Looking for some clips of the upcoming new shows? The networks have their own streaming video areas (NBC Fall Preview, ABC Fall Preview) where you can check out The Bionic Woman or Cavemen, but YouTube is both much more accessible and, honestly, much faster. As a result, here’s some YouTube links for NBC’s pilots, all in one place. I’ll try to grab what I can as they come up, and hopefully ABC’s will join them in time.
The Bionic Woman (Wednesdays at 9)
Filed under ABC, Cavemen, NBC, Television, The Bionic Woman, Upfronts
Well, ABC’s schedule is official, and there’s not much in the way of changes for the network. In fact, to be honest, the schedule is downright boring.
Reminder: Cultural Learnings’ ABC Fall Preview Schedule
– Private Practice, the Grey’s Anatomy Spinoff, will be slotting in at 9pm on Wednesdays, the spot currently occupied by underperforming comedies. It will be sandwiched by two new shows: Bryan Fuller’s Pushing Daisies and Greg Berlanti’s Dirty Sexy Money. This means three new shows in a single night, which is a departure from the stability found in Lost (Which is now officially held back until February).
– Thursday’s only change is that Big Shots, a male-themed CEO drama, is inheriting the post-Grey’s spot. Why, exactly, this show has the spot over the female-themed Cashmere Mafia (Held until midseason) I don’t really know. I guess because Dylan McDermott and Michael Vartan bring sex appeal? Seems to be the only logic I can think of.
– Dancing with the Stars goes to an hour and a half full time on Mondays as Sam I Am, the Christina Applegate amnesia comedy, fills in between the reality show and The Bachelor at 10. The network’s other two comedies, Cavemen and Carpoolers, fit in at 8pm on Tuesday (Where no other comedies are, good choice), but then lead into an hour-long Dancing with the Stars results show. ABC, the show doesn’t deserve that much of your schedule, cut it to a half hour and slot in another comedy.
– The other new show, Women’s Murder Club, leads out of Men in Trees on Fridays as the latter moves to the opening slot at 8pm. It’s a tough one, against Ghost Whisperer, and we’ll see what momentum the show has after a shortened first season.
– Meanwhile, Notes from the Underbelly and October Road will be headed for midseason.
For the full schedule (It’s really this boring, I swear!), continue on.
The 2007 Network Upfronts are officially upon us, and it’s NBC that’s first out of the gate.
Cultural Learnings’ Network Upfronts Extravaganza 2007 – ‘NBC’ Preview
However, while NBC presents at 3pm EST today, that doesn’t mean that other networks aren’t making moves and locking down pilot commitments. I spent some time last night updating various of the preview posts, but I figure that I should document some of that news here as a way of keeping everyone informed.
Exit Laughing: NBC Retreats from Comedy – The Hollywood Reporter
NBC, meanwhile, has made it official: there will be no new comedies on their fall schedule for the first time, well, ever. However, in a move which is sure to make things very interesting for The Office and My Name is Earl, the two shows will be pulling some overtime: a lot of it. The Office will have its normal 24 30-minute episodes during the season…plus six hour-long specials. That’s a total of 30 episodes, while My Name is Earl is getting 28 1/2 hour episodes. This means that NBC is erring on the side of ensuring new episodes of its hit shows. Also, the lineup for Comedy Night Done Right will shift: Earl and 30 Rock will hold down the 8pm fort, while The Office and Scrubs form a solid block at 9pm.
Also, Law & Order WILL be on the schedule, but Criminal Intent is moving to USA Network. Meanwhile, Friday Night Lights might find a home on Friday, and Lipstick Jungle will be held along with The IT Crowd until midseason. This changes my projected schedule, which has been updated. I literally have run out of shows, so they have to either pick up another pilot or…air something? I don’t even know.
