It’s Thursday. That means another round of news from the TV landscape. This week, I’ve got some conjecture and observations with the occasional possible SPOILER in place.
There are some new shows coming up this weekend, some Dollhouse noise, Law and Order cast updates, Dr. Who tidbits and observations or questions about Life On Mars, ER and other shows. And FYI, my ratings aren’t missing: I’ve moved the ratings section down towards the bottom of the post, right before my zany entries of the week!
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Primeval
Primeval is starting up this Friday night on the Sci-Fi Channel. The ads look interesting enough. Anybody seen it? Anything you want to say about it? Without spoilers of course!
Sanctuary
For the Sanctuary fan, season 2 of Sanctuary has started filming, according to the Sci-Fi press release!
Fringe (SPOILERS Where Noted!)
Fringe returned this past Tuesday, and is sticking around for 6 straight episodes. Anyone been noticing “The Observer” making rounds on different shows? I’ve seen him on the NASCAR telecast in Jimmie Johnson’s pit, and on American Idol. I’m sure he’s in other shows, but those are where I’ve seen him so far. Have you spotted him anywhere?
Cast SPOILER Warning:
It’s been reported that Leanord Nimoy will be making a guest appearance on the finale of Fringe as the infamous William Bell, Walter’s science partner from back in the day!
Story Outline SPOILER
Upcoming eps of Fringe will be answering some questions, like what were the experiments on Olivia as a child; Peter’s “medical condition” and what the pattern means for Olivia and the Bishops on a personal level.
Sweet. A show that says it will answer questions, and then does. Can’t beat that!
Source: E Online
Dollhouse
Ratings for Dollhouse are slipping, slowly but surely, and that bites for Joss Whedon fans because the show finally feels like it’s starting to get it’s legs under it. Well, to be more precise, it’s starting to feel like a product Whedon himself would put out, as opposed to the Fox network controlled issues we’ve seen so far.
Here are the official ratings for Dollhouse thusfar:
- Ep 1 – Ghost: 4.76m,
- Ep 2 – Target: 4.25m,
- Ep 3 – Stage Fright: 4.18m,
- Ep 4 – Gray Hour: 3.57m,
- Ep 5 – True Believer: 4.26m,
- Ep 6 – Man on the Street : 4.1m,
- Ep 7 – Echoes : 3.87m,
- Ep 8 – Needs: 3.49m
A sliding scale, yet I enjoy what the LA Times had to say about the treatment of the show by Fox and its subsequent ratings slide:
We blame Fox for the misstep, and for burying it on a Friday. It’s a real pity viewers haven’t had the patience to keep up.
Another oddity about Dollhouse is that TV By The Numbers was looking up some data for Dollhouse and they’ve noticed that Fox listed the May 8th episode of Dollhouse as the season finale. This is only the 12th episode aired. Admittedly, it’s more than the original 7 episodes that Fox initially agreed to way back when. Yet earlier, Fox had stated that they would be airing all 13 episodes filmed. I’m starting to want to type bad words at this point, so that’s all I’m going to say about this.
Sources: Whedonesque, LA Times, TV By The Numbers
Law & Order Cast And Cash Problems
Rumors were abound when I wrote that there’s a possibility that Mariska Hargitay and Chris Meloni on Law & Order: SVU, may find themselves replaced.
The show has been renewed for an 11th season, but the two are banding together to ask for more money. Beside the $350k per episode wage they get, they’re also asking for back-end profits. Dudes, don’t go the Friends route!
While many don’t think NBC would dare retool their No. 1 scripted show (now that ER is done), Dick Wolf just says that he hopes they return next season.
This economy is not the best time to be pushing for more money when other networks are cutting costs, including actor salaries. Then again, Hargitay and Meloni definitely have NBC over a barrel. This should be interesting. They better hope some of the newer shows replacing ER don’t pull their weight, or their bargaining chips are going to be thin. Real thin.
Source: EW
Dr. Who
For the consummate Dr. Who fan, there will be a Dr. Who Season 3 marathon this Friday on The Sci-Fi Channel!
The fun starts at 8 AM with Smith and Jones, then followed by The Shakespeare Code, Gridlock, Daleks In Manhattan – pt1, Evolution Of The Daleks – pt 2, Human Nature – pt 1, The Family Of Blood – pt 2 and finishing up at 3 PM with Blink.
Source: SciFi.com
Lost (Slight Time-Shifted SPOILER)
So far on Lost, there’s a lot of “The island controls your life” chatter going on. Last night, Ben confronted the smoke monster. Smokey showed Ben his own demons and gave him a new set of running orders.
