Archives for December 2010
CBS Gets its Mid-Season Report Card
The Good: Unabashed President of the Alex O’Loughlin fan club, CBS Boss Nina Tassler — who let’s face it, has made it her personal mission to find a fit for the Australian import finally has something to cheer about — HAWAII FIVE-0 is a bonafide hit! Also breathing a deep sigh of relief is the Tiffany Network Executive responsible for the flurry of incredibly risky moves heading into the 2010/11 season. Much to @danharmon and @harthanson’s chagrin, THE BIG BANG THEORY’s big move to Thursday turned out even better than anyone could have theorized. And the same goes for aging shows like SURVIVOR and CSI (Both Miami and New York edition), all of which found new homes as well as new viewers in new time-slots. Meanwhile, on the comedy front, Chuck Lorre continues to do no wrong as MIKE & MOLLY fit snuggly into its post TWO AND A HALF MEN position, while the enjoyable, albeit rarely promoted RULES OF ENGAGEMENT managed to hold onto most of HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER’s audience. The latter of which actually saw their audience grow as a result of showrunner’s Carter Bays and Craig Thomas’ recommitment to genuinely funny stories that actually resonate.
The Bad: Not laughing are MEDIUM fansm who will very soon see their show join GHOST WHISPERER in the great beyond. And while we’re on the subject of ghosts and mediums, let’s get down to what has continued to haunt CBS for the better part of the past decade. While the network gets serious credit for its unprecedented dominance in the total viewer department, things aren’t quite so rosy when one drills down to the highly coveted 18-49 demographic. Which is to say, that despite THE GOOD WIFE’s glowing reviews, awards and ridiculously sexy spreads in the likes of Entertainment Weekly and Harper’s Bazaar, Tuesday’s BIGGEST LOSER still managed to outperform it in the demo. Note to fans of THE DEFENDERS — assuming of course you’ve discovered how to access this new fangled “series of tubes” affectionately referred to as “the internet” — be afraid, be very afraid.
Deconstructing BONES: When Television Becomes Art-Worthy and Makes Us Want to Weep With Joy
By: Tiffany Vogt
In a recent episode of BONES entitled “The Doctor in the Photo” (written by Carla Kettner), one particular line stood out and resonated. It was when Dr. Gadh quoted, “I will show you fear in a handful of dust” (which is a line from the famous T.S. Eliot poem: “The Waste Land: The Burial of the Dead”). When Dr. Dadh explained, “We do not actually fear death — we fear that no one will notice our absence — that we will disappear without a trace,” it echoed just as loudly.
It is a rare and magnificent feat when television is written with this kind of literary intensity. When it is, we pick up our ears in disbelief. For suddenly, whatever we are watching is no longer just a television show, it has risen to the level of art.
Frequently there are scenes so emotionally portrayed that we are touched to our core by the actor’s performance or by the storyline so delicately laid-out. But it is not always the words themselves that grab our attention.
So I challenge you, when was that last time that a specific line or phrase grabbed you by the throat and made you want to cry with joy? If you are like most viewers, it is virtually impossible to conceive of any such language. We may recall a funny line, or a great one-liner — something used to zing or highlight the moment. But to feel so overcome with the words that we think to ourselves, “that needs to be written down” or immortalized in some way so that the essence of what was said or written is memorialized.
