Two Tivos To Paradise 9.28.07: Your One Stop Shopping Destination For All The TV News You Can Use (And Some You Can't)
Posted by Al Norton on 09.28.2007
If You Can't Find News About A Show You Love In This Week's Two Tivos To Paradise, You Simply Don't Watch Enough TV. From The Family Guy To The Hoff To How Many People Tuned In To See Wayne Newton Dance - Click Here Now Or Forever Hold Your Peace.
Hello Friends. What a week – with all the TV I have barely had a moment to breathe, although I somehow found time to fit a lot of non-TV related activities, including taking Mrs. Tivo to see Wicked (her favorite musical) on Wednesday night, and bringing my Dad to see a Stevie Wonder concert that ranks in the five or so greatest shows I have ever seen. I felt like my got my money's worth from his opening number, Love's In Need Of Love Today, and that was just the first five minutes of a 2 and a ½ hour, once-in-a-lifetime experience.
I just called to say I news you.
This Just In
The ratings from Wednesday night's big match up's came in right as TTTP was going to press. In the 8:00 hour, the first DWTS results show won the 18-49 demo battle handily, with Fox's Back To You dropping 20% in total audience from week one. While Private Practice topped Bionic Woman for overall numbers, BW won the demos by almost a 1/2 million, making it the top rated new series of the year. Thanks to the strong lead-in, Life also won it's time slot for the key 18-49 crowd. CSI:NY topped Dirty Sexy Money for viewing audience, although the demos were thisclose. CBS had a rough night as Kid Nation dropped 15% from week one, and Criminal Minds finished third behind BW and PP, down almost 25% from last fall's season premiere.
Words Are Flying Out Like Endless Rain Into A Paper Cup
Based on the critical and ratings success of their Star Wars episode last Sunday, producers of The Family Guy are already discussing doing an Empire Strikes Back version next season, with the possibility being that this could become the series' version of The Simpsons' Tree House Of Horror. The show pulled in the highest ratings since it returned to the air in 2005 and was done with permission from George Lucas, which included the rights to several sound effects and bits of music. In exchange Fox agreed to tone down remove some ‘incestuous jokes involving Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia. If you missed the episode it is currently set to rerun on October 14th on the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim.
Based on how many people mentioned it to me at work, I am almost embarrassed to say that I did not see it, but my anecdotal research tells me it was a classic. Not sure why Peter and Stewie have never done it for me, especially since they seem to be well known for their pop culture references, but it may be my tendency to resist what everyone tells me to watch. That's what led me to be so late to jump on the Buffy bandwagon, so I hope I am not making the same type of mistake here. I promise you this, loyal readers – I will Tivo the rerun on October 14th and report back!
I've Got To Ride, Ride Like Wind, To Be Free Again
There is a shocking amount of David Hasselhoff related news this week; first off, E! is getting into the scripted series business with Tales From The Hoff, a Curb Your Enthusiasmesque show starring David Hasselhoff as a slightly fictionalized version of himself, making his way through Hollywood and the dating scene. The pilot is written by Dan O'Keefe (The Drew Carey Show) and produced by Ryan Seacrest, who is also producing the upcoming reality series, Keeping Up With The Kardashians. The other big Hoff story is that NBC is making a two hour TV movie remake of Knight Rider that may serve as a pilot for a new series. Directed by Doug Limon (Swingers, The Bourne Identity, Mr. and Mrs. Smith) and written by Dave Andron (Raines), the new KR will follow the same basic story except with more of a Transformers spin, including the introduction of an evil car as a recurring villain.
So getting fall-down drunk and being unable to eat a Whopper like a normal human will actually turn out to be a bit of a career boost for The Hoff; you've to love America. I am not sure how he can possibly be more a caricature than he is in real life, and I wonder if his acting skills are up to the challenge of playing himself with any sense of irony, but I can see why E! was attracted to the project; laugh at him if you want but America's Got Talent was the top show of the summer. Again. As far as a new Knight Rider goes, if special effects technology is at the point where they can do Transformers stuff on a weekly basis, I could see that being pretty cool. And NBC must be drooling at the money making possibilities; how much did General Motors pay to be the car in the movie this summer? Maybe Hoff could play the Devon Miles part.
