If you are even a casual television watcher, do yourself a favor over the next two or so weeks and keep your set turned off. The TV season, for the most part, has wrapped up and the next two weeks are either a string or repeats we've already seen, the season finales of series which nobody actually gives a shit about or the premiere of some rather horrid summer series which are mainly unscripted fare which is best left in the trash from which it came.
Think about the possibilities. Tonight marks the first part of the American Idol season finale on FOX. There are obviously two "singers" left on this overhyped karoake contest and there's probably a mere dozen or two die-hard fans of this groan-worthy snooze-fest that could enthusiastically rattle off the names of these perpetual nobodies. Sure, the Idol franchise has produced a few music stars during its 8 year run -- Kelly Clarkson, Daughtry and Carrie Underwood being the only contestants from the series to actually reach any level of true success -- but the series has, in my opinion, a habit of taking people who probably aren't ready for the limelight -- either in their overall lack of stage presence, being unprepared for the rigors of fame and criticism from the press or their lack of songwriting ability. In short, it's a show that tries to turn nothing in to something.
Then FOX follows up the first part of the Idol performance show tonight with the season finale of the second season of Glee. From people who watch the show, they say it's still decent but it appears that the writing staff felt they were a one-and-done and had little in the way of story to write anything even remotely conherent and compelling for a second season. Maybe it's time that some series just admitted that they'd be best at following the limited run model of British TV series and pull the plug after twenty or thirty episodes. Tell a great story, pack each episode with compelling plot elements and wrap up a story in a defined period of time. Glee, though, will probably drag on for another year or two before it's put out if its misery.
The rest of the next two weeks, though is shit. Wednesday has an overly bloated and sensationalized American Idol finale in which viewers will wait through 53 minutes of an hour with Ryan Seacrest stalling, shilling for Cocal-Cola and Ford only to find out that their personal favorite karoake star didn't win a record contract that will force the winner to churn out a really shitty CD and return to obscurity by October.
Even The Voice, airing at 9 PM C/T on NBC tonight and next Tuesday until moving to 8 PM C/T on June 7th, is beginning to slip a bit. It's still the most innovative and original singing contest on TV and the mentors are actually currently relevant personalities but without Tim Mahoney, the show has lost its appeal to me.
Oh well, at least I have a couple more seasons of Dexter to watch and that should take up a month or two of those pre-bedtime hours during the summer months. I'd recommend you do the same.
Below is a letter I sent to my Minnesota state senator on May 12, 2011 when I was first extremely riled up at the proposal to place a constitutional ban to outlaw gay marriage on the ballot for the 2012 election. I've never been one to be happy with politics but to see a question regarding the rights of a minority taken up by the increasingly backwards thinking Minnesota GOP makes me nothing short of angry.
Dear Senator DeKruif,
I am taking time to write to you today regarding your recent vote on the bill that places a constitutional question on the 2012 ballot banning same-sex marriage.
I find it appalling that the Minnesota Senate, yourself included, feel it to be necessary to propose a constitutional amendment for an act -- same-sex marriage, civil unions, etc. -- which itself is already not legally recognized in the state of Minnesota. It boggles my mind that a fellow citizen of outstate Minnesota would feel that such an amendment is necessary in a state which seems to pride itself on being forward thinking and accepting of our neighbors. Even voting to allow such a proposal to move forward seems to be both backward thinking and borderline bigoted in nature.
In a time when our state is facing a fiscal crisis, high unemployment, drastic cuts to education and the continuing extinction of the middle class, I am forced to wonder what the logic is behind such a divisive bill being introduced -- much less allowed to proceed forward and land in the hands of voters. Where are the priorities? Is this act simply pandering to the hard core conservative base? Is it about protecting the sanctity of marriage -- so sacred that approximately 50% of "traditional" marriages end in divorce? This sort of rubbish is what gives elected officials like yourself a bad name and makes me wonder what the priorities of government truly are. Shouldn't we be protecting the rights of individuals instead of ensuring that the future rights of a minority of Minnesotans are never allowed to see the light of day?
I hope that further issues such as this one are swiftly shot down in favor of actually fixing our state's shortcomings in education, transit and infrastructure. Again, a potential constitutional amendment prohibiting an act which is already not recognized is redundant and sets our state -- a culturally progressive shining star of the country -- back a number of decades.
Thank you for your time,
[Contact Information redacted]
Even more disgusting to me is that nine days has passed without so much as an automated reply acknowledging the receipt of my letter by a man whose wages my taxes pay. I guess that's what happens when a liar who ran on a platform of job creation votes to allow a question on the ballot which only further strips the rights of a few. Maybe Minnesota State Senator Al DeKruif can add hypocrite to his platform as well.
