Two Tivos To Paradise 3.19.10: Your TV News Bracket Buster

Posted by Al Norton on 03.19.2010

Breaking Bad returns, Conan and Fox getting closer to a deal, Syfy working on a new Battlestar Galactica spinoff, more Curb seems likely, raves for Life Unexpected, 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. After four straight days of rain which caused major amount of flooding here in Boston we were blessed with four days of beautiful sunshine and low 60 degree temps.

Congratulations to Robert Olsson and Dale Mikitalo on winning season 13 of South Park on DVD. This seems like the perfect time to shill for the Two Tivos To Paradise Facebook page (it's officially listed as "Al Norton's Two Tivos To Paradise"). Aside from being where we will host all our future giveaways, it's also a great way to stay current on the world of TV as I use status updates to fill you in on breaking news.

Here is a trailer for HBO's new Boardwalk Empire…



And speaking of HBO trailers, here's one for next month's Treme…



That interview with Chuck's Ryan McPartlin I promised you last week? It's running on Monday. Also, check the site this weekend for my chat with Breaking Bad's Bob Odenkirk.

Zip your lips like a padlock and meet me in the back with the news and the jukebox.

Your Talk Is Cheap, You're Not A Man, You're Throwin' Stones To Hide Your Hands
Season three of Breaking Bad premieres Sunday at 10 pm on AMC, with a marathon of six of the best episodes from the first two seasons running today at 8:00 pm. Starring two time Norty – and sure, Emmy – winner Bryan Cranston as a man who has gone to considerable lengths to make sure his family is taken care of after being diagnosed with terminal cancer, the show has been among the top 5 dramas on my year end list each of its two seasons and features one of the best supporting casts on television.

I will not give away anything but having seen the first three episodes of season three I can tell you the show has not lost even a fraction of a percentage of its excellence. I feel tense just watching it, and I mean that as high praise. It took until the second season before the majority of critics jumped on the Breaking Bad bandwagon but we Badheads welcomed them with open arms, especially as they sang the praises of not only Cranston but Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn, Dean Norris, Bob Odenkirk, and the dynamic Raymond Cruz. It's worth noting that Cranston directs Sunday's season premiere.

There really aren't enough words to do justice to Cranston's performance, which to me ranks with Andre Braugher's work on Homicide: Life on the Street as one of the best matches of character and actor in the last 10 – 20 years. This is Hall of Fame caliber work being done here by someone so talented as to be unrecognizable as Walter White when compared to his last big role, the Dad on Malcolm in the Middle, let alone his recurring gig as Tim Whatley on Seinfeld. I'd reference his work as Doug Donovan on Loving but I fear I'd be dating myself, and I did enough of that in high school.

Breaking Bad most certainly is dark but more than that it's human, and that's why it's so damn good.

You May Say I'm A Dreamer But I'm Not The Only One, I Hope Some Day You Will Join Us And The World Will Be As One
Amid announcements about new shows and nights of programming was word that Syfy was talking with Ron Moore about a new Battlestar Gallactica spinoff series. Other highlights of the network's Up Front presentation included…

*Tracy Morgan will be back as host (and now executive producer) of Scare Tactics when the show returns for a 13 episode fourth season this fall.

*Two new reality series – Paranormal Investigators (duo travels the world to legitimize or debunk claims of supernatural activity) and Mary Knows Best (life of a Long Island psychic) - will be the primetime lineup when the network debuts Thursday night original programming.

*Twin Peaks writer Harley Peyton has scripted the pilot for Three Inches, about a man with the power to move items with his mind – but only three inches – who creates a team of folks with similar underwhelming abilities.

*A fourth season of Destination Truth has been ordered.

I stopped paying attention after Battlestar Galactica spin off, and I mean that in a god way. BSG was one of the best shows of my adult lifetime and Caprica is really starting to come into its own, so I am all for them trying to mine the show, and Ron Moore's brilliant mind – for all its worth.

We'll Be Buying The Bar, Take Over The Club, I Got What You Want, So Give It Up
Bravo revealed plans to add a fifth night of original programming to their lineup and announced some of the shows they picked up as well as some in development, including their first scripted series. They also confirmed that all new series will be shot in HD.

NEW SHOWS (Officially Ordered)

Pregnant in Heels – reality show following Rosie Pope, designed of high end maternity shoe line

Miami Social Club – reality show about rich, high society Miami residents

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills – latest edition of Bravo's hit franchise

Million Dollar Decorators – reality show featuring some of LA's top interior designers.

NEW SHOWS (In Development)

Around the World in 80 Plates – cooking competition series involving chef wannabe's traveling the world to work in top restaurant kitchens

Hitmakers – Undiscovered singer/songwriters compete for fame, with a big name singer performing the winning song each week

Commander In Chef – Established Chefs compete against each other in front of a live audience in an elimination tournament.

