Question: I was very upset to hear that Fox is canceling Justice, one of my favorite shows. One of the unique parts of this show is that at the end you are given the details on exactly how the person was killed. While at the end of other crime drama episodes, you still wonder exactly how "it" happened. Why is it that Fox is dumping Justice while going all out to save Standoff? I have tried to watch Standoff on three different occasions and have only found poor acting and even worse story lines. I feel that Fox has not even tried to help Justice with promos and advertisement but is continually doing this for Standoff.
Answer: The fact is, Fox had another lousy fall, with not even a Prison Break-sized breakthrough this year. Justice was given two chances. When it was clearly getting clobbered by Criminal Minds on Wednesdays (don't ask me why — that's the most inexplicably popular show on TV), Fox moved it behind Prison Break, which was about as good a shot as Justice was going to get.
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Wow. Tonight was hostage-tacular. We had Anya and Eddie, the mother and son at the church, the man on the bus, and then Anya and Graham. It was an outright action bonanza!I have to confess, I jumped the gun and was disappointed that the Anya storyline appeared to be morphing into a Fatal Attraction situation. Luckily, it took a relatively fresh turn. The hostage became the hostage taker. Interesting. It surprised me that I’ve never really wondered what happens to the victims after each ordeal we witness in these episodes. But, yeah, it’s not hard to see how the victims could come undone after all the dust settles. I found myself thinking, “Poor Anya,” which was a lovely break from my usual “Poor, tormented HT” thoughts. (Though I should point out that by the end, Anya was the hostage taker, so I guess I really couldn’t go a whole episode without feeling sympathy for the criminal.) I’m still not entirely sure that Graham wrote that m...
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Also at Fox, additional episode orders have been awarded to Standoff (for six more) and 'Til Death (for another nine).... ABC, meanwhile, has okayed production on a 10th installment of The Bachelor, perhaps to premiere as early as spring 2007. OK, why?UPDATE: Live from L.A., where he is shooting an episode of Scrubs, Mike just posted an Ausiello Report entry about the status of Veronica Mars.
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At a Wednesday panel discussion hosted by the International Radio & Television Society Foundation, network entertainment execs previewed their latest plans. Among the reveals, per the Hollywood Reporter:— ABC's Dancing with the Stars, which crowned its third winning pair last night, may return as early as March. The big decision is whether to keep it where it is, on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, where it would compete directly against American Idol. — CBS is poised to order additional episodes of The Class, though the exact amount was not disclosed.— As reported earlier this week, NBC, come January, will likely move Friday Night Lights from Tuesdays at 8 (aka Idol-time) to a time period "with hopefully more protection." Promises Peacock scheduling VP Mitch Metcalf, "We'll take care of it."— Fox will "probably" order six more episodes of the struggling Standoff, and may also move the freshman series. The O.C., however, is staying put on Thursdays, where it is ...
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Tonight’s episode was most notable for its surprising portrayal of the guest stars. Few acted or spoke exactly as one might expect based on their physical appearances.First we had Doug, who looked like he just stepped out of a Harley convention. He was splattered with blood and appeared to be one of the most brutal hostage takers we’d seen yet. But then we found out that all of this — the shooting, the car chase, the standoff — was because he wanted to adopt a baby. And the actual image of his struggle was even more interesting. When Doug held the baby with such tenderness, it was a striking juxtaposition of large and small, world-weary and innocent.Then there was Avery Steele. At first glance, I wrote him off as another “shock jock” hoping to out-outrageous Howard Stern. But wait, there was a catch! This guy actually had a social conscience. He wasn’t using his antics to exploit beautiful women or the mentally impaired. No, his ultimat...
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Now, I don’t want to alarm anyone, but my psychopathic-killer instincts are frighteningly good. At the start of the episode, I had a hunch that this new string of shootings was not coming from the real G.L.A. If I were a detective and I started off the case summary by saying the suspect was breaking from a pattern he’s followed for decades, I might spy a red flag. The shootings had “copycat” written all over them. I also knew that Captain Bayless was a goner. His suave attitude and eagerness to appear the hero pretty much signed his death certificate. And while I didn’t find his death all that surprising, seeing it happen was still a pretty raw experience. And, man, so was Cheryl’s reaction to it. It’s understandable that she’d feel responsible, since she let him continue with the ill-advised press conference. But I found myself laughing incredulously when she suggested killing Donald to satisfy the demands of the real G.L.A. The lady has ...
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Last night in televisionland:— An encore of Monday's special Friday Night Lights outing drew 3.91 million total viewers. But were they new eyeballs, or confused folks hit with a feeling of déjà vu (and too lazy to grab the remote)? Discuss.— Fox's Standoff was welcomed to its new 8 o'clock berth by just 4.92 million viewers, a full three mil fewer than were watching it prebaseball, at 9 pm. For what it's worth, House (14.08 mil) more than tripled its lead-in's meager audience. (Then again, it kinda had to, right?)— With a Gilmore Girls repeat for a lead-in, Veronica Mars (2.77 mil, down 600K week-to-week) hit a season low.— Help Me Help You (9.5 mil) took a 1.5 million viewer hit versus last week.
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This episode started with a situation we’re used to seeing in great hospital shows like Scrubs and Grey’s Anatomy — the eccentric surgeon and his unique pre-op routine. But Dr. Wayne’s approach certainly added a new twist. Now, I doubt this is the first time we’ve ever seen doctors listen to rock music in the operating room, but there was something so disturbing about the way he gleefully tossed that pitcher of ice on the poor heart-bypass patient. Don't get me wrong, I definitely understand how "Dr. Feelgood” can make one lose one’s head, but maybe that’s why it should be reserved for cleaning the apartment on a Sunday afternoon — not for the O.R.Of course, in this episode nothing was as it should be in the hospital. Poor M.J. was fighting for the life of his dying sister. Matt was losing his cool and letting his childhood trauma affect his work. There was a strange naked man lying on a stretcher who nearly caused the hostage rescue tea...
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As a ramp-up to the Oct. 31, post-baseball return of Fox's Standoff, TV Guide Channel will air the first four episodes of the freshman drama this Sunday from 3 to 7 pm/ET. The mini-marathon will be hosted by series stars Ron Livingston and Rosemarie DeWitt.
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Stay tuned for my Standoff blog...
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