conviction-related stories
Posted Jan 8th 2007 1:01PM by Brett Love
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, ABC, HBO, Lost, Watercooler Talk, Celebrities
Jonathan
posted news recently that J.J. Abrams is in talks with HBO to direct and produce a show through his Bad Robot Productions. That's all well and good, but let's play junior programming executive for a moment. How would you feel about buying a show from Bad Robot, given their history.
Are you making a deal with the brilliant team behind the top 20 hit Lost? And does the fact that we have now switched that qualifier from top 5, to top 10, to top 20 cause any concern? Or are you making a deal with the team that so bungled Alias that by the end of the run it was almost an act of charity for ABC to even air the show? Seriously. May 17th, 2006, Alias is the #5 show in its time slot behind Deal Or No Deal (NBC), Bones (Fox), The Amazing Race (CBS), AND Next Top Model (UPN), only managing to beat out the movie Final Destination 2 (WB).
Continue reading Would you buy a show from Bad Robot?
Posted Nov 7th 2006 7:39PM by Anna Johns
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, CBS, Industry
CBS swears it's trying to
get away from procedurals, but I just don't believe them.
The Hollywood Reporter says the network has ordered a pilot for a law drama, produced by Barry Schindel (
Numb3rs) and powerhouse movie producers Ridley and Tony Scott. The untitled show is about "the lives, relationships, cases and careers of a team of public defenders." Sounds like NBC's failed
Conviction, but on the other side of the table.
Schindel pitched a similar show, called
Law Dogs, to NBC in 2003 but it didn't even get a pilot order. Schindel says he never gave up, that this is "a show that needed to be done."
Posted Aug 10th 2006 1:23PM by Anna Johns
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, FOX, Talent, 24
Eric Balfour was the only good thing about
Conviction, NBC's
short-lived prosecutor drama. Luckily, he'll be back on television in the winter to reprise his role as CTU independent contractor Milo Pressman on
24. I honestly can't remember what happened to his character ar the end of the season but apparently he didn't die.
According to
Michael Aussiello over at TV Guide, Balfour has signed on to a role as a 'series regular', which means we'll see him for more than one episode. Maybe he'll replace poor, sweet Edgar Stiles (Louis Lombardi)?
I have one word for this piece of news: YUM.
Posted May 28th 2006 6:53PM by Jonathan Toomey
Filed under: OpEd, Ma and Pa America, Surface, Invasion
I came home this weekend to see my folks for Memorial Day (which coincidentally means that I've eaten an unhealthy amount of food and it's only Sunday afternoon) and we got into a pretty interesting conversation about TV. For starters, neither of them knew what "the upfronts" were and I suppose it makes sense. If I didn't follow television as much as I do, I probably wouldn't know what the upfronts were either. Moreover, I would most likely have had the same question my mother had: "Why do they call it the upfronts?" I'm not 100% sure, but I think it has something to do with the fact that ad-space is being presented to advertisers "up front" and if they sit on it, they may not be able to get the spots they want at a later date.
Continue reading Ma and Pa America: They canceled what?!?
Posted May 15th 2006 8:02AM by Anna Johns
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, ABC, NBC, Programming, Invasion
Ahead of today's Upfronts,
The Futon Critic is reporting that NBC is not renewing
Conviction or
Teachers for the fall. Neither of these cancelations comes as a surprise, really. The storytelling style on
Conviction was so complicated that it was virtually impossible to feel anything for any of the characters (although, I'm going to miss Julianne Nicholson and Eric Balfour). And,
Teachers? Why was that even on television?
Also, ABC had reportedly decided not to renew
Invasion,
Freddie and
Hope & Faith. Also not major surprises-- and
Invasion might end up
on The CW. What will Kelly Ripa do with all her extra time?
Stick around... Bob will be covering NBC's Upfronts later today.
Posted May 13th 2006 8:46PM by Anna Johns
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, NBC, Law and Order
(S01E11) Didn't Stephanie March have shorter hair last week?
This week we have another instance of Nick Potter (Jordan Bridges) wrestling with his demons. He's trying to save a reformed gang member from jail and he goes over ADA Jessica Rossi's (Milena Govich) head to Bureau Chief Alexandra Cabot (March), who recommends a lesser sentence. I thought we got over Nick's psychological problems with his mugging last week, but this episode may be out of order. On a side note, we get to see very little of Rossi this week. Her only storyline is to establish that she's not a high-class gal because she doesn't know what 'Cocktail Attire' means or what Foie Gras is.
Continue reading Conviction: Indescretion
Posted May 12th 2006 4:36PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Programming
At 8, ABC has a repeat America's Funniest Home Videos, followed by two new eps of 20/20.- CBS has the magic special Keith Barry: Extraordinary at 8, followed by new eps of Close To Home and Numb3rs.
- Over on NBC, a new Deal Or No Deal, followed by new eps of Las Vegas and Conviction.
- FOX has Legally Blonde 2.
- At 8:30, FX has the Busch Series Diamond Hill Plywood 200 NASCAR race.
- At 9, Cartoon Network has a new My Gym Partner Is A Monkey, followed by new eps of The Life & Times of Juniper Lee, and Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends.
- At 10, Comedy Central has a new Standup Nation With Greg Giraldo, featuring Nick Swardson, Lewis Black, Kyle Cease, and Keith Robinson.
- Also at 10: Turner Classic Movies has the original Bad News Bears.
- HBO has a new Real Time With Bill Maher, with guests Richard Clarke, Cornel West, John Legend, and Madeleine Albright.
