loretta devine-related stories
Posted Oct 30th 2009 3:00PM by Isabelle Carreau
Filed under: Spoilers Anonymous, Reality-Free

This is Spoilers Anonymous, a weekly column here at TV Squad where we supply you with the dirt on some of the more popular shows on the air. We'll never put spoilers up here on the main page in order to help the reformed stay unspoiled. If you have anything to add to the group, feel free to step up and let yourself be heard, either with our tips form or by emailing us at tvsquad at gmail dot com, or call and leave a message at (775) 640-8479. Your anonymity is guaranteed, if you wish to remain as such.
This week we have spoilers for November Sweeps: 90210, Bones, Castle, Desperate Housewives, FlashForward, Fringe, Ghost Whisperer, Gossip Girl, Grey's Anatomy, Heroes, How I Met Your Mother, Melrose Place, NCIS, Smallville, Supernatural, Ugly Betty, The Big Bang Theory, The Mentalist and The Office. (SPOILERS FOLLOW!)Continue reading Spoilers Anonymous: November Sweeps Edition
Posted Jul 7th 2009 5:02PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, OpEd, Reality-Free

At first I was excited when ABC announced that it would burn off the remaining episodes of
Pushing Daisies, Eli Stone and
Dirty Sexy Money this summer. Now, I'm not so sure. I enjoyed the run of
Daisies, and was even fairly satisfied with the ending. It had just lost a bit of its charm for me, so I was okay with seeing it end.
Eli Stone, however, has been turning in some of the best episodes of the entire series this summer. The more I get, the more I want.
I don't know if absence made the heart grow fonder in this case, but the show is firing on all cylinders. And the character progressions? Maggie seems to be finding happiness and love at Pohsner Klein, and a much darker side? The Dowd coming back to Wethersby Stone? Even WS almost going under; sure you knew they were going to win a case to save the firm, but I liked how they had them first lose one to PK to make the situation even more dire. And then find the winning case when Jordan was bitching about his eggs.
Continue reading Maybe ABC shouldn't have aired these last few Eli Stone episodes
Posted May 12th 2009 3:01PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Programming, Law and Order, Pickups and Renewals, Chuck, Reality-Free

If there's a seven-figure penalty clause attached to your pilot if the network doesn't pick it up for series, how much does it have to suck ass if the net says, "Yeah, we'll pay the penalty rather than put that piece of crap on the air." That's what Warner Bros. is hearing as
NBC has passed on Legally Mad.
This is David E. Kelley's much ballyhooed next legal drama starring Kristin Chenoweth and Loretta Devine. See that's good talent right there and still they'd rather pay millions than put it on the air? Damn!
Continue reading NBC would rather pay a huge penalty than air Legally Mad
Posted Oct 22nd 2008 9:25AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Eli Stone, Reality-Free

(S02E02) Well I think we all know what the big to-do was regarding this whole episode: Mrs. Tom Cruise. If she wasn't married to Tom Cruise, I can guarantee you that there wouldn't have been nearly as big of a deal made about a former star of
Dawson's Creek appearing on
Eli Stone. Certainly she didn't make herself into an international sensation with her performance on
Batman Begins. Hell, she was replaced in that for the sequel.
So how did Mrs. Tom Cruise do? Well, I won't say that she brought a whole new level of magic to the show, because it has plenty of that already. But she proved a nice diversion, and not too distracting from the ongoing plotlines. From her opening musical number, in which she performed very well, to the final moments on-screen with Eli, she showed quite a range of talent. Maybe Tom will let her out of the compound more often to get some more acting gigs. She should remind him that's what she did before she became Mrs. Tom Cruise.
Continue reading Eli Stone: Grace
Posted Oct 15th 2008 8:22AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Eli Stone, Reality-Free

(S02E01) So there were no doubts about what show we were watching, the new season of
Eli Stone kicked off with a huge musical number. Okay, actually it started with Eli in a therapist's office talking to guest star Sigourney Weaver, revealing that it's been six months since his surgery and that the aforementioned dance number was the first time he'd heard singing and music like that since.
I kind of liked the approach of filtering our catch-up on Eli's life through his therapy session. But since this is
Eli Stone, things aren't always as they appear to be. What is as it appears to be is the fact that
Eli Stone is returning to the prime-time lineup in fine fashion. Some of you may recall that I wasn't gushing with praise about this show last season, but I really feel that it's found its feet and evolved into a pretty good little show. I even found myself *gasp* caring about what happened to various characters throughout tonight's episode.
Continue reading Eli Stone: The Path (season premiere)
Posted Feb 15th 2008 12:21PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Eli Stone

(S01E03) Okay, it looks like we have the formula down pretty well now. Eli's going to have some bizarre visions that will jeopardize his personal and professional life, but those visions will help him make decisions as to what to do. Could it be a brain aneurysm? Sure, if aneurysms can specifically name clients that he hasn't met yet as tonight's does. Instead of creating a compelling long-form narrative,
Eli Stone is going to be a typical legal dramedy with a few spot visions thrown in to mess with Eli's life. That's it and it's a shame.
Continue reading Eli Stone: Father Figure
Posted Feb 1st 2008 12:46PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Eli Stone
(S01E01) "Oh, Did I mention I recently found out I could be a prophet? Yeah, I was shocked too."
What better lead-in could a show about a guy who may be a prophet having visions of the future (or may just be plain crazy) want than the season premiere of
Lost? And in this strike-stripped era of reality television and reruns, any new scripted fare is bound to draw the reddened eyes of those sad and pathetic little viewers asking themselves why oh why did they watch the entire season of
Crowned.
But while I went into it expecting something different and interesting, I instead found a fairly standard legal drama with a gimmick. Sure, you could argue that
Pushing Daisies is nothing more than a standard mystery show with a gimmick, but the characters and charm of
Daisies can win out over that. So far,
Eli is missing that ingredient.
Continue reading Eli Stone: Pilot (series premiere)
Posted Dec 5th 2007 9:27AM by Paul Goebel
Filed under: Boston Legal, Episode Reviews
(S04E08) "No one takes Ann Coulter seriously." - Guy Flanders
Just when I thought the Star Trek jokes were through...
Remember the old days when Bill Shatner wanted nothing to do with his Sci-fi past? It's nice to see that a few years and an Emmy will soften even the hardest heart.
I can only guess that Denny's arrest for solicitation is DEK's effort to show "the other side." Is it really that easy for extraordinary bathroom behavior to be mistaken for cruising? I hope not, otherwise I'll have to curtail my mid morning respite/operettas at the office.
Continue reading Boston Legal: Oral Contracts
Posted May 6th 2006 2:46PM by Anna Johns
Filed under: Cable, American Idol, Celebrities
American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino will star in a Lifetime Original Movie about her own life, called
Life is Not a Fairy Tale: The Fantasia Barrino Story. The
press release describes her story as "inspired by the true story of Fantasia Barrino, a teenage mother who overcame poverty, sexual abuse and illiteracy by using her incredible voice to rise to national prominence." Fantasia will play herself. Loretta Devine (
Crash), Viola Davis (
Traffic) and Kadeem Hardison (
A Different World) will also star. Debbie Allen will direct.
Filming begins later this month in New Orleans.