Two Tivos To Paradise 11.27.09: Your Black Friday TV News Source
Posted by Al Norton on 11.27.2009
Flashforward & Cougar Town shut down production, more on Oprah's future, Next Iron Chef winner Jose Garces stops by to chat, Stephen King and Steven Spielberg teaming up, Fox's winter/spring line up - no Glee until April, PSYCH & Burn Notice get renewed, raves for Community, tons of news & notes, the TV Pick of the week and more, all in the latest edition of Al Norton's Two Tivos To Paradise!
Hello Friends. I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday, surrounded by loved ones. This wasn't the twins first Thanksgiving but they were barely three months old last year so this is the first one that found them sitting at an actual dinner table. Judging from the mess they made I'd say turkey and all the fixin's were quite the hit.
Ok, it wasn't THAT messy…
Yesterday's holiday is a great excuse for me to present to you a few of the names that help me make this column what it is each and every week. A big THANKS goes out to (in no particular order): Carrie Simons, Amanda Ruisi, Lynn Weiss, Stanka Luna, Mike Liotta, Megan Tantillo, Annie Chen, Heather Sautter, Erin Blake, Jenni Weinman, Sarah Fuller, Kristin Schulman, Farrah Hersch, Crystal Stephens, Craig Schneider, Lee Wallman, Marjorie Hall, Theresa Black, Kannie Yu, Holli Fisk, Lisa Goldberg, and Michelle Rosenblatt. I am sure I am forgetting more than a few so don't think of this as the full list but rather just a sampling.
In case you missed them you should check the links below to find my interviews with Accidentally on Purpose's Jon Foster (Monday) and Modern Family's Eric Stonestreet (Wednesday).
Hey Chuck fans – here are two trailers for the new season:
What would you do if I sang out of tune, would you stand up and walk out on news?
Stop In The Name Of Love, Before You Break My Heart
Production was halted on two ABC series this week for two very different reasons. A "private family matter" Courtney Cox was dealing with caused the Cougar Town set to go dark. With two completed episodes ready to air and the holiday-induced reruns of December, there likely will be no interruption from what the network had planned.
FlashForward also halted production this week, with the network saying the six day stoppage was to benefit the writers; "They want to maintain the high quality of the show and this gives the writers the opportunity to do so." Last week FlashForward put up series lows in total viewers as well as demos.
Our best wishes go out to Courtney Cox and her family. Cougar Town has gotten funnier each week and I am more than ready to take it out of the "guilty pleasure" category and declare it a "good show." Hopefully she will be able to take care of everything in time for the show to start up again after the first of the year but another option would be to do an episode where her character is away on a business trip (a real estate convention would make sense) and focus on the rest of the cast. My guess is the writers are working on this just in case.
I was in the minority about FlashForward after the pilot, being one of the few who wasn't wrapped up in the story and perhaps the only one who pointed out that Joseph Fiennes performance was more woodened than Peter North on Viagra. I gave it a second episode but that was all I was in for, and Mrs. Tivo jumped off the bandwagon one week later.
That being said, I don't ever root for shows to fail (well, usually not) so hopefully this week will allow writers to tighten existing scripts as well as get together creatively on new ones.
The Fox Went Out On A Chilly Night, He Prayed For The Moon To Give Him Light
Fox released their winter/early spring schedule this week, including return dates for some favorites as well as long breaks for others. Here is a rundown of the big dates on the network's calendar:
Sunday, January 10th – 450th episode of The Simpsons followed by documentary special The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special: in 3-D! On Ice!
Tuesday January 12th – two hour American Idol season premiere
Wednesday, January 13th – American Idol premiere part two, followed by the series premiere of new game show Our Little Genius
Sunday, January 17th – preview of new series Human Target, followed by two hour premiere of 24 (special night – Fox primetime goes to 11 pm)
Monday, January 18th – part two of four hour 24 premiere
Wednesday, January 20th – Human Target premieres on its regular day & time
Friday, January 22nd – series finale of Dollhouse
Monday, January 25th – House returns
Friday, January 29th – new season of Kitchen Nightmares premieres
Thursday, February 11th – special two hour series premiere of Past Life
Thursday, April 1st – Fringe returns
Tuesday, April 13th – Glee returns
Sunday, March 14th – series premiere of new comedy Sons of Tucson
Lie To Me, which was picked up for a full season on Tuesday, will return to the line up on a to-be-determined date, as will Till Death.
