NBC is ordering 3 more episodes of ‘Trauma.’ Um, like, that show they already canceled. According to THR’s Live Feed blog, is plugging some holes in the HMS Peacock with a few more episodes of a show they have no faith in. So let me get this straight – you drop five hours of programming from your weekly schedule and you still don’t have enough shows to air? No wonder GE is selling your a**.

Looking back at their pickups for the 2009-10 season, what jumps out at you that NBC didn’t leave themselves much room for error. They only announced five new dramas, and three of them were mid-season replacements. Only ‘Mercy’* and ‘Trauma,’ both medical dramas, premiered in the fall. With only 10 hours of programming, not counting Sundays, they really need every show to be a hit. ‘Trauma’ was a miss.

These are sad days for the network that brought us ‘Star Trek,’ ‘Hill Street Blues,’ and ‘The West Wing.’ This decision is just further indication that the network that had completely lost it’s way. Who knows what the heck NBC is going to look like next fall but as far as I’m concerned, they’ve got nowhere to go but up.

Still a fan (of TV, not NBC),
C.C.

P.S. ‘Mercy’ was originally a mid-season series but ended up swapping places with fall series ‘Parenthood.’

I’ve learned a lot of things from watching television. Really, I have. But few lessons have stayed with me like this one: Don’t date your co-workers.  Why not? Because…

…you could get caught doin’ it at the office.
(Angela Montenegro and Jack Hodgins, ‘Bones’)

Make that get caught on camera. Neither Angela nor Hodgins knew their coupling had been captured by surveillance cameras until the tape was hand delivered to Angela – by her new boss Cam Saroyan. Luckily for Angela, Cam played it cool, even when she later found Angela watching the tape at work. For her part, Angela was quite pleased with her performance.

…sometimes work comes first.
(Capt. Jean-Luc Picard and Nella Daren, ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’)

Picard learned that lesson the hard way when he began dating science officer Nella Daren. Daren is required to go on a dangerous mission in an attempt to save the lives of planetary colonists. Picard is forced to make a painful decision, giving an order that meant almost certain death for Daren and the rest of the away team. Daren ultimately returned safely to The Enterprise but her relationship with Picard became a casualty of the away mission.

…you could be doomed from the start.
(Sam Malone and Diane Chambers, ‘Cheers’)

Cats and dogs get along better than Sam and Diane. Still, these two polar opposites were attracted to each other from the very start. The ill-fated pairing took a brutal toll on the two, landing Diane in an institution and sending recovering alcoholic Sam on a drunken bender. The erstwhile couple came perilously to marriage on two separate occasions, ultimately deciding that all good things, as well as whatever the heck they had, must come to an end.

…your wife could find out.
(Meredith Grey and Derek Shepherd, ‘Grey’s Anatomy’)

Meredith and Derek always had their ups and downs, to be sure. But nothing is as big a downer as your boyfriend’s wife showing up. The arrival of Derek’s estranged wife Addison Montgomery forced Derek to choose between the two. He didn’t choose Meredith. At least not at first. Derek came around and the two eventually married. As for Addison, she got her own spinoff. So everybody’s happy.

…we can’t all be so lucky.
(Jim Halpert and Pam Beesley, ‘The Office’)

Jim kept secret his long-held feeling for the then engaged receptionist Pam. Pam initially had no intentions of pursuing things with Jim but eventually called off her wedding to fiance Roy. After a detour through Stamford, Jim and Pam’s relationship finally takes off. After dating for about a year, the two get engaged. They married at Niagara Falls and are gleefully waiting the arrival of little baby Halpert.

All very good reasons.

Still a fan,
C.C.

I’m keeping an eye out for these shows, which will hopefully be coming to a TV near me very soon.

‘Boldly Going Nowhere’

‘Nowhere’ is from the creators of FX’s ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,’ a show I’ve recently fallen in love with. Apparently the series, a workplace comedy set on a spaceship, has been kicking around Fox for a while and writers Rob McElhenney, Glenn Howerton, and Charlie are working on a new pilot script with help from Seinfeld writer/producer Larry Charles.

