with Coral Gables, Boca Raton and every other recognizable SoFla locale. So it's become an important element in the show.
Coming off a strong 2008 season, CBS is taking some bold moves with their new season program schedule. As we wrote earlier, there are four new dramas, a sitcom and a reality show in the mix.
The big news is how it's shifting around some hit shows on Monday and Thursday, while standing pat on Wednesday. Here's what we know right now...after the jump.
So this was the big season finale (wth a Mentalist title), where "good cops" turned "bad" (according to the previews). Can I assume that the officers in question didn't actually turn completely bad, it was for a very good reason? Or will next season have the team hunting down Horatio Caine, who has become a relentless killer?
Do the American people really like watching their favorite shows this way? Assuming you have more than one or two shows you enjoy following, this week is daunting to say the least and beyond exhausting. Just last night I had a three-hour finale of The Biggest Loser and that awesome Fringe finale. In the past few days we've said goodbye to The Amazing Race, The Apprentice, Cold Case, The Unit, Brothers & Sisters, The Big Bang Theory, House and Castle. And that's just on the major networks.
Over the next two days we have America's Next Top Model, Lie to Me, Lost, Bones, My Name Is Earl, Smallville, Parks & Recreation, CSI, Grey's Anatomy, Hell's Kitchen, The Office, Supernatural and even CSI: NY on a special night. And it goes on through the weekend. In an era where ratings are slipping, how can it make good business sense to put all of these finales on against one another all within a few days of each other. I know they've always done that, but I just don't think it makes sense anymore.
Earlier this week, I let you know of the ten shows I thought should be renewed. Now it's time to reverse the question and think about the shows that shouldn't be renewed. Yes, there are some shows that should end now, either because they have annoying characters (*cough* Meredith Grey *cough*), are not treated properly by their network (insert here pretty much all shows on FOX), have been on TV for too long and have a hard time being original (I'm talking about you Survivor), etc. ER would have been a prime candidate for this list, but NBC finally made the right decision and ended the show a few weeks ago. Note that my list includes some shows that have received early renewals. Still, I think they should be canceled asap. So what other shows, besides ER, I think should bite the dust? Let's find out!
Did you see the commercials for this episode? They showed the first bomb going off and said something along the lines of "the first blast with stun you." Then they showed the grenade falling down off the coroner table and said something about that plot twist. You know what CSI: Miami? If you show us all the plot twists, it's impossible for them to "stun" us. Remember the days when TV shows (and movies) actually didn't show the important parts of an episode?
Has CSI turned into a horror show? I haven't watched the show in quite some time, but the opening of last night's episode, "The Gone Dead Train," was like a classic Hammer horror flick: a coroner works on the body of a person who died mysteriously (very gross), there's an ominous rainstorm at night as Catherine goes to the apartment of a woman, and then in the dark the woman attacks her for no reason (tied to an illness that's affecting people - swine flu?). There's even a scene where Catherine rips down the drapes, a la Peter Cushing in Horrors of Dracula, as if she could force sunlight on the woman and make her turn to dust. Here's the episode if you missed it.
If you didn't read this post yesterday, CSI is the bestest, most favoritist, most awesomest TV show that has ever been seen on television (chosen by viewers whose remote control has been stuck on CBS since around 1999, apparently). Last night the team investigated an old case of Catherine's because the guy in jail for 18 years might actually be innocent. Discuss the show below with fellow CSI fans. Oh, and how do you think Laurence Fishburne is doing?
Are you ready for more CSI? I mean, there's original CSI, CSI: Miami, CSI: New York, NCIS (which isn't part of the franchise, but has the letters), plus all these shows are in reruns and now, William Petersen is ready for a big screen CSI. He's downright positive about it, even though he himself exited the TV show last December. I don't know if a movie version of CSI is really necessary, but to hear Petersen talk, there are some valid reasons.
For his point of view, some stories couldn't be shown on TV because of the graphic or sexual content. He'd like to see a movie version go where no TV CSI has gone before.
When William Petersen left CSI, he left a very, very cushy job. He was making a cool $600,000 per episode, more than Kiefer Sutherland was getting for 24, but not quite as much as Charlie Sheen was taking home for Two and a Half Men ($825,000 per show).
Well, CSI decided not to skimp when they cast Laurence Fishburne to assume the star spot on the crime drama. Fishburne is earning more than $14 million for this season of CSI. (So much for a recession!)
