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First Look: Emily Deschanel, Eliza Dushku and Katee Sackhoff Lend Their Voices to THE CLEVELAND SHOW

theTVaddict — Mon, 09 May 2011 14:06:40 +0000

This Sunday, THE CLEVELAND SHOW will end its sophomore season with a trip to a Comic Convention where Donna will confront a horrified Robert Rodriguez after discovering that the auteur is going to screen a film (“Hot Cocoa Bang Bang”) that she starred in when she was younger. But before you bemoan the fact that a TV series taking their act to “Comic Con” is quickly becoming #6 on our list of “Very Special Episodes” every show eventually does, you should probably be aware of the fact that said adventure allows for guest voice appearances by BONES’ Emily Deschanel, DOLLHOUSE’s Eliza Dushku and BATTLESTAR GALACTICA’s Katee Sackhoff. More first look photos wf which can be found after the jump.

THE CLEVELAND SHOW airs Sunday at 9:30PM on FOX

Brilliant Television Writing Does Not Guarantee Television Viewers

Tiffany Vogt — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 13:49:33 +0000

In response to my recent article “Superheroes Are Dropping Like Flies! An Investigation Why Television Seems to be the Genre’s Kryptonite,” one commenter offered his opinion that superhero shows are failing because the shows are not well-written. But unlike in the movie Field of Dreams, the theory of “If you build it, they will come,” does not hold true on television. In fact, if anything, time and time again, great writing is an anathema to the average television viewer. It does not lure in more viewers and it does not guarantee a higher retention rate. Great writing is but one ingredient needed to draw and retain viewers.

Examples of ratings-challenged television shows offering superior writing include a large number of “brilliant but cancelled” shows from the past decade. Among those are: TERRIERS, BATTLESTAR GALATICA, DEADWOOD, FIREFLY, VERONICA MARS, EVERWOOD, WONDERFALLS, ELI STONE, KINGS and even fan-favorites TERMINATOR: SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES and DOLLHOUSE. (If looking at the current television landscape, it also includes such current shows as the Emmy-winning MAD MEN and BREAKING BAD and newcomer FX’s JUSTIFIED. It appears that no matter how many awards or how much critical-acclaim, even those will not draw in viewers.)

What is fascinating about all these shows is that whether they were immediately heralded as “brilliantly written,” now that they are gone those are the tags we put on them. Why? Because they were. For whatever reason, the average viewer just did not see or perhaps appreciate the superior writing of these shows when they were on. It is certainly true that a small devoted and vocal bunch of viewers immediately saw and appreciated what they had — but in television, small is never better. Television shows only survive if they can pull in a large number of viewers. More viewers equals more ad revenue and thus a longer chance at longevity.

There is a reason all of these shows are now called “brilliant but cancelled” — they simply are.

But great writing just is not enough. Whatever viewers are looking for, it does not rest on the quality of writing alone. If that were true, a large portion of what is succeeding would have died a long time ago.

Instead, shows that offer comfort and familiarity succeed, like NCIS, NCIS:LA and THE MENTALIST. Those shows offer a steady stream of formulaic stories each week, but viewers flock to them. The consistency works in their favor. In addition, they offer surrogate families for viewers to visit each week. It is a winning combination of comfort and charisma.

Simply put, viewers crave “comfort food” television more than they seek out riskier fare such as MAD MEN and BREAKING BAD.

In addition, the prevalence of reality television shows perfectly illustrates how attractive and deep-rooted the mass television audience is with “voyeuristic” and competition shows. Viewers enjoy the titillation of peeking into someone else’s life and seeing what they are doing, such as TEEN MOM and JERSEY SHORE — alas, transparency into whether or not such reality TV shows are scripted, storyboarded or staged is not so clear to viewers. The average viewer also wants to see people engaged in dramatic, sensationalized competition shows such as DANCING WITH THE STARS and SURVIVOR. These types of shows offer another kind of viewing “food group” that satisfies the viewers’ cravings.

The last category is alternative scripted television. This is where shows like FRINGE, CHUCK and STARGATE: UNIVERSE consistently hover. They are not offering the “comfort food,” nor sensationalist/titillation of competitive and/or voyeuristic television shows. Instead, they are competing for the remnants of the available television audience — ones who are looking for something different, something entertaining, and, sometimes, something that will ultimately be labeled “brilliant but cancelled.”

