Two Tivos To Paradise 12.21.07: We've Got Both Kinds of TV News, Naughty AND Nice

Posted by Al Norton on 12.21.2007

Leno, O'Brien, and Kimmel are back in January - is Letterman close behind?, USA cancels The Dead Zone and The 4400, the SAG nominations are out, an early review of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Lost has a new night and time, tons of news and notes, the TV Pick of the Week and more...Your Friday's not complete without Two Tivos To Paradise

Hello Friends. Despite having to do a decent amount of shoveling, last weekend's snow/sleet storm was wonderful – first time I have spent the whole day inside that I can remember, not to mention the first time I went more than 24 hours without showering in years. TMI? While the image of me unshowered may not be too much fun for you, it was the reason I had time to watch Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, a review of which is found below. This week is the last full news column of the year – the next two weeks will be year end recaps – so I've packed it full of goodness to carry you through!

If I could ever say it right and reach your hostage heart despite the doubts you harbor than you might come to believe in news.

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

*The biggest strike related story of the week was Monday's announcement that The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Late Night with Conan O'Brien will return with new episodes starting Wednesday, January 2nd, which was followed the next day with the news that Jimmy Kimmel Live will be back on ABC the same night. The spin being put on it is that while they are crossing the lines, they are putting 100's of people back to work as a result of resuming production. Leno was particularly outspoken in the first days of the strike, publicly declaring he would not return to work until a new contract was in place. One assumes that David Letterman's return is sure to follow, and that also segues into the next item.

*Frustrated by the AMPTP's refusal to continue negotiating until they drop certain proposals, the WGA announced plans to try and make deals with individual production companies rather than one big deal with the AMPTP. While the AMPTP immediately labeled this "grasping at straws", Worldwide Pants, David Letterman's production company, jumped at the opportunity and hopes to have something in place by the end of the year, which would me both The Late Show and The Late Late Show could return without the stigma of crossing the picket lines. That distinction could give it an upper hand as far as bookings go since many A-listers want to stay on the WGA's good side. There is word that Comedy Central's The Daily Show and The Colbert Report are working on similar side deals.

THIS JUST IN - Late on Thursday it was announced that The Daily Show and The Colbert Report will begin airing new episodes as of Monday, January 7th. Like Leno, O'Brien, and Kimmel, they will return without their writers.

*The WGA made the decision that a waiver would not be granted for the upcoming Golden Globe and Academy Award telecasts, meaning that whatever witty banter there is from the presenters will have to be adlibbed. No word yet on if Jon Stewart plans on keeping his job as host of the Oscars.

*Despite multiple reports that The People's Choice Awards, scheduled to air in January, had been cancelled, CBS is insisting there will still be a telecast, just not in the standard format. Instead of a live show with a red carpet opening, CBS will aired a pre-taped show featuring clips of the winners, including some answering questions that fans have emailed in previously. One of the rumored changes is that the event itself will not be open to the press.

*As you read about in this space months ago, the networks are moving forward on grabbing existing cable series for a run in the big leagues. NBC announced that it will run Monk and PSYCH episodes on Sunday nights starting March, three months after they air on USA (the new season of each show being on January 11th). Apparently they are shying away from Battlestar Galactica because they don't think a serialized show will work as well as a fill-in, which I can understand. Rumors have NBC doing their best to get the rights to USA's Burn Notice as well but that could be more problematic since it is produced by Fox. It's clearly a huge opportunity the Monk and PSYCH to open themselves up to a much larger audience.

Just Yesterday Morning They Let Me Know You Were Gone, Suzanne The Plans They Made Put An End To You
TVGuide.com's Michael Ausiello reported on Wednesday that USA had cancelled both The 4400 and The Dead Zone. 4400 creator Scott Peters essentially confirmed the news in a posting on the show's message board that thanked the fans for their support but said, "the party has come to an end." The Dead Zone was an adaptation of the book and movie of the same name that had run for 6 years on USA (it was originally set for UPN but they passed), and The 4400 started as a mini-series before spinning off into a regular show for 3 full seasons.

