Two Tivos To Paradise 12.14.07: The Best Damn TV News Report Period.

Posted by Al Norton on 12.14.2007

The latest on the WGA strike (it isn't good), Golden Globe nominations, is Pamela Anderson getting a reality TV show?, the end of Journeyman, Regis is slowing down (kind of), raves for Grey's Anatomy, ratings update, news and notes, the TV Pick Of The Week, and more...If it's Friday, it must be Two Tivos To Paradise!

Hello Friends. We are jammed pack with news this week, so I will keep the opening chit chat to a minimum, except to say that everyone in Boston is doing their annual winter freak out, dealing with yesterday's snow and getting ready for what promises to be a big storm this Sunday. Hey, if I get snowed in it means I can watch the Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles pilot that Fox sent me this week, not to mention catch up on the three Nip/Tucks I have waiting.

Have I told you lately that I love news?

Try To See It My Way, Do I Have To Keep On Talking Till I Can't Go On?
The week in strike news…

*Talks between the WGA and the AMPTP fell apart badly on Friday night, with both sides claiming the other was not negotiating in good faith. There is no set date for talks to resume, meaning that getting a new contract in place before the end of the year seems highly unlikely.

THIS JUST IN - Late on Thursday, the WGA filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, saying the AMPTP had violated federal law by breaking off negotiations after demaning several proposals regarding the unionizing of writers on reality and animated prgramming be dropped.

*As expected, the Television Critics' Association cancelled their annual winter press tour.

*With celebrities lining up to appear on Last Call with Carson Daly, rumors are heating up that the CBS line up of The Late Show with David Letterman and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson will resume production after the first of the year.

*The Screen Actors Guild received a waiver from the WGA and can hire a writer from the union to come up with the one liners delivered by the various award presenters at their ceremony on January 27th. There is no word on if the Golden Globes or Oscars will receive a similar waiver.

*Katherine Heigl was among those saying they would not cross picket lines to attend the Golden Globe Awards in January (see below for a rundown on the TV nominees). This will become a bigger deal as the telecast gets closer.

You'll Remember Me When The West Wind Moves Across The Fields Of Barley
Nominations for the 65th Annual Golden Globe Awards were announced yesterday, celebrating the best in film and television had to offer in 2007. Winners will be announced on Sunday, January 19th on NBC. What follow is a list of nominees in the top TV categories.

Best Supporting Actor (series, mini-series, or TV movie)
Ted Danson, Damages
Kevin Dillion, Entourage
Jeremy Piven, Entourage
Andy Serkis, Longford
William Shatner, Boston Legal
Donald Sutherland, Dirty Sexy Money

Great to see Danson pick this up as he was the only thing about Damages I enjoyed (more about that later). Regular Two Tivos readers know my raves for Sutherland on DSM. No one from Lost? No Neil Patrick Harris? No Tracy Morgan? No Chi McBride from Pushing Daisies? And don't get me started on the lack of love showed to James Callis (and the entire Battlestar Galactica cast).

Best Supporting Actress (series, mini-series, or TV movie)
Rose Byrne, Damages
Rachel Griffiths, Brothers And Sisters
Katherine Heigl, Grey's Anatomy
Samantha Morton, Longford
Anna Paquin, Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee
Jamie Pressly, My Name Is Earl

The single most glaring omission is the lack of any of the female cast members of Big Love being recognized; either Ginnifer Goodwin or Chloe Sevigny should be here in place of Rose Byrne. Another who should be here is Mad Men's Christina Hendricks (Joan).

Best Actor, Comedy (Series, mini-series, or TV movie)
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Steve Carell, The Office
David Duchovny, Californication
Ricky Gervais, Extras
Lee Pace, Pushing Daisies

No huge issues with this group, although Duchovny (and Californication in general) didn't do much for me. Maybe someday an Award giving group (other than Two Tivos To Paradise) will recognize James Roday for his work on PSYCH.

Best Actress, Comedy
Christina Appelgate, Samantha Who?
America Ferrera, Ugly Betty
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Anna Friel, Pushing Daisies
Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds

This is a very strong group of actresses. I would have swapped Laura Kightlinger (The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman) for Friel, but that's not meant as a cut on her or her Daisies' performance.

