Tag Archives: CBS

July 27, 2007 · 10:00 pm

‘Jericho’ Rerun Report – “Semper Fidelis”

What fascinates me about this episode of Jericho is that it changes everything, in a way: we are now at a point where hope cannot be taken at face value, and where even a figure of authority can be a pure falsehood. This is what was missing early on in the series: I think that good and evil were too clearly defined, but now the world is as unclear as it really should be in the wake of an attack of this nature.

In this episode, the “Marines” represent the unfortunate future that lies ahead: the politics of this world are not crystal clear good vs. evil. It’s so interesting to see the reaction to word that South Korea and Iran have been bombed, and how quickly that news falls aside in favour of news of hope for the future. I think that’s a natural reaction, not some sort of ignorance to the ramifications of the bombs: on the list of pieces of information my mind would settle on as a member of Jericho’s community, I think “hope” would go above “war”.

And really, the stakes changed with Sarah and Hawkins as well. What seemed like a pointless and meandering story last week suddenly became atomic in nature: literally. Throwing the “package” into the mix certainly throws a further wrench into the loss of innocence, snatched away again by the revelation that the Marines are not the Marines. The Greens are the ones who figure this out, of course, but the townspeople remain unaware.

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July 26, 2007 · 9:00 am

2007-2008 Fall Premiere Dates – FOX, NBC, CBS, ABC and The CW

This fall, all of your favourite shows will be returning, and some new blood will join the pack. Which nights should you be scheduling off? Here’s the full calendar list of premiere dates for the Big 5 Networks.

NOTE: New shows are shown in blue.

September 6th

8:00pm

Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader [FOX]

September 11th

8:00pm

The Biggest Loser [NBC]

September 12th

9:00pm

Kitchen Nightmares [FOX]

September 14th

9:00pm

Nashville [FOX]

September 17th

8:00pm

Prison Break [FOX]

9:00pm

K-Ville [FOX]

September 18th

8:00pm

Beauty & The Geek [Two Hours] [The CW]

Bones [FOX]

September 19th

8:00pm

Kid Nation [CBS]

America’s Next Top Model [The CW]

Back To You [FOX]

8:30pm

‘Til Death [FOX]

9:00pm

Gossip Girl [The CW]

September 20th

8:00pm

Survivor: China [CBS]

September 23rd

8:00pm

The Simpsons [FOX]

8:30pm

King of the Hill [FOX]

9:00pm

Cold Case [CBS]

Family Guy [FOX]

10:00pm

Shark [CBS]

September 24th

8:00pm

How I Met Your Mother [CBS]

Chuck [NBC]

Dancing with the Stars [ABC]

8:30pm

Big Bang Theory [CBS]

9:00pm

Heroes [NBC]

Two and a Half Men [CBS]

9:30pm

Rules of Engagement [CBS]

The Bachelor [ABC]

10:00pm

CSI: Miami [CBS]

Journeyman [NBC]

September 25th

8:00pm

New Amsterdam [FOX]

NCIS [CBS]

Dancing with the Stars (Results) [ABC]

9:00pm

House [FOX]

The Unit [CBS]

Reaper [The CW]

9:30pm

The Singing Bee [NBC]

Boston Legal [ABC] [Special 90 Minute Premiere]

10:00pm

Cane [CBS]

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit [NBC]

September 26th

8:00pm

Deal or No Deal [NBC]

9:00pm

The Bionic Woman [NBC]

Criminal Minds [CBS]

Private Practice [ABC]

10:00pm

Life [NBC]

CSI: New York [CBS]

Dirty Sexy Money [ABC]

September 27th

8:00pm

My Name is Earl [NBC]

Smallville [The CW]

Ugly Betty [ABC]

9:00pm

The Office [NBC]

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation [CBS]

Grey’s Anatomy [ABC]

10:00pm

ER [NBC]

Without a Trace [CBS]

Big Shots [ABC]

September 28th

8:00pm

Ghost Whisperer [CBS]

Deal of No Deal [NBC]

9:00pm

Moonlight [CBS]

10:00pm

Las Vegas [NBC]

Numb3rs [CBS]