The biggest shock to me about this is Glee going off the air for almost 4 months (the mid-season finale was this past Wednesday). Obviously they have a very passionate fan base but four months is a long time to go between new episodes.
Where Do We Go? Where Do We Go Now? Where Do We Go?
News of Oprah Winfrey's plans to end her long running syndicated talk show next September was still sending shockwaves through the television industry. OWN (The Oprah Winfrey Network) is still to launch on cable in January of 2011 and while no official programming announcements have been made, there are a plethora of options involving 25 years worth of reruns of her daily talk show.
Obviously straight re-airings of the show would work, but a much more interesting idea would be running famous episode of the show with new commentary by Oprah, much like you find by directors and stars on DVDs. She could package the episodes by theme on a daily (Medical Mondays, Celebrity Tuesdays, Music Wednesdays) that kind of thing) or weekly ("All this week at 9, episodes featuring Oscar winners"). There could also be "Where Are They Now" segments added on to each episode, updating viewers on the current status of the featured guests (they could actually turn this into an entire series hosted by Oprah's BFF Gayle King). It's not hard to imagine them incorporating the pre and post show footage with a "Where Are They Now" segment and a couple of comments by Oprah and make each episode actually two hours long.
As far as Oprah herself, it seems likely that she will have her own, new talk show on her network; considering she is the channel's strongest asset it would be foolish not to make herself front and center, and while Oprah is many things, foolish is not one of them.
I know many of my readers could not care less about Oprah but there is no denying that she is one of the most powerful people in the entertainment industry and brings a wealth of influence, connections, finance, and business know-how to this new channel.
Hey Good Lookin', Whatcha Got Cookin'? How's About Cookin' Somethin' Up For Me
Two time James Beard award winner Art Smith has been lined up to host Craving Comfort, a new food series for TLC. Smith, who appeared many times on The Oprah Winfrey Show while he worked as her personal chef and also competed on Top Chef Masters this past summer, will highlight a specific comfort food in each episode (such as fried chicken or mac & cheese), presenting three different ways to prepare it.
TLC is getting serious about food programming; along with their highly successful Cake Boss they have BBQ Pitmasters set to premiere on December 3rd and Ultimate Cake Off in development.
The network is also getting into the ghost business with B>Ghost Intervention, a four part series featuring a team of experts trying to help families who are experiencing high levels of paranormal activity in their homes. Additionally they gave a 12 episodes order to Mall Cop: Mall of America, which, as you might guess, follows mall cops around the largest mall in the US.
I give TLC huge credit for going with a "something for everyone" approach to their programming. Sure, they seem to have a lot of wedding shows but mix in their shows about all different kinds of families, their recent foray into culinary series, and the two others above and you'll see that they seem to make their decisions based on attracting as wide an array of viewers as possible, which is a good thing.
Has He Lost His Mind? Can He See Or Is He Blind?
Chef Jose Garces was named The Next Iron Chef on Sunday night on the Food Network's series finale. We caught up with him via email on Monday to discuss the victory and all that it means to him.
TTTP: Congratulations on becoming an Iron Chef. Did you feel different waking up the next morning?
Chef Garces: I felt different right away. This competition has been fierce, and it's incredibly gratifying to come out at the end knowing that you're the champion, that your skills and your hard work made you the best. I'm thrilled, proud and humbled, all at once.
TTTP: Obviously you wouldn't have entered if you didn't think you could win but were you surprised when you heard your name called at the end?
Chef Garces: I have to be honest with you: I was a bit surprised. It's not that I lacked confidence, but that the moment was so fraught – so many emotions were running through me, and it was nothing short of amazing when the Chairman unveiled my poster and declared me The Next Iron Chef.
