Posts with tag cbs
Posted May 17th 2008 12:25AM by Jen Creer
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Moonlight, Reality-Free
(
S01E16)
"Leeroy Jenkins!!!!"-- Logan Griffen
I deliberately chose a humorous quote to help us say farewell to
Moonlight, rather than a more somber one. But other quotes in the running were: "Can my code name be Lando Calrissian?" and "It's going to be a freaking vampire apocalypse." It is not a spoiler but a fact that
CBS decided earlier this week not to pick up
Moonlight for a second season. The fat lady hasn't finished quite singing yet, though: Our own
Brett Love reported that Nikke Fink thinks the CW might pick up the show after all. So, keep your eyes pealed for that possible announcement.
In the meantime, however, we have the season (and, thus far, series) finale to contend with. I don't know whether the writers suspected that the series would be ending, but surely they knew (along with everyone else) that the show was on the bubble. So, they ended the season in a manner that would provide some closure for us all, while also keeping things open in case it was continued. I, for one, appreciate that.
Continue reading Moonlight: Sonata (series finale)
Posted May 16th 2008 2:23PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Daytime, Celebrities, Casting, Reality-Free
You could call it bailing from a sinking ship, assuming you think the current changes on
Guiding Light are something like being on the Titanic. On the other hand, it may just be a talented actress spreading her wings to take on a new challenge. However you couch it,
Guiding Light star Beth Ehlers is bolting the CBS soap for ABC's All My Children. She'll be assuming the role of Liza Colby Chandler, the part most recently played by Marcy Walker (who played Tangie back on
Guiding Light in 1993).
This is the second major exit from
GL, and it seems that the bottom line reason for the departures is the bottom line. Cost cutting across the board at the P&G soaps --
GL and
As the World Turns -- have squeezed the actors salaries.
Martha Byrne and Scott Bryce left
ATWT in recent months, reportedly in contract disputes, and Ricky Paull Goldin departed
GL last month and was quickly snatched up by
All My Children. Just like Ehlers.
And how coincidental that they were a major couple in Springfield. They even won a special Daytime Emmy in 2002 as America's Favorite Couple --
GL's Harley and Gus. Well, now they can spark that same chemistry in Pine Valley. Move over, Erica and Adam and Tad and Joe, you've got company.
Continue reading Beth Ehlers bolts Guiding Light for All My Children
Posted May 16th 2008 2:02PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Programming, OpEd, TV Squad Lists, Upfronts, Reality-Free
So the networks have given their upfront presentations. It's not easy to pick which shows look the best. Sure, we can base our judgments on what "type" of show we usually like anyway or a producer that's involved or someone who is in the lead. But we're still just basing it on a description (or a snippet from each show). It really comes down to the writing and the execution in general.
Having said all that, here are the shows that look great to me, based on the upfront description, the cast and crew involved, and how my tastes run in general.
Continue reading The five new shows I'm most interested in (based on the upfronts that is)
Posted May 16th 2008 8:00AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Cancellations, Reality-Free
Frasier has left the building, but Kelsey Grammer hasn't. Or maybe he just doesn't want to. The actor, whose Fox situation comedy,
Back to You, was canceled after just one season, doesn't want to call it quits. He wants the show to continue and he's so determined, he's even lobbied for the show personally. The Emmy award winning star phoned CBS executives -- including CBS CEO Les Moonves -- to plead the case for
Back to You.
When Kelsey phoned, Les took the call, and he even told Grammer that he'd "think about it," that is, moving
Back to You to CBS. However, when Kelsey followed up with a call to Nina Tassler, CBS Entertainment prez, she dismissed it. There really was no room on the
CBS schedule for another sitcom; even
Rules of Engagement (which CBS has a vested interest in bringing back) won't be broadcast till mid-season next year. There's no mention of Kelsey calling ABC or NBC; perhaps they didn't take his call?
Continue reading Kelsey asks CBS to save Back to You
Posted May 16th 2008 1:43AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: CSI, Video, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(
S08E17) Last week's special episode of
CSI, the one written by the
Two and a Half Men creators, was fun and light-hearted and filled with inside jokes and gags. Last night's show was the complete antithesis: brutal, bloody and in the end, shockingly sad. It was Gary Dourdan's last episode of the series. Warrick is gone and the only way you'll ever see him on
CSI again will be in flashback or we discover a twin brother or lookalike cousin.
The show picked up on the storyline began last season, when Warrick bedded an exotic dancer from Pigalle who wound up dead. He was cleared back then, but never got over her death. We learn that he's been obsessively stalking Lou Gedda, the club owner whom Warrick believes had her killed. Before you can say, "what the heck is going on with the funeral with the two guys in the coffin," Warrick is caught seemingly red-handed (literally with blood all over his hands!) in Lou's office where the hulking body of the gangster has been riddled with bullets in his barber chair.
