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Archive for the 'TV: Scripted shows' Category

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Wednesday highlights: Tired chefs, bad songs

November 18th, 2009, 8:29 am by The Watcher

Jennifer - Dead chef walking?Interesting bits from tonight’s prime-time schedule:

Cooking without gas: The once-obvious final four of “Top Chef” appears obvious no more. The Voltaggio Brothers and Kevin Gillespie still look like locks, but former Iron Chef Jennifer Carroll seems to have rusted out. Does she go home tonight, or will she limp along for one more week? We find out at 10 on Bravo. (A special note to fans of “Top Chef” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm”: The restaurant featured in last Sunday’s episode of “Curb,” L.A. Farm in Santa Monica, is run by former “Top Chef” contestant Stefan Richter.

Wish I hadn’t looked: One of the high points of the Watcher’s week is peeking at the list of songs we’ll be hearing on the upcoming episode of “Glee.” Imagine my glee at seeing that two of tonight’s numbers rank among history’s worst: “(You’re) Having My Baby” and “Endless Love.” I don’t care to hear either, even if sung by Lea Michelle. We’ll hope the rest of the episode is better. 9 on Fox.

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Posted in: TV: Reality shows • TV: Scripted shows • The Watcher • Top Chef • | 2 Comments »

Tuesday highlights: Heroes and villains

November 17th, 2009, 8:39 am by The Watcher

Heather LocklearSome interesting items from tonight’s TV schedule:

The villain: Amanda’s back! Heather Locklear returns to her most famous role as the evil Amanda Woodward on the revival of “Melrose Place.” When we last saw Amanda, she had faked her own death to escape murder charges and fled to a tropical island refuge. Tonight’s two big questions: How do the writers undo all that? And will Heather be enough of  a draw to save this sinking series? Stay tuned. 9 p.m. on the CW.

The hero: After landing on the moon in 1969, Neil Armstrong became an increasingly reclusive figure. British journalist Andrew Smith attempts to profile the American hero in “Being Neil Armstrong.” 8 p.m. on BBC America.

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‘Hank,’ ‘Dollhouse’ get the chop

November 11th, 2009, 2:49 pm by The Watcher

eliza-dushkuTwo of prime-time’s most notoriously underperforming shows got the ax Wednesday.

“Hank,” the Kelsey Grammer vehicle, will end immediately. Ten episodes have been filmed but only have aired. ABC did not say what plans it has for the unaired installments. If they show up at all, they probably will be “burned off” around Christimas or next summer.

Of the four new comedies ABC rolled out on Wednesdays, “Hank” was the only one that failed - both in the ratings and creatively. The surprise isn’t that “Hank” was cancelled but that its 1987-era concept was greenlighted in the first place.

“Dollhouse” will receive a slightly mor humane fate. Fox will return it as planned in December with double episodes on Fridays, but the series will go away once the season’s 13 episodes are done.

The sci-fi drama, created by Joss Whedon and starring Eliza Dushku, created a big buzz among former “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer” fans, but too few of them showed up to watch.

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Wednesday highlights: Music and more music

November 11th, 2009, 10:12 am by The Watcher

Taylor Swift winsSome highlights of the Wednesday schedule:

‘Glee’ is in: The World Series knocked our favorite new show, “Glee,” off of the Fox schedule for a couple of weeks, but the performers from William McKinley High return tonight at 9. Featured songs include “Proud Mary” and “Dancing With Myself.”

Country is out: How sad is it that the current standard bearer for country music - a genre that has produced some of America’s greatest vocalists and songwriters - is a 19-year-old pop star who can’t sing? If this doesn’t bother you, then by all means tune into the Country Music Awards for the coronation of Taylor Swift. The three-hour extravaganza begins at 8 on ABC.

Posted in: TV: Reality shows • TV: Scripted shows • The Watcher • • • | 4 Comments »

‘Eastwick’ the latest not to be cancelled

November 10th, 2009, 12:53 pm by The Watcher

Saw you the weird sisters?

Over the past several years, networks had been cancelling new shows at the first sign of trouble - sometimes after just one or two episodes.

This year, “The Beautiful Life: TBL” got the ax after two weeks, but since then, nothing. Apparently, the broadcasters are going to let new shows play out tall their string before cutting it off.

