I don't have the complete season-to-date numbers available to me at the moment, but I think "Gilmore Girls" usually is the top-ranked WB program at least in terms of total viewers.

UPN has announced it will rebroadcast the season (and series) finale of Star Trek: Enterprise on May 27 at 8 PM ET.
The final episode will get its first airing on May 13.

Comedy Central Suspends Show
By THE NEW YORK TIMES

Without explanation, Comedy Central yesterday said it had suspended production of the third season of the comedian Dave Chappelle's show until further notice. After a yearlong hiatus, "Chappelle's Show" was scheduled to begin airing at the end of this month.

"The third season will not premiere on May 31st as originally scheduled," Comedy Central said in a statement. "All parties are optimistic that production will resume in the near future."

The return of Mr. Chappelle's show has been postponed twice. It was to happen in February, but did not because Mr. Chappelle had contracted walking pneumonia, said Tony Fox, a spokesman for Comedy Central. At the time, the network dismissed reports that Mr. Chappelle was experiencing writer's block.

Ten new episodes have been completed and are ready to be broadcast, said Mr. Fox. The rappers 50 Cent, Common and Kanye West are a few of the musical guests who had taped performances for the coming season. Last week, Mr. Chappelle and his crew were filming skits in Harlem.

Since it started in January 2003, "Chappelle's Show" has been one of Comedy Central's biggest hits. Last August, Mr. Chappelle extended his contract for two more seasons.

Mr. Chappelle's publicist declined to comment.

fredfa,

Britney and Kevin is now called Britney and Kevin: Chaotic.

This Week’s Winners and Losers
'Family Guy' Back Home; 'Star Trek' Lost in Space
By Lisa de Moraes Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, May 4, 2005; C07

Fox widened its edge over CBS for the season among the 18-to-49-year-olds advertisers pay a premium to reach, compliments of the president of the United States and "American Idol." Here's a look at the ratings week's top and bottom:

WINNERS

"Family Guy." Fox's relaunch of its formerly canceled cartoon more than doubled the net's season average in that Sunday time slot and was the week's No. 1 show among teens and men 18 to 34. After that, the debut of the animated "American Dad," from the same creator, did so-so -- easily fixed if Fox just cancels it after a few episodes, lets it percolate on Cartoon Network for a few years, then brings it back.

"JAG." CBS military drama goes out with a bang -- its biggest audience in more than two years.

"Amazing Race." An audience of more than 13 million ties for the CBS franchise's second largest ever. Most gains come among viewers 50 and older (no doubt rooting for the team of Gretchen and Meredith); in that demo, last week's episode clocked the franchise's highest rating ever.

"According to Jim." ABC picked up its Jim Belushi sitcom for a fifth season.

"America's Funniest Home Videos." After ABC's "Videos" outperformed its Friday sitcoms last week, the network ordered a 16th season.

LOSERS

Presidential fallout. Because President Bush's hastily called "news" conference forced the broadcast networks to muck around with their lineups on Thursday, NBC's "ER" clocked a series low on the first night of the May sweep -- never good -- and CBS's "CSI" logged a season low, though it still clobbered "ER." Depressed "CSI" numbers and the total absence of CBS's top-10 series "Without a Trace" give Fox a wider edge over CBS for the season in 18-to-49 viewers.

"The Office." NBC's adaptation of the critically praised Britcom hit reached a series low in its season finale, getting thoroughly trounced by the season finale of ABC's "Rodney." Proving that Americans actually prefer the vast wasteland.

"The Simple Life." Despite its seemingly compatible lead-in, Fox's "Simple Life" plunged by 6 million viewers from its nearly 10 million average in its old Wednesday night slot, when it sometimes followed "American Idol."

"Star Trek: Enterprise." Series finale clocked fewer than 3 million viewers on Friday, which, had it aired a year ago, would have been its second lowest audience ever. Until this year UPN's "Enterprise" had dipped below 3 million viewers only once before in its history.

"American Dreams." Bye-bye.

Just a note:

Once the May sweep is over, this site will most likely not post daily ratings again until the fall season.

I plan to post the weekly Nielsens, some commentary and news stories about the industry I think might interest you.

But I probably won't follow summer programming terribly closely. If a show (or to be more optimistic shows) seem of interest, I'll point them out. But from what I have been hearing from the networks, this summer can most kindly be described as a vast wasteland.

So, though I am open to suggestions, I'm leaning strongly to basically taking a summer vacation.

ABC Showcases Idol Allegations
By John Eggerton Broadcasting & Cable

Hyping it as a scandal that could rock Fox's American Idol, ABC's Primetime Live special Wednesday night reported the already much-reported allegations of former contestant Corey Clark that judge Paula Abdul seduced him and coached him back in 2003, including picking his songs and paying for clothes, CD's and a haircut.

Clark was eventually dropped from the show--won by Ruben Studdard--for failing to tell show producers of a past arrest, but not before he had become a "household name" finalist. ABC also interviewed seven contestants who did not make the finals. Not surprisingly, most felt cheated by Clark's alleged inside track with one of the judges.

Abdul has branded Clark a liar, and Fox has questioned his motives while vowing to investigate any legitimate claims of favoritism.

"Despite documented procedures and multiple opportunities for contestants to raise any concerns they may have," said Fox in a statement Tuesday, "the producers of American Idol, FremantleMedia, 19 Entertainment and Fox were never notified or contacted by Mr. Clark, nor presented any evidence concerning his claims.
Clark is hyping a new album, including the song "Fallen Idol," which served as a rhetorical device in the ABC show, also called "Fallen Idol," with Clark getting plenty of screen time singing the song."

Clark has also pitched a tell-all book on the incident.

When correspondent John Quinones asked Clark directly if this were a publicity stunt, he said no, it was the truth, but an "explosive" truth. Truth or not, ABC is hoping to gain some publicity and ratings from the show, which was scheduled during the May sweeps, when advertisers set ad rates based on ratings.

ABC even played of Wednesday night's Idol vote-off show, with Quinones, saying viewers had just seen contestant Scott voted off, now they would hear a story of another ousted Idol.

Quinones pointed out that Clark was a naive, perpetually broke 22-year old with no fixed address when the Abdul affair began. When he asked why Abdul, a famous singer and popular TV star, would risk all that for him. Clark said she just wanted to help him, to dust off his diamond and let it shine better.

Later in the show, he turned the dust metaphor around. Clark said that Abdul had called to ask him not to talk about her to the press. He says he told her that he had to make his own path, even if that meant "getting your dirt off my pathway."

Clark's friends and parents backed up his story of the affair in interviews with ABC. His mother said Abdul had called the house and also asked her not to talk to the press. Clark had told them of the affair early on, she said.

The show also alleged to have phone records of lengthy calls between Clark and Abdul's home, with Clark often using a cell phone he says Abdul supplied him. ABC played a voice mail from someone who sounded like Abdul warning Clark not to talk to the tabloids, but it was not clear what she was referring to.

Arguably the most damning allegation was that Abdul had coached Clark to sing the song Foolish Heart by the band Journey, saying it could help score points with fellow Judge Randy Jackson, a former member of Journey, which it appeared to do. Clark is shown telling Randy he did not know the judge was a former band member, which Clark now says was a lie.

If Clark got coaching in a broadcast skill contest, that could run afoul of FCC rules that date back to the quiz show scandals of the late 1950's, when several game shows coached contestants with particular audience appeal, using a "that's showbiz" defense that didn't wash with an unhappy Congress.

According to FCC rules, it is illegal "To supply to any contestant in a purportedly bona fide contest of intellectual knowledge or intellectual skill any special and secret assistance whereby the outcome of such contest will be in whole or in part prearranged or predetermined."

Ultimately, viewers vote the finalist contestants in or out, but the judges determine who makes it into the viewer-vote portion of the contest, and weigh in on camera throughout, arguably influencing those viewer decisions.

The 1950's quiz show scandals led to congressional hearings and the fall of some popular, big money, game shows.

ABC promised to follow up with any "Fallen Idol" fall-out on Thursday night's regular Primetime Live broadcast.

More on Dave Chappelle

Variety reports in its Thursday editions about Comedy Central’s abrupt yanking of the Dave Chappelle Show.

“…Industry insiders familiar with Comedy Central's decision making process indicate the net's announcement was prompted by the need for star Dave Chappelle to seek treatment for unspecified personal issues….”

'Idol' scandal could help, not hurt, the show
By Ann Oldenburg (Contributing: Bill Keveney ) USA TODAY

The question now: How will pop-culture darling American Idol weather this latest scandal?

ABC, in a special edition Wednesday of Primetime Live, devoted an hour to investigating the Fox show and the personal relationship between Season 2 contestant Corey Clark and Idol's most contestant-friendly judge, Paula Abdul.

Clark, 24, says he and Abdul, 42, had a secret sexual affair. He also says she helped him through the competition, giving him her prescription cough syrup to soothe his throat and cash to buy clothes, and helping him pick the song that got him into the final 12.

Andrea Brown Easterly, 32, of Alpharetta, Ga., says this changes her opinion of the show. "I am certainly more inclined to think producers and judges are tinkering with contestants and results," she said after watching Primetime. "However, it does not make me want to stop watching the show. It almost adds to the drama, in a sick sort of way."

Brad Adgate, an analyst for ad-buying firm Horizon Media, doesn't expect a backlash. "I thought they were pretty strong allegations," he said Wednesday night. "But this is the 21st century, and this stuff is not that shocking as perhaps it would have been a decade ago. All of this controversy just draws viewers."

Idol's ratings have risen each season since its debut in 2002; Primetime moved to Wednesday this week in hopes of capitalizing on the frenzy. Idol averages 25.3 million viewers on Wednesdays; Primetime draws 6.9 million viewers Thursdays.

On Primetime, Clark said Abdul slipped him her phone number through an intermediary. He talked of the relationship unfolding over the first three months of 2003. During one late-night meeting, it turned into romance, he said: "She came up behind me and just started kissing my neck."

Two of Clark's friends, as well as his parents, appear on camera to corroborate the story.

Even if Clark was cozy with Abdul, she couldn't have directly affected the outcome of the contest; viewer voting determined the finalists.

And although Clark advanced to the finals, he was later disqualified for not revealing that he had been charged with assaulting his sister and resisting arrest in Topeka in 2002.

However, as a group of Season 2 contestants said on Primetime, Abdul's advice could have given Clark an unfair edge. "For those who put so much work and effort into it — and someone that's kind of getting the easy ride in? Absolutely wrong," Nasheka Siddall said.

Abdul denied the allegations last week and said Clark is a "liar" and "an opportunist." Fox and Idol producers have said they will "look into any evidence of improper conduct."

At www.realitytvworld.com message-boards fans already are suggesting replacements for Abdul, among them Debbie Gibson, Janet Jackson, Cyndi Lauper and Courtney Love.

In the "Winners and Losers" section it says that the Star Trek: Enterprise episode was the series finale, it was not. There are still 3 more episodes to air with the finale being a back-to-back 2 episode airing on May 13th entitled "These are the voyages...".

That is correct, goober22.
Not every piece of information posted can be guaranteed 100% for accuracy.
Thanks for drawing that to our attention. :)

Fox Looks Into Allegations Against Abdul

By John Consoli Mediaweek.com May 05, 2005

Fox and American Idol producers Fremantlemedia and 19 Entertainment issued a statement today stating they are "looking into accusations" made by former Idol contestant Corey Clark that he was coached by and had a romantic relationship with Idol judge Paula Abdul, although the statement did not mention Abdul by name.

The statement also did not say whether Abdul would continue to be a judge on the show for the remaining three weeks of the show this season, while an investigation is being conducted.

On ABC's Primetime Live last night, Clark alleged that while he was a contestant on the show in early 2003, Abdul asked that he call her, that they developed a romantic relationship and that Abdul coached him on how to advance on the show, helping him pick the songs to sing (one of which was a song by Journey, a group that fellow judge Randy Jackson used to be a member of), and the clothes to wear.

Clark alleged that Abdul paid for his new wardrobe, and that he had a sexual relationship with her. While the judges do not determine who advances in the competition after the show's early eliminations, they do offer ample comment about each contestants performance and Abdul had nothing but praise for Clark following all of his on-air performances.

The statement from Fox and the producers tried to salvage the integrity of the show, stating, "It should be noted that the ultimate decision on which contestants move forward on American Idol has always been determined by the voting public. We have gone to great lengths and great expense to create a voting system that is fair and reliable. Judges may offer opinions, but viewers vote using their own subjective criteria; and it is the voters who ultimately determine each season's American Idol winner."

Clark was eventually kicked off the show because he failed to disclose a previous arrest for disorderly conduct on his show application.

The statement by Fox and the producers questioned Clark's motives--he is working on a book about his Idol experience and is set to release his first album. The Fox statement also added that much of the ABC report was 'filled with rumor, speculation and assertions from a disqualified contestant who admitted during the special to telling lies."

But the report did show dozens of phone calls from Abdul on Clark's cell phone bills, and Clark's parents said Abdul had called their home and left messages for Clark on several occassions. The show also aired a tape of a purported message left by Abdul on Clark's cell phone.

But Fox and the producers stated that "despite documented procedures and multiple opportunities, as well as contractual requirements for contestants to raise any concerns, we were never notified or contacted by Mr. Clark or any other individual, nor presented with evidence concerning these claims. Upon hearing rumors of Mr. Clark's claims (before the ABC show aired), we contacted him and requested that he detail his accusations to us. That has yet to happen. Regardless, we are absolutely committed to the fairness of this competition. We take any accusations of this nature very seriously, no matter their source, and we have already begun looking into them."

Clay Doubts Corey's Story

CBS.com---RALEIGH, N.C., May 5, 2005: Clay Aiken, who shot to fame from his run on "American Idol," says claims by fellow 2003 "Idol" contestant Corey Clark of an affair with singer and "Idol" judge Paula Abdul are "hard to believe."

Clark's assertions were aired on the ABC News program "Primetime Live" Wednesday night.

But on CBS”s The Early Show Thursday, Aiken told co-anchor Rene Syler, "It's a shocker that I think a lot of us (from that "Idol" season) have been hearing about for the past week, preparing ourselves for. Last night kind of threw a lot of curveballs our way. …To come to accept it is going to be a little difficult, I think."

Aiken lived in the "American Idol" house with several other top contestants, including Clark, but says he "absolutely" didn't sense anything improper going on between Clark and Abdul.

"I think that's what's really, really strange," he says. "I think a lot of the stuff that we heard last night was somewhat circumstantial. I believe…a lot of it is hearsay.

"We couldn't leave the house without checking out. We couldn't come back in without checking back in. I didn't get to see my momma! So it was a very secure situation. And none of us really expected this.

"For me, it's hard to believe at this point. …I know both parties involved. …I guess I'm biased in some ways. It's kind of my nature to believe Paula, who I know to be a nurturing and caring person. She was like that for everybody on the show. She was always the judge who was willing to give advice and willing to be supportive and willing to be nurturing. So I think that's just her nature."

Aiken also threw some cold water on phone records showing lengthy conversations, supposedly between Abdul and Clark: "I didn't see any information that proved that that was her phone number. I didn't see anything at all.

"I guess part of it was circumstantial, the whole Sprint-PCS story, where the (ABCNews) reporter said a number of the employees at the Sprint-PCS store were willing to say that Paula and Corey came in together to buy a phone. But we didn't hear from that person. …People backing up the story were Corey's personal friends, and Corey's family. And I kind of -- I don't know what the track record is. I don't think it's gleaming."

And what does he make of the recording of the phone call of a woman, purportedly Abdul, urging Clark not to go public with his allegations?

"I do believe that was Paula's voice," Aiken says. "I kind of think if I were in the situation and was reading…that you (Syler) were writing a tell-all book about me, I wouldn't believe -- I would kind of automatically assume that, 'Rene wouldn't do something like that. Let me call Rene and see what's going on.' I would assume they were making up a story or rumor about you, yourself. So I think I would probably call up and say, 'Rene, what's going on?' I think that's what I heard last night, Paula calling Corey and saying, 'What's going on? I imagine they're trying to stir something up.' "

If Clark's story turns out to be true, what should happen to Abdul?

Aiken wouldn't even go there: "It's kind of hard for me to speculate at that point. I believe Paula is an amazing asset to the show. I believe the show wouldn't be the same without her. So that's going to have to be my answer, because I kind of have a hard time believing it myself."

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/05/05/earlyshow/leisure/celebspot/printable693105.shtml

Wednesday’s prime-time program ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

Marc Berman’s analysis of the first six days of the May sweep prime-time program ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

Originally posted by fredfa
'Idol' scandal could help, not hurt, the show
By Ann Oldenburg (Contributing: Bill Keveney ) USA TODAY

He also says she helped him through the competition, giving him her prescription cough syrup to soothe his throat..

If Clark was in possession of this bottle of cough medicine, that's pretty much a smoking gun right there....it looked real enough on the show...

How is the cough syrup a smoking gun? If she knew the kid had a sore throat and brought him her cough syrup, she was -- at worst -- guilty of the silliness of sharing one's Rx meds (generally frowned upon) and perhaps a bit of bad judgment.

If she handed it to him in her house after they slept together, well.....

The simple, possibly innocent on her part, act of providing the cough syrup shows she was helping him, regardless of how she gave it to him.

Anyway, who really cares, it makes for a lot of fun on TV though....:D

Must-see network TV from our view
By MELANIE MCFARLAND SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER TELEVISION CRITIC
Thursday, May 5, 2005

A bone-breaking federal agent. A hausfrau who chats up dead people. A teenage detective, a misanthropic doctor, plane crash survivors and Romber. Your primetime schedule's saving graces are a motley crew, no doubt. But if TV has taught us anything, it is the lesson that when the day needs to be saved, misfits are your best bet.

Besides, consider where we were. No long ago, the idea of appointment television became something of an endangered notion. The options included "Whoopi" and "Threat Matrix." No good came of it.

That quickly changed once network television decided to take risks, giving us programming worth planning one's evening around, injecting new life into established shows or encouraging new series to flourish. While this tide-turning may not be positive news for our nation's brain rot or obesity epidemics, it at least gave the average working stiff something to look forward to at the end of each day.

So as the season winds down, it's worth noting that almost every network served up fine mood enhancers in the form of television worth talking about, without having the words "Survivor," "American Idol," "CSI" or "Law & Order" in the title. (Other than recent developments on "Everwood," The WB's offered slim pickings this year.)

This is not a comprehensive list by any means, but here are a few shows that, from our perspective, made TV's blue glow worth basking in again.

ABC: "Lost," "Boston Legal"

The "Desperate Housewives" girls may be the angels who airlifted ABC out of the ratings basement, but "Lost" is the likely winner for 2004-2005's favorite show, and "Legal" has people talking about it long after "Grey's Anatomy" bumped it from the lineup.

Each one's success lies in compelling, enigmatic characters. It's no exaggeration to say that "Boston Legal" is largely fueled by the deranged actions of Denny Crane and Alan Shore. Nor is it an overstatement to say that the two men were quite often the only reason to watch the show. Until Candice Bergen joined up, the rest of the cast members were weak satellites to their magnetic lunacy.

"Lost's" Sawyer, Kate, Charlie, Jack, Sayid and Locke ooze charisma as well, though their relationships with one another, and the island, constitute only a sliver of the drama's many strengths. Another is in the way the writers slowly reveal each one's back story to illuminate the motivations behind their behavior in each episode. In developing such an intricate mythos, "Lost" hooked into our obsession with puzzles and mysteries, resurrecting the art of the TV clue hunt. Every answer yields another question.

Maybe we'll get tired of the confusion one day, but not anytime soon. "Lost" airs its two-hour finale May 25, pitting it against "American Idol's" ultimate gasp; for me, there's no conflict to consider. Worry not over "Boston Legal," which was knocked off the schedule when "Grey's Anatomy" premiered at the end of March. It will return in the fall with 27 episodes, including the five that didn't air this season.

Fox: "24," "House"

Though it started out looking like a middling "ER" clone, "House" quickly figured out how to capitalize on the show's finest asset, Hugh Laurie. Somehow Laurie has figured out a way to balance his character's acerbic personality traits with his tattered humanity to create a wicked yet strangely lovable doc. And give it up for "24" and Jack Bauer for recovering from last year's off-day to find the show's stride once again. Only on "24" can a man begin a 24-hour stretch humbly working for the secretary of defense and sexing up the boss' not-yet-divorced daughter, and approach day's end running black ops missions, breaking a suspect's fingers and inadvertently killing his girlfriend's husband in order to find a terrorist kingpin.

Not that the bad guy's slacking; in a single day, Marwan has shot down Air Force One and stolen a nuclear warhead, merely the latest in a string of atrocities.

Yes, "Day Four" has been delightfully messed up, returning "24" to the brutal glory of better days. Still, we have to wonder how in the heck "24" will top it for Day Five.

NBC: "Medium"

This drama worked out its kinks shortly after its midseason premiere, transforming from it from so-so start to decent entertainment by nurturing its true substance -- family matters -- more than the psychic crime-solver gimmick that sells it.

Allison DuBois' ghost whispering is still "Medium's" driving force and, occasionally, the mysteries she solves are heartbreaking. But her unglamorous family life is the main appeal, because it mirrors the typical family's existence, right down to the frumpy clothes, the occasionally onerous tests of parenting skills and the bickering.

CBS: "The Amazing Race"

Not everybody, including this critic, appreciated the inclusion of "Survivor" winners and now newlyweds Rob Mariano and Amber Brkich in this "Race's" running. (Judging from the 100+ e-mails we've received on the subject, the ratio of "Romber" fans to foes is 1:1.)

Lovers and haters alike have to admit that this cycle, the "Race's" highest-rated ever, has loosed a special type of hell upon our manicures due to the duo's tactics. They've changed the game by playing it like Survivors instead of travelers, scheming, lying and manipulating their way through each leg, often coming in first place as a result. Even those of us who scream and throw food at the TV whenever they win have to respect their competitive strategy.

UPN: "Veronica Mars"

Most viewers have yet to catch on to the criminally low-rated "Veronica Mars," but those who have are being rewarded with a second season of the series.

Why did this show win renewal while other higher-rated UPN series are on the fence or being canceled? Part of it has to do with the network's business model, which is changing to lure more of the young women that made "America's Next Top Model" a hit.

UPN still has a lot to prove and cannot hitch itself to Tyra Banks' stilettos forever. It needs quality scripted programming to help it along. Enter "Veronica," a smart-aleck, fearless teen detective navigating the choppy seas of small town class-consciousness and high school, harboring her share of awful secrets.

With well-placed promotion and the continued high script quality, there's hope that this show will finally find its audience next year, much in the way another teenage girl hero did not long ago.

