DVD Tuesday Videodrome reality TV and the temple of the new flesh -- David Cronenberg saw it allAll hail Mike Judges Idiocracy 2006 Every time my mind is boggled by the depths to which some new reality TV show has sunk I cant help but remember the most popular show of Judges dystopian future Ow My Balls Really says it all doesnt it But much though Im amused by Idiocracy David Cronenbergs Videodrome 1983 really blows my mind pace Roxy Musics In Every Dream Home a Heartache The first time I saw it I was in college the product of a world in which there were no PCs no cell phones no IM no PDAs no social networking sites no games more sophisticated than Space Invaders and Pong and yet I knew that Videodrome wasnt just a freaky kick Id been following Cronenberg since his experimental shorts Stereo 1969 and Crimes of the Future 1970 and it was clear to me that he was on to something In some visceral way he got both the seductiveness and
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James Woods by Monty Brinton/CBS, Inset: Paula Marshall by Stephen Shugerman/Getty Images
On tonights Shark 9 pmETCBS newly disbarred LA prosecutor Sebastian Stark bets on finding solace in Las Vegas However since Stark can still practice law in Nevada while there he agrees to defend a former client from murder charges Feeling guilty and helping out is Paula Marshall as the ex-attorney generals office staffer who inadvertently caused Sebastian to lose his California licenseWith Jeri Ryan on maternity leave executive producer Ian Biederman says Marshalls Jordan is much more an equal than Ryans Jessica although not as comfortable in his world But then Sebastian doesnt seem too comfortable right now either This is him going back to defending bad guys explains Biederman He realizes he cant do it anymore As far as the shows future is concerned Biederman is cautiously optimistic that the recent switch from Sundays to Tuesdays will improve its chances We feel like weve earned another shot he says James Woods cocky counselor would co
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As we celebrated the landmark 300th outing of ER tonight with a rare episode directed by series executive producer John Wells I was thrilled to see the powerhouse acting of Maura Tierney and Goran Visnjic as the centerpiece of the episode For those of us who have been fans since that very first episode 14 years ago is that even possible it is gratifying to see this show still telling compelling heartfelt stories about characters that we care about I havent always liked where the story went but Ive certainly enjoyed the ride Thank God Abby finally came clean to Luka I honestly didnt think I was going to be able to take much more of relapse Abby and I was so relieved that all the secrets and lies were out on the table There are a million things I could say about the unfortunate timing of Abbys disclosure in the wake of Lukas loss but my complaint would be mostly about the acrobatics that the writers have had to perform to work aro
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Cop box art courtesy MGM
DVD Tuesday Good CopBad CopPsycho Cop James Woods is all three in this pre-LA Confidential James Ellroy thrillerI was reading James Ellroys Hollywood Nocturnes over the weekend and wondering why the success of LA Confidential 1997 did nothing to raise the profile of Cop 1988 a brutal little thriller based on his Blood on the Moon I couldnt come up with a theory but this week I decided to do my bit Cop opened with no fanfare but I was already a James Woods fan I dont think I even knew who Ellroy was back then so I took a flyer on it and I was hooked from the credits sequence black screen two voices a 911 operator and a guy reporting a murder And its grimly hilarious because the good citizen is trying to pussyfoot around the fact that hes a burglar trying to do the right thing while not admitting that his knowledge of the crime hes reporting was acquired mid-BE Woods who coproduced the film with director James B Harris plays LAPD detecti
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James Woods and Jeri Ryan in Shark by Justin Lubin/CBS
Shark creator Ian Biederman has signed a two-year deal with 20th Century Fox TV to continue on as show-runner for the hit drama and develop new projects. Heralding Biederman's success, 20th Century president Dana Walden tells Variety, "Ian has created a larger-than-life character in Sebastian Stark that... captured the imagination of the amazing Jimmy Woods, a feature actor who'd never done a television series. The result was the year's most-watched new drama."Looking ahead to Shark's Season 2, Biederman says, "We want to make it a combination of provocative drama and interesting characters... not just a procedural." Tweaks include Jeri Ryan's DA joining Stark's team, giving the supporting cast meatier stories and bringing back Stark's ex-wife.
