Two Tivos To Paradise 04.06.07
Posted by Al Norton on 04.06.2007
Here Comes Tivo Cottontail...Don't Passover This Week's Television News...Have I Covered All My Bases? Click Here Now Before I Try And Think Of A Way To Work Ramadan Into A Punchline.
Hello Friends. It was a sad week in the Norton house as one of our Tivos passed away, taking with it 8 hours of unwatched programs. A moment of silence was observed and then we rushed out to Best Buy; with the mail-in rebate and the $50 gift card that came with the purchase, we picked up an 80 hour Tivo for $10.
On a much happier note, longtime Two Tivos readers Dave and Rochelle Bloom welcomed their daughter Julia Peyton Bloom into the world on Sunday.
Ready for the update? I once had some news, or should I say, it once had me.
Well It's Alright, Riding Around In The Breeze. Well It's Alright, If You Live The Life You Please
The long wait for fans is over as the final season of The Sopranos premiers this week on HBO. The final nine episodes of what is inarguably one of the top drama series in TV history start this Sunday, paired with new episodes of Entourage. While show creator David Chase has been planning this farewell for some time, it is unclear if he plans on ending the Emmy award winning series with a sendoff that wraps up any/all loose ends or if he takes more of a "life goes on" approach.
For the record, by "life goes on" I don't mean a very special episode where Christopher teaches Corky how to drive but rather the idea that these characters will continue with their lives as opposed a more traditional, TV ending. I know some felt there was a drop in quality last season but I didn't see it at all; some of my favorite moments of the series came during Vito's escape to New Hampshire, not to mention Christopher's trip to Hollywood. Anyone who as least partially tuned in over the series 6 season (spread out over 9 years) run should mark the next nine Sundays on their calendars to see how this revolutionary series says goodbye.
You Take The Good, You Take The Bad, You Take Them Both, And There You Have, The Facts of Life
NBC renewed 30 Rock for the 2007-2008 season on Wednesday, the good news counter punch to what was quickly labeled "Black Monday", when three freshman series were pulled from the schedule. The Wedding Bells, The Black Donnellys, and Six Degrees were removed from their respective network's line up's, effective immediately. For Six Degrees this is actually the second time it was shelved, and it seems unlikely that any of the three shows will ever return to the airwaves.
First off, great news about 30 Rock; this is just the latest example of NBC showing patience with their comedies (Scrubs and The Office took time to find their audience). I wonder if this means there is room for another sitcom in the line up, in particular Andy Barker, PI. As far as the other series, the writing has been on the wall for some time, so the real story here was that word came down on all three shows within a couple of hours on Monday afternoon. The Black Donnellys will probably get a nice DVD release. I just read in TV Guide that next weeks Six Degrees was supposed to feature guest star Josh Charles (Sports Night) in a role that revealed the secret connection between all the characters, but now we'll never now; All 103 viewers will be crushed.
So Let The Games Start, You Better Run, You Little Wild Heart
In a week where rumors ran wild that George Hamilton, Mario Lopez, and Entertainment Tonight co-host Mark Steines were the front runners to take over the job vacancy his retirement is creating, CBS announced plans for two different prime time Bob Barker specials for May sweeps; The Price is Right Million Dollar Spectacular will air on May 16th and will be the last time he serves as the show's host. The next night, Bob Barker: A Celebration Of 50 Years Of Television airs, featuring interviews and clips from his storied career.
George Hamilton? Mario Lopez? Maybe they are going with the anti-Barker, but what makes Bob so great is how he plays it so straight, and that he seems to love his job. It's actually the same traits that make Howie Mandell such a great fit for Deal Or No Deal. Anything I have seen Hamilton do lately has been with tongue firmly in cheek, winking at the audience, although I suppose Lopez would be thrilled to have a regular gig. John O'Hurley, currently busy as host of Family Feud, has done an audition take and would be my top choice. In any case, it's great to see Barker get the send off he deserves, and I look forward to hearing Adam Sandler tell a few funny stories in the tribute show. Barker also shows up as himself on How I Met Your Mother at the end of April.
There's A Rainbow Over My Shoulder. When You Came, My Cup Runneth Over
The CW announced this week that 7th Heaven would end its 11 year run with a series finale on May 13th. This is actually the second time the show has been cancelled; last year was set to be the end of the Camden Clan, but the ratings for the finale were so high that the network brought it back for an additional season. No word yet on if former series stars Jessica Biel and Barry Watson will return for the send off.