While it is true that not every low-rated television show offers brilliant writing, it is true that most brilliantly written television shows tend to consistently pull in a lower number of viewers.

Over the years there have been anomalies as shows like THE WEST WING and LOST somehow eluded the curse of low-ratings while offering some of the best television writing ever to grace the television screen. But THE WEST WING and LOST also possessed more than one secret ingredient: they also offered large doses of “comfort food” and charisma. These were surrogate families that the mass viewing audience were more than happy to tune in to see every week.

Many have noted over the years that making a successful television show is like capturing “lightning in a bottle.” It is rare. It is extremely elusive. To gather each piece needed to launch and sustain a high-rated television show requires a remarkable number of “stars to align.” A show needs a great showrunner, fantastic directors, a phenomenal cast, brilliant writing, and a zillion other phenomenally talented crew to make it all work flawlessly.

It is not to say that the networks and studios do not try. They spend hundreds of millions of dollars each year trying to replicate “lightning in a bottle.” But even copycatting what has worked before is never a guarantee. Why? Because viewers are fickle. They do not always appreciate a recycling of a successful formula — sometimes they do, like with the CSI, LAW & ORDER and NCIS franchises. But other times, like with LOST and THE WEST WING, viewers tend to shy away from something they feel is a rehash of another successful show. One reason is that LOST and THE WEST WING were heavily serialized shows and once the story is done, it is done. The CSIs and LAW & ORDERs offer procedural stories — the crime of the week — and thus, it feels less like a repeat of a story already seen — and if it is, it is okay, because it is only for one episode, not 6 or 7 years.

The trick is to come up with something that will take all the key ingredients and whip up a new confection of television delights. Televisions shows require a special recipe for success — they cannot subsist on just one ingredient alone.

So in response to the edict that a television show failed because it was not written well, I remind you: there are lots of fantastically, if not brilliantly, written television shows that fail each year. If only writing alone would guarantee television viewers, then so many amazing televisions shows would still be on the air today. Alas, the average television viewer is not lured by writing. The average viewer’s taste seeks something much more elusive — a magic ingredient that is never really known.

Television success is like magic — it never feels real, but when it happens we are enchanted.

Tiffany Vogt is a contributing writer to The TV Addict. She has a great love for television and firmly believes that entertainment is a world of wondrous adventures that deserves to be shared and explored – she invites you to join her. Please feel free to contact Tiffany at Tiffany_Vogt_2000@yahoo.com or follow her at on Twitter (@TVWatchtower). Tiffany also writes as a columnist for NiceGirlsTV.

First Look: DOLLHOUSE Alum Enver Gjokaj Enrols in COMMUNITY College

theTVaddict — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 14:33:57 +0000

Somewhat lost amidst the deafening buzz surrounding COMMUNITY’s upcoming Pulp Fiction homage and sequel to last season’s “Modern Warfare” paintball opus is the addition of a new student to Greendale Community College. Arriving March 17 in an episode entitled “Custody Law and Eastern European Diplomacy,” DOLLHOUSE star Enver Gjokaj will be setting his sights on Britta playing a foreign exchange student Lukka whose classroom poetry reveals a surprisingly dark past (Well, duh… he was trapped in the Dollhouse!). More first look photos of which can be found after the jump.

Where DOLLHOUSE Went Wrong

theTVaddict — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 22:50:30 +0000

From its scrapped pilot to its hotly contested portrayal of female characters, controversy has followed DOLLHOUSE from virtually the moment the project was announced. Which is why, on the eve of its series finale, we thought it would be only fitting to throw one last log onto the fire by sharing our theory on where DOLLHOUSE went wrong.

While on paper, a Joss Whedon series revolving around beautiful operatives that can be programmed with unique personas for various missions sounded like a surefire hit, the reality was anything but. For as it would turn out — like the Rossum Corporation’s not-so-well-thought-out plan to transform humans into programmable guinea pigs — the series itself had one fatal flaw: No character. And characters, be they good, bad, or somewhere in between, are the lifeblood of any successful television series.

