Two Tivos To Paradise 11.07.08: TV News for the Red AND Blue States!

Posted by Al Norton on 11.07.2008

The future of King of the Hill, Heroes backstage shake up, Grey's Anatomy makes a surprising cast change, Mad Men star headed to 30 Rock, 24 gets a premiere date, raves for Boston Legal, big ratings and news updates, a guide to the next 7 days of televison, the TV Pick of the week, and more, all in this week's Two Tivos To Paradise!

Hello Friends. Our Halloween at the new place was a HUGE hit – we had somewhere between 50 and 75 kid stopping by for candy. The twins were dressed in pumpkin onesies and had a great time. It was a big weekend for them all around as they celebrated their first Halloween on Friday and then had their baptism on Sunday, which was an amazing day, minus me identifying the wrong twin in my arms during the ceremony.

I hope all my US readers of legal age took advantage of their rights and voted on Tuesday. I was happy with the way the both the local Massachusetts and nationwide elections turned out, although some of the other states ballot initiatives left me well aware of just how far we have left to go. In particular I am finding myself wondering how the majority of voters in Arkansas can look themselves in the mirror. I'd apologize for bringing politics into a TV news column but there are some offenses so outrageous that they deserve to be called out no matter what the forum.

I wake up, the newsdrops, they fall down like rain.

But All Are Agreed As They Join The Stampede, You Should Never Take More Than You Give
Less than a week after Fox announced that they were not going to bring King of the Hill back for a 14th season rumors began to fly that ABC was considering bringing the animated series to its line up. King creator Mike Judge has a new animated comedy – The Goode Family – that is set to debut on ABC mid-season and the thinking is that the pairing of the two would be smart business. Logistics may cause issues as animated series take much longer to produce so the earliest new episodes of King would be available would be the fall. In other Fox animated news, the network ordered a new season of American Dad.

The demos for King of the Hill are excellent and it's on every day throughout the US in reruns, so the appeal is obvious, especially for a network trying to launch a new animated series with no logical time slot partner. I have never been a regular King viewer but every time I do catch an episode I am highly amused. I mean, you don't last THIRTEEN seasons without doing something right. Speaking of 13 seasons of episodes, Adult Swim just bought the rights to reruns of the comedy, which can currently be seen nationally on FX.

As of now the course of action most seem to think ABC will take is to place a script order, which gets the ball rolling for the fall while buying them time to see if The Goode Family does well enough to merit a spot in their 2009-2010 schedule.

Would You Dance If I Asked You To Dance? Would You Run And Never Look Back?
In an admission that Heroes needs to improve in order to see a fourth season, series creator Tim Kring fired writers/producers Jesse Alexander and Jeph Loeb on Sunday, both of whom had been with the show since its beginning. Kring will take over the majority of the writing for the rest of the season and has offered assurances to NBC that he will be focusing on storytelling, and in particular character development, for the foreseeable future and less on the production of the show that zapped his time. While ratings for Heroes are down 21% from season two, it remains NBC's top rated scripted series.

Obviously it's a good thing that Kring is taking over the storyline reigns, one wonders how many times NBC can try and tell fans, "Hey, the show is good again" before people simply give up. I mean, I LOVED the show the first season and I officially stopped watching the show two weeks ago. This isn't to say I couldn't be lulled back in but the issues were so very clear – the same story arc over and over again, characters seemingly learning nothing from their previous adventures, no one experiencing even a modicum of happiness – that I was getting annoyed from them not being addressed.

Complicating things is that Heroes is NBC's most expensive show to produce and one that is frequently over budget, too – not a good combination – and that plus the ratings drop will give the network great pause before green lighting a fourth season this spring.

I See You've Got Your List Out, Say Your Peace And Get Out
Fans of Grey's Anatomy were stunned this week when Brooke Smith told Entertainment Weekly that the episode that aired last night would be her last with the show. Smith said executive producer Shonda Rhimes came to her in early September and told her she could no longer writer for her character. Smith, whose Erica Hahn was involved in a relationship with another female Doctor – a storyline that had buzz because neither of the women had ever had a same-sex relationship before – said she was "really really shocked" by the news and that she was thrilled with the way the story was playing out.