The CW has nailed down its third drama pilot, an untitled project which features Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner, Batman Begins) as the owner of a wildlife refuge in South Africa and his son-in-law who moves there. Considering how tight my existing CW schedule is, chances are that this show would bump the Veronica Mars revamp (Yes, I’m sad too). However, I have to wonder whether The CW audience is really in tune with the South African wildlife refuge drama. The concept doesn’t sound terrible, but I fail to see where it fits into its image amongst young females especially, at least compared to a female-led FBI program.
ABC’s lineup remains pretty locked up, although there’s word that According to Jim is still in contention. Dear ABC: do you really hate me that much? They could also be picking up another pilot, Miss/Guided, which the press release describes as:
“Miss/Guided” is a single-camera half-hour about a former ugly duckling (Judy Greer) who becomes a guidance counselor at her old high school.
Sounds decent enough, although only time will tell.
Meanwhile, CBS is making the bold move of picking up Swingtown and the Jimmy Smits drama, although no other pilot information is being made available. As a result, the fate of Jericho is still unknown and the status of other pilots (They need other pilots) is not yet known. I’ve added Swingtown to the schedule, and bumped Cold Case in the process…but chances are that it will bump the two extra comedies I placed on the schedule. But I think they need more comedies, so I’m keeping them there.
FOX has officially added the Juliana Marguiles-star vehicle Canterbury’s Law to their schedule. Because we needed another lawyer show. Really. Thanks FOX.
I’ll be checking in with the final NBC information later this afternoon with the final news of the schedule, and will probably offer some analysis later.
Filed under 30 Rock, ABC, FOX, Friday Night Lights, Law & Order, NBC, Scrubs, Television, The CW, The Office, Upfronts
ABC is in a unique situation this year when it comes to pilots. On one hand, the network has seen some success this year and in past years, and the network has remained a solid demographics performers even with dips in viewership for its flagship shows like Lost or Desperate Housewives. However, outside of shows like Grey’s Anatomy the network actually saw a series of failures over the span of the year with both dramas and comedies. Judging from its pilot order, ABC is going with what I’d like to call a shotgun approach, something which is both good and bad for the network’s future. Either way, next season will be a test for the ABC brand: is there a cohesive image which can unite wildly different shows together under one banner?
This is just a quick note for what promises to be a hectic Thursday evening. Thanks to some unfortunate circumstances, I am faced with a very large dilemma: there’s way too much TV on tonight, and I’m not going to be able to watch it all within the next day since…my “VCR” is out of commission. *Cough* Ahem.
As a result, I’m going to have to choose carefully what I choose to watch.
ABC’s got a fairly strong lineup, to be honest; Ugly Betty (8pm)is heading towards its finale with some momentum behind the Betty/Henry romance, Grey’s Anatomy (9pm) is certainly dramatic with its George/Izzie issues, and the new drama Traveler is something to consider…but at the same time there’s nothing pressing about watching these particular shows. I already watched Traveler (10:01pm) last summer, Ugly Betty is unlikely to be spoiled for me, and Grey’s has been far too annoying recently considering I still think this George/Izzie thing is just plain stupid.
CBS has a unique schedule as well, tonight, with a former friend occupying the 10pm slot. However, it starts at 8pm with the penultimate episode of Survivor: Fiji. I’ve been following the season, and feel obligated to see it through to the finale this time (I missed the finale last season). It’s nothing too interesting, but it’s also the most likely to be spoiled for me tomorrow. CBS then loses my interest, but gains the interest of others with a new episode of CSI at 9pm, followed by the return of Without a Trace at 10pm on Thursdays for its 5th Season Finale. Considering that recent timeslot occupant Shark is likely to depart the timeslot, could it be moving back full time? It’s possible.
Here’s where the real problem lies, because NBC is once again going with a Supersized lineup this evening. My Name is Earl’s 2nd Season Finale runs from 8:00pm EST to 8:40, and then The Office runs from 8:40 to 9:20, followed by Scrubs from 9:20 to 10:00pm. They close the night with the rapidly declining ER (Hitting Grey’s last week was not good for the show), but it’s a real scheduling conundrum regardless of what airs at 10pm.