Why eye? Comedy and science fiction go together like chocolate and peanut butter. In other words, much better than you’d think they would. ‘Sunny’ is a gem and its creators have a unique brand of humor that expertly navigates the fine line between off-color and off-putting. What’ll be really interesting is seeing how these guys adapt their humor to make it safe for broadcast television.

Untitled Amy Sherman-Palladino Project

The new drama is about three sister, who are all writers and neighbors, and their presumably dysfunctional relationship with their mother. Amy S-P created the study in neurotic co-dependence that was ‘Gilmore Girls.’ Don’t get me wrong, I loved ‘Gilmore Girls’ and watched every episode, right up to and through the post-Amy era. The woman has some serious writing chops but more than that, she creates truly indelible characters.

Why eye? Because this series is being developed at HBO. Amy S-P’s quirky wit and unabashed estrogenicity have been sorely missed and now she’s bringing both to the grown-up table. The only thing I’d love to see more than this show is this show with Lauren Graham.

‘Tower Prep’ and ‘Live Action’

The former is about a teenaged boy at a sinister prep school. The latter is about mysteries at a natural history museum. These both sound like the kind of shows you might see on ABC Family, only for boys. Production starts on both series in January, according to Variety.

Why eye? Both of these live action series are set to air on the Cartoon Network, which has been dabbling in live action television for the past couple of years. Basic cable nets continue an aggressive programming agenda that has increasingly encroached on broadcast’s turf. But this may yet be the grandest experiment in growing beyond one’s cable niche. I can’t wait to see how it goes.

Still a fan,
C.C.

We’re supposed to believe that the overarching story is about two worlds, each populated with billions of unsuspecting people, on a collision course that will ultimately destroy one world. Sounds pretty epic, no? But rather than tell us that story, we get watered-down tales of angst ridden psychic teenagers and killer parasites. You know, I remember reading somewhere that the truth about Peter’s other worldly origins was going to be revealed at the end of season two. But the producers asked themselves, Why are we holding back this piece of information?’ Unable to come up with an answer they chose to make the info a season one reveal. I submit that the producers/writers should ask themselves that question a heck of a lot more often.

Why hold back?

Why hold back the details of Olivia’s visit to the other side for four episodes? From the moment season two began, the story failed to deliver on the promise of the first season’s cliffhanger ending. Olivia’s amnesia was a cheap way to artificially extend the life of a single plot point. ‘I don’t remember’ is right up there on the crap-o-meter with ‘It was all a dream’ and the long lost twin.

Tell us the story of these two worlds. Engage us in their battle by making us choose a side. How do we know the side we’ve been watching are the good guys? In the other world the Challenger shuttle never exploded and the attacks of 9-11 never happened. Can’t be all bad over there. Tell us something about these people in the alternate Earth if you expect us to care at all about their survival. Why hold back information about William Bell? Nina Sharp? The Observer? You know, the actual story.

The only thing more egregious than the mismanagement of the plot is the mismanagement of the characters. Poor Agent Francis.

He was supposed to be Olivia’s partner, right? Was he with her when she confronted the serial killer with the brain-frying computer virus? No. Was he with her when she went undercover to catch the bio-terrorist? No. Francis is noticeably absent at the most critical moments. Meanwhile the unarmed consultant with the sketchy past and the laminated ID card gets to ride shotgun. Seriously? So Francis dutifully hangs out in the background until the writers remember he’s there. And how is Francis rewarded? He gets killed. Twice.

By the by, Francis is the second partner Olivia has lost in a little over a year. One would think the emotional fallout would be something that would carry over for a few episodes. At least one would think that if one didn’t watch the show. I don’t want to tell anyone how to do their job but maybe the emotional arc could be addressed by assigning Olivia a new partner. Maybe the new partner considers Olivia a ‘loose canon’ and thinks her last two partners died because they got too close to her, one as a friend, the other as a lover. So the new partner is a by the book type who slowly learns that ‘the book’ doesn’t apply to the Fringe division. It’s a little cliché but it’s serviceable. There. Now was that hard?

Back on the topic of useless characters, I don’t mean to be a pessimist but I see a similar fate awaiting the just as dreadfully underutilized Astrid. I mean, right now Astrid is pretty much doing the work of a first year grad student. That hardly makes her critical to their investigations.

