The Discovery Channel’s sole game show, Cash Cab picks up contestants who don’t know they’re playing from right off the city streets. Discover this great new game show, and discover a new guilty pleasure.
(more…)

Cash Advance from $100 to $1500

Last Comic Standing has finally returned to our airwaves, although it’s without its creator and host, Jay Mohr, who also served as executive producer. I’m not sure how you can continue a show without such an important facet, but they are making an attempt, to say the least.

I’m not sure if it was ever even revealed as to what the problem was, but for the last season of the show NBC didn’t even show the last episode, and relegated it to Cable TV. Mohr then went around trashing the network on his website. And somehow, the show is now reborn with the same concept and name, but without him, and back on NBC.
(more…)

The scandals, the gossip, the rumors, and those horrible break-ups. We just can’t get enough of celebrity couples. When a celebrity couple gets together and the result is a child, everyone pays attention. The latest trend among celebrity couples is unique baby-naming, but some celebs have taken this name game so far that we can only wonder: what do those weird names mean, anyway?
(more…)

I can’t be the only one out there that still can’t get over NBC canceling Third Watch last season. Heck, I didn’t even know they were canceling it, until I turned it on one Friday night while eating my takeout plain extra juicy Italian beef and french fries (it’s Chicago … it’s usually either that or pizza), and found what looked like they were ending all the storylines. Being that it was May, I panicked, thinking this was it, and my panicked state ended up not being for naught. It was the end.

Luckily I got TIVO a few months later, and happened to find out that A&E played Third Watch reruns every day. This was fantastic news to me, as I didn’t start watching the show until the crossover show between Third Watch and ER. I’ve since caught up on all the shows I had missed, and have seen some episodes several times, some only once or twice, yet I still TIVO it every day. I have to. I don’t mind watching the reruns, but what I wouldn’t give for a Third Watch movie to find out how Sully is doing in his retirement, and to find out how Faith is doing in her post-Fred years.

Checking around on the actors and actresses, I see they are all involved in post-Third Watch projects. Eddie Cibrian (Michael Doherty) and Kim Raver (Kim Zambrano) are even back on weekly television with Eddie on Invasion, and Kim on 24. I’m just not ready for that. I’m not ready to accept them as anything but arguing exes. Although, I did read that Eddie was named one of the best celebrity bodies, and … well … I’ll give him that.

Third Watch was one of the few shows that I watched that wasn’t reality TV related. The acting was fantastic and the characters they portrayed even better. The storylines, though, were what kept me coming back. They were so real, and were not only dramatic, by comedic as well. I suppose there will come a day when I’m ready to give up my Third Watch addiction, and I’ll stop TIVOing it daily, but since I’m still enjoying it, I know it’s a long way to come.

It’s been 96 hours since Taylor Hicks was named our new American Idol, and I know I for one am going through withdrawal. There is something magical about this reality show and its draw. Even Ryan Seacrest noted that there were more total votes placed last Tuesday night for the decision on who would be this year’s Idol than there ever have been for who will be president of the United States. Then again, we’re not allowed to vote until our dialing finger bleeds for president.

Oddly enough, despite the fact that the fifth season of American Idol has now ended, we can actually see them even more than we have each week of the past several months. Just this weekend alone Ryan, Randy “The Dawg” Jackson, Taylor, and Katharine McPhee turned up on Larry King with Ryan guest-hosting. The interesting tidbits to come out of the this were that Katharine has not met with Steven Spielberg, but something is definitely in the making there. Paula Abdul tried to call into the show that night, but it was hard to tell what she was trying to say, as she was somewhat incoherent. As for Taylor, he’s wishing he would not only get the keys to the Mustang he won, but the car as well, as he’s looking for transportation while in LA. What, they don’t have a limousine for the reigning Idol?

Bucky Covington and Kellie Pickler showed up at the Coca Cola 600 Nascar race in North Carolina with Ryan doing the pre-race hosting duties, and last year’s reigning Idol, Carrie Underwood singing the National Anthem. Last time Kellie sang the national anthem it was after she was voted off the show and American Idol had a problem with her singing and not having permission from them. At least she wasn’t murdering Bohemian Rhapsody again. Ace Young sang the national anthem at the Colorado Crush Arena Football game, and during halftime he sang a medley of some of his American Idol tunes and an original song of his that he hopes to put on an album soon. He would also like to do some acting. Maybe Spielberg has a “From Katharine to Ace” planned?

For the next week, you can catch the Idols in various places, especially Taylor and Katharine. They’ll be together on the Today Show on Thursday, Taylor will be alone on Regis and Kelly on Tuesday, on the Early Show alone on Thursday, and on Ellen DeGeneres on Friday. Katharine will be on Regis and Kelly on Wednesday, and Elliott Yamin will be on Thursday. Chris Daughtry will be on Ellen DeGeneres on Tuesday, this after she asked Presidents Bush and Clinton if there was anything they could do to change the fact of him being voted out prematurely.

