Fox has posted the first twelve minutes of the pilot (and possibly only) episode of Ron Moore's new series Virtuality. The mastermind behind the revamped Battlestar Galactica could stand a little more respect from Fox. On the other hand, at least they're giving us twelve minutes of the show so we can judge for ourselves.
Frankly, the show should have been taken by SyFy considering how much marketing effort they gave to Battlestar Galactica. On the other hand, they already have Caprica coming up (which undoubtedly will get more respect than Fox will give Virtuality) so they might consider that single show to be "Moore" than enough.
ABC's Lost was the most watched TV show online in May, ranking up more than 36.4 million total video streams, according to Nielsen VideoCensus. Another ABC show, Grey's Anatomy, was the second most watched show online with the network's Desperate Housewives rounding out the top three. All three ABC shows brought in about 80 million online viewers for the month.
Variety posits that May's season finale cliffhangers put the ABC shows on top of the list. That's a fine theory, but here's another one – ABC led the online pack because Nielsen VideoCensus doesn't count any viewing done via Hulu, arguably the most popular site for streaming free online video content from TV networks.
Once again sitting in the Friday night Death Slot of 9 PM, this time it doesn't even have a lead-in of another sci-fi drama. This time, starting September 18, the lead is 'Til Death starring Brad Garrett and Joely Fisher.
The only reasonable hypothesis I can reasonably come up with is that Fox wants to broadcast all thirteen episodes of season 2 during the 2009 calendar year before they finally pull the plug on this show. This would mean that the entire run of Dollhouse would have been during 2009.
In short, if you really want the show to make it to a third season, I recommend buying a hundred copies per household member of the DVD set for season one. Otherwise, I don't see it happening.
If you thought Futurama had nowhere to go after the climatic series-long ending with Into the Wild Green Yonder (and notice I'm not revealing what that ending is so you spoiler-hating surprise junkies don't lose your half-daily hit of whahuh?!?), think again.
The good news is Cohen seems to be brimming with more crazy ideas than a Hardee's product development retreat, but he doesn't reveal anything too specific in terms of what Fry, Leela and Bender will be doing in the episodes to come.
It seems like it was just a few weeks ago that Kris Allen was crowned the new American Idol champion (it was), but auditions for the next season have already begun! As this photo from The Boston Herald shows, contestants had to stand out in the rain at Gillette Stadium (home of the New England Patriots). This is the first of seven cities where auditions will be held. (There's also video at the link above, where you can see one or two singers that might have their dreams crushed.)
As TV fans, I think we all have our views of what each network is all about. CBS is all about police shows, NBC will try anything, FOX depends mostly on American Idol, etc. And now SideReel.com has made some very funny new network logos that are a bit more honest than the real ones.
They don't have one for The CW, though they do hint that the network might be too unimportant for one. But I'm sure we can come up with one, right?
OK, I have to admit that I was a little uneasy watching David Carradine's performance last night. Maybe it's the fact that he died just last week, but watching him in a wheelchair, unable to move and just staring into space, that was a little strange.
I also have to say I'm not a fan of this show's hero. What's up with that evil smile at inappropriate moments and his overall weird demeanor? Is he always like that?
1. He's gay. 2. He's "glamboyant." (To quote Liz Lemon, that's a thing now?) 3. He doesn't tuck. 4. He had a crush on Kris Allen. 5. He has only dressed in drag three or four times. 6. He's not a civil rights leader. 7. He had a "psychedelic experience" at Burning Man 8. Seriously, he's gay.
Fox is releasing an exclusive, limited-edition Dollhouse DVD set for this July's Comic-Con in San Diego. The full details about the Comic-Con set still haven't leaked, but you can pre-order a similar limited-edition DVD or Blu-ray Season One set from FoxStore.com starting July 6.
Those sets will only be on sale through July 20. Fox is making 5,000 of the numbered sets, which will include a special Comic-Con faceplate and a "lenticular letter" by show creator Joss Whedon. The sets available at Comic-Con will most likely feature some extra goodies.
If you're a Dollhouse fan heading to the big show in July, I highly recommend picking one of these up and hanging around the hot dog vendors in the late afternoon. That's where I spotted Mr. Whedon during last year's Comic-Con. The man is very fan-friendly. He was nice enough to chat with me for a bit and even pose for a picture. Unfortunately, I went home without an autograph. I didn't have any copies of his Buffy or X-Men comics for him to sign, and I was too timid to ask him to sign my man breast. (Ah, opportunities lost.)
Katee Sackhoff, known mostly as the female Starbuck in the revamped version of Battlestar Galacticawill be joining Jack Bauer to fight terrorists in the next season of 24.
I met Ms. Sackhoff once and she was quite nice, so I'm glad she's found another gig. It even makes sense that she's been cast, since 24 is very much like Battlestar Galactica but with less of a science fiction vibe (particularly if you substitute "Cylon" for "double-agent"). There is likely a lot of crossover appeal.
