Dollhouse to midseason... and other network news

Filed under: Industry, Programming, Boston Legal, Scrubs, Smallville, Supernatural, Pickups and Renewals, Pushing Daisies, Dirty Sexy Money, New Amsterdam, Reality-Free

Ok, it is after midnight here in the Jet City, and as I sit down to bang this post out on my beloved Model M it would appear that my tasty glass of juice is half empty. Maybe I'm just not in the right frame of mind to spin this news in a positive direction that will lead to a 2009 full of Dollhouse win.

Tucked away in a report on various network goings on over at Hollywood Reporter is a little line that says "Dollhouse is expected to launch mid-season." This is me shaking my fist in the general direction of Fox and screaming "Khaaaaan!" Just, because. Doesn't this seem like a road that has been traveled before? It's one that usually leads to a pretty disappointing destination. We haven't seen the finished fall schedule yet, but I would wager that most of us could easily find three or four hours where the network would be better served by inserting Dollhouse. Highlights of what the networks have planned are available after the jump.

Continue reading Dollhouse to midseason... and other network news

 

Permalink | Email this | | Comments

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/weblogsinc/tvsquad/~3/288756775/

Add to del.icio.us   Digg this   Post to Furl   Add to reddit   Add to myYahoo!

Monday, May 12, 2008

Best Bets

New Bones (FOX, 7pm)New Gossip Girl (CW, 7pm; also on Sun at 5pm)New How I Met Your Mother (CBS, 7:30pm)New House (FOX, 8pm)Season finale of Samantha Who? (ABC, 8:32pm - 9:02pm)Season finale of Medium (NBC, 9pm)Jimmy Fallon, William Shatner, Gary Vaynerchuk on Late Night with Conan O'Brien (NBC, 11:37pm)

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Tvpicksnet/~3/288768681/

Add to del.icio.us   Digg this   Post to Furl   Add to reddit   Add to myYahoo!

Hey kids, it's Upfront Week again!

Filed under: Industry, Programming, Site Announcements, Cancellations, Pickups and Renewals, Upfronts, Reality-Free

Upfront week is that time of year when all of the networks get together for an ice cream social and announce which new shows they'll have in the fall, which old shows are returning, and which shows have been, well, sent to TV heaven. That week is this week! Some networks have toned down their presentations and parties this year.

NBC had their official upfront last month, but today they'll be making more announcements about their fall schedule (I'll have a post up about it later today). ABC and The CW will hold their upfronts on Tuesday. On Wednesday, CBS will hold their upfront, and on Friday FOX will have theirs. Not sure why Thursday has been skipped this year. Maybe the networks thought that overloading TV fans with so much spectacular information four days in a row would be a little overwhelming so they scheduled Thursday as an off-day.

TV Squad will have full coverage all week, so check back (you're checking back every single day anyway, right?).

 

Permalink | Email this | | Comments

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/weblogsinc/tvsquad/~3/288737887/

Add to del.icio.us   Digg this   Post to Furl   Add to reddit   Add to myYahoo!

Production Of 'Ugly Betty' Moving To NYC

NEW YORK (AP) - Production of ABC's ''Ugly Betty'' is moving to New York. The announcement was made Monday by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Governor David Paterson and ABC Studios President Mark Pedowitz.[...] Read more!

Read The Full Article:
http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2008/05/12/production_of_ugly_betty_movin
g_to_nyc

Add to del.icio.us   Digg this   Post to Furl   Add to reddit   Add to myYahoo!

"Caprica" and "Eureka" Casting Nuggets

It's the time of year when all the casting news starts trickling out of our favorite scifi shows and scifi shows to be. Today, two tidbits from The Scifi Channel: "Eureka" will be picking up the lovely and talented Frances...

Read The Full Article:
http://blog.meevee.com/my_weblog/2008/05/caprica-and-eur.html

Add to del.icio.us   Digg this   Post to Furl   Add to reddit   Add to myYahoo!

Box Office: Iron Man Continues to Soar

It will come as no surprise to the majority of movie critics who screened Speed Racer that the highly anticipated Wachowski Brothers' flick had a disappointing opening weekend.

Not only did Speed Racer fail to knock Iron Man out of the top spot (the Marvel action hero brought in another $50 million over the weekend), but it's still unclear if the film can truly claim second place as What Happens in Vegas is hot on its trail in what Variety is calling a "photo finish." Vegas only earned an estimated $200,000 less than Speed Racer and both films are currently hovering around the $20 million mark.

