Posted Sep 12th 2008 1:01PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: OpEd, Celebrities, Casting, Reality-Free
With
Battlestar Galactica wrapped and done with, Katee Sackoff is moving on with her career. She has been cast in
a detective drama for NBC called Lost and Found about a cop who is sent to the basement as punishment to handle cases that nobody else wants.
Sackoff was excellent in her Starbuck role in
Battlestar Galactica and I'm very much looking forward to the final episodes in January. She put on such a good performance, in fact, that I hope she isn't typecast as an unstable woman (her role in
Bionic Woman was somewhat reminiscent. Her episodes of
Nip/Tuck haven't been broadcast yet so I can't comment on them).
There is also the premise of this show. It's one which I've seen before, most notably with
The X-Files. Maybe NBC is trying to get that demographic. Will this be another one of those subtle sci-fi shows, such as
Lost? If so, I can understand the casting choice since they'd want to pull in the sci-fi fans and Katee would be a familiar face to that bunch. I guess we'll have to wait and see.
Posted Sep 11th 2008 4:40PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: OpEd, Doctor Who, Celebrities, Casting, Reality-Free
This is being reported by the British "newspaper" The Sun, so I urge you to consider the source before going mad with anticipation. The Sun first reported that
Catherine Tate, Bernard Cribbins and John Simm would revisit their roles as Donna, Wilf and The Master respectively in one of the upcoming
Doctor Who specials slated for 2009. Later, it reported that
Paul McGann would return as the Doctor in a flashback capacity.
I would love for any of that to happen. Particularly McGann's return. But, it's The Sun. They're made it standard operating procedure to publish unsubstantiated rumors from unnamed sources. Much as I wish these were true, I'm not going to hold my breath unless I hear it from some sort of official source. Preferably the BBC.
Still, considering that I'm mentioning the articles here and including links back to the originals, we can conclude that this method of cheap publicity works. Bravo to The Sun! Thanks for eventually disappointing millions of
Doctor Who fans worldwide.
Posted Sep 11th 2008 1:23PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Industry, OpEd, Reality-Free
The MPAA has warned the FCC
against allowing cable subscribers a la carte pricing for their cable channels. This was done in reaction to several consumer rights groups feeling that the current bundling method of pricing was against the spirit of the First Amendment.
The television networks (and, by extension, the cable companies) and the MPAA have been in bed with each other since the word "television" entered our lexicon. I learned in a marketing class that the majority of advertisements for any movie are found on television and they tend to be broadcast on Thursday nights when people are deciding what to do with their weekend.
Continue reading The MPAA doesn't want you to pick your cable stations
Posted Sep 10th 2008 9:23PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, Reality-Free
In a move that will cause cardiac arrest in the millions of Joss fans out there, production has
temporarily halted on Joss Whedon's new series Dollhouse so the man himself can work on some scripts.
The production is only halted for two weeks, so it's hardly going to affect the proposed premiere in January 2009. It's interesting how close this event occured to Fox's
temporary shutdown of the new season of 24. The two shows are even going to be on the same channel on the same night. I wonder if the two shutdowns are related?
I admit I was worried about the future of this series when the Writer's Strike happened. I thought it would be lost in the shuffle. For that matter, I was worried that Joss Whedon would stick to other projects and never create another television series again. And I'm
still worried that this is a sci-fi show on Fox and that's a dangerous combination.
I'm looking forward to this show. Hopefully, Fox won't prematurely cancel it.
Posted Sep 10th 2008 1:22PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Celebrities, Reality-Free
In a move that should come as no surprise to anybody, Pamela Anderson has stripped off her clothes yet again. This time on
The Ellen Degeneres Show. No, she didn't get completely nude (or even wear a flesh-toned swimsuit as she did on
Saturday Night Live). She remained in a somewhat television-safe bikini
to show off her rockin' 41-year-old body.
Um, how do I react to this? She's still got the curves, but the move smacks of desperation. She's trying to generate publicity for herself and whatever current project she's working on. Or maybe she's trying to get more work. She is getting up there in age. In Hollywood years, she's ancient. The whole "Hollywood beach bunny blonde" image doesn't work so well when you're in your 60's. At that point, she may have to rely on her talent.
The video is after the jump. I leave it to your discretion as to whether or not it's safe for work.
