Starting with this week's column, Matt Webb Mitovich and Mickey O'Connor welcome fellow senior editor Tim Molloy to the Mega mix. Every Wednesday, our troika of scoop-hunters will answer your questions! (To that end, send all queries to mega_scoop@tvguide.com.)
I will be sad when William Petersen leaves CSI, because I don't think he will be able to be replaced. I will watch the first week he is gone, but I don't think I will watch it after that. — Fox
MATT: Normally I turn a blind eye to Mega Buzz questions not phrased as such, but this topic begs addressing. Having sneak-peeked this Thursday's (super-creepy!) episode, in which Gil first shares his decision to leave CSI, I concur that yes, it is going to be very hard to say goodbye come Jan. 15. But I must put this out there: Give change a chance. After getting a feel for Laurence Fishburne's criminology prof, I'm curious ...
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Will the TV audience go out on a limb to embrace the much-buzzed-about pilot of ABC's delightfully one-of-a-kind Pushing Daisies, or will this one go the way of the whimsical and short-lived Wonderfalls (another offbeat gem from creator Bryan Fuller)? Will ABC's Private Practice and NBC's Bionic Woman continue to duke it out for bragging rights as the season's sole breakout hits? Or is it possible that having sampled the first episodes of each out of curiosity, disgruntled viewers will find something else to occupy their time? Is CW's over-the-top Gossip Girl destined to be a cult guilty pleasure at best? Can Casey become the first female Top Chef (here's hoping) when the winner is announced in the live finale? Will Cartman make us blush as he pretends to have Tourette's syndrome on the season-opener of South Park? (You’ve noticed I've turned away from network TV in addressing the 10 pm/ET hour. Only ABC's Dirty Sexy Money piques my interest from the big-three offerings in that...
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Question: I've been amazed when people have said in previous Ask Matt questions that they don't want to start watching a show because of the chance it might be canceled. I've lived through the agony of having shows I've cared for canceled. I was crushed when Dark Angel ended mid-story. I was in agony when Firefly ended prematurely and stunned when Farscape was canceled after a gut-wrenching cliff-hanger. And there are many others: Wonderfalls, Dead Like Me, Veronica Mars, Drive. Doubtless there will be others. But I don't regret having watched any of these shows. Would my life have been less rich if I had never watched Firefly? Would I be better off if I had never seen Dead Like Me? I understand wanting a beloved show to go on for seven or eight seasons, but I'm grateful even for the brief glimpses into alternate realities that these shows provided. I would have loved to see where Wonderfalls would have gone, but I'm delighted that I got to experience the show at all. So yes, some of ...
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Ever-underappreciated TV journeyman Tim Minear and Emmy-winning director Todd Holland, with whom Minear collaborated on the critically praised Wonderfalls, have landed a pilot commitment from ABC for Miracle Man, the Reporter reports. The drama — which sparked a bidding war between ABC and Fox — focuses on a disgraced televangelist who realizes that God is using him to perform real miracles and get Drive back on the air change lives. Minear is penning the script, Holland will direct, and both will exec-produce.Related: Exclusive! Buffy Comic Keeps the Faith
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Question: Have you seen any other episodes beyond the pilot of Pushing Daisies? I watched it last night — it's absolutely fantastic! But I'm worried it might be too quirky and non-mainstream to get a big enough audience to satisfy ABC, as was the fate of Bryan Fuller's previous Wonderfalls and Dead Like Me. I've seen promos during other ABC shows and have read that it's been screened at various functions and festivals recently, but probably only in larger cities like New York and L.A. It seems ABC is getting behind it, but what kind of numbers do you think it will have to achieve, and hold on to, in order to stay around a full season?
Answer: Impossible at this point to know or predict. And for the record, I haven't yet seen beyond the pilot of this or any other fall series. Can't wait, of course. There are so many intangibles involved in deciding a show's fate, including the timeslot it's in, how the quality of the episodes holds up, how its performance affects the rest of the
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