TVSquad

I suppose most people would lead with the fact that Jay Mohr has signed on to Ed Yeager's untitled comedy pilot for CBS. After all, Jay does have that regular gig on Ghost Whisperer. In a nutshell, Mohr and Paula Marshall play a couple that has recently divorced, after fifteen years of marriage. The funny is scheduled to arrive as we watch Mohr's character try to juggle his ex-wife, their two kids, and his new girlfriend, played by Jaime King.

That's all well and good. For me though, the far more interesting bit is Paula Marshall's involvement. I find her career fascinating. She's been on a bunch of great shows. The Wonder Years, Seinfeld, Nash Bridges (don't laugh, Nash was very successful), Spin City, Sports Night, Just Shoot Me, Nip/Tuck, and Veronica Mars, to name a few. Yet, for whatever reason, whenever she gets a starring gig, it all seems to go to hell. See Cupid, Snoops, Hidden Hills, and Out Of Practice. I don't get it. I like everything she's ever done, but it just doesn't work. So, I don't have high hopes for this production. However, it does offer a thought. It's quite possible that Paula was all set to star in a great new show for Tim Minear. Unfortunately, the sheer power of their combined abilities to kill shows sent the series itself back in time, canceling itself before the idea even came to be.

Hollywood people are strange folk. In the normal world people who are sacked by the company they worked for wouldn't normally return to it in another capacity, especially if they were treated poorly during their employment. Yet, for some reason, when actors are let go from a network because of a show cancellation they tend to go back for more punishment.

Take Jason Bateman as an example. After his critically-acclaimed and fan-favorite comedy Arrested Development was unceremoniously canceled by FOX in 2006 you would think that he wouldn't step anywhere near the network. In fact, you would think that he would jump to another network and make it big just to rub it in FOX's face. Yet, there is news that he is directing a comedy pilot for them. Go figure.

Back in January we reported that the still popular 70's game show Match Game was ready to be revived once again by Fremantle Media, which pretty much owns rights to every single game show on the planet. In that report we mentioned that Fremantle was talking to a number of cable networks about this project, but no permanent home was established yet.

That problem may have rectified itself in the last few days, though, as a pilot has been commissioned by...Ah, you thought I was going to say GSN, didn't you? That would seem the most logical place since reruns of the 1973-82 version of Match Game have had a successful run for years on that network. Unfortunately, that is not the case. This time around the cable network requesting the pilot is TBS (as Bob mentioned earlier this month in a post about Turner's new shows).

Maybe the strike's not all bad. That's what some studio executives are saying in this Variety article. The winter TCA Tour has been canceled already and upfronts are now in jeopardy. And just as it took the lead in pulling out of the TCA, NBC has already said they will forgo the multimillion dollar extravaganza the upfronts had turned into.

But from the network's point of view these are good things, as they'd been wanting to cut some of these expenses for years. What does that mean? The TCA Tours may be done for good, ditto the upfront "events." And that may just be the start of changes in the television landscape we've come to know and love.

What do you do when it's Fall Pilot season but there isn't anyone available to write pilots? Things are getting a little scary for next season's slate of new shows that don't exist yet. And last night, as our own Joel Keller reports, the networks and Television Critics Association (TCA) agreed to cancel the winter tour. It makes sense considering the TCA Tour generally involves the networks touting their upcoming programming to the 200 or so members of the association so as to get good press (hopefully) to build buzz. With the way things are going, had the event occurred, it would have been a very dry affair.

"So, we've got some reality shows coming up, and we're looking at doing some reruns."

"Really. Wow, that's interesting, which network were you again ... Oh that's right. It doesn't matter."

(S01E01) "Working on a five year plan, just need to choose a font." - Chuck Bartowski

Last night was the premiere of the shortest-named show in primetime. Shhh ... what do you mean Cane and Life are only four letters? I don't care about House and Bones tying at five letters. I refuse to acknowledge that CSI and ER are still on the air. I think my first line was clever and I am keeping it no matter how wrong it makes me.

Meandering back to the point ... it has been a long time coming for Chuck. For months there have been teasers and web ads bombarding people with its existence and now it is finally here. So let's see if it was worth the wait.

I've never understood the term "guilty pleasure." I figure that if I enjoy something -- a song, a TV show, a movie, etc, I shouldn't feel guilty about it. Yeah, so I have a couple REO Speedwagon songs on my iPod, what of it?

The only TV show that kinda falls into the "guilty pleasure" category for me is Cops. I never make a point of watching it, but when it's on, I can't turn it off. Still, the whole time that tiny angel sits on my shoulder telling me I really shouldn't get my entertainment through the misery of others.

And so, it's with the utmost hypocrisy that I tell you how much I dislike the idea behind the new FOX series, Smile, You're Under Arrest. The series will trick individuals with outstanding warrants into thinking they're being awarded with prizes or money when in fact the police are waiting to arrest them. The concept comes from the brain of producer Scott Satin (Who Wants to Be a Superhero?), who is working with the (in)famous Joe Arpaio, the Maricopa County Sheriff (Arizona) whose tough stance on criminals has garnered him scorn from some and accolades from others.

ABC Family has ordered a pilot for Samurai Girl, a new series based on the book Samurai Girl: Book of the Sword by Carrie Asai. Other books in the series include Book of the Wind, Book of the Shadow, Book of the Flame and Book of the Heart, but according to Variety the new series will be based solely on Book of the Sword, which tells the tale of a girl named Heaven, who, rescued from a plane crash as an infant, grows up with an adoptive Kogo family that hides a "dark secret." Heaven must use her samurai ways to learn all she can.