Kate Walsh, Private Practice
Question: With all of the problems ABC has been having in the post-Grey's Anatomy time slot, is there some reason they haven't put Private Practice there? A lot of people who watch Grey's will watch Practice just about anywhere, but there are probably plenty who just aren't sure about it, and if it were aired after Grey's, they'd at least check it out. It seemed to work decently for both Buffy/Angel (when they were on the same network) and SG-1/Atlantis. I would think that this show would succeed in that time slot for at least a season.
Answer: You answered your own question when you noted that "a lot of people who watch Grey's will watch [Practice] just about anywhere." Private Practice is the centerpiece of an entirely new Wednesday lineup for ABC, and while I wish I liked the first episode better, I also think it's a smart move to use something that's more or less presold to the Grey's crowd (albeit not without some healthy skepticism) to anchor such a high-stakes night. Wednesdays,
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Michael Vartan, Big Shots
Michael Vartan is suiting up. As AmeriMart CEO James Walker on the new ABC series Big Shots (premiering tonight at 10 pm/ET), he doffs his secret-agent gear in favor of tailored suits as he contends not with rogue spies but with ruthless bosses, an unfaithful wife and his irrepressible alpha-male pals (played by The Practice's Dylan McDermott, West Wing's Josh Malina and funnyman Christopher Titus). Think of it as "Tons of Testosterone and the City." TVGuide.com invited Vartan to clear the air about his "controversial" new show. Plus: The Alias wish that went unfulfilled.
TVGuide.com: A foursome of well-off guys sitting around talking about the sorts of things guys talk about... is Big Shots as bold, even daring, a TV venture as some are making it out to be?Michael Vartan: I don’t think it is. The truth of the matter is, they're not talking about women the way men really talk about women, and thatR
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Question: Big Shots or ER — which one will be worth watching this season on Thursday night at 10? I really want to watch ER, but a show with Dylan McDermott, Christopher Titus and Michael Vartan looks waaaaay too good to pass up.
Answer: Either you're a virgin Aushole or I was being far too subtle when I described Big Shots as a "charmless piece of fecal matter" in my Press Tour Diary. Either way, let me state loud and clear and for the record: The pilot is, quite simply, abysmal. That being said, if anyone can polish poop it's the masterful Rob Thomas. The addition of Charisma Carpenter to the cast also bodes well. In other words, don't
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Question: How do you think the upcoming season is shaping up, especially on the competitive Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday nights? Seems to me that it's going to be a wide-open tug of war, at least until American Idol returns.
Answer: I don't see much change ahead in the Thursday and Sunday contests. CBS will likely suffer for as long as Viva Laughlin lasts on Sunday, but that night belongs to ABC's hits and Fox's animated shows, with NBC's football a spoiler and CBS' popular crime dramas skewing older. All can coexist easily. On Thursday, unless the only new show of the night (ABC's Big Shots) gets better fast, ABC may be looking to fill the post-Grey's Anatomy slot again. ABC and CBS will remain the most competitive, NBC will do OK demographically with its hip comedies, the CW will maintain its young edge with its fantasy/horror combo, and Fox has little to lose by going cheap with its kiddie and karaoke game shows. Wednesdays is the real battleground, as I mapped out in a Dispatch
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Charisma Carpenter by Jesse Grant/WireImage.com
So much for that car-wash task dream. Buffyverse alumna Charisma Carpenter will not be toiling for the Donald after all on the celebrity Apprentice. Rather, she has booked a one-shot gig on Fox's Back to You, and, more importantly, a recurring run on the new ABC drama Big Shots. Details on Carpenter's Big Shots role are being kept hush-hush, though it is said she has a connection to Christopher Titus' character. Carpenter first appears in the Nov. 1 episode.Maybe she works at a car wash? OK, OK, I'll give up on that.
