Two Tivos To Paradise 7.31.09: The Temperature Is Hot, The TV News Is Hotter

Posted by Al Norton on 07.31.2009

The latest on the Family Guy controversy, Diane Keaton comes to HBO, Eureka gets a fourth season AND a musical episode, a preview of Addicted To Beauty, more on Sex Ed: The Series, raves for Burn Notice, tons of news and notes, the TV Pick of the Week and more, all in the latest edition of Al Norton's Two Tivos To Paradise.

Hello Friends. Talk about a turnaround; no movies for the first 6 and a half months of 2009 and then 2 in 2 weeks. The in-laws, who came to town so Mrs. Tivo and I could enjoy our date-a-versary dinner at The Palm on Saturday night, stuck around on Sunday so we could keep the party going with a 9:30 showing of the latest Harry Potter. That's 9:30 am, the earliest I have ever gone to the movies.

Not too much else going on as we await the flurry of deals at this afternoons MLB trading deadline, so lets get right to the main event.

Feelin' alright, not feelin' too news myself.

What A Lovely Way Of Saying How Much You Love Me
Days after Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane announced at Comic-Con that they were working on an episode of the Emmy nominated series that would deal with abortion, the Fox network announced that they would not air the outing, titled Partial Terms of Endearment. What they did do was give their full blessing to the producers to make the episode and distribute it on their own. This is not the first time the network has passed on an episode of Family Guy; back in 2000 they chose not to air When You Wish Upon A Weinstein, but that episode did run in syndicated reruns and was a part of the DVD set for that season.

This seems to be a win-win in that Fox is thrilled that their show gets even more buzz and everyone will be happy with the money this episode makes, whether it gets released as a stand alone DVD or as part of the full season set. I don't look at this as censorship, mainly because it's not the government saying the episode can't be aired, it's a network, and since they pay the bills, they get to make the decisions. This is hardly a political move since the show most likely savages every possible side to the issue of abortion.

What it does show is that abortion continues to be a major third rail for television despite being a legal medical procedure that takes place all over the world every day. I would like to avoid the comments section below becoming a referendum on Roe v Wade but people feel so strongly on either side that perhaps everyone might benefit from a little laughter. Stranger things have been known to lead to real dialogue.

I'll Give You Jewelry And Money, Too, And That Ain't All, Ain't All I'll Do For You
Three popular cable series got good news this week as Burn Notice (USA), Royal Pains (USA), and Eureka (Syfy) were picked up for new seasons. Royal Pains has been the breakout hit of the summer, surprising everyone with it's strong ratings, and Burn Notice continues to perform well, hitting a series high this past week (more on that below). Despite a prolonged absence from the airwaves and a move to a less desirable Friday night timeslot, Eureka has maintained its audience and has started to get more and more critics acclaim as well. Notice (4th) and Pains (2nd) received 16 episode orders while Eureka got a 20 episode fourth season, including a two hour musical episode.

That's right, Eureka is doing a musical episode and I have a very strong feeling they can pull it off. With Warehouse 13 coming out of the gate strong and Eureka finally getting some traction, Syfy seems poised to pull in some new viewers and make the leap to the next programming level. Sure, they've got the ghost/monster hunting thing down pat on the reality side and darker dramas Stargate Universe and Caprica will debut over the next six months or so but it's these two lighter (but still quality) series that will help the network attract the audience they so hell bent on pulling in that they changed the spelling of their name.

Burn Notice is more than ready to take the baton from Monk and become the network's signature series. It's a smart, funny, action drama, and when was the last time you saw that? Seriously, go back and watch some of the shows from the 80's that people loved with similar "person in distress of the week" stories and see how many actually hold up as more than nostalgia pieces. Magnum PI was the that's the last series I can think of that balanced action, comedy, on-going story lines, and the characters personal lives as well as Burn Notice does (more on that below) .

While I was not crazy about the pilot for Royal Pains I did feel it was worth sticking with and I was rewarded with a fun, summer series that takes elements from other hit shows and blends them together in a tasty if forgettable-the-minute-it's-over series. Aside from a strong cast, one of the things I have liked is how they have avoided some clichés that may have bogged down another show; in particular is how they didn't bother doing a "will they or won't they" storyline with Hank and Jill, getting them together quickly and by that having them feel much more like real people dating and not some sort of star crossed super couple. And who isn't happy that Mark Feuerstein finally has a hit?!!?