As Everwood fans know all too well, it was the above mentioned strong finale ratings last year that led the CW to resurrect 7th Heaven instead of keeping Everwood. Considering the low ratings this year, it will go down as one of the worst network decisions of my lifetime. This is good news for Veronica Mars as it seems unlikely that The CW will want to go into next year without any returning drama series (currently Gilmore Girls is up in the air). Aside from ranking as one of the longest family dramas in TV history, the show will also be remembered for introducing the world to Jessica Biel as well as answering the much asked science fiction convention question, "whatever happened to the lady scientist from Star Trek 5?"
But You Were Up To Your Old Tricks In Chapters Four Five And Six
All you need to know about the Nielsen's…A mixed bag for the first October Road that flew solo (no new Grey's paving the way) – overall numbers down big time but a very strong retention of the 18-49 audience. Going head-to-head with a new episode of Shark (almost 15 million viewers) played a roll in the drop, too…Good news/bad news for Raines new Friday night home; it was beaten by Close to Home by over 2.5 million, but the overall numbers were up 1.5 million from its last new episode…A Desperate Housewives clip show did ok on Sunday but led to lower than usual Brothers And Sisters numbers…Showtime was extremely pleased with the debut of The Tudors last Sunday, tying it with Fat Actress as the network's highest rated premiere in three years…Is Sanjaya effecting ratings? AI was down 1.2 million on Tuesday…The ultra cool Boston Legal featuring William Shatner 50 years younger picked up one million sets of eyes from its last new episode…Law And Order: SVU had the odd distinction of winning it's time slot while hitting a season low for total viewers…Not sure why but the two Prison Break episodes that followed the announcement that Fox had picked up a third year of the series tied for season low ratings, including last Monday's season finale…The premiere of The Bachelor: An Officer And A Gentleman was up over 2.5 million from last year's version…Lost reversed course, ending it's month long stretch of record lows to pick over ¼ million viewers....Jericho's upturn was only one week long as it was down ½ a million pairs of eyes. Can you say, "bubble show"?...
All The Young Dudes Carry The News
Industry Notes, Pilot Updates, & Casting News…Among the winners of the prestigious Peabody Awards this year were series Scrubs, The Office, Friday Night Lights, Ugly Betty, Brotherhood, and The Boondocks. Documentaries receiving TV top honor included When The Levees Broke, Baghdad ER, and Billy Jean King: Portrait Of A Pioneer…Victor Fresco brings his considerable producing & writing track record (My Name Is Earl, Mad About You, Evening Shade, Andy Richter Controls The Universe) to a new, untitled comedy for Fox that stars Academy Award nominee Tom Conti as a crazy grandfather guiding his grandson (Nathan Gambel, Babel) through life…I'm In Hell, Jason Biggs comedy pilot for CBS, just took a huge leap towards respectability by adding Timm Sharp (Undeclared), David Cross (Arrested Development) and Erika Christensen (Six Degrees) to their opening credits… Fox and Marta Kaufman (co-creator of Friends) have teamed up for a Gifted, a reality show pilot that puts the skills of people who claim to be psychic to the test…Bravo is working on Money Shot, a project runway for paparazzi wanna-be's with cash and a job at People Magazine on the line…NBC is fast tracking The Great American Singing Bee, with contestants singing the missing lyrics to songs…Jeffrey Dean Morgan returns to Grey's Anatomy once again as Denny narrates a clip show on April 12th…Billy Campbell returns as series killer Wayne Callison on the season finale of Shark…ABC has changed their minds AGAIN about Notes From The Underbelly; while the debut will remain in the 10, post-Grey's time slot next Thursday, it will shift to Wednesdays at 8:30 the following week…FX gave a 13 episode order to the new Glenn Close legal drama, Damages. Co-starring Ted Danson, Tate Donavan, and Zeljko Ivanek, it's set in the world of high stakes corporate litigation…Rumors have it that a second season of Dirt looks like a go, with official work by the end of May…Andy Garcia guest stars on George Lopez later on this month…Jonathan Silverman, whose In Case Of Emergency was just give four more episodes this season (bringing it's run to 13), beings a story arc on Close To Home tonight…MTV ordered a third season of The Hills…E will launch Chelsea Lately, a daily late night talk show hosted by Chelsea Handler, in July…Hugh Grant, Kelly Clarkson, Keira Knightley, Forest Whittaker, Daniel Radcliffe, Teri Hatcher, and Rowan Atkinson have all been added to the American Idol "Idol Gives Back" special, set to air the last week in April…
Turns Out Not Where But Who You're With That Really Matters
The top thing I watched since the last column went to press, otherwise known as The Best Of What's Around…Nora's dinner parties are starting to rival Monica's Thanksgivings and Mary Richard's dinners, and that bodes well for the long term success of Brothers And Sisters. This week's episode gave Sally Field a nice showcase for her well known acting abilities and also proved that Emily VanCamp can more than hold her own with the big boys and girls when it comes to family drama. Of course Everwood fans already knew that, but for the rest of you, meet the best 20 year old actress on television. All this, and it was the first time Rob Lowe's Senator Charming should a little spine in his relationship with Kitty.
