Ah, how good it is to get back to The Wire. I've been steered off track by other DVDs landing on my doorstep for Jane After Dark, so season five of The Wire has been a while coming. One again, the show blows me away with the writing, characters, cinematography and realism. I'm just part-way into season one, but I love all of the references to everything that's happened thus far in the series, and the crew's continued attempts to bring down Marlo's organization. And, apparently, Omar is still in the game ...
It took a few weeks to get it done, but at least all of the produced episodes of Southland have a home now. The show developed a little bit of buzz with its first seven episodes last season. Then it developed a lot of buzz this year when NBC pulled the plug on it before its second season had even begun, leaving six episodes created and in limbo.
Apparently, its darker tone didn't fit in with the network's plans anymore. After all, the 10 p.m. slot, where most of your more sophisticated shows used to live on NBC, is the home of Leno now. Immediately word came out that various cable networks were looking to pick up the series, but no one knew exactly what that meant. There were theories, of course, and TNT emerged as the front-runner.
Now we know, and it looks like everyone was right. TNT has secured the rights to Southland; primarily the right to broadcast the 13 episodes produced so far.
(S01E02) "Please don't try anything. I have five bars and free long distance. I can be far away and still cause you pain."- bad guy with phone bomb
First the bad news.
I can buy the FBI spending $5000 on a party featuring 65 supermodels and a rooftop terrace to catch a crook. I can buy a rich woman giving a complete stranger an apartment for $700 a month even though he's an ex-con. I can buy a fancy dress with some security device inside of it that a master criminal would kill for. There's a lot of stuff I'll buy in a show like this.
What I can't buy is that hat Matthew Bomer insists on wearing. He wants to be Rat Pack-era cool but with the hat and the vest and rolled up sleeves, he looks more like he's doing a fashion shoot for Details or maybe fronting a boy band.
I know I'm dating myself, but I'm really looking forward to watching the second season of thirtsysomething on DVD.
The first season was released back in August, and I had a blast catching up with great characters like Michael and Melissa Steadman, Elliot Weston and Gary Shepherd. Season two hits DVD in January, thanks to the good folks at Shout! Factory, known for putting out great sets like the packed Freaks and Geeks collection and the recent Transformers "G1" collector's set.
Some people might only think of thirtysomething as "that '80s show about whiny yuppies," and that's fine. But the Emmy-award winning drama brings back a lot of great memories for me. As I mentioned before, I used to watch it with my mom, who I'm pretty sure related to Patricia Wettig's frustrated homemaker Nancy Weston and free spirit Melissa Steadman, played by Melanie Mayron. (As for my dad, I'm not ashamed to say that he's more of a Timothy Busfield type!)
The network has given the greenlight to a pilot for a new drama that will feature a magician who solves crimes. It will be produced and directed by Jon Amiel and written by NCIS' Dan Fesman. No title yet, but I bet NBC will lean towards something like The Magician (hey, it's sorta like The Mentalist!) instead of something lame like Hocus Pocus or Now You See It or something other magic cliche.
Of course, NBC already had a show called The Magician that was about... a crime-solving magician! I loved this show. It starred Bill Bixby, pre-Hulk. It's the show Mulder was watching when Samantha was kidnapped.
(S01E06) "It's like you've stepped out of a 70's porno and into my life." - Roxie to Darryl
It's Halloween, and there's no better place to be than Eastwick. Unless you've got an insane pastor on your tail who's bound and determined to make you pay for your past sins (see photo above).
But first, the celebration! Everyone decorates coffins, fills them up with whatever's been bothering them this past year, brings them to the giant witch statue, and watches them burn. Sounds like a party, doesn't it?
You really can't leave your computer or your TV screen anymore or you'll miss the latest news/cancellation from NBC. The latest? Trauma, the new, heavily-hyped medical drama that had that big splashy pilot with the helicopter and car crashes.
I used to be a devoted fan of General Hospital, and some of my favorite episodes involved Luke and Laura, and later, their son, Lucky. In fact, now that I think about it, I started to stray from the show about the time that Jonathan Jackson, who played the first Lucky, left the show in 1999.