Now being the lifelong fan of genre television that I am, I’m not one to pick apart the “science” of science fiction. My disbelief is in a permanent state of animated suspension. All I expect is a modicum of consistency within the fictional world. I mean, your ship can’t run on tylium one week and dilithium crystals the next, you know? Well let’s talk about trans-dimensional travel…

To cross over, Mr. Jones needs to: 1) gather a significant amount of equipment, 2) steal an uber power source from a bio-mechanical arm, and 3) locate a weak spot in the wall between the worlds. William Bell needs an elevator. I guess without the corporate funding, Mr. Jones had to bootstrap it.

Apparently how to communicate with the other side is just as ambiguous as how to visit. Nina sharp tried to email William Bell, even though she wasn’t sure it would reach him. But you mean to tell me that a woman who can rip thoughts from a dead man’s brain, who has all the resources of Massive Dynamic at her disposal, can’t rig up a mirror and a typewriter like the evil Francis did? These types of WTF moments are so distracting they just pull you right out of the story.

‘Fringe’ has meandered along for more than a season, substituting atmosphere for substance, which is why the show just doesn’t work.

TV networks have had a good thing going for a really long time. They produce, advertisers pay, viewers watch, everybody’s happy. Only these days broadcast nets are making less shows, advertisers want to pay less, and viewership is down. Now TV execs are all in a tizzy over how to make money off the internet. So they’re throwing everything against the wall, hope they will convince us to cough up some money for what we watch online. So what do we get for how money? Depends on who’s doing the peddling…

“TV Everywhere”

TV Everywhere is an effort by cable companies, specifically Time Warner and Comcast, that would allow everyone to watch TV programs on computers and mobile devices for free. Yippee! Except “everyone” means only existing cable customers and “free” means whatever you pay for cable and internet access. I don’t know about anyone else but I pay a lot. And I don’t even have premium channels.

Several cable networks, including HBO, Syfy, and AMC are participating in Time Warner’s test of the TV everywhere program. Reportedly programming on the site will include the same full complement of commercials as the television broadcasts. And with ad-skipping disabled, to boot. So rather than using technology to broaden our options they’re abusing technology to limit our options. Nice. Clearly the cable companies would rather not have to deal with digital streaming at all but they are desperate to no be left out of the loop. Me, I’m not at all sold on the TV Everywhere concept. As far as I’m concerned, my cable box is on borrowed time…

Hulu by subscription

I have no idea what Hulu.com might look like as a subscription site, which it could be as early as next year, but currently, the site fails to impress. Their selection of programming is so very limited. Particularly when it comes to current shows, where the selection is usually limited to five episodes of the current season and who-knows-what from previous seasons. Then there are the “windows” between the broadcast airing and the online streaming. There’s a one day window for ‘Stargate: Universe’ and ‘Heroes’ but a four day window for ‘V.’ What gives?

The broadcast networks are taking their content directly to audiences, no cable middle man necessary. Hulu is a joint venture between NBC, ABC, and Fox. But here’s where things get tricky: the owners of Hulu own or have ownerships stakes in numerous cable networks, including Syfy, USA, Bravo, A&E, Lifetime, ESPN, and FX, just to name a few. Cable cos. can’t be too thrilled that content they once provided exclusively being made available online without them getting a cut. And the cable channels certainly enjoy the broadcast fees they get from cable companies. Will the Hulu companies share their content with TV Everywhere efforts? Will cable companies be pleased if they don’t?

iTunes TV

Apple is hoping to become the newest middle man, proposing a system the would provide streaming content to viewers via iTunes for a flat fee of $30/month. No cable subscription necessary. There are no networks currently attached to Apple’s effort. But $30 is a heck of a lot less than I pay for cable right now. But there are no specifics. Would there be ads? How many ads? Can you skip the ads? Can you watch programs on your iPhone? Will there be content from premium cable channels? What kind of “window” are we talking about?

One thing that Apple has going for it is that iTunes is a familiar portal where people are used to paying for music, movies, and TV shows. And the price makes them an attractive alternative to cable. But it remains to be seen what content they will have to offer.

It seems clear that the cable/satellite TV model is under serious threat. I know I’m planning to drop cable all together in the next few months. It’s comforting to know that TV networks are trying to get on board with online streaming. Personally, I’m leaning towards this Apple deal but, we’ll see…

Still a fan,
C.C.