In an effort to head off any possible controversy, Rhimes issued a statement saying Smith was not let go because Erica was a lesbian but rather because the creative team did not see long term chemistry in the Erica – Callie relationship in general and in Smith's character specifically.

There is a school of thought that perhaps ABC was influenced by advertisers, who may be ok with lesbian characters but not so much with seemingly straight characters "going gay." A larger theory says the network doesn't like characters exploring their sexuality beyond the standard "straight or gay" definitions; witness Rebecca Romijin's post-op member of the Meade family being written out of Ugly Betty earlier this year and more recently the very sudden and lackluster resolution to Patrick's transgender love affair on Dirty Sexy Money.

I am not really sure where I stand on this other than as someone who watches Grey's every week and having invested in the Callie-Erica relationship, I am sure I will find the wrap up to be sudden and unsatisfying (this column in being written before I have seen the episode in question). Since Grey's introduces a new openly bi-sexual female character next week, it's hard for me to think there is any sort of conspiracy or pressure from above involved in this decision. That being said, Smith is a very talented actress whose portrayal of Dr Hahn was worthy high praise; if she was cold and prickly it was because the script called for it, not for a lack of skills. Her speech to Callie about seeing the leaves for the first time in last week's episode was as emotionally honest as anything the show has done this season. Not all TV characters need to be likeable, they just need to be interesting, and Erica Hahn was never anything less than that.

I Know A Girl, Mess With Your Mind, She'll Come To You In The Summer Sometime
Lifetime announced they had signed an all-star cast and crew for their upcoming Georgia O'Keeffe movie, which will air in late 2009. Joan Allen will play the title role, with Jeremy Irons as Alfred Steiglitz, O'Keeffe's photographer husband; their 20 year love affair is the focus of the movie. The screenplay is being written by Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Cristofer and the movie will be directed by Oscar nominee Bob Balaban.

Ok, I know a Lifetime movie news item may not be playing to my readership but the cast alone was reason enough to give special mention; Allen has been nominated for Oscars (three), Golden Globes (two), SAGs (two) and an Emmys, and has shined in dramas, comedies, and even action thrillers. Irons is one of the best actors of his generation, with Oscar, Emmy, Golden Globe, and SAG wins on his resume. Throw in Cristofer, who won a Pulitzer and a Tony for The Shadow Box, and Balaban, who was nominated for an Emmy for directing last year's Bernard and Doris, and you've got a mix that would be a draw at your local art house movie theater.

Lifetime has done well with its TV movies, especially the Nora Roberts adaptations, but this is clearly a step above their usual fare, showing that they can land big name talent for quality projects.

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…Barack OBama's appearance on last Wednesday's episode of The Daily Show gave the Comedy Central series it's largest audience ever, and helped lead-out The Colbert Report set a new high mark for viewers as well…The season premiere of 30 Rock set series highs for total audience and demos…The Office was up 12% in demos…18.6 million people watched CSI, easily good enough for the largest audience of the night, although the demo battle's clear victor was Grey's Anatomy…Life on Mars was up 13% in key demos…Supernatural's numbers were the best since it's season premiere…Clearly CBS made the right move in pulling The Ex List as the NCIS rerun that aired in its vacated Friday night at 9 time slot more than doubled the audience that showed up seven days earlier, which was a factor in lead-out Numb3rs spiking 17% as well…Lipstick Jungle was down 35% in it's first episode in the Friday at 10 pm timeslot…John McCain and Tina Fey helped Saturday Night Live to their second highest rated episode of the season (# 1 being when Sarah Palin stopped by), as well as the second highest rated episode since 1997…The Simpson's Treehouse of Horror episode was it's highest rated in 5 years. Actually, all four of the series in Fox' Sunday night block (American Dad, King of the Hill, Family Guy) hit season highs…Amazing Race hit a season low on Sunday night, and the other two shows making up CBS line up (Cold Case, The Unit) were down from the week before...How I Met Your Mother posted season high ratings on Monday…Saturday Night Live's Presidential Bash was Monday's top rated show in the demos, with Dancing with the Stars 17.4 million being the largest overall audience…The 71.5 million who watched Election Night coverage represented the largest audience for such an even since 1980. ABC won the top individual network honors with 13.1 million, followed by CNN, which set a record for most viewers in network history with 12.8 million…ABC replacing Pushing Daisies with a special Dancing with the Stars on Wednesday at 8 pm helped lead outs Private Practice and Dirty Sexy Money show gains from their previous new episodes…Life was up 33% in the key demos in its new time slot, although it's numbers were down from Deal Or No Deal, which it's replacing…The 14.3 million strong audience of Criminal Minds was Wednesday's largest…Law and Order's return was down 42% from last season in the key demos and represented a series low for Wednesdays…

