Two Tivos To Paradise 04.25.08: Where Your TV News Thirst Is Quenched

Posted by Al Norton on 04.25.2008

J-Lo and Kelly Ripa sign with TLC, Fox gives The Sarah Connor Chronicles a second season, Jimmy Fallon is taking over Late Night, more crime drama cast changes, BSG's # 6 hits Burn Notice, American Idol thoughts, raves for The Paper, tons of news and note, the TV Pick of the Week, and more, all in Al Norton's Two Tivos To Paradise!

Hello Friends. It's another week in the life, with energies being focused on the condo my brother is closing on (the one that Mrs. Tivo and I will be living in) next Wednesday, not to mention trying to find gainful employment as a writer again. I also ran my Fenway record to 3-1 by catching two of the Sox four game sweep of the Rangers. Of course bringing my readers the latest in TV news remains a top priority.

While doing some preliminary packing I stumbled upon a Steve Earle collection I have not stopped listening to since, including I Ain't Ever Satisfied, my unofficial theme song. I know, I know – anyone who has ever met me understands how ludicrous that last statement is, but it works for me anyway.

When I had you to myself, I didn't want news around.

I Bet You're Wonderin' How I Knew About Your Plans To Make Me Blue
While an official announcement is not expected for a few weeks, multiple outlets were reporting that it's a done deal for Jimmy Fallon to host Late Night in 2009 when current host Conan O'Brien takes the reigns of The Tonight Show from Jay Leno. This is a move that has been rumored for months and one that seems to confirm there is no way that NBC will swallow the poison pill that is O'Brien's guaranteed huge payment if he doesn't succeed Leno in 2009.

I know there are a lot of Fallon haters out there but I liked him on Weekend Update and think he brings a ton of energy to the table, which may help distract from a lack of any discernable interview skills at the beginning of his run. I'd probably rather see him host a nightly version of The Barry Gibb Talk Show, but that's just me.

The bigger story here is how much money is Jay Leno going to get on the open market; there has been talk of a syndication deal for $40 million plus ownership. Love him or hate him, he does the job the network pays him to do – win the ratings battle – better than anyone, and is still in his "prime". There has rarely been a TV personality in the position to cash in the way Leno is come next year, although I expect his decision will not be about money as much as protecting/cementing his legacy.

From Some Other Planet, I Get This Funky High On Yellow Sun
TLC made a big splash this week, signing Jennifer Lopez and Kelly Ripa for new reality series. J-Lo's show will be shot as a documentary, following the new Mother of twins on her quest to juggle parenthood with her multitude of business activities, and she will serve as an executive producer. Ripa and husband Mark Consuellos signed a deal to develop new series for the network, the first of which will feature the Live With Regis and Kelly star as a host.

I'll give TLC some credit for ponying up what must have been some serious cash for these deals and also predict both work out very well for them. I am not sure J-Lo's fan base – and don't be fooled into thinking she doesn't have a strong one – is the usual TLC audience, which is exactly why this makes sense as it gets the network all sorts of mainstream press and brings in lots of new eyes.

Ripa is the surer thing here since she is already on one of the biggest talk shows on daytime TV; what better way to launch a new series than a one hour commercial on TV EVERY weekday watched by millions?!?

Of course the shows themselves still need to be good (yeah, right) but there is no question TLC is attempting to be this year's Lifetime, a cable network with a niche audience that jumps to the next level of pop culture awareness.

She's So Fine, There's No Telling Where The Money Went
Battlestar Galactica star and Playboy cover girl Trisha Helfer will do a multi-episode arc on the upcoming second season of the USA series Burn Notice. TV Guide is reporting that Helfer, who signed a development deal with Fox – which produces the show - will play Carla, who is involved in Michael Weston's mysterious firing from the CIA and ends up working with him on a series of new cases. Burn Notice begins it's second season on July 10th.

