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Yesterday, NBC head Jeff Zucker announced restructuring aimed at saving the ailing network. He also suggested that NBC may cut its primetime hours to further cut costs.
I actually think shaving the 10:00 hour would be okay. I almost never watch any of the 10:00 shows on any network all the way through. I watch Dirty Sexy Money the next day or so on the computer. Sometimes I catch part of Brothers & Sisters while I’m falling asleep Sunday nights. But, other than that, I don’t even know what comes on at 10:00 on most networks on any given night. The CW and Fox already go to local news and syndicated sitcoms during that hour.
What do you think? Would anything be lost if the networks all cut the 10:00 programming and focused on putting better shows in the slots they have left?
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Catherine Hardwicke has left the Twilight sequel, saying she just can’t commit to the release time line. Summit Entertainment has not announced her replacement. What does this staffing change mean for the franchise?
My guess is that the next film will have a higher budget, allowing more, shall we say, believable special effects. The change is directors will also lend a different sensibility to the next installment. I think we will be in for a less indie feel next time around. And, as the more sweeping storylines of the later books are envisioned on film, perhaps this is a good choice for the story.
What do you think? Will the next film look and feel the same? Will it be as good with different folks in control?
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It’s been only two weeks since new episodes of Supernatural ran, and already I miss it.
The mid-season hiatus of Chuck begins after the December 15 episode, and they will be running a horrible new reality series in its place. Same story for Heroes.
Back in the day, we used to complain about all of the reruns of our favorite shows. So the networks began airing shows as blocks of uninterrupted new episodes, stretching out hiatuses to ensure that the show ran over the full television season. And now we complain that we have to wait six weeks to see new episodes of our favorite shows.
I guess nothing makes us happy, but I can think of something that might make us complain less, at least until my vision of a networkless future comes to fruition. Single season blocks of 24 consecutive episodes. When one show ends, run a second show in that time slot for another block of consecutive episodes. 22-24 episodes would easily get you through half the year, while still allowing for occasional preemptions for events like the Super Bowl, NBA finals, World Series, Oscars, Grammys, and so on. And, you could swap time slots and repeat a show’s season to help attract new viewers.
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CW is moving ahead with a Gossip Girl spin-off, and not just Dorota’s web show I mentioned earlier this week. People reports that the show will be tested in a Gossip Girl episode later this season, and that it will not be an adaptation of The It Girl, a spin-off book series that chronicles the happenings with Jenny Humphrey.
J.K. Rowling’s post-Potter book is apparently quite good. USA Today presents a glowing review of Tales of Beedle the Bard.
O.J. Simpson is going to the slammer for at least nine years.
Oprah Winfrey is powerful. Who knew?
And, in very sad news, Paul Benedict (Harry Bentley on The Jeffersons) was found dead in his home in Massachusetts.
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There has been some talk of other networks picking up when it ends its run on ABC. Sadly, this rumor appears to be false.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Pushing Daisies creator Bryan Fuller will be rejoining the writers of Heroes as they strive to fix what’s broken on their show: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3i5a49077a0f8280a05381cedfd646ed1a
As a fan of both shows, I find this news to be bittersweet. I want Heroes to be good again. But I really, really want to continue my weekly journey into the fable of the piemaker.
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I have now been reduced to squeeing fangirl.
When I was in high school, poppy heavy metal was huge. I was a huge fan of Motley Crue, Poison, Joan Jett, and Lita Ford. One day, while reading a profile of Lita (I believe it was in Metal Edge, but it may have been in Circus, I don’t know), I found that she had been in a band with Joan Jett in the 70s. The next time I went to the record store, I grabbed the only Runaways cassette I could find, Little Lost Girls. I was treated to some great songs, including the title track and covers of the Beatles Eight Days a Week and Quiet Riot’s Mama Weer all Crazee Now. Later, I found a live Runaways CD which survived the post-cassette world we live in and continues to be in rotation on my iPod (mostly it’s Cherry Bomb, but occasionally some of the deeper tracks, too).
So, imagine the joy I felt when I was surfing through Google News and found this story: ‘Twilight’ Star Kristen Stewart’s Casting As Joan Jett Raises The Question: Who Were The Runaways?
Not only will a new generation of girls be introduced to the archetype girl punk band, I will have a chance to learn more about the Runaways.