TTTP: What influence do you think this whole experience (the various challenges you went through on the show) will have on you as a chef?
Chef Garces: I think that the show gave me more confidence with a variety of cuisines that I hadn't previously explored as thoroughly as I would have liked, and it also gave me a wonderful new platform for incorporating the techniques of Spanish and Latin American cuisines into new dishes and new preparations.
TTTP: How did you prepare for the final, both mentally and culinary (not a word, I know)?
Chef Garces: Most of my preparation was mental: plotting out recipes, trying to guess the theme and the secret ingredient, brainstorming techniques that I'd like to use and pieces of equipment that I would need. A few of the recipes that I used in the finale came from dishes that I serve at my restaurants, so that was a fun showcase for some of the food I'm most proud of: the food on my menus.
TTTP: What happens next? When is your first appearance as an Iron Chef in Kitchen Stadium?
Chef Garces: My first episode will air on January 17. I can't wait.
Give It Away, Give It Away, Give It Away Now
Our Steven Seagal giveaway is back for another week…Any of you readers feeling lucky? You could be a winner of one of the two Steven Seagal prize packs I have to give away as part of hype for his upcoming A&E reality show, with thanks going out to Crystal and the gang over at Electric Artists. Read approved text below…
ENTER TO WIN A STEVEN SEAGAL PRIZE PACK TO CELEBRATE THE SERIES PREMIERE OF STEVEN SEAGAL LAWMAN ON A&E
INTERNATIONAL FILM STAR AND LEGENDARY MARTIAL ARTS EXPERT DOCUMENTS HIS EXTRAORDINARY LAW ENFORCEMENT LIFE
PREMIERING WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2ND AT 10PM ET/PT ON A&E WITH
BACK-TO-BACK EPISODES
Steven Seagal's movies have grossed more than $2 billion worldwide. He is an expert martial artist with a 7th-degree black belt in aikido. Along with Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, he is considered one of the film industry's greatest action stars. But it turns out that Steven Seagal isn't just an action hero in the movies. For almost 20 years, Seagal has been working as a fully-commissioned deputy with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office in Louisiana. In fact, in addition to going out on patrol, Seagal is an expert marksman who has worked with their SWAT team and has instructed Jefferson Parish officers in firearms and hand-to-hand combat.
Until now, Seagal has never sought attention for his work with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office. However, over a span of almost two decades, he has regularly gone out on patrol and worked major cases. Each thirty-minute episode will allow fans to ride shotgun with Seagal as he and his hand-selected elite team of deputies respond to crimes-in-progress. Then, when Seagal goes off-duty, the cameras will continue following him as he pursues his many ventures – including musical performances and philanthropic efforts – in Jefferson Parish and New Orleans.
To celebrate the premiere of Steven Seagal Lawman, you can enter to win a Steven Seagal prize pack! The lucky winners will receive:
Steven Seagal Collection: 4 Film DVD featuring the Fire Down Below, Above the Law and The Glimmer Man and Under Siege
Steven Seagal Lawman long-sleeved T-shirt
Steven Seagal Lawman Stainless Steel Drink Tumbler
Ok, so email me at twotivostoparadise@yahoo.com with Steven Seagal in the subject heading and you could be a winner!!!
Winners will be chosen next Monday and notified via email.