Continue reading CSI: For Gedda (season finale) - VIDEO
Posted May 15th 2008 2:02PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Pickups and Renewals, Upfronts, Reality-Free
Yesterday,
CBS presented their new schedule for 2008-09. If you'd like to see a sample of the new shows coming to CBS next year, click over to
TV Week.
There are clips from Eleventh Hour, The Ex-List, Harper's Island, Project Gary, The Mentalist and Worst Week. I've given them a once-over (actually, I watched them more than once) and here's my impressions. That means if you want to watch them fresh without my observations mucking up yours, take a look at them first before reading on.
Continue reading TV Week gives a peek at CBS's new shows
Posted May 15th 2008 11:21AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: CSI, Reality-Free
There's been a lot of flux on
CSI, CBS's top rated, long-running, extremely popular forensics-procedural-crime drama (I think that covers all the categories, right?) At the end of last season,
Jorja Fox decided not to come back to the show, and her role as Sara was written out in the first two episodes of the year. The producers left the door open for her to return -- they didn't kill her off -- but she's gone.
Tonight is the last of
Gary Dourdan as Warrick. He's having trouble off-camera, a serious felony arrest earlier this month for drugs, so his leaving may have been a necessity even if he hadn't chosen to exit. Therefore, it's a good thing to be able to tell you that
USA Today reports that
Marg Helgenberger has inked a new contract with
CSI for two more years. That, coupled with
William Petersen's signing a new deal in April, means that
CSI is in good shape for the foreseeable future. CBS should be doing the happy-dance.
Continue reading Marg Helgenberger renews CSI contract
Posted May 14th 2008 10:19AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Industry, Programming, The Amazing Race, CSI, Survivor, Numb3rs, How I Met Your Mother, Cancellations, Pickups and Renewals, Shark, Upfronts, Cane, Moonlight
CBS announced its plans for the 2008-2009 season today. For the most part, things are staying the same, but there are two new sitcoms and four hour dramas planned. Here are the highlights:
Returning: The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men, The New Adventures of Old Christine, Rules of Engagement, The Unit, Cold Case, Numb3rs, Criminal Minds, The Ghost Whisperer, CSI, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, NCIS, 60 Minutes, Without A Trace, Survivor, The Amazing RaceOut: Shark, Moonlight, Cane, Kid Nation, Power of 10, Secret Talents of the Stars, Viva Laughlin, Welcome to the CaptainNew: The Worst Week, Project Gary, The Ex List, Eleventh Hour, The Mentalist
Mid-season: Harper's Island, Rules of Engagement
Schedule and detailed descriptions of the new shows coming soon, after the jump.Continue reading The Upfronts: CBS
Posted May 13th 2008 8:29PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Cancellations, Pickups and Renewals, Shark, Reality-Free
CBS doesn't announce its new schedule till tomorrow, but the news is spilling out everywhere about what's in and what's out.
The New Adventures of Old Christine has been given a 22-episode commitment for a third season; Shark has been sunk. For fans of the James Woods legal drama -- and I know there are lots of you out there because you've posted here -- my heart goes out to you. It was a good show, but it seems that CBS has four new dramas on deck for next season (that we have heard they're announcing tomorrow), so something had to give. It's likely that the choice came down between
The Unit and
Shark, with
The Unit getting the renewal.
As for Christine, I say "Yeah!" I love Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Hamish Linklater (Matthew, her brother on the show) and would have been really upset if CBS let the show get away. If the network had passed on the sitcom, ABC was reportedly very, very interested in taking it on. They had visions of pairing
Samantha Who? with
Christine for an all-girl sitcom hour. That's not going to happen now because Julia is staying put on CBS.
Whether the show remains on Monday nights, however, is still to be determined. For the past year, it has mostly shared the 9:30 slot with
Rules of Engagement, which has also been renewed. Some reporters are suggesting that CBS could be launching a second sitcom night.
Posted May 13th 2008 6:02PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Industry, Programming, Ratings, Reality-Free
Here are the weekly TV ratings, by number of viewers.
Last week I mentioned that Lost wasn't in the top 20. Well, this week it returns. Not to the highs it was earlier this year, but hey, I wouldn't mind almost 11 million people watching what I do each week (I'm talking about writing, not going to the bathroom or eating a sandwich). Survivor's finale and regular episode both made the top 20, even though it was the lowest-rated finale in the history of the show.
1. American Idol - Weds (FOX)
2. American Idol - Tues (FOX)
Continue reading Nielsen ratings for the week ending May 11
Posted May 13th 2008 4:20PM by Jen Creer
Filed under: Industry, OpEd, Cancellations, Moonlight, Reality-Free
This is it,
Moonlight fans. Vampires might be immortal, but this cult favorite is not. Today, sources at CBS have confirmed (though this is "not truly official" yet): The bubble has been popped, and
the network has decided not to renew the series for a second season. You can't say the fans haven't tried to save this show, hosting nationwide blood drives and showering the network with garlic cloves. But according to The Hollywood Reporter, the show couldn't sustain viewers after
Ghost Whisperer on Friday nights. Rabid, repeat viewings by diehard fans don't really count as multiple viewers, I guess.