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Question: I snapped up TV Guide's Fall Preview issue, and I find it a mixed blessing. While I appreciate the behind-the-scenes reportage and the luxurious layout, there's one crucial aspect that I miss greatly: your Picks (and yes, the capital P is deliberate). Of course, there were the "10 Shows with Buzz," but they included some shows you don't even like (Gossip Girl, etc.). And while you gave a helpful day-by-day analysis of the new programming, I and no doubt many other readers miss the days when you essentially said, "Here are the best dramas and comedies airing." And so, for old times' sake, I put in this plea: What is your must-see list among 2007's new crop?
Answer: I would think it's pretty clear from reading those nightly roundups which shows I'm crazy about, and I state pretty bluntly that Pushing Daisies is unquestionably my favorite pilot. Everything else, even those I more or less like, pale by comparison in terms of ambition and execution. But in a nutshell, my short list
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Question: I just looked up Men in Trees on TV Guide's handy-dandy directory and was shocked and dismayed to find that it had been moved to Fridays at 10 pm/ET, the death row of the television world. Why? Any insight would be appreciated. I was really looking forward to Grey's Anatomy and Men in Trees together again. Wishful thinking, I suppose.
Answer: Well, if Big Shots (the new drama following Grey's this fall) fares the way last year's Six Degrees did, which from what I've seen so far would be the right way to go (into oblivion: talk about smarmy), maybe Men in Trees could shift back there the way it did last season when Six Degrees collapsed. I couldn't agree more; Grey's and Trees made such a nice fit, and with Ugly Betty starting the night, what an enjoyable three-hour block. The good news about the move to Fridays is that expectations won't be so great, and with Trees already sitting on so many unaired hours from last season, I'm reasonably convinced ABC will just let it alone
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Paul Blackthorne by Steve Wilkie/Sci Fi Channel
Paul Blackthorne may not be a household name... yet. But the British actor, who recently starred as Harry Dresden on the now-defunct Sci Fi Channel fantasy series The Dresden Files, has guest-starred on Medium, Deadwood and Monk. He’s also racked up recurring roles on 24 and ER. Next up? The chameleon actor will play a Wall Street CEO and costar with Michael Vartan, Christopher Titus, Joshua Malina and Dylan McDermott on the new ABC drama Big Shots. “He’s what’s described as a corporate raider,” Blackthorne tells TVGuide.com. “He’s somebody that buys up companies, sells companies, just an all-around outrageous moneymaker.”Blackthorne’s story arc kicks off on Oct. 4 for nine episodes. “He’s someone that these other guys are slightly wary of in a business sense,” reveals the actor. “It also seems our man is circling around Dylan’s ex-wife, the one he still has the hots for.”Just don’t pin your hopes on Bla...
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Rob Thomas by Michael Caulfield/WireImage.com
ABC's buzz-challenged new drama Big Shots just got tossed a life preserver. Sources confirm that Rob Thomas — he of all things wonderful and Veronica Marsy — has landed at one of my least favorite fall offerings, Big Shots, as a consulting producer. The news comes a week after Thomas vacated his post as show-runner of the Alphabet net's midseason comedy Miss/Guided due to creative differences. Thomas will be in familiar company at Big Shots: Former Mars producers Danielle Stokdyk and Jennifer Gwartz were recently named exec producers.Bottom line: If anything can make this series start sucking less, it's these three.
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Paul Blackthorne in The Dresden Files by Steve Wilkie/Sci Fi Channel Photo
After months of fielding questions from fans desperate to know if Sci Fi was ever going to make a decision on the fate of its clever private-eye/fantasy hybrid The Dresden Files, it's official: The show isn't returning for a second season.A shame, but hardly a surprise, given the reticence to discuss the matter every time I brought it up to Sci Fi or NBC Universal Cable execs during the recent TCA press tour. In their world, it's all about "running the numbers" (in other words: looking at the ratings and budgets, etc.) and to them, Dresden just didn't seem to measure up.This confirmation came my way the same morning that there are reports in the trades that Paul Blackthorne, Dresden's very appealing star, has joined the cast of ABC's Big Shots in a recurring role as what's being described as the show's "fifth CEO... a sophisticated, iconic tycoon that the [other] four (Dylan McDermott, Michael Vartan, Christopher Titus, Joshua Malina) aspire to be."At least he's landed on his feet. ...
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