If I watch the NBC comedies (Well, The Office and Scrubs) I’m watching less TV than I could if I watch Survivor and Grey’s instead. Heck, think about how awful it would be if I was not appalled by FOX’s “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” and wanted to watch its two back-to-back episodes where someone attempts the Million dollar question? Or, if I was addicted to Supernatural and Smallville, airing new episodes on The CW (I totally almost wrote fresh episodes, damn you The WB! *Shakes Fist*)?
It’s quite a night for the Thursday Night TV Club…I’ll check in later with details on what I watched, but if you have any suggestions please let me know. And, for the love of all things good, don’t forget that The Office is supersized and miss any of it when TiVoing!
Filed under ABC, FOX, Grey's Anatomy, NBC, Reality TV, Scrubs, Survivor, Television, The Office, Traveler, Ugly Betty
Admittedly, it has been about 9 months since I first sat down to watch the pilot for ‘Traveler,’ ABC’s new serial drama which debuts tonight following Grey’s Anatomy. During that time, I think that the industry has become predisposed to believe that the show cannot possibly be a success, which is really unfair to this particular program. Sure, Kidnapped and Vanished both failed while covering similar ground, and Jericho went from modest hit to moderate failure, but I think that it’s unfair to consider this too highly. Still, in the end the show faces a difficult road with both viewers and critics. However, we need to give ‘Traveler’ a fair shot…and I think it deserves it.
But first, a brief word of warning: there is a moment in this episode which surprised me quite a lot, considering that I had not heard a word about the show when watching its pilot. However, thanks to media coverage, and commercials, and all of this, you basically will know about it before it happens, which sucks. I talk about it at the very end of the part of the review which appears on to front page (It’s a great cut point, I couldn’t resist), so if you want to stay completely surprised stop reading and just watch the show at 10pm tonight. If you’re unconvinced and want more info, do continue on.
‘Traveler’ tells the story of three college students who were housed together in a fancy house while attending Yale Law School: Jay, Tyler and the semi-mysterious Wil Traveler (Aaron Stanford). Why mysterious? Well, through flashbacks, we see that he entered the house as a stranger, but yet made a direct connection to both of his roommates through convenient enjoyment of the Chicago Cubs…oh, and at the end of the first act he blows himself up.
Filed under ABC, Television, Traveler
“The Man Behind the Curtain” was an episode that was quite important, we thought, for establishing many facts about the island’s past. These facts, though, are less about its mystical properties and more about its history. And, it seems, Benjamin Linus has played a very integral part in that history. We learned a few things about Juliet and Jack’s plan in the episode, and there’s kind of a stunning cliffhanger I won’t mention here for fear of major spoilers, but it was really all about figuring out who Ben really is. In learning about his actions, his traits, his acquaintances, we come to terms with his character, and where he heads from here.
But, before I do so, I need to make something clear: this was perhaps one of the most exhilarating episodes of Lost in the show’s history. It was heart-pumping television, and watching it in HD with Surround Sound was something to behold. The show remains on its roll, and I don’t think it can be stopped with only two weeks remaining. But, for now, onto the various facets of Ben’s character revealed this evening.
Yep, that’s right. Ben was, in his father’s eyes, responsible for his mother’s death when he arrived two months premature out in the middle of the woods while hiking. This has a few ramifications: it mirrors the death of pregnant women on the island, and it also kind of explains why he was attracted to Juliet, since his dead mother bears a striking resemblance to her.
We learn that Ben, in the present, is lying about certain things. Most importantly, and all that he reveals to Locke before episode’s end, is that he wasn’t actually born on the island. We knew he was a liar after the entire Henry Gale arc last season, but now that trait is becoming more important considering the shadowy nature of Jacob’s existence.
Yes, we got to see Ben have a little relationship of sorts with a young girl named Annie, who gave him a doll of sorts for his birthday when his drunk alcoholic father got him nothing. It’s a weird relationship, because Ben has kept that doll all of these years and yet we don’t see the continuing of that connection…especially when we consider the likely fate of Ms. Annie within the episode.