Your Heart Shakes, Your Body Sweats, Another Kiss Is What It Takes
Addicted To Beauty is a new reality show that premieres on Oxygen this Tuesday at 11 pm before settling into its regular Tuesdays at 10 pm timeslot the following week. The series follows the day-to-day activities at Changes Plastic Surgery and Spa, located in Southern California and the product of a partnership between marketing expert (and socialite) Diane York-Goldman and noted plastic surgeon Gilbert Lee…We recently caught up with Natasha, one of the employees at Changes (and therefore a cast member of Addicted To Beauty), to discuss the show.

TTTP: Can you give me a brief idea of your life before you went to work for Dianne York-Goldman?

Natasha: My life before working for Dianne was a little less high maintenance. Meaning I never really had to deal with someone else being very high maintenance 24 hours a day. Working for Dianne is not just a 9-5 job. In previous jobs I never really had a boss who was so consumed with her and other people's looks. My life was a little less dramatic and not so chaotic!

TTTP: What was your reaction when you found out your workplace would be the focus of a reality show? Was being on TV ever something you dreamed about?

Natasha: When I found out we were going to be doing a reality show I was a little surprised at first..what was so interesting about us. Yes we are all characters and have tons of drama, why would anyone want to see that?!! HEHE The next thought was oh this is going to be interesting! I thought about getting into TV more on the lines of sports or entertainment reporting.

TTTP: Being as honest as you can, how much of what we see on the show is really what goes on on a day-to-day basis? How much different did the cameras make things?

Natasha: The camera crew did a great job blending in so we were not distracted with our day to day business. What the audience is going to see is what happens in the day to day lives of the staff at this new medi-spa. With any reality show, parts of the show are produced and edited for dramatic effect.

TTTP: Do you watch Nip/Tuck, and if so, how realistic is it in terms of the clients that come to Changes to have work done?

Natasha: I have never seen Nip/Tuck but our show does feature the real elite clientele of San Diego who are getting nipped and tucked!

TTTP: Any worry at all that a show like this glamorizes plastic surgery instead of looking into why so many people in the country are so obsessed with their looks?

Natasha: Oxygen wants to portray real women and what real women are going through. They are doing what makes them happy. If getting plastic surgery empowers them more and makes them happy then we don't need to make any apologizes for the show.

TTTP: Why would someone who is not a typical reality show viewer want to tune in on Tuesday night? What makes Addicted To Beauty stand out?

Natasha: I think people will enjoy tuning into Addicted to Beauty because the staff is made up of several different personalities that everyone can relate to. We are not afraid to speak our minds and are very quirky and fun. There is plenty of drama for everyone to enjoy. I think Addicted to Beauty will stand out because people will be able to relate to us from the workplace standpoint and also they will get a peek into the behind the scenes world of plastic surgery..a world not many have seen!!

Don't miss Addicted To Beauty, Tuesday at 11 pm on Oxygen.

Seems Like Old Times, Dinner Dates And Flowers, Just Like Old Times, Staying Up For Hours
Oscar and Golden Globe winner Diane Keaton is planning on making her series TV debut on an untitled comedy from HBO. Written by Marti Noxon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Grey's Anatomy), Keaton will play a feminist icon who tries to spark the movement by launching a porn magazine for women. The project comes from Noxon's new production company – Grady Twins Prods (yes, they got the name from The Shining) – with Dawn Parouse, and the two of them as well as Keaton will be executive producing.

An actress of Keaton's stature and ability coming to television is obviously a big deal – she's been nominated for both Oscars and Golden Globes in four consecutive decades – and is likely to attract some other heavy hitters to the project. This is a major coup for HBO's new programming regime and one that, along with the success of True Blood and Hung, that the network is back on track.

