You could get vertigo tonight, scaling the heights of the finale of Mad Men on AMC, and then plumbing the depths of the tone-deaf misfire that is Viva Laughlin, premiering on CBS in the plum slot after CSI before moving to Sundays. There, only those with the most morbid curiosity to watch a show’s slow yet hopefully quick death are likely to follow (unless every critic I know is totally off the mark).First, a salute to the best and most fascinating new show to arrive on TV this year (and I’m even including my quirky new treasure Pushing Daisies in that equation). Mad Men, so hypnotic in its look and style as it recreates a classic movie-worthy image of 1960 Manhattan, is a period piece that says volumes about today, or about any era in which salary and status is tied to self-worth and where people construct a false reality to sell themselves on the American dream.Don Draper (instant star Jon Hamm) would seem to have it all. Besides the movie-star looks, he enjoys upward mo...
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Question: Just wondering about your take on Viva Laughlin. Is it really as bad as some of the critics are making it out to be, or is it the musical aspect that some people just can't stomach? I'm quite intrigued by all of the CBS promos for Viva — Hugh Jackman! Melanie Griffith! I'm there for at least the first few episodes!
Answer: This one has "disappointed cult" written all over it. I liked the original British version quite a bit (titled Viva Blackpool on BBC America), but the CBS pilot is a lot less enticing: in its writing, its musical choices, its pacing, its casting (don't get accustomed to Jackman being there, in other words). There's a chance this show will get its act together, but from what I heard from the producers during the show's TCA session, where it sounded like they were more nervous than the audience about calling this thing a musical, I'm not betting on it. It was always going to be a tough sell, even if it had turned out as well as (for example) Pushing Daisies ...
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Who's doing what for whom this pilot season (per Variety and the Reporter):• Emmy winner Christina Applegate, long wooed to return to network TV, has opted to star as an amnesiac woman in the ABC comedy Sam I Am. Jean Smart is Sam's mom, and Tim Russ (Star Trek: Voyager) is also in the cast.• As first scooped by the Ausiello Report, Judging Amy Brenneman and Merrin Dungey (Alias) have come on board the Grey's Anatomy spin-off, playing Violet and Naomi.• Melanie Griffith will guest on the pilot for the CBS musical drama Viva Laughlin. A conniving sexpot, Griffith's character could go recurring.• Drew Carey's Diedrich Bader is the loyal friend of CBS' Skip Tracer.• Jamey Sheridan (Law & Order: CI) is a wife-beater turned zombie in CBS' Babylon Fields.• Stephanie Childers (Studio 60) is the mother of ABC's American Family.• Ty Burrell (Out of Practice, indeed) is an ace reporter for Fox's Action News.
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Question: It seems like every other movie I see advertised is based on a TV show, like The Dukes of Hazzard. But what about the other way around? I know there was a series based on My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but what other TV series have been based on a movie, and were any of them good?
Answer: There have been a handful of top-notch TV shows based on movies. The flop Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992) was revived as Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003); Robert Altman's acerbic M*A*S*H* (1970) became the long-running M*A*S*H (1972-1983); Neil Simon
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Question: I know that I may be in a minority here, but I'm really enjoying Twins! Any chance of the show getting picked up for a full season? And if not, do you think Melanie Griffith will do Gilmore Girls like she was supposed to last year?
Answer: Earlier this week, WB confirmed that Twins was given a back-order to fill out the season, albeit (for business reasons) only for five additional episodes. Still, that doesn't mean that Twins is going away anytime soon. And that also means that Melanie isn't likely to be popping up in Stars Hollow in the near future — but really, isn't that for the best ...
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