I know I am supposed to be a mature, objective writer, and Helfer really is a fantastic actress who does a great job at making all the different versions of #6 seem like individual people, but I can't get over just how frakin' hot she is and how any show with her and Gabrielle Anwar in the cast could be watched and enjoyed even with the TV on mute.

On a professional note, Burn Notice as one of the most pleasant surprises of 2007 and Helfer is an inspired choice to hook up with a cast (Jeffrey Donavan, Bruce Campbell, Sharon Gless, Anwar) that can already more than hold its own.

Six O'clock – TV Hour, Don't Get Caught In Foreign Tower
Fox renewed Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles for a second season this week and at the same time confirming that Brian Austin Green would be joining the cast full time in the fall. There is an option for an additional 9 episodes and the network also confirmed it would be moving the show out of the Mondays at 9 time slot, which is where NBC's sci-fi themed Heroes resides. TSCC was the highest rated new scripted series of the 2007-2008 season with the key 18-49 demographic.

This is great news for fans of quality television as this show really came into it's own during the last few episodes this winter, including a brilliant action sequence set to Johnny Cash's When The Man Comes Around. Series lead Lean Headly has slowly grown on me, and co-stars Thomas Dekker and Summer Glau have been excellent from the start, but regular readers know my love of the show has much to do with its use Dean Winters and Garret Dillahunt, two of my favorite TV character actors.

It will be very interesting to see where the writers take a second season of the show, especially since Agent Ellison had clearly come around as a believer by the finale. Green coming on board fulltime is the right move since despite his 90210 roots, he made a very strong impression in a short amount of time. I had thought Fox might wait until January and run this with 24, especially with the 4th Terminator film debuts in theaters in May of 2009, but now I am of the mindset they will pair this with JJ Abrams new sci-fi drama Fringe.

Gonna Be A Broken-Hearted Clown, Paint My Face With A Good For Nothin' Smile
NBC announced the line up for its upcoming Celebrity Circus reality series, including naming Joey Fatone as host. Christopher Knight, Rachel Hunter, Antonio Sabato, Jr,, Blu Cantrell, Janet Evans, and Jason "Wee Man" Acuna will appear when the show debuts on June 11th, following the participants as the train to perform in front of a panel of judges (and viewer voting). Some of the acts they will do include the tight wire, fire knives, trapeze bungee, and Chinese poles.

I've got to say that I am not really sure what NBC is thinking on this since it's not like any of these "celebrity" participants have large built-in audiences, nor are we a country that is particularly circus obsessed (I know that Ringling Brothers and Big Apple do well but with a audience that is almost entirely children (and their families)…which leaves who as a target audience? I actually think the show would do better with regular folks competing as we might get some interesting back stories as opposed to being given a group of folks who might get recognized at Target.

Life Is A Series Of Hellos And Goodbyes, I'm Afraid It's Time For Goodbye Again
The turnover at the various crime shows on network TV written about last week has continued, with Law and Order: SVU losing a second regular while CSI: Miami is down an original cast member. Adam Beach, who joined SVU last year as Detective Chester Lake, will not return in the fall, and Khandi Alexander, who has portrayed Medical Examiner Alexx Woods since the show debuted, is also done at season's end. Beach will most likely not be replaced as SVU has a large cast and a budget needing to be trimmed but CSI: Miami will get a new ME next fall.

Let's recap some of the big cast changes on the big crime shows since the start of the 2007-2008 season:

Law and Order - Jesse L Martin out, Anthony Anderson in
Law and Order: SVU - Adam Beach and Alexandra Neal out
CSI - Jorga Fox and Gary Dourdan out
CSI: Miami – Khandi Alexander out
Criminal Minds - Mandy Patinkin out, Joe Mantegna in
Numb3rs: Diane Farr out

There is no question that that's a lot of turnover in a short amount of time for what are all decent sized hit shows. L & O's turnaround has proven that cast additions can breathe life into a old favorite, although I would argue that a substantial upgrade in scripts has as much to do with the ratings upturn of the franchise mothership. Clearly the American viewing public has an insatiable appetite for crime solving and apprehension so as long as the networks don't totally whiff on the replacements, all of these shows should rebound well.