It's Close To Midnight And Something Evil's Lurking In The Dark
NBC ordered 13 episodes of Fear Itself, an anthology series based on the critically acclaimed Masters Of Horror which aired on Showtime the last two years. MOH executive producers Keith Addis, Andrew Deane, and Mick Garris have all signed on to bring the show to the network next summer, and will feature the same formula – big name writers and directors making one hour stories – albeit with less gore.
On the one hand this seems like it could fantastic – the people involved should guarantee a high quality product – but on the other hand, ABC dropped the ball big time with last summer's Masters Of Science Fiction, so who knows. Anthology series seem like a good idea as it's easier to get big names to commit for just one episode, but the networks don't like when they don't have regular faces to sell to advertisers.
Would You Dance If I Asked You To Dance?
Eli Roth (Cabin Fever, Hostel), Michael Dougherty (Superman Returns, X2) and John August (Big Fish, Corpse Bride) have joined Kevin Smith in writing episodes of NBC's upcoming Heroes: Origins, set to air this spring. The spin off will debut after Heroes wraps up it's season two run and will feature new potential characters for the show, will viewers able to go on line and vote for their favorites.
While I know Smith and Hostel will be directing their episodes as well as writing, I am not sure about Dougherty and August, but regardless, this is a summer season that is guaranteed to draw big numbers. Roth has a major following who would tune in to see anything he does, even if they are not regular fans. If Smith does half as good a job as he did with the Reaper pilot his episode will be a success as well. And these names are only going to lead to more being interested in taking part. I do love it when big screen talent crosses over into television.
Woke Up This Morning Feeling Fine, Got Something Special On My Mind
While the new series meter isn't as off the charts as it was last week, there are still more than a couple of shows making their debuts over the next seven days.
TONIGHT
*Moonlight, CBS
Ok, no Angel jokes here, I promise. Not that a new series about a vampire working in LA as a private detective and in love with a mortal girl doesn't lend itself to comparisons that it will have a highly difficult time living up to, but the presence of Veronica Mars alum Jason Dohring means I will watch this with as open a mind as possible. At least until a horned, green demon opens up a karaoke bar.
MONDAY
*Aliens In America, The CW
The best new comedy of the season. Sure, that's not saying much considering the competition is the likes of Back To You and The Big Bang Theory, but that doesn't mean this series isn't more than worth your time. A gentle show that parents and teens could actually watch together (what a novel concept), this story of an Islamic Pakistani teenage boy who comes to stay with a family in Wisconsin is a perfect paring with the highly underrated Everybody Hates Chris. The Gilmore Girls' Scott Patterson seems to be channeling Eugene Levy as the Dad, and Dan Byrd has a real Patrick Fugit in Almost Famous thing going for him in his winning performance as the friendless teen whose life takes a big turn when Raja (Adhir Kalyan comes to stay). And yes, I still would've liked this show as much even if they hadn't used Pop Goes The World during the opening few minutes.
*Dr. Steve-O, USA
Steve-O helps guys who aren't manly enough de-wussify themselves. I believe this is what people are talking about when they complain about the volume of brain numbing programming on TV.
TUESDAY
*Carpoolers, ABC
People driving to work together. The jokes write themselves. Ok, the truth is I wasn't able to see this show before the TTTP deadline, so the main selling points to me are that Jerry O'Connell is likeable enough and Fred Goss, star of the short lived but much loved Sons And Daughters, is one of the leads as well. Hey, Allison Munn is on it, too, and we always support What I Like About You graduates.
*Cavemen
If you were ever going to tune in to something just to see how bad it was, Cavemen would be it. Come on, it's a sitcom taken from a commercial; doesn't everyone remember the classic comedy that was Baby Bob? ABC did not send a preview copy of this around so I can't say if it's any good but when something seems to have potential to be an all time car wreck of a show, I will be there!
WEDNESDAY
*Pushing Daisies , ABC
I almost feel bad for Pushing Daisies as just about every critic and TV writer, myself included, has been falling all over themselves to talk about how great it is. Talk about setting expectations too high; if this show will have to blow people away at this point for it to even register. Good thing the pilot is just that good. It's not going to be for everyone – the cinematography, color scheme, and bittersweet ness may not be a mass audience's cup of tea – but this is the kind of show (a la The Sopranos or this summer's Mad Men) that pulls in people who don't normally watch a lot of TV. If for nothing else it deserves a viewing for not being a factory produced, focus group tested hour of sameness. But trust me, it's really that good.