Continue reading Pamela Anderson takes off her clothes for Ellen - VIDEO
Posted Sep 10th 2008 8:22AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Industry, Reality-Free
It looks like Google is taking a step towards having a television station all its own. The Internet search company will be
helping NBC Universal sell advertisements for some of NBC's cable stations (including Sci Fi, Oxygen, MSNBC, CNBC, Sleuth and Chiller).
This is yet another step in the inevitable merger of television and the Internet. It wouldn't surprise me if in the future, Google either acquires a television network (it could be NBC or some other one) or starts one all its own. It's certainly ubiquitous enough in Internet advertising to break into another medium (sort of like Microsoft's strategy).
It does say something that NBC is turning over some of its ad sales to a third party. As the article states, it could be a way of attracting businesses who only advertise on the Internet. It could also be a way of streamlining their business model so they can concentrate on producing shows in a more cost-effective manner (I knew that MBA would come in handy some day).
Posted Sep 8th 2008 9:04PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Episode Reviews, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Reality-Free
(S02E01) Last season ended with a bang. More specifically, Cameron in the middle of a bang when the SUV she was occupying exploded. The new series begins with music by the series composer Bear McCreary and vocalized by the lead singer of Garbage, Shirley Manson (who appears later in the episode as ZeiraCorp CEO Catherine Weaver, a new major player).
The show had good ratings the first season, but only nine episodes. Both of these can be attributed to the WGA Strike, which both cut down the available episodes and gave the show no competition. If it does well this season in the ratings, then we'll be seeing more killer robots in the future.
Continue reading The Sarah Connor Chronicles: Samson and Delilah (season premiere)
Posted Sep 8th 2008 11:03AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
It looks like the Muppets
will be back again for Christmas. The NBC television special will star Whoopi Goldberg, "The Sopranos" alums Tony Sirico and Steve Schirripa, "Harry Potter" regular Richard Griffiths and Madison Pettis as well as your favorite cast of colorful characters created by Jim Henson.
I'm a huge fan of the Muppets, but the passing of Jim Henson did somehow lessen the franchise. The stuff they've produced since has been hit-and-miss. I liked
Muppets Tonight and
It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie, but most of the other stuff (especially the theatrical films) have fallen flat.
I do hope that
Jason Segal and Nicholas Stoller will be able to breathe new life into the franchise. I did enjoy
Forgetting Sarah Marshall (particularly the puppet musical), but I'm not sure how well that translates to the Muppets. My fingers are crossed.
How dare Jim Henson leave us all like this! I'm sorry. I still haven't gotten over it.
Posted Sep 8th 2008 10:28AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Reality-Free
Stephen Colbert will live forever. At least, this is what he hopes. He's
giving a digitized copy of his DNA to video game designer Richard Garriott who will take it to the International Space Station for storage.
"I am thrilled to have my DNA shot into space, as this brings me one step closer to my lifelong dream of being the baby at the end of
2001," Colbert said in a statement.
So, if Earth is destroyed (by a meteor strike, alien invasion, nuclear war or whatever other situations can be made into summer blockbuster), we can content ourselves with the fact that aliens will arrive in the aftermath, take the digital DNA and clone Stephen Colbert. They can then enjoy new episodes of
The Colbert Report long after Stephen himself is gone.
Why stop at Stephen Colbert? Why not Jon Stewart as well? I guess Colbert doesn't actually like the idea of competition. He wants to dominate the networks on planet
Koozebane.
Posted Sep 6th 2008 3:01PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: OpEd, 24, Reality-Free
Fox's
24 is taking a break from filming so producers can rethink the storylines for the upcoming season. The two-hour special for November is still in the can and shouldn't be affected by this.
This could be an example of analysis paralysis. Due to the writers' strike, the show was not broadcast at all last season. They had a year's break to think it through. They're having second thoughts about the storyline this late in the game? Considering the wait that fans have already had to go through (though no fault of the producers), this better be a kick-ass season.
Of course, the show isn't being broadcast until January and they already have plenty of material ready that wasn't broadcast due to the aforementioned strike. There is ample time to make whatever changes they need and have it ready for broadcast.
I do wonder what sort of enemy Jack Bauer will be fighting in the next season. I'm hoping for
Cobra Commander from the upcoming G.I. Joe movie.