September 30th

7:00pm

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (2 hours) [ABC]

9:00pm

Desperate Housewives [ABC]

9:30pm

American Dad [FOX]

10:00pm

Brothers & Sisters [ABC]

October 1st

8:00pm

Everybody Hates Chris [The CW]

8:30pm

Aliens in America [The CW]

9:00pm

Girlfriends [The CW]

9:30pm

The Game [The CW]

October 2nd

8:00pm

Cavemen [ABC]

8:30pm

Carpoolers [ABC]

October 3rd

8:00pm

Pushing Daisies [ABC]

October 4th

8:30pm

30 Rock [NBC]

9:00pm

Supernatural [The CW]

October 5th

9:00pm

Friday Night Lights [NBC]

October 12th

8:00pm

20/20 [ABC]

9:00pm

Women’s Murder Club [ABC]

10:00pm

Men in Trees [ABC]

October 15th

9:30pm

Samantha Who? [ABC]

October 18th

10:00pm

Viva Laughlin (Preview) [CBS]

October 21st

8:00pm

Viva Laughlin [CBS]

October 25th

9:30pm

Scrubs [NBC]

November 27th

10:00pm

Cashmere Mafia [ABC]

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July 24, 2007 · 8:18 pm

‘How I Met Your Mother’ Slap Bet Countdown: Slap Three on November 19th

[Editor’s Note: As you are likely now aware, the third slap has now occured on November 19th, 2007. You can read our review of the episode at the below link]

Cultural Learnings’ review of the episode, “Slapsgiving”

Last season on How I Met Your Mother, Marshall and Barney entered into a Slap Bet against the wishes of their loved ones. It’s a dangerous game, slap bets, and this one had serious consequences: Barney now lives in constant fear of the back of Marshall’s monstrous hand. This has, however, been of great benefit to us as viewers of great comedy. This is why I’m excited, as should everyone, at the new Slap Countdown on CBS’ website. It’s revealed that the third slap of five will take place 117 days or so from today, July 24th, on November 19th, 2007.

“Slap Countdown” – CBS.com

For the unaware, here’s a YouTube guide to the joys of the Slap Bet:

Introduction

Here’s the basics of the way a slap bet works, plus some examples of the consequences.

The Legen-(Wait for It)…dary Slap Bet

Barney seals his own fate, picking five slaps from now until eternity. His loss is our gain: we now live in constant anticipation of Marshall doling out another slap of five.

Slap #2

Barney was holding his own one-man show in revenge of Lily’s own horrific play experience, and Marshall decided that one of his slaps was worth ending the performance for good. Two down, three to go.

The countdown at the site is apparently to the exact moment that the slap takes place within the episode, which is still almost four months away. November 19th is a Monday Night, and sometime between 8pm and 8:30pm the third of five slaps will be unleashed upon Barney. Personally, I look forward to it greatly.

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July 24, 2007 · 5:50 am

Canceled – ‘Pirate Master’ Walks the Plank…for good.

According to Variety, CBS has officially canceled Pirate Master (Which apparently some of you predicted since I’ve been getting hits about it for a few days). The remaining five episodes will air online only.

This is yet another blow to Mark Burnett, who has stooped so low as a celebrity edition of The Apprentice for next season. The state of reality television is falling further and further, and I don’t know whether that slide is going to be able to stop any time soon.

This news isn’t surprising to anyone: with low ratings and Big Brother arriving for its summer run, the show basically just got pushed out of the public eye…and it was barely in the periphery to begin with.

Swimming with the fishies in Davy Jones’ locker be its fate now, mateys.

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July 20, 2007 · 10:05 pm

‘Jericho’ Rerun Report – “Heart of Winter”

This is a rather exciting edition of the J.R.R.: this is the first Jericho rerun that I’ve watched that I haven’t already seen! I missed last week’s episodes, but I caught up on them through Wikipedia recaps so I’d be ready to partake in this episode. I’ve heard some positive things bandied about, so I went in with some expectations to be sure.