Hope You Need My Love Babe, Just Like I Need You
If all the new shows above weren't enough for you, just about all the major returning shows are back this week as well. The guide below should help you through the craziness. The new format, with me offering comments about each night, was a big hit last week, so we will be sticking with it for the time being.
Tonight Ghost Whisperer Season Premiere, CBS Las Vegas Season Premiere, NBC Numb3rs Season Premiere, CBS Stargate: Atlantis Season Premiere, Sci-Fi
I can't think of any reasons why Ghost Whisperer is still on the air. Wait, I can think of two. Apparently the show is trying to go more Supernatural, less Touched By An Angel this season, which means Mrs. Tivo will now probably want to watch. Val Kilmer stops by Numb3rs, and Tom Sellek joins the cast of Las Vegas, so the night has more than it's share of star power.
Saturday 48 Hours Mystery Season Premiere, CBS Saturday Night Live Season Premiere, NBC
Lebron James is hosting SNL, and while I doubt he will reach the highs of Michael Jordan's turn at bat, I bet he will do ok. I am hoping for some sort of High School Musical sketch.
Sunday American Dad Season Premiere, Fox Brotherhood Season Premiere, Showtime Brothers And Sisters Season Premiere, ABC Desperate Housewives Season Premiere, ABC Dexter Season Premiere, Showtime Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Season Premiere, ABC
Talk about something for everyone; from snarky animation to tongue-in-cheek soaps to dark, dark comedy to a good cry for the whole family, if you are not watching TV tonight it's because you don't want to, not that you can't find anything to try. Brothers And Sisters in particular proves that nothing tops a Walker family get together.
Monday Everybody Hates Chris Season Premiere, The CW The Game Season Premiere, The CW Girlfriends Season Premiere, The CW
Can't say much about two of these three shows as I have never seen them (like that has stopped me before, right?) but Chris Rock does a guest spot as a guidance counselor on EHC tonight, making it the first time he has appeared on screen on the show that he created and narrates. I continually hope that EHC holds on long enough to get to syndication and finds the wide audience it so richly deserves as the best family comedy on television.
Tuesday Eureka Season Finale, Sci-Fi Queer Eye For The Straight Guy Season Premiere, Bravo
Not to steal a line from all Ain't It Cool talkbacks, but this show (Queer Eye) is still on? Actually, this is the start of the final season, so look for big retrospectives over the next few months - maybe even a viewer's choice marathon - leading up to the finale. Regular readers know how big a fan I am of Eureka, and I look forward to Sheriff Carter getting his memory back.
Wednesday Sarah Silverman Program Season Premiere, Comedy Central South Park Season Premiere, Comedy Central Top Chef Season Finale, Bravo
Thursday 30 Rock Season Premiere, NBC Law And Order: Criminal Intent Season Premiere, USA Supernatural Season Premiere, The CW
30 Rock's premiere episode is a riot and also proves that Jerry Seinfeld, while being extremely funny, is a terrible actor. Law And Order: CI debuts at its new USA Network address, with more of a focus on the character's personal lives this year.
