8 posts tagged “television”
The new season of At the Movies begins the weekend of September 6th. I wasn't really expecting Roger Ebert back in the balcony, but Richard Roeper's contract negotiations didn't go well, and he won't be returning, either.
Now we'll have two new hosts, and a "revamped At the Movies aimed at a younger demo." I guess I'm not part of that group, because I liked the the format just the way it was: a little bit like watching Statler and Waldorf banter about movies, but cattier. Michael Phillips, Ebert's long-time stand-in, was even beginning to grow on me. So this bit:
Meanwhile Roeper and Chicago Tribune critic Michael Phillips will shop their show to interested buyers.
is encouraging, at least.
You may have heard the news by now: the theatrical release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has been pushed back from this November to JULY 2009, and it's all about the bottom line. Which, of course, is the WB's prerogative.
They just shouldn't be surprised if, in the process, they enrage a majority of their very captive audience, and possibly even lose some allegiance to the Meyer-based films, the first of which is sliding in to take Harry's pre-holiday spot.
Apparently ABC wants to carry it next year.
Personally, I got so fed up with all the scheduling fits and starts over the past couple of years, I'd pretty much made my peace with seeing NBC wrap it up this year. Maybe if ABC can handle it better... It's not as if they have anything else good going in the way of sitcoms.
X! Files! Crappy bootleg teaser trailer and nice production still here.
Indiana! Jones! Trailer here.
Mister! Darcy! The 2005 production of Pride and Prejudice (with mmmmmMatthew MacFadyen and Kiera Knightley) will be premiering on Oxygen Saturday, March 8th at 8pm PST.
F**king! Matt! Damon! Jimmy Kimmel's gut-splitting followup video here.
There's a list at EW of how many episodes of each show will be produced this season (if any), and when they'll begin to air. I'm just going to list the ones relevant to me here, for my own quick reference:
Desperate Housewives - 4 or 5, late April
Heroes - 22+, Fall 2008
Lost - 13 total, in progress (break in mid-March)
The Office - 5 or 6, April 10
Scrubs - 5 (+4?), April 10
Ugly Betty - 4 or 5, late April
Then I realized that this list isn't complete, pshaw. So on to the next list, at TV Guide:
Jericho - 4 (I think?) episodes left, continuation of series TBD
Journeyman - Kaput
Pushing Daisies - Fall 2008
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - Future TBD
And of course The 4400 was cancelled a couple months back. No idea about Breaking Bad, though it appears to be doing well ratings-wise and critically, so I'm assuming it'll live another season at least.
I don't watch the AMC site, but I probably should. Because I know I miss great classic movies all the time, and I nearly didn't catch their fantastic new original series, Breaking Bad. I might have caught on eventually, through Entertainment Weekly, but then I would've missed out on a few weeks of super WGA strike programming, and what a shame. It was just pure dumb luck that I happened to be watching an AMC movie live (never happens), and caught an ad that reeled me right in like a worm-starved trout.
Bryan Cranston was a comedic genius as the dad in Malcolm in the Middle, but he really gets to show off his range here, as a madly desperate cancer-stricken chemistry teacher. But the plot runs just a wee bit crazier -- nay, effed-upped-er -- than all that would imply (don't go in with a weak stomach, either). I haven't watched many basic cable dramas, but I'll go out on a limb and guess that this one isn't anywhere near run-of-the-mill. The premise is fresh, the writing and cinematography cinematic, and the casting a treat.
You can watch episodes one and two online right now. Hooray!
Obviously, it hasn't been a great fall for television so far. I'm still reeling over love found and and so soon lost, if only "temporarily" (Pushing Daisies). Time to step up the Netflix consumption -- BBC and HBO, here we come.
It's not likely to be a great summer, either, not the least of which is because The 4400 has been cancelled. Now, I'm realistic, and even though I've always been a staunch champion of the show, even I saw that it was losing a little more steam with each season, and I wasn't into the characters as much as in the beginning. And then Heroes, which has a budget, came along. So the time had probably come. Still, though, it was nice to have something fun and a little different to see in the summer.
Maybe I'll have to start watching Monk. Or go outside...
Ha ha HA! Knit a Dalek! Via Cut Out + Keep.
We've just finished up with Series One of Doctor Who. Hit a bit of a slump there in the middle, but the finale has me excited to get started on Series Two.
Also: I didn't know until just right this moment that SciFi carries the reruns. Fat lot of good that does us, though, even with our ridiculously expensive cable bills (thanks, Comcrap!).
And: there will, indeed, be a Series Five, in 2010.
Or, at least the ones I care about!
Sunday, September 23rd
The Simpsons
Family Guy
Monday, September 24th
Heroes
Thursday, September 27th
Ugly Betty
The Office
Sunday, September 30th
Desperate Housewives (and I'm really on the fence as to whether I should bother anymore or not)
American Dad
Sunday, October 7th
America's Funniest Home Videos (Yes. Shut up! It's family-friendly.)
October 25th
Scrubs
October ????
Masterpiece Theatre
Futurama and Lost won't premiere 'til 2008.