Big mystery over axing of 'Chappelle'
Comedy Central abruptly cancels season premiere
By Diego Vasquez medialifemagazine.com

Comedy Central has abruptly suspended production of its top-rated “Chappelle’s Show.” It's also canceled the show's season premiere, which had been set for May 31. Just why is a huge mystery, and as of this morning there's lots of speculation, much surrounding reports that star Dave Chappelle had not been showing up on the set.
Comedy Central is saying little beyond the cryptic three-line email sent to the press late yesterday afternoon.

In the email, which had no subject line, the network wrote:
“Comedy Central has suspended production on the third season of ‘Chappelle's Show’ until further notice. All parties are optimistic that production will resume in the near future. The third season will not premiere on May 31st as originally scheduled.”

The term creative differences is being tossed about in various press reports, but with little substance to back up suggestions of conflicts between the show's star and the network. E! News reports that Chappelle has been absent from the set for some weeks. There have been rumors of writer’s block and also that Chappelle is unhappy with some material already shot for the third season.

Just last August Chappelle signed a two-year deal with Comedy Central worth a reported $50 million. Yet some simmering conflicts continue to linger. This is at least the second time the show's season premiere has been delayed. The network had pushed back a February launch date when Chappelle came down with what was described as walking pneumonia.

Today's New York Times reports that 10 new episodes of the show are completed and ready to air, complete with musical performances by guests 50 Cent, Common, Kanye West and others. Contrary to the E! News report, the Times says Chappelle was shooting scenes for the show just last week in Harlem.

"Chappelle's Show," known for its sometimes daring commentary on race relations, as well as its skits parodying Rick James, averaged 3.1 million viewers an episode last season, and it even began out-delivering the network’s longtime No. 1 show, “South Park.”

Many of the show’s viewers are young men advertisers are eager to reach as their TV viewership declines. Last season the show was No. 1 in its timeslot on all of broadcast and cable among men 18-34. The show was also No. 1 in its slot on cable among total viewers and 18-49s.

If Chappelle ends up not completing seasons three and four, he’d stand to take a hefty loss in income. As much as $15 million of his contract is tied to DVD sales for those seasons, after season one became the best-selling TV series DVD in history.

Also, part of his deal had him starring in an adaptation of the autobiography of Rick James for a Paramount film, the status of which is now unknown. Chappelle is also said to be working on a book for Hyperion, but the status of that project is now unknown too.

"Lovers and haters alike have to admit that this cycle, the "Race's" highest-rated ever, has loosed a special type of hell upon our manicures due to the duo's tactics. They've changed the game by playing it like Survivors instead of travelers, scheming, lying and manipulating their way through each leg, often coming in first place as a result. Even those of us who scream and throw food at the TV whenever they win have to respect their competitive strategy."

"Throw food at the TV"! This has to be the funniest thing I have ever read on AVS, a big tip of the cap to fredfa for this wonderful post. ;-)

thanks mikey p :)

ABC's 'Eyes' Gets Closed for May Sweeps
By Brian Ford Sullivan thefutoncritic.com

LOS ANGELES -- ABC's "Eyes" is the latest victim of May sweeps maneuvering, as the network has dropped the show's sole airing (Wednesday, May 11 at 10:00/9:00c) during the key 28-day period.

In its place the Alphabet has slated a last-minute "Supernanny" special in which star Jo Frost visits the families she's helped this past season and checks to see how their kids are doing.

The news marks the latest blow to "Eyes" already slim chance at renewal. Just 6.29 million viewers watched its most recent episode, putting it at 70th place of the 113 network programs that aired last week. "Eyes" nevertheless held 76.8% of its "Alias" lead-in (8.19 million). Considering "Alias" held just 59.6% of "Lost's" lead-in (13.75 million) that night, said retention is far from problematic by comparison.

Overall only five of the 13 produced episodes have aired thus far this season. Industry trade publications have indicated said installments will likely run this summer. As previously reported however, "Eyes" doesn't appear on ABC's preliminary June schedule meaning a July return is likely the earliest the show could return.

TELEVISION REVIEW:
CBS 'Elvis' bio isn't Kingly, but it's closer
Presley, who would have been 70 this year gets a charitable, but not completely sanitized retelling of his life story
By Robert Lloyd Los AngelesTimes Staff Writer May 6, 2005

Elvis Presley would have been 70 this year, a difficult thing to conceive given the persistence of his lively younger selves in the public mind and pop culture whirl. Who knows what he might have become if only he hadn't taken so much medicine — a sitcom star, or president, or even the King of the Whole Wide World. He might have detoxed, done Shakespeare in the Park, cured cancer. Would he still be singing "Hound Dog"? There's no telling with the magnificent prematurely dead.

In honor of this anniversary year, those lively younger selves will be re-created Sunday and Wednesday in "Elvis," a CBS event-biopic made "with the full cooperation and participation" of the Presley estate, and featuring never-before-licensed-for-a-thing-like-this original recordings and scenes shot at Graceland — although not inside, where it is forever 1977. (A documentary, "Elvis by the Presleys," follows May 13.) Even before Elvis permanently left the building, his life was passing into legend, and the passion plays began soon after, with John Carpenter's 1979 "Elvis," which made a man out of Kurt Russell. There was also the 1981 "Elvis and the Beauty Queen," with Don Johnson an unlikely King, and "Elvis and Me," based on Priscilla Presley's memoirs, from 1998, and the lovely, short-lived series "Elvis," which lasted 10 episodes in 1990 and featured Michael St. Gerard as a young Presley, in the days before his fame.

Directed by James Steven Sadwith (who also made the 1992 "Sinatra" TV movie), co-written by him and Patrick Sheane Duncan ("Mr. Holland's Opus"), and starring a look-alike Jonathan Rhys Meyers ("Vanity Fair," "Bend It Like Beckham") as the Big E, it is not a stunning achievement by any means and suffers from all the usual compromises of the form. Character becomes motivation; a career a montage. With so much to say and so little time, every line of dialogue or scene is meant to tell you something important, or to foreshadow important events ahead. But "Elvis" handles these things better than many such films, by the quiet naturalism of its approach and the nonchalance with which the excellent actors sidle up to the densely expository dialogue, and when it is good it is very good indeed.

Especially in its first half, as Elvis goes from town freak to local hero to national sensation, it paints a convincing picture of what it's like to be in love with making music. Part two is more or less "Valley of the Dolls," with '60s Elvis pilled-up and out of control, looking for spiritual fulfillment, avoiding sex with Priscilla (Antonia Bernath), messing around with Ann-Margret (Rose McGowan) and kept from the exercise of his true gift by his money-first manager and a movie career that even then smelled of chronic underachievement.

In spite of the official imprimatur, it is not an absolutely sanitized retelling — you get the pills, the girls, the mother fixation (it's strangely appropriate that the show debuts on Mother's Day), the failures of nerve. And yet, perhaps because it bears that stamp of approval, or perhaps because the authors are more than usually mature, it's an evenhanded, even charitable version, which gives everyone his or her due and holds none especially to blame in the slow wreckage of the good ship Elvis. Even Colonel Parker (a wonderful Randy Quaid), frequently held to be the villain of the piece, comes off well; you can see him as he sees himself. Mother Gladys (Camryn Manheim) and father Vernon (Robert Patrick) are also sympathetically treated.

Rock 'n' roll would have existed without Elvis, but he was the galvanic force that guaranteed world domination. Beautiful and talented to a degree that highlights the essential unfairness of life, he was both man and icon, complicated and simple, artist and commodity. Everything about him bespoke a kind of duality, in fact: deferential rebel, anti-drug drug addict, Memphis boy and Hollywood star. Like his heroes Marlon Brando and James Dean, he possessed a kind of feline masculinity — he was soft, and he was sculpted, a former truck driver unafraid to wear pink, or even a little bit of mascara.

Rhys Meyers, who was born the year Elvis died and played a Bowie-esque glam rocker in "Velvet Goldmine," has no trouble with the emo Elvis. He is a shade too lithe and a couple of inches on the short side — it is just as well that the film ends in 1968, he would have been lost in the imperial jumpsuits of the 1970s — but he's got the eyes, and he's done his homework, studied the footage and conned the speech. He has trained his leg to twitch and his lip to curl, and there are moments, especially early on, when he successfully suggests the excitement of the original.

But charisma — not, in any case, a charisma as epochal as Presley's — is not transferable. (And yet he is possibly the most imitated man in history.) This becomes obvious in the climactic re-creation of the 1968 NBC "comeback" special, often taken to be the greatest moment of his career and a mountain too high for the filmmakers to climb. It's a sensible place to end, making what in its entirety is a story of rise and fall and rise and fall a story of rise and fall and rise, and it keeps Rhys Meyers from having to wear a fat suit. It also leaves most of the threads of the story hanging, for a closing title card to resolve.

'Elvis'

Where: CBS When: Part 1: 9 to 11 PM ET/PT Sunday Part 2: 8 to 10 PM ER/PT Wednesday

Ratings: TV-14-L (may be unsuitable for children younger than 14, with an advisory for coarse language)

Jonathan Rhys Meyers...Elvis Presley
Randy Quaid..."Colonel" Tom Parker
Rose McGowan...Ann-Margret
Tim Guinee...Sam Phillips
Jack Noseworthy...Steve Binder
Robert Patrick...Vernon Presley
Camryn Manheim...Gladys Presley

Networks feed off of celebrity scandal
Paula Abdul and Pat O'Brien find themselves in the hot seat
By Paul Brownfield Los AngelesTimes Staff Writer May 6, 2005

Networks have long been ushering reality show castoffs onto morning shows and otherwise deploying news divisions to promote in-house product, but on Wednesday night, in the heat of the May sweeps, some kind of dam seemed to burst.

ABC, in a twist on the typical embrace, used its news division to go after the hottest property in Fox's entertainment division, airing a so-puffed-up-it-was-hilarious exposé of the alleged affair between "American Idol" judge Paula Abdul and ex-contestant Corey Clark.

Viacom-owned CBS, meanwhile, sucked up an hour of prime time to do some corporate cleaning: Dr. Phil, host of the Viacom-owned "Dr. Phil," conducted a post-sex scandal, post-rehab interview with Pat O'Brien, the host of the Viacom-owned syndicated entertainment show "The Insider."

With synergy like this, it was easy to miss the fact that "Dateline: NBC" aired a special on out-of-this-realm survival stories ("a baby caught in a tornado"), evoking the drama that followed at 9, "Revelations."

"Fallen Idol," the name of ABC's "Primetime Live" special, aired after it was revealed that current "American Idol" contestant Scott Savol had been voted out of the final competition. The departure of Savol added to a general sense that "American Idol" is in the throes of a putsch, cleansing itself of recent scandal and tumult.

Savol, who sings off-key, was voted out before he could become the show's first antihero, his candidacy the subject of a subversive Internet site, www.votefortheworst.com that was hoping to carry him to victory.

So Savol the fallen Fox idol ended up setting the table for "Fallen Idol," the ABC special. After drumming up much speculation about what they had on the Fox show, the ABC special revealed that it only had what everyone figured they had — an interview with an ex-contestant, Clark, who is selling a record and writing what ABC News termed a "memoir" (you know, like Kissinger), alleging an affair with Abdul.

Granted, if the charges are true, Abdul will probably lose her job. But the "Primetime Live" hour itself was a joke, featuring co-anchor John Quinones in casual chic, prowling the L.A. night like a Raymond Chandler detective, or maybe just somebody who'd been abandoned by Snoop Dogg's posse three clubs ago and now can't find his car.

This was an L.A. story, complete with receipts for clothes Abdul purportedly bought Clark at Fred Segal in Santa Monica, although whether it was during one of the store's sales I can't say.

As it happened, ABC's "20/20" had done an earlier piece going behind the scenes of "Idol," for a "nice" story, so now "Primetime Live," doing the "mean" story, had B-roll of Clark's audition two seasons ago, in which he serenaded Abdul and kissed her hand, which "Primetime Live" kept re-showing in Zapruder--like fashion.

What the hour told, for all its ham-handedness, was a classic story of workplace sex harassment, the boss in this account being a woman and the victim an impressionable 22-year-old kid from Nashville who came to Hollywood with a dream and ended up in a different kind of dream, one that involved getting Abdul's home and cellphone numbers on a scrap of paper, followed by late nights at Chez Paula, where promises were whispered into his ear in the hills above the glitz factory. He ends up with a broken heart, while the other contestants feel wronged when they learn — courtesy of "Primetime Live" — about the favoritism occurring under their noses.

As Hollywood cliché, the Abdul-Clark story used to end with the kid back in Nashville, or maybe bagging groceries in a Vons on Fountain. "Hey, aren't you Corey Clark?" a shopper would ask, and Clark, not wanting to go back there, would mumble that he wasn't.

But nowadays there are no standards of fame, there is just fame, however it's gotten. And so Clark (and no doubt the people behind him) put together their own little media campaign. Clark said it wasn't about publicity for a record deal or a book contract. "I want to set the record straight for myself," is how he put it.

Pat O'Brien said it differently. He said: "I think it's time to tell my side of the story."

O'Brien's story, wrapped in the tough love of Dr. Phil, pre-empted the CBS newsmagazine "60 Minutes Wednesday," probably after a spirited game of rock-paper-scissors among the "60 Minutes" correspondents failed to resolve who would take on the O'Brien interview. Either that or the show's producers successfully argued that the "60 Minutes" brand wasn't worth selling out for a celebrity as marginal as O'Brien, who with Dr. Phil revealed that he'd been drinking copiously for years but had "never missed an hour of work, never missed a call, never missed an interview."

All of which threw into question just how focused you have to be when chatting with Ashton Kutcher on a red carpet.

If O'Brien has been on TV for decades, the Internet is what finally made him a star — or more specifically, the fact that people at work get e-mailed funny things, which they then pass on to other people who are at work surfing the Net for funny things.

In O'Brien's case, it was lascivious voicemails he left on a woman's cellphone one drunken evening in New York. Now here he was, fresh out of rehab and seated opposite Dr. Phil for his re-integration into show business, the interview taking place in a living room before a roaring fire, O'Brien sitting stock still and looking miserable as Dr. Phil spent half an hour on his transgressions, most of which seemed to involve drinking and dialing.

But there they were, two Viacom men, sitting on Viacom furniture and having a Viacom-sanctioned chat about the code of behavior in a Viacom-owned world.

As the special stretched into a full hour, we achieved maximum absurdity. O'Brien was seen returning to the set and addressing the troops at "The Insider," where staffers could now continue to do what publicists told them to do, but with their leader rested and refreshed.

The loving, sensitive father — that's Pat O'Brien, Dr. Phil said, after he seemed satisfied that O'Brien wouldn't drink and dial again. "This is not Pat O'Brien. And out of the people in this world who know that, put me at the top of that list."

"Thank you, Phil," O'Brien said.

The Blueprint of an Exposé: Motives and Mudslinging
By ALESSANDRA STANLEY The New York Times May 6, 2005

ABC broadcast a sizzling exposé of a rival network's most successful show, "American Idol." A special on CBS was more of an in-house show trial: Pat O'Brien confessed his guilt and remorse in exchange for a splashily redemptive return to his anchor seat on "The Insider."

But both network specials on Wednesday night carried a broader message: there actually can be too much of a bad thing.

The outrage of Mr. O'Brien's disgrace is not that the host of a scandal-loving syndicated gossip show was himself caught in a sleazy sex, booze and drug binge that sent him into rehab. It was scandalous that CBS, which is owned by the same parent company, Viacom, that makes "The Insider," padded a full hour of prime time with Mr. O'Brien's sad but banal tale, while the missteps of far more famous celebrities, be they the Olsen twins or Michael Jackson, are tidily and speedily summed up in 90-second segments on his own show.

Viewers voted with their remotes: The CBS show trailed in the ratings. ABC also stretched "Fallen Idol" to the limits of viewer endurance, but that special at least packed more punch. It was the second-most-watched show by viewers aged 18 to 49, after "American Idol" on Fox.

On the other hand, CBS let its entertainment division handle the dirty laundry, recruiting Dr. Phil McGraw to stage an intervention. ABC turned its news division loose on Fox, co-opting "Primetime Live" to reveal allegations that Paula Abdul, a judge for "American Idol," had a clandestine affair with Corey Clark, a contestant, and coached him behind the scenes.

And there was more: the "Primetime Live" anchor John Quiñones was back on ABC Thursday morning, once again interviewing the contestant and his outraged parents for "Good Morning America."

Fox has denied the charges. "We have concerns about the motives behind last night's purported news special, as much of it was filled with rumor, speculation and assertions from a disqualified contestant who admitted during the special to telling lies," the network said in a statement issued after the ABC show.

And ABC's motives deserve some examination: the network has been in a blood feud with Fox over a number of copycat reality shows; Fox got "Trading Spouses" on the air before ABC could schedule "Wife Swap," and Fox's "Nanny 911" also elbowed ahead of ABC's "Supernanny."

It is improbable that ABC really believes that this new scandal will close down Fox's hit show - these are the kind of revelations that are more likely to boost its ratings. More likely, ABC sought to increase its own audience share by embarrassing its rival: a two-for-one vengeance package.

But ABC might as well have handed the special over to the entertainment division: Mr. Clark was shown over and over recording songs about his seduction for his new CD ("If you breathe a word/you will be dropped"), but Mr. Quiñones was much less keen to explore the criminal conviction that forced Mr. Clark off the show.

He did ask why Mr. Clark did not tell "Idol" producers about his record when he was auditioning for the show, and didn't blink at Mr. Clark's lame reply: "I didn't mention it because the police wrongfully arrested me." Mr. Quiñones did not even ask him about the unusual charge: the police accused him of assaulting his little sister.

Instead, Mr. Quiñones drove with Mr. Clark to the various locations where the May-October romance was supposed to have taken place, interviewing him in a darkened parking lot while wearing a second-story man's black leather jacket and sneakers.

Mr. Clark, who seems intent on exploiting the backstage dalliance to jump-start his career, is not a very credible witness, but the sheer amount of evidence he accumulated - phone records, shopping receipts and Ms. Abdul's messages on his cellphone - suggests he may well be telling the truth. ABC News was mainly interested in hyping it, which is not surprising. But even in a sweeps month, the slow dragging out of details was less forgivable.

Not that CBS took the high road, either. With Mr. O'Brien seated across from him, Dr. Phil repeatedly played the salacious phone messages (obscenities deleted) that Mr. O'Brien left on a woman's voice mail while on a weekend binge. Mr. O'Brien was calm and smoothly well spoken throughout the confrontation, blaming his bad behavior on alcoholism, which, he noted, he had inherited from his father.

Castigation came first, then endless amounts of unconditional love: colleagues at his show gave testimonials to his character and work ethic. "It makes my heart warm to hear those letters," Mr. O'Brien said coolly. "I am totally, insanely humbled by this."

CBS should be humbled by the cold response of viewers. Next time a Viacom star gets into trouble, the network should keep the spin control short.

Why Is Chappelle's Show at a Halt? Not Because of Drugs, an Aide Says
By JESSE McKINLEY and LOLA OGUNNAIKE The New York Times
Representatives of the comedian Dave Chappelle yesterday denied rumors that drugs were involved in the suspension of production of his acclaimed sketch comedy show, "Chappelle's Show."

Matt Labov, Mr. Chappelle's publicist, categorically denied speculation that drug use - a frequent topic of Mr. Chappelle's stand-up comedy routines - played any part in his client's problems with delivering the show on time. The third season's premiere had already been delayed twice.

"He's not in rehab. He does not have a cocaine addiction," Mr. Labov said.

But little other information was offered about the abrupt suspension, which was announced Wednesday. Officials at Comedy Central, the cable channel that carries the show, said they had no information as to when or if new episodes might be seen. After a yearlong hiatus, the show was to have returned for its third season at the end of this month.

Mr. Chappelle, 31, took on an enormous amount of responsibility last August when he signed a two-year contract with Comedy Central worth an estimated $35 million to $50 million, a lucrative deal for a half-hour cable comedy show.

"Obviously, I'm sure there's a lot of pressure, with the expectation of the fans, and the network and the expectation of the press," said Mr. Labov.

But those expectations and tensions were no doubt also heightened by the unusual amount of hands-on involvement Mr. Chappelle has in the show. In addition to his roles as the producer and star - playing everyone from a blind, black racist to Rick James, the decadent (and now deceased) funk star - Mr. Chappelle and his writing partner, Neal Brennan, were also writing almost every line of this season's 10 scheduled shows.

"Dave and Neal are essentially the whole writing staff," said Mr. Labov. "They'd shoot for a week and then Dave and Neal would take a week off to write."

Indeed, some of the internal pressures may have come from the unique style of production employed by "Chappelle's Show," in which dozens of comedy sketches, musical numbers and other bits are shot in no particular order and assembled later in the editing room. "They don't necessarily have a shooting script for a set episode," said Mr. Labov.

While that method worked well in two previous seasons, earning rave reviews and high Nielsen ratings, the show currently has no completed episodes despite having shot material sporadically since early February.
Mr. Chappelle added to his workload by booking several casino engagements this spring, playing large theaters at the Borgata in Atlantic City and Foxwoods in eastern Connecticut.

Last season the show was one of Comedy Central's biggest draws, averaging more than three million viewers, twice as many as Comedy Central's "Daily Show" with Jon Stewart.

Ratings like that, along with impressive DVD sales, helped to establish Mr. Chappelle as a major star worthy of a multimillion-dollar deal after years as a stand-up comic and movie actor.

"Each network has certain things that identify them and 'Chappelle' is one of - if not the - show, that says Comedy Central," said Jon Mandel, the chairman of Mediacom, a media buying agency.

Donnell Rollins, a regular on "Chappelle's Show," refused to comment on the circumstances of the delay.

"We've been told that all calls should be directed to his publicist," he said, but he added that he believed it had nothing to do with the quality of the coming season. "Yeah, it was going to be funny," he said. "It was going to be consistent with the first two seasons."

'Housewives' in suspense
By William Keck USA TODAY

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. — Eva Longoria, Desperate Housewives' always fashionable Gabrielle, is marching onto a soccer field in wobbly high heels for a confrontational scene set to air on the hugely successful prime-time soap's season finale May 22.

It's the final day of filming on the Universal Studios back lot, and series creator Marc Cherry has just pulled up in a golf cart for one of his rare on-set appearances. Sprinting up a hillside, the 43-year-old writer deals with malfunctioning lawn sprinklers, then encourages Longoria to exaggerate the fury she's expressing toward Jesse Metcalfe, who plays her hottie gardener — and quite possibly the father of her unborn child.

Faced with this pregnancy of uncertain paternity, a husband headed for the slammer and a lawn-boy lover who earns $50 a mow, Gabrielle is more desperate than ever.

