Channel Surfing: 2.28.06

"Arrested" But Not Forgotten

Via Screenhead, witness this soulful eulogy for quite-possibly-dead-but-never-forgotten show Arrested Development, entitled "A long time ago, in a Sudden Valley far, far away." Moving past the Star Wars homage, I especially love the little details: the seal that bit off Buster's hand, the little Monopoly piece in the form of a house (one of the show's motifs), George-Michael and Maeby in the Bluth's frozen banana stand, and of course, standing in for Star Wars' sexually ambiguous C-3PO, our very own sexually-ambiguous mandroid, Tobias, in his omni-present cut-offs.

"Arrest" the Presses

Okay, awful pun there. But stop the presses, cancel the headstone, silence the fat lady. The New York Post is reporting today that Showtime has not only picked up Arrested Development but has actually ordered a full 26 episodes! (Which would be more than they produced in either Season Two or Season Three.) No official comment from Twentieth Century Fox Television (the studio behind Arrested Development), Imagine Television, or Showtime, but fingers crossed!

"24" Hour Party People

Astute viewers may have caught the geek shoutout to uber-writer Jane Espenson (Buffy, Angel, Firefly, The OC, Gilmore Girls, Tru Calling, etc.) on last night's episode of "24." Audrey, played by Kim Raver, used the alias "Jane Espenson" in order to trick an unsuspecting secretary into leaving her desk. While I don't watch the show (though with David Fury on the writing staff this season I probably should), anything that references the talented and brilliant Jane Espenson is a good thing.

"House" for Sale

Following the conclusion of its brilliant run Sunday evening on PBS' Masterpiece Theate, Bleak House, based on Charles Dickens' classic novel of long-buried secrets, power struggles, and spontaneous combustion, is available for sale and rental on DVD today. For those of you who missed the series (and shame on you if you did), here's your opportunity to see the whole gang: Lady Dedlock, Guppy, Esther, and the longest-running litigation ever, Jarndyce vs. Jarndyce.

What's On Tonight

8 pm: NCIS (CBS); Deal or No Deal (NBC); Gilmore Girls (WB); According to Jim/Rodney (ABC); American Idol (FOX); America’s Next Top Model (UPN)

9 pm: The Amazing Race 9 (CBS); Scrubs/Scrubs (NBC); Supernatural (WB); According to Jim/George Lopez (ABC); The War at Home (FOX; 9:30); Girlfriends/Half & Half (UPN)

10 pm: The Amazing Race 9 (CBS); Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (NBC); Boston Legal (ABC)

What I'll Be Watching

8 pm: Gilmore Girls.

While this season of Gilmore Girls has been rather hit-or-miss, when it actually does hit, it really hits. The past few episodes (mostly written by husband-and-wife team of Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino) have been pretty much pitch perfect and it wouldn't be a season of Gilmore Girls without heartache and romantic drama. Tonight, Rory learns that Logan wasn't completely, er, celibate during their brief break-up in the fall. Suprisingly, I've been liking Logan better since he was chewed out by his awful and overbearing father in the Valentine's episode on Martha's Vineyard.

9 pm: The Amazing Race.

I was briefly considering giving up on the show during last season's disastrous Family Edition (the Weavers alone were making me willing to change the channel), but was happy that the Linz family managed to win the crown at the very end. Tonight brings us back to the (working) format we've loved in the past: 11 teams of 2 on a race around the world. Expect a Rob-and-Amber level of backstabbing, squabbling couples, Phil continually defining what a "road block" is, and exotic and interesting locales--hopefully more exotic than, say, the gas stations, giant chairs, and bus depots that last season brought us.

Reality Check: "Apprentice" Cast Should Keep Their Day Jobs

As Donald Trump might say, first impressions are extremely important... you rarely get the chance to make up for a bad one and a good one can last a long time. Platitudes aside, I can say that, after watching the premiere of the new cycle of The Apprentice, the 18 "top notch" candidates they've assembled for the chance to vie for the title of Donald's umpteenth apprentice/slave fail to make a very good (or lasting) first impression.

Choosing the teams, as usual, is an awkward affair, this time complicated by having the candidates greet Trump a la arriving royalty on the airport tarmac as his private jet descends in New York. Saying a few words aboard the luxe aircraft, Trump then forces the candidates to disembark and try to withstand what appeared to be gale force winds as he randomly chooses two people to act as project managers (a Mensa member and a Harvard Business school grad). What follows is a typical high school gym class scenario and ultimately the oddball large guy is the last to be chosen.

The candidates are the usual mix of blonde agressive women, young turks, and even younger Ivy League grad upstarts. This year though brings us international diversity in the form of "The Russian" and Smarmy British Guy Who Thinks He's Hugh Grant. While it's still early days, no one on either team (Team Gold Rush and the cliched Team Synergy) stands out as a particularly strong player or brilliant businessperson. (In fact, they seem kinda bland, even by last season's standards. No Rebecca or Randall in sight so far.)

Their task, as most of them have been lately, was rather meh to say the least. Something to do with a promotion involving a blimp and two suburban Sam's Club locations, where the team that gets the most customers to upgrade their memberships wins. One team goes with offering free manicures and facials and enlists Smarmy British Guy to act as an erstwhile MC for the day; the other team offers a gift bag (empty gift bag, make that) to the first 450 or so people through the door.

The results: the spa-treatment team brings in 43 customer upgrades to duffle bag team's pathetic 40.

The boardroom is bizarre. Greasy-haired Mensa guy looks like a pit bull and keeps puffing out his nostrils as he shoots looks of murderous rage at Baby-Faced Cornell Grad, who seems to blame him for the loss. Trump appears to be ready to fire Mensa Guy when Loony Tunes Woman (who, according to my girlfriend, had "a nest of curls that could possibly be housing several small animals") interrupts him with some malarky about the "truth" and is promptly dismissed. Fairly obvious and anti-climactic end.

Honestly, if I had something else to watch on Monday evenings (aside from British mystery imports on BBC America), I'd easily quit watching. There's nothing exciting or innovative about the season so far and it all seems fairly formulaic and there are too many "wild cards" (read: talky and lazy) members on both teams.

But until one of the networks puts something of note on, I guess I'll keep watching... if only to see if Trump empire heir Ivanka can fill Carolyn's icy shoes.

Channel Surfing: 2.27.06

TiVo to Give Away Boxes For Free... But Not Really

Best-invention-ever manufacturer TiVo might soon start an initative to give away boxes in order to lure consumers to the service. Under this plan, TiVo may waive the price of the TiVo set-top box but will instead possibly raise the monthly service charge rates and implement longer term plans. The measure may go into effect "fairly soon," according to Tom Rogers, TiVo's chief executive. Currently, TiVo charges subscribers $12.95/month for the service, with multi-room discounts for additional units.

I would love a new TiVo box (mine is rather filled to the brim with episodes of Arrested Development, Nigella Bites, and State of Play, the Brit mini-series that criminally has yet to be released on DVD) and certainly wouldn't object to TiVo sending me one (You know where to reach me, TiVo: televisionaryblog[at]gmail.com!), I wonder if this will apply to the current Series 2 set-top box or the revolutionary Series 3 that is expected to be released in the autumn.

