Category Archives: The Amazing Race

September 16, 2007 · 6:59 pm

Liveblogging the 2007 Primetime Emmy Awards

Welcome to Cultural Learnings’ LiveBlog for the 2007 Emmy Awards! We’ve done a week’s worth of coverage leading up to this moment, and now it’s time to see how the awards turn out, starting with the one-hour pre-show and moving into the three-hour broadcast. So stay tuned to see just how much the Academy is going to miss The Sopranos during tonight’s Emmys broadcast.

[With the show now over, Cultural Learnings has posted its Highlights and Lowlights post that summarizes a lot of the feelings within this LiveBlog. Admittedly, there isn’t 7000 words there, so it’s a bit easier to digest. – Myles]

6:57 pm: Everything is set – admittedly, I’m watching on my snowy antenna connection, but it’s more than adequate to be able to tell Ryan Seacrest from Brian Dunkleman.

7:00pm: And we’re here with…Mark Steines! And…Laila Spencer? Someone from The Insider. And it is Ellen Degeneres to open the show, which is perhaps fitting considering her nomination in Individual Performance in a Variety Series. Her prediction: Tony Bennett. I really want Colbert to jump her at this point. However, I do believe she is quite good at this: she called Elaine Stritch beating her a few years back. Doesn’t bode well for Colbert.

7:02pm: Oh, I hate this person! Ugh, poor Kate Walsh, has to deal with this Britney Spears question. She does not deserve this type of idiotic punishment. Are they seriously going to try to milk this entire preview pretending Britney Spears is going to publicly apologize to the ENTIRETY of humankind? Because no.

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Filed under Award Shows, Emmy Awards, Entertainment, Entourage, FOX, Lost, My Name is Earl, Television, The Amazing Race, The Office, The Simpsons, The Sopranos

Tagged as Emmys, Liveblogging

September 15, 2007 · 10:33 am

Emmys 2007: Cultural Learnings’ Final Emmy Awards Predictions

[Months ago, Cultural Learnings put its neck out there to predict which shows and performers might get those coveted Emmy Nominations. Now, it’s time to put the prediction power to the test again, predicting who will win during tomorrow night’s ceremony. Some of them might be wishful thinking, others might be far too safe. Regardless, it’s our job to stand by them to the bitter end. We’ll see how things turn out during tomorrow night’s LiveBlogging Extravaganza!]

Cultural Learnings’ 2007 Emmy Predictions

Oustanding Drama Series

The Sopranos [WINNER]

Heroes

Boston Legal

Grey’s Anatomy

House

[It only won once, it had a critically acclaimed final season, and the rest of the competition was either too uneven or too green. Simply put, it is the class of this field, and will easily walk home with the Emmy]

Oustanding Comedy Series

The Office

Entourage

Two and a Half Men

30 Rock [WINNER]

Ugly Betty

[This is going with my gut on this one, but I think that 30 Rock combines the liberal-minded sentiment of Emmy voters and strong pedigree in Baldwin/Fey. The Office got their due last year, and Ugly Betty will get theirs eventually. This is 30 Rock’s year.]

Lead Actor in a Drama Series

James Spader (Boston Legal)

James Gandolfini (The Sopranos) [WINNER]

Kiefer Sutherland (24)

Denis Leary (Rescue Me)

Hugh Laurie (House)

[While Laurie is a potential spoiler, I’d say that Gandolfini should easily ride the Sopranos wave to victory within this category.]

Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

Alec Baldwin (30 Rock) [WINNER]

Ricky Gervais (Extras)

Steve Carell (The Office)

Tony Shahloub (Monk)

Charlie Sheen (Two and a Half Men)

[Picking between Carell and Baldwin is very tough, as Carell got robbed last year, but I think that Baldwin was the breakout star of the year in comedy, while Carell’s star just didn’t shine as brightly.]