Starring Kat Denning, a fish out of water story where the perpetually broke Denning ends up taking in the newly broke former socialite and hilarity (hopefully) ensues.
Person of Interest
A gritty, sci-fi-ish crime drama starring Jim Caveziel (Jesus) and Michael Emerson (Lost's Ben Linus) where the team of Reese and Finch team up to prevent crimes. This is, by far, the most solid-looking show of the fall season.
Unforgettable
A woman with total recall, working as a cop, wants to forget elements of her life and uses her gift to solve crimes in the NYC burough of Queens.
A Gifted Man
A successful doctor reunites with is wife who he finds out is actually dead -- yep, he can communicate with her spirit, tying the two together and having him tie up the loose ends in her life.
How to Be a Gentleman
A manners columnist is reunited with an old friend who is his polar opposite. Cheap buddy comedy humor ensues. Stars Matthew Dillon. Call this one done within one season.
Outside of a rather small number of new series, the biggest news regarding the CBS fall schedule is an actual origina, scripted series running new episodes on a SATURDAY night. With the constantly shifting Rules of Engagement rarely landing in the same spot twice, this time around it makes its way to a 7 PM C/T spot on Saturday. While I don't see it being permanent -- likely a placeholder in case one of its two new sitcoms (2 Broke Chicks and How to be a Gentleman) horribly tanks but it does seem that CBS is extremely confident about the strength of its fall line-up and with a mere 90 minutes of primetime slotted for repeats, CBS may be making a push to again program the remainder of Saturday night with original, scripted programs.
Here's the schedule:
MONDAY
8:00-8:30 PM HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
8:30-9:00 PM 2 BROKE GIRLS (New)
9:00-9:30 PM TWO AND A HALF MEN
9:30-10:00 PM MIKE & MOLLY
10:00-11:00 PM HAWAII FIVE-0
TUESDAY
8:00-9:00 PM NCIS
9:00-10:00 PM NCIS: LOS ANGELES
10:00-11:00 PM UNFORGETTABLE (New)
WEDNESDAY
8:00-9:00 PM SURVIVOR: SOUTH PACIFIC
9:00-10:00 PM CRIMINAL MINDS
10:00-11:00 PM CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION (New Time)
THURSDAY
8:00-8:30 PM THE BIG BANG THEORY
8:30-9:00 PM HOW TO BE A GENTLEMAN (New)
9:00-10:00 PM PERSON OF INTEREST (New)
10:00-11:00 PM THE MENTALIST
FRIDAY
8:00-9:00 PM A GIFTED MAN (New)
9:00-10:00 PM CSI: NY
10:00-11:00 PM BLUE BLOODS
SATURDAY
8:00-8:30 PM RULES OF ENGAGEMENT (New Time)
8:30-9:00 PM COMEDYTIME SATURDAY
9:00-10:00 PM CRIMETIME SATURDAY
10:00-11:00 PM 48 HOURS MYSTERY
SUNDAY
7:00-8:00 PM 60 MINUTES
8:00-9:00 PM THE AMAZING RACE
9:00-10:00 PM THE GOOD WIFE (New Time)
10:00-11:00 PM CSI: MIAMI
The Good Wife seems very much out of place in its new 9 PM E/T Sunday home against what I see as a fading but still strong enough Desperate Housewives on ABC but it's really the only questionable move I see with the CBS fall 2011 schedule.
All told it looks like I have a lot of TV series to watch and pass judgment on this fall and again in January when the mid-season shows roll out. Outside of Good Christian Belles and Charlie's Angels, I'll actually give each series one episode to suck me in.
My best guess is that Once Upon a Time will be the first ABC series of the fall season to fall prey to cancellation.
MONDAY
8:00 p.m. “Dancing with the Stars”
10:00 p.m. “Castle”
TUESDAY
8:00 p.m. “Last Man Standing”
8:30 p.m. “Man Up”
9:00 p.m. “Dancing with the Stars the Results Show”
10:00 p.m. “Body of Proof”
WEDNESDAY
8:00 p.m. “The Middle”
8:30 p.m. “Suburgatory”
9:00 p.m. “Modern Family”
9:30 p.m. “Happy Endings”
10:00 p.m. “Revenge”
THURSDAY
8:00 p.m. “Charlie’s Angels”
9:00 p.m. “Grey’s Anatomy”
10:00 p.m. “Private Practice”
FRIDAY
8:00 p.m. “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”
9:00 p.m. “Shark Tank”
10:00 p.m. “20/20”
SATURDAY
8:00 p.m. “Saturday Night College Football”
SUNDAY
7:00 p.m. “America’s Funniest Home Videos”
8:00 p.m. “Once Upon a Time”
9:00 p.m. “Desperate Housewives”
10:00 p.m. “Pan Am”
Again, a somewhat bland fall schedule from ABC. I can see the reboot of Charlie's Angels falling apart quickly and being the first casualty on ABC's schedule. I'm surprised that there wasn't some sort of attempt to actually program Friday night with some cheaper comedies. Despite what the suits think, some people -- especially those with families -- are actually home on Friday evenings.