Mia Michaels Projects – reality series following the So You Think You Can Dance? choreographer in her everyday life

I'm Not Myself These Days – scripted series executive produced by Darren Starr (Sex and the City) about a powerful New York family man who leads a double life as a drag queen.

Room Service – scripted series that takes place at a fancy hotel populated by high end male escorts

Why do I love TV as much as I do? Because there is something for everyone, and this batch of niche programming is a great example of that. They've got a formula that they know their audience wants to see so they are sticking with it. And I give them credit for those two scripted series concepts as neither are even remotely like anything else on TV right now; in particular I'm Not Myself These Days has huge promise as there is a ton of material to work with there, pun intended.

Like A Coin In Your Mint, I Am Dented And Spent With High Treason
With news about casting for pilot season running wild (whatcha gonna do…) I thought I'd break it out of the News and Notes section to give it a proper spotlight….

*Summer Glau will co-star with David Lyons (ER) in NBC's superhero pilot The Cape.

*Tom Selleck, Donnie Wahlberg and Len Cariou (Damages) have been signed for an untitled CBS drama about a family of New York police officers.

*Oscar winner Jon Voight will be looking for his first regular TV gig with Fox's drama pilot Midland, about a Texas con artist who has two separate families. Voight will play the Father of one of the two girlfriends.

*Malcolm McDowell will play the head of the upper crust law firm that brings in street smart lawyers Breckin Myer and Mark-Paul Gosselaar on TBS' hour long dramedy Franklin & Bash.

*Mia Maestro (Crusoe, Alias) has replaced Rosalyn Sanchez as the lead in ABC's Cutthroat, playing a rich soccer mom who runs a drug cartel.

*Constance Zimmer and Kat Foster are sisters who run a security company that caters to the uber rich in another hour long TBS dramedy, In Security.

*Alan Tudyk (V, Firefly) will co-star in NBC's Rockford Files reboot as the title character's best friend.

*Richard Hatem's untitled ABC pilot got a name, a new lead, and a new co-star this week. Now known as Boston's Finest,word on the street has already cast Katee Sackhoff female lead being joined by Gorin Visnjic (ER) as the other lead. Will Yun Lee is joined by TTTP favorite Treat Williams in the cast as well. Hatem previously has been a writer and/or executive producer on Supernatural, The Dead Zone, The Lost Room, and Tru Calling.

*Mary Steenburgen is one of the leads in the ABC comedy pilot Southern Discomfort.

*Skeet Ulrich will star in John Wells' untitled medical drama pilot for CBS, playing the leader of a mobile medical team that moves throughout the country assisting in life or death situations.

*High School Musical alum Ashley Tisdale got one of the lead in Hellcats, The CW's college cheerleading drama executive produced by Tom Welling

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 seven days…

THURSDAY
The Marriage Ref dropped 21% in the demos, going from first in the 10:00 hour in that category to third…19.1 million tuned in to see four more American Idol wannabe's go home…The Mentalist was the most watched scripted show of the night with 16 million with Grey's Anatomy being tops in demos…

FRIDAY
CBS won the night, as usual, with Ghost Whisperer putting up the top demos, Numb3rs having the biggest overall audience, and Medium comfortably between the two of them, outdrawing GH in viewers but not demos…Who Do You Think You Are? seems to be a show that will do well enough to stay on the air (t3 way tie for second best demos of the night) but not so much to get renewed…

SUNDAY
Undercover Boss was the most watched show of the night in both total audience (13.3 million) and demos, although the latter was down 25% from last week, most likely due to the new reality competition…Speaking of which, The Celebrity Apprentice pulled in a sold but not spectacular 8.2 million…Minute To Win It's 7:00 pm episode was just ok with 4.6 million but at 8:00 it drew 7.2 million. The demos improved more than 50% in the second hour as well…Sons of Tucson did not premiere well, losing more than 30% of its Family Guy lead-in (and more than 35% of the demos, too)…Amazing Race and Cold Case each pulled in a little over 10 million sandwiched around Boss…Desperate Housewives was the highest rated scripted show of the night with 11.8 million but the demos were a series low…The Pacific premiered in front of 3.1 million, a 22% gain over HBO's last mini-series (John Adams) but below their expectations…

MONDAY
Chuck posted an all-time low for demos, down 17% from last week,
some of which can be explained by the first day of daylight savings time; traditionally
8:00 shows drop and overall combined viewership was down 9%...Rules of Engagement
did quite well, keeping the same numbers as last week despite being surrounded by
reruns…Life Unexpected had a second strong week in a row, up 29% in female
demos…House drew over 11 million total viewers and posted the best demos of any
show for the night…

TUESDAY
Justified pulled in 4.2 million, ranking behind only The Shield for total audience of an FX series premiere….Parenthood had double digit losses in the demos for the second week in a row, down 12% from last Tuesday…As usual, American Idol won the night with 22.9 million total viewers and demos that more than doubled the next closest show…NCIS was the top rated scripted show of the night with 18 million viewers and season low demos…The Good Wife won the 10:00 hour in totals and demos…

WEDNESDAY
Just over 20 million tuned in to see the latest American Idol hopeful go home in the first Wednesday results show of the season…Idol lead-in Human Target did well, winning the hour in totals and demos…America's Next Top Model was up 6% in the demos from last week's season premiere…South Park's season premiere audience was the largest for watch kickoff for the series since 1999, helping the series premeire of Ugly Americans also do well and give Comedy Central it's best night of 2010...