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…
Thursday
The season finale of Project Runway was the most watched episode of the season, although the 4.2 million represented an 11% drop for last season's finale on Bravo…Bones beat FlashForward pretty soundly in both totals and demos…,b>The Mentalist was the most watched show of the night with 15.8 million and was the only show on Thursday that didn't drop in the demos…Grey's Anatomy was tops in demos but down from last week, although not as much as Private Practice, which dropped 21% to his a season low…The Office continues to be NBC's best demo performer…
Friday White Collar was up in the demos for the second week in a row, posting their second best numbers of the season…If it's a new Friday that means Medium and Ghost Whisperer are continuing their flip-flop for the top spot of the night, with GH coming out on tip this week…The Jay Leno Show had a rare up-tick in ratings…
Sunday
The Curb Your Enthusiasm finale was the most watched episode of the comedy in 5 years as well as being up 27% from last season's finale…The American Music Awards were watched by 14.2 million people, up 16% from last year…Amazing Race drew 11.7 million as well as season high demos and then was followed by the drop off of Cold Case (9.2 million) and Three Rivers (7.7 million)…All of Fox's Sunday night animated comedy lineup came in under season averages, with Family Guy topping in totals and demos…16 million tuned into NBC's Sunday Night Football, topping the night as it has all season…
Monday
CBS comedies had a very strong night, including season highs in demos for How I Met Your Mother and in total audience (14.2 million) for The Big Bang Theory…Dancing with the Stars competition finale easily topped the night with 20.5 million, although that number was down 13% from the same episode last spring. Lead-out Find My Family premiered to a solid 12+ million pairs of eyes…Heroes showed a slight improvement over last week's series lows but Trauma put up series low numbers to dampen any enthusiasm…House was down a bit from last week but still won 8:00 with 11.8 million…
Tuesday
Good news, bad news for the finale of Dancing with the Stars; its 19+ million were a season high but also proved to be the lowest finale in series history…NCIS topped the night with 20.3 million and thanks to a crossover, NCIS: Los Angeles posted a very strong 17.2 million…The Good Wife was up with 12.5 million thanks to the great lead-in audience…The Biggest Loser was down a bit from last week – to be expected with the DWTS finale – but was up nicely from this same week last year…So You Think You Can Dance had a big drop – again, the DWTS finale – to post 5.2 million and finish fourth for both hours…
All The Young Dudes, Carry The News
Industry News, Notes, and Hot Rumors… USA picked up a 16 episode 5th season of PSYCH. The second half of the show's 4th season begins airing in January. The network also confirmed what had been rumored since last summer, that they were picking up a 4th season of Burn Notice, which similarly returns for the second half of its current season in January…Stephen King and Steven Spielberg are teaming up to turn King's latest bestseller, Under the Dome, into a TV series...Regis Philbin is taking a leave from his Live with Regis & Kelly to recover from hip replacement surgery…Despite announcing that they had cancelled Trauma several weeks back, NBC ordered three more episodes of the series last week…Pulitzer Prize winner Sam Shepard will star in Tough Trade, the first series for the soon-to-be-launched Epix cable channel, playing the patriarch of a family involved in the country music business…Alicia Witt, who can be seen on the upcoming season of Friday Night Lights (or current season, if you have Direct TV), will star with Markie Post and Francis Fisher in the Hallmark Channel original movie Backyard Wedding…Discovery Health is launching a six episode first season of I'm Pregnant and…, telling the stories of expecting women in unusual circumstances. Episodes include I'm Pregnant and In Prison and I'm Pregnant and an Addict…truTV ordered a 13 episode second season of All Worked Up…VH-1 is launching a new concert series – Friday Night Alright – on January 1st, with all hi-def footage. The first show features Pink, with U2, Lady Gaga, Madonna, The Killers, Katy Perry, Kanye West, and Coldplay lined up for future episodes…We were talking about Oprah above so it makes sense to let you know that her Harpo Productions has inked a deal with HBO for a series about a woman who leaves her husband and family in Santa Monica to explore her sexuality in LA…The next three episodes of SNL will find the following pairings of host and musical guest; Blake Lively & Rihanna (12/5), Taylor Lautner & Bon Jovi (12/12) and James Franco & Muse (12/19)…
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…I've written previously that one of the things that Community does best is embrace the sitcom format while at the same time clearly poking fun at it, and this past Thursday was the best example of that, with multiple plot lines coming together at the end, including characters singing as well as a dance number.
Joel McHale, and to a lesser extent Chevy Chase, get the majority of the press but the entire cast is top notch and can go toe-to-toe with any sitcom ensemble out there right now.
