Posted Oct 29th 2009 3:09PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Industry, OpEd, Music and Variety, Celebrities, Reality-Free
On November 24, British music sensation Susan Boyle's first CD will be released, and as I wrote before,
it won't be filled with just show tunes. It's been getting a lot of buzz considering that Susan has not been going on television promoting the album... till now.
Susan will appear on QVC on November 4 to launch her debut album
I Dreamed a Dream. If you tune in, you'll see Susan talking about the CD -- it doesn't sound like she'll be singing live -- but they'll spin some cuts and urge you to order.
If you do, there'll be a bonus DVD of rare footage that you'll get along with the eclectic batch of songs she's recorded. How eclectic? Rolling Stones' "Wild Horses," The Monkees' "Daydream Believer," Madonna's "You'll See" and, of course, from
Les Miserables, "I Dreamed A Dream."
Continue reading Susan Boyle's CD premiering on QVC
Posted Oct 29th 2009 1:00PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Industry, Programming, Reality-Free, Gossip Girl, Fringe
TV Guide has released their list of shows that are safe for the rest of the season and those that are "on the bubble," the shows that are in danger of being canceled. There are a lot of shows on the latter list that aren't a surprise, such as
Hank,
Gary Unmarried,
Cold Case, and
The Forgotten (I'm surprised
Cold Case even made it to another season).
But among the list of shows are a few that I didn't think were in danger, including
Gossip Girl and
Fringe. I know that
Gossip Girl isn't a show that gets incredible ratings, but that describes The CW in general, and I figure that even if it gets low ratings it's sort of the network's signature show. As for
Fringe, the ratings are a lot worse this season than last season, but it would still surprise me if the show went away, especially since it has its fan base and it's produced by JJ Abrams.
Any other shows on the list that surprise you?
Posted Oct 29th 2009 9:36AM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Industry, Smallville, Reality-Free
Smallville really is the show that won't die.
After more than eight years, numerous cast departures, and countless recycled plotlines,
Smallville might be
headed for a tenth season, producer Kelly Souders told EW. Somehow, the veteran superhero series manages to stay on the air while shows like
Southland and
Trauma can't seem to make it past season one.
Smallville has experienced a drop in ratings since its recent move to Friday nights on The CW, but Souders says the drop off hasn't been that bad. Last week's episode, "
Roulette," attracted 2.5 million viewers, a season high for the series. It shared third place in the ratings with ABC for the 8 p.m. hour. That's not terrible for a CW show in its ninth season.
Continue reading Smallville producers pushing for a tenth season
Posted Oct 29th 2009 12:17AM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Industry, Programming, Cancellations, Reality-Free
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.
Does this news really surprise anyone though?
Continue reading Goodbye Trauma
Posted Oct 28th 2009 11:39PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Industry, Programming, Chuck, Reality-Free
Hey
Southland fans: sorry about
the cancellation and everything. But
NBC has ordered more episodes of Chuck! Woo-hoo!
Michael Ausiello at
Entertainment Weekly is reporting that NBC has upped the episode order from 13 to 19. Not sure why they didn't just make it 22 (a full season), but regardless, this must mean that NBC really wants to get behind the show. Or they realized they really don't have anything else in the wings and want to please the fans they do have.
Continue reading NBC wants more Chuck (and so do I)
Posted Oct 28th 2009 7:01PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Industry, OpEd, Cancellations, Ratings, Reality-Free
Every year, there's a show that's on the top of viewers' "You mean that's
still on the air?" list. Whether the show was good or not, it was one that hung on in obscurity for years and years, getting just enough of an audience to keep it going. You know the shows I'm talking about:
The Facts of Life. Wings. Yes, Dear. Matlock.Just Shoot Me. George Lopez. King of the Hill. JAG. Heck, even the great
Scrubs was at the top of this list for many people for awhile (still might be for some).
But for the last five years or so, the reigning champ of that list was
According to Jim, both because of its inexplicable longevity and its questionable quality. Now, with Jim Belushi's vanity project finally gone, it looks like another show has taken its place: FOX's
'Til Death.
The network just doesn't want to let the show die. Every time the show is in a low-rated slot, the network moves it to one that's higher-profile in an attempt to boost ratings. Case in point: the
Brad Garrett sitcom will be replacing Brothers on Sundays at 7, starting January 10, after football's regular season is over.
Continue reading 'Til Death: The new According to Jim?
Posted Oct 28th 2009 5:01PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Sports, Industry, OpEd, Reality-Free
I have to admit that, when the Yankees are in the playoffs, most of my regular TV watching gets obliterated. Thankfully, DVRs and online TV sites (and, in the mid-'90s, VCRs) help me catch up. For instance, even though I have to review
Cougar Town, I'll likely won't watch it until tomorrow morning, on either ABC.com or Hulu. Why? World Series game one, of course. Nothing, not even the Yankees being behind 22-0, is going to tear me away from FOX at 9:30, when I should be watching
Cougar Town on ABC.
Which leads me to something that I've been wondering lately: Didn't networks used to program more reruns against the World Series? Tonight, NBC has a lineup of new episodes, as does ABC (except for
Charlie Brown in Hank's slot, for understandable reasons). Tomorrow, all three of FOX's competitors have new episodes.
Continue reading Remember when there were reruns against the World Series?
Posted Oct 28th 2009 12:38PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Sports, Industry, OpEd, Celebrities, Reality-Free
During the broadcast of the Minnesota vs. Ohio State college football game last weekend, ESPN analyst Bob Griese put his foot in his mouth. While promoting an upcoming NASCAR event, a graphic was shown listing the drivers.
When Griese's fellow broadcast Chris Spielman questioned why NASCAR driver Juan Pablo Montoya wasn't on the list, Griese replied that he was "out having a taco."
Oops! ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz has announced that
Bob Griese has been suspended for a week. Griese has apologized for the ill-attempt at humor. Krulewitz revealed that ESPN had spoken to Griese and "he understands the comment was inappropriate."
Continue reading ESPN's Bob Griese suspended for faux pas
Posted Oct 28th 2009 11:21AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Industry, OpEd, Reality-Free
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.
Continue reading Remember the V skywriting stunt? Forget it!
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.
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