Characters are what we, as viewers, latch on to. Their trials and tribulations are what get us emotionally involved. And unfortunately in the case of DOLLHOUSE, they were also what was sorely lacking for the first six episodes of the series. After-all, how do you ‘feel’ for the likes of Echo, Sierra, and Victor, when at their core they’re nothing more than empty shells waiting to be jump-started by Topher?

That’s why once Team Whedon allowed the fleshbots to develop the messy, sticky, oh-so-relatable nastiness we humans call emotions, we began to fall in love with the show. Not only did knowing the circumstances surrounding Sierra, Millie and Victor’s entrance into the Dollhouse change everything, the horrific and often heartbreaking nature of their arrival had a profound affect on both the way we watched the show and the way we viewed the characters. Yes, hindsight is 20/20. But the question we’ll never know the answer to is this: Had the writers fleshed out their characters from the beginning as opposed to playing up the sexy-fembot-for-hire-without-consequences angle, might we be anxiously anticipating a season-ending cliffhanger as opposed to sadly awaiting a series-ending finale?

Today’s TV Addict Top 5: Televisions Most Misogynistic Shows

theTVaddict — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 15:21:09 +0000

DOLLHOUSE
Pretty girls are literally and figuratively transformed into playthings and sent out into the world to pleasure wealthy men. Sure, there’s Victor, but even he was used by the writers as a way to threaten the position of woman-in-power Adelle!

BAD GIRLS CLUB
Let’s face it, people tune into this mess for one reason and one reason only: To see girls with low self-esteem behave in the worst ways possible.

GENERAL HOSPITAL
A show ostensibly aimed at a female audience which might easily be renamed THE WOMEN IN JEOPARDY HOUR. The end of its much-ballyhooed Franco story saw not one, not two, but three different women (Carly, Lulu and Sam) being held hostage by the madman.

FAMILY GUY
While the animated laugher is an equal-opportunity offender, poor Meg may be the most tread-upon character in the history of television. As Peter once said after his daughter left the room, “Who was that guy?”

BIG LOVE
As polygamy is, in essence, institutionalized misogny, it’s impossible not to put this compelling show on the list despite the fact that it’s female characters are some of the strongest to grace the small screen.

Exclusive: Amy Acker on Friday’s DOLLHOUSE Shocker

theTVaddict — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 18:04:31 +0000

Friendship with Joss Whedon has its privileges. Just ask actress Amy Acker who is as surprised as anyone to have played such an integral role in what’s shaping up to be a pretty epic final season of DOLLHOUSE.

“The day before they started shooting the pilot, Joss [Whedon] called me up and said ‘We’ve got this part, she was supposed to be this 55 year old woman, but I’m thinking that you should do it’,” revealed Acker at yesterday’s Television Critics Associaiton Press Tour in Pasadena while promoting her upcoming ABC small town thriller HAPPY TOWN. “I didn’t know if I was just going to be in the pilot and of course I had no idea I would end up as a Doll and all this stuff would unfold.”

By ‘all this stuff,’ Acker is of course referring to the jaw-droppoing turn of events that took place during last Friday’s episode that saw Dr. Saunders/Whiskey unapologetically put a bullet through Bennett’s head.

“I think people think I look innocent so they like to have me ending up being a killer,” joked the actress. “You get to do so much more with these types of supernatural or mysterious characters. Like on ANGEL, getting to play a girl in a cave and coming out playing this Blue Demon Goddess, you don’t really get to do that on a CSI or something. With these guys [HAPPY TOWN creators Josh Appelbaum, André Nemec and Scott Rosenberg] and Joss, you get to experience a whole range of emotions, where it feels like you’re doing twenty-five different shows. Funny episodes… scary episodes… you’re not trapped [as an actress]. Like the episode of ANGEL where he was a puppet, that could have been on a sitcom.”

Unfortunately, there is nothing funny about FOX’s cancellation of the struggling sophomore series, which has a mere two episoes remaining after quietly morphing itself into one of television’s most daring and thought-provoking shows.

“I have one more episode, but it’s a very different [episode] than that one [on Friday].” teased Acker who was playing coy when asked about the possibility of a Boyd/Claire connection “There will be a connection, but it’s not Claire. I definitely have something to do with Rossum in the next episode… does that make sense?