This should be enough to help us all through that withdrawal period. Okay, sure, it’s not the same as performances and live results, but it’s the next best thing. It’s like easing us out of it slowly.

Here is the Fall 2006-2007 Schedule that CBS is announcing today:

The following is the 2006-2007 CBS Television Network primetime schedule:

(N=New, NT=New Time, all times ET/PT)

MONDAY

8:00-8:30 PM HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER (NT)
8:30-9:00 PM THE CLASS (N)
9:00-9:30 PM TWO AND A HALF MEN
9:30-10:00 PM THE NEW ADVENTURES OF OLD CHRISTINE
10:00-11:00 PM CSI: MIAMI

TUESDAY

8:00-9:00 PM NCIS
9:00-10:00 PM THE UNIT
10:00-11:00 PM SMITH (N)

WEDNESDAY

8:00-9:00 PM JERICHO (N)
9:00-10:00 PM CRIMINAL MINDS
10:00-11:00 PM CSI: NY

THURSDAY

8:00-9:00 PM SURVIVOR
9:00-10:00 PM CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION
10:00-11:00 PM SHARK (N)

FRIDAY

8:00-9:00 PM GHOST WHISPERER
9:00-10:00 PM CLOSE TO HOME
10:00-11:00 PM NUMB3RS

SATURDAY

8:00-9:00 PM CRIMETIME SATURDAY
9:00-10:00 PM CRIMETIME SATURDAY
10:00-11:00 PM 48 HOURS: MYSTERY

SUNDAY

7:00-8:00 PM 60 MINUTES
8:00-9:00 PM THE AMAZING RACE (NT)
9:00-10:00 PM COLD CASE (NT)
10:00-11:00 PM WITHOUT A TRACE (NT)

Source: Ausiello at TV Guide

Hmmm…does anyone else think that CBS has WAY too many dramas? Anyway, will comment next week on the newbie shows.

This post is not about television, but it is something very personal for me.

Today is LIVESTRONG Day, and the Lance Armstrong Foundation is encouraging bloggers everywhere to Blog Against Cancer. Follow the link for details.

My own personal entry is located in my LiveJournal.

LIVESTRONG
WEAR YELLOW

Variety was slow on the uptake, so this is coming from Ausiello over at TV Guide:

ABC’s complete 22-hour fall primetime schedule is as follows (all times
listed are Eastern, with new shows in bold):

MONDAY: 8:00 p.m. “Wife Swap�
9:00 p.m. “The Bachelor�/�Supernanny�
10:00 p.m. “What About Brian�

TUESDAY: 8:00 p.m. “Dancing with the Stars� (new night)/�Set for the Rest of Your Life� (new alternative series)
9:00 p.m. “Let’s Rob…� (new comedy series)
9:30 p.m. “Help Me Help You� (new comedy series)
10:00 p.m. “Boston Legal�

WEDNESDAY: 8:00 p.m. “Dancing with the Stars� (new night)/�George Lopez�/
“According to Jim� (new night)
9:00 p.m. “Lost�
10:00 p.m. “The Nine� (new drama series)

THURSDAY: 8:00 p.m. “Big Day� (new comedy series)
8:30 p.m. “Notes from the Underbelly� (new comedy series)
9:00 p.m. “Grey’s Anatomy� (new night and time)
10:00 p.m. “Six Degrees� (new drama series)

FRIDAY: 8:00 p.m. “Betty the Ugly� (new comedy series)
9:00 p.m. “Men in Trees� (new drama series)
10:00 p.m. “20/20�

SATURDAY: 8:00 p.m. “ABC Saturday Night College Football�

SUNDAY: 7:00 p.m. “America’s Funniest Home Videos�
8:00 p.m. “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition�
9:00 p.m. “Desperate Housewives�
10:00 p.m. “Brothers & Sisters� (new drama series)

Again, I’ll respond on the new shows probably later next week, once all the networks have made their announcements and I have had time to “digest” properly.

Will edit to add confirmed cancellations once Variety gets on the ball.

