Don't tune in to CBS tonight expecting to see a new episode of Smith, one of my fall season favorites. Chances are you weren't planning on it anyway.
Smith, rather sadly, appears to have suffered the grand indignity of being the first fall season casualty. Poor ratings on a network that doesn't need to tolerate audience apathy seem to be the cause for the rapid yanking (only three episodes aired).
Meanwhile, over on NBC (which needs to tolerate audience apathy pretty much seven days a week) the classy thriller Kidnapped has been told to wrap it up at 13 episodes. More insulting: the show has been banished from its 10 pm Wednesday timeslot to the TV Siberia of Saturday nights. But at least it appears NBC is giving it a chance to wrap up its storyline (and it's a sure bet for a DVD release).
Fox has made several changes to their schedule as well, banishing Vanished to Friday nights where it can die quietly and promoting Justice to Mondays where the network hopes the lame procedural can pull a House and grow an audience over time. Not that that strategy has worked yet for Bones.
They've also pulled Happy Hour (aka the Worst New Show) from the schedule, saying it will return but keeping the details so vague it's obvious they hope people will simply forget it ever aired. And seriously Fox, why did it air?
Oh and The CW is switching their Monday and Sunday night program blocks. Will anyone even notice?
But back to Smith. I haven't had time to watch the two episodes that aired after the pilot and it's possible the show started to flounder creatively, but this still has to be considered a disappointment for fans of good TV. CBS took a chance with a show that, well, took chances. And it turned out that didn't fit with the network's formulaic schedule.
I'm not sure how many episodes of Smith were produced or if they'll get to complete their order. At this point CBS won't even say the show is dead, but the network has plenty of midseason contenders to fill the holes created by fall flops (both Shark on Thursdays and especially The Class on Mondays are struggling as well).
The medical drama 3 lbs. with Stanley Tucci and Mark Feuerstein has already been pegged a likely replacement for Smith, while David Spade/Patrick Warburton relationship comedy Rules of Engagement is a clear fit for Mondays. There's also the multi-generational soap Waterfront that could work on Thursdays.
Smith falls down. CBS moves on. And so it goes.
Better ratings news for other standout shows: Ugly Betty, Heroes (picked up for a full season), Jericho and Brothers & Sisters, which are all performing well in their timeslots. The Nine's debut was underwhelming but as long as it doesn't bleed viewers the way Invasion did it should survive, and even that show got one full season which is all The Nine needs anyway.
November's right around the corner. Then things get really ugly.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Friday, October 06, 2006
Frakkin' toasters
If you know what that subject line means then you probably also know that Battlestar Galactica returns for a third season tonight on Sci Fi Channel (with encores airing Sunday, Monday and Tuesday).
Last season the show was one of my picks for the season's best and having seen rough cuts (without visual effects, sadly) of four new episodes I can happily report that BSG is still great TV. And no not "great sci-fi TV" or "great for Sci Fi TV." Just great TV. One of the best dramas on TV, regardless of genre or network. If you like 24, if you like Lost, if you like the HBO or FX dramas, I can pretty much guarantee you will like this.
Battlestar is full of rich human drama, unexpected and provocative political themes that parallel current events, generally excellent ensemble acting (including Oscar-nominated leads Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell, remarkable scene stealer James Callis and surprisingly strong model-turned-actress Tricia Helfer) and a documentary-like visual style worthy of a top notch indie film. It's smart, exciting, addictive.
But here's the thing, I wouldn't recommend that anyone who hasn't already been a regular viewer start watching now. The third season is great, dark, dramatic stuff but it's also different in many ways from what the series has been in the past. Newcomers won't have a sense of the tone of the show up to this point, and the drama won't possess the same weight if you haven't followed the journey.
Go back and check out the DVDs of the miniseries and seasons one and two (which is split into two halves). They're all available on Netflix and should be in most video stores as well. Catch yourself up, you'll be glad you did.
