The Prime Times: Post “Lost” Edition

By on Feb 26, 2010 in In Brief |

Lordy lordy, do I have a ton of news items to share. Let’s waste no time: Most excitingly, William Keck at TV Guide reports that Terry O’Quinn (Lost’s Locke) is pitching a series in which he and Michael Emerson (Ben) star as “suburban hit men juggling family issues.” My buddy Andy says he might not be able to see these Emmy-winners as anything other than their iconic Lost personas, but I think that we’ll eventually get accustomed to them portraying different characters. Eventually. And speaking of shedding past roles, SCI FI Wire tells us that James Callis (Battlestar Galactica’s Gaius Baltar) has joined the cast of FlashForward and will appear in this season’s last handful of episodes. The fate-defying drama returns March 18 for an uninterrupted run of 13 installments. Nip/Tuck’s series finale airs on Wednesday, which means I...

2010 Pilot Watch

By on Feb 22, 2010 in Tinseltown |

‘Tis the season for development, and Lynette Rice at EW.com has released a list of the pilots the broadcast networks are considering. (Bear in mind that only a fraction of these shows will make it to the airwaves.) After perusing the list, I’ve reached the following conclusions: The public’s desire for shows about cops, doctors, and lawyers is still insatiable. By my count, 25 of the pilots are about these three professions. But some of these procedurals might be worth watching because of the attached talent: Forest Whitaker is heading up CBS’s Criminal Minds spin-off, NBC is pursuing Julianne Moore for their adaptation of BBC’s Prime Suspect, and Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica, 24) will star in a yet-to-be-titled detective series. Multi-camera comedies are coming in droves. If the term “multi-camera” doesn’t ring a bell, it refers to the traditional type of sitcom with live (or...

When the Music Stops

By on Feb 11, 2010 in Tinseltown | 5 comments

For a recent homework assignment, our professor wanted us to watch three consecutive hours of television on any cable channel. Of course I procrastinated and had to pick from the offerings on the last possible day. I chose to watch the midday Wednesday MTV lineup, which were amusing if not insipid episodes of Disaster Date and True Life. When it came time to analyze the programming, I ruminated on MTV’s current situation. But first, here’s a little state-of-the-network address. The channel is operated by MTV Networks, which, along with BET Networks, is a part of Viacom. MTV Networks, in turn, also owns MTV2, mtvU, MTV Tr3s, VH1, VH1 Classic, VH1 Soul, CMT, Logo, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, Noggin, The N, Comedy Central, TV Land, and Spike TV. The Viacom website boasts that the singular channel MTV reaches 508 million households across a variety of platforms and that the...

The Cult of the Almighty Spoiler

By on Feb 6, 2010 in Inner Monologues |

Hi, my name’s Dan, and I’m a spoileraholic. (“Hi, Dan.”) Or, at least, I used to be. What is it about television spoilers that are so damn alluring, anyway? I’ve never skipped to the end of a novel to read how it ends. I’ve never looked up the ending to a movies. But TV spoilers have been too tempting to resist. I guess my compulsion to read spoilers was half impatience and half a desire to be “in the know.” I always justified it by saying that it’s not the destination that matters, it’s the journey. But with so many shows these days (like those that are heavily serialized) those “destinations” are monumental and are just as important as the “journeys.” I can appreciate that now. I’m always pleased when I watch a huge, unforeseen twist play out. I like the surprise. Though I’m pretty much...

The Prime Times: Self-Potato Edition

By on Jan 28, 2010 in In Brief |

Late-breaking news and bizarre tidbits from the TV world: In today’s biggest news, ABC has announced that this season would be Ugly Betty’s last. This is truly a loss. Ugly Betty was not only savvy and sharp, not only funny and endearing, but also insightful and surprisingly ponderous. Plus, it featured Latinos in lead roles and won both GLAAD and Peabody Awards. Luckily, the producers will have a chance to give the show closure: the current season will run for 20 episodes. So as not to be too bummed, enjoy this clip I just saw today: a woman guessing a spectacularly-wrong guess on Wheel of Fortune. Interestingly, The New York Times website ran pieces on both her and her fellow contestant. The woman is philosophical about it, and rightly so. Flubs happen to the best of us. ABC wants to keep the Lost franchise going after the landmark series bows out in May, Variety reports....

2009 Primies: Best Shows

By on Jan 17, 2010 in The Primies | 1 comment

Because I’m theoretically on vacation, let’s just speed through this! Here are my picks for the ten best programs on the boob tube for the year of 2009. (Hint: AMC takes the cake!) Breaking Bad Mad Men Lost Battlestar Galactica 30 Rock True Blood Modern Family Fringe Glee Dollhouse