But desperate no more are Cherry and his harem of mostly fortysomething actresses.

"It was a good first year," Cherry says in a gross understatement. Days earlier, he got the keys to his new home — a San Fernando Valley mansion on a street not unlike the show's Wisteria Lane and worth, he says, "a lot more than my condo."


The comedic ABC hit premiered in October to juggernaut ratings and went on to win multiple Golden Globe, People's Choice and Screen Actors Guild awards. Just seven months later, the very relatable "desperate housewife" moniker has become so ingrained in the American lexicon that first lady Laura Bush joked last weekend that she was one.

"It's been a year of overwhelming fun, excitement, unending photo shoots, interviews and publicity appearances," reflects Longoria, sitting on a set of bleachers alongside close pal Metcalfe between takes.

A few days earlier, the Housewives quartet — Longoria, Marcia Cross (Bree), Teri Hatcher (Susan) and Felicity Huffman (Lynette) — had wrapped their last scene together, huddled on a hospital sofa.

"It was a heavy scene," says Hatcher, phoning in from New York where she has been judging short films at the Tribeca Film Festival. "There was a very genuine and deeply felt recognition that all four of us together as a team appreciated the ride we'd had this season and were grateful that we'd survived it together."

That's not to say there wasn't time for laughs. All four women picked up prop guns and pointed a wind machine at their hair for an impromptu spoof of Charlie's Angels. "Of course, we got three steps out and giggled and fell on the floor," Huffman says.

A little later, Huffman and Longoria broke into what Huffman calls their "J. Lo dance," while Hatcher shot the silliness with her hi-def camera. "Then," Longoria says, "we all finally exhaled, let out this huge sigh and said, 'We made it.' "

Well, almost.

Run-up to a cliffhanger

Now comes the daunting challenge of ending the season on a high note while laying the groundwork for Season 2. The next three crucial episodes (ABC, Sundays, 9 p.m. ET/PT), culminating with the cliffhanger, will show the events that led Mary Alice Young to shoot herself in the opening episode, introduce a new housewife with a major mystery of her own, and place the futures of several characters in serious jeopardy.

"The way this all comes together at the end of this season is so fantastic," Cross says, standing in the shade on the soccer field and wearing a sun hat to protect her porcelain skin.

But going into the next season, there is genuine concern over the public continuing to believe that these actresses are as close as their neighborly characters appear on TV. That perception was challenged by Vanity Fair's May cover story, which exposed a catty cast photo shoot, resulting in bruised egos and cold shoulders.

Working to put the ugly incident behind them, the leading ladies have been offering each other expressions of goodwill as they say goodbye for their summer hiatus.

Hatcher broke the tension by coming to the set three weeks ago with homemade banana bread and champagne baskets she had made for each of the ladies. Cross spent the previous days shopping for goodbye gifts ("yummy, smelly things like candles") for her co-stars. Longoria has been busy creating a collage poster ("of our amazing year") for each of the women. Brenda Strong (Mary Alice) presented charm bracelets to Hatcher, Cross, Longoria and Huffman. The bracelets contained photos of each of their faces.

And putting to rest tabloid rumors of feuding with Hatcher, Nicollette Sheridan (Edie) is considering asking Hatcher to be maid of honor at her upcoming wedding: "We're tight," Sheridan says.

The Vanity Fair article, Cherry asserts, "truly does not reflect how our gals treat each other."

"It can be hurtful to the ensemble," says Longoria, who united with the other women to pay for a thank-you party for their crew. "What really (angered me) about the Vanity Fair shoot is that it was an argument between us and Vanity Fair. Not within us. We are going to have better understanding of our publicity next year."
A little less togetherness

To give the cast a much-needed breather from the show and one another, plans for an extensive European summer promotional tour were scrapped. Now, only Cross and Sheridan will promote the show this June in London, Rome and Monaco; Hatcher and James Denton (Mike) will pop in for the London leg.

Says Cross, "There's a little bit of looking forward to having some time for a life."

Cherry tries not to concern himself with gossip beyond his control. His biggest challenge will be trying to top an addictive first-season story line that has been consistently pulling in a weekly average of 24 million viewers. Even a recap clip show ("Sorting Out the Dirty Laundry") that aired April 24 ranked as the week's top show among viewers ages 18 to 49.

"I want to keep finding new ways to talk about issues that relate to everyday women," Cherry says. "Lynette will have a job next season (returning to her advertising roots), so I want to address how difficult it is to go to work all day and then come home and be expected to also take care of your house."

The show, he says, can keep its connection with viewers only if it retains the "small, real, everyday issues" without becoming all soap opera.

While Cherry is sticking with his original seven-year concept for the show, Hatcher says she'll be surprised if it runs that long.

"I don't feel this is going to go seven years," she says. "Television shows are delicate things, and no matter how big of a hit you have, you never know when it could fall. Look at a show like Twin Peaks that was super hot," then canceled in its second season.

But unlike Peaks, which peaked too soon and drew out its Laura Palmer murder mystery way past viewer interest, Housewives is wrapping up the mystery of Mary Alice's suicide. And the May 15 episode will introduce a new housewife, the protective and religious Betty Applewhite, played by familiar big-screen actress Alfre Woodard.

Applewhite's son, Matthew, who has gotten himself into some trouble back in the old neighborhood, will be played by 24-year-old actor/model Mehcad Brooks. The Applewhites will be introduced to Wisteria Lane by real estate agent Edie Britt (Sheridan).

All Cherry will say about the Applewhites is that "they come on the street; they seem like nice people — but they've got a secret. And it's pretty gothic. It's real and human and awful all at the same time."

Edie will stay a fifth wheel

Because of viewers' (read: male viewers') strong reaction to Sheridan, her character next season will be given a never-before-seen ex-husband and a 6-year-old son. But Cherry insists that Edie will continue serving only as a spoiler to complicate the other women's lives.

The opening credits next year will continue to feature only the faces of Hatcher, Cross, Huffman and Longoria.

Recognizing the international name value that Sheridan brings to the show, Hatcher would prefer to make the foursome a quintet. "As the woman who works with Nicollette more than anyone else," she says, "I find it uncomfortable to sometimes include Nicollette and sometimes exclude Nicollette. She's my friend, and I feel awkward for her."

Calling from home, where she's wrestling a candle out of her puppy's mouth while madly packing for a weeklong getaway to an exotic locale to celebrate fiancé Nicklas Soderblom's 40th birthday, Sheridan says she realizes "Edie's an outsider. She's never going to be one of them. But as far as looking at the show as a whole, I see her as one of the five desperate housewives."

While also a champion of Sheridan's work, Cross believes "it's nice for the duration of the show to watch the paths of the four women. I think (the foursome) is the through line."

That is, if all four agree to stay put on Wisteria Lane.

"My goal would be to always have the four women stay with the show until the very end, and follow their journeys much in the way Sex and the City or Golden Girls did," says Cherry, a former writer for Golden Girls.

"But I'm also cognizant that at any point, one of these women could say, 'I want to go home and be with my kids,' or 'I want to go off and be a movie star.' "

Legally, Hatcher says that decision is not really up to any of them. "I guarantee you we all signed five- or six-year contracts at the beginning of this thing," she says.

Desperate, disposable men

The future appears far bleaker for the show's male cast; only breakout stud Denton (Mike Delfino) is a likely candidate for series longevity. As the season winds down, nearly all of the desperate husbands are placed in jeopardy, as Rex Van De Kamp (Steven Culp) unwittingly takes sugar pills to treat his serious heart condition, Tom Scavo (Doug Savant) harbors a secret that threatens to destroy his marriage to Lynette, and Paul Young (Mark Moses) faces his comeuppance for the murder of Mrs. Huber.

And putting into question the fate of Gabrielle's current men — lover John (Metcalfe) and husband Carlos (Ricardo Antonio Chavira), who is headed off to prison — Cherry and his writers are conceiving a new suitor for Gabrielle in Season 2.

"It's very tenuous existences for all of us," says Denton, who has bonded with his male co-stars. "Nobody wants to be the guy left behind, but I don't see how we could all be back."

With some of the men probably on their way out, expect the ladies' faces to be featured prominently on an onslaught of Housewives merchandise set to hit stores later this year, including the Season 1 DVD in September (packed with deleted scenes, cast commentaries and a computerized tour of Wisteria Lane), a board game, a wall calendar, a coffee-table book and a record featuring songs inspired by the lives of desperate housewives that will be available in time for Christmas shopping. (So far, no plans for a talking Mrs. Huber doll with bludgeoning blender.)

Might all this be too much, much too soon? "It's a lot very fast," Sheridan concedes. And Huffman acknowledges that the show's heavy exposure already has left her feeling "a little sick of us."

"Sure we're concerned about overexposure, but what am I going to do about it?" asks Cherry, who denies reports of a spinoff series (at least for a couple of years). "Next season, there'll be some other hit show, and people's attention will drift over to it."

And that time can't come soon enough for the cast, especially Hatcher, who has had reporters trawl through her trash; Denton, who just put his home on the market after a magazine ran a photo of the house; and Cross, who recently spent a Saturday at her salon in Santa Monica having her hair colored as 20 paparazzi aimed their cameras at her through the window. "It was crazy, unbelievable," Cross says. "Sometimes I can handle it; other times I just get back in my car and go home."

Sounding much like her desperate character Bree Van De Kamp, Cross says she probably will spend much of her summer tucked safely at home, "cleaning my closets and working on my house."

And maybe, she says, "I'll build a gate."

Cast members reveal 'Desperate' hopes
By William Keck USA TODAY

Here is what the cast would like for their characters in Season 2:

Marcia Cross (Bree). HD
"I want to see Bree come undone. I think all of her effort to hold the reins tight for as long as possible this year will finally come crashing down on her. And I think it will be interesting to see her change." Cross hopes Bree's breakdown will inspire an alteration to her severe, heavily sprayed, flipped-out do: "Her hair is indicative of her spirit, so as things change, her hair will change."

Teri Hatcher (Susan). HD
"The most fun things for me to do are intertwining the dramatic and physical comedy, like getting caught outside naked or falling through the floor. I love the chemistry between Edie and Susan and hope that stays significant. There is something these women need from each other, but they will always repel each other."

Felicity Huffman (Lynette). HD
With Lynette returning to work next season, Huffman says, "My hope is to not get lost in the corporate world; that it's still a home and family/husband and children story. But how many times can you go, 'Kids, clear your plates!' "

Eva Longoria (Gabrielle). HD
"I hope she finds happiness, but I don't know about this pregnancy. I hate the thought of pregnancy pads. I've done it before when I was pregnant on The Young and the Restless, and it's uncomfortable. I'm not looking forward to wearing a fake stomach and ugly clothes."

Nicollette Sheridan (Edie). HD
"Finally, Edie's house is going to be built, because she has the worst construction crew ever. They all need to be fired. This has taken entirely too long." And with Edie's 6-year-old son coming to town, Sheridan says, "I have a feeling he'll be taking care of Edie." She also hints, "Edie will be causing some trouble with a new relationship."

James Denton (Mike). HD
"I'm just hoping to be back. Assuming I do, I'd like Mike to have a life other than being Susan's boyfriend. Though almost all of the questions involving the mystery will be answered in May sweeps, I'd like to play out the loose ends next season."

Jesse Metcalfe (John). HD
"I'd like to see John grow up a little bit. He can't be mowing lawns forever. Who knows? Maybe next season he'll get the girl. Of course, to get Gabrielle he'll need to hit the lottery."

"The simple, possibly innocent on her part, act of providing the cough syrup shows she was helping him, regardless of how she gave it to him."

Except she is known to be nurturing. She is known to be helpful to all the contestants. She is known to try to kiss Simon Cowell on air, for crissakes.

And since the 'star witness' won't even help the show investigate his charges, this is going absolutely nowhere.

Frankly I think the manipulation of a popular show would be a good story.
But this?
Puh-leeze!
Sadly, we'll be seeing more of this kind of "investigative reporting" as the mega-corporations which control the media jostle for position against each other.
One question: Remember when "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" was every bit as popular as "American Idol"? Does anyone believe ABC News would have spent an hour of ABC's prime time investigating the charges of an unhappy contestant?
ABC News? Ted Koppel can't get out fast enough. The stench must be overwhelming.

CBS Unveils Summer Reality
By John Eggerton BroadcastingCable.com

CBS Friday took the wraps off its summer reality lineup of three new shows and a new installment of Big Brother.

New shows include a sort of anti-Apprentice series, whose object is to get fired; The Cut, an homage to Bravo's popular Project Runway, and Rock Star: INXS, a combination American Idol and Big Brother.

First out of the blocks will be Fire Me, Please (Tuesday, June 7 at 9-10 p.m.), a four-episode series from LMNO Productions and Magic Molehill Productions, in association with BBC Worldwide. In the show, two people start a new job, with the person who can engineer their own firing the closest to 3 p.m. without going over winning $25,000.

Next is The Cut (Lion's Gate in association with Pilgrim Films and Television), an hour show that debuts June 9, with a special 8-9:30 episode, then airs on three succeeding Thursdays at 8-9 before moving to a new time period to be announced later.

The series features 16 contestants competing for the chance to launch their own designer label for Tommy Hilfiger.

And finally, Rock Star: INXS, from Mark Burnett (Survivor), debuts July 11.

The series will get three airings a week, similar to the early rounds of American Idol, and will combine relationship reality--contestants all live together in a house--with a performance/vote-off competition, with the winner becoming the lead singer of band INXS.

The three weekly installments will be divided among taped reality segments from the communal living interaction (Monday at 9:30-10), performance competition (Tuesday, 10-11) and results show (Wednesday, 9:30-10).

NBC WANTS TO TAKE '24'
By ADAM BUCKMAN, New York Post, 5/6/2005


THE suspense series "24" is embroiled in a nail- biter of its own over its renewal for next season.

With less than two weeks to go until Fox unveils its new fall lineup May 19, the future of "24" is the subject of intense negotiations between the network and the series' producer, Twentieth Television, a unit of the same parent company, News Corp., which also owns The Post.

And there's an added wrinkle: NBC is also interested in "24," The Post has learned.

"I can tell you that NBC has not been shy about expressing their interest in '24,' " said a source who requested anonymity.

The issue is money. Unlike previous renewals, this one is complicated by the fact that Fox's initial four-year license term for "24" expires with the end of the current season (the finale airs May 23).

When a license term expires, the price goes up.

"Essentially, the price tag for a series generally goes up dramatically after being on the air for four years," a source explained.

The tug-of-war over "24" comes as the "real-time" series ¿ starring Kiefer Sutherland as a federal anti-terrorism agent ¿ is enjoying its best ratings ever. With just shy of 12 million viewers per episode this season (according to Nielsen), "24" is the second-highest-rated drama series on Fox (after "House").

But instances of TV series switching networks are rare. And while NBC's intrusion in the negotiating process might drive up the price of a fifth season of "24" even more, the odds favor Fox making a deal to keep the series.

Officials of Fox and Twentieth Television declined comment. nt.

Thursday’s prime-time program ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

Actually instances of TV series switching networks used to be fairly common through the 60s.
But it has become increasingly rare.
One of the more prominent network switchers of recent years: JAG, which spent a year on NBC, then 9 profitiable ones on CBS

Also Grounded For Life went from FOX to the WB...hopefully American Dreams will find a new network

Buffy switched, too - WB to UPN.

I am with you, markc, that would be great.
But I don't see it happening. I really hope I am wrong.

(From Marc Berman’s Programming Insider column Friday, May 6th, 2005 at Mediaweek.com)
-Look Who's Tawkin':

On last night's edition of CNBC's The Big Idea With Donny Deutsch (a can't miss show, by the way), headline maker Corey Clark and his alleged affair with Paula Adbul was the subject. When Deutsch asked a startled Clark if he wanted to take a lie-detector test, his initial response of yes turned into no after the commercial break. "I'm willin' to take a lie detector test if Paula is sittin' here takin' one too, you know what I'm sayin'?," responded Clark. Enough said!

ABC's inquiry appears to reflect a news shift

By Mark Jurkowitz Boston Globe Staff May 6, 2005

ABC's decision to dig up dirt on a linchpin of another network's entertainment lineup reflects the changing values of television news, several media analysts said yesterday.

The much-hyped ''Primetime Live" exposé Wednesday night on Fox's hit show ''American Idol" generated a big audience and has led to speculation that Paula Abdul will depart the show. The ABC report prompted a Fox statement yesterday expressing ''concerns about the motives behind last night's purported news special."

Although Fox did not elaborate on those motives, Steven Stark, a television historian and author of ''Glued to the Set," cited increasing network friction as a factor in ABC's scrutiny of ''American Idol."

''I don't think you would have seen this 10 years ago," Stark said. ''I think there is such competition between each network that it's become cutthroat. Secondly, it's Fox. Fox is willing to push the envelope. They're the fourth network and they've tried to usurp the other three."

ABC spokesman Jeffrey Schneider vigorously defended the ''Primetime Live" examination of the Fox show.
''It might be interesting or fun for some to make this into a fight between Fox and ABC News," he said. ''It has nothing to do with that. It has to do with journalists pursuing an interesting tip which clearly showed there were substantial reasons to look into these allegations. . . Obviously, 'American Idol' is a cultural phenomenon that attracts millions of viewers, and we thought the claims warranted further investigation."

The status of ''American Idol" as a pop-culture smash is reflected in Nielsen Media Research ratings showing that the two weekly editions of the show rank second and third among prime-time programs. Fox -- while in fourth place in total household ratings this season -- is tied for first with CBS in attracting viewers in the coveted 18-49 age demographic.

Although former NBC News president Larry Grossman found no ethical problems with ABC's decision to investigate ''American Idol," he said it spoke volumes about what now constitutes television journalism.
''That's characteristic of the prime-time magazine shows at all the networks," he said. ''They are nonfiction entertainment rather than dealing with the major issues of our time. . . . If it's a good story, it's a good story. The question is: What do they define as a good story?"

Certainly, newsmagazine shows are not averse to treating entertainment television as a subject of interest. Schneider recalled a flattering 2002 ''20/20" segment on ''American Idol;" NBC's ''Dateline" has aired pieces on personalities from that show. CBS's ''60 Minutes" aired a profile of comedian and NBC sitcom star Jerry Seinfeld. And on Sunday, Ray Romano, star of CBS's long-running comedy ''Everybody Loves Raymond" will be interviewed on the venerable newsmagazine show.

What seems to be less commonplace is one network training its journalistic guns on another. Asked about ''60 Minutes" investigations into rival networks, a CBS spokesman could only recount a September 1996 story about whether NBC anchor Tom Brokaw had been unfair in coverage of suspected (and eventually vindicated) Olympic bomber Richard Jewell.

And in a 2001 segment that bore similarities to ABC's look at ''American Idol," NBC's ''Dateline" interviewed a former participant in the CBS reality hit ''Survivor" who had said the show was rigged.

J. Max Robins, editor in chief at Broadcasting & Cable, said the ''Primetime Live" investigation was ''well reported" and covered a story that was ''valid news." But he also said it ''is valid to ask the question, 'If 'Idol' were an ABC show, not a Fox show, would they be doing the story?' "

Whatever the answer, it is clear that ''American Idol" provided a ratings bonanza for ''Primetime Live." An ABC spokesman said Wednesday's edition of the newsmagazine attracted 13.7 million viewers, nearly double the size of the normal audience.

Sister, Sister and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch went from ABC to The WB. Clueless went from ABC to UPN. Step by Step and Family Matters went from ABC to CBS for their final seasons. Of course none of those shows are as big as 24 and they are all family-targeted shows for some reason. Also, The Surreal Life went from The WB to VH1.

fredfa,

Britney and Kevin (May 17) Tuesdays 9 PM ET (one-hour premiere) ---now titled Britney and Kevin: Chaotic.

Here is someone whose name you might not have known, but whose work you surely recognize:
'SNL' writer, former WGAE prez Sargent dies
Emmy winner began career in radio, segued to TV

By DAVE MCNARY Variety.com

Herb Sargent, the "Saturday Night Live" writer-producer who served as president of the Writers Guild of America East for the past 14 years, died Friday in New York City. He was 81.

Sargent, who won six Emmys and six WGA Awards, began his career in radio in the 1940s. He moved to TV with stints at "Colgate Comedy Hour, " "The Victor Borge Show," "The Tonight Show with Steve Allen," "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson," "The Perry Como Show," and "That Week That Was." Sargent was one of the original writers on "Saturday Night Live" when it launched in 1975 and spent more than two decades with the show.

Sargent also wrote the screenplay of "Bye Bye Braverman" and worked on TV specials for Bing Crosby, Milton Berle, Perry Como, Sammy Davis Jr., Alan King, Paul McCartney, Lily Tomlin and Burt Bacharach. Credits also include "The Best of Saturday Night Live," "The 40th Annual Emmy Awards," "The 43rd Annual Emmy Awards," "The Saturday Night Live Mothers Day Specials," and "NBC's 75th Anniversary."

Sargent won the WGA East's Richard B. Jablow Award for service and was a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Songwriters Guild of America and former member of the Board of Governors of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (New York). Warren Leight, VP of the WGA East, said, "Herb Sargent was a great man. He did more to help writers than anyone I've ever known."

"Herb was exceptionally generous to all writers and brought an unfailing sense of decency and good will to everything he did for the Guild," said WGA East exec director Mona Mangan.

Sargent was raised in Upper Darby, Pa., and joined the U.S. Army during World War II. He was stationed in New Guinea, served in the Air Transport Command and was stationed in Osaka following the surrender of Japan. After the war, Sargent graduated from UCLA and worked in production at the Circle Theatre before moving to New York. He is survived by his widow and his brother, screenwriter Alvin Sargent.

PAULA ABDUL VISITS 'SNL'

Tonight’s episode of "The Insider" breaks news that PAULA ABDUL will make an appearance on "Saturday Night Live" this Saturday, May 7.

Abdul's appearance on the famous NBC sketch-comedy show, hosted this week by JOHNNY KNOXVILLE, comes in the midst of media attention about an alleged affair that occurred between the popular "American Idol" judge and a former contestant on the show.

Abdul issued a statement Friday saying: "All my life, I have been taught to take the high road, and never to dignify salacious or false accusations," she said. "And I have been taught never, never to lie. Not only do I never lie, I never respond to lies, no matter how vicious, no matter how hurtful. I do trust my fans who can see through attempts at character assassination, and I do trust the essential fairness of the American public."

Following the broadcast of an ABC's exposé Wednesday night, much support for Abdul (from previous "American Idol" contestants and the producers of the popular FOX show) continues to pour forth.

http://et.tv.yahoo.com/newslink/index.html#l1

And let's not forget "The PJs"� which went from FOX to the WB (where it quickly died).

