Posted Oct 28th 2009 10:00AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Industry, Programming, OpEd, Reality-Free
For the longest time, I've kvetched about the fact that the television industry has stopped programming for Saturday night. For years, Saturday was a great night of television. I remember
M*A*S*H and
The Mary Tyler Moore Show, not to mention guilty pleasures like
The Facts of Life and
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. Even NBC's thrillogy,
The Pretender and
Profiler were fun. All those shows were Saturday night hits (some bigger than others).
Well,
I'm not alone in missing Saturday TV; Oscar-winner Barry Levinson feels the same. Levinson is also a TV producer -- he did
Homicide: Life on the Street and
The Philanthropist -- and he thinks the networks are making a big mistake by not seizing on Saturday primetime. He knows the business pretty well and he's confused by the networks' strategy.
"I don't think the answer is to retreat," he told the New York Daily News. "When you give up Saturday night, you open the door for people to go somewhere else. Basically, they're shrinking their own audience."
Continue reading Barry Levinson urges TV to take back Saturday night
Posted Oct 27th 2009 10:02AM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Industry, HDTV, Hardware, Reality-Free
All this talk of
3-D television has really puzzled me. It seems the companies are pushing more for the technology than the customers actually want it. It's the debut of the Toyota Prius all over again.
Television manufacturers are hoping the onslaught of 3-D movies, such as
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, will increase the whisper-level clamors for 3-D televisions. The TVs should be in stores next year.
To me, the two experiences are almost completely different. 3-D films work in the theaters because the audience is forced to look at the screen, whereas TV is a completely voluntary viewing experience. If there is a way to utilize the technology to enhance the experience on more than just a visual level, like Comedy Central's first-person junk-joke-fest
Secret Girlfriend, then maybe you've got gold.
Posted Oct 26th 2009 9:09PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Industry, OpEd, Animation, Music and Variety, Reality-Free
Well, it seemed like an unusual pairing when it was announced. Kind of like oil and water. Well, the oil slick has hit the proverbial fan.
Microsoft has withdrawn its sole sponsorship of Fox's Seth MacFarlane comedy special. That's the special that Fox was promoting like crazy yesterday all during the NFL games, the special called
Family Guy Presents: Seth & Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show.
In the grand tradition of show business, though, the special will go on November 8, just without Microsoft commercials. Fox is looking for alternate sponsors. Here's my first call if I'm at Fox -- Apple. Don't you think those Mac/PC ads would send a message to viewers who might still think Microsoft is behind this?
It would also be a brilliant PR move by Steve Jobs and Apple. After all, they could say, "Hey, we're not afraid of the content in Seth MacFarlane's show. We have a sense of humor."
Continue reading Microsoft backs out of MacFarlane's Fox comedy special
Posted Oct 26th 2009 5:03PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Industry, Programming, Commercials, Reality-Free
So, let's say TV Squad wanted to have a 30-second ad on CBS' highest-rated show,
NCIS. It would cost us $133,304. It would actually cost more, because we'd hire scantily-clad dancers, include a 35 pound bag of Doritios, fireworks in the shape of each writer, guest appearances from people like Tina Fey and JJ Abrams, and would have special effects because some of the commercial would be set in outer space for some reason, but I mean CBS would charge us $133,304.
To give you an idea of how that stacks up against other shows on CBS and shows on other networks, here's a quick list.
Continue reading If TV Squad had a 30-second ad on NCIS, it would cost $133,304
Posted Oct 24th 2009 2:00PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Industry, Programming, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
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.
Posted Oct 24th 2009 1:02PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Industry
It's official, television is running out of things to turn into reality television. Wait, that means I'll be getting my own reality show soon. What the hell am I complaining about?
Scott Messick, the reality show guru behind
Shaq Vs.,
Pros vs. Joes and
Ty Murray's Celebrity Bull Riding Challenge, has purchased the TV rights to make a reality show or reality shows around
Lego.
Just imagine the possibilities! For one show, a team of builders would have to build something massive in a certain amount of time in order to win a prize. For another show, another team of builders would have to build something massive in a certain amount of time in order to win another prize. If the show was picked up by CMT, the team of builders would have to wear cowboy hats the whole time.
Posted Oct 24th 2009 12:25PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Industry, OpEd, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free, Parks and Recreation, Community
Earlier this week, one of the big honchos at
NBC was kvetching to the media about how the company hates being in fourth place. Well, the only way out of the bottom is better programming. I don't know if the network will succeed with this news, but at least it's committing to its programs.
Three shows got full season pickups, Community, Parks and Recreation and Mercy. That means nine episodes more each.
Continue reading NBC commits to more Community, Parks and Mercy
Posted Oct 23rd 2009 1:02PM by John Scott Lewinski
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Industry, Celebrities
What happened to David Letterman?
I don't mean the endlessly publicized sex scandal or the Sarah Palin controversy. I don't mean the ham-fisted and unfunny political commentary -- or even the strange tales of stalkers around every corner. I mean what happened to the guy from the mid-late 1980s who seemed so above and beyond any such tired showbiz cliches?