All The Young Dudes, Carry The News
Industry News, Notes, and Hot Rumors…Multiple sources are saying Conan O'Brien and Fox are getting very close to deal for the former Tonight Show host to get a new late night talk show, with the LA Times going so far as to say the goal is to be able to announce the show at the network's upfront presentations in May…Larry David told TV Guide that he thought another season of Curb Your Enthusiasm was likely...Season three of True Blood will premiere on Sunday, June 13th…TTTP favorite and Norty Award winner James Callis (Battlestar Galactica) will join the cast of Eureka for the show's upcoming fourth season…Ryan Murphy told Entertainment Weekly that he was in talks with Fox to make Glee's second season a bigger-than-usual 25 episodes long…Betty White will guest star on the season finale of The Middle…Evan Rachel Wood, Guy Pierce, Melissa Leo, and James LeGros have joined Kate Winslet in HBO's Mildred Piece mini-series, directed by Todd Haynes…Bobby Flay is now a judge and investor in NBC's America's Next Great Restaurant, a reality series where the winner gets a restaurant chain based on their concept. Flay is expected to be joined by four others to serve in the same capacity…USA picked up a 12 episode first season of Facing Kate, starring Sarah Shahi (Life) as a big time lawyer who becomes disillusioned with the system and becomes a mediator. Michael Trucco (Battlestar Galactica) co-stars as her ex-husband…Colm Feore (24) is in talks to co-star with Jeremy Irons in Showtime's upcoming series The Borgias…Robert Wisdom (Supernatural, The Wire, Prison Break) is joining the cast of Burn Notice this summer as new villain…TTTP fave Natalie Morales will join Rob Lowe and Adam Scott (Party Down) by guesting on multiple episodes of Parks & Recreation this spring…Fox ordered a third season of Kitchen Nightmares…Showtime announced return and premiere dates for their original series; Penn & Teller: Bullshit (6/10), The Green Room with Paul Provenza (6/10), The Real L Word (6/20), Weeds (8/16), The C Word (8/16)…24 showrunner Howard Gordon is reteaming with two writers from the show to adapt the popular Israeli series Prisoners of War. Titled Patriots, the show finds three American soldiers returning home from Iraq in 2003 after being presumed dead for 10 years…Christiane Amanpour is leaving CNN to host ABC's This Week...A&E and Discovery are the two networks most interested in the Sarah Palin-Mark Burnett reality series, which would find the former Governor giving a tour of Alask to viewers...

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… Life Unexpected continues to be one of the most charming, endearing, and emotionally earnest shows of the season and one that really deserves a second season from The CW.

I watched last and this week's episode in one sitting and wished I had a third to pop in when I was done. This past Monday's episode was the better of the two – did anyone else catch the multiple Seinfeld/b> references, calling sweat pants "give up pants" and the whole "statue of limitations" thing?!?!??! – and really showed not only how hurtful kids in high school can be but also how much that pain can stay with people for years and years.

All the interaction between the people that populate Lux's universe is believable and all the little moments – Ryan and Baze sharing a beer – seem well earned. Math getting more screen time is a good thing because you need good supporting characters to last long term. The next step for them is to flesh out a couple more of Lux's schoolmates.

Right now the biggest issue the network may have is what to pair it with; One Tree Hill makes some sense although there it's a good bet that this is the last season for Ravens but Gossip Girl is so over the top that it doesn't mesh well. What's clear after the ratings for last two weeks is that the show should be on at 8:00, although I am still a bit worried about it being on at all.