Originally posted by Symbios
And let's not forget The PJs� which went from FOX to the WB (where it quickly died).

Your right. Forgot about that very funny show. I remember the WB cancelled it because it was too expensive for them with the stop motion animation even though it good decent ratings. That show needs to be put on DVD soon or given Adult Swim reurns (I think Trio has the rerun rights though).

Friday’s prime-time program ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

Tom Shales’ Review of “Elvis”
Elvis Has Reentered The Building The King Rules Again In Loving CBS Movie
By Tom Shales Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, May 8, 2005; N01

It might seem faintly sacrilegious to cast a skinny Irish actor as American legend Elvis Presley, but misgivings turn out to be groundless. Only a few minutes into "Elvis," (HD) the powerful new CBS movie biography, actor Jonathan Rhys-Meyers ceases to exist -- and The King is born to walk the Earth again.

Rhys-Meyers gives a moving and meticulously detailed performance in a film that tells the Elvis story in a way it has never been told before -- not just with new material about his life and loves but also with a more infectious appreciation for his talent, his idiosyncrasies and the joy he brought into the world -- a joy he didn't take with him when he left. The man is gone, the career goes on.

The four-hour, two-part film definitely qualifies as an event, probably the big event of the May ratings sweeps, but CBS has, in its infernal inscrutability, scheduled "Elvis" in a way seemingly designed to confuse viewers. Part 1 airs tonight at 9 ET/PT, but Part 2 doesn't mosey along until Wednesday night at 8.

The production is lavish, but when it comes to depicting Presley's concerts and other public appearances, not particularly spectacular. The big letdown is that the producers (who number in what seem like the dozens) make the glaring error of tossing in newsreel clips of the real Elvis at certain points in his career -- when he is drafted into the Army, for instance. This tacky cinematic shortcut can't help but undermine Rhys-Meyers, who is doing a splendid job of making himself and Elvis almost indistinguishable.

Elvis's story has, of course, been told many times and in many venues; it has become an American fable. ABC did its own "Elvis," directed by John Carpenter, as a one-night, three-hour special back in February 1979.

February is a sweeps month, too, and the ABC "Elvis" aired opposite "Gone With the Wind" on one network and the TV premiere of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" on another. Kurt Russell, who as a child actor had kicked Elvis's shin in "It Happened at the World's Fair," did a pretty good job of playing the grown-up Elvis, but the movie was bland and hardly definitive.

The CBS "Elvis" has its credentials in order. It was made with the cooperation of the Presley estate; Elvis Presley Enterprises is listed in the credits as "creative consultant." One might justifiably fear a sanitized version of the King's reign, but the movie hardly lacks for candor. Elvis, for all his intrinsic ingenuousness, is shown as undisciplined and impetuous, a dreamy-eyed kid who never grew up and a mama's boy whose devotion was, like so many other things in his life, strangely excessive.

Cooperation from the Presley forces had decided advantages. The producers were allowed to shoot six scenes on the grounds of Graceland and had access to its archives to ensure authenticity on period details. They were also able to use Presley's original master recordings on the soundtrack -- with Rhys-Meyers doing an excellent job of lip-syncing.

Although it is touched on lightly, we do see some of Elvis's notorious latter-day reliance on medication -- drugs to wake him up and cool him down. But much bizarre Presley behavior, like those fried-banana-and-peanut-butter sandwiches in the middle of the night, is ignored, probably wisely. The movie is not a cradle-to-grave biography; it covers Elvis from his late teens to age 33, stopping in 1968, almost a decade short of his death in 1977. But 1968 marked Elvis's triumphant comeback on television, the medium that helped him become a national sensation in the first place.

The story opens backstage at the TV special in 1968, with Elvis jittery about facing a live audience for the first time in seven years. "What if they don't like me?" he asks with astonishing innocence. A long, long flashback begins, teleporting viewers back to 1952, with a famous quote from John Lennon: "Before Elvis, there was nothing."

We meet the young Elvis preening in front of a mirror and soon thereafter promising his beloved Mama (Camryn Manheim, virtually unrecognizable) that some day he will buy her a house and a Cadillac. The Caddy comes first -- a pink convertible.

Elvis likes listening to the "Negro" radio station and its music, and he sneaks away from Sunday morning church services to visit the black church in another part of town, where he can hear authentic gospel songs. Finagling an audition at tiny Sun Records, Elvis is asked who he sounds like and responds, "I don't sound like nobody, ma'am." But early attempts fall flat, and an old hand at the music business says Elvis "better stick to driving trucks."

The movie does a sweet, charming job of depicting the camaraderie of musicians, the electricity that flows among them as they play and, to a much greater extent, as they jam and fool around and improvise. This is where Elvis discovers he has a style and develops it, although after an early stage appearance, when the girls go nutty at his gyrations, he asks, "What was they hollerin' at?"

Touring Texas, Mississippi and other Southern states as part of the traveling "Louisiana Hayride" show in 1954, Elvis grabs the attention of Tom Parker, an old blowhard who likes to be addressed as "Colonel." Parker makes boasts like "I can sell a wino the sweat off a grape" and is partial to such expressions as "like cow pies on clover." The versatile Randy Quaid plays Parker with a ferocity that is somehow poignant. The emcee at one of the "Hayride" shows, meanwhile, trying to quiet a shrieking crowd once the concert has ended, gets to coin and utter the eventually immortal phrase "Elvis has left the building."

Elvis ascends, signing a contract with RCA Victor records, singing "Heartbreak Hotel" on a summer TV show hosted by the Dorsey Brothers and enjoying such spoils of success as two teenage fans in his bedroom at once. The wily colonel books Presley into smaller halls that he can fill because, he says, he loves "that line around the block" as girls wait in the hopes of getting tickets.

But the colonel's prescription for success is rigid, and Elvis, who still says "Yes, sir" and "Yes, ma'am" to adults, is bullied into accepting Parker's wishes. That includes turning down a role in "The Rainmaker," with Katharine Hepburn and Burt Lancaster because the colonel says that with those big stars in it, it won't be perceived as "an Elvis Presley movie." Later he dismisses as foolishness Elvis's desire to play the lead in the film version of "West Side Story" for pretty much the same reason. He keeps Elvis making quick, cheap and usually stupid movies because they're efficient moneymakers.

Many fine actors spin around convincingly in Presley's inner circle. Manheim is a provocative maternal aberration as Presley's copiously weeping and perpetually worrying Mama. Robert Patrick, best remembered as a semi-metallic monstrosity in the second "Terminator" film, is surprisingly effective as Elvis's moody father, who clearly ran a distant second to Mama in the Presley pantheon of valued advisers.

Elvis tries to stay connected to his roots by bringing some of his original musician buddies along with him, a career move that displeases the colonel -- a man with no sentimentality whatever. All these parts are well cast and well played. In addition, Jack Noseworthy brings ebullience and energy to the role of Steve Binder, who produces the 1968 comeback show; Rose McGowan makes a satisfactory stab at playing Ann-Margret, who starred with Presley in "Viva Las Vegas" ("Elvis" stops short of saying whether they had an affair, though it's commonly assumed they did); Tim Guinee is touching as Sam Phillips, the Sun Records owner who encourages Elvis at the beginning and remains admirably loyal; and Antonia Bernath is a sweetheart as Priscilla Beaulieu, who meets Elvis when she is a virginal 14.

After she becomes Priscilla Presley and gives birth, she is told by Elvis that their sex life is over because "I've never been able to make love to a woman who's had a child." To which a mortified Priscilla responds, "I'm not your mama." Weird, eh? But the film ends before Elvis enters his extremely quixotic, Howard Hughes-like phase, and so fans are spared seeing him become a caricature or a freak a la Michael Jackson.

Because it chronicles Elvis in crisis and decline, the second half of the movie tends toward the bleak and morose. Musical numbers grow way too scarce. Elvis laments, "The higher I climb, the lonelier it gets." Mama dies; you can imagine the traumatic threnody.

But then "Elvis" aims to be a realistic portrait, not a frothy romp. As written by Patrick Sheane Duncan and directed by James Sadwith (who also did the superb CBS biopic "Sinatra"), the movie clearly ranks as a success, depicting its fascinating hero with insights and subtleties that have eluded other biographers while conscientiously avoiding grotesque sensationalism.

Elvis is, of course, often portrayed as an icon of the '50s, a campy figure like Marilyn Monroe or Liberace. He has become a punch line for innumerable jokes, and Elvis impersonation has become a hobby to many and a career for some -- kitsch personified. Ignoring the ridicule and scoffing, "Elvis" lets Elvis transcend his own time. He was, says the film, the American dream incarnate -- its proverbial dark side, yes, but its glorious side, too.

"I dream in Technicolor," Parker says to Elvis early in their relationship, telling the baby-faced young man, "Everybody's got a secret dream."

The last song Elvis sings in the film is "If I Can Dream," at the televised 1968 comeback performance. He could dream, and he did, and he lives on to seduce and inspire other dreamers everywhere. "Elvis" is true to that dream even while conceding that the real Elvis let it slip through his fingers. The film says, "Don't be cruel. Remember him this way," and makes that easy -- and gratifying -- to do.

Elvis, Part 1 (two hours) airs tonight at 9 ET/PT on CBS. Part 2 (two hours) is Wednesday night at 8.

'Grey's Anatomy' Goes Colorblind
By MATTHEW FOGEL The New York Times May 8, 2005

It’s a typical week for the surgeons at Seattle Grace Hospital: a woman, complaining of chest pains, is rushed to the operating room. When she is cracked open, a bit of towel is discovered next to her lung. The Korean-American surgery intern, Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), is sent to Medical Records to find out who is at fault. It turns out that an attending surgeon, an African-American named Preston Burke (Isaiah Washington), accidentally left it there during the woman's last surgery, five years ago. Dr. Yang and Dr. Burke have been exchanging coffee and longing glances for quite some time. Will she turn him in? Will he confess?

After a conference with the head resident, a sharp-tongued black woman nicknamed "The Nazi" by the hospital's interns, the surgeon admits his error to his mentor, Dr. Richard Webber, the chief of surgery (James Pickens Jr.), who also happens to be African-American. Later, as the chastened Dr. Burke undresses in the surgeon's call room, Dr. Yang shyly opens the door. The tension between them has been building, and there can be but one possible cure: massive smooching.

Seattle Grace is the fictional home of ABC's latest hit series, the steamy hospital drama "Grey's Anatomy." Although medical shows have become the cough syrup of television - sturdy, dependable and widely available - "Grey's Anatomy" has differentiated itself by creating a diverse world of doctors - almost half the cast are men and women of color - and then never acknowledging it.

Perhaps there just isn't time: the series creator, Shonda Rhimes (who helped write the screenplay for the HBO movie "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge"), has conceived Seattle Grace as a frenetic, multicultural hub where racial issues take a back seat to the more pressing problems of hospital life: surgery, competition, exhaustion and - no surprise - sex. It's a formula that has paid off for ABC, which leased the show its most valuable post-"Desperate Housewives" real estate, where it has quickly become a surprise hit.

"The face of America is a diverse canvas," said Stephen McPherson, president of ABC entertainment, who as president of Touchstone Television helped develop the series. "And the fact that this show represents a lot of those different aspects, you would be silly to think that doesn't have something to do with its success," he said in a telephone interview.

A lot of this has to do with Ms. Rhimes, who, as one of television's few black showrunners (she shares the duties with James Parriott, a television veteran whose credits include the series "The American Embassy" and "Threat Matrix"), has created a show around her vision of diversity - one in which color is more description than definition - that feels almost defiantly fresh for network television.

"I'm in my early 30's, and my friends and I don't sit around and discuss race," Ms. Rhimes said on the telephone. "We're post-civil rights, post-feminist babies, and we take it for granted we live in a diverse world."

When Ms. Rhimes wrote the pilot, she didn't specify the characters' ethnicities, so her casting process was wide open: Mr. Washington, who once played a gay Republican in Spike Lee's "Get on the Bus," was nearly cast in the role played by Patrick Dempsey, who is white; his Dr. Burke was to be played by a white actor who was forced to drop out at the last moment. Ms. Rhimes imagined "The Nazi" as a "tiny, adorable blond person with lots of ringlets," until Chandra Wilson walked through the door ("I thought it was endearing," Ms. Wilson said of her part. "Endearing as the word 'Nazi' can be."). And even though some network executives assumed Ms. Oh's hypercompetitive character would be white, Ms. Rhimes did not - in the pilot's script she wasn't even given a last name - so all it took was one "fabulous" audition from the "Sideways" star to christen the character Cristina Yang.

"Of course Cristina is smart and ambitious - she's in medical school," Ms. Oh said, responding to what some critics have called a stereotypical character. "The reason we sustain these stereotypes is that we never have more than three lines, so the audience doesn't get to know us better."

Ms. Rhimes has also worked hard to extend diversity to her show's smallest roles. Determined not to have a program in which "all the extras are white, except the lone janitor," she has created one of the most colorful backgrounds in television, a hospital in which punked-out bike messengers and suffering Hasidim roam the corridors. "Shonda's only rule is drug dealers and pimps cannot be black," said Dr. Zoanne Clack, a black writer for the show who also practices medicine. Even the episodic roles - a gay African-American, a young Hispanic couple - are multicultural.

"Grey's Anatomy" is, of course, part of the long tradition of diverse ensemble dramas from "Hill Street Blues" and "St. Elsewhere" (which essentially introduced a young Denzel Washington) through "NYPD Blue" and "ER" (which also featured a love affair between an Asian-American and African-American). But all of these shows - with varying levels of success - addressed race directly, something "Grey's Anatomy" has yet to do.

"Cultural distinctions still exist, even if we don't feel that there is blatant racism in the workplace the way there once was," said Donald Bogle, author of the book "Primetime Blues: African Americans on Network Television." "We don't want to see a racial or cultural problem every week, but at some point if you ignore them it becomes dishonest."

Ms. Rhimes admitted that certain stories, like Dr. Webber's mentorship of Dr. Burke - cast into doubt in the pilot and tested during the towel incident - "feels like something that's a little bit more about race than anything else on the show." How the show will deal with this, and whether it will eventually engage with the fact that the world of surgery is far less integrated than Seattle Grace Hospital, remains to be seen.

Still, actors remain excited by Ms. Rhimes's open-casting process - "The world is just a much bigger place than black judges and black cops," said Mr. Pickens - even when it inadvertently creates racially charged moments, as when a retired nurse is admitted to the hospital with pancreatic cancer.

"My Dad called and said, 'You know, I thought it was really interesting how all the black doctors came out to support the black scrub nurse,' " Ms. Rhimes said. "And I had to tell him that the character was originally Asian."

Originally posted by f44
---now titled Britney and Kevin: Chaotic.

SNL:
Because the name "The Beverly Hillbillies" was already taken....funny!!

Saturday’s prime-time program ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

Abdul Pokes Fun at 'American Idol' Scandal

(AOL Entertainment News) NEW YORK (May 8) - Despite the controversy surrounding her, Paula Abdul is showing she can have a sense of humor about it. The "American Idol" judge being investigated for an alleged affair with a former contestant made a cameo appearance introducing the opening sketch on NBC's "Saturday Night Live."

Corey Clark, a former contestant of the Fox show, claimed this week that Abdul had an affair with him while he was competing in 2003 and coached him on how to do better in the competition.

ABC's "Primetime Live" aired an expose of the scandal, which the SNL cast lampooned on Saturday night.
The sketch made comical allusions to the controversy with a mock interview and stage performances, and featured Amy Poehler as Abdul and Finesse Mitchell as Clark.

But at the end of the sequence, Abdul returned to the set making her own "Idol"-style critiques of her imitator.
To Poehler she said: "You need to perfect the clap a little more and be a lot more sexier so contestants will be willing to sleep with you."

Clark, 24, maintains Abdul initiated the affair and covertly helped him to boost his chances on Fox TV's hit talent contest until producers ejected him from the show for concealing a criminal arrest record when he was first cast.

Clark's allegations first surfaced in published reports that he was shopping a tell-all book proposal, prompting Abdul, 42, to issue a statement calling him "an admitted liar and opportunist."

Clark's own appearance on an ABC News "Primetime Live" special was followed by a day of public comments from Fox, the show's producers and others -- including fellow "Idol" contestant Clay Aiken -- expressing doubts about Clark's story. While questioning Clark's motives and credibility, Fox and producers of "Idol" have said they would look into his claims.

In her first public comment since ABC's broadcast, Abdul called the allegations "lies" and issued a statement Friday expressing "my deepest appreciation" for fans who have expressed their support for her.

"All my life, I have been taught to take the high road, and never, never to dignify salacious or false accusations," she said. "And I have been taught never, never, to lie. Not only do I never lie, I never respond to lies, no matter how vicious, no matter how hurtful. I do trust my fans to see through attempts at character assassination, and I do trust the essential fairness of the American public."

Abdul, a former pro-basketball cheerleader who gained fame in the late 1980s as a pop singer, has battled a spate of negative publicity in recent months, some of it stemming from a quirky on-screen demeanor marked by intense displays of emotion.

In March, she was fined $300 and sentenced to two years probation for sideswiping a car on a Los Angeles freeway and leaving the scene.

More recently, Abdul told People magazine that she has battled chronic pain for 25 years and suffers from a neurological disorder that requires a weekly injection of an anti-inflammatory drug. But she denied having a drug problem, saying, "I'm not addicted to pills of any kind."

Fears of a Clown
Dave Chappelle got a colossal deal for the new season of his hit show. So where is it?
The inside story of pressure, partying, power struggles—and a great comic's vanishing act
By Devin Gordon With Allison Samuels Newsweek May 16 issue

"I'm so sorry," says Dave Chappelle, chuckling as he shakes hands with a visiting journalist. "This is a terrible way to meet a person." It is late afternoon and Chappelle has a long night of work ahead, so the introduction is a bit rushed. But more than likely, he's referring to the fact that he's covered in blackface, with white painted lips, white gloves, a red vest, a black cane and a Pullman Porter cap. Yes, that's definitely it. It is November 2004, just a few weeks into shooting on the third season of "Chappelle's Show"—a process that will soon become far more tortured than anyone ever expected.

At the moment, though, all is tranquil. Today's scenes are part of a delicately titled sketch, "The N----r Pixie," in which Chappelle plays a cackling, devil-on-the-shoulder creation who serves as the self-hating conscience of famous black men, such as Tiger Woods and Chappelle himself. Hence the racially combustible costume. In Chappelle's universe, this is high comedy—the kind of brazen stunt that has become his show's calling card. As he heads back for another take, he flashes the journalist a giant grin: "Bet you never met a real live coon before!"

During NEWSWEEK's visit to the set, Chappelle, 31, appeared in complete control. As the minstrel-accented pixie, he kept busting up the crew with his profane ad-libs over footage of Woods attempting a putt. ("Show 'em how n----r you are! Stick your d--k in the hole!") Between takes, he would snap back into regular-guy mode, chatting quietly with his wife, Elaine, and horsing around with his two little boys, who were visiting from the family's home in rural Ohio. The show seemed on course for its Feb. 16 premiere.

Two weeks after our visit, however, Chappelle's publicist disclosed that the star was halting production on the series, canceling magazine commitments and indefinitely delaying the start of the third season. The stated cause: "intense personal issues." The season premiere was soon rescheduled for May 31.

But just last Wednesday, Chappelle and Comedy Central jointly announced that production had been halted—and the season premiere indefinitely postponed—yet again. The need for this latest delay, which was announced less than 24 hours after a network presentation to advertisers, evidently took Comedy Central by surprise. The channel had aired promotional spots for the May 31 premiere the previous night.

What's going on with Dave? Published explanations for the initial delay ranged from a nasty flu bug to "walking pneumonia" to writer's block. According to friends of Chappelle's interviewed by NEWSWEEK, however, the real cause of all the turmoil is more complicated. Since last summer, when Chappelle signed a staggering deal with Comedy Central worth up to $50 million to produce two more seasons of the show, friends say he's been worn down by a toxic combination of too much pressure, too much partying—and a creative rift with the network.

From its very first episode, "Chappelle's Show" has been an electrifying presence on TV. The centerpiece of the pilot, which aired on Jan. 22, 2003, was a gaspingly funny, nine-minute tale about a blind white supremacist named Clayton Bigsby who's actually black and doesn't realize it. With each new classic sketch ("the Racial Draft," in which various races gather, a la the NBA draft, to "claim" ethnically ambiguous celebrities; the now legendary "I'm Rick James, b---h!" episode), buzz spread like lit gasoline.

But Chappelle, who writes the entire series with longtime pal Neal Brennan, had more on his mind than jokes. He brought a rare cultural consciousness to the show, offering platforms to unsung heroes of black comedy, including Paul Mooney, a top writer for Richard Pryor. For his musical guests, he bypassed the bling-and-booty set in favor of true hip-hop artists, such as rapper Mos Def and neo-soul virtuoso Anthony Hamilton.

By the end of its second season, "Chappelle's Show" was Comedy Central's highest-rated program, averaging 3.1 million viewers per week, and the DVD of the first season was swiftly becoming the top-selling TV title in the format's history. The success coincided neatly with the expiration of Chappelle's contract. He enjoyed a fierce bidding war for his services, which Comedy Central retained over NBC and the FX Network. The $50 million deal transformed Chappelle from a funny guy with a decade's worth of false starts to the hottest comedian in America.

He wasn't prepared. "I saw him start trippin' when the buzz started to get real loud," says one celebrity friend. "I think he was in shock after the first season, and then [during] the second, it hit him that he was the man. That freaked him. And then came the pressure of living up to expectations for the third season. He's never been there—where something's so good and you got to come even stronger the next time. It was too much."

The partying apparently made things worse. "Everyone knows Dave likes to have fun," says a music-industry pal. "I wouldn't say it's out of control ... but at some point that has to affect you if you've got a regular gig."

Neither Chappelle's publicist, Matt Labov, nor Comedy Central's spokespeople are offering any explanation for the latest delay. Labov denies that his client has a drug problem. And a source close to Chappelle believes this latest stoppage is more about the show itself than the health of its star. Eager to top his previous work, Chappelle wants to push the racial envelope even further in the third season—and network executives, according to this source, are afraid he's crossing the line.

"Dave is not compromising what he wants to do," he says. "He's waited a long time for this chance, and he's not trying to do anything that isn't 100 percent his vision." Last week, though, Comedy Central flatly denied any conflict, as did an employee in Chappelle's camp, who insists the current delay "is not a network issue."