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 last week…The CW's two new magazine shows – CW Now and On-line Nation - pulled in just over a million each, not exactly an auspicious debut…The season premiere of Cold Case was down 5 million from last season, and Shark's first outing in it's new time slot was down a million from last spring's finale…The View has adapted to it's post-Rosie life pretty well; while the ratings for Whoopi's first week were down a bit compared to Ms O'Donnell's debut, the overall ratings are up 7% from last year, and Sherri Shepherd's first week outdrew Rosie by almost a half million…The "season premiere" of Smackdown on The CW last Friday was the most watched show of the night for men 18-49, which of course is exactly who they're going after…The new cast of Dancing With The Stars hoofed it in front of over 21 million pairs of eyes, making it Monday's big winner. The Bachelor followed by losing almost 55% of it's lead in, meaning it drew a ½ million less than last season's premiere…Chuck drew 9.3 million, finishing ahead of Prison Break…Marketing clearly paid off as The Big Bang Theory pulled in 9.58 million, topping it's lead in (How I Met Your Mother) by over a million…K-Ville's second episode was down 31% from week one…Heroes returned over 14 million strong, a bump from the season finale, but Journeyman could not hold on to those viewers, losing 30% of them…CSI: Miami began the new season with over 2 million less fans than last year, at least those interested enough in watching…<>BNCIS had an opening night audience of 13.65 million, my Dad included…House was Fox's highest rated drama premiere, with a little over 18 million people in tow…Reaper (3.3 million) had enough buzz to do better than it's Beauty And The Geek lead-in…SVU won the Tuesday at 10 slot with 12.1 million viewers, but Cane's 11.1 million was a very strong beginning. Boston Legal's 10.3 million was solid at best…
All The Young Dudes Carry The News
Industry Notes, Pilot Updates, & Casting News…Low ratings caused Fox to pull Nashville after just two episodes, although the network is promising it will return to the schedule next month…Eric McCormack (Will And Grace) has been cast as one of the two leads in the TNT dramatic pilot, Truth In Advertising, and word around town is that Ed's Tom Cavanagh is in talks to take the other lead…Two Tivos favorite Garrett Dillahunt (Deadwood, The 4400, John From Cincinnati) has signed on to Fox's mid-season replacement, The Sarah Connor Chronicles…In other JFC alumni news, Austin Nichols will do five episodes of Friday Night Lights as a teacher at Dillon High…NBC has already picked up a 5th season of The Biggest Loser that will change it up a bit by having teams of two (spouses, couples, friends) go head to head…VH-1 has not officially confirmed participants for Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew in January but look for Bridgette Nielsen, Chyna Doll, and Andy Dick to take part…Clash Of The Choirs, where big name singers go back to their home towns and round up a chorus to compete in a harmonic showdown, will hit NBC in mid-December…Maya Rudolph will not be returning to SNL this season, despite earlier reports that had her signing a contract extension…HBO bought the rights to Reclaiming History: The Assassination Of President John F Kennedy, Vincent Bugliosi's mammoth book that attempts to prove that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. The 10 part mini-series will be executive produced by Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman, and Bill Paxton…Mo'Nique is doing at least one episode of Ugly Betty this fall…NBC's Phenomenon debuts on October 24th. Hosted by Criss Angel and Uri Geller, the competition series is searching for the next great mentalist…Sharon Gless (Burn Notice, Cagney & Lacey) will be guesting on at least four episodes of the upcoming season of Nip/Tuck…Speaking of, it was a busy, busy week for Nip/Tuck creator Ryan Murphy; not only did his upcoming series about a transsexual get some big name cast members (Joseph Fiennes, Blythe Danner, Robert Wagner) but Fox also ordered a pilot for Queen B, a new workplace drama he is producing…ABC is working on Limelight, billed as a modern day version of Fame…James Marsters is quite in demand these days, with multi-episode guest spots on Without A Trace, Torchwood, and a just announced return to Smallville…Fellow citizen of the Whedonverse Mercedes McNabb will stop by Supernatural this fall…
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 finally caught the first two episodes of HBO's Tell Me You Love Me and was blown away by the remarkable level of emotional honesty the show presented, to the point of being uncomfortable at times. Yes, there is a lot of sex, and yes, it's as graphic as anything you will ever see on TV, but it's also real people sex, so don't expect to be aroused as much as fascinated. The two standout performances are by Ally Walker, best known for her work on Profiler, as a woman whose husband is in denial about their lack of sexual activity, and Adam Scott, who excels in showing the everyday frustrations of dealing with conception issues. The entire cast does a phenomenal job at seeming like real people (actually two of the characters seem to be so good at it they are genuinely annoying), making it less like a scripted show and more like the ultimate reality series. It's not for everyone but that doesn't make Tell Me You Love Me any less compelling.
