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Davies, Tennant on Vacating “Doctor Who”
Posted by Melanie McFarland in Commentary, TCA Summer Press Tour 2009, TV News, Tune In Info, Uncategorized on July 31st, 2009
The longest running science fiction series in television history, “Doctor Who,” is a beloved pop culture icon in its native U.K. Among U.S. viewers, however, coming out as a Whovian used to be a bit risky. Self-identified geeks once considered the classic series to be a little too geeky even for them.
BBC America, Russell T. Davies and David Tennant changed all that over the past few years — Tennant, especially. For three seasons the gregarious actor portrayed The Doctor with a combination of goofiness and gravitas, making him charismatic, sexy and at times even sinister. We believed it when centuries-old Doctor’s companions fell for him because, after all, we had too. Tennant and Davies’ recent Comic-Con appearance drove the fans into a frenzy.
That’s why the news that Tennant’s run on “Doctor Who” would be coming to an end made our hearts ache a little. The journey for his incarnation of The Doctor is already in the process of ending. “Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead” had its BBC America premiere last Sunday. The next special, “The Waters of Mars,” arrives in the fall and enlists a new companion named Adelaide (Lindsay Duncan, familiar to “Rome” fans as Servilia of the Junii). Tennant’s final special arrives at what would otherwise be the most wonderful time of the year, Christmas. Davies confirmed that it’s called “The End of Time,” and it will be at least an hour and a half, maybe more, with commercials.
The decision to leave wasn’t easy for Tennant but, as he explained to critics on Wednesday, “I like the fact that I stand a chance of leaving an audience and myself wanting more rather than people asking when I’ve leaving.”
For the record, Davies announced he’d be handing the reins off to Steven Moffat in May 2008, before Tennant decided it was time for him to go — he hit us with that news last October.
The actor described the feeling of abandoning the role that brought him such love and acclaim in both the U.K. and the states as both very exciting, and very sad. “It’s thrilling to be handing over the show in such good health, actually…we’ve all come on this journey together, and it feels like we’re coming to the end of something very special.”
As do we.
***Warning: Slight spoilers lie ahead.***
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Nominations for 61st Annual Emmy Awards Are In…
Posted by Melanie McFarland in Uncategorized on July 16th, 2009
For the second year in a row, Emmy had few early morning surprises among its major category nominees. It was a huge year for cable, with “House” and “Lost” becoming the only broadcast nominees for best drama. It was an even bigger year for “30 Rock,” which snagged 22 nods in total, including a supporting actor nomination for Jack “Kenneth the Page” McBrayer. AMC’s “Mad Men” scored 16 noms.
Bigger shockers were in store in the Comedy Series category, as the offbeat HBO series “Flight of the Conchords” and, even more surprisingly, “Family Guy” (??!!) elbowed their way in to stand alongside conventional choices such as “The Office,” “30 Rock” and “How I Met Your Mother.”
On the other hand, the casts of “The Shield” and “Battlestar Galactica,” both of which aired their final seasons during the Emmy Award qualification period, felt no love on this summertime morning.