Last season the show was one of my picks for the season's best and having seen rough cuts (without visual effects, sadly) of four new episodes I can happily report that BSG is still great TV. And no not "great sci-fi TV" or "great for Sci Fi TV." Just great TV. One of the best dramas on TV, regardless of genre or network. If you like 24, if you like Lost, if you like the HBO or FX dramas, I can pretty much guarantee you will like this.
Battlestar is full of rich human drama, unexpected and provocative political themes that parallel current events, generally excellent ensemble acting (including Oscar-nominated leads Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell, remarkable scene stealer James Callis and surprisingly strong model-turned-actress Tricia Helfer) and a documentary-like visual style worthy of a top notch indie film. It's smart, exciting, addictive.
But here's the thing, I wouldn't recommend that anyone who hasn't already been a regular viewer start watching now. The third season is great, dark, dramatic stuff but it's also different in many ways from what the series has been in the past. Newcomers won't have a sense of the tone of the show up to this point, and the drama won't possess the same weight if you haven't followed the journey.
Go back and check out the DVDs of the miniseries and seasons one and two (which is split into two halves). They're all available on Netflix and should be in most video stores as well. Catch yourself up, you'll be glad you did.
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Fall TV Top 5: The Nine
The fourth new show of the season that hooked me with just one episode is The Nine. (And based on recent news, we won't be seeing #5 until midseason now. Which is hopefully good for the show, but means I'm really doing a Fall TV Top 4.)
The Nine is one of the season's heavily hyped elaborate "high concept" shows. Nine people are taken hostage in a bank for 52 hours. We'll see what happened during those 52 hours over the course of the season while also seeing how the event changed their lives and created a unique bond among them.
So yes there are flashbacks that will tell us more about the characters, yes there's a large ensemble cast and yes this directly follows Lost on ABC's schedule. Unlike last season's Invasion, which never really caught on, I think The Nine has a good shot at turning into a hit. And if Lost continues to be as frustrating as it was in its second season, and The Nine keeps up the high quality of its pilot...well we might even see a dramatic change in what ABC's most popular Wednesday series is.
The cast of The Nine is populated with familiar TV faces: Chi McBride (Boston Public), Kim Raver (24, Third Watch), Tim Daly (Wings, Eyes), Scott Wolf (Party of Five, Everwood), Lourdes Benedicto (24, ER, NYPD Blue), John Billingsley (Star Trek: Voyager), Owain Yeoman (Kitchen Confidential) and Camille Guaty (Prison Break). And the pilot does a good job of balancing them all. How these characters develop will be critical, since the hostage situation can only be expected to provide material for a full season (let's hope).
But no matter where it leads The Nine is well worth checking out in the early goings.
The Nine is one of the season's heavily hyped elaborate "high concept" shows. Nine people are taken hostage in a bank for 52 hours. We'll see what happened during those 52 hours over the course of the season while also seeing how the event changed their lives and created a unique bond among them.
So yes there are flashbacks that will tell us more about the characters, yes there's a large ensemble cast and yes this directly follows Lost on ABC's schedule. Unlike last season's Invasion, which never really caught on, I think The Nine has a good shot at turning into a hit. And if Lost continues to be as frustrating as it was in its second season, and The Nine keeps up the high quality of its pilot...well we might even see a dramatic change in what ABC's most popular Wednesday series is.
The cast of The Nine is populated with familiar TV faces: Chi McBride (Boston Public), Kim Raver (24, Third Watch), Tim Daly (Wings, Eyes), Scott Wolf (Party of Five, Everwood), Lourdes Benedicto (24, ER, NYPD Blue), John Billingsley (Star Trek: Voyager), Owain Yeoman (Kitchen Confidential) and Camille Guaty (Prison Break). And the pilot does a good job of balancing them all. How these characters develop will be critical, since the hostage situation can only be expected to provide material for a full season (let's hope).
But no matter where it leads The Nine is well worth checking out in the early goings.
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