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Filed under 30 Rock, ABC, Award Shows, Emmy Awards, Entertainment, Grey's Anatomy, Heroes, House, How I Met Your Mother, Lost, NBC, Reality TV, Television, The Amazing Race, The Office, The Sopranos, Ugly Betty

Tagged as Emmys, HBO

September 11, 2007 · 12:00 pm

“When Does Lost Return?”, “What’s up with Jericho?” and Other Burning Fall Season Questions

[Taking a break from the Emmys coverage briefly, the fall season brings a lot of premieres, but also a lot of questions. So, to help answer those, here’s some answers to the most commonly asked ones. If you have any other questions, feel free to send us an email at cultural.learnings @ gmail.com]

When does Lost return?

Due to its shortened season, and to avoid running into any hiatuses, Lost will be starting its 16-episode run sometime in January or February of 2008. This should give producers more time to produce episodes, and hopefully we’ll get a better season out of the arrangement. It does, however, mean a fairly lengthy delay before new episodes: the Season Three DVD releases in time for Christmas, so you can satiate your desire with that if you’re desperate.

What’s Up with Jericho? Wasn’t it Renewed?

The short answer to this question is that it has been renewed, but it does not yet have a timeslot in which it will air. CBS is waiting on reaction to their new shows, as an open timeslot might mean that the already completed episodes of Jericho could begin airing as soon as possible. Otherwise, if nothing falters, the network will likely look for a slot at midseason (January) in which to air the episodes.

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Filed under 2007 Fall Preview, ABC, Battlestar Galactica, Jericho, Lost, Television, The Amazing Race

Tagged as CBS

July 19, 2007 · 9:04 am

The 2007 Emmy Awards Nominations: Lost Snubbed, Sopranos Praised

After months of coverage and more than a little bit of analysis, it is has finally come down to this: this morning, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences have officially announced their nominations for what their voters believed to be the best in television over the past year. Are they right on the money, or are they off the mark once again?

The Big Stories

– Lost and Friday Night Lights snubbed, although Lost dominates in Supporting Actor with Terry O’Quinn and Michael Emerson! Woo!

– The Sopranos leads with 15 nominations.

– Battlestar Galactica and Lost each garnered writing and directing nods on the Drama side, while 30 Rock and The Office dominated the categories in terms of Comedy series.

– There’s a lot of snubs all over the place, I’ll go into more detail tomorrow, but Michael C. Hall is the worst one. Yes, worse than Lost.

– Rainn Wilson and Jenna Fischer break through as supporting contenders for The Office, which garnered a whole lot of nominations once you factor in writing and directing.

And the Nominees Are…

Oustanding Drama Series

The Sopranos

Heroes

Boston Legal

Grey’s Anatomy

House

Oustanding Comedy Series

The Office

Entourage

Two and a Half Men

30 Rock

Ugly Betty

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Filed under 24, ABC, Award Shows, Battlestar Galactica, Brothers & Sisters, Desperate Housewives, Dexter, Emmy Awards, Entourage, FOX, Friday Night Lights, Gilmore Girls, Grey's Anatomy, Heroes, House, How I Met Your Mother, Lost, Monk, My Name is Earl, NBC, Reality TV, Scrubs, Television, The Amazing Race, The Office, Ugly Betty, Weeds

Tagged as CBS, Emmys, HBO

May 30, 2007 · 8:30 am

The Midseason Contenders: The Shows You Might Be Watching in January

It’s now been two weeks since the glut of Network Upfronts coverage, and I guess you could say I’m a little nostalgic for it. Gone are the days when breaking television news hits every hour, which is really quite unfortunate. However, in recent days there’s been some news about the one thing that networks are always unwilling to talk about: the midseason substitutes.

You see, each network knows that they’re not going to actually be able to hold on to all of their fall dramas and comedies, but publicly they need to talk about how awesome they are and how they’ll run for years and years and years! In reality, they’re quietly organizing possible replacements that could be plugged in by January. While some networks have actually scheduled shows at midseason, there is still the possibility that new pilots or existing shows could be picked up. So, let’s take a gander at all of these possible contenders to see where they might fight in should a space open up.

