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Starz Cancels 'Camelot,' Jay Mohr to Sub for Andy Cohen on 'Watch What Happens Live' & More TV News
Starz has canceled freshman drama 'Camelot.' According to Deadline, the decision came because of "significant production challenges."The costume drama, which shot in Ireland, was experiencing scheduling conflicts with several of its actors, Deadline reports. The King Arthur legend retelling drew 1.5 million viewers for its season finale earlier this month, but Starz declined to bring back the series for a second season anyway.
In other TV news ...
What's your favorite Twilight Zone episode?
We're participating in our annual New Year's tradition in this house and watching episodes of The Twilight Zone, one after the other on the Syfy marathon. It's amazing that the series is 50 years old and still offering stories that are relevant in today's world. The genius of Rod Serling. So I'm contemplating my favorite Twilight Zone episodes, and it's really hard to choose. But if I had to narrow it down to three, I'd probably go with these:
"Time Alone At Last": This is the one where a book lover finds himself joyously alone with books after a nuclear blast. Until ... I keep thinking he'd be able to remedy that situation by trolling through optometry shops -- if he could see well enough to find one, that is.
All Allison wants for Festivus
The Festivus season is upon us, and the spirits of joy and viewing visit TV Squad, giving us a chance to make our media wishes known. Oh, the wonder of a TV world of my own making. If only the Festivus wishes I make will come true. Yes, Allison, there is a Festivus! And so, my TV wishes:-- Last year I wished for Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman Palladino to get another shot at TV after the horrible Jezebel James. Well, she's got a deal with HBO. Good for her. Now, for me, let's get her to write and film the finale for Rory and Lorelai and Luke and Star's Hollow that she intended for GG. It's time to do it now while all the principals are still active. The Mary Tyler Moore reunion with Rhoda came two decades too late.
What's Hot on SlashControl: Night Gallery
Since we're in a Halloween mood tonight, let's talk about Night Gallery, one of the scariest shows I remember from my childhood. Conceived and hosted by The Twilight Zone's Rod Serling, the series ran from 1970 to 1973 and featured some well known actors, including William Windom, Burgess Meredith, John Astin and James Farentino.
While The Twilight Zone always seemed more sci-fi based, Night Gallery had more of a horror feel to it and featured more ghostly, psychological stories. In short, it scared the crap out of me. One of the scariest episodes focused on two stories about some spooky real estate: "The House / Certain Shadows on the Wall."
TV Squad Ten: best Twilight Zone episodes
There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone. Friday marked the 50th Anniversary of The Twilight Zone's debut on CBS. The first episode was titled "Where Is Everybody?" and featured Earl Holliman as a military man trapped in a town where it seems everyone has vanished. You find out at the end that it was all an experiment to see how astronauts would handle being alone on long missions. Holliman was really safe.
The Twilight Zone to be a movie again
Since its premiere in 1959, The Twilight Zone has gone through several revivals and one big-screen movie in 1983 that involved such directors as Steven Spielberg and John Landis. Now, Leonard DiCaprio's production company, Applan Way, wants to make another big-screen revival of the franchise.I'm not sure what DiCaprio could do with the franchise that hasn't been done before. It's basically science fiction, fantasy and horror stories with a twist ending (M. Night Shyamalan owes his entire career to The Twilight Zone). Rumor has it that the new movie will be a set of interwoven stories based on classics from the original run of the show that were written by Rod Serling himself, albeit with more pretty computer-generated special effects. For some reason, I find that unoriginal and possibly downright scary.
Still, The Twilight Zone was groundbreaking for its time and a very flexible concept. If Star Trek could be successfully reinvented for the movies, why not this franchise?
Rod Serling did not control The Twilight Zone - VIDEO
The image to the right was taken from an episode of The Twilight Zone, a show that sits in the top 10 of television's all time greatest mindf*#ks. It took audiences on an out of control thrill ride that zigged and zagged in directions that no one saw coming. The stories would lead viewers one way and just when they thought they had the ending figured out, it took them down an emotional corkscrew that could melt their brains. It was and still is digital acid, minus the waking up in a dumpster with a head of hair that smells like raw chicken.
But picture if you will, an even bigger twist lying inside this twisted wasteland of shock and discovery. A twist that smashes the fourth wall of television with the brute force of a charging rhino strapped to the front of a nuclear warhead and reveals the true identity of the man who pulls all the strings....in The Twilight Zone.
Classic TV to get stamped
For all you television fans (and I suspect at least one or two read this site) who are also stamp collectors, there is good news. The United States Postal Service is releasing a set of stamps in 2009 commemorating classic American television shows.I do like the retro design of the stamps and how each looks like an old picture tube. I see a lot of familiar faces in there, including Phil Silvers, Howdy Doody, Rod Serling, Alfred Hitchcock, The Honeymooners, I Love Lucy and many others. Did they miss anybody?