To me Community is The Office without the meanness. I don't mean to say it's at the quality level The Office has maintained for the last few years but it's a work place based comedy (a college instead of an office) with a group of interesting characters at varying levels of emotional and intellectual function, and there is a pretty healthy dose of snark mixed in as well. The different is that The Office is genuinely mean to its characters some time – frequently to great comic effect, but still – and Community replaces that with a more heart-on-their-sleeve style of comedy.
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 seven days…I really wanted Oscar to come through in the clutch on last week's episode of The Office, although my disappointment did not have an effect on how funny it was to see Michael getting the crowd pumped up. Also, was Jim making Ryan's new office be in a closet – aka a prison cell – kind of mean? I know Ryan was being a little bitch beforehand but still… This season of 30 Rock hasn't been its best but that doesn't mean that each week doesn't provide quality entertainment. I am hoping that the development of Liz' talk show becomes a major focus moving forward…Last week's Law and Order, featuring a guest spot by Eliot Gould, was one of the better outings in recent memory, with plenty of twists but ones that were interesting and not veering wildly from the original story. Anthony Anderson has turned into a pretty high quality actor – loved his work on the episode a few weeks back that dealt with internet privacy (among other things)…What has made Chef Academy so good the first two weeks is how real Chef Novelli seems to be; while he is very concerned with the proper respect being given to the culinary process, there has yet to be even a trace of ego…One of the major highlights of the week was hearing the great Jerry Orbach's voice when a dance routine on So You Think You Can Dance? featured Razzle Dazzle from the original Broadway cast of Chicago…Ted lying that he was still in love with Robin in order to get the slap was a fantastic moment from another stellar episode of How I Met Your Mother…Loved, loved, LOVED the Curb Your Enthusiasm finale on Sunday, which could very well end up being the series finale as well considering Larry David has not made a decision about doing another season. The ending, with Larry and Cheryl back together and Larry's neurosis not even allowing him to have just that moment of peace, was dead solid perfect. Getting a chance to see Larry playing George was worth the price of admission as well…The three holiday encompassing episode of Grey's Anatomy really got me in the spirit of the season, especially because of Chandra Wilson's fine work (no shock there)…The last V until March was the strongest of the four that we have seen, with solid action, big plot developments, and a scary view of what lies ahead to close out the hour…
TV Pick Of The Week
Taped on back-to-back nights last month at Madison Square Garden, the 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concert is as star studded an event as you are likely to see in the world of music, one that celebrates both the past and present of rock and roll. Here is a sampling of some of the legendary artists who do sets and the music royalty who join them:
Crosby, Stills & Nash – Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, James Taylor
Stevie Wonder – Smokey Robinson, BB King, John Legend, Stine, Jeff Beck
Paul Simon – Art Garfunkel, Dion, Little Anthony and the Imperials
Aretha Franklin – Annie Lennox
Metallica – Lou Reed, Ozzy Osbourne, Ray Davies
U2 – Mick Jagger, Black Eyed Peas, Patti Smith, Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band – Billy Joel, John Fogerty, Sam Moore, Darlene Love
If you can't find something in there that appeals to your ears than you need to broaden your musical taste!
The special premieres Sunday at 8 pm and then will be rerun in the four hour version as well as broken up into 2, two hour versions. Don't miss the 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concert this Sunday on HBO!
Hope You Need My Love, Babe, Just Like I Need You
Here is some other noteworthy programming of the next seven days…
*SoapNet gives you 8 Dylan-centric episodes of Beverly Hills, 90210 today starting at 1:00 pm.
*Sitting around looking for some college football to watch today? Alabama takes on Auburn at 2:30 on CBS while Nebraska and Colorado do battle an hour later on ABC.
*Part one of Monk's two-part series finale airs tonight at 9 pm on USA. Bringing the mystery of who killed Mr. Monk's wife to a conclusion is the focus of these two hours.
*The latest edition of VH-1 Storytellers (tonight, 11 pm) features The Foo Fighters.