Noxon is a fantastic writer with episodes of Buffy, Angel, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Brothers & Sisters, and Mad Men on her resume. She's also produced on all of those shows as well as on Prison Break, and partner Parouse served as a producer on Prison Break, Point Pleasant, and executive produced the cult favorite Tru Calling. Their other big new project is working with Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan on an adaptation of their book series The Strain, about a virus that attacks the US, either killing those it comes in contact with or turning them into Vampires. The plan is to make it a three season series, with the first season debuting next year, after the second book hits the shelves (the first one was released last month.)

Afternoon In The Homeroom, They're About To Let You Go, And The Locker Slams On The Plans You Had Tonight
This is part two of a new recurring feature here at TTTP where we will be trying to give you an inside look at how a show gets on the air. Sex Ed: The Series will have a pilot presentation at the International TV Festival in LA next month. Last week we traced the creative genesis of the series and now we pick up with the show's creator, Ernie Vecchione, as he tries to go from words on a page to images on a screen. What follows is part two of a Q & A with the show's creator, Ernie Vecchione, picking up as he goes on line to find a cast and crew.

TTTP: You post an ad on Craig's List...Did the flood gates open? Tell me about some of the responses.

EV: I posted on the New York and Los Angeles Craig's Lists. I got 200 responses in the first day. By the end of the week, I had over 1000. I think anyone who had a reel in Los Angeles sent theirs to me. The quality ranged from kids filming stunts in their backyards to established commercial directors. One person directed an episode of Quarterlife. A pair were from Holland. It was a lot of fun searching for the perfect match via computer.

I was looking for two things: were they good with actors, and did they have an individual style? From my laptop, I conducted my own my own version of a reality show, which was ironic because most of the contenders were former contestants from Fox's On the Lot, including Tamela D'Amico.

TTTP: How did the relationship with Tamela develop? Did you know right away she was the right person to work with?

EV: Tamela directed a killer short film, Volare, which had very high production value, the highest I'd seen in a long while. I sent the script to my Top 5 to gauge their reactions. It was hit or miss. A lot of them gave me no notes. They told me what I wanted to hear, since I was the producer as well as the writer. Tamela sent me three pages of notes. She had a vision for the show. She knew what the tone would be right away, which sold me. She saved me from my worst instincts, which was to make the show graphic in order to create attention. She believed that the quality of the writing and the quality of the show would be enough.

We only met once in New York. We talked on the phone several times after that. She wanted to make the show in Los Angeles with the crew she used for her short film. It was May, and her crew was available for the summer. The window to decide was narrow. She never asked to see if I had the money to pay for everything. She trusted me. I watched her film a hundred times. There was a childlike magical quality to her film, there was something whimsical in her style. I thought would be fascinating to combine with the subject of sexuality. So I took the chance she would deliver. Tamela surpassed my expectations, from the first day onward.

TTTP: Ok, now you've got a finished pilot script and a director...What happens next?

EV: Once Tamela got the go ahead, things fell into place very quickly. She took care of casting herself, sending out breakdowns and selecting actors to audition via Breakdown Services, thus saving me a lot of money. Tamela and her team got us some amazing breaks. Everyone went above and beyond in their departments. The production value of the show kept rising.

The show was all coming out of my pocket. I had saved enough teaching and after working for HBO and Miramax on scripts that never came to be, this was my chance to see my work come to life. The budget of the show was never very high, about the price of a student short film. The final tally went over only a little more than what I had in mind, but any time I complained, everyone would tell me "Look at what you're getting, it's a bargain!" And I agreed.

TTTP: How far along were you in the process before you started to realize you were actually going to get a pilot made?

EV: I believed it when Joanna Cassidy signed on for the part of the professor. I had been a fan of hers since Blade Runner and Who Framed Roger Rabbit. She instantly added legitimacy to the project, and as a result, we got a lot of quality actors to come aboard. When we filmed the final scenes of the show, I felt, Wow, this is the real deal, I feel I'm watching real television. And I knew a lot of the crew felt the same way.

Next week in part three we'll talk about the marketing of the pilot and its upcoming (and SOLD OUT!!!!) screening at LA's International TV Festival. For more information on Sex Ed: The Series – and to see a trailer - please visit www.sexedtheseries.com.