Personally, I think that anything that draws more consumer attention to the TiVo is a good thing. And hopefully this will get people addicted to the joys of TiVo without first plonking down a good $150 for the unit.

Did I mention that TiVo is the best invention ever? And that I'd love another one? (Hint, hint)

CW to "Runaway" with Darren Star

Fledgling netlet CW announced the purchase of its first drama pilot since the unveiling of the WB/UPN merger. Runaway, from Sex and the City creator Darren Star and Ed Zuckerman (Law & Order), centers around a family who begin a new life as fugitives, after the pater familias is convicted of murder, in order to buy him enough time to prove his innocence. (Not entirely sure how that works, per se. Is he on the run too? If not, why would the authorities really care?) Chad Hodge (Tru Calling) is writing the pilot, which was originally developed at UPN.

"Lost" and Found

Favorite weekly mag Entertainment Weekly staffer/comic book author Jeff Jensen shares his solutions to the ongoing mysteries of Lost in the current issue. Among my favorite lil' theories: the island is alive (Think: Krakoa.... fellow comic geeks, you know what I mean): the hatch is a human-size Skinner box; and my personal favorite theory, which is "The Island Is Haunted by a Powerful Psychic." Jensen believes that the island is haunted by the ghost of a powerful psychic named Aaron (yes, like Claire's baby), who suffered a psychic breakdown, triggered by the electromagnetic pulse in the hatch, and had his consciousness separated from his body. Aaron needed a new body (again, Claire's unborn baby), so he caused the plane to crash and brought a new host to the island for him to inhabit. Now he's basically rewriting reality all over the island.

Hmmm. It would explain the appearance of odd things--horses, polar bears, dead fathers--from our castaway's consciousness. And why it was so essential that baby Aaron was baptized and given that name.

So, until something better comes along, I'd say that's a pretty convincing theory.

"Dance" Card

In other news: in case you were interested, Drew Lachey took home the crown on the finale of Dancing with the Stars. Whoo.

What's On Tonight:

8 pm: King of Queens/How I Met Your Mother (CBS); Deal or No Deal (NBC); 7th Heaven (WB), Wife Swap (ABC), Skating with Celebrities (FOX), One on One/All of Us (UPN)

9 pm: Two and a Half Men/Courting Alex (CBS); The Apprentice (NBC); Related (WB); The Bachelor: Paris (ABC); 24 (FOX); Girlfriends/Half & Half (UPN)

10 pm: CSI: Miami (CBS); Medium (NBC); The Bachelor: Paris (ABC)

What I'll Be Watching:

The Apprentice.

What can I say? I am a glutton for punishment. Staying out of the ongoing Martha/Donald feud, I have to say that The Apprentice has been on a downward slide of late (then again, I was one of the few who enjoyed the change-of-pace good thing that was The Apprentice: Martha Stewart). Hoping that casting some foreign would-be millionaires (i.e., The Russian and Smarmy British Guy) will shake things up a bit, though trading in the divine Carolyn for Trump daughter Ivanka doesn't sit well with me. One Trump is more than enough, thanks.

Tuning Out: Why I Stopped Watching "The OC"

Networks sometimes use the summer to launch new shows. Oftentimes these shows are complete and utter dreck--leftover episodes of now cancelled shows "burned off" in the primetime wasteland of the summer months--or new reality programs that soon spawn huge franchises(Survivor, Amazing Race, Beauty and the Geek, etc.). But every now and then, a network will throw a drama on during the summer in the hopes that, with little else on, an audience will find the show and nurture it and give it the strength to make it through the regular, primetime season.

One such show was The OC. Created by twenty-something wunderkind Josh Schwartz and launched in the summer of 2003, The OC seemed like it would merely be a retread of Beverly Hills 90210, just set slightly further down the California coastline.

When it premiered, however, even I was surprised by how much I liked the show, despite wanting to dislike it. Instead of embracing those familiar teen drama tropes, the show toyed with them in a sort of post-modern self-awareness. It was fun, it was well-written, it was flashy, it had hot girls in Marc Jacobs drinking and smoking and doing cocaine at house parties while a Chino-bred hoodlum, freshly adopted by his court-appointed attorney, started fights with the local water polo team captain as an unpopular yet charming geek cheered him on from the sidelines. It was unlike any other teen drama that had come before it.

One of the more rewarding aspects of the show was the complexity of its characters: Ryan (Benjamin McKenzie), the show's brooding resident bad boy, who burns down houses while romancing rich girl neighbors; geek chic Seth (Adam Brody), a comics-obsessed nerd who loved Death Cab for Cutie almost as he loved hanging out with best bud Ryan; rich girl Marissa (Mischa Barton), who seemed to have everything yet lived in a gilded prison of her parents' making; and spunky Summer (Rachel Bilson), Marissa's no-nonsense, rage-blackout-affected best friend.

And, unlike most teen drama, equal emphasis and screen time was given to the kids' parents. In the pilot episode alone, The OC gave us TV's best and most loving parents in Sandy (Peter Gallagher) and Kirsten "Kiki" Cohen (Kelly Rowan)... and TV's worst parents in Jimmy (Tate Donovan) and Julie "JuJu" Cooper (Melinda Clarke). And while we never saw any of these parents cleaning or cooking (in fact, the show had an ongoing joke about the dismal nature of Kirsten's culinary abilities), we got a sense of how these characters interacted and spent their time. The Cohens seemed as real as any family, fictional or otherwise.

The show's first season gave us a pitch-perfect mix of melodrama, whip-smart dialogue, love triangles, heartbreak, and teen angst, set to a hip soundtrack of hand-picked music and set before the sun-soaked California surf. It brought us the joys of Chrismukah (Seth's home-grown combination of Christmas and Hanukah holidays), a storyline in which deliciously evil Julie Cooper seduced her daughter's 17-year-old ex-boyfriend Luke (Chris Carmack), the heartbreaking scene at the airport where hipster Anna (Samaire Armstrong) broke up with Seth to the strains of Nada Surf's cover of "If You Leave" (not a dry eye in my house, I can assure you), and yes, the god-awful misstep of a storyline which had psychotic teenager Oliver stalking Marissa and then holding her at gunpoint in a luxe hotel room. (Note to self: why do people around Marissa keep ending up shot?)

And then something strange happened: the show got bad. Fast.

The second season had none of the promise and potential of the first and squandered its time introducing characters and then disposing of them faster than Kleenex. In once instance, the producers introduced a secret, long-lost-sister of Kirsten's--who happened to be Ryan's new girlfriend--forced a relationship between then two, and then promptly packed her off to another city... only to have her conspicuously absent a few episodes later at her own father's funeral. Seth and Summer's on-again-off-again romance, so wonderfully written in Season One, turned tedious in the sophomore season, especially with the introduction of Zach (Michael Cassidy), a well-bred jock who (shudder) loved comic books as much as Seth. (I swear that half the season was wasted on Zach and Seth arguing over the comic book they were supposed to be making together.) Marissa had a relationship with her Latino gardener, who seemed to wear the same clothes and drive the same cars as the Newport kids. Following Sandy's not-really-infidelity with his escaped loon ex-girlfriend from twenty years earlier, Kirsten nearly had a not-really-affair of her own with a co-worker and then suddenly became an alcoholic, a condition which worsened after the death of her father, who was married to Julie Cooper at the time of his death.