I had no plans to watch Stargate: Universe. That is, until I read about the internet crapstorm the show has sparked. Producers are arguing with newspaper columnists. Stars are quitting their twitter accounts. I admit it. My curiosity was piqued. I found that, while the show is not all bad, it’s still a lot not good. And I came up with some ideas that I think could really help.

1. Cut the cord! This one is critical. Why do we care that these people are stranded far from home if we’re watching them visit home to schtup the wife or go clubbing? For the Destiny to fend for itself. Meanwhile, show us what life is like for those left behind.
2. Actions have consequences. At least they should. We all know the air scrubbers are going to be fixed, the ship will not blow up, and Lt. Scott will not be swallowed by a crevasse. How about putting these characters in some real danger?
3. Break the mold. The show is rife with stereotypes. From the Angry Black Man (who is actually in jail when we meet him) to the misanthropic genius, this cast of characters needs some serious updating.
4. The brain is the largest sex organ, or so the saying goes. We need to see the people who are being intimate with each other connect in some other context for their relationships to have an impact on the audience. Otherwise they just seem like a bunch of randy monkeys.
5. Have we met? Who are all those people who went racing through the stargate before the explosion? Why were they at Icarus? Are they civilians? What are their talents? What are their fears? If we’re supposed to care about them, we need to know their stories.
6. I say a little prayer for you? A military officer once hair’s breadth from becoming a priest is an interesting choice. It would be great to see how his spirituality comes into play in his current circumstances.
7. Look, a shiny new toy. Kinos, spacesuits and levitating sleighs seem to be very conveniently located in the habitable areas of the ship. That’s really just too convenient.
8. What seems to be the problem? The ship can dial some gates but not Earth. The navigation doesn’t work but the weapons do. Whatever is wrong with the ship needs to be consistent week-to-week. Not the same, just consistent.
9. Don’t jump the gun. Isn’t seven episodes in just a little too soon to mount a rescue mission? I mean, if the mission works, you kind of don’t have a show anymore. Let’s leave the passengers on the Destiny alone for a little while and see how they do.

Too bad no one on the show is ever going to read my very personal and private journal. Oh well.

Still a fan,
C.C.

Real Housewives of Orange County Vicki Gunvalson Interview (TV.com)

She sounds so normal in this interview. Trippy…

Cable Nets Pick Up ‘NCIS: LA,’ ‘Mentalist’ (Variety)

USA is paying how much?! For ‘NCIS: LA?!’

TV Version of Roland Emmerich’s ‘2012′ in the Works (EW.com)

Yawn. I’m already bored.

Turner Classic Movies launches classic film festival (TCM.com)

This sounds pretty cool. Hope the festival films will also air on the network.

J.J. Abrams near deal to direct NBC’s ‘Undercovers’ (THR Live Feed)

I’ll always watch an Abrams pilot.

Still a fan,
C.C.

ABC’s freshman drama ‘Flash Forward’ is based on the 1999 book of the same name by author Robert J. Sawyer. The story is about an event that causes all of humanity to blackout simultaneously. While unconscious, each person sees a vision of his or her future. The concept was so interesting I decided to pick up a copy of the book to see how the story played out as conceived by the original author. Turns out, the novel and the television series are two entirely different beast, sharing little more than a premise in common. For instance…

The Time Frame

The novel is driven by the question: Will the visions seen by everyone actually come to pass? The question is answered when the present finally catches up to the future. The flashes in the novel are of a time a little more than twenty years into the future. The passage of time is dealt with quite tidily with a handy “Twenty-One Years Later.” But a book doesn’t have to make an entire ensemble cast look twenty years older, week after week. No, better to shorten the time frame, in this case, shorten it to fit within a single television season. The future visions on the TV series show us the character just a little more than six months hence.

The Protagonists

The television characters are dealing with similar issues to their literary counterparts. Mark Benford, like LLoyd Simcoe in the book, fears the end of his relationship. Demetri Noh, like Theo Procopides, is trying to find out who ends his life. But while Simcoe and Procopides are research physicists, Benford and Noh are instead FBI agents. On TV the story has been re-conceived as a traditional procedural, complete with gun fights and car chases. The two scientists in the novel are decidedly less flamboyant in their investigations.