All The Young Dudes Carry The News
Industry News, Notes, and Hot Rumors…It may seem like a combination too good to be true but rumors have Mad Men's Jon Hamm signing on for a multi-episode run on 30 Rock…24's season 7 premiere will be a two hour special on Sunday, January 11th, followed by two more hours on Monday the 12th…Samantha Who? and Kath and Kim got picked up for the rest of the season…TTTP favorite Bradley Whitford's first post-Studio 60 TV project is Off Duty, an NBC sitcom co-starring Romany Malco about a pair of police detectives whose careers are heading in opposite directions…Mike Fleiss, who created The Bachelor, is developing a new, untitled reality series for ABC where families in the same neighborhood compete against each other… Speaking of which, The Bachelor returns to ABC's lineup on January 5th… James Earl Jones will guest on Two and A Half Men…Eric La Salle will return during ER's final season but not in front of the camera; La Salle will direct an episode that will air in February…Nikki Blonsky is the latest star to sign to guest on Ugly Betty…ABC shut down development on Single with Parents, a sitcom starring Alyssa Milano that was scheduled as a mid-season replacement…A & E has ordered a season of Keyshawn Johnson: Tackling Design, a reality show where the former NFL wide receiver launches his new interior design business…On the scripted series front, A & E is working on Signs and Wonders, a procedural drama about a psychiatrist who leads a team of grad students to solve medical mysteries that seem to involve paranormal activities…CBS is making a sixth Jesse Stone movie. Based on a series of novels by Robert B Parker, they feature Tom Selleck, who also co-wrote the script, as a small town police chief…James Van Der Beek and Dave Denman are the latest to join Fox's Eva Adams pilot. Denman is best known for playing Pam's ex Roy on The Office but in my mind he will always be Skip the demon…Executive Producer Joel Fields has left Ugly Betty to take a writing/producing job on Raising the Bar's second season. Fields came on board Betty to help with the LA to NY transition of the show and has been widely praised for his work…The third season of CMT's Gone Country premieres in January with George Clinton, Mickey Dolenz, Richard Grieko, Tara Connor, Sheila E., Taylor Dayne, and Justin Guarini among those competing for a country record deal…

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…Boston Legal is a show frequently commented on here at TTTP, both in the column itself as well as the comments below - plus it's Larry Csonka's favorite show, so that makes it even more worthy of discussion – with Jerry Espensen being a hot button topic. Because "Hands" is currently the only television character with Asperger's Syndrome, series creator David E Kelley has fielded much criticism for wasting a great opportunity by going for cheap and easy laughs with all of Jerry's quirks (a laundry list of verbal and physical ticks) instead of trying to inform as well as entertain. Most of that criticism is well deserved but this past Monday's episode rose above the usual sophomoric humor to make the kind of statement that actually means something.

Jerry making partner at Crane, Poole, and Schmidt was a very big deal, bringing his storyline full circle and allowing Kelley to underscore that people with Asperger's are fully able to be the same productive members of society as you and I. One could even argue that everyone at C, P and S has their fair share of issues that make them stand out, from cross dressing to sexual addiction to Mad Cow to emotional unavailability, so Jerry's litany of ticks actually makes him that much more normal. Or at least what passed for normal in the BL universe.

What made this week's episode so much better was the explanation of why he does the things he does instead of simply presenting him as "wacky" and playing everything for laughs. Christian Clemenson is a talented actor who has won an Emmy for his portrayal of Jerry and he deserves major credit for making us care about the character, even when the scripts are letting him down. If Kelley takes the next logical step and ends the show with Jerry and Katie in a relationship then he may have salvaged what was only weeks ago looking to be a hugely wasted opportunity.