And somehow, Marissa ended up in close proximity to a gun once again and shot Ryan's ne'er-do-well brother Trey in self-defense.

I managed to stick with the show through the second season, desperately hoping that they'd be able to capture the magic of the first year. But nothing the characters did rang true anymore. Their dialogue became hopelessly stilted and self-aware, the characters' situations hopelessly contrived (the Seth/Summer Spider-Man kiss homage, for example). Where once before the storylines, while melodramatic at times, were grounded in reality (granted, a more toned and beautiful reality, but reality nonetheless), throughout the second season and well into the third, the storylines became mired in soapy hystrionics and unrealistic shock-value sensationalism (Johnny, we hardly knew ye).

But I realized at the beginning of the show's third season that I couldn't do it anymore. I couldn't handle the heavy-handed metatheatrical use of "The Valley," The OC's show-within-a-show. Nor could I handle seeing these characters I had once loved behaving so terribly out of character with one another. Gone was the magic and the camaraderie and the boldness of the early days of the show. In its place was something pre-packaged and plastic.

Sadly, I realized that the show had become just what it had originally set out to skewer: it was now just another teen drama.

From Across the Pond: "Black Books"

One thing that everyone knows about me is my innate love of everything English. I spent a good deal of time during my childhood in the UK and attended Oxford. In between (and since), I've devoured everything quintessentially British: from novels to films to television over the years--first on good old PBS and then anglophile digital cable fix BBC America.

So I am not quite sure how the delightfully surreal comedy Black Books managed to escape my notice for so long. I caught the first series on DVD (it was just recently released in the States last month) and am enthralled by the bizarro second series, currently airing on BBC America.

Rarely have I ever seen a more bleak portrait of the working world or a more hateful and cruel character than Dylan Moran's grumbling Bernard Black, the owner of the titular London bookstore. Bernard is an anti-social, chain-smoking, drunk misanthrope who owns and "runs" a small, musty book shop. The fact that he has engaged in this particular way of earning a living is a mystery to everyone as Bernard truly hates dealing with members of the public and delights in tormenting his would-be customers.

His only friend in the world is the zany Fran Katzenjammer (Tamsin Greig), who works in the shop next door to Bernard's, which seems to sell only overpriced and unnecessary esoterica (in other words: junk). Fran is of course neurotic and single (read: man-crazy) and, like Bernard, completely eccentric and prone to drinking and smoking too much. The two have a deliciously one-sided friendship wherein neither really listens to anything the other says but they both depend totally upon one another. We've no idea how they met but only know that they've somehow become drinking partners (and Bernard usually has an open bottle or two about) during their many afternoon wine breaks.

Enter Manny. Manny (played by the irascible Bill Bailey) is a downtrodden, hyper-stressed accountant who detests his job and is desperate for a change. Chancing upon Bernard's shop, Manny buys a self-help book called "The Little Book of Calm," which offers such drivel as "When you're feeling under pressure, do something different. Roll up your sleeves, or eat an orange." Through a series of bizarre events, Manny ends up quitting and swallowing "The Little Book of Calm" and ends up in the hospital, where his doctor (played by a pre-Office Martin Freeman) is shocked to discover that the book has disappeared and has been assimiliated into Manny's very being. Manny escapes hospital and walks around London in a daze, a bearded and long-haired man in flowing white robes and sandals, offering advice and serenity to those he encounters ("When you sleep, you are a king surveying your estate. Look at the woodland, the peacocks on the lawn. Be the king of your own calm kingdom").

When Manny is attacked by a group of skinheads outside Bernard's shop, Bernard doesn't rush to Manny's defense in order to save a fellow human being, but rather to get out of doing his taxes due to grievous injury. Leaping into the fray ("Which one of you bitches wants to dance?"), Bernard is quickly beaten to a pulp and his life and shop irrevocably changed.

After the fight, Bernard agrees to hire Manny (with some prodding from Fran) to help him around the shop and Manny moves in with Bernard in the decrepit, filthy apartment over the shop. It soon falls to Manny to try to keep Bernard on the right path as the two become inseparable friends... although more often that not they are usually at one another's throats.

Along the way, the threesome shares a number of bizarre and surreal misadventures: destroying an irreplaceable wine collection while housesitting for a friend; installing a CIA-level security system in the shop, which leaves Bernard locked out (he takes a job at a fast food restaurant to avoid the rain) and Manny fending for himself inside; investigating the strange behavior of the walls in Fran's bedsit apartment, which seem to move of their own accord; and attempting to track down Manny after he runs away and becomes a nude model and escort to Japanese businessmen (I kid you not).

Ultimately, "Black Books" is a show so brilliantly twisted and deliciously surreal that it could have no home on American television.

But perhaps that's precisely what the self-loathing and misanthropic Bernard would have wanted.

"Black Books" airs Friday evenings at 8:00 pm PST on BBC America.

Channel Surfing: 2.22.06

Tracking the Fallout: The CW... vs. MY?

Apparently, networks are a lot like twenty-something female friends: as soon as one reproduces, they all want a baby too. FOX announced today via press release the creation of yet another brand-new network, called MY Network TV, which it will unveil this fall in an attempt to battle the merger of the WB and UPN into a single new entity called the CW, which will also be unveiled this fall. (Coincidence?) Fox Television Stations and Twentieth Television will operate the new venture.

My Network TV is schedued to launch on September 5th and will feature original network-quality primetime programming from 8:00 to 10:00pm six days a week (Monday through Saturday). Genres are expected to encompass reality, drama, comedy, game show, news, movies and talk formats.

The new hour-long scripted dramas “Desire” and “Secrets” (from Twentieth Television) will inaugurate My Network TV. The telenovela-style shows are structured in a 65-episode story arcs that will air Mondays through Fridays for 13 weeks.

Other programs currently in development at My Network TV include:

Catwalk: An America's Next Top Model-eqsue "ultimate" search for the next “It” supermodel.

Celebrity Love Island: Six celebrities and six non-celebrity singles are thrown together in a fantasy island setting.

On Scene: Crime investigation series will examine all of the evidence and trace every single clue of the most compelling crimes committed today.

America’s Brainiest: Quiz show, based on the hit British program, which will find the country’s smartest individuals.

And, just like that, the quest for last-place network begins anew.

No "Mercy" for Aquaman Actor

Yesterday brought news announcing the casting of Ving Rhames as lighthouse keeper/mentor McCaffrey (don't ask) and Denise Quinones as "Rachel Starling, a Navy fighter pilot and potential love interest for A.C." (seriously, don't ask) in the CW's Aquaman pilot, which currently has the, er, unusual working title of Mercy Reef.