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... This clip was clearly the highlight of last week's SNL; note how perfect Jerry is with his really's…



I had been reading hype – and contributing to said hype as well – for FX's Justified for months and am here to say I was not in the slightest bit disappointed with Tuesday's premiere, which gave us fantastic dialogue to go along with some strong performances and an authentic without trying to hard texture to the series. Automatic. Season. Pass…Danielle Fishel's barbs have become a bit more ribald over the last few weeks and The Dish is funnier for it. The more the show is molded around her personality (and not vice versa), the better…White Collar certainly ended with a bang, although I am not sure they realize Kate is perhaps the single most uninteresting part of the show. If they wanted the audience to feel Neal's pull to her they should have given us a flashback episode to when they were together so we could see their chemistry with our own eyes. Actually, a flashback episode would work well because maybe we could see the first time Peter caught Neal. Anyway, I am hoping she is dead and that the mystery becomes who killed her and why. Also, if Neal is officially in deep cover with the other group, does that mean he loses the ankle bracelet forever and can come and go as he pleases?...I enjoyed the Sons of Tucson pilot, laughing out loud a couple of times while being able to see how the general set up would allow for a lot of funny material over time. I am not sure pairing it with three animated series was the right fit, although I don't know where else Fox could have put it as they don't have any standard sitcoms that do well… What does everyone think of the growing popular theory that the flash sideways we are seeing on Lost are actually real life and that everything else is a virtual reality game? I am not sure if all the characters are playing or perhaps just Jacob and whatever the real name of the thing inside Locke is right now but it's making me think about it a little bit. Makes more sense than the purgatory idea from a few seasons back but who knows? Loved seeing Josh Holloway essentially audition for the lead in whatever cop show he wants to do next year…Parenthood may have failing ratings but there is nothing wrong with the on-screen product. Three episodes in and I am hooked. The more Mike O'Malley, the better!...

TV Pick Of The Week
Desperate Housewives has not been having its best season this year but there is reason for excitement on Sunday night when Captain Jack Harkness arrives on Wisteria Lane. Ok, not actually Torchwood's fearless leader but the next best thing; John Barrowman, the actor who plays Captain Jack, begins an multi-episode stint as the mysterious man that Drea de Matteo's Angie has been running from for so many years. Well, he and the government, but it seems like he is the one she is most scared of.

With reports that Fox is developing an American version of Torchwood and eyeing Barrowman to reprise his role, this guest spot is kind of a big deal since it will be the first time most of America sees him and will go a long way towards convincing US network executives that he can carry a series. Hey, you and I know he can, but no one ever accused network executives of using logic in their decision making process.

Don't miss Desperate Housewives, Sunday at 9 pm on ABC.

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

*Kirstie Alley's Big Life is generating some buzz as a much-better-than-you'd-think reality show about the Emmy and Golden Globe winning actress leading her day to day life, both professionally as well as raising her daughter. I've seen the first two episode and can tell you it was surprisingly entertaining. The series premieres with back-to-back episode Sunday at 10 pm, with the season premiere of Gene Simmons Family Jewels as a lead-in.

*Speaking of new reality series debuting at 10 pm preceded by a returning favorite, Style's Jerseylicious (the inner workings of a New Jersey beauty salon) premieres Sunday at 10 pm after a new episode of Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane.

*ABC Family is running a 9 episode marathon of The Secret Life of the American Teenager on Monday beginning at 11 am as a lead up to the season finale at 8 pm.

*The new season of Dancing with the Stars kicks up its heels Monday at 8 pm.

*Showtime's critically acclaimed dark comedy Nurse Jackie is back with a second season Monday at 10, followed by the also returning United States of Tara. This is a matchup of likely Emmy favorites.

*V returns with new episodes Tuesday at 10 pm on ABC.

*The great Jill Scott guests on Law and Order: SVU Wednesday at 10 pm on NBC.

*To the delight of tweens, teens, and Mrs. Tivo, The Vampire Diaries and Supernatural return with new episodes Thursday on The CW.

Two Tivos To Paradise
30 Rock, The Academy, Accidentally on Purpose, American Idol, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Antiques Roadshow, Archer, Better Off Ted, Big Love, Bones, Bored To Death, Breaking Bad, Brothers & Sisters, Burn Notice, Celebrity Apprentice, Cake Boss, Chef Academy, Chopped, The Chris Isaak Hour, Chuck, The Closer, Community, Cougar Town, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Daddy's Girls, Damages, The Deadliest Catch, Demons, Desperate Housewives, Destination Truth, The Dish, Entourage, Eureka, Flipping Out, Food Network Challenge, 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, How To Make It In America, Hung, Iron Chef America, Justified, Launch My Line, Law And Order, Law And Order: Criminal Intent, Law And Order: Special Victims Unit, Life Unexpected, Lost, Mad Men, Make Me A Supermodel, Man v. Food, Medium, Men of a Certain Age, The Middle, Models of the Runway, Modern Family, The New Adventures Of Old Christine, Next Food Network Star, Next Iron Chef, The Office, One Tree Hill, Paranormal State, Parks & Recreation, 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 Chef: Masters, Top Design, Torchwood, True Blood, Ugly Betty, V, The Vampire Diaries, The Wanda Sykes Show, Warehouse 13, Web Soup, Will Work for Food, Worst Cooks In America,

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 TV news and hopefully a special guest dropping by, too. Don't forget to become a TTTP on Facebook!

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.