Though it hasn’t been explained, I’m starting to think I know what the smoke monster is, and for that matter, what the island is.
Does anyone else have any thoughts about the underlying premise of the island? Or is it just a vengeful version of Gilligan’s Island?
Jay Leno Is Not Wanted?
We have one of TV’s talk show icons ready to air their new show on your network, in your region. Wouldn’t you think that Jay Leno just might rank as a watchable show? For some, no question. For others, it’s “eh?.”
The Boston NBC affiliates think it’s “eh,” apparently. WHDH-TV is opting to air their 10 O’Clock newscast instead of the Jay Leno’s new talk show! They don’t feel Leno is going to be effective in prime time and say it will hurt their 11 O’Clock hour to air Leno.
NBC itself has said that this move is in violation of the affiliate’s agreement with NBC. If WHDH persists, they are going to have their NBC affiliation pulled. Ouch!! And they thought running the show was going to hurt!?
WHDH-TV has until September to change their mind. That’s when the new Leno show will air.
As far as his show goes, Leno says he hopes everything will work out in the end!
About his new show, Leno added:
We will probably lose the couch and the desk and just do more things. We’ll still have celebrities. There will still be a monologue, the stuff that works, headlines, and Jaywalking.
He can probably do his own headline about the NBC affiliate!
Source: TV Guide, Boston.com
Life On Mars (Incredibly mild, alluded SPOILER)
For those of you who watched it, did the Life On Mars finale work for you? Some things made more sense finally, and I can’t say it was a let down, but I didn’t have a great revelation either.
At least the title now makes sense!
ER
The ER finale hit it out of the park, as far as finale ratings go!
ER brought in just over 16 million viewers which is the largest number of viewers for any drama series finale since the Murder She Wrote finale in 1996.
I didn’t find the episode too incredible, but it was on par with what they usually produce. I enjoyed the closing scene when they panned back so we could see the panorama of the entrance, now that was pretty cool.
Source: NBC Press Release
Mekhi Phifer Fans
Mekhi Phifer (Dr. Pratt, ER) has booked a multi-episode story on Lie To Me. He’ll be playing FBI agent Ben Reynolds.
I really liked Phifer and was bummed to see him leave ER so early on in the closing season.
Source: TV Guide
ABC Using Saturday Nights To Close Out Some Shows
ABC is using Saturday nights to close out the random collection of shows they’ve preempted this season for other ventures.
These shows are Pushing Daisies, Eli Stone and Dirty Sexy Money.
Pushing Daisies will resume Saturday, May 30, at 10 pm/ET. After that, Eli Stone will air on Saturdays at 10 pm from June 20 through July 11. Starting July 18, Dirty Sexy Money will air until the August 8th finale and the reveal of Dutch George’s killer.
Source: TV Guide
Ratings From The Week Of March 30th to April 5th
Up until now, I’ve been pulling numbers from various locations and squishing them together in one place. I found a spot, a single spot, with all the numbers we are interested in. I am going to start compiling those statistics here, but this week we are going to have a little bit of an overlap because of the way they track them. Starting next week, we’ll have new numbers for you. There’s still some new stuff in this list this week, and the list has grown a wee bit. Oh, you’ll be proud of me. I finally got Lost in there!
The strongest scripted show in the list is NCIS, coming in 4th overall. ER & CSI also made it into the top 10. NCAA Basketball only took one top 10 spot, and of course, American Idol ruled the roost, followed by Dancing With The Stars and those tight, minuscule dancing outfits.