“Trauma” was the first series to be uncancelled. NBC said recently that its first - and presumably, last - season would end after 13 episodes. Today, ABC gave the same sentence to “Eastwick”: 13 epsiodes and out.

That’s hardly a surprise. “Eastwick” is getting clubbed in its 10 p.m. Wednesday time slot by “CSI: NY” and has been pre-empted for specials the next two weeks.

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Tuesday highlights: Aliens, dancers, bikers

November 10th, 2009, 11:08 am by The Watcher

Elizabeth Mitchell of 'V'Some viewing considerations for the evening:

Aliens among us: “V” rolls out its second episode at 8 p.m. on ABC. The Watcher is less interested in the story than in the ratings. How many of those 14 million viewers will be back for a second dose of aliens? I could barely make it to the end of episode one. Certainly the most disappointing new show of the season so far.

Your vote counts: The top 16 perform on “So You Think You Can Dance,” and for the first time this season, you get to help decide who goes home. Now that the World Series is done, “SYTYCD”  returns to two episodes a week, and the phone lines open tonight. 8 p.m. on Fox.

Biker bonanza: It’s a good night for Harley-Davidson fans. There’s a new episode of the outstanding drama “Sons of Anarchy” on FX. Plus, there’s the premiere of “Full Throttle Saloon” on TruTV. It’s a reality series about a biker bar that is open just two weeks a year, during the annual biker rally in Sturgis, S.D. Both air at 10 p.m.

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Posted in: TV: Reality shows • TV: Scripted shows • The Watcher • • • • | 2 Comments »

The kind of news that makes you want to cry

November 9th, 2009, 2:46 pm by The Watcher

KhloeThe final episode “Mad Men” drew 2.3 million viewers Sunday night, up one-third from the season two finale.

Sound pretty good, right? Intelligent drama on the rise. But it was crushed by the two-hour special edition of “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” that focused on the recent wedding of Khloe Kardashian and Lakers star Lamar Odom.

That drew 3.2 million viewers.

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Friday highlights: Are there any?

November 6th, 2009, 9:37 am by The Watcher

Ricky Gervais runs 'The Office'Friday is a tough viewing night, what with the networks backing off and the cable channels often filling their cards with sports and movies. Here are two decent choices, something old and something new:

New: USA’s new series “White Collar” is pleasantly amusing in the USA style of “Monk,” “Psych” and “Burn Notice.” Tim DeKay finally gets a role where he’s not a goofball or a psychopath. Callie Thorne guest stars tonight at 10.

Old: Friday can be a good time to seek out an old series you missed or want to rewatch. One that you must see, if you haven’t already, is the original British version of “The Office.” Cartoon Network runs an episode from season two at 9.

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News bits: We welcome our alien overlords

November 4th, 2009, 5:26 pm by The Watcher

V for victoryAll of ABC’s promotion for “V” appears to have paid off.

The show averaged nearly 14 million viewers in its premiere hour Tuesday night and - more importantly to the network - bested “NCIS” among 18-to-49-year-olds.

The Watcher thought the first 10 minutes were spectacular, but I was less impressed with the next 50. We’ll get three more episodes of “V” before it goes on vacation until March.

In other news:

* The Jake Pavelka edition of “The Bachelor” will begin Jan. 4. This will be the first season broadcast in high-definition.

* CBS cut the season order for “Numb3rs” from 22 episodes to 16. “Numb3rs” clearly was a bubble show even before the news. This makes it more likely that we’re watching the final season.

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Tuesday highlight: The return of ‘V’

November 3rd, 2009, 10:54 am by The Watcher

They're hereTonight’s top story: The reimagining of “V” starts at 8 p.m. on ABC.

“V,” about an alien invasion of Earth, first appeared as a two-part miniseries in 1983 that spawned a sequel and then a full-blown series. The original is best remembered for its sexy aliens, outrageous ’80s hairstyles and bad writing.

The new series gives us some hope: It looks well polished, stars respected sci-fi veterans Elizabeth Mitchell (“Lost”) and Morena Baccarin (“Firefly”) and was put together by the producers behind “The 4400.” But listen closely to the dialogue, and you can hear echoes of the original’s corniness seeping through. We’ll keep our fingers crossed.

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