CBS Cancels 'CSI: Miami,' 'Rob' & 'NYC 22,' Renews 'CSI:NY'
Mad Men Recap: "Mad Money"
jericho
Ten unfinished sci fi/fantasy series ... and I'm dying for resolution
Sure Lost is a bona fide hit, but who remembers Invasion? In fact, none of the sci fi series premiering that year (Surface and Threshold) made it beyond a single season. And yet, as Brad reported, ABC is developing The Return, a series focusing on how the world handles an "alien landing." You know, like the classic V mini-series of the '80s. In fact, the last episode of V: The Series was called "The Return." Maybe this is a secret code name for the long teased V return!But that announcement got me thinking about all those sci fi and fantasy shows that never finish on television. It's a phenomenon us long-time science fiction/fantasy fans have learned to live with. We jump on any new genre show on television hoping against hope that the ratings will be strong enough that we'll get the whole story. Alas, we know that more often than not the plug will be pulled mid-stream and we'll be left wanting. And for every Joss Whedon who continues Buffy and Angel in comics, there are tons more who don't.
Nina Tassler responds to Moonlight fans ... sort of - TCA Report
After I posted about what CBS entertainment president Nina Tassler said about Moonlight the other day -- namely that the campaign to save it was "actor-driven" instead of show-driven -- angry comments came in from all the "loyal" fans of the show out there (I put the word "loyal" in quotes because Moonlight fans make the Jericho fans look cool and collected). Most of those fans said that Tassler was a liar. One even went so far to attach the b-word to his invective. You'd have thought that Tassler drained these people's 401(k)'s and skipped off to Central America.Anyway, I caught up with Tassler at the CBS party that night, and I told her about the comments I was getting. When I speculated that I didn't even think the Jericho fans were that passionate, she retorted, "I think they were. The Jericho fans ... I spent a lot of time looking the blogs and the website. Look, I don't want to say Moonlight fans weren't fans of the show. They were. But in sort of sifting through all of it (the e-mails, etc.) it was very much about 'our vampire, Alex (O'Laughlin).'" When I mentioned that some of the comments were pretty ugly, she just looked at me and said, "It's not a pretty business."
Is Dr Horrible the One? - VIDEO
Technically it is Buffy/Angel week, but all things Whedon have a way of just melding together into one big stew. So it's a fortuitous bit of timing that a trailer for Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog was released this week. For those still unaware of just what Dr. Horrible is, I think it was summed up best by Nathan Fillion in a recent interview. It's about a super-villain (Neil Patrick Harris) who falls in love with a girl (Felicia Day), and the super-hero (Nathan Fillion) who blows it for him. The super-hero is kind of a dick. And... it's a musical. I think it could be very much more than that. More on that, and the new trailer, after the jump.
New TV on DVD releases this week
Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.
- The All-New Popeye Hour - Popeye and Friends
- Burn Notice - Season 1
- Californication - Season 1
- Dynasty - Season 3, Vol. 1
- ER - Season 9
- Galaxy High School - The Collection
- The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle - Complete Series
- Jericho - Season 2 and Complete Series
- Meerkat Manor - Season 3
- The Naked Brothers Band - Polar Bears
- Popeye - Vol. 2: 1938-40
- The Real McCoys - Season 3
- Sabrina The Teenage Witch - Season 4
- The Suite Life of Zack and Cody - Lip Synchin in the Rain
- Transformers: Animated - Tranform and Roll Out
- Wanted: Dead or Alive - Best Of
Jericho alternate ending - VIDEO
Most Jericho fans already know that two finales were filmed: one series finale and one season finale. When CBS canceled the show, viewers were given a neat, positive end to the series. Video of Jericho's alternate ending was recently released, and now we know what the season's cliffhanger would have looked like. If you read Carol Barbee's description of the original Jericho finale, the clip won't tell you anything you don't already know. It's still cool to watch how everything plays out, though. I don't expect to see Lennie James as Robert Hawkins ever again, so I'll take what I can get. Check out the video after the jump.