But now the Hollywood Reporter is today reporting that the show has now recast its lead, Arthur "A.C." Curry (a.k.a. the titular Aquaman). Out is model/actor-hopeful Will Toale (cast when the show was developed by the WB) and in is former Passions star Justin Hartley.

Producers claim that Hartley has more acting experience that Toale, having played the very posh-sounding Nicholas Foxworth Crane on "Passions" for the last three years. But not having seen anything that either one of them acted in, I couldn't comment.

No word on whether Vince Chase will replace Hartley, should the CW call.

"Office" Romance

Sometimes you do receive good news in the mail. Kudos to my weekly entertainment fix Entertainment Weekly (that is, when I receive the mag on time) for putting Michael Scott (a.k.a. Steve Carell) and The Office on its cover this week (check your newsstands now). Since moving to its new berth on Thursdays at 9:30 pm last month, The Office has increased its viewership to an average of 9.1 million a week. (It also sits consistently at the top of iTunes' list of most downloaded shows.)

Among the gems in EW's cover story (a fantastic behind-the-scenes feature on the goings-on at Wernham-Hogg), I discovered that supporting cast members Paul Lieberstein (who plays human resources sad sap Toby) and Mindy Kaling--a.k.a. compulsively chatty customer service rep Kelly--also serve as writers on the show (as does B.J. Novak, who plays Ryan, office temp and the object of Michael's ongoing man-crush, but that I've known since the show's inception). Kaling also was responsible for writing and starring in the 2003 off-Broadway play, Matt & Ben, an imagined tale about how Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, er, discovered the script for "Good Will Hunting" (the screenplay literally fell from the ceiling into their laps). In the critically-lauded play, Kaling played a dim, party-boy version of Ben Affleck (so, not really all that different than in real life).

The article also informs the Office-philes among us that, "Adding to the show's clock-punching versimilitude, the set's computers have Internet access, so the actors can blog--as well as send email and pay bills--when they're supposed to be 'working' in the background." (Just like in a real office!)

But the most interesting tidbit of all comes from the show's meek Phyllis. Originally a professional burlesque dancer whose career ended in the 1980s when she was injured, Phyllis Smith (yes, like several of the Office supporting staff, that is her real name) was a casting associate on The Office when they were originally casting the pilot last year. She so amused the producers with her side readings, that they wrote her into the show as an actor.

The cover asks the question, "Is there anything that the 'Office' boss can't do?" After seeing Carell's incredible and vastly different performances in Anchorman, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, and The Office, I know that the answer to the above is a definite no: there's nothing that Carell can't do and as long as Carell keeps acting, I'll keep tuning in. (Hell, even Mr. Brokeback Mountain himself, Ang Lee, called Carell his "hero" recently.)

Of course, Michael Scott's answer would probably be a lot more inappropriate.

Channel Surfing: 2.19.06

"Fly" Guy Shoots Down Serenity Rumors

It seems E!'s Kristin isn't always so on the money. Joss Whedon, creator of Firefly (among other shows), shot down rumors (which I reported here) that the new CW network was making overtures to the cast and crew of Firefly (and big-budget sibling, Serenity) to resurrect the show this fall. Or as Joss himself put in his own inimitable style:

"Since everyone's all abuzz with the CW rumor, I have to get all official and say: WE'VE STARTED FILMING NEW EPISODES! Of Dateline. I'm such a troll. No, there haven't been any overtures from the CW as regards a SereniFly spin-off. I haven't even heard the orchestra tuning up."

Well, damn. That sound you hear is my dream of a Firefly revival being crushed.

"Lost" Boy (and Girls)

In other TV news, fan-favorite Drew Goddard, currently a writer on ABC's ongoing drama Alias, will be joining the writing team on Lost next season. Goddard, a former scribe on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and spin-off Angel, had written a Sawyer-centric episode of Lost during the show's first season, entitled "Outlaws," on a freelance basis. He'll join the staff as a supervising producer.

Having met Drew during my (brief) stint working on Buffy way back when (as Drew was starting out during the show's final season), I can say that it couldn't happen to a better guy or a more talented writer. Best of luck, Drew!

Also joining the Lost writers' room next season are outgoing Alias and ex-Charmed scribes Monica Breen and Alison Schapker.

Tracking the Fallout: The CW #2

Apparently, it's just gotten a hell of a lot more tough out there for mid-level television executives. Variety reports today that they expect about 100 job casulties resulting from the merger of the WB and UPN, even after the CW finalizes its staff picks, and likens the dire job market for mid-level television execs to that of television writers these last five years.

"If one is hell-bent on being a network TV executive, it's undeniable that there are fewer jobs available," former NBC Universal TV prexy David Kissinger tells Variety. "I think it's sad for anybody who's in a state of scrambling to find employment."

Experts believe that the situation will push quite a lot of TV execs out of the business altogether, although the burgeoning tech market may provide a possible home for some. Ex-ABC topper Lloyd Braun now runs Yahoo!'s entertainment division and has recruited several lower-level TV execs. Additionally, AOL's content deals with Mark Burnett and others, Google's recent push into the TV-on-demand via download market, and the re-branding of Bravo stepchild Trio as a broadband channel all demonstrate a possible shift in the industry.

Of course, it's too soon to tell whether the tech sector will prove to be exiled execs' new savior or whether instead we'll be seeing quite a few more out-of-work d-guys and gals searching the classifieds at the local Coffee Bean.

Bidding Adieu to the Ricky Gervais Podcast... For Now

Tomorrow marks the end of the landmark twelve-episode run of the brilliant Ricky Gervais Show podcast, featuring the always-hysterical Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant, and Karl Pilkington. Over the course of the last three months, that talented trio has brought us the exploits of monkeys in space and around the world, fascinating insights in the form of Karl's vacation diary, and a number of ear-splintering jingles by Ricky.

But before you shed a tear (or several), I can happily report that the boys are just taking a brief respite before beginning a new podcast series just one week later. The following week (28th of February to be precise) will bring us Season Two of the Ricky Gervais Show "with added drivel" and will be available for download from the iTunes music store and Audible.

As the promo materials tell us: "Imagine! More "Karl's Diary", the return of "Rockbusters", and all the usual rubbish that results when Ricky Gervais and Steve Merchant trawl the shallow depths of Karl Pilkington's mind."

Personally, I cannot wait.

Nothing last forever, however. The formerly-free podcast will now be available for $1.99 per "episode." Hell, it was only a matter of time before they Ricky & Co. figured out that they could actually, you know, make money off of this.

Why Everybody Can't Hate "Chris"

Out of this current season's pilots, one of the shows I was most impressed with was Everybody Hates Chris, which nailed the tone and feel of the show in its first five minutes. Set in the Bed-Stuy neighborhood of Brooklyn in the early 1980s, it tells the story of 13-year-old Chris, an intelligent but unlucky kid who finds himself the only African-American in an Italian-American high school, and is narrated by Chris Rock, on whose life this is (loosely) based.