When Letterman followed Carson during the Golden Age of NBC late night TV, his show was admittedly quirky. But it was one of the best examples of post-modern comedy in the medium's history.
Late Night with David Letterman not only mocked TV entertainment while being a part of it, but the show made fun of the very idea that people get paid to gab or act silly in front of millions of people.
Continue reading Letterman tragedy fouls grand memories of Late Nights past
Posted Oct 22nd 2009 3:02PM by Jonathan Toomey
Filed under: Industry, Video, Web, Reality-Free, Webisodes
Hey you. Yeah, you - guy wasting company time by watching last week's episode of Heroes on Hulu. Enjoying it? Well, get ready to cough up some cash to find out what happens next.
In a move that we've all long feared was probably inevitable anyway, Chase Carey, deputy chairman of News Corp. (one of Hulu's co-owners) annouced that Hulu would begin charging users. According to Broadcasting & Cable, Hulu's fees could start as early as 2010.
You may commence booing now.
Continue reading Hulu to charge for content; cubicle dwellers everywhere cringe
Posted Oct 21st 2009 5:33PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Industry, Programming, Awards, Reality-Free
In this age where there seems to be an awards show every three weeks, is the
People's Choice Awards relevant anymore (if it ever was)? More than anything else, it seems like an award based only on popularity, which is why you get some really lame nominations and winners every year.
In the
Favorite TV Comedy category,
Gary Unmarried is nominated along with shows like
30 Rock,
The Office,
Chuck, and
How I Met Your Mother. In the
Favorite TV Comedy Actor category, David Spade is nominated.
Continue reading It's People's Choice Awards time again
Posted Oct 21st 2009 4:06PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Industry, Animation, Children, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
Nickelodeon is hoping to win back some of those younger eyeballs by buying up one of the most beloved children's franchises of all time.
The "first kids' network" bought the global rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with plans to turn the property into a CGI TV series and feature film by 2012.
The network has high hopes for the cartoon series. They have invested a lot of time and money into winning over young teens and this could be just the thing to win back their old core audience: young kids and heavy stoners.
Posted Oct 21st 2009 11:00AM by John Scott Lewinski
Filed under: Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, Industry, Stargate, Interviews, Reality-Free, Galleries
The writers and producers of Syfy's
Stargate Universe could've played it safe and got along just fine with their latest series.
After Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin's 1994 feature film from MGM, the series' first TV adaption (
SG1) arrived in 1997. When you throw in the follow-up series,
Infinity and
Atlantis,
the Stargate franchise has run on TV in one form or another for more than 12 years.
When the time came to invent the next step in the franchise, show-runners Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper could have trotted out more of the same and done perfectly well. Instead, they upped the ante -- bringing a bigger budget and updated production techniques to
Stargate Universe.
MGM and Syfy welcomed journalists to Vancouver's Bridge Studios to
explore the show's starship Destiny set and discover how this series cruises beyond its successful predecessors.
Continue reading Set Visit: Stargate Universe ups ante for veteran franchise
Posted Oct 20th 2009 6:04PM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Industry, Smallville, Stargate, Celebrities, Casting, Reality-Free
Fans of actor Michael Shanks won't have to wait until the next
Stargate DVD movie/telefilm to see him back on the small screen. The
SG-1 alum has
landed the role of Hawkman on the upcoming Justice Society episode of
Smallville.
Shanks' Hawkman won't be the only classic DC Comics hero making an appearance in the episode. Dr. Fate, played by Brent Stait, and Stargirl, played by Britt Irvin, will also appear in the ep, penned by comic book writer Geoff Johns. More Justice Society characters are expected to appear.
Continue reading Stargate's Michael Shanks swoops into Smallville as Hawkman
Posted Oct 19th 2009 5:06PM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Industry, Stargate, Celebrities, Casting, Reality-Free
HBO has added another cast member to its upcoming
Game of Thrones pilot, based on George R.R. Martin's fantasy book series
A Song of Ice and Fire.
Stargate Atlantis alum
Jason Momoa has been cast as Drogo, a powerful warlord who has never been defeated in battle.
This sounds like the perfect role for the hulking 6' 4" actor, best known as
SGA's resident Wraith killin' badass, Ronon Dex. Hopefully, Momoa's potential
Game of Thrones schedule won't keep him from appearing in the proposed
Stargate Atlantis DVD movie/telefilm.
Continue reading Stargate vet joins HBO fantasy pilot
Posted Oct 16th 2009 4:06PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Industry, Programming, Reality-Free
OK NBC, I give. I have no clue what an "Executive Producer of Transformation" is. Is that like when they call a restaurant dishwasher a "utensil sanitation engineer?"
Tim Peek is the NBC guy with the new title (he's been with the network since 1996). The description that the network gives for the job is that he will "oversee the incorporation of emerging technologies into the daily practices of the news division." That probably means that more people at NBC News are going to start using Twitter and iPods.
Continue reading Meet NBC's new "Executive Producer of Transformation"
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