Lucky Charms, Friday & The End of Upfront Week

The best thing about being a grown up aside from being allowed to have Lucky Charms is to not have to go out on a Friday night. This is at least the third Friday in a row that it has rained all day in NY. Running around the city in the rain is as much fun as you'd think - the freaken rain blowing under the umbrella that keeps turning itself inside out anyway due to the harsh winds, trying to open said umbrella when exiting the subway station while everyone else is trying to do the same and others are running down the stairs into the station trying to close their umbrellas, jumping over huge puddles, walking at least 4 blocks in the wrong direction- it's all very exhausting. I might've started the day looking put together, but end up at the bar or restaurant looking like a crazy person. I'm always shocked to see people still looking pretty as if they go to the location never having been outside? I'm not even bitter when I see those lucky people. I say good for them, head straight to the bar and order a glass of wine which makes me feel pretty on the inside....just as important.
While I've had a blast meeting up with friends and family the past few Fridays after work, tonight I'm thrilled to go home and do...nothing. I suppose that's not totally true because I do have an outline for a spec script that needs some serious work. I also need to pick up the dress for my sister's wedding. They put those bridesmaid dresses in garment bags, right? They will probably charge me for it. Ah well such is life these days.

Upfront week ended yesterday in case you never got the memo stating it was still going to happen. This was perhaps the craziest upfront season I've experienced during my last 5 years of working at a network. The weeks leading up to the presentation usually call for long long days. This year I did one 8am-8pm day. I'm not complaining, but I'm weird because I did appreciate that day. There's a certain excitement during this time of year that was missed. It finally felt like something was happening. I'll have more thoughts on the new shows over the weekend, but here are some random thoughts....
ABC didn't announce many new shows, but they do have to re-promote Pushing Daisies, Private Practice, Dirty Sexy Money and Eli Stone. I still can't believe they brought back According to Jim!? I just don't get that at all. Life on Mars is a new drama from David E. Kelley (well, based on a BBC series, not new new). But I heard he's only doing the pilot. Then there's some Ashton Kutcher reality show. Yawn. NBC had their upfront weeks ago and I honestly can't recall if they have new shows premiering in the fall? CBS has added 3 new dramas and 2 comedies. I'm most excited for The Ex-List which sorta sounds like an ABC show. It's a drama about a woman in her 30s who learns from a psychic that she already met the man she's supposed to marry...she dated him previously. Now she has to find that guy. I know it sounds like a one season show, I mean really, how many relationships has she had? But the clips were funny and Elizabeth Reaser, Ava from Grey's, is the lead. This means we know Alex and Ava don’t end up together when Grey’s ends its season next week. Thanks for that. argh. FOX added The Fringe from JJ Abrams. I watch all things JJ. Seriously, I give all of his shows a chance. I'm still mad I never got into Lost. I need to just catch up with the dvds. I also need to find a few more hours in a day. The CW has the new 90210, jury is still out on that one, and they have the drama Surviving the Filthy Rich. That's based on a book which I'm glad wasn't a series. People are not pleased that the Gossip Girl series doesn't follow the books 100%. Nevermind the fact that changes were necessary. All in all it's shaping up to be an interesting season. Is there a hit out there? Only time will tell.

I'm off to a business lunch. Wooo. Then I'll come back and it's almost time to go home. I love Fridays.

The Good Witch is on Hallmark tonight, starring Catherin Bell (Jag, Army Wives). It's totally Hallmark and totally wonderful. I can't be the only fan of TV movies....so all of you fans should tune in. It's raining and a perfect night to crack open a box of Lucky Charms, eat only the marshmallows* and enjoy a sweet made for tv movie.

*As a grown up, I decided to eat only the marshmallows and after about 2 handfuls I felt sick, so proceed with caution. Mom was right. It's not good for you.

30 Rock Finale

It's with a sad heart that I admit I didn't like 30 Rock's finale last night. I barely laughed, thought a lot of it was silly and missed Jack being at 30 Rock. The episode felt nothing like a finale.