I also need to mention that the opening few minutes of the episode were a great example of the show's sense of humor being entertaining instead of distracting; from Denny's explanation as to why he always votes Republican to the One Day at a Time theme playing as Valerie Bertinelli's character exited the scene, this was vintage Boston Legal.

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…Before I forget AGAIN, Everybody Hates Chris did a spot-on spoof of The Cosby Show a few weeks back; it was a riot to see the visual style of the show change when Chris walked into the house, not to mention hearing the studio audience. Speaking of EHC, Chris Rock's narration has been much sharper this season, a little more like the man himself and a little less like writers trying to put words in his mouth…The last two weeks of Sons of Anarchy have been excellent, with the only possible misstep being the sex scene with the dead body still in the room. Sons is a dark horse for my 10 best dramas list…Speaking of my year's best list, I am going on record as saying Chocolate News would have to do something very, very wrong over the next few weeks to not get a spot on the comedy top 10. David Allen Greer has been blisteringly funny, getting laughs from a perspective not seen on TV currently while at the same time making sure and turning that satire inwards at times. The comedy surprise of the year, hands down…Ari's sheer stupidity in turning down the studio head job will all be forgotten if Gary Cole is this good during his entire Entourage run. Cole is a HIGHLY underrated actor; in the last two weeks I have watched him as Mike Brady (The Brady Bunch Movie), Bingo Bob (The West Wing), Reese Bobby (Talladega Nights), as well as last Sunday's Entourage and he was excellent in each and every performance...My guess was that Dave was the Father of the child Mike and Susan killed in the car accident, so the revelation on Sunday's Desperate Housewives that Mike killed his (Dave's ) brother in prison proved me wrong…I wrote last week that Paul Adelstein and the Cooper – Charlotte relationship were the only things worth watching on Private Practice but if both continue as strongly that may be enough to recommend you watch the show just for them…I thought SNL's Keith Olberman sketch was spot on, and also was annoyed that the live audience didn't give the performers more credit for the various impression done during their lampooning of The View. Keenan's Grady Wilson infomercial was an instant classic. I am a big fan of the "Gotcha"…How I Met Your Mother continues to excel at making me laugh while pulling at my heartstrings, each emotion enhancing the other instead of distracting from…Loved Todd's friend Seth on Samantha Who? this week and hope he becomes a semi-regular…Austin Nichols is using his One Tree Hill stint to prove he is a charismatic TV presence who could easily handle a series lead. No Butchie instead…Speaking of One Tree Hill, I was slightly disappointed with the scene where Lucas asks Dan about shooting Keith; not that either actor didn't do a good job but rather because I think that conversation could have been the focus of an entire episode. Am I completely out of line in thinking that Dan Scott would make a list of the top 100 TV characters of the last 10 years? Certainly the top 50 villains of that same era, right?...I have been talking about how Gary Unmarried is a guilty pleasure but this week's episode, where Jay Mohr was trying way too hard to impress his new girlfriend's friends, was so cringe worthy that I shut it off…There are two types of villains, those you love to hate and those you just hate, and Lindsay Lohan's truncated Ugly Betty stint had her firmly in the latter. There was nothing interesting about her character in the slightest, other than her trying to style credit from our Betty, and therefore I couldn't wait for her to get off the screen. On the other hand, Vanessa Williams continues to make Wilhelmina a compelling presence…Knight Rider is a guilty pleasure of Mrs. Tivo but even I couldn't help but chuckle when Paul Campbell's character dressed as Captain Jack Harkness for Halloween…

TV Pick Of The Week
Top Chef is on the official Two Tivos To Paradise log of shows but it's really more Mrs. Tivo who watches while I am occasionally in the room. The fifth season kicks off on Wednesday and I have decided to jump on board and watch it start to finish. I am a big fan of Next Food Network Star because that demands both cooking skills and an ability to be good on camera, but there is no doubt that the Top Chef contestants do their jobs at a much higher level. I won't be doing a running commentary on every episode the way I did for American Idol (and will again come January) but look for more in-depth comments from me each week.

Don't miss the season premier of Top Chef this Wednesday at 10 pm on Bravo.

Other noteworthy programming of the next seven days…

*Discovery Channel's Whale Wars debuts tonight at 9, a seven part documentary series that follows a radical sea crew as they confront Japanese whaling ships.