Between now and Sept. 20, when the awards are broadcast on CBS, there’s sure to be a great deal of debate as to the merit and wisdom of these nods. Here is the list of major categories:
Outstanding Drama Series
“Big Love,” “Breaking Bad,” “Damages,” “Dexter,” “House,” “Lost,” “Mad Men”
Outstanding Comedy Series
“Entourage,” “Family Guy,” “Flight of the Conchords,”"How I Met Your Mother,” “The Office,” “30 Rock,” “Weeds”
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama
Sally Field, “Brother and Sisters”
Kyra Sedgwick, “The Closer”
Glenn Close, “Damages”
Mariska Hargitay, “Law & Order: SVU”
Elizabeth Moss, “Mad Men”
Holly Hunter, “Saving Grace”
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama
Bryan Cranston, “Breaking Bad’
Michael C. Hall, “Dexter”
Hugh Laurie, “House”
Gabriel Byrne, “In Treatment”
Jon Hamm, “Mad Men”
Simon Baker, “The Mentalist”
Outstanding Made for TV Movie
“Coco Chanel,” Lifetime; “Grey Gardens,” HBO; “Into the Storm,” HBO; “Prayers for Bobby,” Lifetime; “Taking Chance,” HBO
Outstanding Miniseries
“Generation Kill,” HBO; “Little Dorrit,” PBS
Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series
“The Colbert Report,” “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” “The Late Show with David Letterman,” “Real Time with Bill Maher,” “Saturday Night Live”
Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “New Adventures of Old Christine”
Christina Applegate, “Samantha Who”
Sarah Silverman, “The Sarah Silverman Program”
Toni Collette, “United States of Tara”
Mary-Louis Parker, “Weeds”
Tina Fey, “30 Rock”
Lead Actor in a comedy series
Jemaine Clement, “Flight of the Conchords”
Steve Carell, “The Office”
Charlie Sheen, “Two and a Half Men”
Jim Parsons, “The Big Bang Theory”
Tony Shalhoub, ”Monk”
Alec Baldwin, “30 Rock”
Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Kevin Dillon, “Entourage”
Neil Patrick Harris, “How I Met Your Mother”
Rainn Wilson, “The Office”
Tracy Morgan, “3o Rock”
Jack McBrayer, “30 Rock”
Jon Cryer, “Two and a Half Men”
Supporting Actor in a Drama
William Shatner, “Boston Legal”
Christian Clemenson, “Boston Legal”
Aaron Paul, “Breaking Bad”
William Hurt, “Damages”
Michael Emerson, “Lost”
John Slattery, “Mad Men”
Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Kristin Chenoweth, “Pushing Daisies”
Amy Poehler, “Saturday Night Live”
Kristin Wiig, “Saturday Night Live”
Jane Krakowski, “30 Rock”
Vanessa Williams, “Ugly Betty”
Elizabeth Perkins, “Weeds”
Supporting Actress in a Drama
Rose Byrne, “Damages”
Sandra Oh, “Grey’s Anatomy”
Chandra Wilson, “Grey’s Anatomy”
Dianne Wiest, “In Treatment”
Hope Davis, “In Treatment”
Cherry Jones, “24″
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Emmy Nominations to be Revealed on Thursday!
Posted by Melanie McFarland in Uncategorized on July 15th, 2009
Neil Patrick Harris hosts the 61st annual Emmy Awards.
Perhaps we’re being a bit kind in ending that headline with an exclamation point, given Emmy’s longstanding reputation of confusing and disappointing us.
Then again, one never knows. Last year wasn’t too terrible, with many legitimately deserving series, actors and actresses getting their due. Think about it — only two or three seasons ago, a show like AMC’s “Mad Men” would have had about the same chance of being nominated for Outstanding Drama as Chris Kattan has of winning an Oscar.
Not only did it score a nod in that category last summer, after only one season on the air, but it won the top drama award in September. On that same night, Bryan Cranston took home some metal for his turn in “Breaking Bad.” This might not be evidence of a lasting change for the better among Emmy voters, but at the very least it’s two slivers of proof that they may have actually started watching television.
On the other hand, there were major missteps that have a chance (a slim one, but still) of being corrected on Thursday. If the final season of “The Shield” and castmember Walton Goggins come up empty again, it will be difficult to turn this writer’s frown upside down. One also hopes (beyond hope) that the final season of “Battlestar Galactica” will get a little love. Other shows on the wish list are likely to be lost causes — farewell “Pushing Daisies,” we barely got to know ya, and we doubt ever Emmy did either.
So, considering all of last year’s hits — and the years of misses that preceded it — do we dare to have high expectations for Thursday’s nominations announcement? Oh, go ahead. This is supposed to be the era of hope, after all.
We’ll be listing the major nods shortly after “Grey’s Anatomy’s” Chandra Wilson and “Big Bang Theory’s” Jim Parsons, along with Television Academy chair John Shaffner, reveal them on Thursday morning. Feel free to drop by and discuss what the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences got right and where it went wrong right here in our comments section.
And regardless of how things shake out this week, take solace in knowing you can count on one sure thing: with Neil Patrick Harris hosting and serving as a producer on the 61st Emmy Awards telecast, it’s bound to be an interesting evening. The show will be broadcast live on Sunday, Sept. 20 (8:00-11:00 PM, live ET/delayed PT) on CBS.