She is set to play a character named Dana Walsh, a CTU data analyst. Secretly I'm hoping she won't be stuck behind a desk decrypting computer files or anything boring like that and we'll be able to see her take down a terrorist or two (or whomever the enemy is next season).
This is a good casting choice and almost makes up for the show's casting of Freddie Prinze, Jr.
I'm wondering if David Carradine's guest role on this tomorrow's Mental will be met with controversy. Is it exploitative to air this episode so soon after his death? A tribute? Should they shelve it forever? Here's a sneak peek of the episode.
You'd think, given how the relaunch of Battlestar Galactica renewed interest in mature, complex science fiction that Fox would have more faith in the series. They were probably looking for something akin to 24 and all they got was a bunch of crew members playing video games on a long space mission.
On the other hand, the show could legitimately suck. I would tend to doubt it as I've always liked Moore's work on the Star Trek franchise and certainly BSG. Caprica wasn't as good as I'd hoped, but it's only the pilot.
In order for Virtuality to have any chance of survival than all it has to do is get good ratings on a Fox Friday night during the summer. Yeah, good luck with that.
Get on your craziest costume and ask your mom again if you really, really can sing because it's time to start the process of making an ass of yourself on national television all over again. Only this time, the crazies who go to the first round of auditions won't get the chance to sing in front of the judges until a callback sometime later this summer. That's because while they want to get the audition process under way, American Idol doesn't know if they're bringing back Paula Abdul or Kara DioGuardi.
I wonder if this move will keep some of the crazies away. Now you're looking at two entirely separate trips just to look stupid on television. Will it still be worth it? Sure, the local crazies will still come out, but what about the travelers? It is interesting to note that Idol is changing the process up this much due to contract questions. That must mean that they're really not sure about one or both of the women's return to the show. DioGuardi was on a one-year deal, while Abdul's multi-year contract ended this season.
Weeks ago, we reported that Fox would air the two-hour pilot for Ron Moore's Virtuality on July 4 -- the day everyone in America will be eating barbecue, drinking beer and not watching TV. We obviously saw this as a bad sign for the Battlestar Galactia creator's new sci-fi series. Why would the network dump the premiere of a high-concept sci-fi show on a holiday? Probably because they don't believe in the project. Virtuality, the series, is not on Fox's schedule for the upcoming fall season, and rumors about its death have been swirling for weeks.
Our pals at Airlock Alpha recently gave us hope about the series getting be picked up. This weekend, they pointed us to a blog post by Doug Drexler, the CG supervisor for the Virtuality pilot. Here's what Drexler posted:
Seth McFarlane is trying to break the Emmy barrier by having Family Guy compete with such shows as 30 Rock and The Office. For the second year in a row, Family Guy is being submitted as a nominee for the general comedy series category (as opposed to the animated 'toon category).
I'm ambivalent about this choice. On one hand, a lot of great comedy has come from animation that certainly is on par with the live-action television comedies. On the other hand, if a comedy series did compete against live sitcoms, I'd prefer it was The Simpsons or South Park which historically have been much better at intellectual humor than anything McFarlane has produced. It's also difficult to do a direct comparison since cartoon shows are more flexible storytelling vehicles than live sitcoms. It's like having an unlimited special effects budget.
I note that McFarlane and company have also jumped on the Obama campaign poster parody bandwagon. That's so six months ago.
Fox has posted the first twelve minutes of the pilot (and possibly only) episode of Ron Moore's new series Virtuality. The mastermind behind the revamped Battlestar Galactica could stand a little more respect from Fox. On the other hand, at least they're giving us twelve minutes of the show so we can judge for ourselves.
ABC's 
Fox has given 
If you thought Futurama had nowhere to go after the climatic series-long ending with Into the Wild Green Yonder (and notice I'm not revealing what that ending is so you spoiler-hating surprise junkies don't lose your half-daily hit of whahuh?!?), think again. 
It seems like it was just a few weeks ago that Kris Allen was crowned the new American Idol champion (it was), but 
As TV fans, I think we all have our views of what each network is all about. CBS is all about police shows, NBC will try anything, FOX depends mostly on American Idol, etc. And now SideReel.com has made some very funny 
OK, I have to admit that I was a little uneasy watching 
American Idol runner-up 
Katee Sackhoff, known mostly as the female Starbuck in the revamped version of Battlestar Galactica 
Originally, 
Get on your craziest costume and ask your mom again if you really, really can sing because it's time to start the process of making an ass of yourself on national television all over again. Only this time, the crazies who go to the first round of auditions won't get the chance to sing in front of the judges until a callback sometime later this summer. That's because while they want to get the audition process under way, 
Weeks ago, 
Seth McFarlane is trying to break the Emmy barrier by having Family Guy compete with such shows as 30 Rock and The Office. For the second year in a row, Family Guy is being 
Seven greatest hand cannons in TV history
TV Squad previews NBC's new shows (part 1)
TV 101: How ESPN controls the world and what the other networks can learn from it