I'm going to watch it again over the weekend. Maybe my opinion will change?

It's Thursday...you know the drill

Same old, same old - Will you watch TV tonight?

30 Rock airs its season finale at 9:30. USA Today's Robert Bianco has some not so very nice things to say about it. He believes the show has lost its way creatively in these post strike episodes and the finale is no exception. I'm not so sure about that, but I'll tune in tonight and see if I end up agreeing on some things with Bianco. I do see eye to eye with him in regards to Jack not acting as a mentor to Liz the way he used to. I think those scenes have been lacking and are missed. The thing is, I have always found that 30 Rock has awesomely funny episodes with a couple of weak-ish ones mixed in. I say "weak-ish" because for the most part, I still find myself laughing and enjoying the episode. Matthew Broderick is a guest star in tonight's episode so I expect a lot of laughs. Tina Fey has yet to let me down and I don’t see that happening tonight.

CSI and Two and a Half Men switched writers for their episodes this week. I don't watch CSI, but I do watch Two and a Half Men and thought the CSI writers did a good job. All of the “How the heck did these jokes get on air?” were in place. I was disgusted by the shots of food going into Jake's stomach and was looking away when I could. I am assuming that's a CSI trick right there? I'll dvr CSI and see what I think of the comedy writers’ episode. I have seen a handful of CSI episodes so I know how they work in terms of the dialogue and the story unfolding. Melinda Clarke ruled on The OC and reprised her Lady Heather role on CSI during her OC work so I made sure to tune in for that. Speaking of Melinda, she's another actress who needs to be on something in the fall!

What would a post about Thursday TV be without mentioning Grey's? You know it's bad when you are trying to remember what the heck happened last week - is there something I recall that I'm looking forward to seeing played out tonight? I suppose the Ava "I'm pregnant" but-oh-no-she's-not story has me intrigued. You know what? I more than suppose. I do wonder what's going on there? Why would she lie about that when that could be what pushes Alex away? Wasn't her point to make him want to be with her, in a relationship? Crap, I'm going to have to watch the end of season 3 to better understand their problems.


Nothing else stands out from that episode. Sure, there's the Hahn/Callie thing and Meredith/McSteamy/Rose, but the good drama is still missing. I think tonight is the night Shonda and her team bring back the drama. I mean really, there are only 3 episodes left to the season. Do it now or lose me forever. I mean that this time, I think. Maybe I would've already walked away had I not read the TV Guide and Entertainment Weekly articles. Shonda is promising big things and I'm tuning in. Ellen Pompeo is on the cover of Entertainment Weekly's current issue. She and Patrick Dempsey were both bored with their constant getting together / breaking up stories. Katherine Heigl wasn't pleased with her story based on press she put out there last year. It's never good when your actors don't even like where things are headed, and are vocal. So now we're all trusting things will be put back together - the heart, the drama and the stories will prevail. I swear if I'm let down I am going to end up with major trust issues in my life soon. First Josh made all of those "The OC is back!" promises during season 3 and that season was shit, and now here I am depending on Shonda. She’s my friend and she won’t let me down, right?!?

The life of a TV viewer is a stressful one.

Links to articles referenced:
USA Today, Quirky '30 Rock' on a downhill roll at season's end: http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/reviews/2008-05-07-30rock_N.htm
EW, 'Grey's Anatomy': Ready to Love Again?: http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20196955,00.html
TV Guide, What’s Next For Grey’s?: http://www.tvguide.com/news/greys-anatomy-shonda/080424-01

The picture is of Shonda and her team of Grey's writers accepting a Writers Guild Award in 2006 ("Televison New Series Award")

Pilot Casting (actor)

This post is later than I intended, but it took a little longer to think of an actor I want to see in the fall. Truth is, most of the actors I really like are currently on shows. There I was racking my brain trying to think of someone I'd really like to see week after week and then it just hit me, that person is Scott Wolf. I know that might not be totally fair to pick him because he was recently on Everwood and then The Nine. It's not like he hasn't been regularly on tv for a few years. However, he's still my pick.

