TVSquad

My first thought when I heard about TNT's Truth In Advertising, which has just received the go ahead for 13 episodes, was "oh, they're just doing that because of the critical success of Mad Men." And who knows, that might be true, but this show by itself sounds awfully intriguing.

I mean, come on, look at this cast: Eric McCormack (Will and Grace), Tom Cavanagh (Ed, Eli Stone), Sarah Clarke (24), Monica Potter (Boston Legal), and Griffin Dunne (Law and Order: CI, 3 lbs.). And it's from the same people who bring us The Closer, so you know it's going to be of some quality. And it's really great to see Cavanagh and McCormack back on weekly TV again (oh, when oh when is Ed coming to DVD?).

I tried. I really did. I wanted to be one of the cool kids and watch 24, but I can't handle it. Over the summer, my husband and I rented season one of 24 and we suffered through every episode. The show is chock full of obvious stall tactics. Does anybody else notice these? They come in the form of long, drawn-out, repetitive conversations and of unimportant sub-plots. For example, the current season began with various versions of the same conversation between President Logan and his wife about her apparent craziness and her insistence that she's not nutso. Do people in the real world actually have the same conversation over and over again within one hour? I don't think so. And, during season one, the whole storyline about President Palmer's son's involvement in a crime was a total time suck (and, of course, the infamous Kim vs. the cougar incident in season two). While most shows also use sub-plots as fillers (i.e., Lost uses flashbacks), it is most obvious to me on 24 because, quite frankly, who cares about any of the other crap that doesn't involve Jack Bauer?

Lots of casting news today in The Hollywood Reporter. Dylan McDermott has joined the cast of the ABC drama, A House Divided. It's about a rift between a midwestern farming community and the federal government. I wish I knew more because, wow, that sounds like a snoozer. Sarah Clarke (aka 'Nina' on 24) is also part of the cast. She plays the wife of the lead character, which might just be McDermott.

Wendie Malick, of Just Shoot Me and Jake in Progress, has been cast in the ABC comedy pilot, A Day in the Life. The show is about a young couple's wedding day, from different points of view (I imagine it'll have to advance past the wedding day). Malick plays the mother of the bride.

Other casting news:

"Somebody has lost their mind."

That quote from an angry Columbia, SC fan of 24 pretty much sums up this situation. Some genius over at WACH, Columbia's FOX affiliate, decided to start the news on time on Sunday night... cutting off the last 10 minutes of the season premiere of 24. For East coasters, 24 started about 10 minutes late on Sunday night because an NFL playoff game went over the time allotted. Apparently no one who works at WACH actually watches the programming there, because they just flipped over to the news right at ten o'clock. Even if they weren't watching 24, the newsroom should have known to slide their programming by 10 minutes because FOX usually notifies all of its affiliates over an audio "black box" when schedule changes occur.