This will cast a pall at this month's
Moonlight Convention, I'll bet.
Continue reading Moonlight done, say CBS sources
Posted May 13th 2008 10:34AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, My Name Is Earl, Ugly Betty, TV Squad Lists, Reality-Free
Recently, the
AOL list of the 50 Best Sitcoms of all time got me thinking about
ten all time great sitcom sidekicks. Working on that list inspired me to look at the best in sitcom siblings -- ADULTS ONLY. The brother/sister relationship, brothers, sisters, family dynamics are great fodder for comedy. For my collection of the best, I've limited it to grown-up siblings only because there are some truly funny things that happen only among adults brothers and sisters that are unique and universal at the same time. After all, unlike the childhood years when kids are controlled by parents, adult siblings remain close and in each other's lives by choice -- and that has made for some wonderful situation comedy.
Niles & Frasier Crane, Frasier Two brothers, both psychiatrists, both opera buffs, both wine connoisseurs, both heterosexual despite evidence to the contrary. The Crane brothers were like two peas in a very funny pod, sparking each other in comedy, competitive and supportive at the same time. Making their brotherly friendship even funnier was the fact that their Dad, Martin, who was nothing like either one of them. What's even funnier is the fact that when
Frasier was originally spun-off from
Cheers, the writers didn't include the character of Niles. It was only after seeing an 8x10 of David Hyde Pierce, and how much he looked like Kelsey Grammer's brother, that they put him in the pilot.
Frasier would not have been nearly the hit comedy it was without the brother angle.
Continue reading Eight sets of memorable sitcom siblings
Posted May 12th 2008 4:42PM by Isabelle Carreau
Filed under: Cancellations, Moonlight, Reality-Free
As a fan of the CBS series
Moonlight, I've been keeping an eye on news about the show lately to know if it would be renewed or not. Lately, most articles made me optimistic since they said that
the show had a good chance of getting a second season. Actually, some people said it was almost a done deal because the CBS Friday night lineup was doing very well. But, as people keeping tabs on the upfronts know, things can change in a split second.
Continue reading It's time to intensify Operation: Renew Moonlight!
Posted May 12th 2008 10:42AM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Industry, Programming, Site Announcements, Cancellations, Pickups and Renewals, Upfronts, Reality-Free
Upfront week is that time of year when all of the networks get together for an ice cream social and announce which new shows they'll have in the fall, which old shows are returning, and which shows have been, well, sent to TV heaven. That week is this week! Some networks have toned down their presentations and parties this year.
NBC had their official upfront last month, but today they'll be making more announcements about their fall schedule (I'll have a post up about it later today). ABC and The CW will hold their upfronts on Tuesday. On Wednesday, CBS will hold their upfront, and on Friday Thursday FOX will have theirs.
TV Squad will have full coverage all week, so check back (you're checking back every single day anyway, right?).
Posted May 12th 2008 9:39AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, CSI, Reality-Free
The
CSI/Two and a Half Men writers switch was a very clever promotion for CBS. Fortunately, the writers saw the opportunity to change places as more than just a publicity stunt. They really took the scripting seriously and came up with inventive episodes for each program. If this were a competition to see which team would deliver the better show, who would take on the task of writing winning TV in a genre not their own and succeed beyond expectations, the comedy scribes take the gold. Chuck Lorre and Lee Aronsohn's
CSI was pure genius, and if it were up to me,
CSI should submit it for an Emmy.
But first there was
Two and a Half Men. In an episode called "Fish in a Drawer" (and if somebody could explain what that title means, I'd be most appreciative), the story picked up after Evelyn married Teddy. In the teleplay by
CSI regular writers Evan Dunsky and Sarah Goldfinger, Charlie and Courtney check out of the reception for a little romp in his room upstairs only to find Teddy's dead bod on the bed. Talk about spoiling the mood. Teddy wasn't only a corpse, he was a corpse with his pants pulled down around his ankles and lipstick stains on his hoo-ha. The cops were called in, a detective who was a dead ringer for Marg Helgenberger -- played by redhead Jamie Rose -- had the vaguely Bondian name of Jagov, Sloane Jagov. Naturally, Charlie had to make a move on her. He couldn't keep his eyes off her cleavage.
Continue reading The CSI/Two and a Half Men writer switcheroo -- loved it!
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The Upfronts: FOX
Carter Bays of How I Met Your Mother: The TV Squad Interview
The Upfronts: CBS