But You Were Up To Your Old Tricks In Chapters Four Five And Six
All you need to know about the Nielsen's for the past week (or so)…The 8.6 million who tuned in to Burn Notice on Thursday represented a series high, and the 2.6 million showing the demos topped ABC, CBS, and NBC in that time period…The 100th episode of So You Think You Can Dance was up 12% and led to Fox winning Thursday…The Kings finale picked up 15% from last week…Dirty Sexy Money was down 15% from last week's return…Big Brother's 6.17 million made it Sunday's highest rated scripted program…The Bachelorette finale won Monday night with 9.9 million tuning in, helping lead-out Dating In The Dark to win its time slot and match last week's audience…Week two of Hell's Kitchen was up 18%...The premiere of More To Love was watched by 4 million, decent but hardly breakout hit numbers…ABC Family's 10 Things I Hate About You was watched by 1.8 million; always a good sign when a show hits new highs each week…Ruby and the Rockits had a strong second week…A great demo week for Warehouse 13, which set series highs in the key audience groups as well as outdrawing it's big network competition in some of those groups…An audience 3.5 million strong closed out a great ratings season for Deadliest Catch…

All The Young Dudes, Carry The News
Industry News, Notes, and Hot Rumors…NBC has hired House creator/executive producer David Shore to develop a remake of the classic 70's detective series The Rockford Files. The only reason I don't think this is a truly horrible idea is that Shore has proclaimed himself a huge fan of the original series, so maybe he woill hold true to the source material. One wonders if there is an actor out there who could come close to filling James Garner's shoes, although Two Tivos favorite Dean Winters ought to be on the short list...HBO has set September 20th as the return of Curb Your Enthusiasm as well as the debut of new comedy Bored To Death, which stars Jason Schwartzman, Ted Danson, and the ultra hot Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover). The network also picked up new seasons of Hung, Entourage, and True Blood while hinting that a third season of Flight of the Conchords is likely...Fox is rumored to be discussing a Bones-Lie To Me crossover event for next season…Eonline is reporting that Kara DioGuardi has signed a deal to return as a judge on American Idol in January…ABC confirmed that Lost alum Dominic Monaghan is joining the cast of Flash Forward, set to debut in September. Also signed on is Gabrielle Union…The FX pilot Lights Out took a big step towards getting a series order this week when Warren Leight (In Treatment, Law and Order: CI) was hired as showrunner…Battlestar Galactica prequel Caprica will premiere on Syfy in January…Ken Warwick, showrunner for American Idol, signed a three year extension rumored to be in the 8 figures. Up next for the series are new contracts with judges Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul…The production team behind Hell's Kitchen is working on Shark Boat, a reality series about Hawaii Shark Encounters, a tour company that allows people to free dive with sharks…Amy Acker will return for at least three episodes of Dollhouse in the fall, and her former Angel co-star Alexis Denisoff will be doing a multiple-episode arc as well…Staying on the Dollhouse track, Jamie Bamber (Battlestar Galactica) will guest on the season premiere…Eva Longoria Parker and George Lopez will co-host the ALMA Awards, which air on September 18th on ABC…Nadya Suleman has officially signed with European production company Eyeworks for a reality series focused on her and her 14 children. Previous Eyeworks series include The Biggest Loser and Breaking Bonaduce. No network is attached yet…ABC Family ordered 10 more episodes of Make It Or Break It, which will bring the gymnastics drama's first season to a total of 20 episodes…TNT's as-of-yet-untitled alien invasion drama, produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat (Saving Private Ryan), added Moon Bloodgood as its female lead this week. Bloodgood, last seen on Burn Notice, will play opposite Noah Wyle. The network also hired Carl Franklin (One False Move, Devil In A Blue Dress) to direct the pilot. Franklin has previously directed the pilot for The Riches… TruTV has picked up a second season of the oil drilling reality series Black Gold…The always great Michael Nouri will guest on the last two Army Wives of the season…Robert Knepper has gone from guesting on the upcoming season of Heroes to getting series regular status…Christopher Gorham (Harper's Island, Ugly Betty) will star opposite Piper Perabo in the USA pilot Cover Affairs…In a project that is looking more interesting by the second, Two Tivos favorite Donal Logue will star in the FX pilot Terriers, playing an former cop who starts a PI business with his best friend. The series comes from Shawn Ryan, who previously created The Shield for the network, and Ted Griffin, who wrote the screenplay for Oceans 11…The great Martin Mull has been added to the cast of ABC's Eastwick…

Turns Out Not Where But Who You're With That Really Matters
The top thing I watched since the last column went to press AKA The Best Of What's Around…Aside from being the top rated episode in series history, this past Thursday's Burn Notice was a great example of what the show does so well, mixing action, comedy, and real human drama up with one of the tightest casts on TV.