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…The TV line of the year so far has to be, "it's like a muffin, with frosting"…How great were the facial hair jokes on How I Met Your Mother? I like Jeremy Piven as much as the next guy but that Emmy should have gone to Neil Patrick Harris...Adam Baldwin is one of the reasons Chuck may turn into a big hit for NBC. Am I the only one who remembers him from My Bodyguard? Maybe they can get the guy who played Mike for a big sweeps week rematch. Come on, what's wrong with a little 27 year old movie reference between friends?!?!...The Big Bang Theory only got one showing in the Norton house, and that was at least one too many. It's not that it was bad, it just wasn't very good, and if that's the best you can say about a show than you shouldn't be watching it…The season premiere of Bones was an excellent illustration of how well the show balances forensic science (not to mention forensic science fiction) with sharp banter…Cynthia Nixon's performance on Law And Order: SVU lived up to all the hype but I was sad to see Munch's stint as squad commander last only an episode…. Loved the janitor mentioning lupus as a possible diagnosis on House almost as much as I did that House was wrong about the patient lying to her boyfriend about her life…Journeyman was just way too much at once. Did they need to pack into the first hour that the lead character had a gambling problem, a wife who used to date his brother, some sort of unexplained time travel powers plus the ability to change people's destinies, and a not-so-dead ex-girlfriend? Half of that stuff would have been more than enough, not to mention all of the established rules of science fiction the script seemed to break. What, you mean what they said in Back To The Future doesn't go for everything?...Life is the new show I am most surprised I like, which I acknowledge is a rather odd compliment. I have seen the first two and like the pacing quite a bit, which combined with some strong performances make for quality if unchallenging TV viewing…Enjoyed the season premiere of Heroes, especially the debut of Stephen Tobolowsky, but the cheerleader's first day in high school stuff left me a little cold; she is among the least compelling characters the show has to offer, so I am not dying to see more of Claire's Creek. On an up note, Greg Grunberg, who some people have suggested will play me in the movie version of Two Tivos To Paradise, seems to have a front burner storyline…Kevin Pollock was great on Shark, as was fellow new cast addition Kevin Alejandro. The new Sunday night time slot will make it tough for me to keep watching; the 4:00 PM NFL games wreak havoc with the Tivo…Hope everyone loved Reaper as much as I did; of all the new shows this fall, it was the one that left me most eager to see episode two…Loved all the BSG cast members used in Bionic Woman, which had a decent first episode that should lead to bigger and better things…
TV Pick Of The Week
If you are looking to spend your weekend tapping your toes and humming out loud, start off by catching Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band play songs from their upcoming Magic album on The Today Show, and wrap things up Sunday by tuning into the Disney Channel at 6:00 pm when they air High School Musical and High School Musical 2, which will be the first time they are shown back to back. For those of you who had no interest in the pop culture phenomenon that is HSM until Vanessa Hudgens' naked photo scandal, now is a great opportunity to see what made her famous in the first place. If you need me to give you reasons to check out Bruce, you are well beyond my assistance. Don't miss NBC's The Today Show on Friday morning and High School Musical 1 & 2 Sunday Night on Disney.
Two Tivos To Paradise, Weekly Update 30 Days, The 4400, After The Catch, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Antique Roadshow, The Apprentice, Battlestar Galactica, Best Week Ever, Big Love, Bones, Boston Legal, Brothers And Sisters, Burn Notice, The Closer, Criss Angel Mindfreak, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Dead Zone, The Deadliest Catch, Desperate Housewives, Destination Truth, Entourage, Extras, Eureka, Everybody Hates Chris, Flipping Out, Ghost Hunters, Grey's Anatomy, Heroes, The Hills, House, How I Met Your Mother, Jericho, King Of Cars, Last Comic Standing, Law And Order, Law And Order: Criminal Intent, Law And Order: Special Victims Unit, Lost, Mad Men, Medium, My Name Is Earl, Monk, The New Adventures Of Old Christine, Next Food Network Star, The Office, On The Lot, One Tree Hill. Project Runway, Psych, Real Time With Bill Maher, Rescue Me, The Riches, Rules Of Engagement, Saturday Night Live, Scrubs, Shark, Shear Genius, The Soup, Supernatural, Top Chef, Top Design, Ugly Betty, Welcome To The Parker
Additions :None Deletions :Painkiller Jane (series ended)
Here ends another edition of Two Tivos To Paradise. By the time we meet up next Friday the Red Sox will have started their post-season play – I just got my tickets in the mail, so my TV viewing may suffer for a few days. Along with the standard news and views you expect, next week's TTTP will include the updated list of shows we are now season passing – after two weeks I should be able to tell what I want to keep watching. See you next week!
Feedback is encouraged at twotivostoparadise@yahoo.com.
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.