Reminiscent of the early episodes of FOX single-camera sitcom Malcolm in the Middle, the show has a smart-alecky humor and tough-love heart that are missing from most laugh-track "traditional" sitcoms. While each episode's title begins with "Everyone Hates..." it's hard not to love a show that features a red-haired Italian teenage bully, non-verbal (and subtitled) confrontations between the parents who can communicate whole paragraphs with a single look, and thieves who live on the block and steal from residents by asking, "Can I hold your five dollars?"

While the main story often revolves around Chris, one of the most rewarding elements of the show is how Chris' story contrasts or highlights the subplots with his family: dad Julius, who is able to calculate the cost of any item, even spilled milk; mom Rochelle, a "ghetto snob" who shudders at the thought of anyone thinking they use food stamps or need handouts; younger brother Drew, a kung-fu obsessed ladykiller who--while younger than Chris--is actually taller than him; and little sister Tanya, a spoiled brat who has their father wrapped around her little finger.

While the entire cast is exceptional, I have to single out Tichina Arnold, who plays Rochelle as a momma tiger of a woman willing to sacrifice everything for her beloved kids--except her $12/week chocolate turtle habit--who quits her lousy temp jobs with the memorable catchphrase, "I don't need this. My man has two jobs!" She's also the only actor that could threaten a teenage babysitter by telling her husband, "I'm gonna kick her ass. Hold my wig," and still manage to come off as totally loveable and completely loopy at the same time.

Of course, the show would not be possible without the considerable charm and exceptional skill of the show's lead, Tyler James Williams. His performance is so smooth and so natural that it's hard to believe that he didn't actually live through all of this. (I guess Sesame Street is sort of a summer stock-like training ground for young, talented actors.)

In fact, the kid is so cool and awkward and self-aware that you just want to believe that somehow there's some way that he does grow up to become Chris Rock.

"Everybody Hates Chris" airs Thursdays at 8 pm on UPN (for now).

Messages in a Bottle: LOST Thoughts #2

While last week's episode focused on Sawyer's long con of the castaways and his cunning theft of the guns, last night's episode ("One of Them") ratcheted up the suspense to Season One levels. While there's been no further electric black smoke-sightings, this week brought us slightly closer to solving some of the island's mysteries (while creating a few new ones).

This week, several things jumped out at me:

Jack nearly prevents Locke from entering the numbers in time to stop the timer from reaching zero. Unfortunately (or fortunately for the viewers), Locke doesn't make it in time and the counter then begins to flip, displaying a series of red and black figures or glyphs that suggest the following shapes: a man, a boat, a plane, a bird, and finally a squiggle that could symbolize a snake or a rope or a hook. But just before the final figure appears, Locke manages to press the execute button. Hmmm, does this mean that nothing happens when the counter reaches zero? Or that it signals the triggering some sort of program? (A fail-safe?) I kept half-expecting the blast doors (remember those?) to come crashing down around John and have the computer vaporize him or something. But still Locke keeps the incident close to his chest and doesn't mention anything to Jack or Sayid. Locke keep a secret? Nah, he's such a blabbermouth.

The Other. I kept going back and forth about whether or not he was truly an Other or yet another castaway on the island but, like Sayid, I found the story about his wife's death too... convenient and vague. And then the final shot of him crouching in the armory leaves me with no doubt whatsoever: he's one of Them. I love how they have elaborate cover stories that could very well be possible. But a hot-air balloon? Are we in Oz? Which leads me to notice his curious nom-de-guerre: Henry Gale. As in Dorothy Gale's Uncle Henry? And gale as in wind, which carries a hot air balloon aloft? Too coincidental. Which leads me to believe that this Other's cover story is just that: hot air.

One of the U.S. Army officers that escorts Sayid is none other than Kate's dad (not the one she blew up), who asks Sayid if he has a wife or a family. The camera shows us a quick shot of the photograph he's tenderly holding: a picture of a young Kate. Hmmm, two Kate-related intersections in the past two weeks.

(An aside for those of us who watched HBO's dearly departed supernatural Dust Bowl series Carnivale: was anyone else creeped out about Brother Justin (a.k.a. Clancy Brown) playing Joe Inman, the U.S. army interrogator who taught Sayid his, er, skills? I hope this isn't the last we see of him.)

Our castaways seem to be forming two disparate groups that can't seem to co-exist for much longer: a seek and destroy group (Sayid, Locke, Charlie, and Sawyer) that seems to follow Rousseau's way of thinking (kill or be killed) and a sort of live and let life group (Jack, Hurley, Kate) that feels that defense is the way to go and feels a bit squeamish about, you know, torturing and murdering a possible Other. The best use of this division was when Sawyer and Hurley finally found that tree frog that was keeping Sawyer awake. While Hurley wants to take the frog far away where he won't bother anyone, Sawyer knows better and crushes the wee froggie in his hand.

Next episode (whenever that may be): With clinical psychiatrist Libby's help, Claire remembers something about her missing memory--namely the two weeks she was kidnapped--leading her to retrace her steps and uncover another hidden Dharma Initiative station. One that seems to have as its symbol a caduceus*... or is it a Rod of Asclepius**? (See below, from Wikipedia.)

*Caduceus:
In the seventh century, the caduceus came to be associated with a precursor of medicine, based on the Hermetic astrological principles of using the planets and stars to heal the sick. The caduceus is used interchangeably with the Rod of Asclepius, especially in the United States. Historically, the two astrological symbols had distinct meanings in alchemical and astrological principles. Occasionally the caduceus may be combined with a DNA double-helix, which the intertwined snakes coincidentally resemble.

**Rod of Asclepius:
The Rod of Asclepius is an ancient Greek symbol associated with astrology and healing the sick with medicine. It consists of a serpent entwined around a staff. Asclepius was the god of healing in ancient Greek mythology. He was instructed in medicine by the centaur Chiron, also connected to the constellation Ophiuchus. In Astrology, some systems include a thirteenth sign of the zodiac, which is the constellation Ophiuchus, and is known as Ophiuchus Serpentarius (the "serpent holder"). This constellation lies between Sagittarius and Libra in the astrological charts. The Rod of Asclepius is frequently confused with the caduceus, which is a symbol of commerce associated with the god Hermes.

I Heart "Veronica Mars"

I woke up this morning to discover something truly shocking and upsetting: due to the dismal performance of the dreadful drama South Beach, UPN is pulling the new episodes of Veronica Mars until the next cycle of America's Next Top Model starts up again in March, providing the show with a stronger lead-in.

The news upsets me for two reasons: (1) now I have nothing to watch after Lost tonight and (2) those of us wise enough to realize that Veronica Mars is the best damn drama on television won't get any new episodes for nearly a month... Far too long to find out what is going on in Neptune.

I will admit that I was, er, skeptical when I first heard about the show two years ago. A teenage P.I.? On UPN of all places? But I sat down to watch a copy of the pilot with very low expectations and instead found myself sucked in immediately to Veronica's world. I was instantly hooked. And instantly smitten. And two years later, the plots continue to come fast and furious, the mysteries have become more engaging, and the characters unexpectedly rewarding (Mac & Beaver, I am talking about you!).