| Rank- Show (Network) Millions | |||
| 1- | American Idol-Tuesday | ( FOX ) | 24.41 |
| 2- | American Idol-Wednesday | ( FOX ) | 24.34 |
| 3- | Dancing With The Stars | ( ABC ) | 20.48 |
| 4- | NCIS | ( CBS ) | 17.23 |
| 5- | The Mentalist | ( CBS ) | 16.96 |
| 6- | E.R. | ( NBC ) | 16.38 |
| 7- | ACM Awards(S) | ( CBS ) | 14.78 |
| 8- | CSI | ( CBS ) | 14.62 |
| 9- | Two And A Half Men | ( CBS ) | 14.55 |
| 10- | NCAA Basketball – Saturday | ( CBS ) | 14.45 |
| 11- | Dancing W/Stars Results | ( ABC ) | 13.51 |
| 12- | CSI: Miami | ( CBS ) | 13.46 |
| 13- | NCAA Basketball-Bridge(S) | ( CBS ) | 12.95 |
| 14- | Without A Trace | ( CBS ) | 12.53 |
| 15- | House | ( FOX ) | 12.51 |
| 16- | 60 Minutes | ( CBS ) | 12.27 |
| 17- | Survivor | ( CBS ) | 11.27 |
| 18- | 24 | ( FOX ) | 11.26 |
| 19- | Rules Of Engagement | ( CBS ) | 11.03 |
| 20- | E.R. Retrospective(S) | ( NBC ) | 10.63 |
| 21- | Eleventh Hour | ( CBS ) | 10.36 |
| 22- | I Get That A Lot | ( CBS ) | 10.35 |
| 23- | CSI: NY | ( CBS ) | 10.06 |
| 24- | Criminal Minds | ( CBS ) | 10.03 |
| 25- | The Big Bang Theory | ( CBS ) | 9.73 |
| 26- | Lost | ( ABC ) | 9.57 |
| 27- | Law And Order:SVU | ( NBC ) | 9.36 |
| 28- | Bones | ( FOX ) | 9.25 |
| 29- | How I Met Your Mother | ( CBS ) | 9.2 |
| 30- | Lie To Me | ( FOX ) | 9.18 |
| 31- | Castle | ( ABC ) | 9.08 |
| 32- | Biggest Loser | ( NBC ) | 8.77 |
| 33- | Flashpoint | ( CBS ) | 8.76 |
| 34- | Osbournes | ( FOX ) | 8.39 |
| 35- | Numb3rs | ( CBS ) | 7.5 |
| 36- | Medium | ( NBC ) | 7.26 |
| 37- | Cupid | ( ABC ) | 7.21 |
| 38- | Apprentice | ( NBC ) | 7.19 |
| 39- | America;s Funniest Home Videos | ( ABC ) | 7.14 |
| 40- | Extreme Makeover:Home Ed | ( ABC ) | 6.95 |
| 41- | Hell’s Kitchen | ( FOX ) | 6.95 |
| 42- | 20/20-Fri | ( ABC ) | 6.75 |
| 43- | Simpsons | ( FOX ) | 6.5 |
| 44- | Heroes | ( NBC ) | 6.42 |
| 45- | Law And Order | ( NBC ) | 6.34 |
| 46- | Family Guy | ( FOX ) | 6.18 |
| 47- | Family Guy Sp-4/5 8:30P(S) | ( FOX ) | 5.87 |
| 48- | Chuck | ( NBC ) | 5.72 |
| 49- | Life | ( NBC ) | 5.69 |
| 50- | Life On Mars | ( ABC ) | 5.63 |
| 51- | Simpsons | ( FOX ) | 5.53 |
| 52- | Desperate Housewives | ( ABC ) | 5.51 |
| 54- | Cops | ( FOX ) | 5.15 |
| 55- | Law & Order:Criminal Intent-Wed | ( NBC ) | 5.03 |
| 56- | Dateline Fri | ( NBC ) | 5 |
| 57- | In The Motherhood | ( ABC ) | 5 |
| 58- | Scrubs-Wed 8pm | ( ABC ) | 4.97 |
| 59- | Dateline Sun | ( NBC ) | 4.91 |
| 60- | Grey’s Anatomy | ( ABC ) | 4.9 |
| 61- | Law And Order-Sat | ( NBC ) | 4.7 |
| 62- | Samantha Who? | ( ABC ) | 4.69 |
| 63- | Better Off Ted | ( ABC ) | 4.66 |
| 64- | Wife Swap | ( ABC ) | 4.44 |
| 65- | Supernanny | ( ABC ) | 4.42 |
| 66- | Cops | ( FOX ) | 4.24 |
| 67- | America’s Next Top Model | ( CW ) | 3.96 |
| 68- | Smallville | ( CW ) | 3.84 |
| 69- | Brothers & Sisters | ( ABC ) | 3.77 |
| 70- | Private Practice | ( ABC ) | 3.74 |
| 72- | Kings | ( NBC ) | 3.61 |
| 73- | Friday Night Lights | ( NBC ) | 3.55 |
| 74- | Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles | ( FOX ) | 3.46 |
| 75- | Dollhouse | ( FOX ) | 3.43 |
| 76- | Howie Do It 8:30P | ( NBC ) | 3.31 |
| 77- | Supernatural | ( CW ) | 3.26 |
| 78- | Howie Do It 8P | ( NBC ) | 3.2 |
| 79- | King Of Hill-Sun 7:30P | ( FOX ) | 2.89 |
| 81- | Gossip Girl-Mon | ( CW ) | 2.45 |
| 82- | Reaper | ( CW ) | 2.37 |
| 83- | One Tree Hill-Mon | ( CW ) | 2.35 |
| 84- | 90210 | ( CW ) | 2.03 |
| 85- | The Game | ( CW ) | 1.82 |
| 86- | Everybody Hates Chris | ( CW ) | 1.74 |
| 90- | Jericho | ( CW ) | 0.64 |
Source: TV By The Numbers
The “YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!?” Section
Every week something comes along that makes my jaw drop and wonder just what were they thinking.