Wondering where we’ve heard the name Roger before? Well, it was the name of the skeleton found in the VW Bus in Tricia Tanaka is Dead, and it turns out that the skeleton was Ben’s father who he murdered with a gas of some sort for being a terrible father. However, this is not the only blood on his hands; he was also responsible for working with the hostiles (The non-Dharma natives to the island) in order to purge the entire Initiative and its peace-loving ways.
This is, of course, the purge that Mikhail has referred to in past episodes, and it’s interesting to see how closely Ben was involved, and how there happens to be a memorial of sorts where the final act takes place…and it’s a doozie.
Here’s the really interesting thing: Ben, as far as this flashback tells us, is not the leader of the Others but rather a young man who they picked up from their employment. Their leader appears to be Richard, who we’ve seen as part of The Others…but he doesn’t seem to have aged a day. He looks no different now compared to when Ben was a child, which makes me wonder whether the island does have some form of fountain of youth properties as well.
This is the question the episode leaves us (Other than the obvious one you’ll see from the cliffhanger): Ben is depicted as somewhat of a crazy person, until it’s clear that Locke shares his vision of Jacob for a split second. To what extent, then, is Ben crazy? He was clearly acting, but was it all a ploy to learn more or rather an attempt to…ah hell, we basically know no more about his current state now than we did before.
Well, that’s about all we get about Ben, but what about a term that pops up that might mean something, or you might be curious about?
Namaste – The greeting given to the new Dharma recruits as they arrive on the submarine. According to Wikipedia, it’s a gesture of the hands in Hindu culture in which one hand represents the spiritual, and the other the worldly self, and the coming together of those two parts…which sounds a lot like the island, no.
Lostpedia also has some information in terms of Dharma’s meaning, and how Namaste might fit into it. There’s some interesting stuff there which could provide even further analysis, and it makes me wish I had taken comparative religion at some point.
And that’s that. Haven’t watched the episode yet? Want to catch up on what occurred in this mind-blowing hour of television? [Edit: Also, with thanks to Ripclawe at NeoGAF, there’s an animated gif of the brief glimpse of the mysterious Jacob.] For the full recap of the episode…
Filed under ABC, Lost, Television
Yep: on July 4th, while everyone is getting drunk and heading to theatres to catch Transformers, FOX is counterprogramming with the final two episodes of its failed midseason drama ‘Drive’ (According to the show’s official site). Personally, based on the four episodes we saw, I think the series deserves better…but at the very least it fulfills their obligation to the show, and gets the episodes out there. Whether we like it or not, Drive is gone for good, and its return on July 4th is just a fleeting glimpse of what could have been.
Entertainment Weekly steps to the table with what is the first formidable interview with Lost producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse today, and it’s a doozy. There’s the explanation as to the reasoning behind the 3/16 (3 seasons, 16 episodes) scheduling format at the beginning, but tread lightly onwards: there’s some discussion of the final episodes of the season as well. Head to the link to read for yourself, or just click below for a little summary. Spoilers are light if not non-existent.
Filed under ABC, Drive, FOX, Lost, Television
There’s been rumours over the past week regarding Lost’s future, and Variety has the breaking story this morning: Lost will end at some point during the 2009-2010 season.
Variety.com – ‘Lost’ set for three more years
It was a contingency to the continued involvement of Executive Producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, and has been foreseen for quite some time…and yet it comes with an interesting couple of twists that were not forecasted.
With the announcement comes a confirmed number of episodes remaining after the end of the third season: 48. This isn’t too surprising, and coincides with rumours earlier in the week…but what doesn’t coincide is the fact that these 48 episodes will be spread out over three seasons of 16-episodes. This won’t be too unfamiliar for fans of the series; we’re currently at the end of a 16-episode block, so each season will now basically be what we’ve experienced this Spring. Each season will run uninterrupted, and will likely fall in the Spring of each year, although this hasn’t been confirmed.
Filed under ABC, Lost, Television
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