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I say what I am about to say as a huge fan of television and in particular ER I am ready for a break I am actually relieved that this television season is coming to an end because I really dont think I can take any more I am officially emotionally spent Tonight alone I endured the highs of Jim asking Pam out for a real date on The Office and the lows of Burke breaking Christinas impenetrable heart on Greys Anatomy By the time 10 pm rolled around I was primed and ready Or so I thought The shock of seeing Ray roll back in that wheelchair was naturally mitigated by the relentless promos that had shown him rolling back in a wheelchair But what I was not prepared for was a bitter angry double amputee In a million years it never occurred to me that he had sustained that sort of life-altering injury When I tell you that I literally gasped in disbelief well my friends that is the understatement of the year Overall I thought this was a fantastic capper to
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Caitlin Wachs in Masters of Horror
How is that for a headline? And it's actually kinda sorta true. Caitlin Wachs, who played first daughter to Geena Davis' Mackenzie Allen on ABC's Commander in Chief, has a flurry of fun gigs coming up, roles that find her, at separate times, expectant with Satan's offspring, and channeling a teen Great Gatsby. First up, though, is a guest spot on tonight's episode of Shark (10 pm/ET on CBS). The in-demand ingenue gave TVGuide.com a call to preview her varied ventures.
TVGuide.com: Hey, guess what. You, little miss Boston Legal fan, are being recorded on the same tape as William Shatner
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Jeri Ryan, Shark
Shark star Jeri Ryan speaks with TV Guide about this week's arresting episode (airing tonight at 10 pm/ET on CBS), life after Seven of Nine and her real-life wedding news.
TV Guide: When are we going to learn more about DA Jessica Devlin, James Woods' ambitious boss on Shark? Jeri Ryan: This week's episode is the first one where I actually have a lot to do. You find out about Jessica's past, and it humanizes her. It ties into an old case involving a child murderer, before she was the DA. When she first prosecuted the guy 15 years before, he was being defended by James' character, Sebastian Stark. She was convinced he was guilty and did things that weren't on the up-and-up to put him away
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ABC's Brothers & Sisters has joined the charmed, and so far rather tiny, circle of new fall series rewarded with what is known as "the back nine," as in a full-series renewal taking the original order of 13 episodes to 22 (sometimes expanded further for true breakthrough shows). At the moment, only three other shows have this honor: ABC's delightful Ugly Betty and two speculative fantasies that defied the odds to capture an early following: NBC's intriguing Heroes and, to the surprise of many skeptics (including this one), CBS's dark-hued Jericho.Over the next few weeks, we'll find out which other newbies will get the full-season order and which will bite the dust in 13, if they even get that far. Here's my educated guess, by network.CBS The network with the most solid and consistent schedule was the first to cancel a show (Smith), and has only two other new series to decide upon.While Shark on Thursdays has been a bit of a disappointment, relative to its CSI lead-in by being up...
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Question: Who would've thought? According to preliminary ratings, Grey's Anatomy sacked CSI. Although the network still had fewer total viewers for the night according to the ratings, I bet the folks over at ABC are throwing a party right now. But how long will it last? Do you think those ratings are just a reflection of the anticipation from last season? Given the type of show GA is compared to CSI, there would've been more anticipation, right? So now that the show has premiered, is the hype gone? At least now I know GA is here for the long haul. Besides, I find the original CSI to be expendable (although CBS would never do that). By the way, did you like Shark? I did.
Answer: I have no idea how long Grey's ratings high will last, but I'd be surprised if there's much of a falloff anytime soon, given the way the stories are spinning on that show. I'm not sure Grey's hype was any more intense than CSI's, but the allure of Grey's is similar to that of Desperate Housewives. These shows
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