In addition to poor reviews, another problem Speed Racer had is that it seemed to only appeal to kids and filmmakers were shooting for a broader audience. An executive for the film told Hollywood Reporter, "What's hurting us is that the picture is playing very young." The Hollywood Reporter article also points out that if this is the case, then they'll have a hard time when even more competition heads to the theaters next weekend in the form of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.

Made of Honor fell to fourth place followed by Baby Mama to round out the top five.

Photos courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Read The Full Article:
http://buzzsugar.com/1621919

Add to del.icio.us   Digg this   Post to Furl   Add to reddit   Add to myYahoo!

Iron Man Strong

You Made It!

Well, here we are ready to start another great week...

I have just heard the weather forecast for the week and am in good spirit - nothing but sunshine and warm/hot weather for Southern California.

Quite frankly, I am thrilled about the start of the summer season and thought I would take a slight break from the usual television fare to Blog about something that is synonymous with summer: Big Box Office Movies, also known as the "Tentpoles!".

Summer of Big Box Office
Although I have yet to clear my schedule to accompany my loved one to view the new Iron Man (Alright, I am not keeping up with the cool movies), the comic book actioner presented an unbelievable weekend gross in excess of $50 Million dollars last weekend and just north of $100 Million the previous weekend.

On several occasions I have been reprimanded by the men in my life for not being aware of Comic Heroes - Quite honestly, I have never read a comic book in my entire life; but Vogue, Seventeen, and People - Yes and when I was a teen, this was mandatory reading.

Here's a thought, what may not be acutely aware to the faithful is that most big screen comic type movies all kind of look the same - big explosions, sarcastic one-line dialog, loud machinery, strangely only one female character, and somehow, they always seem to have a military 'Be All You Can Be' connection or presence.

Having said, I am aware that the movie role of the Iron character was one that Tom Cruise had originally hoped to attain when rumblings of the movie began two years prior - obviously, negotiations favored Robert Downey Jr. as lead character. As well, I am aware of the fact that the Comic book had a few out-of-date references (Upgraded to Billionaire rather than just lowly Millionaire, abducted by Terrorists, rather than "Commies" whatever that meant, and is a weapon's manufacturer rather than just an inventor). Further, I am hearing from some that it is not as 'Good' as Spiderman or Batman (?)...Not sure what that means...Perhaps the lead character was not satisfactorily conflicted (Another key ingredient in Comic movies).

Speaking of Comic Heroes, I still have yet to see Spiderman 3, from the previous summer.

The Iron Man Sequel should be arriving in theaters by the time I actually see the movie. However, the DVD distribution window is now down to about 3 months after wide-screen release, and OnDemand is about 2-3 months behind that - so, it safe to presume that I should probably see the movie by November.

With Speed Racer and the romantic comedy What Stays In Vegas also opening at almost a tie this past weekend with both around $20 Million, we have every reason to believe this summer is going to big...

Action Packed Theaters
So, this summer we can expect a few new major releases and here is the official calendar (Note, this calendar is subject to change according to friends at the studios) (Expected 'Tentpoles' are in bold):

• Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian May 16
• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull May 23
• War Inc. May 16
• Sex In The City May 30
• The Strangers May 30

June:

• Kung Fu Panda June 6
• You Don't Mess With Zohan June 6
• The Happening June 13
• The Incredible Hulk June 13
• Get Smart June 20
• The Love Guru June 20
• Wanted June 27

July:

• Hancock July 4
• Hellboy 2 July 11
• Journey to The Center of the Earth 3D July 11
• Meet Dave July 11
• The Dark Knight (Batman 4) July 18
• The Step Brothers July 25
• The X-Files 2 July 25

August:

• The Mummy 3 August 1
• The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants 2 August 8
• Tropic Thunder August 15
• Star Wars - The Clone Wars August 15
• The Accidental Husband August 22
• Babylon A.D. August 29
  

Ah, are you exhausted? Well, I am from just writing the list and it is safe to conclude that you will be in the theaters at some point or another this year. Rest assured, I have not even began discussion about the holiday movie slate.

Of course, you may print the above list, re-produce and email to your friends. Just let me know which you movies you decided to see!



*The photo image above is the movie poster for Iron Man, starring Robert Downey Jr. and compliments of Paramount/Marvel Comics."