Despite his youth, Chappelle has been in the comedy game as long as people twice his age. After a childhood spent shuttling between Ohio, where his late father taught music at Antioch College, and his moth-er's home in Washington, D.C., Chappelle dropped out of high school to try stand-up in New York. He quickly befriended some of the older comics. "I remember working at the Comedy Cellar in the late 1980s when he came in," says Jon Stewart, a close friend and fellow Comedy Central employee. "I think he was, like, 9 at the time. And he was just effortless onstage. You knew he was gonna be huge."

First he had to survive a string of demoralizing roles in junk like the short-lived 1996 sitcom "Buddies" and the MTV movie "Joe's Apartment," in which he played a cockroach. "Dave always had to play second fiddle to the guys he thought were his peers, like Martin Lawrence and Jamie Foxx," says the music-industry pal. "He was never that kind of funny. He had this weird sense of humor that not everyone got." Network television executives, in particular. "No one would let Dave do what he wanted to do," says Lauren Corrao, Comedy Central's senior vice president of programming. "They wanted him to have friends he'd never have, just for the sake of a stereotypical sitcom. But Dave's an original."

Back on set in November, the pixie is tearing into footage of Rodney King as he pleads, "Can't we all get along?" "Wow, n----r, you are what they call are-tick-you-late!" Chappelle cries. "Now lemme answer your question: no. No, we can't." The director yells "Cut!" and Chappelle laughs as he watches playback of the take.

"That's coldblooded, right? It's a dirty game. A dirty game." Right now, Dave Chappelle is on top of it—but it looks like he's losing his balance.

Schedule ideas for coming TV season
Suggestions for approaching fall

By RICK KISSELL Variety.com May 8, 2005

HOLLYWOOD -- Can CBS find a drama hit devoid of cops and corpses? Might NBC dare to program Saturday again? Can anybody find a comedy hit? The broadcast webs will begin to supply answers to these questions and others next week when they release their skeds for next fall. Here's a look at each net's needs as well as a few suggestions:

A B C

Bubble may pop:
"My Wife and Kids," "George Lopez," "8 Simple Rules," "Extreme Makeover," "The Bachelor" and "Primetime Live" are all goner candidates for a net on the upswing.

Biggest needs:
Tuesday and Thursday.

Tuesday's comedy block is in need of refreshening as ABC looks to find skedmates for slipping anchor "According to Jim." Improv-esque "Sons & Daughters" could make some noise here, and the net may opt for more femme fare with something like "Hot Properties" or "Love Life."

The 10 o'clock hour may be a good spot for supernatural drama "Invasion," but don't rule out a reality show here.

Thursday at 8 seems the best spot for "Boston Legal," an upscale, older-skewing drama that would be good counterprogramming to "Survivor" and "The OC" -- and wouldn't need to do a big number to survive. The show would also provide a good lead-in for something like "Soccer Moms" or "What About Brian?" to take on "CSI."

And here's a vote to keep the underappreciated "Eyes," which could work in Monday's pre-football hour.

C B S

Bubble may pop:
"Judging Amy," "Joan of Arcadia," "60 Minutes Wednesday."
Biggest needs:
Monday and Friday.

The Eye doesn't have to change much, but its primary focus should be surrounding "Two and a Half Men" with the right combo of fresh comedies.

A new drama is expected to replace "Judging Amy" on Tuesday as the net seeks to take advantage of hot 9 o'clock entry "Amazing Race," and CBS must be considering dumping "60 Minutes Wednesday" for either a light drama or laffers.

With "Numbers" looking good Fridays at 10, net may opt to keep modest-performing "Joan of Arcadia" at 8 -- especially if it feels it has something that will work at 9.

N B C

Bubble may pop:
Laffers "Committed" and "The Office."

Biggest needs:
Thursday and Sunday.

It still has some solid pieces, but in-a-funk NBC may try to shake things up, whether with comedies on Saturdays, the shift of "Apprentice" to a new night or maybe something even more radical.

On Thursday, net should revamp "Joey" (he returns to New York, for starters), shift "Will & Grace" back to 9 and plug in its best new laffers on the half-hours. "Earl," about a dim lottery winner, sounds suited for the night, as do "Blue Skies" and "Four Kings."

NBC should also toy with a Saturday comedy block, including the retirement home-set "Early Bird" (remember "Golden Girls" on the night?).

Fox

Might not return:
"Arrested Development."

Biggest needs:
Friday and Sunday.

Net's Sunday animation strategy (including the new "American Dad" and the revival of "Family Guy") is off to a great start, but that success could mean the end of "Arrested Development." How about letting "AD" kick off Wednesday, a lineup that could also include the promising new "Stacked"?

That leaves Friday, where a high-concept hour like prison drama "The Break" could quietly build a buzz.

Geena Davis for President?

Matt Drudge is reporting Sunday night that:

ABC: THE NEW PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES;
NETWORK SAID TO PICK UP 'COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF' FOR FALL

drudgereport.com**Exclusive**

Is America ready for Ms. President!?!

The new fall schedule will not be announced until later this month, but the DRUDGE REPORT has learned that ABC has picked up COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF, a drama following the challenges facing the first female President of the United States.

ABC suits are are prepared to give the project a timeslot and series commitment, sources said.

Actress Geena Davis, a Democrat political activist, will play the president.

ABC executives "adored" the two-hour pilot of CHIEF.

"It's not in your face, preaching politics," a network source explained. "Not that we will shy away from controversy, but do not look for, say, abortion to be in the opening episodes."

A Hillary Clinton walk-on?

"I am not going to go there," laughed the insider.

Developing...

Cable Shows Are Stealing Male Viewers From Broadcast TV

By MARK GLASSMAN The New York Times May 9, 2005


Harvey Birdman" is the sort of name you might hear David Letterman repeating as a non sequitur several times during "The Late Show" on CBS.

In fact, Mr. Birdman is of increasing relevance to Mr. Letterman and his NBC counterpart, Jay Leno. He is the protagonist of "Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law," a campy animated program about a superhero-turned-not-very-bright-lawyer. That show, which airs on the Cartoon Network during Mr. Letterman's time slot, and a suite of other irreverent, animated shows, make up a seven-hour programming block called "Adult Swim."

And, as Mr. Letterman might say, the kids love it. The ratings success of "Adult Swim," as well as that of "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" on Comedy Central, is part of a trend in late-night television in which young men are slowly turning the channel from the broadcast networks to cable television.

"About 15 months ago, there was an open-ended question of, 'Where have all the young men gone?' " said Sean Cunningham, the president and chief executive of the Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau, "but that was a question that was being asked through an old set of eyeglasses." He added, "Cable late-night programming was growing like wildfire during that same time."

To capitalize on its late-night popularity, Comedy Central announced a new show for 11:30 p.m. weekdays called "The Colbert Report." It will feature a "Daily Show" veteran, Steven Colbert. On weekends, a late talk show featuring the comedian D.L. Hughley is planned. Although they draw smaller numbers, late-night time slots are valued by advertisers because they tend to draw consistent audiences throughout the week. For years, NBC's "Tonight Show" was the biggest money maker on television. NBC is a division of NBC Universal, which is owned by General Electric and Vivendi Universal.

The broadcasters say that the late-night pie is simply growing and that they are not losing viewers to cable. But the numbers suggest a shift, albeit a small one. This season, advertising-supported cable has averaged 3.6 million male viewers between the ages of 18 and 34 on weeknights from 11:30 p.m. to 1 a.m., up from 3.4 million last season, according to Nielsen Media Research. During the same period, the broadcast networks attracted 1.9 million young male viewers, or roughly half the audience, down slightly from 2 million last season.

"A lot of these cable networks are up marginally, but it all adds up," said Steve Sternberg, the executive vice president and director of audience analysis at Magna Global, a media services firm.

The success of late-night cable also indicates a cultural shift, or at least an expansion of interest. Young men, once drawn to David Letterman's stupid pet tricks and the conventional comedy skits on "Saturday Night Live," are now also tuning in to more absurdist parodies and satires on cable. On "Adult Swim," for example, "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" follows the dysfunctional relationship of a lazy milkshake, a childish meatball and a fatherly order of fries.

"For young people, it's really about wanting to engage with personalities that understand their point of view," said Stacey Lynn Koerner, executive vice president at Initiative, a media planning and buying firm. "In a broadcast environment, that's trying to appeal to multiple demographics at once, that's very difficult to do."

Broadcast networks must also contend with decency standards that cable channels may choose to ignore. "The interests of the 18- to 34-year-old male and the propriety of over-the-air broadcast are not necessarily compatible," said Tom Wolzien, a media strategist at Sanford C. Bernstein and Company.

The winners in late-night cable now include the Cartoon Network, which broadcasts "Adult Swim" Saturday through Thursday from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.; Nick at Nite and TBS, which air syndicated comedies from the 1980's and 1990's; USA and TNT, with their vast libraries of hourlong dramas like "Law & Order"; ESPN and its 11 p.m. edition of "SportsCenter"; and Comedy Central, with "The Daily Show."

From 11 p.m. to 2 a.m., the median age of the Cartoon Network audience is 17. For Nick at Nite, the median age during that time is 25, and for Comedy Central, 29.

"We found a niche," said David Levy, president for entertainment sales at Turner Broadcasting, which, along with the Cartoon Network, is owned by Time Warner. "We found an area that was being underserved: 12 to 17's; 18 to 24's; and 18 to 34's. All of those demographics were underserved in television, and they came in droves."

The best example of this may be reruns of the animated comedy "Family Guy," which is broadcast from 11:30 p.m. to midnight during "Adult Swim." The show has a season-to-date rating of 1.3 - about 425,000 viewers - among 18- to 34-year-old men, according to Nielsen statistics cited by Mr. Sternberg. For the same time period, "The Late Show" has a 1.2 rating, or about 392,000 viewers in the same demographic.

"The Daily Show" on Comedy Central averages a nightly audience of about 1.3 million viewers in total, roughly two-thirds of whom are between 18 and 49.

And cable's late-night audience may soon appear even larger. Nielsen does not currently measure out-of-home viewing by college students, who make up a disproportionate part of the late-night audience. But the company announced at its national client meeting in March that it had tested a method to deliver that information and would eventually offer clients a way to gauge students' viewing habits.

For late-night programming, that data could benefit the cable networks and their growing audiences of young people. Still, media industry analysts and executives at CBS and NBC say the rise of the young male cable audience has not substantially affected the viewership of "The Late Show" or "The Tonight Show."

"Cable is a definite player in late night," said Andy Donchin, a buyer at the media agency Carat USA in New York, which is part of the Aegis Group, "but I really don't think it's at any expense of the broadcasters, who have much larger audiences." He added, "They're still very much a power there. You can't discount the ratings success of the networks' late-night shows."

David Poltrack, executive vice president for research and planning at the CBS Television Network in New York, part of the CBS division of Viacom, said "The Late Show" audience had not fluctuated in the 18- to 34-year-old demographic since last season. "This cable audience isn't coming out of the 'Late Show' audience," he said.

Ratings for "The Tonight Show" on NBC have declined slightly among the younger set, with an average of 451,000 men between the ages of 18 and 34 watching weeknights, down from 474,000 a year ago, according to NBC.

"Within the network business, with an ever-fragmenting audience, this is a really minor decline," said Tom Bierbaum, vice president of ratings and program at NBC Entertainment Publicity.

The young audience for late-night cable is made up of some combination of network defectors and new viewers. "People stay up later," Mr. Levy said, "or they work later."

Advertisers are glad to see more young men, a demographic that has been traditionally difficult to pinpoint, watching TV. Mr. Cunningham said small-market companies that cater to young people are now more likely to turn to television. "Twenty years ago, there wasn't the opportunity for their consumers to aggregate in critical mass," he said.

Cartoon Network, which is also owned by Viacom, has added roughly 60 new advertisers within the past year, including Garnier, Saab, Taco Bell and Apple Computer. The network says the acquisitions stem from the success of "Adult Swim."

However, it is still unclear how valuable these particular young viewers will be to those advertisers. One common way to assess an audience's worth is by looking at how much money media buyers are willing to pay to reach a thousand people in an audience demographic.

This season, the average cost of reaching a thousand men between 18 and 34 during the late-night period using broadcast television is $71.33, according to the Media Market Guide National Report, conducted by Service Quality Analytics Data, a company that reports on media costs based on transactions and buyers' opinions.

When using youth-oriented cable channels (including Comedy Central and Nick at Nite), the cost of reaching a thousand young men drops to $48.03.

Mr. Poltrack said "The Late Show" and "The Tonight Show" had older, more affluent audiences than "Adult Swim."

"Advertisers recognize that this is a broader audience, and not necessarily the place that you go to reach the frat-house boys," he said. "This may be a little too expensive for them."

Sunday’s prime-time program ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

two season finales on the same night ... at the same time? ABC proves once again that they're willing to colour outside the lines in order to secure ratings :p
(just thought i'd give you the heads up ;))
Originally posted by fredfa
...
Desperate Housewives May 22 9 PM ET
Grey’s Anatomy May 22 9 PM ET

thanks Negative Zer0.
Typos fixed.

One Critic’s View of Next TV Season
What will bloom and what will die on the network vine?
By Joanne Ostrow Denver Post TV Critic

Tray tables in their upright, locked position. This is pilot season and we're expecting turbulence.

Over the next two weeks, the TV networks will unveil their fall primetime slates for advertisers in New York.
It's all guesswork until then, but ratings leader CBS probably will make the fewest additions, just three or four. NBC, which desperately needs a hit comedy, may add the most new series.

ABC scored with "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives" and hot producers are eager to do business. Fox has holes to fill, given that it coasted on the strength of "American Idol" this season. The WB must decide whether to renew the engaging but ratings-weak "Jack & Bobby." And replacing "Star Trek: Enterprise" is a priority for UPN.
For Hollywood
hopefuls, it is a time of nailbiting anxiety. And no wonder: After all that time in pitch sessions and sound stages, the odds are still 10-to-1 against landing a primetime slot. Here's a peak at some pending deals.

A B C

COMEDIES: Among the stars with deals pending are Bernadette Peters, Fred Savage ("The Wonder Years"), Heather Graham ("Scrubs"), Marilu Henner ("Taxi"), Julie Bowen ("Ed"), Emilio Estevez ("The Breakfast Club"), Lenny Clarke ("It's All Relative"), Annie Potts ("Designing Women"), Tom Arnold ("Roseanne") and Melissa Etheridge. One intriguing pilot order casts Peter Dinklage ("The Station Agent") as the teacher of gifted students.

DRAMAS: "thirtysomething" producers (Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick) pitch an hour called " 1/4life," about roommates in their 20s; Geena Davis leads an hour, "Commander in Chief," about the first female president; John Wells has a forensics hour, "The Evidence," that would star Orlando Jones ("Father of the Pride"). Producers Shaun Cassidy and Thomas Schlamme offer "Invasion," about strange doings in a Florida town after a hurricane. "Sex and the City's" Kristin Davis is a suburban private eye in "Soccer Moms." And the prolific J.J. Abrams ("Alias," "Lost") offers "Pros and Cons," about con artists working for the FBI.

C B S

COMEDIES: So long, "Everybody Loves Raymond," hello, some combination of the following: Jenna Elfman in "Everything I Know About Men," cloned from a British hit; Julia Louis-Dreyfus as a divorced middle-aged mom in "Old Christine"; Tiffany Thiessen as a young mom in "Stroller Wars"; James Van Der Beek ("Dawson's Creek") as the third wheel, a divorced guy with married friends in "Three." Cynthia Watros ("Titus"), Susie Essman ("Curb Your Enthusiasm"), Stockard Channing ("The West Wing") also have half-hours in the running.

DRAMAS: Contenders include "3 Lbs.," featuring Dylan McDermott as a brain surgeon; "Conviction," with Sally Field as a prosecutor reconstructing crimes; David Mamet's "The Unit," about special-forces soldiers; Jennifer Love Hewitt as a psychic and a Jerry Bruckheimer hour, "American Crime," about a prosecutor who's also a new mother.

Fox

COMEDIES: Vying for slots are a Barenaked Ladies variety show; Melissa Joan Hart ("Sabrina, the Teenage Witch") in a sitcom about blue-collar Boston chums; Kristen Johnston ("3rd Rock from the Sun") as a suddenly single mother to a 13-year-old boy; "Kitchen Confidential," based on the tell-all book about the culinary world; Brooke Shields in "Used Car Smell," set in an auto dealership; "Peep Show," based on the Brit-hit of the same name about roommates and what's inside their heads, and Alicia Silverstone ("Miss Match") as "Queen B," a successful woman with an image problem.

DRAMAS: "Amy Coyne," from the producers of "SportsNight" and "Malcolm in the Middle," about a woman who inherits her father's sports agency, sounds smart. Contenders include David Boreanaz ("Angel") as a forensic anthropologist in "Bones" (based on the "Brennan" novels); Elizabeth Rohm ("Law & Order") and Charles Mesure ("Boogeyman") as a doctor and a fallen priest who investigate religious phenomenon in "Briar and Graves"; "Reunion," in which each episode covers one year in a 20-year span in the lives of a group of high school friends; Luke Perry ("Beverly Hills 90210") and Jason Gedrick ("Boomtown") as lottery winners, and Joely Fisher ("Ellen") in a fertility clinic.

N B C

COMEDIES: Where is the next "Cosby," "Seinfeld" or "Friends"? Could it be "All In," starring Janeane Garofalo ("The Truth About Cats and Dogs") as a professional poker player mom? Or "Dante," based on the "Leon" series of Budweiser ads, about a pro football player (Morris Chestnut)? Seth Green in what sounds like a "Friends" clone? Tina Fey ("Saturday Night Live") in a sitcom about the head writer for a variety show? Or "NoTORIous," starring Tori Spelling in a fictionalized version of her life?

DRAMAS: Aiden Quinn plays an Episcopal priest with a family - and regular conversations with Jesus - in "Book of Daniel." Benjamin Bratt stars in a Bruckheimer hour, "E-Ring" - think "West Wing" at the Pentagon. An alien species from Venus invades Earth in "Fathom." Ming Na ("ER") and Alfre Woodard are part of the ensemble at another fertility clinic. Idris Elba ("The Wire") leads "World of Trouble," about investigations into violence against Americans abroad. And Donnie Wahlberg ("Boomtown"), Bobby Cannavale ("Kingpin") and Tony Lo Bianco ("The French Connection") star as cops, based on "The French Connection."

UPN

COMEDIES: "Everybody Hates Chris," a half-hour loosely based on Chris Rock's life with the comedian as a producer; "20 Things to Do Before You're 30," about twentysomethings; "Friends in the AM," three female talk-radio hosts; AJ Calloway ("106 & Park"), Kel Mitchell ("Kenan & Kel") and Justine Bateman ("Family Ties") in a show about a late-night talk-show host.

DRAMAS: In "Crazy," Lara Flynn Boyle ("The Practice) plays a psychiatrist; in "The Studio," Gina Gershon works at a movie studio; in "South Beach," Vanessa L. Williams ("Boomtown") and others live in Miami. In "Triangle," a doctor searches the Caribbean for the wife who vanished on their honeymoon. And in "Wildlife," young people in Los Angeles' Silver Lake area search for themselves.

The WB

COMEDIES: Jane Leeves ("Frasier") and French Stewart ("Third Rock From the Sun") in a half-hour about a woman who meets the anonymous sperm donor who is her dad in "Best Laid Plans." Also, the rapper Bow in a comedy loosely based on his life; Dean Cain ("Clubhouse") one of five fraternity brothers who reunite in "Grown Men"; Anne Heche as a woman who moves back to her parents' home when her husband breaks up with her - while she's in labor; Eric Lively ("The L Word") in a comedy about a life coach; Sara Gilbert ("Roseanne") in a pilot from the "Will & Grace" team, about fraternal twin sisters who are nothing alike; Camryn Manheim ("The Practice") and more soccer moms.

DRAMAS: David E. Kelley's "Halley's Comet" follows a young cancer survivor studying to be a doctor. Producer McG has "Supernatural," described as "The X Files" on "Route 66." Matthew Modine ("Full Metal Jacket") leads an hour about a small Manhattan college. Jay Baruchel ("Undeclared") does Doogie Houser, Esq., as a teenage lawyer. Laura San Giacomo ("Just Shoot Me") is one of four adult sisters in New York.

Star Trek’s UnHappy Ending

The finale frontier: Vulcan star of `Star Trek: Enterprise' complains about ending: It's not logical
By Amy Amatangelo Boston Herald Monday, May 9, 2005

Jolene Blalock goes where few Trekkie stars have gone before.

The actress, who has played the Vulcan T'Pol for four seasons on UPN's ``Star Trek: Enterprise,'' is not afraid to say she is unhappy with the series finale (airing Friday at 9 p.m. on WSBK, Ch. 38; an additional episode airs at 8).

``I have certainly been the vocal one,'' Blalock said in a telephone interview. ``I had assumptions, and we all know what happens when we assume.''

The controversial series finale features the return of ``Star Trek: The Next Generation'' stars Jonathan Frakes as Riker and Marina Sirtis as Troi.

``I assumed that the ending would be about our show and not a wrapup of the conglomerate,'' Blalock said. ``I understand and respect what (the producers and writers) were trying to accomplish. . . . Reading the script for the finale was sad because I wish I would have known. Of course, that's the way it goes, so we go forward. It was just insulting.''

Blalock also was displeased with the way the series handled the long-simmering potential romance between T'Pol and Trip (Connor Trinneer).

``It was so monotonous. There were a lot of feelings, but nothing ever happened. We repeated the same story over and over,'' she said. ``Either make it a relationship or don't, but you can't walk this line forever. It's boring.''

If Blalock sounds more like a devoted viewer than an actor, that's because even before starring in the fifth ``Star Trek'' series, the San Diego native was a fan of the long-running franchise.

``Thinking about `Star Trek' not being on the air for the first time in 18 years is strange. I'm very grateful and fortunate that I was able to be part of this incarnation. It's sad to see it go, but I really believe in my heart of hearts that it's not gone forever.''

Despite her concerns about the way the series wraps, she has fond memories of her last day of shooting.

``I loved going to work every day. I loved the routine. I loved the people that I worked with. All the cast members worked on that last day. So as one person would complete their last scene, we would send them out (with applause). Scott Bakula and I were in the very last scene. Before we started shooting that scene, I caught eyes with Scott, and it was just a moment I will never forget. And he walked over and he shook my hand before we started shooting that last scene, and I almost lost it. It just said it all.''

Blalock hasn't ruled out reprising her character for any future ``Star Trek'' movies - if and when Paramount makes that decision.

``It all depends on the material. I wish the best for T'Pol, and I don't wish her to be viewed as everything that they made her - a drug addict, weak woman, confused, lost.''

The 30-year-old actress now has the opportunity to spend time on her art (her preferred mediums are crayons and colored pencils) and explore career options. She appears in the upcoming movie ``Slow Burn'' with Taye Diggs and Ray Liotta.

