A week ago, I picked out my choice new series premiering in the 2010-2011 season for NBC, ABC, and FOX. Now, CBS and the CW step up to the plate.
Starting with CBS, I want to point out that they have probably the most change to their schedule. Having surprisingly canceled Ghost Whisperer (which I didn’t watch, but like many, thought it was gonna be back), and also canceling everything from their failing try at a Wednesday comedy block (Gary Unmarried, …Christine, and Accidentally on Purpose), plus canceling dying Cold Case and Numb3rs, and failing new dramas Three Rivers and Miami Medical, let’s just say, they have a lot of room to fill. For starters, Monday, where is their new biggest show, Big Bang Theory? It’s moving to Thursdays making room on regular Monday comedy block for a new comedy. And CSI: Miami? It’s going to Sundays so CBS can premiere the new Hawaii Five-O, starring Alex O’Loughlin (of two previously canned CBS dramas, Moonlight and Three Rivers) and Danial Dae Kim (Lost). Hope this former CSI: Miami slot, which was solid in ratings, means Alex O’Loughlin might have a show go onto at least a FULL season (Moonlight was 16 eps, Three Rivers never even finished airing, though, FYI, CBS will burn those eps off this summer starting on June 5th.)
Next drama, is of course the spin-off to Criminal Minds, which won’t premiere until midseason, has yet to have an official title. One series, that I initially thought of not checking out, but after watching the preview trailer, I think it might be pretty good, and that is The Defenders, starring Jim Belushi and Jerry O’Connell. The Defenders will replace CSI:NY (which is moving to Fridays, see a lot of big changes) on Wednesdays at 10PM.
As for comedies, there is the much talked about Shit My Dad Says (title currently written as “$#*! My Dad Says” or “Bleep My Dad Says”), but is starring William Shatner and is based on the Twitter feed of the same name. But, this will be part of CBS’s new comedy hour on Thursdays, on 8:30pm (after Big Bang Theory), essentially moving Survivor to the 8pm hour on Wed. that CBS has been failing in (hope this means low enough ratings to say “Sayonara.”)
Next up, the little itty-bitty network, the CW. They’ve renewed practically all they have, including my faves, Supernatural, Smallville, and their new biggest hit, Vampire Diaries. So, they only have one itty-bitty series, and its another reboot/follow-up (just not a soapy one like 90210 and Melrose Place). No, this is Nikita, a reboot to La Femme Nikita, starring Maggie Q, Shane West, Aaron Stanford, and Melinda Clarke. The CW is putting this on after Vampire Diaries in the Thurs. 9pm slot, pushing Supernatural to Fridays after Smallville (wish they moved those 2 to Tuesday, and put the ANTM crap to Friday and LUX and OTH to Wednesday. Oh well, it’s confirmed that the 10th season of Smallville is the last, and Supernatural has to end at some point, might as well go out on a high note).
..the fate of Chuck. Looks like we’re gonna have to wait a week or two. Until then, fans are encouraged to watch Chuck online at NBC.com or Hulu.com, actually, specifically “Chuck vs the Colonel” tonight at 8PM, to show NBC we mean business. (ChuckTV.net).
My Name is Earl, Life, Law and Order are also unknown, and actually, so is Knight Rider‘s fate, which is strange, no official word on cancellation, despite that being a shoe-in for getting canned. Oh well, NBC, I guess, is trying to figure in what they can have, since they now have to factor in the 5-night-a-week Leno Primetime show (which, I like Jay Leno, but 5 nights at 10PM? Why not have done a, say, 2 nights a week kind of deal? That removes two hours, giving us back 3 hours.) Anyway, I could decide to completely go without posts until then, but with no actual certainty of when NBC will finally tell us, I won’t. BTW, we should definitely know by May 19th, seems to be when NBC will actually have a schedule ready, will be interesting to see that.
I will, however, get to the new series NBC picked up.
There were only two that I figured I’d watch based on nothing more than plot summaries, an cast/crew information from the futon critic. And those were Parenthood (which is actually a second series based on the movie of the same name, first didn’t do so well, but maybe a second could prove better?), and Community, a comedy with Chevy Chase.