I think the Postal Service isn't going far enough with this. They should release stamps commemorating television shows for each year, or perhaps more appropriately each television era. For the 70's they could include M*A*S*H and All In The Family. For the 80's they could include Knight Rider and The A Team. At least, they would be included if I designed the stamps.
New Twilight Zone graphic novels coming (do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do)
These have been submitted, and they have my approval.Publishing company Walker & Co. is getting together with the estate of Rod Serling and the Savannah College of Art & Design to produce several graphic novels that will be based on the scripts of the original Twilight Zone series. The books (there will be eight in all, and perhaps more to come if these are received well) are to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first Twilight Zone episode, which will be next year. The first two episodes they're doing are "Walking Distance" and "The After Hours."
This year, the Emmys will feature everyone who has ever been on TV
As we've told you before, this is the 60th anniversary of the Emmy Awards. The September 21 show, telecast on ABC, will not only celebrate the Best Actresses and Best Dramas of the current prime time lineup, it will also celebrate the many stars and characters and shows of 10, 20, 40, 60 years ago.
ABC has created an ad that features a lot of those stars. A lot of the stars are easy to find and it's a no-brainer that they were included (Marge and Homer, Rod Serling, Dick Van Dyke, Stewie, the South Park guys, etc), but I'm happy to also see some people I didn't think would be in such an ad: Guy Williams as Zorro, Robert Culp from I Spy, Mike Connors from Mannix, Tim Daly from Wings, Wally Cox from Mr. Peepers, among others.
1950s Mike Wallace interviews now online
TV fans are probably already aware that veteran journalist Mike Wallace had a television career long before 60 Minutes. Twilight Zone fans have probably seen the famous one-on-one interview with Rod Serling he did before the classic sci-fi show premiered (available on one of the Twilight Zone DVDs) on his Mike Wallace Interview show. Now several other interviews from that series have been archived online for everyone to see.
Stump the King - Rod Serling - VIDEO
I got a great letter this week...
"I remember watching a documentary, I believe it was about Rod Serling, & on it was mentioned a Western series the producer had developed, starring Lloyd Bridges & Brock Peters. Any idea what this show was called? Or, was it maybe Gene Roddenberry's show? Thanks for the help! Steve Atwell"
Rod Serling's The Velvet Alley - VIDEO
I've been looking for a copy of this Playhouse 90 episode for years. VHS, DVD, some guy doing a puppet show version of it in his living room, whatever, I've really wanted to see it since seeing snippets of it on the excellent PBS American Masters episode "Submitted For Your Approval" (it's on one of the Twilight Zone DVDs). And now, thanks to YouTube, we can all watch it.
Well, most of it anyway. After the jump, I posted the opening of the show (complete with intros and commercials!), and then if you follow this link you can find other segments of the show (on the right), but I have no idea what order they go in because they aren't labeled. It's well worth watching though. I mean, look at the cast: Art Carney, Jack Klugman, Leslie Nielsen, Burt Reynolds, and the kid is Mickey Dolenz from The Monkees! They don't do TV like this anymore.
Stump the King - The Simpsons
I took my kids to see The Simpsons Movie this weekend. While it was their first time seeing the film, it was my second and I still enjoyed it quite a bit simply because it's a funny movie.
Because I have kids, I often go see a lot of crappy animated films based on cartoons. I've seen, Rugrats Go Wild, The Wild Thornberrys Movie and The Spongebob Squarepants Movie among others. For the most part, I enjoyed these films but they were little more than a longer version of the TV show. The Simpsons Movie, however, is much more
Ten great shows that were canceled in their first seasons
Welcome to TV Squad Lists (formerly 'The Five'), a feature where each blogger has a chance to list his or her own rundown of things in television that stand out from the rest, both good and bad.
No matter how much TV I watch, I can't seem to get over the first rule of television programming; if it doesn't get the numbers, it doesn't get renewed. I have watched many a beloved show get yanked from the schedule due to low ratings, even though critics and fans alike all raved about it.
Here are some examples of shows that were too good for the small screen.
Pasadena
The potential for greatness was here, sadly Fox didn't promote the show and nobody watched. I was lucky enough to watch the entire season on and finally get answers to some really nagging questions.I also got see favorites like Mark Valley & Dana Delaney really chew the scenery.
The Bob Newhart Show (the variety show on NBC)
This show won a Peabody award, but was clearly ahead of its time. It's pretty hard to find these days, but Tv icons like Ken Berry and Joe Flynn were regulars and the comedy was superb.
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