Best Actor, Drama
Michael C Hall, Dexter
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Hugh Laurie, House
Jonathan Rhys Meyers, The Tudors
Bill Paxton, Big Love

Where is James Gandolfini? Let's get the pretty boy (Rhys Meyers) out of there and give Tony Soprano the respect he so rightfully deserves.

Best Actress, Drama
Patricia Arquette, Medium
Glenn Close, Damages
Minnie Driver, The Riches
Edie Falco, The Sopranos
Sally Field, Brothers And Sisters
Holly Hunter, Saving Grace
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer

It says a lot about the quality of women on TV that this category is bulging out at 7, although Holly Hunter is here strictly because of her name; the award is for best acting, not most acting. How is it possible they had room for seven nominees and one of them is not named Connie Britton?!?!?

Best Comedy
30 Rock
Californication
Entourage
Extras
Pushing Daisies

Swap My Name Is Earl with Californication and I would be pretty happy with this group, although it was not Entourage's finest year.

Best Drama
Big Love
Damages
Grey's Anatomy
House
Mad Men
The Tudors

What show were people watching on FX? The Damages I saw was no where near the quality level some seem to have elevated it to. When Friday Night Lights, BSG, The Sopranos, Lost, and The Riches are ignored, one has to wonder how much TV these voters are actually watching.

In other awards news, the WGA nominated Dexter, Friday Night Lights, Mad Men, The Sopranos, and The Wire as the Best Drama Series. Corresponding nods in the comedy category went to Curb Your Enthusiasm, Entourage, Flight of the Conchords, The Office, and 30 Rock.

There's A Change Of Pace, Of Fantasy And Taste. Do You Like Good Music? Do You Like To Dance?
US Weekly is reporting that E! is in talks with newlyweds Pamela Anderson and Rick Salomon to do a reality show focusing on their relationship. Sources tell the magazine that the show is set to be like Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson's MTV series, "but with a lot more sex and a crazier family." E! has had no official comment as of yet.

Apparently Pam was sitting around lamenting the fact that she hadn't done anything recently to embarrass her kids, so showing her utter vapidity to the world seemed like a phenomenal idea. Can you imagine what it must be like to be her kids and the sheer volume of crap you would get from your schoolmates? "Dude, I watched the video of your Mom having sex again last night." Why wouldn't they put this show on cable, where at least Pam would get to show off what got her to this point in her career.

THIS JUST IN - Pam posted a message in her blog late on Thursday night saying there would be no reality show as it would cause too much disruption on her family life. Translation: E! wouldn't pay them enough.

You're Nobody ‘Till Somebody Loves You, You're Nobody ‘Till Somebody Cares
Regis Philbin revealed plans to cut back his Live With Regis And Kelly schedule to three days a week in 2008 during the host chat segment on Monday's episode. Philbin, who has had Fridays off in 2007, will work Mon-Wed in the new year, although the show is offering no official comment. It was also announced this week that Reege would host ABC's official Oscar red carpet pre-show this January.

As much as I would love it if he would work forever, Regis is 76 years old now and entering the last year of his contract for the daytime show. If the producers have their eye on anyone to take over, a two day a week gig would be perfect for a trial run. Kelly Ripa's husband Mark Consuelos has been a frequent guest host but I think they might be looking for a bigger name.

Oh The Streets of Rome Are Filled With Rubble, Ancient Footprints Are Everywhere
PBS is rebooting its Masterpiece Theater franchise for its upcoming 37th season, including bringing the Mystery! series in under the umbrella. The season will be broken up in third's, with each having it's own theme and host; Gillian Anderson will front Masterpiece Classic (featuring adaptations of all six Jane Austin novels as well as a new version of A Room With A View), followed by Masterpiece Mystery in the summer and Masterpiece Contemporary in the fall. No hosts for the last two segments have been named.

Not sure how many 411mania readers are big Masterpiece Theater fans but any show/anthology series that has managed to stay on for 37 frakin years, not to mention 100's of Emmy and Golden Globe nominations, deserves some coverage. Lined up to appear in various Masterpiece Classic productions are Dame Judy Dench, Daniel Radcliffe, and Kim Cattrall. Yes, you read that last name correct. Who would have thought that Lassie would make all the way to PBS?