[Read more…]
TV Ratings: Wednesday December 15, 2010
Time | Network | Show | Rating | 18-49 |
---|---|---|---|---|
8PM | CBS | Survivor: Nicaragua | 12.37 | 3.6/11 |
NBC | The Sing-off | 7.90 | 2.6/8 | |
FOX | Human Target | 5.79 | 1.6/5 | |
ABC | The Middle (R) | 5.76 | 1.5/5 | |
CW | The Vampire Diaries (R) | 1.31 | 0.5/1 | |
8:30PM | ABC | Better with You (R) | 4.53 | 1.3/4 |
9PM | CBS | Criminal Minds | 14.04 | 3.3/9 |
NBC | The Sing-off | 8.62 | 3.0/8 | |
FOX | Hell’s Kitchen | 5.90 | 2.6/7 | |
ABC | Modern Family (R) | 5.87 | 2.0/6 | |
CW | The Vampire Diaries (R) | 1.31 | 0.5/1 | |
9:30PM | ABC | Modern Family (R) | 5.87 | 2.1/6 |
10PM | CBS | The Defenders | 10.20 | 2.0/6 |
NBC | Law & Order: SVU (R) | 6.86 | 2.0/6 | |
ABC | Cougar Town (R) | 3.50 | 1.3/4 | |
10:30PM | ABC | Cougar Town (R) | 3.04 | 1.2/4 |
On behalf of Everyone North of the 49th Parallel, theTVaddict.com Would Like to Publicly Apologize for the Following…
The Top 10 TV Shows of 2010
By: Aleks Chan
1. MAD MEN
2. PARKS AND RECREATION
3. BREAKING BAD
4. PARTY DOWN
5. BOARDWALK EMPIRE
6. FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
7. COMMUNITY
8. THE GOOD WIFE
9. IN TREATMENT
10. 30 ROCK
You’ve probably been told countless times about how great TV has become in the last few years, that a supposed Golden Age is upon us. Whatever you want to call it, there’s definitely something extraordinary happening in TV right now: In my short experience as someone who writes about the medium, this was the hardest year yet to complete my top 10, there’s so much to choose from. In many ways, my list is rife with clichés: low-rated, critical darlings and niche programs – my completed lineup is made up of Shows You Should Watch, those shows professional critics keep telling you are great, get heaps of ink telling you further, and now here I am telling you all over again.
Morning Static: TORCHWOOD, LARRY KING LIVE, AMC & More!
• Casting Couch: Bill Pullman joins TORCHWOOD.
• News the Networks don’t want you to hear, how to watch streaming video anywhere in the world.
• Tune in Reminder: LARRY KING LIVE broadcasts its final show tonight.
• Playing Monday Morning Quarterback, The Live Feed offers up 5 lessons of the Fall TV Season.
• Talkin’ ‘Bout MY GENERATION: The 10 Biggest Television Fails of the Year.
• All Aboard! AMC greenlights railroad series HELL ON WHEELS.
• Desperate to find that last minute holiday gift for the TV Addict in your life? SEINFELD: THE COMPLETE SERIES is on sale, today only, from Amazon for $84.49 (66% off the regular price of $250.95)
Watch, PVR, Pass: Wednesday December 15, 2010
Acting 101: How to Succeed in Show Business…
What do actors Pej Vahdat, Joel Moore, Ryan Cartwright, Carla Gallo and Michael Grant Terry all have in common? Well, aside from helping fill out the Jeffersonian’s revolving cast of interns (or as they’re affectionally referred to by fans as “Squinterns”) on the hit FOX series BONES since the whole “Gormogon” incident left Zach… errr… otherwise occupied, each and every one has seen their career surge since doing so.
Evidently, struggling actors are no longer turning to Scientology to get their name out there when an internship on BONES has proven to be just as effective! Or at least that was our conclusion after spending some time investigating the pre-and-post BONES careers of the following actors five.
Michael Grant Terry (2008-2010)
BONES ID: Wendell Bray
Most notable onscreen characteristic: If the Squinterns were your run-of-the-mill boy band, Wendell Bray would most certainly be Sporty Squint, who, when he isn’t scoring on the ice playing hockey with Booth, is busy scoring points off the ice with Angela!
When he’s not assisting Dr. Temperance Brennan… Terry can be found guest starring in countless TV shows and movies including CRIMINAL MINDS, THE DEFENDERS, ELEVENTH HOUR, WITHOUT A TRACE and Post Grad.
TV Ratings: Tuesday December 14, 2010
Time | Network | Show | Rating | 18-49 |
---|---|---|---|---|
8PM | CBS | NCIS | 19.78 | 4.0/12 |
NBC | Minute to Win It | 7.67 | 2.3/7 | |
FOX | Glee (R) | 5.59 | 2.1/6 | |
ABC | I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown | 5.52 | 1.6/5 | |
CW | The Vampire Diaries (R) | 1.36 | 0.5/1 | |
9PM | CBS | NCIS: Los Angeles | 16.76 | 3.2/9 |
NBC | Biggest Loser | 10.86 | 3.8/10 | |
FOX | Glee (R) | 5.39 | 2.1/6 | |
ABC | No Ordinary Family (R) | 3.53 | 1.0/3 | |
CW | The Vampire Diaries (R) | 1.36 | 0.5/1 | |
10PM | CBS | The Good Wife | 11.71 | 2.1/6 |
NBC | Biggest Loser | 11.18 | 4.2/12 | |
ABC | Detroit 1-8-7 (R) | 3.87 | 0.8/2 |