I'll have previews/trailers of the new series later.
Overall, FOX has a fairly strong line-up and a couple of shows I'm actually looking forward to watching. Terra Nova looks extremely compelling but is also very high concept and heavily serialized meaning miss an episode and you're totally lost and the high concept part of it makes me think that much of the concept of the series will go over people's heads. However, I do feel like it has the possibility of gaining an extremely loyal fan base if FOX allows Terra Nova to run interrupted for 13 consecutive weeks.
New Girl, starring Zooey Deschanel, looks like it could be a movie based on the production values and that, along with Deschanel starring in it, is what has me wanting to see this series play out. It seems like a fish out of water comedy with a heart of gold -- both sides, Deschanel's character Jess and her new three male roommates -- bettering each other in different ways and being there to pick each other up. I pray that it doesn't go to the extreme sappy side of things but I don't think it would work if it were full of cheap, easy prat falls.
As a follow-up to yesterday's commentary on NBC's fall 2011 schedule, below are the official trailers from each new series debuting beginning in September.
I have to admit that Grimm looks compelling and given its Friday night time slot, it won't have to be a blockbuster to stick around for at least a year.
The Playboy Club
Mondays at 9 PM C/T
Up All Night
Starring Will Arnett & Christina Applegate
Wednesdays 7 PM C/T
Well before today's official announcement of their fall 2011 primetime schedule, NBC's schedule leaked and was published on a number of websites late last night and appears below. There was plenty of insider chatter late last week about the titles, details and overall large amount of series which the 4th place network was officially picking up for the 2011-2012 season but it appears that the network in need of the most help and the most daring scheduling has played it extremely safe for the fall.
MONDAY
8-10 p.m. – The Sing-Off
10-11 p.m. – THE PLAYBOY CLUB
TUESDAY
8-10 p.m. – The Biggest Loser
10-11 p.m. – Parenthood
WEDNESDAY
8-8:30 p.m. – UP ALL NIGHT
8:30-9 p.m. – FREE AGENTS
9-10 p.m. -- Harry’s Law
10-11 p.m. -- Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
THURSDAY
8-8:30 p.m. – Community
8:30-9 p.m. -- Parks and Recreation
9-9:30 p.m. – The Office
9:30-10 p.m. – WHITNEY
10-11 p.m. – PRIME SUSPECT
FRIDAY
8-9 p.m. – Chuck
9-10 p.m. – GRIMM
10-11 p.m. – Dateline NBC
(new series in ALL CAPS)
With NBC opting to sign a whopping six new comedy series, placing only half of them on the fall schedule says that they are either serious about having more first-time content (no repeats) airing or that the other three series are straight-up awful. Two of the remaining three sitcoms, Bent and BFFs are reportedly only signed for six episodes each but before you pass judgment on that fact, The Office began with a mere six episode run and that seems to have turned out quite well. No real details have been released regarding Are You There Vodka? It's Me Chelsea which is based on one of comedian Chelsea Handler's books.
On the drama side, opting again for six new hours, only three of the six have made their way on to the fall schedule. The missing dramas are Smash, The Firm and Awake.
Bigger news, at least to me, is the fact that NBC is kicking off their week with two nights of back-to-back two-hour reality blocks.The Sing Off, which seems cheap to me, is supposed to build a young-skewing base for their current hit The Voice which returns for a second season in January 2012 but I have to wonder if people will really sit through upwards of three months of a cheap singing show with no real payoff or if NBC truly doesn't give a shit about Monday's ratings and is more than happy to win a few advertiser dollars and call it a day. Let's face it, ABC's Dancing With the Stars will crush the cheap Sing Off and won't do much to build toward the second season of The Voice.
By not realizing, too, that people are getting sick of fatties losing weight on The Biggest Loser and saying that Wednesday evening was the only place to launch a second evening of comedies, they are effectively dooming their entire Wednesday lineup and while ABC's first hour of their Wednesday comedy block isn't huge, it is stable and watchable. People give new shows only one shot and unless the new NBC comedies have people pissing their pants from laughter, they are toast.
My best guess is that by mid-October there will be more than a couple shows pulled from NBC's fall schedule and they'll be scrambling to fill those holes -- something you'd never see CBS do. This is why NBC is in 4th place and will continue to remain there for the forseeable future.