``This is my turn, and it's a good time for me because I'm fortunate enough to not need to work. So (I have) the liberty and the ability to be selective and take my time with this one until it's right, until it's a script I can't help but be passionate about. I want to read something where I clap at the end. I want to be excited.''

For CBS, sweeps hang on Elvis's hips
Or so it seems as it dukes it out with Fox for No. 1
By Toni Fitzgerald medialifemagazine.com May 9, 2005

CBS has traditionally avoided stunting, saying that sweeps should be based on the strength of the network’s regular schedule. And while that's a solidly commonsense rule to follow, things are very different this May sweeps. It'll be a squeaker for sure, but CBS stands a chance to finish first among 18-49s for its second sweeps victory this season. Fox is also looking for No. 2.

It's that close. Through Thursday night, CBS and Fox were tied for the May sweeps lead among 18-49s with 4.2 averages.

A CBS win likely hangs on how well the network's sweeps stunts perform. And much of that will hang on how much America still loves Elvis Presley. Last night, CBS aired the first segment of “Elvis," the much-hyped miniseries on the early days of the music legend. Next week it airs the Academy of Country Music Awards and an “Everybody Loves Raymond” clip show as the top-rated series heads into its finale.

The specials all air in timeslots where CBS is usually weak among 18-49s, and none will do worse than what they’re replacing. The question is whether they’ll do so much better that CBS can pass Fox. The country music awards show airs next Tuesday, on the same night of the week on which CBS in November aired a similar country music special that gave the network a nice boost with a 5.9. Anything close to that will double the network's 2.6 season-to-date Tuesday average.

The “Raymond” special, airing next Monday at 8 p.m., should easily better the 2.8 that “Still Standing” and “Listen Up” average.

The "Elvis” miniseries is less predictable. CBS probably needs only a 4.0 average for the three-parter to finish No.1 in May sweeps. Last night was part one, which averaged a 3.9, according to Nielsen overnights. Part two airs Wednesday night, and a special titled "Elvis by the Presleys" airs this Friday. CBS’s Sunday and Friday schedules usually do poorly among 18-49s, averaging a 3.0 and a 2.8 last week.

For Fox, the known is "American Idol" heading into its season finale. It will certainly do well, considering ratings have been stronger than expected this year and that that last year's finale drew a 12.0. The question for Fox is the momentum of the returning "Family Guy" on Sunday night. It pulled very strong numbers last week, its first back, but will it sustain that momentum? That's the unknown, but yesterday was not promising, as second-week ratings fell by more than 20 percent.

The rest of the May sweeps is more predictable.

ABC trails CBS and Fox in third place with a 3.7 average, but it’s up the most of any network versus last year, 37 percent, from a 2.7 at this time last year.

NBC, one of only two networks that’s down year to year, trails in fourth place with a 3.6 average, down 49 percent from last year’s 7.0 “Friends” finale-inflated average.

Fox is up 14 percent over last year’s 3.7 average while CBS is up 11 percent from a 3.8.

Fox leads among 18-34s with a 4.1 average, up 17 percent over last year. ABC, up 36 percent, and NBC, down 53 percent, are tied for second at 3.0, followed by CBS in fourth with a 2.9, up 12 percent over last year.

CBS has a sizable lead among 25-54s with a 5.3 average, up 8 percent over last year. Fox and NBC are tied for second at 4.3, though Fox is up 13 percent and NBC down 43 percent. ABC’s in fourth place at 4.2 but again has the largest gain, 40 percent.

UPN and the WB remain fairly even. UPN is ahead by 0.1 among 18-34s with a 1.5 average but the two are tied among 18-49s at 1.5 and households at 2.4 while the WB leads by 0.1 among 25-54s with a 1.5.

UPN, however, is showing gains over every demographic compared with last year while the WB is down. UPN’s “America’s Next Top Model” did not air during last year’s May sweeps; it will this May sweeps.

Last mission: Say so long to 'Star Trek'
An era ends for UPN, as does a bit of TV history
By Abigail Azote medialifemagazine.com May 9, 2005

Friday at 8 p.m. marks the series finale of UPN’s “Star Trek: Enterprise,” the latest in a long line of “Star Trek” shows, but it could also mark the finale for the franchise. Consider it a historic moment, coming almost 40 years since the first “Star Trek" aired on broadcast TV. But the series end is fitting. After a very promising start four years ago, “Enterprise” quickly flamed out, with viewership dropping to less than a fourth of its premiere numbers.

Just why is not all that clear. Perhaps it was that viewers just didn’t like the storylines or actors in the latest incarnation. Or it may simply be that the entire series is better suited these days for cable or in syndication and the dedicated audience they can deliver. For whatever reason, the old “Star Trek” magic has fizzled, and it may be a long time before anyone wants to try it again, especially UPN, which has paid dearly for the series.

But no less significant is the change of direction the show's end represents for UPN, as the last holdover from an era when the network had no cohesive programming strategy and far fewer viewers. Each night was different, targeting a different audience than the night before, and the effect was a crazy quilt of a primetime lineup that most likely confused all but those who put it together.

UPN's strategy has since changed to target young women 18-34 with a lineup that builds on itself through the week, which has certainly helped ratings. By canceling “Enterprise,” UPN has yet more room to add shows that work with that revamped focus.

Why it’s important: At 39 years old, the “Star Trek” franchise is showing its age. With other networks like Sci Fi offering more “Star Trek”-like fare, “Enterprise’s” departure could be the just break it the franchise needs to rejuvenate.

And as UPN grows increasingly female-centric, the network needs to shed that old skin and position itself as the WB’s challenger for the coveted young female demographic. UPN already has many of the right programs in place. With “Enterprise” gone, it can complete its transformation.

Background: When “Enterprise” debuted on UPN in September 2001, it averaged an impressive 12.5 million viewers. It quickly emerged as one of the network’s top-rated shows and the top new drama among adults 18-34.

But just as quickly, “Enterprise” fizzled. “Star Trek” fans weren’t engaged by the storylines, and some loyal Trekkies did not like lead actor Scott Bakula. By 2003, the show had fallen to an average 3.6 million total viewers.

It has slipped even further this year, with just 2.7 million average total viewers, down 25 percent from 2003 after moving from Wednesday to Friday night. Last week, “Enterprise” drew an average 3.3 million total viewers and a 1.3 18-49 rating.

The show is the fifth in the long line of “Star Trek” TV series, with the original airing on NBC in 1966. “Enterprise” immediately followed “Star Trek: Voyager,” which also aired on UPN.

Major competition: “Enterprise” goes head-to-head with the similarly positioned “Stargate SG-1” on Sci Fi, which, bundled with “Stargate Atlantis” and “Battlestar Galactica,” presents a more compelling alternative to viewers seeking sci fi fare.

Spike’s Friday night “CSI” is also a huge cable draw, siphoning even more of “Enterprise’s” core demographic. In broadcast, the show is on the same hour as NBC’s “Dateline” and ABC’s “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” but “Enterprise’s” audience doesn’t have much crossover. It will be more hurt by an Elvis special on CBS Friday.

Prediction: Based on “Enterprise’s” performance, it will see a comparatively modest audience for its finale, perhaps averaging 4.5 million total viewers. That’s a big number for UPN but still way lower than it would have hoped for four years ago when the series launched.

On 'SNL,' Paula acts coy as musical guests curse

medialifemagazine.com---Paula Abdul seems to be taking the Janet Jackson approach to image rehab: Laughter is the best medicine. Following Ms. Jackson's similar appearance last year, the celebrity judge made a cameo on the opening sketch of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” in which Amy Poehler portrayed her while Finesse Mitchell played Corey Clark.

For those who have been in hiding for the last two weeks, former “American Idol” contestant Clark claimed on an ABC News special that Abdul secretly helped him with the competition while they had an affair. Abdul appeared at the end of the “SNL” skit and critiqued Poehler’s portrayal “Idol”-style, telling her she needed to be more sexy if she wanted to get the contestants to sleep with her.

“SNL,” though, may be dealing with a scandal of its own.

Later on that same episode, musical guests System of a Down made enemies with the Federal Communications Commission. At the end of the group’s performance, guitarist Daron Malakian yelled “**** yeah!” unedited while the camera zoomed in on him. It’s not the first time a bad word has slipped out on “SNL,” but it may be the most prominent considering the FCC’s vendetta on indecency since Jackson’s Super Bowl flashing a year and a half ago.

Neither NBC nor the FCC has commented on the incident.

Yep, Lorne Michaels insists on no delay even though one is available. I guess he must have deep pockets....

George: It was great to see a (far too brief) shot of Don Pardo on this week's SNL.
He looks to be in great shape!

A tale of two little-watched dramas: One survives, one probably won't
By Charlie McCollum San Jose Mercury News May 09, 2005

Since they premiered last fall, UPN's ``Veronica Mars'' and the WB's ``Jack & Bobby'' have traveled similar paths.

Both have proven to be smartly written series that explore family dynamics with remarkable clarity. Both have developed characters that viewers care about, as defined by very strong ensemble casts. Each has a singular performance at its center: young Kristen Bell as Veronica Mars and Christine Lahti as Grace McCallister, the mother of teens Jack and Bobby.

Sadly, both also have been viewer-deprived, ending up among the least-watched shows on network TV each week.

This week, though, as the shows air their season finales, the paths of the two series are likely to diverge. Despite the miserable ratings, UPN has renewed ``Veronica Mars'' (9 p.m. Tuesday, Ch. 44) for a second season, since it fits nicely into the network's programming for young women. But Wednesday's episode of ``Jack & Bobby'' (9 p.m., Ch. 20) will most likely be its last as the WB scrambles to rethink its lineup for next season.

The ``Veronica'' finale is yet another example of why UPN ought to be applauded for sticking with this addictive show. A touching episode resolves the mystery (who killed Veronica's best friend, Lilly Kane) that has been the narrative drive of the series and does so in a way that should be satisfying to those who have invested in the show.

While the easy way to describe Veronica Mars is as a post-modern Nancy Drew -- the high schooler works for her father's detective agency -- the show really has about as much to do with solving mysteries as ``Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' had to do with vampires and demons. Like ``Buffy,'' the heart of the series is its contemplations of the horrors of high school, the pain of first love, the joys of friendships and the agony of loss.

Which means the emotional payoff of the finale -- called ``Leave It to Beaver'' -- is not the apprehension of Lilly Kane's killer but the psychic impact it has on those who knew her, including Veronica.

Like ``Veronica,'' ``Jack & Bobby'' was never quite what it seemed on the surface. It had all the trappings of a traditional teen drama but framed its episodes with flash-forwards to a documentary about a time in the future when Bobby McCallister had become president of the United States. The innovative device allowed it to explore both what Bobby and his brother Jack had become -- and how they became who they were as adults.

This series also ends its season with style and class. The producers have said they knew cancellation was a real possibility, so they've given those who did watch some lovely and poignant parting moments that are satisfying in their way.

Most of the episode is devoted to Jack and Bobby McCallister (Matt Long and Logan Lerman) meeting their father (Lou Diamond Phillips), who has been much discussed but never seen. In addition to Phillips, the finale is loaded with guest stars, including TV icon Norman Lear as the older Peter Benedict, the college president played by John Slattery in modern times, and Gore Vidal as the narrator of the ``documentary'' about the McCallister presidency.

And Tim Robbins turns up as the voice of President McCallister.

The finale should erase any lingering questions -- if there really were any -- that ``Jack & Bobby'' deserved a better fate. It is likely to end up like ``Freaks and Geeks'' -- unwatched in its time and much-discussed after its passing.

Originally posted by George Thompson
Yep, Lorne Michaels insists on no delay even though one is available. I guess he must have deep pockets....

He is playing with his life if he doesn't use one, but SNL IS after 10pm at night so if doesn't fall in the same category as the Super Bowl did and after 30 years on the air, you do know what you are getting in SNL. It isn't TV-G, that is for sure. SNL may skate by because of that one little technicality.

after all the trouble we went through to get Enterprise in HD here in the NYC area, to have it cancelled is disappointing.

Especially since the Yankees have preempted ST the last few weeks. The game and the subsequent replay both in SD.

The WB's 'Summerland,' FOX's 'Life on a Stick' Get June Return Dates
By Brian Ford Sullivan thefutoncritic.com

LOS ANGELES---The WB's "Summerland" and FOX's "Life on a Stick" will resume their runs following the May sweeps period, their respective networks confirmed over the weekend.
"Summerland" will move to Tuesdays at 9:00/8:00c beginning June 7 for the remainder of its second season episodes while "Stick" will settle into the Wednesday, 8:30/7:30c slot starting June 1.

A far from stellar 3.14 million viewers on average tuned into "Summerland's" seven week run earlier this year while "Stick" averaged 9.21 million viewers for its four post-"American Idol" airings (with an abysmal 40% retention rate).

While "Stick" is not expected to be renewed for the 2005-06 season, "Summerland" is understood to still be in the running to return next season.

(From Marc Berman’s Mr. TV column Monday, May 9th, 2005 at Mediaweek.com)
The Season For High Expectations
By Marc Berman Mediaweek.com May 9, 2005

With the 2005-06 prime-time schedule announcements just one week away, Mr. Television would like to take one last look back at the 2004-05 season. As the networks get ready to make their presentations, spinning you on the merits of every new series and why your valuable ad dollars

should be spent on them (have a Dramamine or two handy!), keep in mind that of the 33 series launched last fall (including Fox's summer rollouts), only two—ABC's Desperate Housewives and Lost—are bona fide hits. CBS would also like you to believe CSI: NY is a breakout sensation, but early momentum stalled a bit as the season progressed.

Along with those three shows, other freshman series already renewed, or expected to return, include ABC's Boston Legal (which lost its Sunday 10 p.m. berth to Grey's Anatomy) and Wife Swap, NBC's Joey, UPN's Veronica Mars and the WB's Blue Collar TV. That's eight shows out of 33.

The addition of Grey's Anatomy and Fox's House in midseason, along with a handful of other recently introduced shows like NBC's Medium; CBS' Numb3rs; ABC's Supernanny; Fox's Nanny: 911 and Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy; and the WB's Living With Fran, generated some interest. But let's be honest. Overall, the failures this season far outweigh the winners. Remember The Benefactor, Center of the Universe, Clubhouse, Father of the Pride, Hawaii, The Jury, LAX, life as we know it, Medical Investigation, Method & Red, Quintuplets, Second Time Around and The Mountain? I've been trying to forget.

The comedy NBC enthusiastically called the next big thing, Joey, was the biggest disappointment. Although that show, even with its ever-shrinking audience, is expected to find a spot on NBC's schedule in the fall, expect Matt LeBlanc to be put out of his misery by next spring. NBC, once home to 18 prime-time sitcoms in one season, will probably open next fall with only three returning comedies. Joey is only a temporary time-period filler for a network falling apart at the seams.

If there is a lesson to be learned from the mess at NBC, which now ranks No. 4 among adults 18-49, it is to never arrogantly rest on your laurels. NBC had plenty of warning that its strongest sitcoms were coming to an end, and the best they could do was spin off one of the least interesting characters from a show that relied heavily on an ensemble cast.

Also coming off a season it might care to forget about is the WB, which has not made much progress attracting a broader audience. While the addition of male-oriented sketch comedy Blue Collar TV was certainly admirable, viewers still tune to the network looking for a good dose of young adult angst, a la Dawson's Creek, not a 46-year-old redneck comedian. Although UPN was expected to make inroads courtesy of critically acclaimed dramas Veronica Mars and Kevin Hill, accolades don't always translate into viewers. That's the sad reality of prime-time TV.

Unless one of the networks pulls a Cosby next fall (NBC's The Cosby Show single-handedly revived the dying sitcom genre in 1984), and that is highly unlikely, expect dramas and reality to continue to rule next season. Given the success of ABC's Desperate Housewives, don't be surprised to see more comedic elements in the one-hour scripted format. Hopefully, the networks will realize that the success of Housewives stems from the familiarity of the characters, not necessarily the over-the-top situations. Had those occupants on Wisteria Lane not been like some of the people we know in real life, Desperate Housewives would not be the hit that it is.

Unfortunately, this season continues to prove that shows pushing the creative envelope have the roughest time succeeding. While you have to give credit to UPN for standing by Veronica Mars (which the network is hoping will eventually turn into a Buffy-like hit), the ax is likely to swing on NBC's The Office, Fox's Arrested Development and the WB's Jack & Bobby, all shows that dared to be different. Had NBC not been struggling in the sitcom department, the quirky but low-rated Scrubs, which was foolishly renewed for two more seasons in 2004, would probably have fallen on its scalpel.

In the 2004-05 TV season, the six broadcast networks lost an average 630,000 viewers, from 50 million to 49.4 million one year later. Although the success of Lost and Desperate Housewives is a step in the right direction for drama, the networks still need to find a solution to the current comedy drought. Until they do, they are unlikely to stop the bleeding.

Monday’s prime-time program ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

Last week’s prime-time program ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

Next week the networks will announce their fall prime time schedules.
There are always at least a few surprises. This article, from today’s Los Angeles Times is lengthy, but it might explain some of the moves the networks will make.

Over 50 and Out of Favor
Advertisers and thus TV networks are fixated on 18- to 49-year-olds, but aging baby boomers say they shouldn't be taken for granted
By Meg James Los AngelesTimesStaff Writer May 10, 2005

Brad Adgate turned 50 today and, just like that, he became irrelevant to the TV industry.

You might think marketers would want to court Adgate. The New York advertising executive makes a six-figure salary, and he and his wife enjoy spending it. Last year, they spent $35,000 remodeling their kitchen with all new appliances. They splurge at the supermarket — he likes microbrew beers — and at the sporting goods store. Recent purchases include new bikes for the family ($1,300) and a pair of running shoes for Adgate ($115).

"I don't run as fast as I used to, but I don't feel old," Adgate said. "And I don't act old."

Such subtleties, however, are lost on most advertisers. Madison Avenue has focused for decades on reaching the demographic group that Adgate just grew out of: the 18-to-49-year-old consumer. The result: TV networks are fixated on the under-50 "demo" as well.

Next week in New York, that obsession with youth will be on garish display as the TV industry gathers for its annual "upfront" presentations. There, at what has become a springtime ritual, the networks will unveil next season's shows, hoping to persuade advertisers to commit $9 billion for prime-time commercials.

This year, like every year, the broadcast networks, including ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox, will be using the same bait: shows aimed at people in their 20s, 30s and 40s.

Catering almost exclusively to the young might seem counterproductive. More than half the nation's wealth is in the hands of people over 50, who spend an estimated $2 trillion a year on products and services.

But advertising experts say that when they aim commercials at young people, they also get older folks — while the opposite is rarely the case. People over 50 watch more TV and thus are easier for the networks to reach. The younger demo, busy with work and family and tempted by myriad entertainment choices, is more difficult to corral.

"If you target young, you're going to get younger viewers and keep your older ones," said Jon Nesvig, Fox Broadcasting's advertising president. "But if you target old, that's what you're going to get — older viewers."

It's a classic case of supply and demand, which means networks can charge a premium for capturing 18-to-49-year-old eyeballs.

This season, for example, a 30-second spot on NBC's younger-skewing "Las Vegas" averaged $185,000. A comparable spot on CBS' "JAG," whose viewers' median age was 58, went for $130,000. The CBS show recently went off the air.

With that kind of money hanging in the balance, "there's been no incentive to change the equation," said David Poltrack, CBS' head of research.

How does that make people over 50 feel? To paraphrase the famous line from the movie "Network," they're mad as hell and they wish they didn't have to take it anymore.

Last year, AARP tried to draw attention to the issue in an ad campaign built around a photo of a morgue, complete with toe-tagged cadavers. The slogan: "When you turn 50, doctors don't pronounce you dead — marketers do."

Jim Fishman, group publisher of AARP's magazines, said advertisers were terrified of seeming too friendly to the gray-haired set.

"They don't want to do anything to alienate their younger audience," Fishman said. "They're making products for people over 50, they're selling them to people over 50, but they're just not marketing them to people over 50."

But some warn that unless advertisers change their tune, they eventually will face the wrath of a group that knows how to make its voice heard. After all, it was these same baby boomers who came of age protesting the Vietnam War.

"That activism will come alive again," predicted Brent Green, who wrote the book "Marketing to Leading-Edge Baby Boomers." "Advertisers that ignore or make fun of aging people will do so at their own peril."

No such revolution seems imminent, though. Consider the case of Jon Currie, a 58-year-old Santa Monica media consultant who was in the market for a new car. Last fall, irked by the news that Lexus was altering its designs to lure younger buyers, he fired off an angry letter.

"You are making a huge mistake," he wrote to a ranking Lexus executive. "You are biting the hand that feeds you … throwing away a very loyal market. Why must all brand marketers pursue younger demos?"

Currie got no response.

Ironically, the very 18-to-49 formula that is now excluding much of the baby boom generation was initially developed to embrace them.

By 1950, research firm A.C. Nielsen was tabulating TV ratings by estimating the number of households that tuned into a program. Most families had only one TV set and shows with broad-based appeal were the most popular. CBS had "I Love Lucy" and later "The Beverly Hillbillies," and NBC had "Bonanza."

"Advertisers were finding their way," TV historian Tim Brooks said. "They really didn't know what segments of the audience they reached."

Nielsen began providing more detailed information about viewers, including age and gender, by the early 1960s. The firm even created a category called "Lady of the House," Brooks said, to identify which shows housewives were watching. That group was of particular interest to packaged-good companies seeking to influence the person who did the shopping.

Executives at the third-place ABC network saw demographic details as a way to get into the game. For the 1969 season, ABC had just two shows in the Top 20: "Marcus Welby, M.D." and "The Johnny Cash Show." With the post-World War II babies coming of age, ABC executives aggressively lobbied advertisers to adopt 18- to 49-year-olds as the new ratings yardstick. They developed shows with this audience in mind.

Within a few years, ABC had become a force with "Happy Days," "Laverne & Shirley" and "The Six Million Dollar Man." Advertisers moved money into shows for younger audiences.

At the time, 18 to 49 made sense. It represented a broad swath of the adult population, and the first members of the bulging baby boom population (those born from 1946 to 1964) were in their 20s. This was the first generation to grow up with television, and they were free-spending, not having lived through the Depression or World War II. Advertisers saw a seemingly endless supply of boomers to buy their products.

"At that time, 18-year-olds were marrying and starting families," Brooks said. "The 18-to-49 category roughly matched the age span of consumers of family-oriented products."

Over the years, the 18-to-49-year-old group, or "the demo" as it's known in the industry, took on increasing importance. Shows with seniors in leading roles gradually disappeared. These days, such once-popular fare as "The Golden Girls" or "Murder, She Wrote" wouldn't make it onto the air.