PRESS RELEASE on Community: From Emmy Award-winning directors Joe and Anthony Russo (“Arrested Development”) comes “Community,” a smart comedy series about higher education — and lower expectations. The student body at Greendale Community College is made up of high-school losers, newly divorced housewives, and old people who want to keep their minds active. Within these not-so-hallowed halls, “Community” focuses on a band of misfits, at the center of which is a fast-talkin’ lawyer whose degree has been revoked (Joel McHale, “The Soup”), who form a study group and end up learning a lot more about themselves than they do about their course work. In addition to McHale, the series also stars: Gillian Jacobs (“The Book of Daniel”); Yvette Nicole Brown (“Rules of Engagement”); Danny Pudi (“Greek”); Alison Brie (“Mad Men”); and comedy legend Chevy Chase (“Saturday Night Live”).
PRESS RELEASE on Parenthood: From the executive producers of the box-office hit “Parenthood” — Ron Howard and Brian Grazer (Oscar winners for “A Beautiful Mind”), and writer/executive producer Jason Katims (“Friday Night Lights”) — this contemporary re-imagining of the blockbuster film depicts the colorful and imperfect Braverman family — four grown siblings sharing the headaches, heartaches and joy of being parents. The star-studded cast includes Peter Krause, Maura Tierney, Craig T. Nelson, Dax Shepard, Bonnie Bedelia, Monica Potter, Erika Christensen and Sarah Ramos. When Sarah Braverman (Tierney, “ER”), a financially strapped single mother, returns home to her parents and siblings in Berkeley, Calif. after packing up her Fresno apartment and uprooting her two inconvenienced kids, Amber (Mae Whitman, “In Treatment”) and Drew (Miles Heizer, “ER”), she is greeted by her opinionated father, Zeek (Nelson, “Family Stone,” “Coach”), and strong mother, Camille (Bedelia, “Heart Like a Wheel”), who are privately dealing with their own marital issues. As Sarah is reunited with her siblings — sister, Julia (Christensen, “Traffic”), and brothers Crosby (Shepard, “Baby Mama”) and Adam (Krause, “Six Feet Under”) — all struggling with issues of their own, it’s clear that the Braverman reunion is just what they need to face the everyday challenges of modern family life.
As for the other shows?
Those one about nurses called Mercy: “Mercy,” a new medical drama with a unique point of view, portrays the lives of the staff at Mercy Hospital as seen through the eyes of those who know it best — its nurses. Nurse Veronica Callahan (Taylor Schilling, “Dark Matter”) returns to Mercy from a military tour in Iraq — and she knows more about medicine than all of the residents combined. Together with fellow nurses Sonia Jimenez (Jamie Lee Kirchner, “Rescue Me”) and Chloe Payne (Michelle Trachtenberg, “Gossip Girl”, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”), Callahan navigates through the daily traumas and social landmines of life and love both inside the hospital and out in the real world.
Then there’s one about paramedics called Trauma: Executive producer Peter Berg (NBC’s “Friday Night Lights”) delivers “Trauma,” the first high-octane medical drama series to live exclusively in the field where the real action is. Like an adrenaline shot to the heart, “Trauma” is an intense, action-packed look at one of the most dangerous medical professions in the world: first responder paramedics.
Seeing a theme yet? Guess ER ending means NBC wants to find a fitting medical drama, with more interest to other staffers other than doctors.
And then there’s Day One, which seems to be NBC’s Jericho: From executive producer/writer Jesse Alexander (“Heroes,” “Lost,” “Alias”) and director Alex Graves (“Fringe,” “Journeyman”), “Day One” tells the story of life on earth following a global catastrophe that has devastated the world’s infrastructures. Beginning with the immediate aftermath of the cataclysmic event, an eclectic band of survivors — played by Adam Campbell (“Date Movie”), Catherine Dent (“The Shield”), Julie Gonzalo (“Eli Stone”), David Lyons (“ER”), Derek Mio (“Greek”), Carly Pope (“24″), Thekla Reuten (“Sleeper Cell”) and Addison Timlin (“Cashmere Mafia”) — strives to rebuild society as they unravel the mysteries of what happened and face their uncertain future.
Then the other comedy, 100 Questions for Charlotte Payne: Emmy winner James Burrows (“Will & Grace,” “Friends”) directs “100 Questions,” a new comedy series written and executive-produced by Christopher Moynihan (“For Your Consideration”) that provides hilarious answers to 100 questions about love. Charlotte Payne (Sophie Winkleman, “Peep Show”) is looking for love and has rejected multiple marriage proposals — but she has yet to meet Mr. Right. When she joins a popular online dating site, she gets a little help from her dating counselor Ravi (Amir Talai, “The Ex List”) – who requires her to take a 100-question compatibility test. The questions aren’t easy for Charlotte to answer, and each one requires her to recount a poignant and humorous time in her life with friends Leslie (Elizabeth Ho, “Women’s Murder Club”), Jill (Joy Suprano, NBC’s “Law & Order”), Mike (Christopher Moynihan “For Your Consideration”) and Wayne (David Walton “Quarterlife”). The test becomes a journey of self-discovery for Charlotte who begins to realize what she truly wants in a relationship.
