Question: Is October Road coming back next season?
Answer: It's with great sadness and deep regret that I tell you, probably.
read more
Huh. I didn’t think we’d ever get to meet the “fictional” Gavin Goddard so imagine my surprise when he emerges from Hannah’s house. Although I was starting to warm up to Aubrey I’m happy with Nick’s choice. And what did Hannah mean when she said, “It’s not what you think.” Just exactly what does Hannah think Nick’s thinking? If that’s really Gavin and he’s really Sam’s father I think we’re all thinking the same thing: What the heck is going on? It can’t be that simple and if it is, I won’t be pleased. Oh wait, I know a simple way to answer this question. As so many of you have suggested, Nick should take a paternity test. That said, I think we’ll have to wait until next season to find out exactly what she means. No, I don’t know anything about the show being picked up, but as I mentioned a few days ago things are looking very good.In other huge news, Phil stepped foot outside his house. Th...
read more
Question: October Road and Notes from the Underbelly? Why? Also, if ABC can keep something as idiotic as According to Jim on the air, why can't it find a place for a good show such as Men in Trees?
Answer: Oh, dude, why ask why? You want to see a crazed critic fall apart right in front of you? The only upside to Men in Trees' extended absence is that, as it now appears, the remaining episodes of this season will be added to next season's order, and once the show returns, we'll have a longer season of originals than the norm. That doesn't ease the pain now, but it is an upside. If, that is, ABC lets the show run its course next season, unlike this one. And I still can't explain or fathom them just dumping the show like this for the remainder of the season. As for Underbelly, it's just one symptom of a dreadful disease: the so-called ABC comedy. Here's hoping the network will start from scratch in that arena come fall. There's little reason to worry Underbelly will be an issue beyond May,
...
read more
Question: Why does Laura Prepon try to look exactly like Katherine Heigl from Grey's Anatomy?
Answer: Huh? I have no real answer for this except to suggest that it probably comes from starring in perhaps the most painfully derivative show of any sort I've had the bad fortune to come across this season. If October Road had an original thought, it would die of loneliness ...
read more
Thanks for all your great comments this week.I just read that two recurring characters have been given regular status. They are Lindy Booth (Pizza Girl) and Rebecca Field (Janet). ABC hasn't made an official announcement about a second season pick-up but this bodes very well.
read more
I know a lot of you don’t watch the previews at the end of the show, and I think you’re very smart to do that. I sometimes do and sometimes don’t. Because I watched the previews for tonight’s episode two weeks ago, I thought Hannah would finally admit to Nick that he was Sam’s father. Wrong! Some clever editing made it seem that way in the previews, but if anything, Hannah seemed to confirm that Nick isn’t Sam’s father. Sigh.Sam has been in a few different hospitals this week. On Tuesday’s House, Slade Pearce was an 8-year-old hopped up on testosterone. Tonight he was largely unseen until the end of the episode. And I was fine with that. A lot of drama played out while we were waiting to see if he’d pull through his surgery. I do have one random question though: do 10-year-old boys still associate with stuffed animals? I’m not a parent so I have no idea, but I would have thought Sam had grown out of that stage by now.There was some g...
read more
Question: I was so relieved to read in your column that Episodes 5 and 6 of October Road will be airing soon. It would kill me if we were left hanging after the way Episode 4 ended! I know a lot of critics (yourself included) don't like October Road, but I also know a lot of people (including myself) love it. What do you think are the odds that it'll get a second season?
Answer: Hard to say. The show predictably began to stumble once it no longer had original Grey's Anatomy episodes leading in to it, and for the final two episodes of its tryout period (April 19 and 26), it will be facing tougher competition with new episodes of ER as well as Shark. This is a network that somehow gave a second season to a loser like What About Brian, so it's impossible for me to gauge what ABC will do with this show, which seems like the umpteenth and weakest entry in this oversaturated genre of self-absorbed, gauzy soap operas. One upside if ABC does renew it: One less hour of prime time I need to
...
read more
And don’t we all. Let’s start with the females, since there are fewer of them. Janet and Hannah are having some man troubles. Hannah wants Ray to stop coming around and picking up various things he seems to have accidentally left behind. Janet can’t seem to stop looking for ways out of her “maybe” relationship with Eddie. I think both women need to decide what they want and just go after it. Hannah doesn’t want Ray, but I’m not sure she wants Nick, either. She seems happy for her life to be about her and Sam right now, which I think is great. Janet needs to decide whether or not she can handle dating a guy like Eddie. He seems to have made that decision for her for now, but I don’t think things are over between these two yet. More on Alison in a bit.Now for the boys. The most interesting relationship for me tonight was the one between the commander and his mystery lady. When both Ronnie and Nick are freaked out about their dad being happy, the...
read more
Question: Did ABC ever hear the phrase, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it?" I have four little boys, so I like my TV at night, and Thursdays were my absolute favorite when ABC moved Grey's Anatomy to that night. I also really enjoyed Six Degrees. And Men in Trees' move to Thursday made that particular night something I looked forward to every week (sad, but true). I tolerated October Road, assuming it would only be a few episodes before Men in Trees would be back. But no. Now I see that Notes from the Underbelly will be in that slot. I'm with you: It's a pretty shoddy way to treat a fan base. ABC needs to realize that Grey's and Men were a perfect combo and should have been left alone.
Answer: Since this letter came in, there have been even more changes in the post-Grey's slot. (See my Dispatch earlier this week for my reaction to the latest news.) Underbelly will now air just once (with two episodes) on Thursday, and October Road will finish up its six-episode tryout the last week of
...
read more
Jonathan Murphy, October Road
Despite shaky reviews, ABC's October Road (Thursdays at 10 pm/ET) stepped into a prime-time spot behind Grey's Anatomy and held its own in its first few weeks. But will viewers get attached enough to invite Bryan Greenberg's Nick Garrett and his small-town friends back for more? TVGuide.com spoke to Jonathan Murphy — aka Nick's kid brother, Ronnie — about why he was drawn to the series and how it will survive among peers that are exploding with high ratings. Murphy also gives us the scoop on the coming season of ABC Family's Wildfire.
TVGuide.com: So, a pretty good viewer response to October Road
read more
