Atlantic City-related stories
Posted Jan 5th 2009 11:01AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, House, The Simpsons, NCIS, WGA Strike, Reality-Free, TV Squad Ten
A year ago at this time, who would have guessed that Jay Leno would be leaving late night and NBC would be handing him five hours of prime time instead? Who would have predicted CBS continuing to dominate in the ratings or that ABC's sophomore series like
Eli Stone and
Pushing Daisies would stumble and fall so completely after being off the air all last spring? Predictors from last January were on target about there being a
writers' strike; that did happen and it was definitely not a good thing.
Fortunately, I don't see a SAG strike in the future. However, here are ten things I'm betting will happen by the time the ball drops on December 31st.
1. Martin Scorsese will be the next big thing on HBO. He's producing a drama based on the book
Boardwalk Empire. HBO is overdue to launch another big series in
The Sopranos tradition.
Boardwalk Empire seems to have all the right elements: violence, sex, gambling, and Oscar-winning, iconic director Martin Scorsese.
Continue reading TV Squad Ten: Fearless predictions for 2009
Posted Jun 4th 2008 7:05PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Cable/Satellite, Reality-Free
It sounds like HBO is looking for another series in
The Sopranos tradition. Or maybe it was
The Sopranos that was in the Scorsese tradition? Either way, we recently told you about Oscar-winning director
Martin Scorsese's HBO project Boardwalk Empire (teaming with Mark Wahlberg and Stephen Levinson of
Entourage fame), and now
we can report that they've hired Terence Winter to pen the script for Boardwalk Empire. That's the name of Nelson Johnson's book about the dark underbelly in the rise and fall of Atlantic City, on which this project will be based. Call me crazy, but this sounds like perfect material for Scorsese's sensibilities, even if he's producing rather than directing.
Continue reading HBO signs writer to Scorsese's Boardwalk Empire
Posted Mar 7th 2007 10:01AM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, HBO, Celebrities
Martin Scorsese is developing a new series for HBO along with Mark Wahlberg about the development of Atlantic City. The new series will based on the book Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City by Nelson Johnson, which was optioned by HBO.
Scorsese has been getting into television more and more, and it will be interesting to see what he and Wahlberg (who will both serve as executive producers) will come up with for this new series, but if it has to do with gambling, power struggles, and back stabbing, I can't think of anyone better suited to helming the project than Scorsese.
Wahlberg is also developing an English language version of the Israeli drama In Treatment for HBO.
Posted Nov 13th 2006 10:09PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, CBS, OpEd, How I Met Your Mother
(S02E08) You mean to tell me that Atlantic City has a lot of old people crowding the slot machines and is full of garbage on the beach? Who knew?
Actually, AC, while not the "Shangri-La" that Las Vegas is, isn't as horrific as TV writers would lead you to believe. But it was a good backdrop for tonight's rare one-story episode.
So...Marshall and Lilly are back together. Like I said last week, it would have been nice for them to explore them trying to co-exist as friends in the group for a little while longer, but the deed is done. Now, they're starting to talk about marriage again; Marshall even makes Lilly get down on a knee and propose all formal-like. But instead of getting up in front of Marshall's family, who still might be a little miffed at Lilly for leaving him, they decide to elope in Atantic City.
Continue reading How I Met Your Mother: Atlantic City
Posted Jul 25th 2006 4:40PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Programming
At 8, CBS has a new Big Brother: All-Stars, followed by a new Rock Star: Supernova. - NBC has a new Fear Factor at 8, followed by a new Last Comic Standing.
- AMC has Jaws at 8.
- Also at 8: ESPN has two new episodes of The 2006 World Series of Poker (circuit championships, from Atlantic City and Las Vegas).
- At 9, ABC has a new ep of The One.
- Discovery has a new Dirty Jobs at 9.
- TLC has a new Overhaulin' at 9, followed by a new Miami Ink.
- There's a new episode of Work Out on Bravo at 9.
- Also at 9: Sci-Fi Channel has a new Eureka.
Posted Jul 9th 2006 8:14AM by Anna Johns
Filed under: Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, FOX, OpEd, Retro Squad, The X-Files
(
S01E05) Before I get into this episode, let me just say that season one of
The X-Files is phenomenal. I had forgotten how many terrific episodes were packed into the first season. Chris Carter really seemed to have this show down solid right out of the gate. He set up the series with aliens, government cover-ups and monsters; and episode five of season one introduced us to the agents.
We learn that Mulder lives and breathes his work. He and Scully travel up to Atlantic City, New Jersey, where Mulder butts heads with the local PD, who have jurisdiction over the case of a Bigfoot-looking creature that is killing homeless people. Mulder thinks it's the famous Jersey Devil, which chewed a man's arm off in the 1960s. He chooses to stay in Atlantic City for the weekend to look for the 'devil', while Scully returns to Washington, D.C. for her godson's birthday.
Continue reading The X-Files: The Jersey Devil
Posted Jan 14th 2006 8:32AM by Anna Johns
Filed under: Cable, Programming, Music and Variety
The Miss America pageant is back. By... popular demand? Well, that remains to be seen. The pageant, which couldn't
find a home after dreadful ratings in 2004, begins today in Las Vegas (although, the final doesn't air until next
weekend). This is the first year in the pageant's 85-year history that it isn't being held in Atlantic City. There are
some other changes in store, too. Instead of the traditional parade of beauty queens in convertibles, the contestants
will arrive at the Aladdin hotel Hollywood-style, complete with the red carpet and luxury coaches. And, instead of a
talk show-type host,
Desperate Housewives actor James Denton is doing the honors. The competition itself
sounds like it's exactly the same, boring stuff that American viewers have been turning away from for years: talent,
bathing suits, question-and-answer, bad choreography. Well, maybe it's not the bathing suits that they've been turning
away from.
The question is... are CMT viewers the ones who will revive the beauty pageant?
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