Jericho star joins 24 prequel
If by some miracle Jericho does indeed come back, it will be without one cast member.
Sprague Grayden, who played Heather on the CBS show, has joined the cast of FOX's 24 prequel. She'll play the First Daughter, the daughter of the President of the United States.
This news comes on the heels of more casting news announced last week. It's an interesting cast: Grayden joins Cherry Jones, Janeane Garofalo, Robert Carlyle, Tony Todd, Gil Bellows, and Eric Lively (oh, and Kiefer Sutherland). The new season of 24 starts in January, but this prequel will air this fall.
Of course, maybe she could come back to Jericho too When she was on that CBS show, she had a role on Weeds as well. And while she's on 24 she's also going to be on FX's Sons of Anarchy. Now that's job security. She also had regular gigs on John Doe, Joan of Arcadia, Over There, and Six Feet Under.
Hey, do you think Jericho will be renewed?
I know, I know, you're thinking to yourself, "I thought we went through this already and Jericho has been officially, definitely, and finally canceled by CBS?" Oh, silly people!
Jericho fans just won't quit. The "Save Jericho" people have erected a billboard on Ventura Blvd. in Los Angeles. It looks like a real estate ad, with a sign that says "TV Show For Sale," and includes the CBS phone number and the URL for a web site. They're looking for a new home for the show, and if it's not CBS then maybe The Sci-Fi Channel or another cable network.
Now, I sort of rolled my eyes at this, but what makes it a little bit more confusing is that Jericho producers Carol Barbee and Jon Steinberg called into a radio show during Jerichon and said that they were having meetings with various people and that they were optimistic. Huh?!
[via Franklin Ave.]
Crash gears up with cast
Shortly after the release of 2005's Crash in theaters, I remember reading that a TV series based on the film was in the works. I even pitched the story to a TV trade magazine, but the editor didn't go for it. She must have guessed the show would be years in the works, and she was right. Three years later, a TV series is finally starting to gain some steam. The Hollywood Reporter just posted a story that five actors have joined the cast of the series produced by Don Cheadle, Paul Haggis (pictured), Mark R. Harris, Robert Moresco, Tom Nunan, and Bob Yari, all of whom were involved with the movie. Produced by Lionsgate, the series is anticipated to premiere on Starz in 2009.
Here's a rundown on the actors who've just signed. It's interesting that most of these folks are not big-name actors, which I find refreshing in an era where many mega-movie stars are crossing over into TV:
The Nuttiest Fans Award nominees
If we have learned anything, it's that there's a big difference between being a casual viewer and a truly passionate fan. Whether that means spreading the word, doing charity work in the name of the show or just plain being crazy, fans of TV programs have found various ways to show their love. After some intense responses in the call for considerations post and deep deliberation within the TV Squad team, we have boiled down the list of shows with the most dedicated fanbases. Here, we have five of the finest contenders, each of them deserving recognition for their fans' contributions. Yes, it's obvious that there will be fans angry at the results, regardless of who wins. American Idol fans, form an orderly queue and meet me in the parking lot. But before we have an epic throwdown, read after the jump and vote for the Readers' Choice.
Even more spinoffs I would like to see
When one of our favorite TV shows goes off the air, it can be devastating. However, many times, the cancellation is the birth of a spinoff. Sometimes it can be a great thing (Frasier) and sometimes not so much (AfterM*A*S*H).
Here are some of this month's spinoff ideas that I would love to see.
Mr. Hawkins Goes to Texas
After the conspiracy of the Cheyenne government was revealed on Jericho, Robert Hawkins (Lennie James) thought the hard part was behind him. He had no idea what was in store. As America tries to form a new governing body, they are desperate for honest men to help lead the way. With help from Mimi Clark (Alicia Coppolla), his personal assistant, Hawkins fights government bureaucracy with the same zeal that he fought domestic terrorism.