According to imdb, he has a sitcom in the works called, Making it Legal. I think that was from a year ago so I'm not sure if it's something that was made but not ordered to series? I would prefer my Scott Wolf to be in a drama. I'd even be cool with him joining a cast - House, Brothers & Sisters - a show with some comedic moments tossed in there, too. I used to watch Scott each week on Party of Five. Bailey's intervention is still one of the top tv interventions, Ever. I didn't watch Everwood regularly, but tuned in when I heard he was going to be on the show. I liked him on that, liked that season and now want to know when ABC Family is going to put the show back on so I can see the whole series? I suppose I'll have to wait until August for The WB online to start airing the series.

If the powers that be can please make sure Scott is on my tv screen come fall, I'd be ever so grateful.

"Grey's" coded, even with Addison back in town

Perhaps my use of "coded" in the title of this entry is as painful as Izzie's use of the word? Ok, painful maybe, but not as awkward.

In response to the previous post, people did not tune in on Thursday night. Some NBC comedies were on par or up from last week ("30 Rock" "Scrubs" and "Earl") while others were down ("The Office"). CBS's "CSI" was up from last week while "Trace" remained the same. There's still time before the dvr numbers for last week are available which is when shows will obviously see some increases. Based on Live+SD (Same Day) ratings for this week's episode, "Ugly" and "Grey's" did worse than last week which gives them all new lows. I don't think that looks too good in a press release! Of course "Grey's" can still claim to be the #1 show for the night in Adults 18-49 so they have that going for them. I watched the episode that night and liked it (I didn't start it until 10:30ish). Liked, not loved. That is better than earlier this season and last when I hated almost everything. I was nervous going in thinking the episode will probably be my favorite of the past year and a half due to Addison's return. I am one of those fans who weren't happy to see her "spun-off." I miss the character on "Grey's;" "Private Practice" is not as smart, therefore Addison doesn't come across as smart on the spin-off. She is even a bit ditzy on the new show and I hate that about smart characters. But I'm getting lost here since this isn't about "Private."

"Grey's" seems to have a real problem right now. Addison came back, with lots of promotion from ABC and it wasn't enough to boost the ratings. What will happen in the fall? I still believe that's when viewers will come back. I don't think the ratings will be what they were in season two, but I really don't think they will remain this low. For all of the shows on all of the networks, I think there will be a boost. Although I wouldn't mind FOX posting lows with its lineup if it sticks to silly game shows.

Shonda Rhimes said the writers all watched hours of old episodes before starting on this "season 4 part two." Were they watching season 3? Because that wasn't so great. They need to go back and watch the first two seasons. I think there are three episodes left and I'll still stay on board for the ride. I do like all things McSteamy; he cracks me up every episode. But I swear, give me some good stuff or I am coding on this show.
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Thursday…Will you be watching TV?

Last Thursday, CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX and CW all aired new episodes of their Thursday night lineup. You’d think people would tune in, but they didn’t. “Ugly Betty” and “Grey’s” had their lowest rated episodes ever in viewers and the key demos the advertisers covet. “ER” was in the same state of emergency (I try) while “Lost” and "CSI" appear to be searching for their audiences (I'll stop). "Ugly Betty" and "Grey's" were the first new episodes since the strike. I have two reasons I think played a part in the low ratings.

1. I assume a lot of people didn't know the shows were back. I know both were heavily promoted, but if you've already left viewing that network how would you know they were new? My own research proved that point the next day when friends were e-mailing and quite a few said they forgot the shows were on. Here on the east coast, it was one of the first couple of days of really awesome weather. I walked the dog and noticed the amount of people hanging around outside - walking their dogs, playing basketball, a few games of tag. Spring weather already makes people turn off the television which is not going to help brighten up the end of this season. If people turned to cable, the internet, video games....when will they come back to broadcast tv? I do believe that was a problem realized after the strike in '87 ended.

