For the longest time, I've kvetched about the fact that the television industry has stopped programming for Saturday night. For years, Saturday was a great night of television. I remember M*A*S*H and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, not to mention guilty pleasures like The Facts of Life and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. Even NBC's thrillogy, The Pretender and Profiler were fun. All those shows were Saturday night hits (some bigger than others).
"I don't think the answer is to retreat," he told the New York Daily News. "When you give up Saturday night, you open the door for people to go somewhere else. Basically, they're shrinking their own audience."
The "Ask TV Squad" column, published every Wednesday, answers your questions about current and past TV shows, as well as about the celebrities appearing on TV. Every week, I will pick a question (or more) sent to us and provide answers in the column. If your question is not picked for a column, it may be answered in a subsequent column. To submit questions to the "Ask TV Squad" column, you can post them below in comments or email them at asktvsquad@gmail.com.
This week, I answer questions about Flash Forward, Eureka, NCIS, The Philanthropist, and V.
It's not really possible that every summer premiere on the great American broadcast TV schedule crashed and burned, is it?
But, out of all the original programs that premiered on the major networks after the completion of the fall 2008 season, not a single one got traction.
According to analysis reports, you can take your pick from any of the following shows: Defying Gravity, The Superstars, The Listener, Mental, The Philanthropist, Hitched or Ditched, Merlin and Great American Road Trip. All of them bombed -- each hovering just above a one market share.
In fact, you don't need numbers to prove that the fall crop crapped out. Ask your friend what his/her favorite summer replacement show was. You'll be waiting awhile.
NBC has been promoting the crap out of their new summer adventure series, The Philanthropist, for weeks now. Starring James Purefoy as Teddy Rist, a billionaire playboy who decides to save the world, The previews held absolutely no interest for me. Now, after having seen the pilot, I realize that my first impression was the correct one.
Premiering tonight at 10 PM, The Philanthropist is basically an hour of an insufferable rich dude talking about how awesome he is. We watch the premise of the show unfold through the eyes of Rist himself, as he tells his tale of heroism (saving a Nigerian boy from drowning; surviving a shoot-out and a snake bite in order to deliver some Cholera vaccines to a village) to a bored bartender.
When I first heard that there was a show coming up called The Philanthropist (which isn't an easy word to type out, by the way), I thought it was another reality show. Maybe something where a contestants compete to see who wins more money for charity or something. But it actually stars James Purefoy as a rich guy who goes around the world helping people. It also stars Jesse L. Martin and Neve Campbell. Here's a scene from the pilot. It starts June 24.
It's amazing how many new shows are on during the summer now. Who needs the outdoors? Let us know which show you're most looking forward to watching this summer (I didn't include shows that have already premiered, such as Burn Notice, So You Think You Can Dance, and The Listener). A poll can only be so long, so if you're show isn't listed let us know in the comments.
Wow, is this right? Jesse L. Martin was on Law and Order for nine seasons? How could that be? Where has the last decade gone? I feel really old.
Martin was indeed on the hit NBC drama for that long. He left last season, in a storyline involving a gambling addiction, a murder, and a court trial. But now he might actually be coming back to the same network. Martin is in negotiations to play the James Purefoy's sidekick on the midseason replacement series The Philanthropist, about a rich man who helps people with his dough. The character's name is Philip Maidstone.
Martin must really like NBC. He's also going to be in a new Muppets movie this Christmas season on the network.
It will be interesting to see how big this sidekick role will be, because you would think at this point that Martin would be getting or going for the lead roles, not the buddy ones.
Here's something I didn't know: it's cheaper to film in England and Africa than it is to film in Hollywood.
NBC has announced that their new midseason drama The Philanthropist (a real pain to spell, by the way) won't be filmed in the U.S. at all. Instead, the production will save money by setting the show and filming the show in London, with some filming also being done in Africa and the Czech Republic. Executive producer and writer David Eick, however, will stay in Los Angeles. The first episode will be directed by Peter Horton.
For the longest time, I've kvetched about the fact that the television industry has stopped programming for Saturday night. For years, Saturday was a great night of television. I remember M*A*S*H and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, not to mention guilty pleasures like The Facts of Life and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. Even NBC's thrillogy, The Pretender and Profiler were fun. All those shows were Saturday night hits (some bigger than others).
The "Ask TV Squad" column, published every Wednesday, answers your questions about current and past TV shows, as well as about the celebrities appearing on TV. Every week, I will pick a question (or more) sent to us and provide answers in the column. If your question is not picked for a column, it may be answered in a subsequent column. To submit questions to the "Ask TV Squad" column, you can post them below in comments or email them at 
American broadcast TV schedule crashed and burned, is it?
At 8, ABC, CBS, NBC, C-SPAN, and the news channels will have President Obama's speech.
A&E has a Dog The Bounty Hunter marathon all night.
At 8, ABC has a new Wipeout, followed by new episodes of I Survived A Japanese Game Show and Primetime: Crime.
At 8, ABC has a new Wipeout, followed by new episodes of I Survived a Japanese Game Show and Primetime: Crime.
At 8, ABC has a new Wipeout, followed by a new I Survived A Japanese Game Show and Primetime: Questions for the President: A Prescription for America.
Wow, is this right? Jesse L. Martin was on Law and Order for nine seasons? How could that be? Where has the last decade gone? I feel really old.
Here's something I didn't know: it's cheaper to film in England and Africa than it is to film in Hollywood.
Six Mad Men characters who are in limbo after the finale
Fact or Fiction: Big Bang, Brothers & Sisters and CSI
The TV Squad Podcast: Linda Purl talks about The Office, we talk spoilers, and more