*TLC is running a 10 hour What Not to Wear marathon starting Saturday at 4:00 pm
*The undefeated New Orleans Saints take on the AFC East leading New England Patriots on what looks to be the biggest Monday Night Football (ESPN, 8:30 pm) game of the season; the loser's season is far from over but the winner takes a huge step forward towards being a serious Super Bowl contender.
*Season two of A&E's hit reality series Hoarders debuts Monday at 10 pm.
*It must be the holiday season since Charlie Brown Christmas is hitting the airwaves Tuesday at 8 pm, followed by the new animated special Prep & Landing, featuring the voices of Sarah Chalke and Dave Foley.
*Scrubs (Tuesday, 9 & 9:30 pm, ABC) is back!!! The location may be different (the setting is moving from a hospital to a medical school) and the cast may not look exactly the same as it did before but I'm betting the show is still pretty damn funny. Funny enough to forgive them for tarnishing the brilliant should-have-been series finale from last spring? We shall see…
*College hoop fans are in luck as ESPN is giving you a rematch of last year's NCAA finals when Michigan State takes on North Carolina Tuesday at 9 pm.
*Tuesday is World Aids Day and Showtime uses the occasion to premiere the powerful documentary, Love in a Time of HIV (9:00 pm), which gives you a look into the lives of several people living with HIV and how it effects their relationships.
*Sons of Anarchy (FX), which is a lock for a spot on my upcoming 2009 Best Dramas List, brings its excellent sophomore season to a close Tuesday night at 10 pm with a special 90 minute episode.
*Lifetime's comedy Sherri concludes its first season Tuesday at 10 pm.
*Craig Ferguson and Joel McHale are both likely to appear on my upcoming 2009 TV Entertainers of the Year list, which is why the latter guesting on the former's talk show (The Late Late Show, 12:35 am, CBS) on Tuesday is must see TV.
*CBS gives its annual showing of the holiday classic Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer Wednesday at 8 pm.
*It used to be that Grammy nominations were announced early in the morning like all the other major entertainment industry award shows but this is the second year that CBS is doing it in prime time, with the LL Cool J hosted Grammy Nominations Concert Live (Wednesday at 9 pm). Sugarland and Black Eyed Peas will be performing.
*I know I mention it above but I thought I would reiterate that Steven Seagal Lawman premieres with back-to-back episodes Wednesday at 10 pm on A&E.
Two Tivos To Paradise 30 Days, 30 Rock, The Academy, Accidentally on Purpose, American Idol, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Antiques Roadshow, Better Off Ted, Big Love, Bones, Bored To Death, Breaking Bad, Brothers & Sisters, Burn Notice, Celebrity Apprentice, Cake Boss, Chopped, The Chris Isaak Hour, Chuck, The Closer, Community, Cougar Town, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Daddy's Girls, Damages, The Deadliest Catch, Desperate Housewives, Destination Truth, The Dish, Entourage, Eureka, Flipping Out, Gary Unmarried, Ghost Hunters, Ghost Hunters Academy, Ghost Hunters International, Ghost Lab, Glee, Gossip Girl, Grey's Anatomy, Heroes, The Hills, House, How I Met Your Mother, Hung, Iron Chef America, 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 Middle, Modern Family, The New Adventures Of Old Christine, Next Food Network Star, Next Iron Chef, The Office, One Tree Hill, Paranormal State, Party Down, Private Practice, Project Runway, Psych, Real Time With Bill Maher, Rescue Me, Royal Pains, Rules Of Engagement, Run's House, Sanctuary, Saturday Night Live, Scrubs, Shark Tank, Shear Genius, So You Think You Can Dance?, Sons of Anarchy, The Soup, Spectacle: Elvis Costello with…, Sports Soup, Supernatural, Table For 12, Top Chef, Top Design, Torchwood, True Blood, Ugly Betty, V, The Vampire Diaries, 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 Friday with all the latest in TV headlines as well as a review of TNT's new series, Men of a Certain Age.
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! You can also follow us on Twitter!
Feedback is encouraged at twotivostoparadise@yahoo.com 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.
