help me help you-related stories
Posted Sep 3rd 2008 9:21AM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, King of the Hill, Celebrities, Retro Squad, Casting, Damages, Emmys, Reality-Free, Cheers
Ted Danson is one of those actors who just keeps chugging along through the years. He could have easily disappeared after
Cheers, but he's been working steadily in both movies and TV.
Becker sort of flew under the radar, but aired from 1998 to 2004. There was the short-lived
Help Me Help You in 2006. Danson even voiced a part on
King of the Hill (Tom Hammond in "The Accidental Tourist" episode).
But it's his stint as the sinister Arthur Frobisher in
Damages that's brought him into the forefront again. It also helped to
catapult him into his next gig -- a lead role in
HBO's comedy pilot
Bored to Death.
Continue reading Ted Danson in for HBO pilot
Posted Dec 14th 2006 2:30PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, ABC, Programming
Remember that post I did this past weekend where I called
Help Me Help You the
"least publicized show of 2006?" Well, now we know why ABC hasn't publicized it at all: it looks like they're pretty much done with it.
According to Cynopsis, the Ted Danson comedy has been pulled from next week's schedule, running back-to-back episodes of
Big Day instead. Now, that could have been done because of the holiday, but they could have also scheduled a repeat, too. Anyway, the article states that ABC hasn't announced anything official, but there's also "no word" on when it's returning to the schedule.
As I pointed out in my Sunday post on the show, the ratings have been dismal, especially since
Dancing with the Stars ended. So this isn't a big surprise.
Posted Dec 10th 2006 5:55PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, ABC, Programming, OpEd, Watercooler Talk
You know, when I was watching the pilots for the fall season, my reaction to Ted Danson's new show,
Help Me Help You was positive overall. It had a good cast, and some of the situations the show set up were pretty funny.
But I never thought it was a groundbreaking show, or appointment TV. After
I saw the pilot and the second episode, this is all the enthusiasm I could muster: "I may drop back in on this one occasionally, since it's just too well-done to easily dismiss."
Continue reading Help Me Help You: The least-publicized show of 2006
Posted Dec 5th 2006 8:11PM by Anna Johns
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, ABC, Programming, Lost
When it returns from a 13-week hiatus,
Lost will have a new time slot. ABC has bumped the sci fi/drama back one hour to 10 pm. The reasoning behind this,
according to Variety, is the unstoppable power that is
American Idol.
Lost has consistently finished second to CBS's
Closer to Home Criminal Minds this fall and apparently ABC can't stomach the thought of coming in third during the 9 pm hour on Wednesday nights. Last year,
Lost took a pretty big hit on Wednesdays once American Idol started up. The new Wednesday schedule makes it pretty obvious that ABC is bowing down to
American Idol.
Here's the new Wednesday schedule at ABC:
Continue reading ABC bumps Lost to 10 pm
Posted Oct 27th 2006 12:59PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: ABC, NBC, Industry, Programming, Ratings
It used to be that getting a full season order was the best news a new show could get, but nowadays I think shows are just as happy to get a few additional episodes OK'd.
Four new shows have been given the green light for
more scripts. Three of them are on ABC:
The Nine,
Men In Trees, and
Help Me, Help You, and one NBC's
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (yeee-hah). Of course, this is no guarantee that the shows will be awarded with a full season, but it's certainly a sign of hope (and also cool to see the networks actually getting behind shows that are quality but are struggling).
For those keeping score, the shows that have gotten a full season already are
Heroes,
Jericho,
Shark,
Brothers & Sisters, and
Ugly Betty.
Posted Oct 17th 2006 5:01PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Programming
At 8, PBS has a new Nova, followed by a new Frontline. - ABC has a new, 90 minute Dancing with the Stars, followed by new episodes of Help Me, Help You and Boston Legal.
- CBS has new episodes of NCIS and The Unit, then a repeat Criminal Minds.
- There's a new Friday Night Lights on NBC at 8, followed by new eps of Law and Order: CI and Law and Order: SVU.
- FOX has a baseball playoff game at 8.
- The CW has a new Gilmore Girls at 8, followed by a new Veronica Mars.
- Peter Frampton joins Emeril on Food Network at 8.
- At 9, A&E has a new Dog The Bounty Hunter, followed by a new Inked.
- Also at 9: ESPN has two new episodes of The World Series of Poker.
- At 9:30, Food Network has a new ep of Rachael Ray's Tasty Travels, then a new Road Tasted.
- At 10, FX has a new Nip/Tuck.
- There's a new ECW on Sci-Fi at 10.
Posted Oct 10th 2006 5:02PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Programming
At 8, ABC has a new Dancing With The Stars, followed by a new Help Me, Help You and a new Boston Legal.- CBS has a new NCIS at 8, followed by a new episode of The Unit and a repeat of CSI.
- NBC has new episodes of Friday Night Lights, Law and Order: CI, and Law and Order: SVU.
- Over on FOX at 8, it's baseball, the A's vs. the Tigers.
- The CW has a new Gilmore Girls at 8, followed by a new Veronica Mars.
- On a new Emeril Live, the chef cooks "Finger Foods." It's on Food Network at 8.
- At 9, PBS has a new Frontline.
- Also at 9: ESPN has two new eps of The World Series of Poker.
- TLC has a new Miami Ink at 10.
- Sci-Fi has a new ECW at 10.
- The Scream Awards airs at 10 on Spike.