The Contenders

CBS

Swingtown

What is it: 70s-set drama about an apparently quiet suburb that, as new residents discover, is actually a swingin’ sex haven.

Where will it go: It will be scheduled at 10pm somewhere, based on its subject matter. Chances are that it would be a good fit on Sundays, but we’ll see how Shark does in the timeslot. Shark is a show that could easily be moved to fill in for a struggling drama, so it could give up its spot to the new show.

Chances of Midseason Placement: High. CBS is only saving the show until midseason so it can air uninterrupted through to May.

Jericho

What is it: Post-apocalyptic drama turned town survival drama that garnered a strong enough cult following to result in the Nuts for Jericho campaign of the past few weeks.

Where would it go: I really, really don’t know. This is a tough one: technically, the spot guaranteed to open up (Wednesdays at 8 after Kid Nation ends) could work well, but it’s also going to run right back up against American Idol. Meanwhile, there isn’t a whole lot left in terms of timeslots. If CBS really wants to try to take its cult following with it, they could plug it in on Fridays and hope that people show up. Still, it wouldn’t be easy.

Chances for Midseason Placement: The ‘Save Jericho’ movement is still fighting, and the campaign is gaining steam daily, but the deadline is two weeks before CBS loses the cast to other projects. That’s a short amount of time to convince CBS to make a huge commitment, and a late fall miniseries might be the more likely option at this stage.

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The Results are In: Nielsen Ratings Data for 2006/2007 Season

This list is long. This list is extensive. And I really want to know what this list means. Nielsen (Via The Hollywood Reporter) has released their data for every single TV show that aired in America this past season. It tells us where our favourite shows ranked, where much maligned shows ranked, and how scripted drama did against reality programming.And, it raises a lot of questions about this data that I think Nielsen might not want to answer.

For instance, does this list include repeats in its viewers averages? Because that’s the only way CSI (#4) should be beating Grey’s Anatomy (#6) in total viewers by my calculations. If so, this gives a distinct advantage to shows without repeats (Reality Shows, Lost, Heroes, etc.) or those shows which repeat extremely well (House, CSIs, etc.)

The major thing to watch for in the list is the difference between 18-49 numbers and viewership rankings. It rises many shows into positions of being picked up, even with lacklustre performances in viewers. Some show, like 30 Rock, are in the doldrums in terms of total viewers but shoot up into the Top 75 with adults 18-49, which got it renewed for a second season.

After a few formatting errors, I’ve realized that getting it to highlight canceled shows would drive me crazy, so just refer to your memory. And, either way, some will seem a bit strange. However, remember that these are averages, and don’t reflect ratings dropoff in their later episodes.

This is the case for Jericho, which clearly performed better than many canceled shows. However, CBS did cancel the better rated Close to Home airing on Fridays, so it’s not as if Jericho was the only victim of CBS’ extremely highly place high bar. It might as well be a pole vault at this point.

With the 2006/2007 season over, the industry trades are going right for ratings as their barometer of success. Outside of this post, I’m unlikely to do so as I go into my own year in review season. For now, check out the ratings for all of the dirt, and stay tuned for less quantitative analysis at Cultural Learnings.

The Three Most Disturbing Trends of the 2007/2008 Upfronts

Each year, the Upfronts create a series of trends which show what the networks are really thinking for the following year. They take what was successful the year before, and they decide that they should just copy all of that into their own schedules. For example, Lost’s success led to three different sci-fi copycat shows the following season: Invasion (ABC), Surface (NBC), and Threshold (CBS). Similarly, after the success of Prison Break, networks switched to serial conspiracy/action dramas like Vanished (FOX), Kidnapped (NBC), and Smith (CBS). This season has seen a variety of different trends, and some of them actually seem quite good on the surface. However, I think that there is actually a number of bad precedents being set which we should all remain aware of as next season begins.