And With Your Hair Combed Right And Your Pants Fit Tight, It's Gonna Be All Right
Season 7 of American Idol is actually season one when it comes to my watching. All season long I will be providing a weekly diary of the action as well as covering any AI related news items. 24.1 million tuned in on Tuesday night to see the final six perform. The 22.6 million who watched the results episode on Wednesday included the smallest key demo audience in 5 years…

TUESDAY

-It's Andrew Lloyd Webber Night on AI, with the band on stage.

-The judges are all dressed normally tonight; in the words of OMD, how bizarre

-Wow, Syesha is incredibly hot - far and away the best body in the competition - and gives an a tremendously polished and professional performance, confirming my feelings that she is one of this season's top three talents

-Jason Castro's Memory is such a ridiculously obvious choice; on paper the lyrics are quite moving but the song has been done so much it's almost self parody at this point...Have I mentioned how much of a Vinnie Barbarino vibe he gives off?...The first verse was ok but he lost his phrasing in the chorus...He NEEDS to go home

-Brooke White gets a false start penalty for You Must Love Me. Her overall performance was better than the vocal itself

-AYM should knock this out of the park, and yet...His voice is strong but with no character, plus he did the whole song like his feet were nailed to the floor. I just never get any sense of emotion from the D.A.R.Y.L. of American Idol

-Carly takes good advice from Lord Andy and switches songs to Superstar, which she does quite well...The band sounds good tonight, which makes sense since they are really more of a Broadway band than pop music

-David Cook closes the night with Music of the Night, which he does with a pro's touch

-The bottom three should be Jason, Brooke, and Carly but I am guessing that Syesha gets in there somehow
WEDNESDAY
-Is Paula wearing a leather dress?

-Jason Castro seems like he's about to wander off during chorus, I mean, group sing

-Andrew Lloyd Webber is dishing pretty honest on the kids, which is kind of fun.

-This week's Ford commercial is X-Men meets A-Ha (and yes, I know Tainted Love is by Soft Cell)

-This is new - since we are down to 6, there is only a bottom 2

-David Archuleta is seconds away from chasing his own tail on stage. I'd love it if, during one of the interviews, Ryan just held up a shinny object and watched him trail off.

-Carly and Syesha are the bottom two, which means the voters must be smoking something from Jason's stash

-And Carly goes home...How are Jason and Brooke still in this contest?

-The best news of the AI season – next up is Neil Diamond Week!!!

That Breakup We Had Has Left Me Lonesome And Sad
Never let it be said that I don't listen to my readers; in response to a number of emails, I am listing below all of the April return dates for your favorite shows as well as how many new episodes there are of each. An * is next to any show that will be airing on a new night. The list is in order of return:

Tonight
Moonlight (4)

Sunday, 4/27
Aliens In America (4)

Monday, 4/28
House* (4)

Tuesday, 4/29
Shark* (4)