Posted Oct 3rd 2006 5:03PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Programming
- At 8, ABC has a new Dancing with the Stars, followed by new episodes of Help Me, Help You and Boston Legal.
- CBS has a new NCIS at 8, followed by a new ep of The Unit and a new Smith.
- NBC has the series premiere of Friday Night Lights at 8, followed by new episodes of Law and Order: CI and Law and Order: SVU.
- FOX has the first baseball playoff game at 8.
- Over at The CW, there's a new Gilmore Girls at 8 and then the season premiere of Veronica Mars.
- PBS has a new Nova at 8, followed by a new Frontline.
- Food Network has a new Emeril Live at 8.
- At 9, Sci-Fi has a new Eureka, followed by a new ECW.
- The two World Series of Poker episodes start at 9 this week, on ESPN.
- A&E has a new Dog The Bounty Hunter at 9.
- At 10, FX has a new Nip/Tuck.
- Also at 10: a new Road Tasted on Food Network is in Chicago.
Posted Sep 26th 2006 10:02PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, ABC, Programming, OpEd
(S01E01) It's kind of surprising, in a fall season that has so many buzz-worthy pilots, that a new comedy staring
Cheers legend Ted Danson is getting very little attention. It might be because his new show,
Help Me Help You, is in a no-win slot against procedurals like
NCIS and
L&O:CI, and, after the playoffs,
House. But overlooking the show is a mistake because, while the premise isn't exactly fresh, its still a pretty funny show. Why? It's all in the writing and execution, my friends; the right choice of actors and writers can overcome any shortcomings that the actual idea behind the show may have.
Continue reading Help Me Help You: Pilot (series premiere)
Posted Sep 26th 2006 12:41PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, ABC, TV Royalty, Web, Celebrities
I've been pretty damn lucky in my interviewing life so far. Almost all of the celebs I've dealt with have been nice, professional, and a pleasure to talk to. So it's always interesting to read an account of a star I've never talked to. Ken Levine has an entry on his blog about one of the biggest sitcom stars of the 80s, Ted Danson.
Levine worked with Danson on both Cheers and Becker, and says that all stars should take lessons at the Ted Danson School Of Star Etiquette. Levine calls him "forever gracious, professional, on time, supportive, unselfish, makes everyone from guest stars to visitors feel completely welcome."
Wow, I can't even say that about any of my family members.
The reason I bring this up is that Danson's new show, Help Me, Help You, premieres tonight at 9:30 on ABC.
Posted Jul 14th 2006 12:34PM by Anna Johns
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, ABC
Now that
NBC and
CBS have us all excited about its fall season, it's time to move along to the screener DVDs we've been receiving from ABC. While we're not allowed to technically "review" each new show, we can give you a short preview with our initial thoughts.
For ABC, we're covering:
The Knights of Prosperity (formerly
Let's Rob...)
, Help Me Help You, The Nine, Big Day, Notes from the Underbelly, Six Degrees, Ugly Betty, and Men in Trees. (We'll do a Part 2 of the ABC previews once we receive the remaining shows.)
Continue reading TV Squad previews ABC's new shows
Posted May 15th 2006 11:25AM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, ABC, Celebrities
Jane Kaczmarek, who played mom on Malcolm in the Middle, and who should be kept on TV as long as she has the ability to stand and recite her lines, may have a recurring role as Ted Danson's wife on the new series Help Me Help You, which I mentioned back in March and which was recently picked up by ABC. Kaczmarek will appear in the pilot episode as Danson's wife, and there is talk of bringing her back for other episodes. Heck, I hope they give her a fulltime role, as she's one of the most impressive actresses I've seen on TV in a long time. She played one of the best moms on TV, and her occasional role as a judge on The Simpsons always cracked me up.
Posted May 11th 2006 8:14AM by Anna Johns
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, ABC, Programming
Ahead of next week's Upfronts, where the networks lay out their fall schedules, ABC has announced it's picking up a handful of new dramas and sitcoms for next fall. Also, NBC is expected to pick up Tina Fey's new comedy and put it on Thursday nights. Oh, and NBC canceled Teachers. Shocker.
Details, details, details on ABC's pick-ups:
- The Nine, a drama following the aftermath of hostages in a bank robbery;
- Six Degrees, a drama about six strangers brought together by mysterious circumstances (Identity meets Lost?);
- Day Break, a drama starring Taye Diggs as a cop who tries to figure out who tried to kill him;
- In Case of Emergency, a comedy starring David Arquette, Greg Germann and Jonathan Silverman as a group of high school buddies who reunite when their lives intersect in some sort of comedic way;
- Help Me Help You, a comedy starring Ted Danson as a troubled celebrity shrink;
- Notes from the Underbelly, a comedy about how the life of a couple changes as they're expecting their first child.
There is a lot more speculation about the fall schedules for all the networks
here in The Hollywood Reporter.
Posted Mar 3rd 2006 10:31AM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, ABC, Celebrities
While I've always enjoyed both Cheers and Becker, I've never
quite been able to make up my mind about Ted Danson. Is he a good actor or just mediocre? I mean, he was good enough
that Bruce Springsteen wrote a song about him. C'mon, you all know the words:
You can’t start a fire you can’t start a fire without a spark
This gun’s for
hire even if we’re just Danson in the dark....
Well, it's been two years since Becker was canceled, and now our pal Ted is planning yet
another return to television, this time for an ABC comedy called Help Me Help You. Danson will play a
therapist who leads a therapy group. The show will be about the people in the group, and Ted himself, who,
(surprise) has issues of his own.
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