Fresh from Variety:

New shows in caps (except for ER)
MONDAY
8-9 p.m. “Deal or No Deal”
9-10 p.m. “HEROES”
10-11 p.m. “Medium”

TUESDAY
8-9 p.m. “FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS”
9-10 p.m. “KIDNAPPED”
10-11 p.m. “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”

WEDNESDAY
8-9 p.m. “The Biggest Loser”
9-9:30 p.m. “20 GOOD YEARS”
9:30-10 p.m. “30 ROCK”
10-11 p.m. “Law & Order”

THURSDAY
8-8:30 p.m. “My Name Is Earl” (new time)
8:30-9 p.m. “The Office” (new time)
9-10 p.m. “STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP”
10-11 p.m. “ER”/”THE BLACK DONNELLYS” in January 2007

FRIDAY
8-9 p.m. “Deal or No Deal”
9-10 p.m. “Las Vegas”
10-11 p.m. “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” (new day and time)

SATURDAY
8-9 p.m. “Dateline Saturday”
9-11 p.m. Drama Series Encores

SUNDAY
7-8 p.m. “FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA”
8-11 p.m. “SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL”

MID-SEASON
Post NFL on Sundays:
“America’s Got Talent” (8-9 p.m.) NEW REALITY
“The Apprentice” (9-10 p.m.) RETURNING
“Raines” (10-11 p.m.) NEW DRAMA

New Comedies:
“The Singles Table”
“Andy Barker, P.I.”

Returning:
“Crossing Jordan”
“Scrubs”

Officially cancelled: Joey, Surface, Four Kings, Fathom, E-Ring, Conviction and Teachers.

I should care about the axed shows, but I will not miss any of them (since I didn’t watch any of them). Once all of the schedules are officially announced, I will pick them apart one by one, with new and improved “Mock & Squee” posts over which shows I think will make it, should make it or should be mocked and buried.

And the hits just keep on comin’…

More pickups from ABC, as well as a few confirmed casualties. Here is the list of pilots added, from today’s edition of Cynthia’s Cynopsis:

ABC has ordered up a handful of pilots in preparation for its upfront presentation announcements scheduled for tomorrow… Coming on board for the new season are:
Ugly Betty from Touchstone TV
Traveler from Warner Bros. TV
Brothers & Sisters with Calista Flockhart from Touchstone
Men In Trees with Anne Heche from Warner Bros. TV
A Day in the Life from Sony Pictures TV
Let’s Rob Mick Jagger with Donal Logue for Touchstone and Worldwide Pants

Also, a surprising renewal (at least it was a surprise to ME, considering how poorly they treated the show this year): What About Brian

Officially NOT returning are Invasion and Freddie (which makes me sad, because it is one of my guilty pleasures).

NBC announces its Fall lineup this afternoon. I will post the schedule once it is up.

Not wanting to be outdone by ABC, NBC has announced more pilots that they are picking up for next season:

Friday Night Lights from Imagine Television is based on the film, only this one stars Kyle Chandler as to the football coach
20 Good Years with John Lithgow and Jeffrey Tambor, from Warner Bros. TV And Werner-Gold Miller.
The Singles Table from 20th TV
Raines starring Jeff Goldblum from NBC Universal TV
Heroes from NBC Universal TV

Still waiting to hear if it will be picked up is the Tina Fey comedy project. Among the other projects receiving earlier pick up orders are The Black Donnellys, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and Kidnapped.

Source: Cynthia’s Cynopsis 5/12/06

We’ll get NBC’s full schedule when they announce at the Upfronts on Monday.

See what a little complaining will get ya?

Less than a week before the ABC Upfront (scheduled for Tuesday in NYC), the network has given the go-ahead to a half-dozen pilot projects. Good to go for next season are three dramas - The Nine (Warner Bros. TV), Six Degrees (a JJ Abrams project with Touchstone), Daybreak (with Taye Diggs from Touchstone) - and three comedies - In Case of Emergency (with David Arquette from Touchstone TV), Help Me Out (with Ted Danson from Regency TV) and Notes from the Underbelly (Warner Bros. TV).

Source: Cynthia’s Cynopsis 5-11-06

I’m guessing that picking up six shows means that there are some current shows that are DEFINITELY getting the axe. I’m REALLY excited about Six Degrees, but I fear it being picked up could be a consolation offering to JJ for the shafting of What about Brian. I hope I’m wrong…but I don’t think I am. We’ll see how the rest of the schedule fills out next week at the Upfronts.

*squee*

Seriously, I could NOT be happier about the announcement from Fox that they are adding TV shows, both current and ones from their vault, to iTunes for downloading. A snippet from the Variety article is below:

Fox has become the third network to inkink a deal with Apple’s iTunes, uploading series such as “24″ and “Prison Break,” as well as cable skeins including “The Shield.”

Deal marks the largest network debut on the service and includes 16 series and 270 episodes from News Corp.-owned nets Fox, FX, Speed and Fuel TV.
…
Deal also includes content from 20th Century Fox Television20th Century Fox Television library including “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Firefly” and “Lost in Space.”