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NBC’s Fall Premiere Dates
Posted by Melanie McFarland in Uncategorized on July 1st, 2009
Jay Leno hosts "The Jay Leno Show."
Welcome to NBC’s fall lineup, or as some may come to call it, LenoLand.
Yes, with Jay Leno’s show occupying the 10 o’clock slot every weeknight, He of the Mighty Meaty Chin is now more of a mascot to NBC than that old peacock.
Beyond that, we’ve got “Heroes” returning on Sept. 21, “The Office” premiering on Sept. 17, and “30 Rock” back on Oct. 15. Keep reading for the full schedule.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13
7-8:15 p.m. – “Football Night in America”
8:15-11 p.m. – “NBC Sunday Night Football”
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14
10-11 p.m. – “THE JAY LENO SHOW” (Series Premiere)
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15
8-10 p.m. – “The Biggest Loser”
10-11 p.m. – “THE JAY LENO SHOW”
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17
8-8:30 p.m. – “Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday”
8:30-9 p.m. – “Parks and Recreation”
9-9:30 p.m. – “The Office”
9:30-10 p.m. – “COMMUNITY” (series premiere – moves to Thursdays 8-8:30 p.m. on October 8; “30 Rock” returns October 15, 9:30-10 p.m.)
10-11 p.m. – “THE JAY LENO SHOW”
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21
8-10 p.m. – “Heroes” (two hour premiere, then TRAUMA premieres 9-10 p.m. Monday, September 28)
10-11 p.m. – “THE JAY LENO SHOW”
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23
8-9 p.m. – “PARENTHOOD” (Series Premiere)
9-10 p.m. – “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”
10-11 p.m. – “THE JAY LENO SHOW”
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25
8-9 p.m. – “Law & Order”
9-10 p.m. – “Southland”
10-11 p.m. – “THE JAY LENO SHOW”
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26
8-9 p.m. – “Dateline NBC”
9-10 p.m. – “TRAUMA” (encore broadcast)
10-11 p.m. – “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (encore broadcast)
11:30 p.m. – 1:00 a.m. – “Saturday Night Live”
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The CW’s Fall Premiere Dates
Posted by Melanie McFarland in Uncategorized on June 26th, 2009
Leighton Meester and Ed Westwick in "Gossip Girl."
With the change of every TV season comes a flurry of inevitable rearrangements.
And if you’re talking about a network that re-brands itself every other year, let’s just say nothing should be written in stone until its series actually go on the air. Especially not show titles. Or, for that matter, cast lists…but more on that in a few weeks.
The CW recently unveiled its premiere schedule, and with it, several title makeovers. To wit: Midseason drama “Parental Discretion Advised” is now to be known as “Life UneXpected.”
Ashton Kutcher’s behind-the-scenes model drama “The Beautiful Life” is now “The Beautiful Life: TBL” to ensure maximum Tweetability.
On to the relevant stuff: The second season of “90210″ starts Sept. 8, and is followed by the premiere of the updated and deliciously trashy “Melrose Place,” just like in ye olden days on another network.
“America’s Next Top Model” is back on Sept. 9 with a petite model edition.
“Supernatural” returns on Sept. 10 along with the series premiere of “The Vampire Diaries.”
“Smallville” moves to Fridays as of Sept. 25.
Lastly (and best of all) “Gossip Girl” is back on Sept. 14, flipping timeslots with “One Tree Hill” to air at 9 p.m. The full schedule is, you guessed it, after the jump.
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CBS Announces Fall Premiere Schedule
Posted by Melanie McFarland in Uncategorized on June 26th, 2009
Mark Harmon stars in "NCIS."
CBS traditionally waits until the official start of the television season (i.e., the week following the Emmy awards broadcast) to roll out its season premieres. This time around is no different.
The only pre-season launch on the network will be the premiere of “Survivor: Samoa,” due to strike on Thursday, Sept. 17.
“NCIS” returns on Tuesday, Sept. 22 along with the debut of its spinoff “NCIS: Los Angeles” and new series “The Good Wife.” “CSI” is back on Sept. 24, and for the 2009-2010 season it has been paired with “The Mentalist” on Thursday nights.