Not really. But what fun would DOLLHOUSE be if it did.

DOLLHOUSE airs Friday night at 9PM on FOX (Global TV in Canada)

Photo Credit: Michael Desmond/FOX

Today’s TV Addict Top 5: Guest Stars We Can’t Wait to Ring in 2010 With

theTVaddict — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 19:47:33 +0000

Sarah Chalke is officially a mother! Unlike that other show where the identity of the mother is shrouded in secrecy, Chalke puts to rest all those pesky ‘mother’ rumours (See: belly!) when she makes her much-anticipated return to SCRUBS on Tuesday January 5th.

Giving hope to nerds, geeks and dweebs everywhere comes this spy shot from the January 8th instalment of DOLLHOUSE. Topher Brink finally gets the ~~girl~~ Glau, when Bennett (Glau) and Brink (Fran Kranz) take a break from (hopefully) bringing down the evil Rossum Corporation to share an intimate moment.

Joining DAMAGES for its upcoming third season is funny-man Martin Short. Yeah, this should be interesting.

Just when you thought THE BIG BANG THEORY couldn’t get anymore WONDER-ful, enter Danica McKellar. Best known as Winnie Cooper on THE WONDER YEARS, McKellar will play a love interest for Raj when Sheldon and Koothrappali attend a university mixer on the upcoming January 11th episode.

On January 14, things at Oceanside Wellness are about to heat up when McSteamy himself, Mark Sloane follows Addison back to Santa Monica in a last-ditch effort to help his just-discovered pregnant daughter (Leven Rambin) get some much needed medical attention.

The Top 10 TV Shows of 2009 (A Second Opinion)

theTVaddict — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 14:57:29 +0000

By: Aleks Chan

10. DOLLHOUSE
At this point, I’ve given up on Joss Whedon ever getting free reign over his creative works. Yes, lead Eliza Dushku is the show’s weakest link (she has very limited range), but, ah, what a fantastically flawed work of art. DOLLHOUSE may not always work, but when it does, its pure Whedon: deep down, there’s a beautifully complex and dark story of identity.

9. BRICK CITY
You make your jokes about New Jersey, but this unflinching documentary set in Newark will change your tune. Starring an impassioned Mayor Cory Booker as he works to restructure the police force to combat rising crime, it’s the closest series to get to THE WIRE in terms of tragedy, family, and gloomy hope.

8. PARKS and RECREATION
Or the comeback kid. At first Amy Poehler’s OFFICE-wannabe about local government was good, but didn’t have much of an identity of its own. But its second season closed up the giant pit and figured out how it use its star and its cast to hilarious comedic levels. Cohesion achieved.

7. IN TREATMENT
If you think there couldn’t be anything more boring than watching people sit around and talk, then you’re dead wrong. Season two of the therapy drama starring the impeccable Gabriel Byrne as a shrink who’s been shrunk packed more raw, emotional humanity into words than every forensics-leaden CBS procedural currently airing.

6. TORCHWOOD: CHILDREN OF EARTH
Who would think that a kooky spin-off of the long-running DOCTOR WHO series about a time traveler and his paranormal crime solving team could tell a story as riveting as this? This was an alien invasion that maturely posed the question of whether the needs of the few outweighed the needs of many, and what tragedy can do to the most honorable of people.

5. GLEE
If COP ROCK and VIVA LAUGHLIN have proven anything, it’s that musical dramedies could only go down as gloriously failures. And then GLEE happened, mined for every ounce of chintz, kitsch, and spectacle creator Ryan Murphy could find, it works because it is both ridiculous and a marvelous display of craft. It is the most perplexing show on television, and I love it.

4. FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
Never have I cried, laughed, and cheered alongside a television show. After a wider-audience pandering sophomore effort, this hearty, kicky drama about a high school football team (and the coach and his wife, played by TV’s greatest couple, Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton) in small-town Dillon, Texas turned out a fantastic third season that let us say goodbye to old favorites (Street! Smash! Lyla!) and wait breathlessly for new ones.

3. BREAKING BAD
What started out as a dark, desperate attempt to leave his family a nest egg after his cancer claims him, season two brought on a tricky roundabout: remission. So now chemistry teacher-turned meth dealer Walter White (the incomparable Bryan Cranston) continues in the drug trade with less obvious ambitions. This season was arresting, exploring mortality and morality, and everything in between.