"That's why 'JAG' got canceled — it had older viewers," said executive producer Don Bellisario, who is 69. "Now that I'm of that generation, people come up to me and say: 'Why are they always chasing after 18- to 34-year-olds?' As nicely as I can, I say: 'Well, you're going to be dead a lot sooner than they are. And you are not going to change the cereal that you eat in the morning or the car that you buy.' "

But is it true that older people are rigidly set in their ways? Advertisers have long clung to the notion that brand loyalty can be instilled in the very young. Just get them into the habit of buying Cheerios, Crest and Chevrolets, the theory goes, and you'll have them for the rest of their lives.

A recent RoperASW study, however, found that people over 50 were just as likely as younger consumers to switch brands for such things as banks, airlines, computers, even bath soap. The 2002 report, commissioned by AARP, found that when it came to some products — including athletic shoes, home electronics and cellphones — older buyers were even more open than younger ones to change.

Just ask Steve Mosko. At 49, the television executive knows firsthand how dramatically buying patterns have changed.

"When my dad was 50, he drove a Chevy, he bought Gulf gas and wore the same kind of wingtips year after year. He was a creature of habit," Mosko said. "Our generation is completely different. I buy the same clothes that my son buys, and he's a sophomore at USC. We get new cellphones every six months, and buy different cars. People in my age group are desperate to try something new."

To Matt Thornhill, president of the Boomer Project, a marketing research and consulting firm, Mosko proves one thing: "The whole notion of brand preference is a myth. If baby boomers were brand loyal they would still be buying Thom McAn shoes and shopping in Woolworth stores."

Slowly, some advertisers are recognizing the power of this under-appreciated group. This fall, retailer Gap Inc. plans to open a chain of clothing stores for women over 35. Cadillac and Audi have incorporated the music of such 1970s rock icons as Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and David Bowie into their TV commercials to touch a chord with aging boomers. The Bowie song that runs in Audi's recent ads? "Never Get Old."

Anheuser-Busch Cos. has courted consumers over 50. After research showed that many boomers had stopped drinking beer in order to stay trim, the company aimed Michelob Ultra — a low-calorie, lower carbohydrate beer —squarely at them.

"There wasn't a product out there that reflected their lifestyle," said Mike Sundet, brand manager for Michelob Ultra. The beer caught on quickly.

Similarly, Home Depot sought to grow its market share by welcoming those over 50. Teaming up with AARP, the company added seniors to its in-store workforce and has been targeting the 50-plus crowd in media buys.

When it comes to home improvement, said John Costello, Home Depot's executive vice president for merchandise and marketing, codgers have the ability to spend more than ingenues. Besides, he added, today more than ever before it makes sense to target niche audiences.

"Consumers for years have had a mass-market mentality, where everybody wanted to use the leading product," Costello said. "We have become a more diverse and multicultured society, driven more by individualism than mass preferences."

One of the most successful products recently to tap into that individualism has been Apple Computer Inc.'s digital music player iPod. Apple set out to market the portable device, which can hold thousands of songs, to people of all ages.

Last fall, its TV commercials featured a silhouette of a dancing Bono of the Irish rock band U2 singing "Vertigo." Apple was confident that younger consumers would see Bono — who turned 45 today — as the ultimate in cool: a hardened rocker who crusades for social and environmental causes. Apple was also betting that older consumers, whose fear of technology might have made them anxious, would feel reassured. If Bono, whom they'd listened to for more than two decades, could handle an iPod, so could they.

"We have huge youth appeal," said Greg Joswiak, Apple's vice president of iPod marketing. "With this campaign, we tried to reach across several generations."

Adgate, the ad executive who turns 50 today, recently got an iPod from his wife. He loves the way it makes his two-hour commute fly by. And recently, it prompted him to alter his exercise routine: the five-mile jog.

"I've been running for 37 years and I've never used a Walkman or anything to run with," he said with an enthusiasm that sounded, well, youthful. "But now I use my iPod all the time. Jackson Browne, the Eagles, Steely Dan. It makes the workouts so much smoother."

Fredfa,

my Hughes HTL-HD lists an hour of "Joey" on NBC this Thursday, and while I think it's two episodes combined (to make up for the week they lost with the President's speech), it lists it as being the Season Finale.

Also, I've mentioned this once before, but since it's still listed as such, I thought I'd mention it again that "7th Heaven" is not broadcast in HD.

~Alan

here i am having a midlife crisis at 36 and 50 year olds are partying it up :)

maybe the truth is the 50 year olds all have Tivo and rarely watch commericals :D

Thanks Alan, that slipped thorugh my less-than-perfect editing process!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I think your second sentence might be on the something, slocko.
Though it is not exactly a large sample, I'm over 50, and haven't watched a commercial in a TiVo'd show in months.
And we haven't watched more than a handful of programs live this season.
(But then if we extrapolate for the general population based on the preferences of those of us on this forum, VOOM would have more subs than D* and E* combined.)

Originally posted by slocko
here i am having a midlife crisis at 36 and 50 year olds are partying it up :)

maybe the truth is the 50 year olds all have Tivo and rarely watch commericals :D

No, It's just easier for us over 50's to get Viagra!?

Us 50 plus'ers are one group that is being beaten to death with drug ads. How these ads ever came to be on TV blows me away, myself, I would rather have my doctor prescribe medicine to me, not my television.

Leno had a great line, Aren't Doctors supposed to tell you, what drugs you need? When you go to someone and tell them what drugs you need, we call that a dealer!

Fred, are the Summerland shows for the summer going to be repeats?

As I understand it, there are five new Summerland episodes that will be played this summer.

Tuesday’s prime-time program ratings have finallybeen posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.
Sorry for the delay, but massive computer problems are to blame.
At least that's my story -- and I am sticking to it.

Marc Ber man's analysis of last week's national ratings has been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

Dennis Miller Says So Long to CNBC

By John Higgins Broadcasting & Cable

CNBC doesn't have to cancel its low-rated prime time shows these days, because the hosts decide to leave first. Dennis Miller, host of Dennis Miller, became the latest one to do so, exiting the weekday talk show. The final episode airs Friday. Miller has been on the network since January 2004, but the audience never got very large, averaging just 100,000 total viewers last week. Miller's exit follows that of Tina Brown, who is ending her weekly show, Topic A with Tina Brown, which got even weaker ratings. In a memo to employees, CNBC President Mark Hoffman says he bumped Miller out of its slot, planning to rerun Mad Money with Jim Cramer in Miller's 9 p.m. ET time slot.

“As the business news leader, it is incumbent upon us to ensure that our influential, out-of-home audience has access to our signature business day programming throughout their business day from coast to coast. I have spoken with Dennis Miller about these plans, and he has let me know that his strong preference is to leave his program immediately. Therefore, the final episode of Dennis Miller will air this Friday, May 13. Dennis is an exceptionally talented comedian with an unmatched wit, and he and his team consistently delivered a very entertaining program. I want to personally thank Dennis, Eddie Feldmann and their entire group. We are all very proud of their accomplishments and wish them nothing but the best for the future."

HBO To Pack Up Carnivale

By Anne Becker Broadcasting & Cable

HBO will not renew freak-show series Carnivale for a third season. The Depression-era, good-vs.-evil drama ran for 24 episodes and ended its second season in March. The final episode wrapped up most loose ends, but also introduced a cliffhanger that left the door open for possible renewal. The network, however, announced late last night that would not happen.

"We feel the two seasons we had on the air told the story very well and we’re proud of what everyone associated with the show has accomplished," said HBO President of Entertainment Carolyn Strauss, in a statement.

The show, created by Daniel Knauf, earned strong reviews and a handful of Emmys, but did not generate the buzz of the network’s other dramas like The Sopranos and Deadwood. It also suffered from rough scheduling, with season two airing Sundays at 9 p.m. against ABC’s hit Desperate Housewives and other destination programming.

More Summerland Information

AFH: Here is a press release from the WB relating to Summerland: (posted on thefutoncritic.com)
SUMMER KICKS OFF ON THE WB WITH NEW EPISODES OF “SUMMERLAND” BEGINNING TUESDAY, JUNE 7 AT 9:00 P.M. Released by The WB Burbank, CA May 11, 2005

SPECIAL ENCORE AIRINGS OF THE DRAMA STARRING LORI LOUGHLIN AND PLATINUM-SELLING TEEN POP SINGER JESSE MCCARTNEY TO BEGIN ON MONDAY, JUNE 13 AT 9:00 P.M.

SUMMERLAND, the Aaron Spelling drama starring Lori Loughlin and Jesse McCartney, will return to The WB's schedule with the remaining five new episodes of the second season beginning Tuesday, June 7 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET), it was announced today by David Janollari, President, Entertainment, The WB.

SUMMERLAND encores will air in the Monday, 9:00-10:00 p.m. time period beginning June 13.

SUMMERLAND was consistently the top-rated show in its time period with the important trend-setting demo of female teens (3.7/11). The series also finished #2 in the Monday, 9:00 p.m. hour among teens 12-17 (2.4/7). The program posted outstanding double-digit growth versus the parallel time period a year ago across all teen demos, as well as a +14% gain in persons 12-34 (1.6/4), a +20% increase in females 12-34 (2.4/6), a +12% improvement in women 18-34 (1.9/5), and a +13% build in women 18-49 (1.8/4).

NBC's Zucker: 'We have to do better'
The NBC Universal Television Group president vows to replenish the network's ailing schedule
By Matea Gold Los Angeles Times Staff Writer May 12, 2005

NEW YORK -- NBC Universal Television Group President Jeff Zucker said Wednesday that he will not attempt to gloss over the network's prime-time woes when he addresses advertising buyers during next week's presentation of fall programming.

"I will acknowledge up top the reality of the situation," Zucker told reporters at a breakfast at Rockefeller Plaza that marked the one-year anniversary of the NBC-Universal merger. "We're not going to run from that. We're not going to hide from that. We're not going to let the elephant sit in the room. I'll handle the fact it was a tough year."

"Let's be honest," he added. "We have to do better this fall than we're doing now."

The network that coined "must-see TV" has recently seen its standing among the crucial 18- to 49-year-old audience tumble. After holding the title of top network for most of the last decade, NBC has slipped from first to fourth place among those viewers this year.

"We did not have a very good year," Zucker acknowledged. "We lost 'Friends' and didn't replenish the schedule with newer, fresher hits."

NBC must now convince advertisers who paid a premium for spots on the No. 1 network that it will regain its footing with new shows this fall. All six broadcast networks will present their upcoming programming during a series of glitzy events in New York next week.

NBC is scheduled to go first, with a presentation Monday at Radio City Music Hall.

Zucker noted that NBC still leads among affluent viewers and that the broadcast networks are currently separated by just a fraction of a rating point in the key 18-to-49 demographic group.

"There's complete network parity right now," he said. "But having said that, there's something psychological about being No. 1."

The programming chief said that while shows like "Medium" have kept NBC strong in the 10 p.m. slot, the network must work to improve its 8 p.m. lineup.

"One or two moves" in the schedule "that really work and break out can make a huge difference, and everybody knows it," Zucker said.

He said that NBC has a two-pronged strategy for the coming season: Home in on programs that could be immediate hits and develop strong shows that will pay off in the future.

"I think we have to both improve our position and seed for the future," Zucker said.

Those two imperatives have led NBC executives to consider some "schizophrenic" programming ideas in the last few days, he added.

"What we have to come up with is, can we really do both?"

Zucker is hoping for a change of fortune not only in prime-time but also on "Today," the network's morning show juggernaut, which has lost ground to ABC's "Good Morning, America."

The NBC program, which had a 3-million-viewer advantage six years ago, was ahead of ABC by an average of just 494,000 viewers during the last two months, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Last month, Zucker and NBC News President Neal Shapiro fired "Today" Executive Producer Tom Touchet because of the slippage in the ratings, replacing him with veteran sports producer Jim Bell.

"We haven't really innovated at the 'Today' show in the last three or four years," Zucker said, adding that the same team of anchors has been in place for nearly a decade.

"You need a sense of freshness, and I don't think we've given that," he added.

But he said that he's happy with "Today" show hosts Katie Couric and Matt Lauer. "I don't think there's an issue with the talent," Zucker said. "I think it's the way you produce them; the way you program the show; the situations you put your people in."

Oh So Gingerly, Broadcasters Challenge Indecency Limits
By JOE FLINT “THE SMALL SCREEN” The Wall Street Journal

The broadcast networks, tired of getting beaten up over the content of their television shows by Congress, regulators and conservative consumer groups, have finally decided to fight back. Sort of.

After pressing their case largely behind the scenes, the networks say they are taking a more vocal stance to combat what they say is a distorted view of what the public wants to see on television. Last week, Viacom's CBS and UPN, News Corp.'s Fox and General Electric Co.'s NBC announced they were joining together to challenge the crackdown on risqué content. But the broadcasters haven't exactly come out with all their guns blazing. Instead, they have taken cover under an umbrella group that includes several prominent conservative organizations -- unusual bedfellows for the television industry.

The networks' alliance, dubbed The TV Watch, brings together special interests from diverse political circles, united by their opposition to increased regulation of content. In addition to the Center for Creative Voices, a left-of-center advocacy group focused on media consolidation, the coalition includes the American Conservative Union, a right-wing lobbying organization, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

This motley crew even boasts a shipmaster with impeccable conservative credentials -- Jim Dyke, a former top official with the Republican National Committee. "A lot of different people want to keep the government out of this," Mr. Dyke, TV Watch's executive director, says of the unusual partnership.

Walt Disney Co.'s ABC, however, isn't participating in the venture. Disney, which also owns ESPN, has expressed support for indecency restrictions, even on cable, apparently in the hope that its conciliatory approach will better its chances in other regulatory arenas. A spokeswoman for Disney said, "We are all involved in providing consumers the ability to make educated choices through our public service campaigns. The end result is the same, even if we choose a different approach."

While the networks aren't concealing the fact that they put up the bulk of the seed money for TV Watch, they aren't boasting about it, either. Representatives for CBS and Fox declined to have executives to discuss the coalition on the record; NBC promised to do so, but didn't deliver.

So if the networks are so worried about government intrusion, why are they trying to outsource their battle? Television executives insist, on background, of course, that isn't the case.

"We're trying to get other voices heard on this," said one network executive, adding that it is important for lawmakers to realize there are plenty of conservatives who favor having the remote control be the final arbitrator of taste, and not unelected bureaucrats at the Federal Communications Commission. Another network official noted that since those waging the anti-indecency campaign gave the appearance of being a grassroots effort, TV Watch is trying to capture a similar aura.

The group's first move last week was to release a survey showing that the majority of people want to choose for themselves what they should or shouldn't watch, and not have those decisions made for them by the government. The nationwide telephone poll of 1,000 adults, conducted by Democratic pollster Peter Hart, showed that 74% said personal responsibility, not intervention, is the answer to questionable content. Only 20% felt television and radio have gone too far.

At first glance, those numbers seem to bolster the networks' case. But a closer look at the survey illustrates why the debate over indecency is so complicated. On the one hand, a whopping 92% of respondents said viewers, and not the government, should determine what content is appropriate for television. But at the same time, nearly 50% of the people surveyed agreed with the statement that "it doesn't matter how strong a warning the television networks put on their shows … network television simply should not broadcast content that has the potential to offend people."

TV Watch's Mr. Dyke, a fan of "Arrested Development," "Grey's Anatomy" and "Desperate Housewives," says the group's primary agenda is to educate viewers about ratings systems, the V-chip and other methods available to audiences who want to block certain types of content. "Parents have the tools," he says, adding, "I'm hopeful as we educate Americans … that we also educate lawmakers and regulators."

But more than anything, the networks seem motivated by a desire to challenge Brent Bozell, founder of the Parents Television Council and the biggest thorn in the side of broadcasters. Mr. Bozell's organization has become a powerful force in the indecency debate. Its members barrage the FCC with indecency complaints on an almost-daily basis.

The usually loquacious Mr. Bozell declined to be interviewed about the broadcasters' new efforts. But in a statement, he described his rivals as "a collection of random citizen and public-policy groups that have simply been hired and paid for by the networks to do their dirty work."

TV Watch so far has been vague about its next move. Mr. Dyke, for his part, declined to talk about Mr. Bozell or even mention him by name, saying only that his mission is to inform the public and policy makers, not to fight with groups that have been pressuring the government to get involved in the content fight.

That's rather hard to believe. Mr. Bozell has, for better or for worse, managed to become a big driver of the clean-airwaves movement. But the networks, wary of offending a portion of their viewership, have shied away from confronting Mr. Bozell, and allowed him to paint himself as the people's advocate.

But if the networks want to have a shot at influencing the debate, they will need to be more vocal. Admittedly, as one network executive put it, highly paid television executives don't always make the most sympathetic spokesmen. And with their parent companies lobbying Congress for a more-friendly regulatory environment, broadcasters are wary of battling on too many fronts. The conservative mood on Capitol Hill makes it even tougher. But if the networks are serious about protecting their content, they shouldn't turn the fight over to a hired gun.

Which Networks Shows Will Make The ’05 Schedule?
It's pins-and-needles time for shows on the bubble as networks decide which they've seen enough of
By Tim Goodman San Francisco Chronicle

Next week is going to be especially tough for John McNamara. He's the executive producer of the ABC private detective series, "Eyes," and his show is now precariously "on the bubble." That means that when the networks announce their new fall schedules in New York next week, "Eyes" could slide off one side and be killed, or slip safely off the other and get renewed for a second season.

Nobody wants to be associated with a bubble show. The stress is too high. And, frankly, the odds aren't very good for most of them. If a network hasn't renewed you for another season by now, it means they have doubts -- lots of them -- about your ability to find an audience.

McNamara knows a little something about the brutality of the business. He was executive producer of the cult sensation "Profit," the TV version of "The Fugitive," the oddly wonderful "Vengeance Unlimited" and a writer and producer on the critically hailed "Adventures of Brisco County Jr."

None of them, of course, had a very long life. Last week McNamara sent out an e-mail to TV critics (his third regarding "Eyes") announcing that ABC had pulled it from the sweeps schedule: "The network is scheduling this week and next. Letters may not help but if there is a large, riled fan base, well, they certainly couldn't hurt."

With only a week to go before the "upfronts" -- where the networks present next fall's schedule to advertisers and media -- pulling out the stops no matter how demeaning is really all that's left for those associated with bubble shows. Though conventional wisdom suggests that network executives have figured out what they're keeping and what they're dumping before they get to New York on Monday, you'd be surprised at how often this isn't the case. Each year there are a couple of high-profile hedges, flip-flops and outright reversals.

Producers have said they were told good news about being picked up weeks before, only to find out -- while in New York to celebrate -- that they got dumped. So it's anybody's guess which shows will live and which will die, but these are generally the factors in play when the decision gets made:

** How good was our pilot season? In April, the networks approve scripts and green-light pilots (sometimes as many as 20), then sit down to see how good they look.

** Were the "bubble shows" victims of difficult scheduling (going up against "American Idol" or some other ratings powerhouse); did they retain audience share following a hit (meaning, did people watch "The Simpsons" but bail on "Arrested Development"); can this series work better in a different time slot or on a different night; and finally, do critical praise, fan intensity and awards offset the lack of an audience?

We'll know what the answers are next week for sure. In the meantime, these are the broadcast network series "on the bubble":

A B C: "Eyes," "Blind Justice," "Less Than Perfect," "8 Simple Rules." The first two have an outside shot of returning, the others will almost certainly be canceled. Both "Eyes" and "Blind Justice" had favorable reviews, good but not great ratings and still have potential.

"Less Than Perfect" was less than popular and "8 Simple Rules" was kept afloat even after John Ritter's death, but after the sympathy viewing ended, so did its chances of renewal.

C B S: "Joan of Arcadia," "Judging Amy," "Listen Up," "Yes, Dear." Bet on CBS answering the prayers of the "Joan" faithful, but the others seem doomed.

Forget the "Seinfeld" curse. "Listen Up" was terrible and Jason Alexander couldn't save it. "Amy" had a good run. "Yes, Dear" may be the most maligned series to reach 100 episodes, which means despite what critics said, the people spoke. The series is already in syndication. Why pay for more?

Fox: "Arrested Development," "Bernie Mac," "Life on a Stick," "Quintuplets." For TV critics, this is the moment of truth for Fox's new entertainment president, Peter Ligouri. Bring back the Emmy-winning but low- rated "Arrested Development," or write it off as a cult hit and move forward? In real life, Bernie Mac has health woes. But Fox didn't help his show by moving it around so confusingly. Both have a shot at returning -- "Arrested Development" more so than "Bernie Mac." The other two are doubtful. If "Arrested Development" does return, it's unlikely to be on Sundays.

N B C: "American Dreams," "Committed," "The Office." Look for all of these to disappear. "American Dreams" has a loyal fan base and truly was a lucky bubble show in past seasons. But the luck has run out. NBC hasn't had much success with comedies, so it shot a lot of sitcoms. That doesn't bode well for "Committed," which was quirky by half, and "The Office," which pulled off a miracle by successfully Americanizing the British original while retaining its quality, yet ultimately ended up being too subtle and experimental for an American audience.

The WB: "Jack & Bobby." Here's a quality show, critically acclaimed, but on the wrong network. That's a deadly and depressing combo. Nobody watched this story about two boys and their quirky mom -- with one of them growing up to become president. Very doubtful to return.

UPN: "Kevin Hill," "All of Us." From preseason "it show" to postseason "bubble show," the fall for "Kevin Hill" was very far indeed. This network needs viewers and buzz, but both vanished on this series when the potential went unrealized. Look for both to get canceled unless the "Kevin Hill" producers accept a dramatic revamp.

In a strangely conceived historical habit, whichever series fall on the wrong side of the bubble won't be officially announced. Starting next week, it's all about good news. The networks never, ever announce what they've killed off. You just have to sift through the schedule and figure it out for yourself.

Unless you're John McNamara. He's probably already got an inkling of what's going to happen.

Originally posted by fredfa
Which Networks Shows Will Make The ’05 Schedule?
It's pins-and-needles time for shows on the bubble as networks decide which they've seen enough of
By Tim Goodman San Francisco Chronicle

............... Starting next week, it's all about good news. The networks never, ever announce what they've killed off. You just have to sift through the schedule and figure it out for yourself.

Or check back here and let fredfa tell us, through process of elimination, what's likely cancelled. ;)

Thanks CPanther95-- but I think almost all the cancellations have been made pretty obvious. "Arrested Development", "Eyes" and a coupe of others will be interesting to see.
I am also looking forward to what NBC will do to try to get back in the game after this year's 30% audience loss. Although, with the Winter Olympics guaranteeing NBC a win in the February sweep, maybe NBC will not try a radical fix.
But still there will probably be a number of surprises next week in NYC.