The Three Most Disturbing Trends of the 2007/2008 Upfronts

3. The Procedural Nature of Television Drama

I’ve expected it from CBS for many years, now: all of their dramas are unlikely to have any sort of serial aspect, choosing instead to stick to procedural structure. Law & Order really started it off, CSI picked up the ball and kept running, and there is surely to be a new franchise waiting in the wings with time. It’s a quality which the networks love, since it means people can just sit back and watch a single episode without getting too caught up in the previous week’s action. And, I like some of these dramas: they can be compelling and fun to watch, and they repeat well for the purpose of syndication. However, I don’t want to see all procedural and nothing but procedural dramas.

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Filed under ABC, American Idol, FOX, Grey's Anatomy, Heroes, House, My Name is Earl, NBC, New Amsterdam, Private Practice, Reality TV, Sarah Connor Chronicles, Survivor, Television, The Amazing Race, The Apprentice, The CW, The Office, Upfronts, Veronica Mars

Tagged as CBS

May 16, 2007 · 9:53 am

Network Upfronts Extravaganza – ‘CBS’ 2007/2008 Fall Schedule

CBS has gone with what, for them, likely seems to be a rather risky lineup (Variety). However, the thing for CBS is that their idea of taking a risk is taking two Tylenol instead of one: it’s just a little dangerous, but there’s still no chance of anything negative happening.

CBS launches with a lineup which, despite new entries, seems awfully familiar. It is still anchored by three CSIs, it’s still got a large assortment of procedural crime dramas, and it still has a dose of reality where it counts. It is for this reason that any risk they take is really not risky at all: as soon as one of their new shows fails, they’ll just plop in a CSI rerun and wait until the next series is ready to go. This is the way CBS operates.

The New Fall Shows

Cane – A Latin-American family, led by Jimmy Smits, enters into the alcohol business. It still sounds a lot like ABC’s Brothers & Sisters in Latino form, but with Smits at the helm the show carries gravitas. It’s not a huge risk for CBS at all, except that they’ve had trouble with such shows in the past. It’s a serial drama, and the network has nothing but procedurals at the moment (No, seriously, look at the lineup if you think I’m lying. Every single returning drama is a procedural drama.) Still, they’ve got to start being successful with serials at some point, and Cane has a shot.

Timeslot: 10pm on Tuesdays

Competition: Tough, with Boston Legal and Law and Order: Special Victims Unit to contend with.

Swingtown – A drama about the swinging lives of various romantic couplings, it’s both raunchier and less procedural than anything else in CBS’ lineup. This is an attempt to get a Desperate Housewives-style hit for the network, and I don’t think it will prove successful. The show has potential, but it just seems to be trying too hard to be THAT show. You know, the one the Parents’ groups get all uppity about. As a result, I worry about it becoming self-conscious, and losing any creative edge it perhaps had.

Timeslot: Held Until Midseason

Competition: We don’t know yet, but I don’t think it bodes well for the drama. It could be asked to slot in early should Cane falter in its tough slot, and that’s asking the drama to rush itself…and that would be disastrous for this particular show.

Viva Laughlin – A musical-comedy-crime drama surroundinga man who wants to open a casino in Laughlin, Nevada. I don’t really know what to think about this one: it’s a bizarre coupling, and with Hugh Jackman as producer it is certainly a unique experience. I would have more faith in the series if likely jobless Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas was coming on as showrunner as rumoured, but that appears to be off the table. For me, the show needs to prove that its construct is a good one, and can’t just rely on being quirky to succeed. I think that’s a tough job for a show on a network where simple = successful.

Timeslot: 8pm on Sundays

Competition: Tough. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is never an easy show to beat, and it has to hope to compete with Sunday Night Football for its audience.

