Jump to content

Which TV shows live? Which ones die?


Scotty

Recommended Posts

  • Members

Which TV shows live? Which ones die?

By Gail Pennington

POST-DISPATCH TELEVISION CRITIC

04/30/2006

copied from: http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/entertain...80?OpenDocument

gail30lrg.jpg

FILE PHOTO: "Desperate Housewives," pose on the show's set. From left, are Nicollette Sheridan, Felicity Huffman, Marcia Cross, Eva Longoria and Teri Hatcher.

(ABC,Moshe Brakha/AP)

The beginning of May usually means it's time to start fretting about the future of the TV shows we love. Which will find a place on the networks' fall schedules, we wonder - and which will meet an untimely death?

Most years, "save our shows" campaigns are in full swing by now, with fans campaigning to bring some favorite back from the brink of cancellation. This year, however, the networks, those spoilsports, have taken some of the suspense out of the announcement of their fall lineups, due the week of May 15.

CBS handed out early renewal notices to a long list of shows including "Criminal Minds," "Ghost Whisperer" and "How I Met Your Mother." Fox gave early pickups to "Prison Break" and "Bones," and NBC renewed "My Name Is Earl" and "The Office."

Some cancellation notices came out early, too, and not just for ABC's "Emily's Reasons Why Not," dumped after only one episode. CBS dropped "Yes, Dear," after all these years; Fox gave up on "Arrested Development." Cancellations of some long-running shows were dressed up as "series finales," as with NBC's "West Wing" and ABC's "Alias."

Some series, though, remain in limbo, on the proverbial bubble, meaning that the network's decisions could go either way. The schedules won't be finalized until days - sometimes hours - before the networks make their big announcements at ceremonies called "upfronts," so named because the point is to sell advertising in advance.

For network programmers, creating a schedule is a big chess game, with each move intensely weighed. Ratings count, but so do demographics, that important matter of who is watching. Younger viewers, as always, are more valued than older folks.

The decision-makers ponder how a show performs in its time period and whether that performance seems to be on the upswing or decline. Finally, there's the question of development, meaning how well the networks did in coming up with new shows. If the pilots for new shows look particularly promising, they may find a place on the schedule that otherwise might have gone to a marginal show.

Here are some "on the bubble" shows, with best guesses about their fates:

"Scrubs," NBC. The long-running screwball comedy looks like a great fit with NBC's new hits "My Name Is Earl" and "The Office." In fact, "Scrubs" would probably be a sure thing if not for difficulties in coming to new contract terms with NBC. The Hollywood trade papers, however, report that ABC would eagerly snatch up the sitcom if NBC dropped it. Best guess: renewed.

"Commander in Chief," ABC. The drama with Geena Davis as the first woman president started strong, then went into decline because of production problems and creative differences. Its recent return, drew half the audience of the fall debut. A fortune already has been poured into "Commander," and ABC - which needs to fill extra time next fall because of the loss of "Monday Night Football" - might take the summer to regroup again. But probably not. Best guess: canceled.

"Conviction," NBC. The non-"Law & Order" entry from Dick Wolf didn't make much of a splash on Friday nights, but anecdotal evidence indicates it's building an audience. Fourth-place NBC may not have the patience to stick with the show. Best guess: canceled.

"Veronica Mars," UPN. Shows on both UPN and the WB will feel a particular pinch this spring as the networks merge into the CW, leaving room for only half as much programming. But low-rated, critically adored "Veronica" has an ally in Dawn Ostroff, former head of UPN entertainment, who'll now be programming the CW. Best guess: renewed.

"Everwood," the WB. Ditto all that about "Veronica Mars," including the critically adored part. But many observers don't think the CW will pick up both "Everwood" and "One Tree Hill" from the WB - and "Hill" does better with younger viewers. Best guess: canceled.

"Close to Home," CBS. The problem for the Jennifer Finnigan drama about crime in suburbia is that CBS has so many other strong crime shows. The network also scored with newcomer "The Unit," almost certain to return for fall. That could leave "Home" with nowhere to call home. Best guess: canceled.

"The New Adventures of Old Christine," CBS. Every network is looking for the next hot sitcom. This Julia Louis-Dreyfus show probably isn't the next "Seinfeld," but it's probably good enough to win a vote of confidence over other CBS sitcoms, including "Out of Practice" and "Courting Alex." Best guess: renewed.

"The O.C.," Fox. The one-time favorite has run thin on story lines, and its young protagonists graduate from high school this spring. But Fox may decide it still can't do better on Thursday nights. Best guess: renewed.