The Mystery

The “flash forward” in the TV series was a man-made phenomenon of unknown origins. The novel dispenses with the mystery all together. While the science (and I use the term loosely) isn’t wrapped up until the end, the book actually begins at the source of the phenomenon. The who, what, when, where, and why (by accident) are all disclosed in Chapter 1. From there on out the characters are occupied with the personal, professional, and philosophical fallout from the event.

The Scope

In the novel the event impacted every person on the planet — without exception. No one was immune. But with the focus being on a criminal investigation, the TV show needs suspects. It provides that in the form of two individuals known to have remained conscious during the event.

The Evidence

The aforementioned suspects were discovered by means of technology that recorded their activities. The two were speaking on the phone and one was seen on a surveillance camera. Perpetrators in the book would have escaped any such detection because the event also affected electronic equipment. There were no convenient video recordings or cell phone records to be had.

The Point of View

Robert J. Sawyer, author of the Flash Forward novel, is Canadian, as is his lead character Lloyd Simcoe. Throughout the book are inklings of a perspective that is more American as in North, and less American as in United States of. For instance Sawyer takes a shot, figuratively speaking of course, at the Second Amendment which one character refers to as “…whatever damned thing it was that made Americans think they could go around armed.” Clearly, the TV series just a smidge more pro-2nd Amendment. Gee, I wonder how Mr. Sawyer likes the show…

Still a fan,
C.C.

]]> http://www.thetvjournal.com/?feed=rss2&p=29 2 http://www.thetvjournal.com/?p=37 http://www.thetvjournal.com/?p=37#comments Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:00:53 +0000 C.C. http://www.thetvjournal.com/?p=37 Dear Diary, these are some news items that recently caught my eye. I thought I’d put them here for safe keeping…

‘Law & Order’ takes on Letterman scandal (Entertainment Weekly)

I’m surprised it’s taken them this long.

The ‘Numbers’ may not add up (The Wrap)

I have to say, the show has kind of been off its game this season…

ABC adds commentary tracks, plus ability to make your own (NewTeeVee)

I don’t like commentary tracks on DVDs. Why would I want them online?

Don Cheadle sets pact with NBC (Variety)

Cheadle’s a great actor. I’m really curious about his production chops.

It seems like Friday night on television is becoming such a ghost town, pretty much like Saturday night is all ready. I recently read an interview with TV producer Barry Levinson where lamented the lack of original programming on Saturday nights. He said,

Somehow the networks decided to forfeit Saturday nights. You have a massive audience, they’re available and they can’t find anything to watch.

He’s so right. Near as I can tell, May 1, 2004 is the night that Saturday died.

See, that’s when CBS aired the last new episode of ‘The District.’ The next fall none of the broadcast nets put a new drama on sitcom on the schedule for Saturday nights. I was hardly surprised when I realized CBS is also the last broadcast net to program a full three-hour line-up on Friday nights. CBS airs new episodes of ‘Ghost Whisperer’ at 8, ‘Medium’ at 9, and ‘Numb3rs’ at 10. They have also been the ratings leader on Friday nights since all three shows premiered this season on September 25, 2009. Surprise, surprise.

It looks like Fox’s Friday lineup may be the first to fall. Sitcoms ‘Til Death’ and ‘Brothers’ are moving to Sundays. All thirteen episodes of ‘Dollhouse’ will probably still air but it’s been pulled from the air during the all-important November sweeps. Both hours will be replaced with reruns. As for the other networks, ABC, NBC, and CW each have one original, scripted hour of television on Fridays.

I think we’ll learn a lot about what the networks intends to do with Fridays at next year’s upfronts. But we’ve already lost Saturdays and Fridays are fading fast. Oh well, I guess five nights of television is still something.

Still a fan,
C.C.

P. S. Come to think of it, technically, there was some original scripted programming on Saturday nights earlier this year. Several networks dumped their unaired episodes of canceled shows on Saturdays. CBS series “Harper’s Island,” NBC series “Kings,” and ABC’s “Pushing Daisies” all aired “new” episodes on Saturdays.