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…Survivor was last Thursday's most watched show with 12.1 million…My Name Is Earl dropped just a bit but 30 Rock picked up an additional 700K…That surge continued in the 9:00 hour for NBC with The Office (9.8 million, up 500+) and Scrubs (7.32 million, up 750K)…Eli Stone's season finale drew 6.13 million…The finale of Oprah's Big Give was watched by 10 million, making it a likely pick up by ABC for a second season…Desperate Housewives posted a series low total viewership (15.6 million, down 7% from last week) for the second week in a row, which lead to Brothers And Sisters returning to an audience that was 15% less than it's last pre-strike episode...Deal Or No Deal hit a series low for Monday nights this past week, although whether or not President Bush's appearance on the show was a factor is for you to decide…Gossip Girl returned up 8% from it's pre-strike average, and combined with One Tree Hill gave The CW it's best Monday demo numbers ever…How I Met Your Mother continues to show an ability to build on it's Big Bang Theory lead-in audience…Dancing with the Stars rebounded from an off week to win Monday night in total audience (17.8 million) as well as demos…CSI Miami did a typically strong 14.4 million…Law and Order: SVU topped the 10:00 hour on Tuesday with 11.5 million…Reaper's 2.4 million audience was yet another nail in the coffin of this under watched series…Hell's Kitchen did a strong 11.6 million, a bump from last week despite it's AI lead in staying the same…The Dancing With the Stars results show tied a season best with 17.5 million, a gain of 11% from last week…Boston Legal's trip to the Supreme Court was watched by 10.5 million…Back To You and Till Death were up from last week, with both showing enough life that renewals are looking more and more likely…12.6 million tuned in to say goodbye to Jesse L Martin, giving Law and Order it's best numbers since it's January season premiere…America's Next Top Model and Girlicous both had season best numbers…

All The Young Dudes Carry The News
Industry News, Notes, and Hot Rumors…Alicia Silverstone has been cast as the lead in the ABC pilot Bad Mother's Handbook, about a woman trying to take care of her teenage daughter as well as her own Mother…Howie Mandell signed a deal to star and executive produce a new unscripted sitcom for NBC called Howie Do It. No, that's not a joke…SCI-FI picked up 13 episodes of Ghost Hunters that will serve as the second half of the show's 4th season. Their April 9th episode was watched by 1.8 million people in the 24-54 demo, a record for a reality series on the network. They also picked up a seven episode second season of Destination Truth…HBO's new biker gang series 1% got some publicity this week when Hell's Angels founder Sonny Barger filed a lawsuit against the network for stealing his concept. The suit claims that Barger developed the series with writer Michael Tolkin and was cut out of the deal when Barger wanted the Hell's Angels image protected…The Great Steve Buscemi is guesting on the season finale of ER…The Food Network has named Michael Symon, winner of The Next Iron Chef 2007, as the new host of Dinner: Impossible. Previous host Robert Irvine quit after controversy about the legitimacy of his resume…Showtime ordered a third season of The Tudors…Multiple sources have confirmed that both Sarah Chalke and Britney Spears will return for one additional How I Met Your Mother episode this spring…Spike bought exclusive non-pay cable rights to all four Rambo films…Arnold Schwarzenegger stops by American's Most Wanted this Saturday night…Naomi Campbell will guest on the season finale of Ugly Betty…Lucy Liu is in serious talks to join the cast of Dirty Sexy Money this fall… Cybil Shepard will play Shawn's Mom on multiple episodes of PSYCH when the show returns this summer. Look for her to show where Shawn gets his free spirit…Reruns from the first three seasons of Criminal Minds will start a weekly run on A & E in May…Nick Lachey will host High School Musical: Summer Session, an upcoming reality show looking for the franchise's new star…My Big Fat Greek Wedding's Nia Vardalos will do a multi episode run on My Boys this summer…Aliens In America star Adhir Kalyan will play a teenage plastic surgeon this season on Nip/Tuck…Fox is working on Bad Dads, a reality show where deadbeat (as in, non-child supporting) Fathers are tracked down and ambushed on camera…

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 have fallen in love with The Paper, a new MTV reality series about the going's on at the top high school newspaper in the country. Equal parts work place drama and teen age angst, all the participants are very real people, although it took me until the first commercial break before I stopped waiting for them to burst into song (What time is it? It's summer time!). Amanda easily ranks as one of my favorite reality show personalities of all time and we're only two episodes in. What makes the show seem that much more like real life is that it airs immediately following The Hills, which couldn't be more staged and wooden. I am not claiming that there isn't some editing at play with The Paper – hey, it is TV – but any/all of the editorial staff at Cypress Bay High's The Circuit show more personality and life in one scene than you'd find in a DVD set of Heidi, Lauren, et al.