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…A short section this week due to our gone-but-not-forgotten bedroom Tivo…I am loving the hour long Friday night snark fest that is The Soup and Best Week Ever. Sure, they are not on back-to-back but with Tivo it sure is. This was the first week where The Soup got more laughs from me, which is quite the accomplishment…It really is going to come down to the wire for me in awarding the Best Drama Series Norty. While Battlestar Gallactica is the clear front runner, every week Friday Night Lights inches closer and closer…The Riches is fast climbing the list of my favorite shows; Two Tivos reader Lea Cohen wrote in to say that "it's one of those X marks the Jew necklaces from Walmart" was the TV line of the year…Tim did not do himself any favors in the boardroom on this week's The Apprentice: LA. Frank seems like the one most in over his head right now, but the new format of allowing winning project managers to continue in their role has masked some team members weaknesses…Jericho finally got it right by killing one of it's established characters and having another get shot; the potential end of the world should seem pretty scary and not like an episode of Little House, where everyone pitches in to help out…Even though they are showing the episodes out of order (causing huge gaps in continuity), In Case Of Emergency is my big guilty pleasure right now…Planet Earth continues to amaze, although parents should know it's not for young children…There was something incredibly moving about seeing a young William Shatner on this week's Boston Legal, especially his interaction with the late Ralph Bellamy playing his Father. The episode was thisclose to being this week's Best Of What's Around, and will no doubt me Shatner's Emmy nomination submission…
TV Pick Of The Week
Come on, did you think it would be anything other than the season premiere of The Sopranos this Sunday on HBO? Fuhgettaboutit.
Two Tivos To Paradise, Weekly Update 30 Days, The 4400, Antique Roadshow, The Apprentice, Battlestar Galactica, Best Week Ever, Big Love, Bones, Boston Legal, Brothers And Sisters, Celebrity Paranormal Project, The Class, Criss Angel Mindfreak, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Dead Zone, The Deadliest Catch, Desperate Housewives, Entourage, Extras, Eureka, Everybody Hates Chris, Fast Inc, Ghost Hunters, Grey's Anatomy, Hex, Heroes, The Hills, House, How I Met Your Mother, In Case Of Emergency, Jericho, Justice, King Of Cars, Knights Of Prosperity, Laguna Beach, Last Comic Standing, Law And Order, Law And Order: Criminal Intent, Law And Order: Special Victims Unit, Lost, Medium, My Name Is Earl, The New Adventures Of Old Christine, The Nine, The Office, One Tree Hill, Project Runway, Psych, Real Sports, Real Time With Bill Maher, Rescue Me, The Riches, Rules Of Engagement, Saturday Night Live, Scrubs, Shark, Shooting Sizemore, The Sopranos, The Soup, Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip, Supernatural, Top Chef, Top Design, Ugly Betty, Veronica Mars. Additions :None Deletions :None
Here ends another edition of Two Tivos To Paradise. Happy Passover and/or Easter to all my readers! It takes a lot for a TV veteran like me to go overboard, but I am positively giddy for HBO's Sunday night premieres. Plus I have Opening Day at Fenway on Tuesday, which is always a thrill. Please feel free to send your column and television feedback my way at twotivostoparadise@yahoo.com. See you in this spot next Friday!
Sources for this week's column include Daily Variety, TV Guide, and Hollywood Reporter as well as the web sites for those publications.