"Invasion," ABC. The network had high hopes for the pairing of "Invasion" with "Lost," but the "Lost" audience didn't stick around in the numbers the network would have liked. With all that extra time to fill in the fall, ABC might look for a different time period for the aliens-among-us thriller, but it's a close call. Best guess: canceled.

These shows already have been renewed or are almost sure to return:

"The Amazing Race" and "Survivor," CBS

"American Dad," Fox

"America's Next Top Model," UPN/CW

"Boston Legal," ABC

"Cold Case," CBS

"Crossing Jordan," NBC

The "CSI" franchise, CBS

"Desperate Housewives," "Grey's Anatomy" and "Lost," ABC

"ER," NBC

"Everybody Hates Chris," UPN/CW

"Gilmore Girls," "Smallville," "Reba" and "Supernatural," WB/CW

"House," Fox

"Law & Order," "Special Victims Unit" and "Criminal Intent," NBC

"Las Vegas," NBC

"Medium," NBC

"NCIS," CBS

"Numb3rs," CBS

"The Simpsons," "Family Guy" and "King of the Hill," Fox

"Two and a Half Men," CBS

"Prison Break" and "24," Fox

"Without a Trace," CBS

These shows have been canceled, or are likely to be:

"The Bedford Diaries," WB

"Bernie Mac," Fox

"Freddie," ABC

"Hope & Faith," ABC

"Joey," NBC

"Less Than Perfect," ABC

"Love Monkey," CBS

"Still Standing," CBS

"Surface," NBC

"Threshold," CBS

"Yes, Dear," CBS

"What About Brian," ABC

"Cuts," "Eve," "Love Inc." and "One on One," UPN

"Living With Fran," "Modern Men," "Related" and "Twins," WB

These shows runs are ending:

"Will & Grace"

"The West Wing"

"7th Heaven"

"Charmed"

"Alias"

"That '70s Show"

"Malcolm in the Middle"

Make your voice heard

Do the TV networks care what you think? There's a good chance the answer is no, unless you have a Nielsen box. But if you'd still like to vent, visit their Web sites (for example, www.nbc.com and www.cbs.com) and look for the "comment" or "feedback" bar, usually at the bottom of the page.

Or get out old-fashioned pen and paper and write:

Stephen McPherson, president, ABC Entertainment, 2300 Riverside Drive, Burbank, Calif. 91521

Nina Tassler, president, CBS Entertainment, 7800 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, Calif. 90036

Kevin Reilly, president, NBC Entertainment, 3000 West Alameda Avenue, Burbank, Calif. 91523

Peter Liguori, president, Fox Entertainment, Box 900, Beverly Hills, Calif. 90213

Dawn Ostroff, president, the CW Entertainment, 11800 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, Calif. 90025. The CW is the new network that replaces the WB and UPN next season.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 13
  • Created
  • Last Reply
  • Members

I think it's really disappointing that CBS will most likely keep Old Christine which is GARBAGE over Out of Practice which has been treated like crap from the start. It had very strong ratings and did MUCH MUCH better than How I Met Your Mother in EVERY demographic, yet Mother got an early renewal! Ugh!

Over at ABC I will never stop being pissed about Crumbs. That series was so good and deserved better based on it's ratings alone.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I'm still annoyed with CBS for giving up on Threshold so fast. :angry: I liked it better than Invasion at first, it moved faster, had better action and a more quirky cast of characters. It took about half the season for Invasion to pick up the pace, and then they started featuring that Excedrin migraine actress, which was kind of annoying. :P But the show got better as the invasion was becoming less of a secret. I think William Fichtner's the best thing about the show. I'm kind of relieved "The Evidence" fared poorly in its timeslot, even though I love Martin Landau.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

B)-->

QUOTE(Chris B @ Apr 29 2006, 02:56 PM)

I think it's really disappointing that CBS will most likely keep Old Christine which is GARBAGE over Out of Practice which has been treated like crap from the start. It had very strong ratings and did MUCH MUCH better than How I Met Your Mother in EVERY demographic, yet Mother got an early renewal! Ugh!

I love Old Christine. It has gotten better every week and JLD is so hilarious.

I wish Scrubs would move to ABC but I don't care as long as it's renewed. It's my favorite show.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members
Threshold ended up being a big hit in the UK! The problem is that it was put on fridays before a woman friendly show. It should've been on during the week from the beginning. The move was too little too late. :(

Oh I completely disagree, I think it's garbage, but I did love Watching Ellie. Whatever happened to that show? I remember it was doing well in the ratings as well. Then again, NBC was a hit then so they probably let more good, medium sized hits go.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I agree with you Roger, This weeks eppy was hilarious! I just hope we see more of Wanda Sykes next season.