And I think it met them. This episode brought a lot of things that I found were missing after the pilot: action, some level of intrigue, and a slight sense of humour that is really charming. Perhaps most importantly, however, the threats have become more real. Winter is not something like short term food shortages, it is a true threat that could cripple this community. Combine this with the amounts of peril found in the remainder of the episode, and you have a powerful hour of television.

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July 20, 2007 · 10:45 am

The ‘Jeriatrics’: How Baby Boomers are Saving ‘Jericho’

In May of 2007, CBS’ drama series ‘Jericho’ was canceled, and fans across North America weren’t happy about it. Their response took the form of a campaign to send peanuts to CBS (Referencing a line in the season’s final episode), and to spread their word through the modern communications methods available on the internet. It may be somewhat surprising, then, that these were not all twenty-something internet users who helped save this beloved series. In fact, some of them would be old enough to be their grandparents.

These viewers are not part of targeted advertiser’s demographics, and they certainly aren’t what people would expect when they picture someone who posts on internet message boards. These Baby Boomers are not just large in numbers: they also believe that they, too, can make a difference. They might not fully grasp MySpace or Facebook, but that doesn’t keep them from making their voice heard.

“You know what they say,” Jericho viewer Sharon Tomlinson, 53, writes, “60 is the new 40. It is a mistake for TV networks and advertisers to think that our age group is irrelevant.” There is no question that networks are not actively seeking out older viewers; one of CBS’ shows for next season is Swingtown, a drama about a suburban community of swingers. While there is an audience for that type of programming, it isn’t what viewers like Sharon are looking for.

They were looking for a show like Jericho, which according to Nielsen ratings struggled to engage younger viewers late in its season. However, it didn’t have any trouble pulling in viewers outside of that 18-49 demographic privileged by advertisers, if the events that followed are any indication. When the show was canceled in May, many of those most devoted to the cause were not internet-savvy youngsters, but rather boomers hoping to save something they cared about.

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July 19, 2007 · 3:17 pm

The Highlights and Lowlights of the 2007 Emmy Nominations

The nominations for the 56th annual Primetime Emmy awards have been released, and the result is a whole lot of frustration. While there are certainly some attributes in these categories that certainly warrant some sort of positive feelings, the overall impact is limited with some rather vile mistakes made by the voters. Yes, I said mistakes. Let’s take a look at the Best and the Worst of the nominations.

Best Category

Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

This one is simple, really. While there were some other categories that had either too many familiar faces or the wrong mix of people, Supporting Actor in a Comedy gets it just right. Jon Cryer is the token nominee for the popular vote, but then you’ve got four awesome comedic talents: last year’s winner Jeremy Piven along with new (And fantastic) fresh faces in Rainn Wilson, Kevin Dillon and Neil Patrick Harris. I really can’t argue with any of these selections. I would have liked to see Justin Kirk in there, but it’s still a great category.

Runner-Up: Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Worst Category

Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Three Grey’s Anatomy actresses, two Sopranos actresses, and perennial Emmy favourite Rachel Griffiths. It is clear that the men are where the new talent is making an impact, because these nominees couldn’t be much more predictable. The lack of new talent (Elizabeth Mitchell for Lost, Hayden Panettiere for Heroes) is the biggest problem, and I really hope that this can change in the future.

Runner-Up: Outstanding Drama Series

Most Surprising Nominee

Michael Emerson (Lost) – Supporting Actor in a Drama

I had written off Michael Emerson, one of my early picks, after Elizabeth Mitchell failed to crack the Top 10. However, it appears that Emerson was able to make it in, and with 6 nominees in his category worked his way into the fold. This was likely supported by Terry O’Quinn’s tape, which featured Emerson heavily. It is most deserved, and the most pleasant surprise of the morning.

Runner-Up: Boston Legal – Outstanding Drama Series

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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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July 18, 2007 · 8:00 am

Cultural Learnings’ 2007 Emmy Nominations: Final Predictions

Tomorrow morning at 5:35am PDT, the nominations for the 59th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards will be announced. I will now put myself out there on a limb with my own predictions of whose names will be called. I’ll have all the final nomination information as soon as it breaks, as long as my plan to be online at that point in time works out. I will literally stop working to do this for you, remember that.