Well this is not how I wanted to go into the big holiday week! I was never a big Dead Zone guy but I had felt for years that The 4400 was one of the more underrated shows on TV, with a nice mix of sci-fi, politics, and some pretty quality performances (especially Joel Gretsch and Jacqueline McKenzie), so this hits me reasonably hard. I wonder if USA wanted to get out of the sci-fi business altogether, what with Burn Notice, Monk, PSYCH, and Law And Order: Criminal Intent doing so well; maybe they thought there was a stigma in that kind of fantastical programming. I know there will be online petitions to save the shows, and I suppose there is the possibility that Sci-Fi would pick up one of them (most likely The 4400 as it is clearly the better show), but chances are we have to come to grips with the fact the TV world just got a little less freaky.

Reading, Writing, And Arithmetic Are The Branches Of The Learning Tree
ABC was the last of the five major networks to unveil their January and February line up's this past week, which included a new day and time for Lost (Thursday's at 9 starting on 1/31). Highlights include the dance competition show, Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann (Mondays at 8 in January, Tuesdays at 8 in February), high profile dramedy Cashmere Mafia (Wednesdays at 10 starting 1/5), the return of Wife Swap and Supernanny (1/2), Greg Berlanti's Eli Stone (Thursdays at 10, 1/31). The biggest ratings winner in the new batch of programming is sure to be Oprah's Big Give (Sundays, 9 pm, 3/2), a reality show where America's Queen of TV gives money to regular folks to give to those who are in need.

The return of Lost, even if just for 8 episodes (that's how many were completed before the writer's strike happened), is reason for celebration. OBG is paired with Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, meaning Sunday nights from 8 – 10 on ABC is going to be known as SobFest 2008. While I am not much of a Men In Trees fan, I have to wonder why ABC is trying to kill the show. The show has a fan base, and even some critical praise, and yet they continue to shuffle it around to different nights and times like they don't want people to find it; Wednesdays at 10 starting 2/27 is its newest home. Great news for Big Shots fans (this means you, Greg and Christine); the show returns to a Thursday's at 10 slot the second week of January, which means we will finally get to see Charisma Carpenter.

I've Got A Secret Under My Skin. My Heart Is Human, My Blood Is Boiling, My Brain I.B.M.
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles debuts on Fox next month with a special Sunday premiere on January 13th before settling into its regular Monday time slot the next day. Set in the Terminator timeline between the second and third movies, Sarah and her son John have settled into an almost normal life before paranoia (or is it?) send them on the run again. I can't get too much into the plot without revealing the kind of details that Fox makes us take blood oaths about.

I watched the first two episodes this weekend and really, really enjoyed them. The leads are well cast and in particular Lena Headey wisely underplays her role as the title character; no one is going to erase the memory of Linda Hamilton, so why bother trying? Summer Glau does a good job as the new protector of the Connors, and by the time the first two hours are over, a decent amount of supporting players/recurring characters have been introduced. The most pleasant surprise was seeing Two Tivos favorite Dean Winters show up as Sarah's former fiancé who has no idea who she really is; I hope he sticks around as he is as close to the eyes of the audience as you will find here, with real world reactions to these fantastical situations. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the writer's recognize they don't need to have a John and/or Sarah almost die/get caught moment every episode; too much of that and they could end up in Prison Break territory. I will say this – seeing the various Terminator models suddenly get hit by a fast moving car NEVER gets old! I am not really this show's target audience as I was not the biggest fan of the movies (they were fine but nothing special to me, other than the effects) but the human drama aspects of the story- the tension of living your life on the run, John's battle with knowing his destiny and trying to figure out how he turns into the future leader, Sarah's turmoil with her health and if she is doing right as a Mom - lend themselves to the week in, week out storytelling that TV offers. This will be season passed as soon as it hits the air.

I Took On Your Free Enterprise And Your Pretty Little Shops
December is Awards season and this week found two big groups revealing their choices for the top quality on TV. The American Film Institute's 10 Best Show of 2007 were Dexter, Everybody Hate's Chris, Friday Night Lights, Longford, Mad Men, Pushing Daisies, The Sopranos, Tell Me You Love Me, and 30 Rock. This was followed by the Screen Actor's Guild nominations on Wednesday:

Actor In A Mini-series or Movie
Michael Keaton, The Company
Kevin Kline, As You Like It
Oliver Platt, The Bronx Is Burning
Sam Shepard, Ruffian
John Turturro, The Bronx Is Burning