Lastly, new seasons of “Ghost Whisperer” and “NUMB3RS” will be joined by the season premiere (and network debut) of “Medium” on Sept. 25.
Read on after the jump for the full schedule.
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ABC Reveals Fall Premiere Dates
Posted by Melanie McFarland in Uncategorized on June 10th, 2009
"Desperate Housewives." Copyright ABC/Photo by Randee St. Nicholas.
We’re barely into the summer TV season, and ABC already has started shaping up its fall schedule.
Mind you, these dates are subject to change depending on what other networks do and the kind of buzz the new series end up getting. But at least we know when our favorites will be back. Among the highlights: “Dancing with the Stars” returns Monday, Sept. 21. “Grey’s Anatomy” will be back, presumably Gizzie-less, on Sept. 24. “Desperate Housewives” fans find out who Mike Delfino married on Sept. 27.
“Ugly Betty” returns a bit later and on a new night, Fridays, starting October 9.
A reminder to “Lost” fans — the final leg of the journey starts in midseason (probably January) and runs straight through with no repeats.
Keep reading for the schedule. All times are ET/PT.
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NBC Renews “Chuck”, Announces Next Year’s Schedule
Posted by Heather Campbell in Casting alert, TV News, The Pick-Up Game, Uncategorized on May 19th, 2009
Chuck Bartowski has plenty of reasons to smile today.
A collective sigh of relief was heard ’round the (TV) world this morning, as NBC announced Tuesday morning that “Chuck” would be returning to their network next season. Crediting the strong support of fans and their participation in the Subway “Save Chuck” campaign, NBC revealed that Chuck Bartowski and friends will continue their special brand of fighting evil for at least 13 more episodes — which likely won’t reappear on screens until next spring, after the network’s Winter Olympics coverage has ended. “Chuck”’s return was also bolstered by a special sponsorship deal with Subway, which will involve a franchise being integrated into the show itself.
NBC followed the “Chuck” announcement with the release of their full schedule for next season, which will be split into two as a result of their aforementioned Olympics coverage. Of the other shows on the bubble, only “Law and Order” will be returning, with “My Name Is Earl” and “Medium“, and the much-beloved “Life” canceled. Since “The Jay Leno Show” will be occupying an hour of the primetime line-up each night, the number of new shows premiering will be limited to “Trauma“, “Parenthood“,”Community”, “Mercy”,”Day One” and “The Marriage Ref”.
See a full breakdown of the split-in-two NBC season after the jump:
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Happy Returns: Summer TV’s Almost Here!
Posted by Melanie McFarland in Casting alert, Commentary, Tune In Info, Uncategorized on May 9th, 2009
Reaching the end of a TV season, even one as mediocre as 2008-2009’s has been, can be bittersweet. The forced break from our favorite series — for three months in most cases, seven or more in others — is bad enough. Worse is the sting that accompanies the permanent loss of a favorite show. (Every Wednesday evening this writer mourns the death of her “Life.”)
But for every pain, there is a balm…and for couch potatoes, it’s knowing that summertime brings its own special brand of boob tube crutches that make the living even easier. Here are are few things we’ll be looking forward to, ranked in order of excitement level:
Jeffrey Donovan in "Burn Notice."
1. The return of USA’s “Burn Notice.” That would be at 9 PM ET/PT on June 4, less than a month away, and if you have yet to discover this show, you’re missing out one of TV’s greatest pleasures. Action, comedy, a little romance — all of that (and Bruce Campbell too!) makes the adventures of former spy/ current badass Michael Westen (Jeffrey Donovan) a must-see on hot nights (and cold ones; the second half of this past season made midwinter bearable).
Last season ended with Michael jumping into the ocean from a helicopter in defiance of the shadowy organization that ruined his life. We don’t yet know if the third season premiere picks up with him mid-swim, but it’s a safe bet that a few “Burn Notice” fans hope it will at least include a few shots of Donovan in a wet shirt.
2. The return of “True Blood” at 9 PM ET/PT on June 14, which we’re hoping also means the return of Lafayette Reynolds (Nelsan Ellis), easily the most entertaining character on a show that grew from a guilty pleasure into an utter addiction over the course of its first season. His loss would be a heartbreaker, but not a deal-breaker — the buzz about season two sounds too good to give this thing up.