For those of you not up to speed, a quick Veronica Mars primer: In the small fictional enclave of Neptune, CA., Veronica is a spunky high-schooler whose best friend Lily Kane is suddenly and brutally murdered. Veronica's dad, the town sheriff, goes on a personal vendetta to bring Lily's killer to justice but instead loses his job as a result and opens a private detective agency, where Veronica, now a social outcast, works after school. Veronica has her own agenda--namely clearing her dad and discovering who really killed Lily--and ends up solving a lot of nifty mysteries along the way, while navigating the traumas of adolescence and the difficulties of high school.

If that last part sounds a little like Buffy, you're right: Veronica Mars is far and away a worthy successor to the throne of Very Important Teen Drama that's really about growing up and entering adulthood with certain responsbilities (i..e, saving the world, upholding truth and justice) thrust upon you.

Veronica Mars stars Kristen Bell as the spunkiest, wittiest, and cleverest heroine this side of Sunnydale and yet imbues Veronica's every action with heart, soul, and a hunger for truth. Fortunately, Veronica is no crusading journalist (they dropped that subplot early on) but a teen P.I. with a hunkering for quick cash (especially as her no-good alcoholic mother ran off with her college savings last season) and an outsider in a racially- and economically-divided town who's not above charging her wealthier clients an arm and a leg for her detecting services.

One of the things I love about the show is the alternate world that showrunner Rob Thomas has created, where a girl as smart, cute, and feisty as Veronica would be a social zero. Yet week after week, Veronica finds herself fending for herself (sometimes aided by best-friend Wallace and computer geek Mac), caught between with local hood Weevil and his bike gang and the world she used to know, embodied by rich boys Duncan (her ex-boyfriend and Lily's brother) and jackass Logan. But at the end of the day, she always finds time to exchange side-achingly funny bon mots and snappy banter with her dad.

Said dad, Keith Mars (played with aplomb by Enrico Colantoni), is the best dad on television: funny, embarassing, and willing to jump through flames to rescue his beloved daughter. While the mysteries may be interesting, it's the realness of their affection and the tenderness of their bond that grounds the show and keeps me coming back for more.

That and to see how Veronica yet again manages to outwit everyone around her each week.

"Veronica Mars" airs Wednesday evenings at 9 pm on UPN (for now).

Channel Surfing: 2.14.06

"Girl" Talk:

CNN's Entertainment section dissects the fallout from the Lorelai/Rory split on Gilmore Girls (as discussed here) and interviews Lauren Graham about her reservations about the storyline ("I struggled with the idea that this character, being the parent, would go so far as to stop speaking to her daughter and not make more of an effort.") while showrunners Amy Sherman Palladino and Daniel Palladino defend the approach they took:

"To really rock Rory's world, we had to go to what the core of the show was and to really have them have a rift and explore what the show would be," Sherman-Palladino said. "I know there are two camps. Personally, for me, I've loved the psychological implications of this year more than any other year because we've really gotten to do some real mother-daughter stories."

Think deeply about the characters, and the silence rings true, she said. Lorelai has spent her life trying to do everything differently from her own mother. And if it was Lorelai taking time off from Yale, her mother would have personally dragged her back to school.

Not entirely sure I agree with Amy. I found the first half of the season a total bore (but that could have been the execution of the above rather than the intent... or the fact that they didn't actually write any of the episodes) but I wish that they could have mined the rift between the two to really get at the issues that both Rory and Lorelai have been denying existed for so many years. Lorelai has acted for the most part like a friend to Rory rather than her mother and for the first time really tried to put her foot down and discipline her daughter, but at age 20, it's really too late for her to assert that role.

CNN also asks the pair about the likelihood of them returning to do the show next season (possibly its last). While they are still staying mum, as it were, about them returning, they do say that the season finale will feature a cliffhanger ending (a wedding--but perhaps it's not Luke and Lorelai's?) and are making plans for the show to continue, even if they are not at the helm.

"Serenity" Now... and Later?:

E!'s resident gossiphound Kristin has scoop about the possibility of another small-screen incarnation of fan-favorite Firefly, whose twisted history includes the cult TV series of the same name on FOX and the recent Universal Pictures feature Serenity, may have found a new life back on television, this time with nascent network The CW. Says Kristin:

I've heard the CW is considering bringing it back as a series, miniseries or movie for next season. Hurrah! For you who missed my message board posting, on Tuesday, Nate Fillion, Summer Glau and Gina Torres were seen coming out of one of the exec buildings at Paramount, where they are putting together the new CW unit.

From your mouth to the TV gods' ears, Kristin.

"Drive" Shaft:

Speaking of Firefly, the show's former producer, Tim Minear, has a new show called Drive that just got picked up to pilot on Firefly's former berth FOX, according to today's Variety. The show is described as a drama revolving around an illegal cross-country road race, a la Amazing Race (a.k.a. the best reality show on TV), but "on acid." The pilot, from studio 20th Century Fox Television, is written by Minear and Ben Queen ("Century City," "100 Weddings").

No news if Race's host extraordinaire Phil Keoghan will be waiting at the finish line.

Ten Reasons Why the "Arrested" Finale Rocked

Devotees of FOX's scandalously underrated comedy Arrested Development gathered around the box Friday night to watch the show's final four episodes, which effectively wrapped up some dangling plot threads from the last three seasons... while still leaving open the door for the show to possibly return (come on, Mitch and Showtime!). For me, the experience was definitely bittersweet. After waiting so long for any new episodes of Arrested, I devoured the two hours but couldn't quite fathom why FOX would unceremoniously dump the finale during the opening, er, ceremonies of the Olympics. (Haven't we Arrested fans been through enough already, FOX?) Meanwhile, I laughed, I cried, and I had to rewatch some parts over again several times because I was laughing and crying so hard.

If you've never watched the show, more's the pity as the following will probably make no sense whatsoever, but to those Arrested-addicts among us, these are ten reasons why the finale rocked:

10. Kissin' cousins George-Michael and Maeby get hitched.

9. The studio executive job that Maeby conned her way into in the second season is ruined when George-Michael invites all of her Hollywood friends (including R. Howard, P. Hilton, and Mickey Rooney) to her surprise 16th birthday party.

8. Justine Bateman plays a call girl in the employ of GOB's puppet Franklin.

7. Lindsay attempts to seduce Michael when she learns he isn't her brother... and then when Michael says he doesn't usually go for "older" women, she beats the hell out of him.

6. In order to get out of testifying at the Bluth family's mock trial, an anxiety-ridden Buster fakes a coma, to hilarious (and jaw-dropping) effect.

5. "Sorry it took so long," a C.I.A. agent escorting Michael, GOB, and Buster boys says of the traffic in Iraq. "The Cheney Expressway was backed up all the way to Halliburton Drive."

4. The swipe taken at My Name is Earl for hilariously mocking the hit NBC show's irritating talking magazine ads. In this case, the ads repeatedly tell the listener, "My Name is... Judge," referring to a fictional courtroom show starring Judge Reinhold as a, er, judge.

3. Ron Howard makes an appearance as himself, who--upon being pitched the rights to Maeby's story--decides that it really doesn't sound like a series after all... but perhaps a movie?

