The Good Wife
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Question: [From Twitter] I'm wondering if holding shows like Smash, Good Christian Belles, Awake, etc, to midseason might backfire. If the most promising shows don't debut until 2012, who's to say more viewers won't flee to cable between now and then? — Dennis
Matt Roush: A good and fair question, and one that I imagine may dog the networks as the TCA critics' tour gets underway over these next two weeks. I can't remember a season when the anticipation for midseason replacements has so upstaged the fall ...
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Mireille Enos
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Question: I am still mulling over the finale of The Killing. As expected, there are a lot of people who hate it but I am not one of them. I think it is pretty clear that Richmond was the killer and Linden and Holder caught him. Holder faking the photo does not mean Richmond is innocent. It means that Holder took a shortcut because he was convinced that Richmond was guilty. I thoroughly enjoyed the show — it was like watching a novel unfold. I do like mystery novels a lot and I am particularly fond of character-driven mysteries, which is what we had here. What I am upset about is that I have to wait so long for ...
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Laurence Fishburne
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Question: I am thrilled! Laurence Fishburne is leaving CSI. I thought that the mothership of this franchise lost a lot when Grissom left, but bringing in Laurence Fishburne's character was the worst possible mistake ever.
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Ed O'Neill, Julie Bowen
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Question: I have long been aware of your fondness for ABC's Modern Family, but in one of your recent "Matt's Picks" columns, you heralded it as "TV's best comedy," which honestly caught me by surprise. I rather enjoyed season 1, but as with many viewers, I feel like season 2 was a letdown. Perhaps last year the show could have been in the running for Best Comedy, but after an increasingly dull sophomore year, I'm surprised at your continued admiration for the show. Where Modern Family shifted toward more gimmicky humor, lame ...
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Teresa Lisbon and Patrick Jane
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Question: I don't agree that Patrick Jane killed the real Red John in The Mentalist finale. Bringing in a never-before-seen actor and calling him Red John is too easy and takes away from the drama of the show. Using an unknown "disposable" like this guy is indeed Red John's MO. "Who can Patrick Jane trust?" is the real central theme of the show.
As of this episode, he trusts the CBI team, finally telling them what he knows. He still doesn't trust LaRoche (what was in the plastic box?), which is probably a wise move. It could never have been Director Bertram — he was too worried about media and not about what went on. LaRoche certainly has some baggage, including killing the bomber and responding as he did when Jane was running off to spring the trap. ("Busy boy.") My guess is that LaRoche ...
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Jason Clarke and Matt Lauria
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Question: The recent cancellation of almost all of Fox's bubble shows seems to stem at least partially from a lack of "shelf space," since they don't program shows in the 10 pm/ET hour. My question is, why not? There must be a story here, though being 22, I haven't been watching adult-skewing prime-time shows long enough to remember it, so please enlighten me. I am ...
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Anna Torv
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Question: To say that I loved the season finale of Fringe would be an understatement. It was amazing! And I know I will be thinking about it all summer long, so I applaud the fantastic writers of this show. What did you think? — Rachel
Matt Roush: I thought what most of the readers of this column probably imagine I thought: Wow! As an hour of emotionally engaging and suspensefully perplexing entertainment, I thought it was a terrific way to end the show's very best season to date. (And so, it seems, did those who've weighed in so far in my mailbox.) Time paradox storylines are always tricky, and risk ...
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Holt McCallany and Catherine McCormack
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Question: I was saddened to learn of the cancellation of Lights Out. It has been a great show with great performances. If I had any complaint about this outstanding series, it would be that there could have been more boxing, especially early on in the series. Do you think that was a contributing factor, or is it just another case of a good show not finding its audience in a competitive time slot? This has also made me concerned about my favorite prime-time sitcom, Archer. The writing and voice acting are insanely brilliant. (For me, I rate it a hair above Community.) Do you think it will come back for a third season? Will we need to let slip the ...
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Kiefer Sutherland
TV Guide's Senior Critic Matt Roush takes your TV questions. Have a rant, rave or burning question about your favorite show you'd like addressed? E-mail him here!
Question: Something was very much glaring for me in the advance reviews for 24: Redemption. More often than not, reviewers questioned 24's relevance in the post-Bush era, droning on and on about the issue of torture in 24, how the show would adjust with a new president and relating just about everything to do with the show with politics. Look, I was not a big fan of Season 6, and I'm certainly not one of those who can't accept criticism of the show. If there are any problems with the plots and characters, please do fire away. But what I just can't stand is the penchant of many reviewers to "politicize" every single thing related to the show. To me a TV show has one main purpose: to entertain. If it does that, why the hell would I care if it is relevant with, say, the current political administration? Or whether it was associated with Bush politics in the past? I care far more about Teri's death, Mason's sacrifice, the nerve gas attack on CTU and Jack faking his death than those political perceptions with which the people in the media seem intent on tying the show. Let the show entertain. If it doesn't, point out its faults, simple as that, The only thing that will ever make a show relevant is its quality from a storytelling perspective, because in the end, that's what it really is: a fictional story. — Jack F.
See Matt's response plus questions on Pushing Daisies' cancellation, Life on Mars, Grey's Anatomy, Friday Night Lights, ER and more after the jump.
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Masi Oka, Heroes
TV Guide's Senior Critic Matt Roush takes your TV questions. Have a rant, rave or burning question about your favorite show you'd like addressed? E-mail him here!
Question: Would you say Heroes decline in viewership is similar to the decline that Lost suffered after its first season? Lost originally had huge numbers when it debuted, but steadily declined because casual fans found the show "too mysterious" and that there were "too many questions and not enough answers." Would it be safe to say the mainstream, sci-fi shows that are aired on major networks may all suffer from this fate in some form or another? I know a lot of people blame Heroes' decline on poor writing (I don't watch the show so I can't say for myself) as opposed to the impatience some viewers experienced with Lost, but both shows seem to have a very solid fan base who will watch no matter what. Do you see NBC doing what it can to save Heroes the way ABC did with Lost? — Sarah S.
Matt Roush: I see quite a few similarities here, in part because I never expected either show to do as well as they did in their first seasons ...
See the rest of Matt's answer and questions on My Own Worst Enemy, The Shield, Worst Week, Monk, Friday Night Lights and more after the jump.
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