Directed by Ernest Dickerson (check out his IMDB page for as top notch a TV directing resume as you will find these days), the outing also featured a great guest spot by Jay Harrington. So good as the likeable title character on Better Off Ted, Harrington was a huge success cast against type as a slimy spouse abusing criminal. The scene at the end, with the team pretending to be a priest, food cart vendor, and random passer-by in order to convince a bad guy that his brother (Harrington) was crazy was funny as hell, as was the wink Michael gave as the kicker.

One of the great things about this season is the way Sharon Gless has become more a part of things. It's been a very natural progression as Michael's Mom learns more and more about what it is her son does for a living, and Gless is a seasoned pro who owns the role.

Heading into its fourth season Burn Notice is really hitting its stride, both creatively and Nielsen-wise, a very tough combination for any show to pull off.

People Say I'm Crazy Doing What I'm Doing. Well, They Give Me All Kinds Of Warnings To Save Me From Ruin
What's flashed before my eyes the last few weeks…Torchwood: Children of the Earth was so good I immediately went to Amazon to order the DVD. I know some are angry about the death of a beloved character (don't want to get too spoilery, although it did area a week ago) but to me that kind of thing is essential if the audience is to buy into the whole "fate of the world is resting on you" idea. For fans of sci-fi or even horror, this is the best viewing option of the summer (probably of the year)…It's coming down to the wire on Next Food Network Star; clearly Jeff and Melissa are the two best options and I think Jeff would be a much different presence than the network currently offers…Three episodes in and I am still really enjoying Warehouse 13. Eddie McClintock is so good it makes you wonder why no one had found the right vehicle for him before this. I also like that they are giving Saul Rubinek some quality screen time and not just using him for occasional comic relief…Being Human is easily the best show about a Vampire, Werewolf, and Ghost living as roommates I have seen in some time, maybe even of all time. I really enjoyed the pilot – the cast was uniformly excellent – and this got an immediate season pass…The last two new episodes of Samantha Who? we will ever see were really high quality, a sad reminder of what a really bad decision ABC made in its scheduling of the show as well as its decision to cancel it. Christina Applegate should win the Emmy this September… Jeremy Piven reminded everyone that he earned those little gold statues that sit on his mantle this week with one of the best episodes of Entourage in recent memory, one of the few times where his bluster is matched by solid, even caring advice. The scene with him and Turtle was among the best the show has done…Hung seems to get better every week, with the series getting a big boost from guest star Margo Martindale, who brought some nice emotion to the table. Sure, the show has captured desperation in various forms so far but it was the Tony nominated Martindale, so great as Nina on The Riches, who opened the well on some deeper feelings…Sure, Army Wives is in many ways a soapy drama but this past week highlighted why the show is more than that, one that puts a spotlight on an American way of life not seen on TV recently. Aside from the strain that being at war puts on military families, the writers go out of their way to try and use the setting of the show to educate a little bit. This past Sundays subplot about Iraqi citizens working as translators for our troops and the danger it puts their and their family's lives in, was eye opening…I have been watching 1-2 episodes of The Tonight Show each week and am never disappointed with what Conan and crew trot out for my viewing pleasure. He still has his share of awkward interview moments but his comedic timing is impeccable…

TV Pick Of The Week
My favorite new reality show of the past year was easily Travel's Man v. Food, with host Adam Richman introducing me to all sorts of wonderful pig-out restaurants that our country has to offer, not to mention impressing the hell out of me with his eating abilities. Seriously, this is not a show to watch hungry as you will find yourself eating up a storm. Me, I've been on a kick to find good fried chicken in Boston after watching the multiple chicken and waffles segments from season one.

