Tag Archives: Eli Stone

October 30, 2008 · 8:34 am

Facing the Fate of ‘Pushing Daisies’

October 30th, 2008

Last night may have been Pushing Daisies’ last stand. After weeks of dwindling ratings, dangerous for a show that ended its strike-shortened first season already down considerably from its original premiere, ABC made a decision (their hand forced by Obama’s decision not to buy airtime on the network) to air the season’s fifth episode up against the aforementioned Obama infomercial. On network television, your options are simple: Obama or Ned, Olive, Chuck and Emerson; the American Dream vs. a dream-like television series unlike anything else out there.

But until about 12pm EDT today, we won’t know for sure whether or not this matchup will kill or revive the struggling series; and while I’d like to say that there’s great potential for growth, at the same time numerous qualities lay doubt on such a strategy. At the same time, I think that calls for the show’s immediate cancellation seem premature by half: the show has been a success in at least some qualities thus far this season, and the show’s quality remaining high does count for something.

Whether it will be enough to govern the fate of the show, however, remains to be seen: in the meantime, let’s weight the upsides and downsides of the show’s current position.

Continue reading →

3 Comments

Filed under Pushing Daisies

Tagged as ABC, Cancelation, Chuck, Eli Stone, Obama, Ratings, Save Pushing Daisies, Scheduling

May 13, 2008 · 10:18 am

Upfronts Analysis: ABC 2008-2009 Fall Schedule

“No Alarms and No Surprises”

ABC 2008-2009 Fall Schedule

Of all of the major networks, one could say that ABC is playing it safest when it comes to this year’s upfronts. The only drama pilot to make it onto their fall schedule is one that was technically completed for last season’s pilot group, and they are the network who held back the most new shows from last fall to be relaunched with gusto when September rolls around.

The result is a schedule that is eerily similar to the one that we saw this past year, which saw decent success although certainly not to the levels that they experienced in years previous. After a year of success facing off against CSI, Grey’s Anatomy has seen post-strike ratings tumble, and shows like Desperate Housewives and Ugly Betty are fading if not quite to levels that are dangerous to their health and stability on the network.

So, let’s take a look at the schedule, and see which shows are going to make a splash this time around, plus finally getting confirmation of the worst kept secret of the year’s upfronts.

Continue reading →

10 Comments

Filed under ABC

Tagged as 2008-2009 Schedule, ABC Fall Schedule, According to Jim, Boston Legal, Dirty Sexy Money, Eli Stone, Life on Mars, Men in Trees, Private Practice, Pushing Daisies, Samantha Who?, Scrubs, The Bachelor, The Goode Family, Upfronts

January 30, 2008 · 2:52 pm

Apologies and a Podcast: A Cultural Update

You know, folks, I had big plans for this week in my head – a review of last night’s new episode of House, a preview of ABC’s new series Eli Stone, a big post about how to prepare to watch Lost’s Fourth Season, and of course a review of the show’s season premiere. And, well, only one of these things is going to happen, so stay tuned for my review of the premiere tomorrow night.

The reason is I am ridiculously busy: I’m planning a large-scale debating tournament, preparing to enter into thesis hibernation, planning my long-term academic future, helping promote/facilitate a campus event, and fighting off the later stages of a cold. It’s kind of like the perfect storm of every commitment I have at this point, and unfortunately blogging is the most malleable of those commitments.

As a result, I’ll be out of the commission over the next few weeks, but I’m at least happy that I have something to tide you over. This time with a far better microphone (So good it apparently picked up a ridiculous amount of background noise, including my ludicrously loud typing), I was once again a guest of Dave, Devindra and Adam over at The Watchers. These guys know their entertainment, and it’s always a pleasure to join them in discussing the latest in film and television.

The Watchers Episode Four

http://www.alwayswatching.org/

In terms of television, I briefly discuss Eli Stone and Chuck’s final two episodes of the season while everyone gangs up on the hugely successful and hugely exploitative Moment of Truth. We also discuss the return of Weeds and Mad Men’s writers, followed by an indepth discussion of another of last summer’s best shows, Damages. For film buffs, there’s also an indepth discussion of The Nines and our comments about Heath Ledger’s tragic passing.

So head on over to The Watchers to check that out, and check back here at Cultural Learnings on Thursday night for the definitive Lost review*.

*Note: May or may not actually be definitive.