2. Long-suffering father and son team Michael and George-Michael seem to sail off into the sunset, leaving their family to deal with the mess they've created... only to discover that George, Sr. has once again managed to stow away.

And what Arrested fans have waited years for:

1. Annyong returns (finally!) to wreak his revenge upon Lucille and utters the now classic line, "My real name is 'Hello.'"

Can't Get "Arrested" in This Town

The (possibly) final four episodes of the supremely brilliant comedy Arrested Development are airing tonight, heaped together into a two-hour block. FOX has yanked viewers of this amazing show around for the last three seasons, changing timeslots, pulling it off the air for months at a time, airing the episodes out of order, etc. In other words: typical FOX modus operandi.

Hopefully tonight isn't the last outing of the Bluth family, a family so crazy and self-absorbed that it makes me value my own family that much more. According to USA Today, it's still possible that the show could find another home on ABC (less likely) or Showtime (more likely), as a companion piece to Weeds, but it's not looking good.

Until our prayers are answered (and there are many of us willing to follow the Bluth clan to cable), tonight’s final episodes, which introduce Justine Bateman as Nellie Bluth—a new, secret Bluth daughter—may be the last we see of their topsy-turvy world for a while.

One glitch that’s holding things up on a possible deal with Showtime is whether or not the show’s creator Mitch Hurwitz will stay on with the show.

According to USA Today, Hurwitz says he's interested, but exhausted from the show's labor-intensive editing and wants to take a break before making a move. "I'm really torn,” Hurwitz told USA Today. “It's a really important show to me, but on the other hand, maybe it has lived the life it needs to live. What weighs against it is it's a soul-crushing amount of work."

Come on, Mitch! If Arrested’s Bluths have taught us nothing, it’s that if the ship is going down, you might as well have a drunken, debauched time while it sinks. And hopefully tonight is no exception.

"Arrested Development" airs tonight (in yet another timeslot—possibly its final one) on FOX at 8:00 pm PST.

Messages in a Bottle: LOST Thoughts

While last night's episode ("The Long Con") focused more on Sawyer's plan to con the castaways and gain control of the guns (and therefore the tribe), there wasn't much to speculate or theorize on, compared to other recent episodes (mysterious black electricity-laden smoke, weird Virgin Mary fantasies, cursed numbers, and ominous computers).

However, a few things did manage to pop out at me:

The book that Locke is handling (upside-down no less) in the hatch as Sawyer comes in is An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge, by Ambrose Bierce, which recounts the story of a man condemned to death by hanging at Owl Creek Bridge, only to escape when the rope breaks. However, the story's twist ending reveals that the entire story is imagined in the moments between being pushed off the bridge and his neck breaking. Does this mean that our castaways are in purgatory? Or that the events we are watching are merely imagined (by whom?) during the plane crash?

The waitress in the diner (where Sawyer meets with his partner) is none other than Kate's mom, played again by Beth Broderick. While her appearance is limited to telling us about the diner's chicken salad (made only with white meat and no celery!), it's yet another indication of how the castaways' lives intersected before the crash.

Hurley finds a manuscript for a book on the island called Bad Twin (by apparently dead castaway Gary Troup) and begins reading it. Hmmm, parallels to the symbolic uses of doubles and mirror images on the island perhaps? In a sign of continuing corporate synergy, Disney sister company Hyperion Books will be releasing the book on May 2nd.

Hooded Charlie. Charlie is working with Sawyer on his con and it was he who faked the abduction of Sun... but he declines the offer of the Virgin Mary (and the heroin it contains) when Sawyer offers it to him as payment. So he's evil but not using then? The only time Charlie was seen wearing his hood was early on in the show when he was using but now it seems to represent his journey to the dark side. Which means: who sent the vision to him about saving Aaron? And did it want him to save the Aaron... or kill him?

Next week: a stranger--possibly one of the Others--is captured, Sayid sees himself as a "torturer," and the numbers on the counter tick down to zero...

Tuning Out: Why I Stopped Watching "Desperate Housewives"

Every now and then I find myself wondering why I continue to watch a particular show, given the lack of satisfaction I get from watching it. Think of it as: When Good Shows Go Bad. For a number of reasons, I find my willing suspension of disbelief nearly impossible and I begin to take fault with tinny dialogue or the believability of characters' actions, and entire storylines begin to become incomprehensible to me.

Such is the case with Desperate Housewives, a show I once tuned in to watch with relish every Sunday evening. Picture it: Autumn 2004, a time filled with the promise of new and exciting shows like Lost, Veronica Mars, and Desperate Housewives, two of which had energized the stagnant ABC and got people talking around watercoolers or coffee pots or wherever people gather nowadays in offices.

At first, Desperate Housewives was a delicious hodgepotch of elements: soapy female-driven domestic drama on one hand, but also a given to pratfalls, arson, same-sex shenanigans, and murder. Hell, the show even gave us a suicide in the pilot's open moments and had the victim, Mary Alice (Brenda Strong, though she was played by Twin Peaks' resident corpse Sheryl Lee in the original pilot), continue to narrate the show from beyond the grave with her now trademark overripe household witticisms.

(Some have even deigned to categorize the show as a comedy and festooned it with all sorts of awards on that account. Personally, I find the matter baffling as the only times I have ever laughed at the show was during Mary Alice's unintentionally tongue-in-cheek narration. But the less said of the show as comedy, the better.)

What was compelled the first season's plots was the mystery surrounding why Mary Alice, perfect wife and mother, offed herself as her four best friends--Gabrielle, Bree, Susan, and Lynette... and sometimes their slutty neighbor Edie--attempted to make sense of the tragedy and figure out who was trying to blackmail Mary Alice and why anyone with teeth that pearly white would risk eternal damnation to get away permanently from Wisteria Lane. Along the way, Teri Hatcher's Susan and Mike continued their on-again, off-again romance (even managing once to sit through dinner when Mike was shot), Lynette struggled with a pack of terrible tots, Bree kept up her icy Martha Stewart-esque reign of perfection, and Gabrielle fooled around with the teenage gardener John behind her husband Carlos' back.

And then something happened. We found out why Mary Alice killed herself: it had something complicated to do with murdering the birth mother of their "adopted" (read: kidnapped) son Zach, who happened to be Mike's son, who shoved down the stairs one Felicia Tillman, the sister of the blackmailer Martha Huber, who ended up being murdered by Mary Alice's husband Paul. Like I said, it was complicated but seemed to make sense--at least in the world of Wisteria Lane--at the time.

With the resolution of that major plotline, much of the oomph seemed to go out of the girls' sails. Mary Alice still continues to narrate the show for some morbid reason, though I would imagine that with the matter of her suicide solved, the poor woman could finally rest in peace and stop haunting the street.

And instead of involved, compelling plots, the writers have instead had Gabrielle face off against a seductive street-smart nun (yes, you read that correctly), had Bree date the pharmacist that murdered her husband and then watch as he slowly died after swallowing too many pills, and introduced a new family on the block: the Applewhites.