Don't Know Much About History, Don't Know Much Biology
Production for an adaptation of Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States will begin in January in Boston, although the four hour of mini-series does not have a network attached. The book came out in 1980 and reached a level of pop culture awareness when Ben Affleck and Matt Damon referenced the book in the script of Good Will Hunting, which led to a deal with Fox to turn it into 10-12 hour min-series. That fell through, as did HBO's plans to create a three part special. Stars signed to appear include Damon, Eddie Vedder, Marisa Tomei, John Legend, Danny Glover, Viggo Mortenson, David Strathairn, and Kerry Washington.

Considering that a finished product with some big name stars may be easier to sell to a network than something on spec, especially considering this projects history of false starts, I can see why they would buck the usual model of attaching themselves to a network before starting work. Apparently the various celebs will read from the books (it's actually adapted from A People's History and Voices Of A People's History, the book's sequel) or sing songs related to specific themes, with interviews and photos/news footage worked in, so I am guessing your interest in watching this depends majorly on your feelings on the performers.

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…Thursday night was good to almost the entire line up of 8 pm programming, with Survivor: China, Ugly Betty, and My Name Is Earl showing increases…At 9, both Grey's Anatomy and CSI showed major improvement over their last new episodes, but the fact that those previous outings aired on Thanksgiving has something to do with it…ER's 300th episode did not lead to a ratings spike; it finished third for the night, behind a Without A Trace and ABC's incredibly boring Most Fascinating People special…Law And Order: Criminal Intent's much hyped "Bobby goes undercover to a prison psych ward" episode was the series most viewed outing since it moved to USA…Sunday's premiere of the ABC Family original movie Holiday In Handcuffs was the networks highest rated movie of all time, both in total audience and in key demos…Deal Or No Deal was the most watched show on Monday night, with CSI: Miami topping the evening in demos. The odd part of that sentence is that CSI: Miami's demos were the worst in series history, but still strong enough to win the night …Samantha Who? posted a series low for ratings, making it two weeks in a row of bad news, although the time of year does have something to do with it…The Biggest Loser was Tuesday's big demo winner, coming in ahead of a…House rerun in total audience as well…Boston Legal topped a new episode of Cane and a SVU rerun on Tuesday at 10…

All The Young Dudes Carry The News
Industry Notes, Pilot Updates, & Casting News…Not only does the Knight Rider reboot (a TV movies that may lead to a new series) have an airdate – February 17th but Kitt has a new voice, too; Arrested Development's Will Arnet will take over for William Daniels in giving Michael Knight helpful hints to get out of sticky situations…The good news for Journeyman fans is that the network will show the 13 episodes it produced prior to the WGA strike. The bad news is that those will be the only 13 produced…Scott Bakula clearly has a thing for Candace Bergen; first he played Murphy Brown's boyfriend and now he is guesting on Boston Legal as an ex of Shirley Schmitd's…Big Shots was yanked from the ABC line-up this week, replaced by reruns of Private Practice. I guess those of us with Charisma Carpenter obsessions will have to wait for the DVD release…Not only has The Hills been renewed for a fourth season, it was announced on Monday during the post-finale live special that 8 more third season episodes exist and will be shown in early 2008…VH-1 renewed Celebrity Fit Club and Ego Trip's The White Rapper Show, with Fit Club featuring an all-star alumni team going up against a new group of has beens…Bravo ordered new seasons of Sheer Genius and Top Design…ABC has greenlighted (greenlit?) Wipeout, where 50 people make their way through "the world's largest obstacle course" to win $50K…Direct TV did not renew Passions, meaning if the soap is to live on, another network (Oxygen?) will have to step in and pick it up…American Idol will do a second Idol Gives Back episode, with an air date of April 9th…Carrie Underwood, Miley Cyrus, and the Jonas Brothers have joined Fergie, Taylor Swift, and Natasha Bettingford as performers on Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve… In other New Year's Eve news, MTV will air Tila Tequila's New Year's Eve Masquerade, featuring the likes of Mary J Blige, Kid Rock, and Perez Hilton… Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles has added a few cast members, including Brian Austin Greene, Brian Bloom, and Two Tivos favorite Garret Dillahunt…Marie Osmond is in talks to host a daytime talk show…Bad news for Bones fans – Fox may not air a new episode until the end of February…

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…This past Thursday's Grey's Anatomy was far and away the best episode of the season, an excellent balance of medical crises and character/storyline development. Patrick Dempsey, who has really won me over since the show started (more on that in the upcoming year-in-review piece) was particularly excellent; the look on his face when he was leaning in to kiss Rose was fantastic, especially the way he kept his eyes open in bemused shock that what was happening was actually happening. It was great to see Alex finally ask Ava what the audience has been thinking, namely what she is doing driving to Seattle to see him when she is still married. Anyone with any TV watching experience knew Seth Green was a goner but that did not diminish his charm.