Actress In Mini-series or Movie
Ellen Burstyn, Mitch Albom's For One More Day
Debra Messing, The Starter Wife
Anna Paquin, Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee
Queen Latifah, Life Support
Vanessa Redgrave, The Fever
Gena Rowlands, What If God Were The Sun

Actor In A Drama Series
James Gandolfini, The Sopranos
Michael C Hall, Dexter
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Hughe Laurie, House
James Spader, Boston Legal

Actress In A Drama Series
Glenn Close, Damages
Edie Falco, The Sopranos
Sally Field, Brothers And Sisters
Holly Hunter, Saving Grace
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer

Actor In A Comedy Series
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Steve Carell, The Office
Ricky Gervais, Extras
Jeremy Piven, Entourage
Tony Shalhoub, Monk

Actress In A Comedy Series
Christina Applegate, Samantha Who?
America Ferrera, Ugly Betty
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds
Vanessa Williams, Ugly Betty

Drama Series Cast
Boston Legal
The Closer
Grey's Anatomy
Mad Men
The Sopranos

Comedy Series Cast
30 Rock
Desperate Housewives
Entourage
The Office
Ugly Betty

Hey, I love Boston Legal more than most but there is no way it belongs in the group over the likes of Friday Night Lights and Battlestar Galactica. And the cast of Pushing Daisies should be swapped with Entourage without a second thought. I was very pleased to see the overall excellence of The Closer recognized, although I still think people are voting for Holly Hunter the actress they love and respect and not actually for her work on Saving Grace.

We're Leaving Together But Still It's Farewell
By popular demand, here is the list of shows and their remaining episodes.

30 Rock, 1; Aliens In America, 7; Back To You, 2, Big Bang Theory, 0; Bionic Woman, 0; Bones, 3; Boston Legal, 5; Brothers And Sisters, 3; Carpoolers, 7; Cavemen, 7; Chuck, 2; Criminal Minds, 0; CSI, 1, CSI: NY, 3; Desperate Housewives, 1; Dirty Sexy Money, 3; ER, 4; Friday Night Lights, 6; Gossip Girl, 2; Grey's Anatomy, 1; Heroes, 0; House, 3; How I Met Your Mother, 0; Jericho, 7; Las Vegas, 8; L & O: SVU, 4; Life Is Wild, 3; Lost, 8; Medium, 9; Men In Trees, 11; My Name Is Earl, 1; The New Adventures Of Old Christine, 8; Numb3rs, 2; The Office, 0; One Tree Hill, 12; Prison Break, 5; Private Practice, 0; Pushing Daisies, 0; Reaper, 2; Samantha Who?, 3, Scrubs, 5; Shark, 1; The Shield, 13; Smallville, 6; Supernatural, 3; Ugly Betty, 3; Without A Trace, 3

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…CBS was the only network to be all new last Thursday, which led to some big numbers, including CSI pulling in almost 20 million viewers…The Survivor: China finale and reunion show scored well on Sunday night, although somewhat down from the last cycle…All of Fox's Sunday night programming got a boost from the overrun of the Cowboys-Eagles game…Dexter's season two finale was the show's highest rated episode ever…NBC's Sunday Night Football won the 10 pm hour…Despite all the hype given to NBC's Clash of the Choirs and ABC's Duel, both trailed a rerun of House at 8 pm on Monday, with Clash nudging past Duel for 2nd place…CSI: Miami scored the night's top audience with a shade under 14 million…Journeyman was down 21%, not a good sign for that grass roots campaign…The season finale of I Love New York 2 drew almost 5 and ½ million viewers, up 23% from the last episode of season one…The finale of The Biggest Loser topped Tuesday night in demos and was the series highest rated episode of the year…Clash topped Duel in their Tuesday and Wednesday night head to heads although neither is proving to be a huge draw…