Posted Sep 5th 2008 11:01AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
A new sci-fi series is coming to ABC created by
Star Trek alumnus Rene Echevarria and Greg Berlanti. It is called
The Return and is about the day a group of extra-terrestrials land on Earth. Obviously, hilarity will ensue.
I wish I could count on one hand the sheer number of times I have seen this situation in sci-fi. For classic examples, see
The Day The Earth Stood Still. For more modern ones, there is the concept of
Alien Nation and I can think of at least one episode of
Doctor Who. I'm sure there are a multitude of others.
Echevarria has worked on other sci-fi series than
Star Trek such as
The 4400 and
Dark Angel, so I'm trusting that the guy knows what he's doing to put a new spin on an old concept. However, I don't find the title,
The Return, to be very exciting or imaginative. It doesn't make me want to tune in. Can you think of a better one?
Posted Sep 4th 2008 4:23PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Celebrities, The X-Files, Reality-Free
The X-Files creator Chris Carter has been
hospitalized for exhaustion. This was brought on by "physical exhaustion and an acute sleeping disorder."
The pressure on the man must be enormous. He's working on a new movie
Fencewalker and just finished
The X-Files: I Want to Believe movie. While reviews of the movie weren't great, it did make $60 million in the worldwide box office (from a $30 million budget). That's not including the inevitable DVD sales (which will probably be strong due to the number of
X-Files enthusiasts out there). How much does a movie have to make in order to be considered a success by Hollywood standards?
I admit that I know nothing about Chris Carter, so the skeptic in me can't help but wonder if "exhaustion" is a euphemism for some other addiction. Perhaps he and David Duchovny
will run into each other while hospitalized and chat about old times.
Posted Sep 4th 2008 10:38AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Awards, Reality-Free
It looks like after some divisiveness on the subject (including a
report confirming her non-appearance), Britney Spears will in fact be
making an appearance at the 25th MTV Video Music Awards this coming Sunday in Los Angeles. Britney has been nominated 16 times for VMAs but never won a Moon Man.
This year she has three nominations. With that, I don't know why anybody would think she wouldn't show up. I realize that many thought her last VMA appearance/performance was a trainwreck, but look at what she was going through at the time.
Britney does not have a performance scheduled and I would guess that her appearance will likely be more demure (if MTV is capable of such a thing). I presume she'll just be accepting the award (I think she'll win something. It would be a good career boost. Even Scorsese won an award eventually). Of course, I could be complete wrong. Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of MTV executives?
My question is: will Britney's appearance at the VMA's make you more likely to tune in?
Posted Sep 3rd 2008 7:02PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Programming, Ratings, Reality-Free, 90210
Whatever the critics say,
90210 did score a ratings win for the CW. It was
the highest-rated scripted series premiere in the network's two year history.
It didn't do overwhelming numbers for a network show (it was watched by 4.9 million viewers and had a 2.6 ratings among adults 18 to 40), but it is better than the CW has done before. If the show can continue to do well in the ratings, the CW may actually cancel that "going out of business" sale.
I have to agree with
Joel's analysis about the reasoning behind not sending the screeners to critics: it wasn't made for them. Bad reviews from the myriad of old male critics would have only hurt the ratings.
Gossip Girl also got a boost in the ratings, so don't count the CW out of the race yet. Now I'm waiting to see if the
major changes on Smallville pay off.
Posted Sep 3rd 2008 1:00PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Industry, Hardware, TiVo, Reality-Free
According to a study performed by NDS, the makers of DVR technology,
DVRs within households actually save relationships. 79% of the users polled said the technology has improved their love lives. There are several reasons I find this interesting.
First, the study is done by the manufacturers of the product. While I have no doubt the study is genuine, it is somewhat suspicious that such a favorable report is produced by those who profit from it.
Second, the article does not state exactly how the DVRs help relationships. There could be several reasons, of course. DVRs in the house could lead to a lack of squabbling over the recording of favorite television shows. Since you could watch the shows whenever you want, it could make for couple-bonding time in front of a TV with a DVR.
Most importantly, it could lead to a lack of actual conversation between the couple which means it's less likely that something will be said incorrectly by one party or skeletons will come flying out of the closet to ruin the relationship.
Ain't technology grand?
Next Page >
Ten unfinished sci fi/fantasy series ... and I'm dying for resolution
Carter Bays of How I Met Your Mother: The TV Squad Interview
Giveaway Monday: Smallville season seven
