Brad Garrett, 'Til Death
After attending the networks' upfront presentations all week, the Biz has this analysis of the coming season. (Click here for next fall's grid and new-show descriptions.)
CWYou've got to wonder what went wrong in CW's new-series development process if the network had to bring back 7th Heaven — even though the show lost a reported $16 million for WB this past season.
But the decision to have CW's inaugural schedule made up of established shows from WB and UPN may end up being a blessing. Many of the shows have small but rabid followings, and promoting new shows on a new network will be tough. The fans of shows like One Tree Hill and Veronica Mars will track them down on their own. Viewers in the 18-to-34-year-old demographic that CW targets don't watch networks, they watch shows. (According to recent survey, only one in four 1
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Ace Young, American Idol
Six weeks ago, if anyone had told you that Ace Young — he of the wavy hair, soulful eyes and "Father Figure" flourishes — wouldn't make the final four of Fox's American Idol (Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 9 pm/ET), you'd have thought them crazy like William Hung. The Denver native, though, confirmed the improbable when he crooned "That's All" for his final performance.
What went wrong for the cutie crooner? "I don't think anything went wrong," he says. "I think that on any given night, anything can happen."
Anything, indeed, as evidenced by who joined Ace in the bottom two — the competition's other (and
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American IdolI have to agree with Simon Cowell: Any of "that lot" could have been in the bottom three, as this performance night was one of the worst in the history of the show. Before we got to the big buh-bye, the wannabes headed off to the premiere of Ice Age 2. Seems like the perfect activity for Kevin "Chicken Little" Covais, but he missed it by a week. Then it was time for a photo shoot, where Lisa called them one "big, happy family." Well, not for long. Shakira and Wyclef brought out the intense energy — I swear, Shakira's hips moved more during the first 10 seconds of the song than Bucky, Lisa, Ace, Kellie and Chris' whole bodies have during the entire competition. Wyc
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Hugh Laurie, House
American IdolGeorge Huff was in the house, but these off-key performances probably removed the smile from his face for the first time ever. I did actually enjoy Taylor and was freaked out to be in agreement with Paula Abdul — Taylor is really great when he just stands there and sings. Mandisa wasn't at her best, but vocally she was still miles above the others. Yes, Simon Cowell, we know the "song isn't for you." If it were, it would be called "Damn You," not "Praise You." Paris definitely had the "attitude" part of "Work It Out" down, and she managed a decent vocal while doing the patented Beyoncé booty dance. Bucky was OK — though the band drowned him out a bit, he picked a good song
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It seems that torturing wannabe singers with backhanded compliments and full-frontal insults just isn't enough for Simon Cowell and American Idol producer Ken Warwick. Starting April 6 in L.A., they'll be conducting casting calls nationwide for a new NBC reality show called America's Got Talent. "We are looking for performers of all ages in every talent category in hopes of finding that next big name in lights," Warwick tells the Associated Press. Adds Cowell: "This is the show I've always wanted to make." (Funny — I thought that show was Cupid.) Gluttons for punishment can get audition details by visiting www.nbc.com and clicking on "casting."
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American Idol TV Guide Channel's own Kimberly Caldwell got the very first camera shot last night. Woohoo! This really felt like the most rushed results show ever. But first, Barry Manilow took the stage. I was imagining Simon Cowell's criticism: "Barry, that was a ghastly karaoke performance. Hideous." OK, so I'm not a Fanilow, so sue me. Somehow I think Clay Aiken
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American Inventor"Guys, get this! I invented this show that will totally blow your socks off! What? You're not wearing socks or something?" That was me about three months ago when I found out that my idea for a new show was already taken. Damn you, Simon Cowell, damn you! However, I do like the show. Even if I'm not sure how we Americans will do the actual voting. And speaking of Americans, and shows with "American" in the title, what's with all the Brits? First Simon and now Peter Jones? OK, so the Brits invented the invention show. I'm over it. Another judge is Doug Hall. He's my favorite, he's possibly Canadian, and he honestly seems like the most qualified for the job. But for the love of the spork, if they keep saying that
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Simon Cowell, American Inventor
With $1 million in seed money at stake and a bevy of Caractacus Potts wannabes in queue, ABC's American Inventor — cocreated and executive-produced by American Idol icon Simon Cowell — offers the promise of actually impacting the millions of us who don't necessarily worship pop-music newbies. After all, the winner of this amateur-inventor competition might bring into our homes a product that is both revolutionary and desperately needed, right? Um... maybe?
At the very least, American Inventor (premiering with a two-hour special tonight at 8 pm, then airing Thursdays at 9 pm/ET) promises to bring to your television screen a parade of characters — "a million" of them, to hear Cowell tell it. "I sat through a number of the auditions quietly in the back of a room," he shares, "and I would say that 90 percent of these people h
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Taylor Hicks, American Idol
American IdolThe leadoff performers, Ace and Kellie, bolstered my belief that American Idol should stay away from Stevie Wonder songs. Thankfully Ace didn't attempt to sing unnecessary falsetto notes, but I had to agree with Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell: It just wasn't the best vocal performance. Naturally Paula Abdul dissented. Eyeing Ace like he was the last chocolate chip in the Keebler tree house, she thought he "entertained everyone." Kellie professed little prior knowledge of Stevie, and then talked about her false eyelashes looking like tarantulas, something clearly less scary than calamari.
Honestly, I was expecting better from both Elliott and Mandisa. I actu
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Cher and Josh, Beauty and the Geek
American IdolBo Bice sounded a bit hoarse on his single "The Real Thing," probably from new-daddy lack of sleep. I do miss Bo, but he's lucky Simon Cowell wasn't judging that one. It's not surprising that Kinnik and Will had the lowest number of votes — neither one had a good night this week. And they haven't exactly gotten much love from the judges. While America has heard every detail of Kellie Pickler's lunch orders and knows everything about Taylor but his ring size, Kinnik and Will were the very last of the top 24 picked and we've barely heard a word about them since. Both were total class acts in their farewell speeches, and they finally got to hear the words "I like you" from Simon. Kellie, Kathar
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