*Tonight's post-election episode of Real Time with Bill Maher (11 pm, HBO) figures to be must-watch television.

*Gene Simmons looks to answer the question Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader (Tonight, 8 pm, Fox).

*Crossroads, my favorite music show on TV, debuts a new oddball pairing tonight at 9 when teen country sensation Taylor Swift shares the stage with Def Leppard.

*Hulk Hogan gets his own E! True Hollywood Story tonight at 9 pm.

*True Jackson – a new Nickelodeon sitcom about a teenager who runs her own fashion label – may be the next big thing, so tune in to the premiere on Saturday and stay ahead of the tweener pop culture curve.

*Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, America's greatest old school R & B band, headline Austin City Limits on Saturday (check your local PBS stations for times).

*The third edition of Taxi Cab Confessions: New York, New York hits HBO on Saturday night.

*The always funny Seth Green guests on Sunday's Entourage (10 pm, HBO), continuing his feud with E.

*I am usually not a big fan of comedy that involves guys in drag but Summer Heights High, a new HBO series, looks like it may be an exception.

*As much newfound respect as I have for Lucy Lawless based on her Battlestar Galactica stint, I still won't be tuning in to see her on CSI: Miami on Monday night.

*Lincoln Heights, the best family drama you are not watching, wraps up its third season on ABC Family with back-to-back episodes starting Monday at 8 pm.

*Tuesday's 90210 features two songs by Will Dailey, the official singer/songwriter of TTTP. Piece of Mind is the one I like best but Never Be Your Baby is also quite good. Both are from his upcoming EP Fashion of Distraction. Here endth the plug.

*Pop star Jesse McCartney shows his dark side with a turn on Law and Order: SVU this Tuesday.

*The top names in country music show up for the CMA Awards Wednesday at 8 pm on ABC.

*30 Rock continues its to-die-for casting when Jennifer Anniston shows up as Liz Lemon's crazy ex-roommate on Thursday. Other big Thursday night guest stars include Jason Priestley (My Name Is Earl) and Mary McDonnell (Grey's Anatomy).

*NBC uses a flashback episode to bring Anthony Edwards back to ER on Thursday. I dare any regular ER viewers to not get misty the first time you see him on screen. I double dare you. Physical challenge.

Two Tivos To Paradise
30 Days, 30 Rock, The Academy, American Idol, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Antique Roadshow, The Apprentice, Battlestar Galactica, Best Day Ever, Best Week Ever, Big Love, Bones, Boston Legal, Breaking Bad, Brothers And Sisters, Burn Notice, Chocolate News, Chuck, The Closer, Criss Angel Mindfreak, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Deadliest Catch, Desperate Housewives, Destination Truth, Dirty Sexy Money, The Dish, Entourage, Eureka, Everybody Hates Chris, Flipping Out, Gary Unmarried, Ghost Hunters, Gossip Girl, Grey's Anatomy, Heroes, The Hills, House, How I Met Your Mother, I Want To Work For Diddy, Last Comic Standing, Last Restaurant Standing, Law And Order, Law And Order: Criminal Intent, Law And Order: Special Victims Unit, Life On Mars, Lost, Mad Men, Make Me A Supermodel, Medium, The Middleman, My Name Is Earl, The New Adventures Of Old Christine, Next Food Network Star, Nip/Tuck, The Office, One Tree Hill, Private Practice, Project Runway, Primevil, Pushing Daisies, Psych, Real Time With Bill Maher, Reaper, Rescue Me, Rules Of Engagement, Run's House, Samantha Who?, Sanctuary, The Sarah Jane Chronicles, Saturday Night Live, Scrubs, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, Shear Genius, Skins, So You Think You Can Dance?, Sons of Anarchy, The Soup, Sports Soup, Step It Up and Dance, Supernatural, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Top Chef, Top Design, Torchwood, True Blood, 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 seven days with all the latest TV news (what else would you find here?!?!) as well as a run down of the first week of November sweeps ratings.

I hope everyone remembers to take a moment this Tuesday to think about those who have been members of our nation's Armed Services. With the 1000's of soldiers putting their lives on the line every day right now throughout the world, giving Veterans - and Veteran's Day - their proper respect has never been more important.

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.