So Ashton Kutcher, a guy about my own age, will somehow be shoehorned into CBS' 2 1/2 Men for next season. While I'm not exactly sure how the show's writing staff will work this one, I'm sure it will definitely feel contrived. The weak-ass possibilities to explain Sheen's departure from the dysfunctional, sex-fueled household and endless. Will Sheen's departure be explained away as something at least moderately believable or will it be totally far fetched?
Did Sheen die in a drinking accident? Did he contract a particularly nasty strain of chlamydia from one of his many sexual conquests? Did he tan too much and become so small and dried up that he simply blew away? I have a feeling that the show's creator/producer, Chuck Lorre, doesn't particularly care how Sheen's departure is handled -- but he'll probably opt for the most degrading way possible given the past these two have.
Then what about Ashton's arrival as the lead in the series? Ashton Kutcher, while he played a complete dumbass on "That 70s Show", does definitely have comedic chops as an actor. He's practically a decade removed from his time playing the complete doofus Michael Kelso on the FOX sitcom which makes a new TV role well-distanced from his previous work. I actually liked his work in "The Butterfly Effect" which was, in my opinion, his best dramatic work to date while his comedic roles on the big screen have been downright terrible.
While I'm happy to see Charlie Sheen hopefully gone from television and movies for good, I'm not exactly sure that Ashton Kutcher will be a good fit for today's TV landscape. Sure, "2 1/2 Men" has been a hugely successful show during its nearly decade-long run on CBS but that's also an insanely long time and while we always bitch and moan about wanting things to be fresh and new, people often times run aways screaming from something new.
My best guess is that this season's installment of "2 1/2 Men" will begin to slide in the ratings and while it won't completely fall apart and lose viewers in record numbers, CBS will continue to milk the series because of its value in syndication and DVD sales. Expect to see not only one season with Ashton Kutcher in the cast but a second and final season ending in the Spring of 2013 before the show ends with a total of ten seasons in the books. The 10th and final season won't be Seinfeld-esque because I'm guessing that the show will have become a shell of its former self and will go out at the bottom of the ratings versus its other Monday night comedy teammates.
From bodybuilder to actor to governor to divorcee -- that's the string of landmarks for Austrian import Arnold Schwarzenegger who is splitting from his Kennedy-related Maria Shriver. What is more shocking that the divorce of a relative power couple living in California is the factt hat they were married for a whopping 25 years.
I'm not a fan of either of the two -- Arnold Schwarzenegger is only a borderline OK actor and while he definitely hasn't taken himself too seriously (remember "Twins"?) he seems to have almost no direction in his life as of late. A venture in to politics from an immigrant actor just screams "look at me -- look at what I'm doing now!" He had nowhere else he could have gone after being governor due to the fact that he's an immigrant. His movie career is basically done unless the "Terminator" franchise comes back for another installment. And now with his divorce looming, his future seems to be bleak.
Maria Shriver, too, seems to come to the end of her road in the public eye. I remember her having some bit reporting role for NBC about 20 years ago and that alone was kind of the pinnacle of her career. What has she done since then? I'm sure she was involved in some charitable work along the way because what else do Kennedy heirs do after their time in the limelight has faded? But what will she do now? Will she end up -- jacked-up face and all -- anchoring the 10 PM Saturday evening news on the sixth-rated TV station in Sacramento, California? Will she marry tattooed Nazi Jesse James and take up a career in the adult film industry? Doubtful on both accounts. She'll probably just go away like every has-been should which would be refreshing to see.
The best part about this non-story is that it will fade in a day and we can get back to talking about how much of a spoiled brat Justin Bieber is and hearing endless ploys for the taxpayers of Minnesota to fund a Vikings stadium.
When I first heard him on the now-gone Drive 105, I turned my radio up a bit. When I heard the afternoon DJ announce the artists in the previous block of music I was blown away. Holy shit, I said to myself, Tim Mahoney stepped up his game for that track. When his CD, Stay/Leave, landed at Target, I snapped up a copy and when I was organizing my disheveled CD rack yesterday I took note of that disc and how it thanks former Drive 105 DJ J.P. The Radio Slave for getting him on the air on an actual radio station and making him at least regionally popular.
Tomorrow night, though, Tim Mahoney takes to the national stage on NBC's surprise hit The Voice.
His music, especially Piece of You, has the core elements of an excellent rock song with the memorable and sing-along lyrics of a good pop song. He's the type of Twin Cities musician who deserves to be on the larger, national stage and I hope that his national television debut tomorrow night on NBC proves to be successful for him. Check it out locally on KARE-11 at 8 PM C/T.
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