Octomom
G4 TV is reporting that the Octomom, Nadya Suleman, the mom who can’t seem to get enough of children, and who originally said that putting her kids on TV would be exploitation, is well in the works for a reality television show.
They’re going to follow her around with her 14-strong brood, chronicling her attempts at finding “love.” The count is 14 because she already had 6 when she went for her procedure to have another baby, which ended in 8.
The TV Network picking this up is “undisclosed” at the moment. Hmm. Are we betting people? Fox? Sci-Fi? MTV?
Source: G4
Fox Hits A New Tasteless High
Someone’s Gotta Go is a reality / contest show where people get laid off. Fox reps say they were inspired by the recession for this idea! Can you believe this crap?
It’s about real businesses struggling to make ends meet. The only twist is that co-workers will vote the laid-off person out. Can we say The Apprentice?
Regardless, give me a f@#$ing break! Do you (Fox) have no better sense of empathy for folks suffering through this economy than to mock them like this!? To make an entertainment venue out of misfortune? The title sucks, the inspiration sucks and well, you, the reader, can fill in the blanks, ’cause I’m done with this one.
Source: TV Guide
Let us know what’s on your mind or if you have any questions about shows you would like us to look up, leave us a spoiler / spam free comment and we’ll see what we can do!
Until next week!
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28 Comments
Sometimes I wish we had a say in who gets fired, but I know that people will get voted for their popularity instead of their ability to work, so it’ll be just as dumb as idiot managers that have no clue making the decisions. Either way, the show is a pretty stupid idea…
I hope Jay fails with his new show and is replaced ASAP by good tv. He used to be funny sometimes when he filled in for Johnny. Now it’s just plain lame. Unless you enjoy the same joke over and over again. He is not funny. Time for him to ride one of his Harley’s off into the sunset.
Jay indeed has some cool Harley’s and other toys. We used to hit up the same In N Out Burger and he’s pretty personable and used to chat you up if you were so inclined.
Yea… we’re buds. NOT!!!
Oh yeah, the Octomom show will definitely happen and FOX will pick it up to replace Dollhouse. No, not because it makes any sense at all, but because they love fracking over Whedon and his fans. I’m still thoroughly irked over Firefly and, if Dollhouse goes too, Fox will easily put itself on the top of my hate list over Microsoft.
/fuming
I saw Primevel when is was on BBC America. I enjoyed it. There were 2 short seasons of it. Would love to see a new season. Basically, it’s about a group of people that find “worm-holes” that appear and such. These holes are holes in time, and different creatures come through. Plus, or course, there is something at large going on.
Hmm, well said PSYKO about the “Dollhouse” debacle and their one episode shorted season. (BTW, you realize that I have something to say about that in a soon to be published article here on Screen Rant.)
Thank you JIM BOWER. Appreciate the outline on Primeval on Sci Fi.
Gotta go. I’m busy writing a constructive opinion on the Dollhouse episode issue, to follow up my quiet little statement here in my TV Wrap up.
Wow, the SVU folks are asking for more money and their show isn’t even in the top 25? Craziness.
I personally don’t understand why Whedon worked with Fox again in the first place, after what they did to Firefly. And yeah, its starting to get good.
I feel sorry for Octomom’s kids. I really do.
And the layoff show. Wow. Bets on when they’ll show an execution live? Running Man anyone?
joss whedon is not stupid, but eliza dushku had a deal with fox. they both wanted to do this show together, so they had to do this … on fox. poor guy..
Is anyone else tired of these frakking reality shows? I just don’t get the fascination.
Bruce, make sure you don’t use that f&^%^% vulgar mouth of yours and that sh%_(*& attitude. You know we have virgin ears. (bats eyes with sheepish smile)
John “Kahless” Taylor:
I so do apologize. NOT.
Virgin ears my ***!
That reality show sounds twisted beyond belief.
As for Primeval, it is a very dumb show. That’s not to say it isn’t fun to watch, but if you let your brain see too much it will get annoyed.
A new season has just started over here in the UK. Got to love the scene where the girl puts her tranquiliser gun down to throw a chair at a dinosaur.
LOL… throwing the chair. Maybe it was Cherry wood?
That reminds me of the old Superman series.
The bad guy just empties the gun into Superman and though the bullets had not effect, they throw the gun at him. But then, the gun, he ducks from.
Huh.
Well a gun is bigger and heavier so it could hurt!
