Over at NJ.com, I have a wrap-up from Fox's day at press tour, including The Observer showing up at the party, the fate of the remaining six "King of the Hill" episodes, why "Human Target" the show bears only a passing resemblance to "Human Target" the comic, and whether Chi McBride is broken up over the passing of "Pushing Daisies." (Hint: no.)
Friday, August 07, 2009
TCA: News & notes from Fox's day
Over at NJ.com, I have a wrap-up from Fox's day at press tour, including The Observer showing up at the party, the fate of the remaining six "King of the Hill" episodes, why "Human Target" the show bears only a passing resemblance to "Human Target" the comic, and whether Chi McBride is broken up over the passing of "Pushing Daisies." (Hint: no.)
Is Chi McBride saying he didn't like Pushing Daisies? Or just that it had a very small audience?
ReplyDeleteI love how Fox is acting like they had to wait for Dollhouse to find its footing. Yeah, the first few episodes sucked but that was because of Fox's own tinkering. If you watch the original pilot it's much closer to what the show eventually turned into. It "found its footing" once the network stopped interfering and let Joss do the show he'd always intended.
Or just that it had a very small audience?
ReplyDeleteThat.
I may have to name my fantasy football team Tai Chi McBride.
ReplyDeleteAlan,
ReplyDeleteThough I can guess why you are doing it, the recent appearance of the phrase "Over at NJ.com,..." at the beginning of nearly all posts seems to have drained all the enthusiasm, fun and ultimate purpose behind your blog, that of creating a "community" (yeah, hate that term) of avid tv watchers who are fans of only the best shows.
Or maybe it's just summer.
Just sayin'.
John, it's pretty much always been the case that my newspaper columns and my press tour coverage -- both of which The Star-Ledger pays for -- are NJ.com-only, with links here. And because it's summer, and because press tour is occupying so much of my time right now, I haven't had a chance to do longer posts for here, but I've reviewed Nurse Jackie and Hung and Sports Night and Burn Notice and The Wire at various points over the past two weeks.
ReplyDeleteAs always, you have the option of reading the stories there and commenting on them here, as part of that community we've created here.
Man, the King of the Hill decision was just another reminder that Fox barely tolerated that show's existence through gritted teeth. I'll never really understand what makes for a show that's neither a blockbuster nor a total ratings disaster earning pariah status with network decision-makers. Well, at least Mike Judge, Greg Daniels and Co. got to put 253 great episodes on the air and weren't destroyed by Ben Silverman a la Earl. KOTH is a superb show, and it'll be missed.
ReplyDeleteI meant to say in my last post, that King of the Hill wasn't destroyed by Fox in the WAY that Earl was by the powers at NBC, just that the lack of support for the shows feels similar--and angering for fans of both.
ReplyDeleteSome of the TCA coverage said that FX was looking for more comedies. What became of Boldly Going Nowhere, the show from the It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia creators and starring the wonderful Tony Hale?
ReplyDeleteWhen the Fox execs said that Joss Whedon could do his own thing when it came to Dollhouse, does that mean the show could keep roughly its same ratings and be safe? I want to know when I should start worrying again.
ReplyDelete... and whether Chi McBride is broken up over the passing of "Pushing Daisies." (Hint: no.)
ReplyDeleteWhen I read that for an instant I was worried that there was some tension in the Pushing Daisies set I hadn't heard about that meant Chi McBride was glad to be out of there. Which would have disappointed me, since everything I heard said it was one of the happiest sets around, and I liked that. So, even though the show is over, I was glad to read the article and see that he was just making a (very funny) joke about the small audience for the show.
What became of Boldly Going Nowhere, the show from the It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia creators and starring the wonderful Tony Hale?
I can't find a source article anywhere, but I'm sure I read a few months ago that it was dead.
I loved KOTH and I really like The Goode Family, too (it grew on me as it went along). Mike Judge don't get no respect.
ReplyDeleteI saw that choice snap there and I thought "Whoa. They're making a Hitman show starring John Hamm with his head shaved! What an idea."
ReplyDeleteBut..erm, carry on.
Anonymous @ 10:13: Since it was pretty much a huge gift to get the renewal at all given the first season's ratings, why not just be happy for the 13 episodes you're going to get?
ReplyDeleteSerious question. I watch the show too.
Reilly said that, now that Joss Whedon has worked out the creative kinks on the show, the plan is to leave him alone to do his thing.
ReplyDeleteSorry for sounding like a broken record here, but after the fan backlash and media snark he had to wear for the dumb-arse and downright sleazy marketing of the show Whedon was perfectly entitled to be unhappy. And perhaps Fox would like to take a grain of responsibility for that?