3. A new season of TNT’s “The Closer” kicks off at 9 PM ET/PT on June 8. Surely at some point we’ll tire of watching Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick) frighten the living bejeesus out of perps in the interrogation room…but not yet. Plus, she just got married, adding a new dynamic to her already complex personal life.
4. At long last, the return of “Project Runway“ at 10 PM ET/PT on August 20, this time on Lifetime. So what if its final season on Bravo felt as if it had been phoned in from Valiumland? We’re still suckers for this series, especially after watching “The Fashion Show”…sorry, Bravo.
5. The live action episode of “Aqua Teen Hunger Force,” we repeat, the live action episode of “Aqua Teen Hunger Force,” with rapper T-Pain playing Frylock, actor Jon Benjamin portraying Master Shake, and contest winner Dave Long Jr. making his network television debut as their hairy, desperate neighbor Carl, will air on Adult Swim for the first of what is sure to be many, many times at 11:45 PM ET/PT on May 31. Meatwad, by the way, will be played by the renowned character actor Exercise Ball.
6. Showtime’s “Weeds” kicks off its fifth season at 10 PM ET/PT on June 8, followed by the series launch of “Nurse Jackie“ at 10:30 ET/PT. Granted, my “Weeds” buzz has worn off a touch, but the fourth season certainly did end in an interesting place. Plus, Jennifer Jason Leigh is set to appear in at least two episodes this summer playing Nancy Botwin’s (Mary-Louise Parker) sister Jill Price-Gray. As for “Nurse Jackie,” the pilot left a bit to be desired, but something in us is pulling for Edie Falco to score a solid post-”Sopranos” hit.
7. The five-part miniseries “Torchwood: Children of Earth,” is due at some point this summer — June, we hear? — but BBC America still hasn’t announced a date. Regardless, we can’t wait for the sci-fi swashbuckler’s return — Captain Jack Harness (John Barrowman) is one the most exciting heroes on TV at the moment, and the preview clip makes “Children of Earth” look like a cross between a souped up “X-Files” episode and “Village of the Damned.”
Others as-yet-unscheduled-but-traditionally summertime series we’re looking forward to? AMC’s “Mad Men” and HBO’s “Entourage.”
8. A new season of VH1’s “Tool Academy” is up on August 2. Some of you may be wondering why anyone would celebrate the continued existence of this program. The answer is…honestly, there is no 100 percent defensible answer, save that it may be the only series outside of Dr. Drew’s rehab franchise attempting to do the world a service: It is waging war against the d-baggery epidemic as opposed to perpetuating it. And that must be encouraged.
9. Fresh episodes of Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance“ step out on Thursday, May 21. Even non-fans tune in to this show at some point over the summer because a.) it’s on twice a week; b) it’s a handsome combination of the two most successful unscripted behemoths on television; and c) in terms of reliability and entertainment value, this thing is to television what Japanese economy automobiles are to the world of cars: it gets us from point A to point B without requiring us to expend much energy in the process.
10. Finally, NBC premieres the limited series “Merlin“ on June 21. Will it be a smash-hit? We doubt it. Will it be slightly goofy? You can pretty much count on that. What would summer be without a little scripted cheese? Then again, we should not not pooh-pooh this thing before it even airs — it features the excellent Anthony Stewart Head portraying Uther Pendragon. We’re always happy to see Giles on our TV screens.
Keep reading for a list of other summertime premiere dates…
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Will Starz Rise on the Strength of “Spartacus”?
Posted by Melanie McFarland in Commentary, TCA Summer Press Tour 2009, Tune In Info, Uncategorized on August 1st, 2009
Now, the late-to-the-original-programming-party Starz has promised that sometime on or after January 22, 2010, when “Spartacus: Blood and Sand” premieres, we will see Lucy Lawless get naked. You read right: Xena, in the buff.
Now that Starz has your attention, it’s worth mentioning that this detail is not the only reason you might want to check out “Blood and Sand.” It’s not even the main one, although on Wednesday producers gave critics an eyeful of the boobilicious , uncut promo trailer they weren’t allowed to show at Comic-Con to sweeten the deal. Keep reading for our list of reasons that this upcoming action drama could be worth a look.
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