Moonlight – A vampire private investigator who, well, investigates supernatural happenings in a procedural fashion. The show is a likely companion for Ghost Whisperer on Fridays, and perhaps has the best chance of succeeding since it’s basically “Generic CBS Procedural + Vampires”. I think it will be a far cry from shows like Buffy or Angel which actually dealt with the true supernatural elements of their stories and created mythologies…Moonlight just wants to masquerade as such a drama to make it stand out within a crowd, which does little to interest me.

Timeslot: 9pm on Fridays

Competition: Weak. Moonlight has a good shot at continuing CBS’ dominance of the night with only ABC’s weak Girls Murder Club and NBC’s Las Vegas to worry about.

Big Bang Theory – A comedy from Two and a Half Men producer Chuck Lorre, this sitcom is…well, your tradition multi-camera sitcom about geeks and hot girls and blah. It’s depressing to see it getting the nod over more interesting single-camera fare, but the reality is that CBS is looking for its next King of Queens or Everybody Loves Raymond (Ratings wise), and they expect to find it here. However, this is a comedy about young people (Kaley Cuoco, 8 Simple Rules, stars), not about old people. This is a young person’s sitcom being expected to play the role of a middle aged one, and the result is likely to be another The Class: high expectations and decent results behind How I Met Your Mother

Timeslot: 8:30 on Mondays

Competition: Average. CBS’s comedies are successful counterprogramming, they’ll pull through just fine.

The Returning Show Details

– The Amazing Race is officially off the fall schedule, as it will be held over until the new year and only air a single season this year. This is unsurprising, but troubling; I worry that if ratings are low for this one season they’ll pull the plug. I think that the show has plenty of gas left, but a lot of miles on the car. They can keep driving, they just need to slow down a little and everything will be okay. It’s like Speed. (Note: Everything can be like Speed. True Story). It will be indirectly replaced by a new reality show, Kid Nation, a new Lord of the Flies-esque story of kids taking over a ghost town revealed today (Variety). It will be airing on Wednesdays at 8pm

– The New Adventures of Old Christine, the 5th Wheel on the Monday comedy block, will be returning midseason.

– Shark and Without a Trace have switched spots, with the latter moving back to its old post-CSI slot and Shark spending some time on Sunday Nights against Brothers & Sisters.

The Departed

It’s official: Jericho and Close to Home are no longer on the air. This was pretty well confirmed on Tuesday, but they’re definitely gone. Also gone is “The Class”…but no one notices.

For the full Fall Schedule, continue on.

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Filed under How I Met Your Mother, Jericho, Reality TV, Shark, Survivor, Television, The Amazing Race, Upfronts

Tagged as CBS

May 12, 2007 · 1:04 pm

Network Upfronts Extravaganza – ‘CBS’ Preview

EDIT: CBS has officially revealed its upfront schedule. For all the details, head to:

Cultural Learnings’ Analysis of CBS’ 2007/2008 Fall Schedule.

So, you’re CBS. You’re the #1 network for the first half of the year until FOX rolls out American Idol, right? You have multiple high-performing hours of drama each and every week, and seem to have little problem launching new comedies on Monday nights. So, when it comes to the upfronts, what exactly are you looking for? CBS faces this problem every year, and the result is usually an attempt to engage younger viewers while in reality continuing their streak of repetitive programming. However, as their pilot season last year demonstrates, this is not always an easy task, and despite their ratings success CBS has a lot of catching up to do.

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Filed under Jericho, Survivor, Television, The Amazing Race, Upfronts

Tagged as CBS

May 6, 2007 · 9:28 pm

TARnalysis: Why “A” Right Team, In The End, Won ‘The Amazing Race’

SPOILER WARNING: I shall be discussing the nerve-racking finale of The Amazing Race: All-Stars, which had me on the edge of my seat numerous times. Did Dustin and Kandice become the first all-female team to win the Race? Did Charla overcome the odds to become a race champion? Did Eric redeem himself from his tragic 2nd place finish two seasons ago? To find out why I think a (Not the) right team won the Amazing Race…

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Filed under Reality TV, Television, The Amazing Race