If only movies were quicker to make. I’ve got a while to wait before I see this one.
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According to this post, Blair’s handmaiden will be the focus of the Web-only spinoff from Gossip Girl.
Will you watch? I know I will.
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As the year draws to a close, I start to think about what has worked and what hasn’t in my pop culture life.
I have enjoyed the new seasons of Chuck, Gossip Girl, Friday Night Lights (seriously, watch this show when it airs on NBC beginning next month), and Supernatural. I have enjoyed the new blog format for TV Gal–three days instead of one, plus the ability to comment and discuss with her readers!
I have not enjoyed the glut of prime time programming on Mondays and Thursdays to the exclusion of all other days. Really, all shows need to air on those two days so I have to choose what not to watch? And so I have nothing to watch the rest of the week? I also have not enjoyed the ratings deaths of many of my favorite shows (e.g., Pushing Daisies, Dirty Sexy Money).
I have a solution to both of these problems: on demand programming, aka the death of the tv station as we know it. The studios offer our programs on demand for our viewing pleasure. They include ads that can’t be fast forwarded through, just like watching shows live now. We don’t have to worry that all of our shows are scheduled at the same time. Ratings can be easily measured–how many times are the shows accessed? And content can continue to be free because advertisers will get our eyes.
How does this differ from the current on demand programming offered by the cable companies and Directv?
- It includes all prime time shows and possibly all programming.
- Commercials are included, and they cannot be fast forwarded through.
- All TV owners have access to the system, not just subscribers to digital cable or Directv subscribers with an HD DVR and an Ethernet network.
This seems so simple. What are the downsides I haven’t thought about? How will local media deliver news programming and advertising? Will anyone watch any educational programming when given on demand options? How will we deliver the programs? Will such a shift also mark the death of cable and satellite companies?
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Is it possible to set my Google News to not show me any stories aout Britney Spears, her documentary, her album, or her workout regime? I thought I hated her before and during the breakdown. OMFG, I had no idea the levels of Britney mania her comeback would bring. (Part of me hoped she would retire and there would be no comeback.)
Can’t we wonder if Jennifer Aniston is engaged, broken up, or pregnant? Or whether Angelina Jolie is interested in another man? Or whether Robert Pattinson propsoed to Kristin Stewart? Yes, these “stories” are all inane, but at least they are about people who don’t annoy me.
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I’m still full from Thanksgiving. And the ridiculous amount of leftovers. I’m actually sick of sweets. The thought of sweets makes me feel nauseated.
Thus, I am not excited about the beginning of the holiday movie season. The schmaltz and feel-good of the typical holiday movie activates my nausea just as effectively as the overabundance of pie at the typical Thanksgiving meal.
In honor of the season, I present my list of good holiday fare. (I didn’t include A Christmas Story because it is so obvious. We know its funny and it has a dark sense of humor.)
- Home for the Holidays. This Jodie Foster gem is a Thanksgiving staple in my home. Through the open dysfunction exhibited by the family in the film, we can work through our own family’s dysfunction. And laugh about baboon loving and turkey grease.
- Elf. This is the first movie in which I enjoyed Will Ferrell. He is free with his comedy and completely inhabits the naive Christmas elf. The story of finding his real father and saving Christmas is a little cheesy, but it is wirth it for the scene when Ferrell leaps onto the Christmas tree. Jon Favreau did an excellent job of bringing this story to life.
- Bad Santa. This brings a new level of raunch to Christmas, and its about time. Plus Lorelai Gilmore herself gives the best line of all time: “F#$% me, Santa!”
- The Spirit of Christmas. This animated short is reason we have had the joy that is South Park on our TV screens lo these many years. This cartoon is funny enough that I forgive them for Mr. Hanky.
- Love Actually. Only the setting is Christmas, and that is probably why I find it so enjoyable. I particularly enjoy Bill Nighy’s washed-up pop singer performing his signature hit nekkid.
- About a Boy. Again, not so much a Christmas movie, but the Christmas dinner is one of the perfect movie endings, as the right people get together, and they all avoid eating a Christmas nut loaf. And, of course, the source of manchild Hugh Grant’s never-ending fortune is a novelty Christmas song. I always hear the opening strains of Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer when I watch this film.
What are your favorite Christmas films?
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NBC, television | thejen | 
December 9, 2008 11:00 am | 
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