Question: I have a laundry list of questions about summer viewing: Is Life on Mars going to have a second season, or was it a one-off? (I'm scared to death of the American remake — I'm expecting Starsky & Hutch.) I was disappointed to hear about the bad ratings of Brotherhood — it's too good to be ignored. If there is no second season, will we be left hanging, or does the first series come to some sort of resolution? I know it's early, but what is the likelihood of Vanished making it through the season? Is Fox willing to take a chance based on the success of 24 and Prison Break, or will this be another Firefly/Wonderfalls/Reunion? Finally, what is your reaction to Denis Leary getting an Emmy nomination for acting but not one for writing? As good as he is as Tommy Gavin, his and Peter Tolan's scripts are the heart of that series. How could the writing be ignored?
Answer: There is a second series of Life on Mars, but no word on when BBC America will present
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Question: I don't care what anyone says, I love your "rude" comments. If people keep asking dumb questions (anything regarding Tru Calling, for instance), they deserve to have you making comments about them. So keep up the great work. Now, when is Fox bringing back The Inside and Wonderfalls?
Answer: The Inside returns a week from never, and Wonderfalls goes back into production when yo mama starts shaving her pits. (You set me up, you bitch!)
My apologies for the abbreviated AA this week. Due to the Fourth of July holiday, I had only a few hours to pull this together before I went out and got plastered. Next week, I'll be back to my normal l
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Question: Matt, first off, nice seeing you on Charlie Rose. I hope you and he might sit down and have an extended conversation some time. Secondly, as regards the moving of Bones to Friday, I think the reason fans are so alarmist can be summed up in two words: Firefly and Wonderfalls. I know that's how I feel.
Answer: Thanks for the Charlie Rose nod. That panel was fun, and once Charlie is fully recovered in his seat, it would be an honor to talk TV with him at length, should the opportunity arise. As for Bones moving to Friday next mid-season (should that even happen, which I'm skeptical about), I understand the trepidation regarding any good Fox show being shipped to that death slot. But keep in mind that Bones is a much more mainstream show than either Firefly or Wonderfalls, which would have been a risk on any night in any time period (except maybe after American Idol, and even then, imagine how bad they would look if they lost too much of the lead-in). Bones could work for Fox the
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Question: I was wondering if you had been given a chance to screen Showtime's new show Dexter. From what I've heard, it sounds a lot like Profit, with its "evil" main character. I no longer get Showtime, but I am a huge collector of TV shows on DVD (I have about 1,500 episodes of various shows). I was wondering if it would be worth my while and my dollar. I bought Dead Like Me sight unseen. I thought it a true pleasure though I had already fallen in love with Wonderfalls (both from Bryan Fuller).
Answer: Now this is a first, a DVD question about a show that hasn't even premiered yet. I understand clips of Dexter were shown at the critics' press tour in Pasadena this month (which I did not attend), and I heard some good buzz. But all I can say for sure is that I can't wait to see this show, about a forensics expert by day (played by Six Feet Under's Michael C. Hall) who by night is a serial killer, which means he sometimes can be found processing his own crime scenes. The twist here,
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Question: I can understand canceling a bad show, one that critics think is horrible and no one watches, but how can a network cancel one of its two shows that actually wins awards? Every person I know who has actually sat down to watch Arrested Development thinks it's hilarious. Shouldn't Fox try its hardest to get an audience for the show?
Answer: While I do wish Fox had at least temporarily tried putting Arrested between The Simpsons and Family Guy on Sundays to see how the show would play in a much more protected hammock, I can't fault Fox in the larger picture for not at least giving the show a chance. The show was renewed twice, regardless of the scheduling and the erratic airing of episodes. The question isn't so much what Fox could have done to try to build the audience but rather what a network's ratings expectations are anymore for shows that attempt something different. If buzz and acclaim were enough, Arrested Development would be set for life. Sadly, it isn't.
For a
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