Question: I love your column and respect your opinion greatly. I believe you said a while ago that we are in a golden age of TV drama. A few years ago I wouldn't have believed it was possible, as I lamented the loss of the great Boomtown. But so far, I'm very happy with this TV season. High on my list are Jericho, which I was happy to see seemed to be well-received, and Six Degrees, Kidnapped and Justice. Coming in close behind are Men in Trees, Studio 60 and Vanished. I'm slightly concerned about getting hooked on these shows only to have them canceled, but that would never stop me from enjoying them while I can. In your opinion, can these shows survive? I would hate to see any of them go too soon. Also, I was a bit perplexed and annoyed by the media coverage following the premiere of Studio 60. There was a lot of talk about how the show was not able to retain the audience of its lead-in, Deal or No Deal. Who would possibly think that those two shows are compatible? As a high-school ...
read more
I can already predict the mail I'll be getting from Crossing Jordan fans who'll feel their show is once again in danger. The reason: NBC has just announced a new game show, 1 vs 100, that will occupy the Friday night time slot (8 pm/ET) that was originally set aside for Jordan's return Oct. 20. (The new show actually sounds like a fun Friday experiment, pitting a single contestant against a "mob" of 100 people, all vying to answer trivia questions. At least it sounds brainier than Deal Or No Deal, although what wouldn't?)My advice to Jordan fans: Relax. Wouldn't it be worse for the show to return on the wrong night and in a too-early time period? This show and Medium are both on hiatus for a simple reason: NBC has fewer time periods to work with this fall, now that pro football occupies the entire Sunday night block. Theoretically, both shows (which NBC considers, rightly, versatile utility players) could take up residence on Sundays after football season. Or, possibly, if any of NB...
read more
Question: Funny, but I could've sworn that at the beginning of this year, NBC was hyping the fact that they were going back to a two-hour comedy block on Thursday night. They made a big stink about how they were going to stick with it, even if it didn't work in the beginning. But this season they've totally dumped the two-hour comedy block and scheduled Deal or No Deal at 9 pm/ET. What's up with NBC's sudden and unexpected about-face? (Not that I really care, anyway, since I'll be watching Survivor and CSI.)
Answer: So they lost you already, right? Hardly seems fair, especially since the one hour of comedy NBC is scheduling on Thursdays is so strong: My Name Is Earl and the ever-improving The Office, coming off its Emmy win. Last mid-season's experiment of returning to NBC's comedy roots was hobbled by the usual reality: NBC didn't have enough good comedies to fill the two hours (especially since the network stubbornly refuses to give Scrubs a berth on the night). When the fall season
...
read more
Question: I know it's still summer, but have the networks announced tentative dates for their season premieres?
Answer: As of now, the only network not to announce premiere dates is CBS, which will likely launch most of its new and returning shows the weeks of Sept. 17 and 24.
Here's how the others shape up: The season kicks off early on Fox, with Prison Break and Vanished on Aug. 21; then the limited reality series Duets on Aug. 29; Justice and Bones on Aug. 30; House and Standoff on Sept. 5; the comedies 'Til Death and Happy Hour on Sept 7; Nanny 911 on Sept. 8; Cops and America's Most Wanted on Sept. 9; Fox's animated comedy lineup plus The War at Home on Sept. 10; and MADtv Sept. 16. (The O.C. won't return until after postseason baseball on Nov. 2.)
On ABC, 20/20 officially kicks off Sept. 8; Dancing with the Stars returns Sept. 12 and 13; Wife Swap premieres Sept. 18; Grey's Anatomy and Six Degrees on Sept. 21; Ugly Betty and Men in Trees on Sept. 22; Extreme Makeover: Home
read more
I'm sure Keith Olbermann puts on a good show on MSNBC, but even the promise of a "hot breakfast" isn't enough to lure me down to his early-morning Countdown panel. I'm sleeping in.HEROES PRESENTATION10:51 am: If we can make it through this session without a question that starts, "This is for the entire cast: If you could have any superpower...," then I'll be a very happy man.10:53 am: As the Heroes trailer plays on the monitor, the cast hoots and hollers like a football team before the big game. This is going to be a fun bunch. 10:54 am: The trailer ends, the lights come up, and... sweet Jesus Jenny Craig, my buddy Greg Grunberg is half the man he used to be! 10:55 am: This is odd. Adrian Pasdar, arguably the biggest "name" in the cast, is banished to the back row alongside second-tier stars Santiago Cabrera, Tawny Cypress, Masi Oka and Leonard Roberts. Up in front are Grunny, Ali Larter, series creator Tim Kring, Sendhill Ramamurthy, Hayden Panettiere and Milo Ventimiglia. How'd th...
read more
Grey's Anatomy
Question: I find the 9 pm/ET time slot on Thursdays this fall very interesting. The race for winner is between Grey's Anatomy and CSI, but I really don't know who's going to come up on top. Nor do I care that much. What I find interesting is the effect these two shows will have on the others in the time slot. Deal or No Deal has a loyal audience that tunes in two to three times a week to watch a boring show — but hey, it pulls in the ratings and the right demos. What do you think Deal's effect will be on Grey's and CSI? Will both Grey's and CSI succeed, albeit with lower ratings, or will they cannibalize each other? If so, would that leave a greater chance for Supernatural and The O.C.? I think the loser for the time slot will probably be one of the two latter shows. What's your opinion?
Answer: This is the killer hour of the entire week, that's for sure. ABC moving Grey's Anatomy to this critically pivotal and financially lucrative night is one of the potential game-changers of the
...
read more
Patrick Dempsey of Grey's Anatomy, Matt LeBlanc of Joey
Put a fork in the 2005-06 TV season. For the fourth straight year, CBS was crowned the most watched network, with an average of 12.6 million viewers per week. Fox was able to crow as well — for the second year in a row it was No. 1 among viewers ages 18 to 49, the group most coveted by advertisers. ABC didn't come up with a new hit, but its audience grew as Grey's Anatomy, Lost and Desperate Housewives remained hot, and Dancing with the Stars
read more
Ricki Lake hosts Gameshow Marathon.
What's the only show on TV this summer that can beat the clock and turn back time? Survey says: Gameshow Marathon!
NBC's five-week tournament (the latest entry airs tonight at 8 pm/ET) features a gaggle of celebrities competing in faithful restagings of seven classic shows: Let's Make a Deal, Card Sharks, Beat the Clock,
read more
Howie Mandel, Deal or No Deal
The networks and ad buyers on Madison Avenue are deep in negotiations over the price of commercial time for next fall's prime-time schedule, and at least a third of their $9 billion take (that is, the networks hope it'll be that much) will be spent on Thursday night. That explains why so many good shows this fall will be airing on the same night. It's looking like one of the great network-scheduling steel-cage matches in history: Grey's Anatomy vs. CSI vs. Deal or No Deal all battling it out at 9 pm/ET.
ABC could have gotten higher ratings if it left
read more
Host Howie Mandel takes a call from Deal or No Deal's Banker
What is the deal with the Banker on NBC's Deal or No Deal (the season finale airs tonight at 8 pm/ET)? He is one shady dude — literally and figuratively — playing with players' minds the way he does, offering weighty sums for their cash-rich (or -poor) unopened briefcases. Why won't he show his face, instead of tendering his temptations through host Howie Mandel? Exactly what evil lurks in the heart of this man? The shadow knows.... So we invited him to shed some light on what goes on inside his greedy brain.
TV Guide: OK, so who are you?The Banker: I'm the guy you could never beat at Monopoly. I'm the guy you hated for ruining the bell curve
read more