Did I mention the *squee*? So, I will finally be able to download the episodes of Prison Break that I missed from this season, and who knows…maybe I’ll even give that show 24 a whirl. I also like the fact that they are making shows from their library available as well. You can never have too much Joss, IMHO.

Only thing I haven’t figured out yet is if Bones is being offered as well. That’s another series I would like to catch up on *crosses fingers* Yes, I’m a total iTunes junkie.

From today’s edition of Cynthia’s Cynopsis:

Yesterday’s top item was that Warner Bros. Domestic TV Syndication would offer the syndicated rights to Two and A Half Men for both broadcaster’s air and as a broadband vehicle on the station’s website. Today’s top item is again Warner Bros. who will be the first major studio distributing its films and TV shows over the internet via BitTorrent peer-to-peer technology, for both VOD and/or purchase. The first offerings from Warner Bros. are expected this summer with titles including Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride and TV shows including The Dukes of Hazzard and Babylon 5. The whole idea here is to move those who tend to download pirated films and shows, to purchasing. And using BitTorrent as the vehicle is also an interesting move as BitTorrent was once one of the favorite sites for links to popular pirated movies.

Again with the WOW. I’m impressed with Warner Bros. This shows initiative. Rather than whining and using the court system to try and curtail illegal downloading, they are actually PARTNERING with the proverbial hand that was stabbing them in the back — BitTorrent. Whether or not they will be successful, this could be an important “first step” towards the studios acknowledging the amount of illegal downloading that is out there — and trying to do something about it that will not isolate the consumer.

Wanted to share this article that I found about the potential long-term effects of making TV shows available on the internet — anytime someone wants to watch it.

The article is from an Australian news source, so there is discussion about Aussie TV. But there are some interesting points brought up that would affect television as a whole. From the article:

Independent telecommunications consultant Paul Budde said it was the beginning of the end for traditional television. No longer are viewers held to ransom by fickle programmers: people can watch what they want, when they want.

“Television is under threat,” he said. “The old model of making people watch programs when they broadcast them, is not closely linked to human behaviour.

“We like time-shifting and making our own decisions when we watch something, hence the success of VCRs, DVDs, and iPods.”

He said this would eventually lead to advertisers looking elsewhere and could jeopardise expensive blockbuster TV productions such as Lost.

I have made my iTunes love known here before — I love being able to download the latest episodes of Lost, Alias and Battlestar Galactica, though I typically watch them when they air as well as purchase the download. I don’t necessarily believe that all of this new technology means “the end” of television — but I do believe that the television studios and advertisers will be forced to think “outside the box.” Hopefully, that will be a good thing.

While we’re waiting for the Upfronts, I decided to go take a look at The Futon Critic’s list of shows that have been renewed for next season (2006-2007) “and beyond.” I guess the sad part is that I wasn’t even aware some of these shows, specifically the ones that air on cable, were even on THIS season…much less being renewed for NEXT season. This list is HUGE, so I’m just running a breakdown of the SCRIPTED, non-animated, non-Pay Cable (i.e., HBO, Showtime) shows, mmmkay? (hey, it’s my blog, I can be elitist) My thoughts, if any, are in italics.

Fox
24
Bones [Hope to catch up on this over the summer — like what I’ve seen so far]
House
Prison Break [SQUEE]

SciFi Channel
Battlestar Galactica [Can’t they just go ahead and renew this for say, 10 years?]
Stargate Atlantis
Stargate: SG-1

CBS
CSI
CSI: Miami
CSI: New York
Cold Case
Criminal Minds
The Ghost Whisperer
How I Met Your Mother
N.C.I.S.
Numb3rs
Two and a Half Men
Without a Trace
[Just realized that I watch NOTHING on CBS]

USA Network
The 4, 400
Monk

TNT
The Closer

NBC
Crossing Jordan [I’m shocked by this, but in a good way — I love this show, but it is on a bad night for me]
ER
Las Vegas [Like this show and glad it got renewed. Didn’t see it enough this year, but hope to remedy that.]
Law & Order
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Medium
My Name is Earl
The Office

AMC
Hustle

FX
It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia
Rescue Me
The Shield [My husband will be very happy. Will be interesting to see how it goes with the passing of Brazil]

A & E
MI-5

ABC Family
Wildfire

Notice anything missing from that list? Yeah, the MONKEYS!! (aka ABC) Why do they insist on torturing the shows that are their “bread and butter” (i.e., DH, Lost, Grey’s), not to mention the shows “on the bubble” (i.e., Freddie, George Lopez), who would like to know whether or not they still have a JOB and/or whether or not they should be looking for new projects? It is BAD BUSINESS. Upfronts are still more than a week away — give these people a chance to BREATHE.