2. What if you were already contemplating giving up a show before the strike hit and the last new episode aired? DVR's weren't even set to catch new episodes; season passes were being removed from once favorite shows. If that last new episode didn't leave you wanting more, the odds of you seeking it out now could very well be slim to none. I've already mentioned my disappointment with “Grey's” towards the end of last season and this season. Most people who felt the way I felt probably would just let it go. By let it go, I mean viewing of the program. I tend to give programs that I've fallen out of love with more chances to win me back.

Do I think viewers will eventually come back to broadcast? Yes, some. Viewership was already down year to year before the new episodes stopped airing. The chunk of viewers who left when the strike was really felt, some of those viewers, I think will come back next season. It will be interesting to look at the dvr playback for April and May. A lot of people are watching shows when they want to watch them. So maybe they haven't actually given up on broadcast tv just yet? I was skeptical of networks waiting until next season to bring back dramas that premiered this season ("Pushing Daises," "Chuck," "Dirty Sexy Money"...). But now I do think it was the right decision and perhaps why the people who made those decisions make a helluva lot more money than I! A main reason I believe they are right is due to the amount of new episodes of the established shows we are going to get before the season officially ends. What if "Grey's" becomes the show it once was, as promised by Shonda, but we don't see that until the season finale which is less than a handful of episodes away? The regular viewers will tune in next year to watch it unfold because of the long history they already have with the show - same with "CSI" "Desperate Housewives" - but if you just get into the final episode of a brand new show and it ends for a few months, how do you find loyalty for that show come the fall? Do you care enough about the characters and stories? Let's face it, no new shows became a hit this year and they had a few months to establish themselves before they had to show repeats or be yanked from the schedule.

Let’s hope next year we get a few hit scripted programs and a reason to turn to the broadcast networks. Maybe just maybe, appointment television isn’t dead yet.

Pilot Casting (actress)

Sometimes I feel like blogging is just me talking out loud…to me. Which is nice. I so rarely disagree with myself. Usually, I find me to be quite witty and smart; occasionally a bit moody if I haven’t had enough sleep. Not brain surgeon smart, but other kinds of smart. Seriously, brain surgery? Why would anyone even want to? But God bless those who do!

Today I’ve decided to share the conversation that’s been in my head the past few days. No not the one about resolving the feud between LC and Spencer & Heidi (please, finding a way to get the price of a barrel of oil under $100 would be easier!) This conversation of course relates to television. Hey, I’m paid to work in the medium so I figure any time spent thinking about it is just going to help further my career. Riiight. So. The dialogue in my head is about pilot season - shows picked up and the casting being done. Recently I caught the Hallmark Movie “Daniel’s Daughter” starring Laura Leighton. Yes, that Laura Leighton – Sydney Andrews from Melrose Place. Back to “Daniel’s Daughter,” she was really good in the movie where she portrayed a woman, Cate Madighan, whose father passes away and she must go back to her small hometown to deal with his requests. I’d tell more about the movie, but that can totally be its own blog entry one day. For now, I’ll let the focus remain on Laura Leighton. This weekend I caught the Lifetime Movie “Love Notes” which she starred in as a successful classical music critic who gets pregnant after a one night stand with a country singer. I was again impressed by her acting. I imdb’d and learned that Laura Leighton has popped up as a guest star on a few series dramas the past two seasons – Boston Legal, Shark, Law & Order: SVU, CSI: Miami (even co starred in “Eyes” on ABC a few years back).

All of that being said, she’s my pick for an actress who should be grabbed for a pilot being made right now. I know they haven’t all been cast (many are still presentations as I type) so for all of the casting people reading this blog….sign her up! Oh wait, no casting people read this blog? Ah well, hopefully someone gets her to sign on for something. She stands out in all of the recent stuff she’s done and when she's the star, she proves she deserves the role. If TV movies aren’t your thing, watch her 2-part Boston Legal episode if you need reassurance. And I for one get a kick out of Sydney when I watch the Melrose repeats over the weekend.

Tomorrow, the actor I feel should be attached to a pilot for next season.
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