Valerie St. John, VSJ TELEVISION

Read The Full Article:
http://valeriestjohn.blogspot.com/2008/05/iron-man-strong.html

Add to del.icio.us   Digg this   Post to Furl   Add to reddit   Add to myYahoo!

Hannah Storm heading to ESPN morning

Filed under: Sports, Daytime, Casting, Reality-Free

I hope Hannah Storm enjoyed sleeping late since she's been off the CBS Early Show because her new gig will be on the AM shift once again. And she'll be back talking sports. ESPN is going to announce tomorrow that Hannah Storm will anchor a new, revamped SportsCenter morning edition. SportsCenter is already on every morning, so you have to assume that by adding Storm to the mix, the folks at Disney (ESPN's parent company) are looking to pump up the old format and maybe bring in some new viewers -- like maybe those who used to watch Hannah on CBS.

Of course, there's already two other competing morning shows on the ESPN family of channels, Mike & Mike in the Morning which stars Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic, and First Take (formerly known as Cold Pizza) with Jay Crawford and Dana Jacobson.

Continue reading Hannah Storm heading to ESPN morning

 

Permalink | Email this | | Comments

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/weblogsinc/tvsquad/~3/288718996/

Add to del.icio.us   Digg this   Post to Furl   Add to reddit   Add to myYahoo!

Where Do You Find The World's Brightest LCD Panel
Try Your Local Bus Shack

You may have hoped that one day you'd have the world's brightest LCD panel in your living room. Unfortunately for you, you'll have a better chance of finding it in the nearest bus shack as Samsung has announced today that they've begun mass production of a 46-inch "high bright" digital signage panel. That's right, not intended for your living room, the 1500 nit, 46-inch panel is instead headed for "transit centers, bus shelters, museums, shopping malls and for use at point of sale in retail outlets, to replace outdated poster advertisings". Quite the wide range of lighting conditions in these places, but with panel brightness 3 times that of the typical living room LCD TV, this digital sign is equipped to accommodate any and all lighting conditions. The 720p panel produces HD images with 16.7 million colors and a contrast ratio of 3000:1, and can be tiled with other panels to produce a "video wall". The "high bright" panels are expected to ship later this month.Via SlashGear

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TvSnobcom/~3/288738488/018841.php

Add to del.icio.us   Digg this   Post to Furl   Add to reddit   Add to myYahoo!

HERCULEAN EFFORT

I'm still working my way through the collection of 'Poirot' stories with David Suchet assaying the role of the Belgian detective. And before I move on to other mystery series like 'Foyle's War' and 'Crime Travelers', I added a few other appearances by Hercule Poirot to my Netflix Queue.

I still have several of the Suchet disks to receive, but Netflix saw fit to skip over them and send me "Thirteen At Dinner" instead. It's a 1985 tele-flick in which Peter Ustinov reprised the role of Poirot, but bringing him over to the TV Universe instead of remaining in the Movie Universe. AND it was updated to take place in the present day (now over twenty years past.) So his portrayal of Poirot can't be considered the same man he played in "Death On The Nile" and "Evil Under The Sun".
David Suchet has the lock on the role of Poirot for Earth Prime-Time, so Ustinov's incarnation must be shipped off to a different TV dimension. And I think it might be interesting to settle him down with his little gray cells in the same Toobworld where William Conrad's updated version of Nero Wolfe can be discovered. (What makes this idea most appealing is that Lee Horsley played movie star and murder suspect Brian Martin in "Thirteen At Dinner". Horsley also played Wolfe's legman Archie Goodwin in the Conrad series. So we could make the argument that Martin and Goodwin were twin brothers; Martin changed his name for his career.)

"Thirteen At Dinner" is another version of "Lord Edgeware Dies", an Agatha Christie novel which was also adapted for Suchet's series.
With this TV movie, you get to see two of the screen's Hercule Poirots together! Suchet appears as Detective Inspector James Japp, and it's a credit to his acting talents that I never once thought of him as Poirot while watching his turn as the Scotland Yard policeman.

One added benefit, we got to see Sir David Frost as himself. If you want to then link "Thirteen At Dinner" to the episode of 'Here's Lucy' in which he appeared as himself, that's up to you. I'm keeping 'Here's Lucy' in the main Toobworld, and dealing with alternate versions of TV shows is too much of a headache!
BCnU!
Toby OB


Read The Full Article:
http://toobworld.blogspot.com/2008/05/herculean-effort.html

Add to del.icio.us   Digg this   Post to Furl   Add to reddit   Add to myYahoo!