Just thought. Mentioning Primeval and Doctor Who, Britain’s best scifi show (as far as I’m concerned) Red Dwarf just came back to the screen. Had the first of four new episodes tonight. I liked it. Not as great as it once was, but still enjoyed seeing the old gang back.
No idea if they’ve ever shown Red Dwarf in the states, but I’d highly recommend the dvds, especially of series 3 to 6.
Well, I can’t wait to read your upcoming article. I’d love for Joss to get another hit show going because there isn’t anybody out there that can tell a story quite like him. Unfortunately it seems that the majority of people don’t want to see a show that asks more questions than it answers and really makes you wonder and think. We’re all for the instant gratification of a huge event every week when so-and-so gets kicked out. I want smarter shows. Not dumber ones!
And yet …
Yeah Kahless, don’t try to figure out reality shows, there an enigmatic blight in our culture, and a virtual wasteland of entertaining creativity…
I can’t believe Big Brother and Survivor are even still on. How many tards still want there 15 minutes of um “fame”?
Urg, these carnival sideshows are (imo) just background noise for mentally challenged families with Neilson boxes.
^
Haha ah’ Bruce that scene was perfected by Bond,James Bond in Casino Royale.
Bad guy throws gun at Bond, he catches it and throws it back and hits the guy in the face. Lol, loved that film.
^
@Steven the git, how did the old crew look? Btw, They used to show Red Dwarf on the BBC channel in the states. Si Fly or whatever there called should pick up that show and rerun it late at night. Here’s a thought Sly Fly channel, play the new Red Dwarf as well. Doah !! How long must I wait for this to be chopped up and air in the states ?
^
Anyone catch The Sarah Connor Chronicles last night? Wow that was an ambitious finale. It was even better than season one’s cliffhanger ending.
For all its limitations and flaws the show was definitely the best friday night had to offer.
Sorry Bruce but I can’t get into the Dollhouse.
No apologies needed. Dollhouse is a unique blend of a Whedon brainchild and won’t appeal to everyone. That’s for sure.
Reality TV:
Cheap for the networks,
yet brings in the ad bucks.
It sucks.
(Was that a haiku I just wrote?)
They certainly look older, especially Rimmer.
But then no way they weren’t going to be different. Need extra special CGI for that!
The BBC aren’t doing anything with the show. A digital channel called Dave (yes, Dave) is showing them along with the new episodes. If it goes well, there could be more. Very undecided at the moment.
The show looks a lot slicker in the new episodes, but considering RD first began about 20 years ago, not surprising.
the life on mars ending was an EPIC FAIL! i was completely blown away by how moronic that ending was….
Yeah Bruce that’s true they are cheap. Reality tv shows are the equivalent of “made in china” tv.
No benifits, slave labor, lead paint etc,,,
^
Steven, how did they start the show? As at the end of season 8 Rimmer kicked the Grim Reaper in the balls!
Sad that he looks older, he’s my fav character. It looks like Cryo suspension has kept Dave looking young.
Rimmer is a hologram again, so the Grim Reaper must have got over the blow.
It’s back to the four of them on Red Dwarf, but things are different. No Holly, main computer was flooded when Lister left a bath running for 9 months, and no Kochanski.
Just seen the second episode. Can’t explain too much without giving it away, but seems that time has passed
since the end of season 8. A season 9 has been and gone, so to speak.
But they’re just like they were. First thing that happened was Lister ironing his sneezes just to annoy Rimmer.
Sounds like they threw out Red Dwarf canon as Holly practically ran the ship, and would have been able to turn the water off…
Rimmer a hologram again how did that happen, and what of the crew ?
I wish they would have just produced a Red Dwarf movie after the end of season 8. Smeggin morons.
You’d think Holly would do that, but then Holly was never that bright either.
Something has gone on. Think things won’t be fully revealed until the episodes are done.
But like I said, everyone is gone but for the usual four.
Kryten is acting guilty about something and there are a lot of Bladerunner themes in the second episode. Also a hologram appears in the first one, another hologram beside Rimmer, and have to suspect something is up there.
Ah I see very clever there telling the story arc as the season/mini-series progresses.
Did they keep the original theme song?
Yup, same music.
The main difference is no laughter. No studio audience, no canned laughter added on. Happy about lack of the second, but think an audience of fans would have given it more energy.
Wow sounds like the same thing that happened during season 7. The cast remarked how the tone was different without the live audience. Bummer.
Thanks for the info steven,
Glad they kept the awesome theme song. That’s one thing I have to admit about you brits, damn you guys have the best theme music.
Doc Who, Red Dwarf, awesome!!!
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