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The Arrested Development Award: Call for considerations
The TV Squad Awards are in full swing, and I have the pleasure of moderating The Arrested Development Award, a.k.a. The Show Least Deserving of Cancellation Award. Since we're focusing on shows from the 2007-2008 season, that lets out a few contenders, like Veronica Mars , Firefly, and the award's namesake, Arrested Development. But there are plenty of recent shows deserving of the honor. Five that made my list:
1. Journeyman (NBC). This time-shift puzzle starring Kevin McKidd as deer-in-the-headlights Dan Vasser took a while to hook me, but by mid-season, I was there. I love shows that make you think, and although this one developed a formula (Dan saving someone who would later go on to change history), the logistics always had you scratching your head. I was sad to see it absent from NBC's Fall 08 schedule.
The Nuttiest Fans Award: Call for considerations
Just spending five minutes in a random pop culture convention is enough to make anyone realize that fans can be scary. Very, very scary. Of course, being a fan can mean more than just dressing up as a show's most scantily-clad character and wandering around a convention center. It really depends on how you define fan-dedication.Is it all about making an actual impact when one's favorite show is in trouble? Then take into consideration the determined fans of Jericho, who made their voices heard through a bizarre peanut plan and managed save their beloved program (albeit briefly). Or perhaps being a fan is all about spreading the word. The Colbert Report's dangerously devoted Colbert Nation has spread Stephen Colbert's name and persona throughout the world, from minor league hockey teams to Hungarian bridges to the Time 100. There are also the hard-working fans of shows like Lost, who spend incredible amounts of time breaking down each and every possible clue and theory. I dare say they work so much, they often get ahead of the writers. And then there are those fans that patrol the Internet for any negative remarks about their favorite shows and then pounce when they sense fan-injustice. Just last month, our own Jonathan Toomey risked facing the wrath of Battlestar Galactica fans to express his opinion, and he is braver than I for doing so.
Also, keep in mind how the strike-induced TV drought gave fans the opportunity to show their support and demonstrate their dedication to their favorite shows and creative minds. Think about some stand-out moments in which fans rallied together to make that depressing time a little bit more bearable.
So, who do you think were the most dedicated fans of the '07 - '08 season? Comment with your nominations and we'll make a super-list of the season's super-fans.
October Road hits its end
Last week, it was Men in Trees. Now the end has officially come for another ABC drama series. ABC has confirmed that October Road is over. The long and winding road is no more, so to speak. ABC has no room in the fall lineup, apparently, and a plan to move October Road and Men in Trees to Lifetime never panned out. So all the die-hard fans who've been writing the network and crafting petitions can give it up. No amount of peanuts or blood drives -- oh, wait, that was Jericho and Moonlight. The Roadies had a different tack; buy the DVD, donate it to a library to get more people watching and writing to ABC. Despite the sincere efforts, the network still chose to end the road and move on to a newer, different show.Could Jericho come back?
I know, I know, we've all heard those words before. It seems that every other show that gets canceled these days has a "could it come back on another network?" addendum, a glimmer of hope that somehow, some way, a show that had a small but loyal following will actually survive. Unfortunately, 9.9 times out of 10 it doesn't happen.
But it could happen to Jericho. According to Brian Stelter at The New York Times, CBS/Paramount execs have been having secret talks with Comcast (yes, Comcast) about doing something with the show for a third season. Now, this might seem like an odd, desperate play for another season if it wasn't for the fact that NBC has already done something very similar to this with DirecTV, twice. First they had a deal with the satellite provider to air Passions, but that was a big bust (sorry, Passions fans), but they have a new deal to air another season of Friday Night Lights. The new season will start airing on DirecTV in October, and then repeats will air on NBC in early 2009.
CBS's fast food minis for the net - VIDEO
Do you like trailers? Does the idea of a quick wrap up of what you missed in previous episodes make sense to you? Are you a fan of clip shows, i.e. an episode devoted to highlights from past shows? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you're likely going to be really happy about this: Eyelab has been re-editing programming into mini-versions of CBS shows for distribution online. TV Squad had a report about this a while back, but now it's fully operational. Take a look at this Real Hollywood Story/The New Adventures of Old Christine mini, which is posted after the jump.TV Squad Hot Topics
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