He helped E.T. phone home, and now former child actor Henry Thomas will be appearing on CSIas a convicted murderer that is serving a prison sentence. You keep hearing about child stars who go bad, but judging by his IMDB profile, Thomas has managed to keep out of trouble and keep working.
I'm glad Thomas had a more normal childhood than his movie co-star Drew Barrymore. Of course, Drew ended up becoming a bigger name in show biz, but the business is fickle and this appearance could set Thomas into more visible roles. Wouldn't that be a hoot if Thomas and Barrymore appeared once more together in a television show or movie (besides reunion shows)? If he's not done raping the stuff he made 20 years ago, perhaps Spielberg could do a sequel to E.T.
On second thought, that's a really bad idea. Let's leave the past in the past.
What is cool? Can you define that thing, that quality that makes certain characters seem like they're more with it than everyone around them? Maybe cool is a state of being, not a thing you can pick up by wearing Armani or drinking Grey Goose or driving a BMW.
As I was looking around the current crop of television shows, I found ten characters who seem to capture the essence of cool -- whether they know it or not. After the jump, we count them down.
(S09E10) "It feels like Grissom's last big game. I want to win it for him." -- Nick to Catherine
If you're a fan of closure, if you like solutions and results and answers, here was the episode for you. Grissom's exit gave the writers and producers of CSI a chance to present a show which encompassed most of the elements that characterize what makes this show so popular.
It was sort of a greatest hits episode, if you will, topped with the one scene that kept viewers glued to the set till the end credits. If you missed it by turning away after Grissom's nostalgic stroll through the offices, I'll tell you all about what happened...after the jump.
It's the end of an era on CSI. The Las Vegas Crime Lab is losing the head man. Gil Grissom is packing up his office and leaving Las Vegas. The night shift supervisor, the most influential scientist on the staff, Dr. Gilbert "Gil" Grissom will be a character that won't easily be forgotten, let alone replaced.
If Laurence Fishburne is wise, he'll work with the producers and writers to make Raymond Langston a very different kind of leader.
Looking back at the Grissom years, there are distinctive beats that William Petersen brought to the character and the show. To me, there are six reasons why Grissom will be hard to replace.
I'm sure that many of us could go round and round over the quality of the episodes in this latest chapter of Heroes. If you're following along with the weekly reviews, you've no doubt seen it play out in the comments. The thing that is a little harder to argue is the ratings. Over these last few months, the one time flagship NBC drama has seen its numbers drop to drastic levels. Put another way, if Heroes was a space ship, and dropping ratings signified an increase in speed, the show has gone plaid.
You see that palm tree beside Michael Westen? The blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean in the background? Well, you can count on seeing all that Miami Beach ambiance on Burn Notice from now on. You might think, "Wait a minute. Why would they even consider leaving South Florida?" Well, last week the Miami commissioners threatened to demolish the Burn Notice studios.
Coming off a strong 2008 season, CBS is taking some bold moves with their new season program schedule. As we wrote earlier, there are four new dramas, a sitcom and a reality show in the mix. 
So this was the big season finale (wth a Mentalist title), where "good cops" turned "bad" (according to the previews). Can I assume that the officers in question didn't actually turn completely bad, it was for a very good reason? Or will next season have the team hunting down Horatio Caine, who has become a relentless killer?
Do the American people really like watching their favorite shows this way? Assuming you have more than one or two shows you enjoy following, this week is daunting to say the least and beyond exhausting. Just last night I had a three-hour finale of The Biggest Loser and that awesome Fringe finale. In the past few days we've said goodbye to 
Did you see the commercials for this episode? They showed the first bomb going off and said something along the lines of "the first blast with stun you." Then they showed the grenade falling down off the coroner table and said something about that plot twist. You know what 
Are you ready for more 
When 
He helped E.T. phone home, and now former child actor Henry Thomas 
What is cool? Can you define that thing, that quality that makes certain characters seem like they're more with it than everyone around them? Maybe cool is a state of being, not a thing you can pick up by wearing Armani or drinking Grey Goose or driving a BMW.
(S09E10) "It feels like Grissom's last big game. I want to win it for him." -- Nick to Catherine
It's the end of an era on 
TV Squad previews NBC's new shows (part 1)
TV 101: How ESPN controls the world and what the other networks can learn from it
TV Squad previews CBS's new shows