Posted May 6th 2006 6:07PM by Anna Johns
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, NBC, OpEd, Law and Order
(S01E10) I really wanted to like this show, but I just don't. I'm going to finish out the season (please, God make it end soon) and then it's being deleted from my TiVo Season Pass. I don't like it because of the multiple storylines in each episode. It goes from story to story so quickly that I still don't feel invested in any of the characters. Plus, it's hard to follow the stories when they're so fragmented and there are so many of them.
Continue reading Conviction: Deliverance
Posted Apr 15th 2006 2:51PM by Anna Johns
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, NBC, Law and Order
(S01E08) So... the
beginning of
Conviction was cut off here in Portland because the Trailblazers/Lakers game ran long (Surprise,
surprise: the Blazers lost 99-110). If there were any good, steamy sex scenes to kick off the episode like there were
last week, I missed 'em.
Let me just
say outright, what I don't like about this show is the way that Alexandra Cabot has become such a bitch. While on
SVU, she was unorthodox, but passionate. Now her priorities are her career and she seems to have forgotten
what it was like to live and breathe for a victim.
Continue reading Conviction: Downhill
Posted Apr 14th 2006 4:12PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Programming
ABC has a new ep of Extreme Makeover at 8,
followed by new eps of Primetime (with Tom Cruise) and 20/20.- CBS has repeats of
Ghost Whisperer, Close To Home, and Numb3rs.
- Over on NBC, a repeat Deal Or
No Deal at 8 (see? they're running out of eps already), a repeat Las Vegas, then a new
Conviction.
- FOX has a new, hour long Bernie Mac, followed by a new Trading Spouses:
Meet Your New Mommy.
- TBS has The Lord of the Rings at 8.
- Nick has a new ep of
Avatar: The Last Airbender, also at 8.
- IFC has John Malkovich in Ripley's Game at
8.
- Larry King talks to Paula Abdul on CNN at 9.
- Discovery has a new Science of
Survival at 9.
- Also at 9: HGTV has a new Double Take, followed by a new
Freestyle.
- At 10, Fox Movie Channel has All That Jazz.
- At 10:15, AMC has
Tremors 3: Back To Perfection.
- IFC has a repeat Dinner For Five at 10:30, with Ted
Danson, Mary Steenburgen, Ernie Hudson and Laura Dern joining host Jon Favreau.
Posted Apr 12th 2006 9:28AM by Anna Johns
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, NBC, OpEd
(S01E07) Surpise! Did everybody's TiVos or DVRs catch
Conviction last night? Mine didn't!
Luckily, I was flipping through the channels and I saw that it was on. TiVo is currently in a time out.
So,
NBC put
Conviction on a Tuesday night where
Law & Order: SVU usually airs. This is obviously a
ploy to get the
SVU crowd interested in Dick Wolf's new ADA lovefest (seriously, the guy is in love with
prosecuting attorneys). The problem is, it's very different than the procedural drama that we know as
Law &
Order. Could you imagine tuning in last night for the first time and wondering who on earth all these people are?
Sheesh.
Continue reading Conviction: True Love
Posted Apr 8th 2006 8:43AM by Anna Johns
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, NBC, OpEd
(S01E06) First of all...
yum. Eric Balfour dancing with that woman in the opening scene? That, my friends, is how you open a show. Too bad J.
August Richards totally ruined the mood.
Is it me or was everyone talking really fast during this episode?
That opening sequence was all smooth and slow and then we just dove right the heck into fast-talking office-speak and,
I tell you what, I spent the rest of the episode playing catch-up.
Continue reading Conviction: Madness
Posted Apr 5th 2006 8:40AM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Talent, Celebrities
TV scribe Lee Goldberg
poses the question, why do they
always give TV shows to Steven Eckholdt, Christopher Gorham, and Eric Balfour? They seem to have a new show every year,
and every year the shows don't last that long at all. Eckholdt has been in many flops, but was just signed to another
CBS show. Gorham has had three short-lived shows in the past few years (
Out Of Practice has been taken off the
schedule - for now). And Eric Balfour...I barely remember all the shows he was in.
What other stars do they
keep giving shows to, year after year, even when the previous show has crashed in flames? (And don't say "Robert
Urich" because he actually had some hits).
Posted Apr 1st 2006 3:37PM by Anna Johns
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, NBC, OpEd, Law and Order
Once again, lots of things happen. Christina (Julianne
Nicholson) is heartbroken over an emotional case involving a dead baby, Billy (J. August Richards) is trying to keep
his perfect record in the courtroom, Cabot (Stephanie March) and Steele (Anson Mount) get it on, Potter (Jordan
Bridges) grows some balls, and Peluso (Eric Balfour) hounds the beautiful but icey girl in the office. By the way, did
anybody catch why the title of this episode is 'Savasana'? I don't get it.
Well, Billy is a jerk. In his
personal life and his work life. He sleeps with a girl who turns out to be a clerk and then totally shrugs her off when
he sees her in the courthouse. But, even worse than that was his attempt to get a woman to drop her 1974 rape case
because it wasn't a slam dunk for him. He tells the rape victim, "I don't want to put you through any unnecessary
pain." Grrrr.
Continue reading Conviction: Savasana
Posted Mar 30th 2006 6:36PM by Anna Johns
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, NBC, Cable, Late Night, Battlestar Galactica, Las Vegas, Law and Order, Daytime, Music and Variety, The Office
NBC is adding a dozen shows to Comcasts's On Demand
service, starting in May. That means you can buy the show for $.99 after it airs, in case you missed it. Unfortunately,
it's not for everybody. In fact, it's not for many of us. The deal is only valid in markets (aka 'cities') where your
local NBC affiliate is actually owned and operated by NBC. For instance, here in Portland, our NBC affiliate is owned
and operated by BELO Corp., so no luck here. Eh. TiVo is better, anyway.
The shows hitting VOD are:
Continue reading NBC shows coming to Comcast On Demand
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