knots landing-related stories
Posted Oct 13th 2009 7:26AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Awards, Emmys, Reality-Free
Before
Dallas and
Dynasty and
Falcon Crest and
Knots Landings captured the imaginations of American viewers, there was a British soap import that was even more compelling.
From 1971-75, PBS aired the British upper crust soap Upstairs Downstairs. And now
Upstairs Downstairs is going to be remade. It'll be filmed and shown in England first before coming to America in 2011.
What made
Upstairs Downstairs classic television – it won Emmys, BAFTAs and Golden Globes – was the way it depicted of the British class system. Upstairs you had the rich, privileged Bellamy family. Downstairs there were the servants who worked for them. The lives of all these characters intertwined in a well-written, brilliantly acted drama series.
Continue reading They're remaking Upstairs Downstairs
Posted Apr 13th 2009 6:09PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: TV on DVD, Reality-Free
Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.Wings is really one of the more underrated sitcoms of all-time. It bopped along for eight seasons in various time slots and never got any real critical acclaim, but it was a very likable show, entertaining and with some really well-written characters. And now they've released it in a box set, which means I have to go out and buy it. That's happening more and more with shows nowadays: after the single seasons have been released, they come out with a complete set. This irritates some people who have bought the single season sets, but I'm not quite sure what fans expect.
- Cranford - Complete Miniseries (Blu-Ray)
- Death Note - Box Set, Vol. 2
- Exosquad - Season 1
Continue reading New TV on DVD releases this week
Posted Jan 14th 2009 3:31PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Cancellations, Reality-Free
Remember last summer, that CBS drama about life in 1976, the music, the fashions, the wife-swapping and key parties? Yes,
Swingtown, the daring drama that flirted with controversial subjects, but was essentially a well-produced soap opera in the tradition of
Knots Landing? Well, after months of no news about the show, we learn today that no news is bad news.
Swingtown has been cancelled.
CBS president Nina Tassler championed the show, but apparently she couldn't save it. At the press tour presentation she talked lovingly about the drama, even patting the network on the back to taking a risk by broadcasting it. But in the end, the good performances, excellent writing, critical approval and cult following it garnered didn't matter.
Continue reading CBS officially buries Swingtown
Posted Aug 10th 2008 2:01PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Programming, Ratings, Reality-Free
The Nielsen ratings for last Friday night showed that
NBC did really well with the Olympic opening ceremonies. Good for NBC, bad for fans of CBS's
Swingtown. It didn't take a psychic to predict that all that NBC Universal hype would draw those who love pomp and spectacle. It also didn't take a seer to see that CBS wasn't giving
Swingtown a fair shot by asking it to go up against the Olympics.
Still, in CBS's defense,
Swingtown just hasn't grabbed the kind of ratings all summer long -- mostly on Thursday nights -- to warrant the network believing that it has a potential hit on its hand.
The New York Times pondered Swingtown's fate, too.
I think it does, but only if CBS gives
Swingtown some time. I'm not alone in thinking this either.
Josef Adalian agrees, as do and many TV Squad readers have expressed their passion for this show. Will CBS hear them as they chant, "All we are saying, is give
Swingtown a chance."
Continue reading What will CBS do with Swingtown?
Posted Jun 3rd 2008 1:02PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Early Looks, Reality-Free
How swinging is CBS's new summer series
Swingtown? It's not swinging in the Sinatra-Rat Pack-ring-a-ding-ding way. No, this
Swingtown is set in an era ten years later, specifically July 4, 1976, the bicentennial. But
Swingtown, which premieres on Thursday at 10 PM ET,
is not a nostalgic, optimistic wallow. However, It does evoke a time when America was undergoing a lot of change as the college kids from the late sixties were moving into the seven-year-itch of marriage, raising children, exploring boundaries.
Swingtown reminded me of
Knots Landing meets
Boogie Nights with a dollop of
The Stepford Wives thrown in there, too (maybe it was those scenes in the supermarket). Superficially, there are elements of
Swingtown, in particular the attention to detail in the production design and music, that are as spot on for 1976 as
Mad Men was for 1960. When you see that pop-top can of Tab, you can't help but go back in time.
Continue reading Swingtown -- An early look
Posted Feb 22nd 2008 12:02PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, Daytime, Celebrities
Reunions are hot, you know? On February 12, for example,
Oprah reunited (most of) the kids from
The Cosby Show, with Bill appearing via satellite. Well, never one to let a good idea go to waste, NBC jumped on the theme. They recently had a
Family Ties reunion on
Today, so now the morning show is commencing tomorrow with a series of more
"Together Again" features. Tune into 8:00 a.m. hour each day so you don't miss a thing!
Continue reading Today to host classic TV cast reunions
Posted Oct 16th 2007 1:04PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Celebrities, Obituaries
A roundup of TV people from in front of the camera and behind the scenes who have passed away.
- Carol Bruce: She was well-known to TV audiences from a number of roles, including the mother of WKRP in Cincinnati's Mr. Carlson, as well as several appearances on Knot's Landing. She also appeared on The Twilight Zone (80s version), Studio One, Party of Five, Profiler, Diagnosis Murder, The Golden Girls, Jake and the Fatman, Doogie Howser, M.D., Diff'rent Strokes, Perfect Strangers, General Hospital, as well as the movies Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, American Gigolo, and the Abbott and Costello film Keep 'Em Flying. She died of pulmonary disease at age 87 in Woodland Hills, CA.
Continue reading TV Obits: Bruce, Ekins, Diak, Robbins
Gone Too Soon: Invasion
Scrubs season nine -- An early look
The TV Squad Podcast: Vik Sahay of Chuck, Oprah talk, brutal timeslots, and more!