2. BIG LOVE ?Bless, what a season. Shortened by the strike, this polygamist drama packed a tense, hilarious, tragic, and often poignant third season into 10 episodes of familial bliss. This is a case where more does makes merrier – be it a new wife, new prophet, or illegitimate lovechild, this impeccable ensemble piece makes the grade.

1. MAD MEN
In Matthew Weiner’s period drama set in the 1960s – so purposefully paced, so delicately curated by its art directors – there isn’t episode that isn’t delicious to consume and almost impossible to explain. Season three, set in 1963, tore everything apart: families, careers, and in one instance, a man’s foot. More importantly, it deftly succeeded in not only showing us the past, but making us feel it too.

Honorable Mentions: 30 ROCK, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, BORED TO DEATH, THE GOOD WIFE, LOST, MODERN FAMILY, THE OFFICE, SONS OF ANARCHY, TRUE BLOOD, UNITED STATES OF TARA.

Good News, Bad News: DOLLHOUSE, HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER & NBC

theTVaddict — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:00:43 +0000

Good News: Plans for the sequel to DR. HORRIBLE’s SING-A-LONG BLOG may have just kicked into high gear. Bad News: With FOX officially cancelling DOLLHOUSE after it finishes airing its initial 13-episode order in January. [Source]

Good News: Lindsay Price has officially removed herself from ‘Mother’ contention. Bad News: After breaking up (in real-life) with HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER’s Josh Radnor over what sources are calling ‘lifestyle’ differences. [Source]

Good News: Execs at ABC, CBS, CW and FOX can rest easy. Bad News: For NBC, who according to Silicon Valley Insider will (inexplicably) keep Jeff Zucker at the helm following Comcast’s deal to purchase 51% of NBC Universal from General Electric. [Source]

Today’s TV Addict Top 5: Our Favorite Shows of the Week

theTVaddict — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 02:06:47 +0000

DOLLHOUSE
What is with those Whedon’s and their ability to always leave us wanting more. Fresh of the heels of this week’s DOLLHOUSE debacle that has FOX benching the ratings anemic series for November sweeps, comes a harrowing Sierra-centric episode that recounts the terrifying circumstances in which the Aussie beauty found her way to the Rossum Corporation. Both gripping and gut-wrenching, the episode was not only right up their as one of the series’ bests, but showed the few who bothered to watch, just how much potential this show has if given the chance.

MODERN FAMILY
Erik Estrada eat your heart out. For what FAMILY’s two “E’s” (Ed O’Neil and Eric Stonestreet) lack in the matinee idol looks department, they more than make up for by delivering the laughs. Yes, five episodes into the freshman series, O’Neill and Stonestreet, alongside the rest of the ridiculously talented cast, continue to raise the bar when it comes to L.P.M. (Laughs per minute). So much so that we’ll forgive showrunners Lloyd and Levitan (Christopher and Steven respectively) for leaving out the obvious ‘Four touchdowns in a single game’ shout-out many MARRIED WITH CHILDREN fans (okay, this TV Addict) was waiting for.

GREY’S ANATOMY
Thursday’s story-telling departure which had the good doctors of Seattle Grace (both new and old) recount the unfortunate circumstances that resulted in the unexpected death of a patient and the firing of a one of their own (Can someone please give Sarah Drew a regular series gig, and STAT!) was not only the best episode of the season, but continued to prove that the merger between Seattle Grace and Mercy West has been the best thing to happen to GREY’S ANATOMY since JOURNEYMAN’s cancellation and Dr. Owen Hunt’s arrival on the scene.

COMMUNITY
After a rocky start, the gang from Greendale Community College finally seems to have found their rhythm. Thursday’s episode — that had Britta learning about ‘bathroom girl-talk-etiquette’ from Shirley, Annie learning about selflessness from of all people Jeff, and Abed learning that less is more — gave virtually every COMMUNITY member a moment to shine. Plus bonus points for ~~Moby~~ Dean Pelton, who’s quickly becoming our favorite Principal since Mr. Belding.

THE BIG BANG THEORY
WHEEEAATONNNN!