Part one of the week of Man v. Food starts tonight when Adam Richman visits The Tonight Show (11:35 pm, NBC). Richman is a great storyteller and all around good guy (and I'm not just saying that because he's stopped by these pages to say hi a couple of times) and my guess is he will have some sort of eating challenge with Conan that will be highly entertaining.

Sunday finds Travel running a season one marathon of the show starting at 2 pm, all of which leads up to Wednesday at 10 pm, when season two premieres.

Don't miss any of the Man v. Food programming options this week!

Hope You Need My Love, Babe, Just Like I Need You
Here is some other noteworthy programming of the next seven days…

*It's always a good time when Regis guests on The Late Show with David Letterman (11:35, CBS), so my tivo is set to record tonight!

*SHARK WEEK!!!!! Shark week 2009 begins on Sunday and along with rerunning the best of programming from years past, new specials include Deadly Waters (Monday at 9 pm) with Survivorman's Les Stroud trying to discover which body of water is really the world's deadliest, Sharkbite Summer (Tuesday at 9 pm), which looks at the summer of 2001 when there was a spike in shark attacks across the country, and Great White Appetite (Wednesday at 9 pm), a in-depth look at the many mysteries that still surround the great white shark.

*Defying Gravity, a new soapy drama set in space, has a two hour series premiere Sunday at 9 pm on ABC.

*Wipeout airs a special "best of the season" episode Wednesday at 8 pm.

*So You Think You Can Dance (Fox) airs its final night of competition Wednesday at 9 pm, with a new winner crowned during Thursdays two hour finale (8 pm).

*I have only seen part one of IFC's Bollywood Hero, a musical comedy that finds Chris Kattan (playing himself) heading over to India to star in a big Bollywood production, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Come on, when do you get to see a mix of satire, physical comedy, and musical theater all mixed into one? Plus, Keanu Reeves cameos and shows he has a great sense of humor. It's a three part mini-series, with part one debuting Thursday at 10 pm on IFC.

Two Tivos To Paradise
30 Days, 30 Rock, The Academy, American Idol, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Antiques Roadshow, Being Human, Best Week Ever, Better Off Ted, Big Love, Bones, Breaking Bad, Brothers & Sisters, Burn Notice, Celebrity Apprentice, Cake Boss, Chopped, The Chris Isaak Hour, Chuck, The Closer, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Daddy's Girls, Damages, The Deadliest Catch, Desperate Housewives, Destination Truth, Dirty Sexy Money, The Dish, Entourage, Eureka, Everybody Hates Chris, Flipping Out, Gary Unmarried, Ghost Hunters, Ghost Hunters International, Gossip Girl, Grey's Anatomy, Heroes, The Hills, House, How I Met Your Mother, Hung, Iron Chef America, Jon & Kate + 8, Last Restaurant Standing, Law And Order, Law And Order: Criminal Intent, Law And Order: Special Victims Unit, Lost, Mad Men, Make Me A Supermodel, Man v. Food, Medium, The New Adventures Of Old Christine, Next Food Network Star, Nip/Tuck, The Office, One Tree Hill, Paranormal State, Party Down, Private Practice, Project Runway, Psych, Real Time With Bill Maher, Reaper, Rescue Me, Royal Pains, Rules Of Engagement, Run's House, Sanctuary, Saturday Night Live, Scrubs, Shear Genius, Skins, So You Think You Can Dance?, Sons of Anarchy, The Soup, Southland, Sports Soup, Supernatural, Table For 12, Top Chef, Top Design, Torchwood, True Blood, Trust Me, Ugly Betty, Warehouse 13, Web Soup, Will Work for Food

People Love You When They Know You're Leaving Soon
Here ends another edition of Two Tivos To Paradise. We'll be back next week with all the latest news but if you want a TTTP fix before then check back with the site for my interview with Bollywood Hero star Pooja Kumar on Thursday.

Don't forget to come back next Friday for all the news, and while you're at it, why not just bookmark the movies/TV page here at 411mania.com and make it that much easier for you to find your entertainment industry hook up!

Feedback is encouraged at [e-mail] as well via the comments section below.

Sources for this week's column include Daily Variety, Entertainment Weekly, TV Guide, and Hollywood Reporter (plus the web sites for those publications) as well as Aintit.cool.com.