NOTE: Some of these predictions have changed thanks to the leaked Top 10 lists. Most have not.

Oustanding Drama Series

Lost

I think it’s the best show on television, and I think that its season was certainly worthy of an Emmy nomination. The show is unmatched on network television in terms of writing, production and performances.

Grey’s Anatomy

It’s season was uneven, but its popular support and wide-range of acting talents will be too hard for the ATAS to ignore.

The Sopranos

The show’s final season kept the buzz level high, and the finale basically clinched it: no one will be forgetting The Sopranos this year.

House

It’s the second biggest drama on television, and people just seem to love the show to death. I think that it is a show that has proven itself worthy in the past, unlike Heroes which still hasn’t won that level of respect.

Friday Night Lights

Admittedly, this is a sentimental choice. However, I can’t not believe that Emmy voters will find the heart of this series too endearing to pass up. With Kyle Chandler making the Drama Actor Top 10, I think the show has a shot.

Oustanding Comedy Series

The Office

Last year’s winner had another strong and buzz-worthy season. It was a bit of a dark horse last year, but this time around it’s absolutely a front-runner…but in a category full of them.

Ugly Betty

One-hour comedies have a distinct advantage over half-hour ones, but even ignoring that Ugly Betty was a charming series that features some great performances. With Becki Newton and Vanessa Williams making the Top 10, I also think this show is a shoe-in.

30 Rock

The other new show to make this list, 30 Rock is a show made for the Emmys: prestigious talent (Fey, Baldwin, Krakowski), relevant and relatable theme (Show about a show), and it’s incredibly liberal. Plus, it’s kind of also the best new comedy of the year. Just sayin’.

Two and a Half Men

The only traditional sitcom left in the Emmy race, I think that voters will trend towards it like the sheep they are. That being said, the show is not the worst sitcom ever: it’s just similar to them in every way.

Entourage

While Scrubs did have the musical episode, I think that Entourage is the closest the category has to a hip show that hasn’t quite gotten its due. 30 Rock is actually quite safe, The Office is now almost too popular, so it’s Entourage that best fits the bill. With Kevin Dillon breaking the Top 10 for Supporting Actor, the show has a shot.

Extra Prediction:

The Sopranos will garner the most nominations on the drama side, while 30 Rock and The Office will fight it out for the most comedy nominations with Ugly Betty not far behind.

The rest of the nominations can be found below, with full explanations found here (Drama) and here (Comedy).

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July 15, 2007 · 11:22 am

Jericho Fans: Why Have You Stopped Using the Internet?

Dear Fans of CBS’ Jericho,

Hey folks, hope all is well in the world of rabid fandom. I know that it’s been over a month now since Jericho was saved and rejoicing commenced, but I have to level with you: I’m a bit disappointed. You see, when CBS announced that they would be bringing the show back for 7 episodes and repeating the entire first season, I seem to remember a lot of things being thrown around. Statements like “We need to promote this show!” or “This is the chance we’ve been waiting for!” seemed to be quite common. And I’m here to tell you that…well, you’re currently not living up to those statements.

The first two nights of repeats haven’t been disastrous, but they have certainly not been triumphs. After a decent reairing of the pilot, the two hour event on Friday struggled to pull in as many viewers as Friday Night Smackdown!, yet alone match last week’s numbers. There are all sorts of excuses being thrown around: The recap show was poorly made seems to be the most popular. I’ll be honest: it doesn’t matter how good that recap show was. All that matters is that, clearly, not enough people were going to watch in the first place.

I know how much work went into saving the show, as I witnessed all of your passion for this series here at Cultural Learnings. Whether you were yelling at me, arguing with me, agreeing with me, reasoning with me, I always remained fascinated by how much you loved your show. The fascination turned to admiration with time, and after the show was successfully saved I hoped that you could translate it into something positive, substantial for your series to survive.

And I haven’t seen it yet, folks. We’ve seen two weeks of repeats, and it seems to be like things have just reverted back to where they were before: no one seems to be talking about Jericho. While I know that many have taken a more grassroots approach at marketing the show to friends and family (Which is great), I think that this can only go so far. The way shows like Jericho become successful is through cultural consciousness.

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