The other actors who played Lucky -- Jacob Young and Greg Vaughan -- did a fine job, but I so associated the role with Jackson that it was impossible for me to accept anyone else as Lucky.
As luck would have it, I just happened to flip on One Life to Live yesterday and saw a promo for Jonathan Jackson coming back to General Hospital as Lucky. What a stroke of "luck" for me!
About two weeks ago, with much fanfare, ABC issued a press release about a big promotion for the new sci-fi remake of V. The idea was skywriting giant red "V's" over national monuments around the country. When I read about it, I thought it was pretty clever.
Like ABC media, I didn't contemplate the environment hazard posed by spraying the skies with red skywriting materials. The skywriting stunt has been canceled because one clever reporter did. She snagged ABC in its own press net.
Have you seen the new ads for the new TNT comedy-drama Men of a Certain Age? It stars Ray Romano, Scott Bakula, and Andre Braugher as husbands and dads dealing with middle age. It has been announced that Robert Loggia will play Romano's dad on the show. He's one of those actors that's great in everything he does and it's cool to have him in this show and in that recent Apple ad.
But instead of that ad I'll post this classic from the early 90s. If you say so Mr. Loggia!
I don't know why Greek isn't talked about more. It seems to have everything all those other nighttime soaps have: a young cast, quirky characters, hip music. Maybe being on ABC Family means it gets lost in the shuffle.
Last night's episode was actually a Thanksgiving episode (they're a little ahead of things I guess), with Casey and Rusty's parents going off to Maui and stranding them on campus. What did you think?
[Watch clips and episodes of Greek at SlashControl.]
It looks like HBO is so in love with Gabriel Byrne's turn as Dr. Paul Weston that they're willing to go into uncharted territory with him. While the Isreali series BeTipul, on which it was based, only went two seasons, HBO has ordered a third round of In Treatment.
This is significant because the series remained incredibly faithful to the original series through both of its first two seasons. For this new third season, the writers will have to create all new patients, stories and drama for our beleaguered psychotherapist. Gabriel Byrne is already attached to continue his role, of course. It wouldn't be a show without him. I hope they can secure Dianne Wiest again as Paul's mentor and therapist, Gina.
When NBC canceled Southland before the second season even had a chance to debut, online fans went into "Save Southland" mode. They went on Twitter, wrote letters to NBC and Warner Brothers, and tried to get the network to reconsider their decision, Jericho-style. Well, NBC is still not going to air the show, but Nikki Finke is reporting that TNT is going to pick up the show and start airing the first season as early as next week.
But she says that the deal isn't set yet because TNT and NBC can't come to terms on money (of course). In fact, an insider tells Finke that the "behavior from NBC has been unbelievable and amazingly f***ed up - even for them - which is saying something."
Of course, there's no word yet on whether TNT will simply buy the first season's worth of episodes and whatever they filmed for the second season or if TNT will actually produce more new episodes.
(S01E01) USA Network likes to remind us that characters are welcome. Thankfully, that's not just a slogan, as all of their shows actually do have great lead characters. And this holds true for the latest light comedy-action drama White Collar.
Sure, there's similar DNA that runs though a lot of the USA shows. Burn Notice, Royal Pains, and White Collar all have a similar setup and feel to them, but when the shows are actually good (like all of these shows are) that's not a problem. I don't know if there's anything "deep" about this show, but it's entertaining as hell.
It took a few weeks to get it done, but at least all of the produced episodes of 
I know I'm dating myself, but I'm really looking forward to watching the second season of 
You really can't leave your computer or your TV screen anymore or you'll miss the latest news/cancellation from NBC. The latest? 
I used to be a devoted fan of 
I don't know why 
It looks like HBO is so in love with Gabriel Byrne's turn as Dr. Paul Weston that they're willing to go into uncharted territory with him. While the Isreali series BeTipul, on which it was based, only went two seasons, 
Mike Henry and Daryl Hall on a Cleveland Show Thanksgiving
The TV Squad Podcast: The Prisoner, '80s TV, soap news and more
Let's talk about spoilers ...
