Today's column starts off with a bit of customer service, as I reiterate the return dates (and number of remaining episodes) for most of the scripted shows that haven't already come back post-strike. I also preview tomorrow's "My Name Is Earl" episode (which, as too often is the case, underwhelmed me), and talk a little about Jeff Zucker's attempt to be the new Brandon Tartikoff.And speaking of Zucker and NBC, the NBC upfront is today, and I should have a dispatch on it by late afternoon. Based on some preliminary comments by NBC co-president Marc Graboff, it sounds like the announcement is going to be short on specifics and long on contingency plans (NBC! We're the new Fox!), but at the very least we should know for certain about the future of "Friday Night Lights" and whether "Scrubs" will be on NBC or ABC next year.
12 comments:
Alan,
General question for you. I've been DVRing "Dexter" on CBS. The past two weeks, when I went to watch "Dexter", my DVR somehow taped "Cold Case" even though it said "Dexter" and displayed the correct time - 10pm. Do you know anything about this? I checked this Sunday, and Dexter is scheduled for 10pm. Inevitably, I will go to watch it sometime next week and get "Cold Case" again. Very annoying...
Dan - I think Dexter has been running late the past two weeks due to the basketball games. I've had the same problem.
Great, call - I didn't even think about that. Damn...now I'll have to go buy the Season 1 DVD.
"CSI: NY" may be the third and weakest of the group, but I have to watch tonight's to get the past two episodes of "CSI: Animé" out of my head. First time I've watched this season, and holy cow, has that show turned weird, both plotwise and visually. The dialogue is as tone-deaf as ever, and David Kabuki continues to live on another planet. But the "and then a truck came over the hill, killing everybody" three minutes in Rio story detour, and the "how many confusing images can we cram onto the screen at one time" montages ... I have to wonder if the Nielsen viewers aren't literally hypnotized. Or maybe there's a conspiracy to punk the ratings system. "Okay, everybody, we'll meet in the chat room at 10. Be sure to leave your TV on CBS."
I've only watched a couple of episodes of "CSI: NY," but they're still far far better than "CSI: Miami." The problem is that a large part of what makes original recipe "CSI" so fun is the unabashed dorkiness of the characters and the sometimes dark humor. In making the characters "hip" and "cool" they've lost the former, and replaced it with bad one-liners while people put on sunglasses.
I completely understand your complaints about My Name is Earl. I, however, just adore the show. The cast is fabulous and they usually get guest stars worth their salt in the comedy. And the show always has a streak of the absurd and super dark that really makes it for me. So while I can see where your complaints of lackluster and not doing enough with a great idea/joke/cast, I love it.
My question is how does Earl stay on the air? It doesn't have the rabid fandom that shows like The Office and 30 Rock have and doesn't seem to have better ratings than the two. I love the show but I'm always amazed that it never seems in jeopardy.
According to Variety, FNL will be back in the winter, Scrubs is not on the schedule, and the Office spinoff is on the schedule with the post-Super Bowl spot.
What Mac^ said, sourcing TVGuide.com.
NBC PR.
Now if only someone could tell me why Cappie called Evan "Bing" at the end of this week's "Greek"....
can't get enough of scrubs..
(Tracey)
Loved the first season of Earl. Since then... meh, I can take it or leave it. But thanks for reminding me that it's back on tonight!
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