Mater familias Betty Applewhite (played by the divine Alfre Woodard) harbors a deadly secret of her own--she keeps a man, presumably her son Caleb (though I will admit I stopped watching before this was made abundantly clear), locked in the basement of their house because he had killed a young girl and Betty feels responsible and therefore must play jailor to her ice cream-loving yet homicidal son.

Meanwhile, the relationship between mismatched lovebirds Susan and Mike, that was so much fun the first year, quickly turned tedious. As soon as the show had Susan, running down Wisteria Lane (in a wedding dress no less) crying to Mike and attempting to apologize to her lover for sending his errant and sociopathic son Zach on a wild goose chase, I knew that their courtship had plateaued and I felt like the one sent on a wild goose chase.

So, for these reasons--and many, many more--I must bid farewell to those women of Wisteria Lane. As Mary Alice might say, "Every week on Wisteria Lane brings with it a new set of lies. That the show can improve, or that Susan will stop sobbing over Mike and tripping over backwards. We persuade ourselves that yes, Bree really would fix Rex's tie as he lies there in the coffin, or that Carlos would never actually catch Gabrielle and John making out. Yes, each week after the show has aired, we lie to ourselves in a desperate, desperate hope that come next week... it will all be better."

Fortunately, I know better now.

"Gilmore Girls": What a Difference a Week Makes

We were thisclose to recapturing the wit, energy, and spark of Gilmore Girls with the last few episodes, penned by the ever-wonderful show's creator, Amy Sherman Palladino. The first half of the season--which saw a lack of any episodes written by Amy or her writer-producer husband Daniel Palladino--devolved into a soppy mess wherein Rory and Lorelai went their separate ways after a fanastic and brilliant season finale. While the concept behind the jaw-dropping split made sense (with Rory dropping out of Yale, moving out of Lorelai's house, and moving in with grandparents-from-hell Richard and Emily), the execution was extremely flawed to say the least... especially without Amy and Daniel at the helm.

So imagine my excitement when we had two back-to-back brand new episodes written by Amy herself! We got back the Gilmore Girls of yesteryear--snappy repartee, the best ever Friday night dinner with Emily and Richard, the Gilmore girls reuniting, Rory moving in with Paris and returning to Yale, true and real emotional connections between my beloved characters. Even the ridiculous plotline with Luke discovering he had a twelve-year-old daughter suddenly made sense and took on new dimensions and depth. I was in heaven, envisioning a brilliant second half of a lackluster season...

And then I watched last night's episode. And was sucked back to earth.

It wasn't...bad. It just wasn't very good, especially coming off Amy's two episodes. The scenes seemed awkward, the dialogue stilted and overwritten, the Michel plotline mind-bogglingly dull and out-of-place (I'm sure Yanic has a certain number of episodes committment and this was counting towards that after not being seen for a while). Plus, Rory had helmet head. Not a good look for the girl. Especially, when she's been looking so gorgeous of late.

The lesson: an Amy-and-Daniel-free Gilmore Girls is not a Good Thing. With the show a near lock to return next season on the new CW network, I can only hope that they renew their executive producer deals and bring them on board for next season (and any subsequent ones). I'm sad for the loss of the new show they'd been working on (reportedly a Philadelphia Story-esque romantic dramedy), but hope this means that they can stay on Gilmore Girls at least for a little while longer.

Fortunately, I checked my TiVo as soon as the episode ended to see who had written next week's episode... and was relieved to see it was written by Daniel. I breathe a sigh of relief. While we never know what life may bring us next, at least I know I'm in store for a top-notch episode of Gilmore Girls next week.

What a difference a week makes.

Gilmore Girls airs Tuesday evenings at 8 pm on the WB (for now, anyway).

Channel Surfing: 2.7.06

Tracking the Fallout: The CW:

Everyone here in LA--at least those of us in the TV biz--went crazy over the news a few weeks back that network smallfry, the WB and UPN, were merging into a new, super-sized single netlet called--of all things--the CW, a rather tepid combination of CBS and Warner Bros.' first intials.

Rumors flew about which shows would be saved (please for the love of god, keep Veronica Mars, Gilmore Girls, and Everybody Hates Chris on the air!) and which would be cancelled (One Tree Hill, I am looking at you), giving those of us with not much to do the opportunity to create new combined network fantasy schedules while pretending to look busy at work.

Today's Los Angeles Times Calendar section has an article about the fallout among the networks' program creator/producers--specifically those who have midseason replacement shows about to air--as they battle it out among themselves for those precious pennies of network advertising and promotion money that still remain in the coffers. Which, come to think of it, could be the perfect new show for the CW's fall slate.

Chimpanzee That! Monkey News:

If you get the meaning behind this post's title, you are either a huge Ricky Gervais fan, or you and I are in fact the same person.

There's obviously something Office-related in the air. According to Britain's Mirror, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant will write an episode of the American version of The Office to air next year. And apparently Gervais and Merchant have expressed a desire to do more than just that single script.

Meanwhile, I wait with baited breath that such a creative confluence will occur. It almost seems to good to be true.

Also, congrats to Ricky, Stephen, and Karl as well, for winning the Guinness World Record for most downloaded podcast... ever.

"Bleak House" is far from, er, bleak

Okay. I will admit it: I am a sucker for TV costume dramas... especially when they are well-made, produced by the BBC, and adapted into multiple hours. I've stared mesmerized for hours at the fantastic 6-hour Colin Firth/Jennifer Ehle opus Pride and Prejudice, the twisty and addictive Our Mutual Friend, and the thrilling adaptation of Dickens confidante Wilkie Collins' The Woman in White, among others.

And with the latest addition to the oeuvre, the BBC's brilliant adaptation of Charles Dickens' multi-layered novel, Bleak House, the BBC has outdone itself in every aspect. Adapted with skill by screenwriter Andrew Davies, Bleak House aired in the UK last year to critical and commercial acclaim. Structured as a nighttime soap (sort of like EastEnders with street urchins and Chancery suits), the BBC aired the series as 15 half-hour installments twice a week, keeping the serialized aspect of Dickens' original novel.

Fortunately, when Bleak House arrived across the Atlantic, PBS realized that the drama addicts such as myself couldn't just watch a half-hour episode and then wait a few days for another installment. Instead, those wise sybils shuffled the structure into a two-hour premiere and finale and four one-hour episodes in between.

The cast for such an endeavor is, as one would expect, top-notch. Charles Dance as the evil Mr. Tulkinghorn and Gillian Anderson as the icy Lady Dedlock provide the two most recognizable faces in the bunch, but standouts include Anna Maxwell Martin (Esther Summerson), Dennis Lawson (John Jarndyce), Carey Mulligan (Ada Clare), and Burn Gorman (Guppy), who turns in a chilling performance as the oily Esther-obssessed young lawyer who unknowingly propells the plot (and several characters' ultimate fates) with each move.

So far, the plot of Bleak House is like literary crack and contains everything one expect from Dickens and more: mistaken identity, assumed names, duplicitous detectives, orphans, saintly street-crossing cleaners, star-crossed lovers, lawsuits, and a case of spontaneous combustion. Yes, you read that last bit right: Dickens kills