These people are on crack! There's no way CBS will cancel CTH. The show is doing better than Ghost Whisperer and gets almost the same numbers as Numb3rs.

It's Friday nights #2 show

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I wish Crumbs was given more of a chance too, it was one of the best new comedies in years.

I hope According to Jim gets canceled, I absolutely hate the show and Jim Belushi. The show might have been good with a different lead actor lol.

I love OLD CHRISTINE, another best new comedy in years.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



  • Recent Posts

    • This is why they complain cause the other soaps got them brain washed into believing soap stories should drag and drag and drag
    • Bill is about to fall out, lol. Why would Hayley even feel like she had to prove that she was pregnant to Dani? Maybe she likes this non-stop roundabout of drama or perhaps she's triggered because Dani actually was on to something. Anita really was an opportunist and now it's caught up to her. 
    • She was a natural going all the way back to her audition reel.    It's a shame that Rauch and co really amped up the more OTT aspects of Tina's character in the 2nd half of the 80s because Evans proved she could play understated and vunerable without the theatrics. It's also why she was able to slip into playing a recast Patty Williams on Y & R a few short weeks before the climax of the story with Jack Abbott.  She had natural instincts, and knew when the dial it back and when to let loose.  
    • Wow, this was some amazing acting and amazing writing.  And who came up with the idea that Anita would have memorized the letter?  That person deserves an Emmy!  I love it when soap operas do very serious storylines.  So much in the last 40 years on soaps has been done for laughs or as camp.  Its good to see BTG is not afraid to hit the serious notes.  We all knew Anita had a secret, but I never expected this kind of tragedy was behind it.  
    • Finally... the show is giving TT some material to play and I like that Anita isn't coming off as so innocent.   Although I do think so far that the story is mirroring the Supremes just a bit too much with Tracy as Mary, Sharon as Florence, Anita as Diana, and Dante (name?) as Berry.  Andre... run far away from Dani because she isn't over Bill and you're far too good to settle for being second choice.  The fact that I've read comments on other forums stating that Dani just needs the love of a good man makes me think a double standard is at play here.   If the shoe was on the other foot, viewers would be telling Dani not to settle for being second best and to find someone who would put her first.... but since the person in that position is a man, that doesn't apply.   Misandry at it's best. That said, the twist of Naomi and Hayley both witnessing Bill's latest health flare up and being on the same side was nice.   I doubt this will repair their friendship... but it would be nice if the two learned to co-exist on a civil level.   The Dani/Hayley scene was not needed and was the writers attempt to prop Dani.  MVJ certainly  learned about character propping from the Bell soaps. And I guess that Andre/Derek/Ashley is still a thing... or it was at the time this episode was being filmed.  From what I understand.. both Derek and Ashley were one of the characters featured in MVJ's story bible and I'd be curious one day to see what the write ups for both characters were in the intial character pitches (we know that Vanessa was originally named Stacy and was supposed to be AA and more level headed.... so I wonder if perhaps Derek and Ashley had a different write up/vision that changed during casting).   In the 2nd episode of the series, it was established aht Leslie knew Ashley.  She was with Jan and Eva wishing Ashley good luck on her first day nursing.. and all were chummy.
    • Yep, another good episode with a powerful and emotional ending!   I'm really enjoying learning more about Anita's storyline, as they make small reveals each episode. It's also nice not being spoiled about these reveals! It was nice seeing Leslie interact with Derek/Ashley - keep mixing these characters and building a community, it's great. I had to LOL at Derek and Ashley studying the menu though, these people eat at Orphey Gene's every day, surely they have the menu memorized by now haha. Maybe these girls will finally make Bill figure out his problem.
    • There are couple of thoughts I would like to share.  I haven't been around for a while, so it's possible that other people have already addressed these matters. 1. The other day, Michael referred to Scout as his children's 2nd cousin.  That is not right.  Drew and AJ were half-brothers.  That means that AJ's son, Michael, and Drew's daughter, Scout, are half 1st cousins.  That, in turn, means that Scout is half 1st cousins, once removed to Wiley and Amelia.   2. I wonder if the show will have Monica and Lesley die on the same day, perhaps a few hours apart.  That would be an interesting end for their characters.  
    • I tend to lean into Nigel Campbell's work and lately, Ryan Quan, as well.
    • Outside of their headwriters, GH and BTG only credit the breakdown Writer and scriptwriter for each episode. Days credits their whole team daily with their breakdown writer listed after Ryan Quan. Their scriptwriter is the last writer listed. Hope Rena Sofer ain't gone for good
    • Thank you, that makes sense.  I do pay attention to the list when I watch.  I seem to like episodes where Charlotte Gibson is on the list.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy