script
Networks go to war over J.J. Abrams new spec script
It's great to be J.J. Abrams. His newest spec script about a married spy couple is currently undergoing a bidding war that it looks like NBC is winning. On top of that, he's got a new comedy on Fox and he's behind one of the best revitalizations of a franchise in the history of the medium. The script is co-written by Josh Reims, who worked on shows such as ABC's Brothers & Sisters and Dirty Sexy Money.As others have noted, this new spec script could play as a sequel to his hit show Alias. That show did end with Sydney and Michael married with two kids being asked to return to service. Sadly, I think Jennifer Garner would consider that a backwards step in her career no matter how much she owes Abrams. Perhaps she could make a cameo?
It's interesting that the television spinoff of Mr. & Mrs. Smith didn't last long and had the very same premise. But then, Abrams wasn't behind that one.
Lindelof and Cuse display Lost ending at Comic-Con... at least on paper
Since the creators of Lost, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, are always being accused of making the show up as they go along, they decided it was time to prove they had the last page of the show written.So at this year's Lost Comic-Con panel, which will be the show's last, Damon and Carlton pulled out the final scene to get that chip off of their shoulders: Two pieces of paper they taunted the audience to steal. Although it won't be easy for anyone to get their hands on those pages.
You'll have to watch the panel video to see why, after the jump.
(Post originally published by sister site ComicsAlliance)
One site's early peek at the new V movie
The original '80s V miniseries is ingrained in my memory. In fact, when I was pregnant, I would get the inevitable question: do you want a boy or a girl? My pat answer was, "As long as it's not a lizard baby, we'll be happy."If you watched V, you know my reference, and it was fun when the askers got it too.
Beyond lizard babies, lovable aliens who went on to play Freddie Kreuger (Robert Englund) and heroines imported from The Greatest American Hero (Faye Grant) -- I swear, I remember all of this; I didn't even look it up! -- V was so unique and addicting that if you haven't seen it, I suggest getting that DVD release tout de suite.
CBS orders more scripts for Moonlight, Cane
CBS wants to see where a few of its under-performing shows are going before deciding their fate. The network ordered four more scripts for both Moonlight and Cane. Moonlight, a series about vampires in Los Angeles, is the net's lowest-rated show on Friday nights (it's in the 10 pm time slot). And Cane is ranked 8th on Tuesday nights.While I can't say much about Cane, I can say that I was mighty disappointed in Moonlight. I'm a big fan of Jason Dohring from Veronica Mars, but I found him horribly miscast as "the oldest vampire in LA" (or maybe he'll always be Logan Echolls to me).
Ken Levine explains how to write for a medical series
If you read this blog on a frequent basis, you know a few of us are fans of TV writer and blogger Ken Levine. The man has written for The Simpsons, MASH, Cheers, Everybody Loves Raymond, Wings, Dharma and Greg and many other popular and enduring series.
In a recent post, Levine explains how to write for a medical series that uses a lot of jargon: ask a doctor.
Duchovny confirms second X-Files movie, studio does not
Joel told you not too long ago that a second X-Files feature film was most likely going to happen. Now comes word from David Duchovny himself that the film is indeed going ahead and that co-star Gillian Anderson is attached, as well.
Most of what Joel mentioned still appears to be true: the film, written by X-Files creator Chris Carter, will be a standalone story and could possibly hit theaters sometime in summer 2008. Duchovny says he hasn't seen the script, and 20th Century Fox, the studio that owns The X-Files, has not confirmed the project just yet.
Michael Cera's new Web series is now online
Last November, Brett told you that Michael Cera (Arrested Development) would be starring in a new Web series with his pal, actor Clark Duke. The series would be called The Good Life, and it would be available for viewing on the CBS innertube broadband site.
Well, two things have changed, apparently: the new series is now called Clark and Michael, and it's not on innertube, it's at ClarkAnd Michael.com, so go check it out.
Action News -- A look at the pilot script
I used to work in a television newsroom, which is why I was interested in getting a sneak peek at the script for Action News. Fox has picked up the pilot for the fall season and has attached stars Fred Willard, Patricia Heaton, and Kelsey Grammer (and possibly Nate Corddry, but I'll get to that in a minute). The premise for the multi-camera sitcom is that egotistical anchorman Chuck Tatham (Grammer) has returned to his old stomping grounds of Buffalo, NY to reunite on-air with his former co-anchor, Patty Carr (Heaton).I'm in Hell pilot script leaked online
The script for the new CBS comedy pilot I'm in Hell found its way onto this thread on A Special Thing dot com, and I decided to take a gander.
As mentioned before, the series focuses on an affluent jerk played by Jason Biggs who dies in a car crash and is sent to Hell on Earth (which to him is Akron, OH). The series also stars David Cross as the devil who makes sure Biggs' life is sufficiently cruddy.
Me & Lee -- a look at the pilot script
I'm too young to have watched The Six Million Dollar Man, and the only reason I'm even remotely familiar with The Fall Guy and The Big Valley is because my father would sometimes watch those shows (The Big Valley was in syndication when I was younger). So Me & Lee, a new pilot for FOX in which Lee Majors helps an injured man (played by Jamie Kennedy) by sprucing him up with a new bionic body a la the Six Million Dollar Man, did not catch my attention because of Majors' involvement, it caught my attention because Paul Dinello, co-creator and co-star of one of my favorite shows of all time (Strangers with Candy) was attached to direct the pilot.
Schedule your TiVo to record movies in your Netflix queue

One enterprising user tried to create a solution using Yahoo! Pipes, but that didn't really work out. Now he's written a Greasemonkey script for Firefox. It doesn't automatically schedule recordings, but it does make it easier to cross reference your Netflix queue and your TiVo recordings.
Basically the script scans the titles of movies in your queue and then searches the TiVo web site. If there's a match, a little link to the TiVo search results shows up on your Netflix page. Apparently it takes a while to perform the search, so it takes some time for the links to load.
Comedians spoof Lost writers room
What the hell is going on in the Lost writers room, anyway? I mean, are those guys on crack or what? Those are questions I asked myself after the first six episodes of Lost this season. The comedy troupe Olde English have a great video sketch of their interpretation of the Lost writers room. The sketch, which is NSFW because of some profanity, points out all the open mysteries and takes us through the "creative process" of the Lost writers. Their interpretation? Basically, the Lost writers are over-caffeinated slackers who have been locked in a room with a countdown clock for way too long.Check it out here (crank it up because the audio is super low).
[Thanks, Jason!]
NBC orders more 30 Rock
NBC still isn't ready to commit to a full season of 30 Rock. The network ordered three more scripts of the comedy, in addition to three more scripts that were ordered last month. That brings the total additional script order to six. Ratings for 30 Rock haven't been that impressive. It was floundering on Wednesday nights and last week's move to Thursday night only garnered 5.2 million viewers, which is less than NBC had hoped. By the way, 30 Rock and ABC's The Nine are the only two new series with uncertain futures.I'm not sure why 30 Rock isn't a hit. Maybe people are turned off by Tina Fey or Alec Baldwin? I think it's been hilarious, with some wicked one-liners that mostly come from Baldwin. Hopefully its new time slot at 9:30 on Thursdays after Scrubs will help boost its viewership a bit so we can get a full season.
Hollywoodland director to helm pilot for FX
There's not a lot of information on this new drama pilot for FX, so I'll try to be as vague as possible. Allen Coulter, director of the film Hollywoodland, has signed on to direct a new untitled drama pilot for FX. The series, scripted by Todd A. Kessler (The Sopranos), Glenn Kessler and Daniel Zelman, is a legal thriller, and if they can make it unique considering that idea has already been done exactly twenty-seven gazilion times, then more power to 'em. Coulter's other TV directing credits include The X-Files, Millennium, and most recently, The Sopranos and Sex and the City. He's been involved with some inventive and cutting edge shows (excluding Sex and the City), and given FX's record so far of cutting edge programming like The Shield and Rescue Me, this combination may actually result in something worth tuning in to.Fox orders pilot for Suspicion
Fox has ordered a pilot after seeing a script for a drama called Suspicion. It's written by Emily Whitesell, a writer for ABC's Brothers & Sisters. The series is about a woman who becomes a reluctant heroine after discovering her boyfriend is a terrorist. Sounds like a narrow scope but that's how industry types like to sum these things up-- in one sentence.This pilot order follows a similar order by Fox for a series called NSA Innocent, about a typical citizen who finds himself caught up in the world of espionage.
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