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…Jesse L Martin's departure was handled pretty well by Law and Order; I was worried they would go for the "dramatic twist" episode, and while they hinted at it, the truth ended up being much more in character for his Detective Green. I also thought Anthony Anderson's debut bode quite well for the future as he showed how effective he can be as an actor when he is restrained instead of out of control…I was surprised when Barney and Robin started making out at the end of this week's hysterical How I Met Your Mother but not really shocked as I think they have hinted at this plot development over the last season or two. I give James Van Der Beek all the credit in the world for doing such a great job playing a total tool…Last week's big "Olivia goes undercover" episode of Law and Order: SVU was more than a little disappointing, although the show as a whole has dropped quite a bit in the last year or two. It was disturbingly graphic but I'm not really sure what the point was…I like that Samantha Who? has returned to the lead character's place of work recently as it opens the door to a lot more comedy and makes the rest of the characters that much more fresh when they appear. And any sitcom that features Sister Christian on it's soundtrack is worth your time…Brothers and Sisters returned with another great Walker Family Party episode that featured Sally Field's strongest performance of the season. It seems pretty clear they are heading to a Justin-Rebecca romantic pairing…Speaking of obvious, am I the only person who thinks that it's the daughter who burned the pizza place down on Desperate Housewives? She overheard Tom and Lynette's conversation and has had some behavior issues in the past. Great scene with Bree and Katherine it at the end of the Founder's Day event, but Gabby's storyline is getting old fast…Not my favorite Battlestar Galactica of all time this past Friday but did show one of the characters starting to turn towards the dark side and also plant in my head the idea that Tom Zarek is the final cylon…Loved Jim's non-proposal to Pam this week and also his matter-of-fact acknowledgement that it was going to happen, as well as the scene immediately following where he pulled out the ring and confessed he had purchased it the week after they started dating. Very shows can balance parody and real romantic comedy like The Office…James Spader has been at the top of his game the last two weeks, turning in two vintage Alan Shore closings on Boston Legal…

TV Pick Of The Week
So far the second season of The Riches, which wraps up this Tuesday night at 10 on FX, has been extremely frustrating for me because although the writers were doing a masterful job at laying down multiple plotlines and then slowly bringing (and crisscrossing) them to a boil only I was aware from the start that the WGA strike had cut the episode order short and we were bound to be left hanging in a big way. The rift in the family has been handled very well and very believably, with Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver at the top of their games. This is easily one of the 10 best dramas on TV and I am keeping my fingers crossed that it gets a third season to give these storyline arcs a chance to play out. Don't miss the season finale of The Riches this Tuesday at 10 on FX.

Two Tivos To Paradise, Weekly Update
30 Days, 30 Rock, Aliens In America, American Idol, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Antique Roadshow, The Apprentice, Battlestar Galactica, Best Week Ever, Big Love, Bones, Boston Legal, Breaking Bad, Brothers And Sisters, Burn Notice, Chuck, The Closer, Criss Angel Mindfreak, Curb Your Enthusiasm, 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, Make Me A Supermodel, Medium, Miss Guided, Moonlight, My Name Is Earl, The New Adventures Of Old Christine, Next Food Network Star, Nip/Tuck, The Office, The Paper, One Tree Hill. Project Runway, Pushing Daisies, Psych, Real Time With Bill Maher, The Real Hustle, Reaper, Rescue Me, The Riches, Rock the Cradle, Rules Of Engagement, Run's House, Samantha Who?, Saturday Night Live, Scrubs, Shark, Shear Genius, The Soup, Step It Up and Dance, Supernatural, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Top Chef, Top Design, Top This Party, Ugly Betty

People Love You When They Know You're Leaving Soon
Here ends another edition of Two Tivos To Paradise. We'll be back in 7 days with the rundown on all-things-television as well as thoughts on the return of Lost!

Have a great week, see you next Friday!

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.