Oh, and then there’s that whole Leno thing.
I would post the videos for all, but the futon critic did that already, so I’ll just provide the link: NEW NBC Series Videos
You know how if you say a word a gazillion times in a row, it tends lose meaning? Well there is one word that seems to not, and that word is…”Awesome.”
Awesome, Awesome, Awesome, Awesome, yep, still Awesome.
And you know what comedy is awesome?
How I Met Your Mother on CBS:
And what is even more Awesome (happens to be on at the same time)? That’s right, Chuck:
I haven’t watched the Colbert Report on Comedy Central in a while (mostly during the writer’s strike last winter, and bits and pieces during the election stuff). But last night, I decided to watch it. Great as always (don’t know why I don’t watch everyday), and last night’s ‘Doom Bunker’ segment spoofing the ‘War Room’ on Fox News was downright hilarious (especially when the Transformers came into play, brilliant).
Anyway, the main point was encouraging viewers to continue to vote on the NASA site on a name for Node 3. They have about four that can be voted on (their narrowed down list), but also a field to submit another. Well, Stephen Colbert asks of us to fill in that field for ‘Colbert.’ So if you have free time, why not help NASA in the naming of a module for the Space Station that provides “a spectacular view of both their home planet and their home in space. The cupola’s six rectangular windows and one circular window overhead will show a panoramic view that will be unrivaled by any other spacecraft ever flown. Aside from providing a perfect location to observe and photograph the Earth, the cupola also will contain a robotics workstation, where astronauts will be able to control the station’s giant robotic arm.”
Right now, with the provided names, ‘Serenity,’ is number one with 86% (which I noticed after already submitting Colbert, and is possible geeky entry they probably don’t know of (Firefly everybody, the transport vessel name Serenity). Though, I find it interesting that ‘Enterprise’ isn’t higher on the submitted list, doubt NASA would be able to even do that if it won. Note, the names for Node 1 is ‘Unity,’ and Node 2 is ‘Harmony,’ so the lame names could end with us (Not that ‘Serenity’ is lame, though it is also a name of adult diapers, so…could be butt of jokes, especially after that whole astronaut traveling with adult diapers one thing that happened a while back, but sometimes may make an appearance in jokes.)
And reason why Colbert would be an appropriate name? Well, he did interview an astronaut on the International Space Station, so there is already NASA love. Check out the video for part 1 of the interview on YouTube:
I was just surfing through some of the YouTube clips available for the Athiest Experience (lot of good stuff out there). From arguments of the whole banana thing (and there are other banana thing (for some reason Mike Seaver (sorry, Kirk Cameron) and this Ray Comfort guy thing the banana is proof of a god because it’s shaped so nicely in the hand (it’s also shaped nicely to be shoved in certain places, if you know what I mean), there are even spoofs of this idea, that are hilarious). But one clip from a past episode (I think maybe a year ago, I don’t know. It’s based in Austin, TX, so I’m limited to checking out past eps on Google video and a few clips on YouTube.
Anyway, this particular clip features a caller that’s, I don’t want to sound rude or mean, but is just a moron, okay.
If you have issues with YouTube or aren’t too fond of watching video online, or have audio issues, basically, the converstation leads to that if the sun is a source of energy, then why don’t we die. Then it gets to the fact that we, as humans, well, animals in general, produce our own electricity (powers our muscles, this is basic knowledge). Well, this caller, let’s just say the neurons weren’t firing in science class, because he follows up with the dumbest question: “then why don’t we get electrocuted when we take showers.”
So, the host just points great little sites and such this person and anyone like it to check out, because, honestly, if I were him, I would’ve hung up with the “why don’t we die when the sun goes down.” Brave to the hosts from the Athiest Experience who have more patience than me.
You know more studios should do these things more often. With the age of the Internet, just having episodes over the airwaves just isn’t enough anymore. The folks over at FOX TV have made a little video, narrated by John Noble (Walter Bishop on Fringe), that recaps the season so far so that while it (just like every other TV show) is off on a Winter hiatus, people won’t forget it.
BTW, I just think this is awesome, especially with the ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas narration style.