All The Young Dudes Carry The News
Industry Notes, Pilot Updates, & Casting News…Nickelodeon has had no comment on whether or not they will continue to produce new episodes of Zoey 101 now that 16 year old series star Jamie Lynn Spears is pregnant in real life. They have said they will air the remaining episodes from the recently completed fourth season…Brad Pitt makes his first ever appearance on Live With Regis and Kelly this Monday on their annual Christmas Eve Pajama Party episode…The British comedy Secret Diary Of A Call Girl, starring Billie Piper (Doctor Who) has been picked up by Showtime. Following the exploits of a legal secretary whose night job is as an escort, it will debut this summer…Not only has the Food Network renewed Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Meals for 60 episodes next year but they are launching her in a new series as well; Rachael's Vacation is travel show that bows in January…Despite a published report stating it had cancelled , NBC is insisting that no decision has been made about Bionic Woman and that they will complete the 13 episode order once the strike ends and go from there…Lifetime picked up the rights to Wife Swap and will start showing reruns in the fall of 2008…Nick Jr. ordered a 20 episode second season of Yo Gabba Gabba…HBO has scheduled In Treatment to debut on Monday, January 28th. The new comedy starring Gabriel Byrne as a therapist will air new episodes every weeknight, with each night featuring a session with a new patient. Those patients will continue their nights through the run of the show. Did I just make that sounds as complicated as I think? Ok, here's the deal – each day of the week will have its own regular patient. Got it?...David Blue, Mark's boyfriend on Ugly Betty, is doing two episodes of Moonlight…Rumors abound that the cast of The CW's Life Is Wild have been told the show is cancelled… Oscar winner Michael Douglas is the new voice of NBC Nightly News…

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 was tough this week as the single best thing I watched is something I can't tell you about yet or ruin a future TV Pick of the Week, so I will do something I rarely do, and give this designation to last week's TPW, the series finale of Extras. Talk about uncomfortable humor – there were moments when I almost had to turn off the television. Clive Owen ranked with Ben Stiller and Patrick Stewart in terms of celebs making fun of themselves. When half hour shows stretch their length, more often than not the results feel drawn out (duh!), but the high quality of the 60+ minute finale made me feel more comfortable than ever in my assertion that Extras was better than The Office (the BBC version). I will miss Andy, Maggie, Barry, and especially Greg.

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 had that Nip/Tuck marathon I referenced in last week's column and considering what I had heard about the episodes, I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, the show is VERY dark, but this darkness, that focuses on the human condition, over the serial killers and organ stealing rings of previous years. The Plastic Fantastic episode was a major lost opportunity as the entire episode should have been the pilot; it ruined the effect going back and forth. Bradley Cooper returned last week and continued to shine… Best Year Ever was decent but nowhere near as good as it should have been. The decision to go with a longer show was fine but they didn't need to fill it with longer segments that aren't like anything they do normally. Don't get me wrong – I still laughed out loud a lot, but it wasn't the highlight I was hoping for…Decided to start watching Private Practice again – the strike is taking hold and ABC started re-running them in order, so I jumped back in where I left off (I gave up after the first of the season), only to find the same issues that drove me away; love the cast, especially Paul Addelstein, but the medical stories were really lame…Every year there are hot guest stars and the past few months have found Michael Weisman on fire; first he was the guilty party in the two part finale of The Closer, than he popped up as a DA on Boston Legal, followed by a turn as the villain of the week on the last new episode of Chuck. Also mixed in there was a one scene role on Nip/Tuck as a cop. He continues to play bad guys/dicks, so maybe a trip to Seattle Grace as the husband of a sick patient might do the trick to soften his image. Get Shonda on the phone, stat…Caught some of The Best of Chris Farley on Saturday night and was reminded of how brilliant his performance was as the title character in Adam Sandler's Lunch Lady song…This week's Boston Legal was fine but the whole Denny gets into trouble storylines are wearing thin; once of twice a year is one thing but it has been almost every week. One of the things the show is ding better this year is keeping the supporting characters on camera even when they don't have an active storyline…

TV Pick Of The Week
There are still a few days left to do what you can to end up on Santa's nice list in the hopes that you will find a new high definition TV under the tree on Christmas morning. If that's the case, or if you are blessed enough to already have one, than you can not miss the Discovery Channel's 15 hour Planet Earth marathon. In all seriousness, watching this series on a regular TV is one of the major things that led to an upgrade in our house. Perfectly narrated by Sigourney Weaver and featuring some of the most spectacular visuals you will ever see, this is as sure a bet for the TV Pick of the Week as I've had all year. Don't miss the Christmas day Planet Earth marathon on Discovery!

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. Merry Christmas to all of you who celebrate, and have a great Tuesday to the rest of you! Next Friday will be the big year-end, best of edition of TTTP, so don't even thinking about not coming back!

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.