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 second half of last week's two part episode of Life was equally as entertaining as the first, with some great questions answered as well as a few new open doors. The top notch cast was made even better by the guest performances of Michael Cudlitz (inmate Mark Rawls) and Titus Welliver (Hollis). How awesome was the scene where Charlie had Hollis tied up in the fruit warehouse?...The holiday episode of Aliens In America was the series usual mix of gentle comedy and family friendly messages…While the overall quality of last week's My Name Is Earl was not overly impressive, the issues about Earl's faith in karma it raised were great groundwork for future stories…I don't want to bore you too much with my week in-week out praise of 30 Rock, but I don't know how someone wouldn't think this show is funny…A great How I Met Your Mother this week, with a nice use of flash-flash-flash backs…Boston Legal had a fantastic dig at Roger Clemens this week, showing how well David E Kelley knows the city where he sets his show…The last new Pushing Daisies until the strike is over did not disappoint, including opening several interesting plot doors involving parentage…My love for Friday Night Lights' Buddy Garrity (Brad Leland) knows no bounds; his scenes with Santiago (Benny Ciaramello) were fantastic…

TV Pick Of The Week
Am I inviting controversy when I confess that I like Extras (Sunday, 9 pm, HBO) more than The Office (the BBC version)? Both were Ricky Gervais comedies that excelled at putting its characters in squirmingly uncomfortable situations, but Extras seemed to speak to me more, maybe because Andy was just a little more likeable than David. Maybe it was Ashley Jensen's wonderfully daffy Maggie. Or maybe it was all the celebrities willing to make asses of themselves; Ben Stiller and Patrick Stewart deserve specific mention in this group. Sunday's series finale features guest spots by Gordon Ramsey and George Michael, and there is no doubt I'll be having a laugh. Don't miss the Extras series finale this Sunday night on HBO.

Two Tivos To Paradise, Weekly Update
30 Days, The 4400, Aliens In America, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Antique Roadshow, The Apprentice, Battlestar Galactica, Best Week Ever, Big Love, Bionic Woman, Bones, Boston Legal, Brothers And Sisters, Burn Notice, Chuck, The Closer, Criss Angel Mindfreak, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Dead Zone, The Deadliest Catch, Desperate Housewives, Destination Truth, Dirty Sexy Money, Entourage, Eureka, Everybody Hates Chris, Flipping Out, Ghost Hunters, Gossip Girl, Grey's Anatomy, Heroes, The Hills, House, How I Met Your Mother, Jericho, Kid Nation, King Of Cars, Last Comic Standing, Law And Order, Law And Order: Criminal Intent, Law And Order: Special Victims Unit, Lost, Mad Men, Medium, Moonlight, My Name Is Earl, The New Adventures Of Old Christine, Next Food Network Star, Nip/Tuck The Office, One Tree Hill. Project Runway, Pushing Daisies, Psych, Real Time With Bill Maher, Reaper, Rescue Me, The Riches, Rules Of Engagement, Run's House, Samantha Who?, Saturday Night Live, Scrubs, Shark, Shear Genius, The Soup, Supernatural, Top Chef, Top Design, Ugly Betty, Welcome To The Parker

Additions :None
Deletions : None

People Love You When They Know You're Leaving Soon
Here ends another edition of Two Tivos To Paradise. We are two weeks away from the Two Tivos Best of 2007 column, and three from our first annual TV Entertainers of the Year awards, but next week's news report will be the standard hodgepodge of news and views you have come to love.

Have a great week, see you next Friday!

Feedback is encouraged at [e-mail].

Sources for this week's column include but are not limited to Daily Variety, Entertainment Weekly, TV Guide, and Hollywood Reporter (plus the web sites for those publications) as well as Aintit.cool.com.