Wednesday’s prime-time program ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

How NBC might rejigger its primetime
But don't expect a mega-makeover of its schedule
By Toni Fitzgerald medialifemagazine.com
It would seem that NBC needs a major overhaul of its schedule after a season in which it has fallen from first to fourth among adults 18-49 and will finish more than 15 percent down from last year. But as the network gets set for its upfront presentation Monday, it’s possible that it will be replacing as little as three and a half hours of programming. At least three new dramas and one comedy are sure to make the schedule.

The network needs just one or two of them to hit big like "Desperate Housewives" in order to reascend to the top of primetime.

What follows is a look at NBC's likely schedule for the coming season, based on a variety of sources, from analyses by the big media agencies to what the network has said to snippets of speculation by media buyers.

NBC’s schedule remains strong at 10 p.m. every night, and shows like “West Wing,” “The Apprentice,” “Fear Factor” and “Will & Grace,” while nowhere as strong as they once were, will be back between 8 and 9.

Tuesday needs the most help. It could get up to 90 minutes of new or shifted programming, while Sunday, Wednesday and perhaps Friday will each get an hour. Thursday may remain intact or get a new sitcom at 8:30 if “Will” gets pushed to Tuesday, as many anticipate. Monday is the only night that definitely won’t get some sort of tweak.

NBC may rise to three hours of sitcoms after only two hours this season, or six shows versus four. “Joey,” “Will” and “Scrubs,” which have all been renewed, will take three of those spots.

“Will” may move to Tuesdays at 9, followed by “Scrubs.” If NBC goes with comedies at 8, the latest rumors has “My Name is Earl,” about a lottery winner, joining the schedule. Other possibilities are “Thick & Thin,” about a woman who loses 300 pounds, and “Four Kings,” following four longtime friends.

Tuesday’s “Committed” is also gone. The fate of “The Office” is a bit less clear. Though it flopped on Tuesdays, and its finale numbers were especially poor, it showed potential in its Thursday premiere. NBC may keep it as a midseason replacement. The network probably will take advantage of this winter’s Olympics to make a major midseason push after the Games.

“Fear Factor,” “Las Vegas” and “Medium” will return on Monday. On Tuesday “Law & Order: SVU” will remain at 10. Or NBC may move Sunday’s “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” to Tuesdays at 9 after an hour of sitcoms in anticipation of rearranging its schedule in 2006 for “Sunday Night Football.”

Wednesday’s 9 p.m. “West Wing” and 10 p.m. “Law & Order” will remain. “The Biggest Loser 2” takes over the 8 p.m. slot this summer, and could run into the fall if it does well. That means NBC won’t have to decide on a “Wing” lead-in for a while yet. The network hasn’t had a strong show there in years.

The supernatural sea drama “Fathom” will probably make the schedule, either on Wednesdays at 8, Fridays at 9, or Sunday at 8 or 9. If “Fathom” doesn’t take the Wednesday slot, another possibility is the Pentagon drama “The e-Ring.” Both will reportedly make the schedule.

It seems unlikely that “Revelations,” NBC’s limited-run series currently airing at 9, will return after a major ratings falloff following a strong premiere. But “Book of Daniel,” another religious-centered drama, may get a tryout.

Thursday’s only big change should be a new sitcom at 8:30, after “Joey.” Martha Stewart’s “Apprentice” spinoff will likely take the 9 p.m. slot. Though Stewart and original star Donald Trump could both have a version of the show this fall, NBC probably realizes that “Apprentice” burnout has set in, and it would be wise to give Trump a break.

On Friday, “Dateline” should stay at 8 p.m. and “Law & Order: Trial by Jury” at 10. Rookie “Medical Investigation” may return at 9 after a so-so season at 10.

Saturdays will remain “Law & Order” rerun nights.

On Sunday, “Dateline” will stay at 7. A new drama will replace “American Dreams” and “The Contender” at 8, possibly “Fathom” or “e-Ring.” If “Criminal Intent” moves, which isn’t that likely, a new drama could replace it as well. “Crossing Jordan” will return at 10.

To boldly flop:
`Enterprise' fans will want to be transported away from finale
By Mark A. Perigard Boston Herald Thursday, May 12, 2005

Beam me down some aspirin.

The series finale of UPN's ``Star Trek: Enterprise'' takes place six years in the prequel's future, 11 years in ``Star Trek: The Next Generation's'' past and is set primarily on a holodeck.

Ten minutes of this dreck and you'll be trying to give yourself a Vulcan neck pinch.

``This is not about me,'' Capt. Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) says late in the one-hour finale ``These are the Voyages . . .'' (tomorrow at 9 p.m. on WSBK, Ch. 38; another episode airs at 8).

Truer words were never spoken: ``Enterprise's'' finale is, alas, about a character who has no business walking the ship: Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes) from ``Star Trek: The Next Generation.''

Set as a backdrop to ``The Pegasus,'' a mediocre 1994 ``Next Gen'' episode, Riker retreats to his Enterprise's holodeck to work out some personal issues and becomes embroiled in the re-creation of the original Enterprise's final days.

Archer and company are en route to decommission the ship and sign a historic treaty that will lead to the creation of the Federation when they receive a distress call from an Andorian (Jeffrey Combs) whose young daughter has been kidnapped.

A major character is killed, if for no other reason than the show's creators realized at least one dramatic thing had to happen in the hour. Typical of the blunders of this episode, the character's big scene is a flashback - with Riker.

There are several in-jokes to other series. Two crewmen speculate there will be another Enterprise. Archer, making a toast, says, ``Here's to the next generation.''

Unfortunately, this generation of ``Enterprise'' fans has been robbed. ``Next Gen's'' Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) treats the holodeck re-creation of the original ship's bridge as a quaint museum piece. It's meant to be funny, but it comes off disrespectful. Archer's speech to the assembly of ambassadors is supposed to be so stirring that generations of schoolchildren across myriad worlds will have to memorize it. Too bad the show refrains from sharing it.

``These are the Voyages . . .'' should have been all ``Enterprise.'' It's such an unworthy coda to the series that the fans who raised money to keep ``Enterprise'' on the air should instead use the funds to buy the episode from Paramount and burn it.

If this really is ``Star Trek: The Last Generation,'' blame should fall squarely on the shoulders of co-creators and writers Michael Berman and Brannon Braga, who have stewarded the ``Trek'' franchise for the last 15 years through increasingly turgid films and series.

There's still unexplored life in the ``Trek'' galaxy; it's time for some new captains.

``Star Trek: Enterprise.'' Series finale tomorrow Friday 9 PM UPN. One star (out of four).

To boldly flop:

I guess you still can't make a pig out of a sows ear!! I'll still watch none the less. Sad. Very sad.

What really sucks is that here in Dallas, they'll be carrying the Mavericks' playoff game on UPN. They'll at least move the finale up an hour to show it, but because it's being moved, it won't be in HD.

Xesdeeni

wow, sounds like they really butchered it. what an ignomius way to end it :(

Originally posted by fredfa
Thanks Alan, that slipped thorugh my less-than-perfect editing process!


Also, I was correct about tonight's episode of "Joey" being the Season Finale.

~Alan

CBS Fights Fox for May Demo Lead
Part 2 of CBS 'Elvis' special fizzles: Yet network remains strong in sweeps race
medialifemagazine.com

It’s never a good thing when a sweeps special does worse than a network’s season average in its timeslot. Lucky for CBS it may not matter.

Wednesday night part two of the highly publicized miniseries “Elvis” performed well below part one. But CBS got such a big bump from Tuesday’s “Amazing Race” that “Elvis’” fizzle won’t hurt it much in its tight fight with Fox for No. 1 among 18-49s in the May sweeps.

CBS, which had averaged a 3.7 rating season-to-date on Wednesdays, got just a 2.9 average from two hours of “Elvis” from 8-10 p.m. That, in turn, dropped “CSI: NY” to a 4.7 rating at 10 p.m. when it had averaged a 4.9 so far this season.

The 2.9 for “Elvis” was 25.6 percent down from the 3.9 Sunday’s part one earned, and part two’s 10.4 million viewers were 25.2 percent less than Sunday’s 13.9 million. Overall, CBS averaged a 3.5 rating among 18-49s Wednesday night, 5.4 percent lower than its 3.7 average on the night this season.

CBS took a slight lead over Fox with a 3.9 average through Monday in the May sweeps. Fox is averaging a 3.8, but should rise after Tuesday and last night’s “Idol.” CBS also did well Tuesday, with “Race” averaging a series-best 6.8.

Sweeps may come down to the final three days of programming, with the “Idol” finale airing then. CBS has most of its big sweeps draws before that, with the “Survivor” finale this Sunday, “CSI” signing off next week, and “Everybody Loves Raymond’s” series finale Monday.

CBS could thus build a fairly decent cushion, then see if it can hold on while Fox makes a late charge.

Costas's HBO Sports Show to Focus on, Well, Sports
By RICHARD SANDOMIR The New York Times May 13, 2005

On the stage of the Broadhurst Theater, where Billy Crystal is starring in his autobiographical Broadway show, "700 Sundays," Bob Costas confessed a personal wound. Howard Cosell "was never nice to me," Costas told Crystal in a taped segment that will be seen tonight on the premiere of "Costas Now," his revamped HBO show.

Costas's first encounter with Cosell in 1983 in Baltimore went badly. "I extended my hand," Costas recalled, "and he said: 'You! You're the child who rhapsodizes about the infield-fly rule. I'm sure you'll have a fine career!' And he turned and walked away." (Similar insults would ensue in later years.)

Crystal, who had counseled Costas that Cosell might have masked his admiration with derision, said: "Oh, God! Oh, God! Take back what I said before. He hated you."

"Costas Now" (9 PM ER/PT) is the monthly successor to "On the Record With Bob Costas," which had 12-week runs from 2001 to 2004. HBO hopes that by making it a monthly series, Costas will be a more consistent year-round presence, able to respond to news events.

He is also host for HBO's "Inside the NFL," which has a different mission and format, and he is likely to have a significant role for NBC when its National Football League broadcasts start again in 2006.

The name change and the schedule shift of the Costas show are accompanied by a revived focus on being a sports broadcast, not one that veers too much to entertainment, as it did last year to appeal to a well-served late-night audience.

"We had to go back to our original game plan because that's what we expect from Bob," Ross Greenburg, the president of HBO Sports, said yesterday in an interview. "You want the basic subject matter to be sports. We're the HBO sports division, not the HBO entertainment division."

That mix has made the Costas show unique, even when its sports focus grew fuzzy. It is not a "Nightline"-like series like ESPN's "Outside the Lines" or a news magazine like HBO's "Real Sports." It is not a news show like "SportsCenter" or a rapid-fire two-man battle of wits like ESPN's "Pardon the Interruption."

"Why is 'Outside the Lines' different?" Costas said this week in a conference call with reporters. "Why is 'Real Sports' different? Because of the people involved. And HBO has a different mission."

Based on the premiere, "Costas" is more of a magazine show than ever before, one that will continue to give him time for commentary and humor (from a contributor, Wanda Sykes).

"There's a name change and time change," Costas said, "but I'm the same person. I'm not going to come out and juggle."

The monthly format will allow more time to polish taped stories and to bring greater insight to major news events that will occur between editions. But the show will also get a transfusion from "Real Sports" because of the addition of Armen Keteyian, still one of its correspondents, who will provide investigative reports.

"We're grafting something from 'Real Sports,' but everything else is from the same tool kit we had worked out of," Costas said yesterday in an interview after taping a panel discussion with Charles Barkley, John McEnroe and Cris Collinsworth at the HBO studio in Manhattan. "I wanted to go back to what worked so well before."

Keteyian's segment is a bit of curveball; with the concentration on steroid testing in Major League Baseball, Keteyian examines unabated amphetamine use, with interviews by the former players Tony Gwynn and Chad Curtis (who spoke out about steroids in 2000 to "Real Sports") and Houston Manager Phil Garner, who discusses his use of amphetamines when he played for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Although talking heads are in evidence, there will be fewer than in the past. The rousing hourlong taping of the Barkley-McEnroe-Collinsworth gathering will be cut down to a dozen minutes by tonight, but will most likely be shown in its entirety on the HBO On Demand pay service. Greenburg approaches lengthy studio chats with wariness, even as he lauds Costas's ability to pull them off.

"This is a visual medium," Greenburg said. "You can turn the dial from CNN to CNBC to MSNBC to see talking heads. Even if you have Bob Costas, even if you have our panel, you can't do that for 45 minutes, because the texture of that will be too similar to Bill O'Reilly or Dennis Miller, so you need more storytelling."

In its previous incarnation, the Costas show was not drawing a large viewership. "On the Record" drew an average of 458,000 viewers for each premiere episode; counting all the replays, it garnered 1.8 million.
"We're not doing a live sporting event that attracts 40 million people," Greenburg said.

"But we're not a ratings-driven network, we're a quality and execution network, which is what we've done with 'Real Sports.' "

He said the total ratings points in HBO's universe for all the monthly plays of "Real Sports" add up to a 10; all the Costas points last year totaled about a 7.

Why has "Real Sports" outrated Costas? "Ten years of history," Greenburg said. "It's a show that appeals to the masses because of the storytelling."

Cable-ready
Sure, comedy's in its death throes on network TV, but its future lies elsewhere
By Paul Brownfield Los Angeles Times Staff Writer May 13, 2005

Ray Romano is leaving, and Dave Chappelle is missing. This seems emblematic of where TV comedy is, circa 2005. On the broadcast networks, the sitcom is presumably dead or dying — or, in the case of "Everybody Loves Raymond," getting a farewell dinner Monday night, the show officially going off the air after nine seasons, Romano among the last of the buttoned-down stand-ups to graduate from a decade in the clubs to stardom in a classic, old-school show.

If the future of TV comedy is on cable, where the point is to throw out the old template and introduce fresh faces and fresh ideas, what cable series can't seem to provide is the weekly companionship and stability that a show like "Everybody Loves Raymond" exuded.

Unless, perhaps, you do "Everybody Loves Raymond" with cursing, which is how the Hollywood Reporter this week described "American Dream," a sitcom about middle-class parenting starring New York comedian Louis C.K. The show, picked up for 12 episodes by HBO, is the network's mischievous answer to the question, "Is the sitcom over?"

Not if you can take the old box (multiple cameras, live studio audience, family situation) and fill it with mature subjects, not to mention swearing and nudity. Louis C.K., who formerly wrote for David Letterman, Conan O'Brien and Chris Rock, might just be smart enough to do this right, not just for kicks. Louis C.K. had a similar-sounding concept that CBS passed on last year, and there's something kind of intriguingly passive-aggressive about HBO taking what feels tired and reintroducing it in adult form, in a show that looks like a sitcom but doesn't talk like one. Meanwhile, over in the creatively compromised world, the broadcast networks stumble about in the dark, ordering comedies because they're proven business models while living in denial about how stale the genre looks and sounds.

Chappelle once tried to fit into a sitcom — a couple of them, in fact — before he decamped to cable and became a sensation with "Chappelle's Show" on Comedy Central. The sketch series, a cool evocation of Chappelle's club act, with musical guests, became a hit for the network after two seasons, whereupon Comedy Central, not exactly known for such largess, signed Chappelle to a two-year deal reportedly worth $35 million to $50 million. Ten new episodes of "Chappelle's Show" were supposed to debut May 31, but now Chappelle, who stars in and co-writes the show with Neal Brennan, has gone AWOL, with Entertainment Weekly reporting that he had checked into a South African mental health facility, for reasons that no one is clarifying.

Chappelle's representatives have denied that the cause of the show's delay was drug-related, which seems like a tacit attempt to disassociate Chappelle from a show business cliché while inviting speculation about why a hot 31-year-old comedian would vanish when he's on the cusp of mega-success. Whatever the explanation for his disappearance turns out to be, Chappelle has always seemed to be knowing about the system.

"If you believe that you deserve all that money and adulation, that's a problem," record producer legend Quincy Jones wrote about Michael Jackson and the vagaries of fame on Arianna Huffington's new blog the other day. "If you believe you don't deserve it, that's also a problem. And if you don't understand this, you're in trouble."

On cable, artists are freer to take creative chances but also freer to be who they are. The volatility and surprise that Chappelle brought has been airbrushed out of the network sitcom game, where shows — and their stars — don't get on the air until executives are reasonably satisfied that the show — and the star — will be safe and well behaved enough for audiences and the Federal Communications Commission to feel comfortable with, which in turn reassures the bosses that the shows will be manageable to produce over the long haul.

The rub, of course, is that in working so hard to guarantee a long haul, the shows never get there. There have been exceptions over the years (Roseanne comes to mind, and Ellen DeGeneres, who decided, controversially, to come out as a lesbian midway through the run of her ABC series, alienating her network bosses). But the model nowadays is more like David Spade, ex of "Saturday Night Live" and the NBC sitcom "Just Shoot Me," who can be counted on to show up and be a CliffsNotes version of David Spade wherever you put him.

Spade is currently waiting to see if ABC's "8 Simple Rules" will be picked up for another season. Regardless, what Spade exudes is that it's all just a job, and he is fine with this. Chappelle never was, taking development deals in the late 1990s, a chapter in his career that ended with the comedian charging that Fox wanted him to add more white characters to a planned sitcom.

You're supposed to go more quietly than this. On cable, Chappelle got what he wanted: abundant creative control and relatively low ratings expectations. And so he took chances. You could feel it in the characters he developed for filmed sketches — the blind black white supremacist Clayton Bigsby and a send-up of the cocaine-addled funk legend Rick James — and in the way his show was executed, as a kind of raunchy salon with Chappelle as host, dressed in floppy hats and baggy street clothes, his sweet, hangdog expression not much different from the expression he has long worn in comedy clubs.

Left alone on TV, as he is in a club, Chappelle could play around and be himself. Now that need to be left alone and be himself has manifested itself as a darker story. For Comedy Central, the instability of "Chappelle's Show" is in inverse proportion to "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart," which has become so established that last week Comedy Central announced a spinoff starring "Daily Show" senior correspondent Stephen Colbert in something called "The Colbert Report."

"As 'The Daily Show' is to sort of a headline-driven news, this will be to [Bill] O'Reilly or [Sean] Hannity or 'Scarborough Country,' " Colbert said recently, interviewed on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered."

He said the idea for the series had been sparked in part by the scandal that enveloped Fox News' O'Reilly last year, when a producer alleged that he'd sexually harassed her.

"What that said to us is that there was more to be done with the character-driven news than had been done already," Colbert said. "I mean, Bill O'Reilly's purported, alleged, unproven, settled sex scandal hinted at a personal life that you never got to hear about, that you never got to see. And we hope to show some of that. So it's not just going to be satire, it's also going to be a little bit about the life of Colbert beyond the show."

By the sound of things, the show has echoes of the talk show character Alan Partridge, created by Steve Coogan on the BBC, or maybe even Larry Sanders of HBO's "The Larry Sanders Show." Who knows.

But Colbert is brilliant, and he seems like someone going into this new venture with his eyes open. He's on cable, where shows evolve more organically, or haphazardly, or somewhere in between.

(Note: Too bad. Rita is a class act.)

Anchor Rita Cosby off Fox News
'Big Story' host's departure is immediate
By MICHAEL LEARMONTH Variety.com

NEW YORK -- Fox News Channel will not renew a contract with weekend host Rita Cosby, as the two sides couldn't come to an agreement on an extension, the network said.

Cosby hosted "The Big Story Weekend Edition With Rita Cosby" at 9 p.m. Saturday. On Sunday at 6 p.m. she hosted "Fox News Live With Rita Cosby." Cosby will leave the network immediately. No replacement host has been appointed, nor has a decision been made on the future of the shows, Fox News said.

Fox rewriting summer script
Net puts more reality in mix
By JOSEF ADALIAN Variety.com

Fox has finalized a summer sked that takes a step back from last year's focus on firstrun scripted fare while still serving up a healthy dose of original programming.

Net made a lot of noise last year about the need to launch scripted series year-round, including summer -- when most nets focus on reality shows and repeats. Viewers weren't keen on much of what Fox unveiled, and the strategy yielded modest Nielsen benefits at best.

The good news: After a rocky fall, Fox rebounded nicely and now finds itself guaranteed to snag at least a share of the season's 18-49 crown. What's more, execs at the net think hits like "House" and "Nanny 911" will repeat well, allowing Fox to try a summer sked that emphasizes stability headed into the fall.

The successful late-season launches of "Family Guy" and "American Dad" will help Fox continue its Sunday night "Animation Domination" sked through much of the summer, with original episodes of both skeins planned through June, if not later.

"We're in a different place than we were a year ago," Fox scheduling guru Preston Beckman said. "We have more repeatable, returnable programming. We're trying to keep our schedule stable through a big chunk of the year."

The bottom line is Fox plans to premiere just one scripted series in June and July, with crime drama "The Inside" slated to air Wednesdays at 9 p.m. starting June 8. Last year, wanting to avoid the roadblock of the Summer Olympics, net premiered five scripted skeins in June alone.

However, there's also a good chance Fox will launch several new and returning scripted shows -- perhaps the buzzworthy "Prison Break" -- in late August or early September. That strategy paid off big in 2003, when Fox premiered "The OC" in late summer.

"What you'll see next week (at Fox's upfront) is, we're going to try to be as consistent as we can and bring on as much of our schedule as possible prior to baseball," Beckman said.

Another big shift from recent years: Fox will launch fewer reality skeins than usual this summer, instead focusing on just a couple of potential players. By contrast, NBC, ABC and CBS are planning a slew of unscripted debuts this summer.

Fox already is hyping its first reality skein of the summer, the Brit import "Hell's Kitchen," featuring cold-hearted chef Gordon Ramsay (Daily Variety, July 15). It will air Mondays at 9 p.m. starting May 30, with repeats of "Nanny 911" remaining at 8.

About a month later, net will try out "Princes of Malibu," its half-hour unscripted comedy starring heavyweight music producers David and Linda Foster and their sons (Daily Variety, Jan. 18). It will debut Sunday, July 10, at 8:30 p.m., sandwiched between repeats of "The Simpsons" and original episodes of "Family Guy."

Fox will continue airing an hour of "The Simpsons" on Sundays through June and early July. Original segs of "Family Guy" are slated to air through much of the summer, with firstrun episodes of "Dad" staying on through at least June.

The rest of Fox's Sunday sked will stay as-is through most of the summer, though "King of the Hill" might shift to 7:30 p.m.

On Tuesdays, rookie smash "House" stays put at 9 p.m., while "Trading Spouses" returns at 8 p.m. with repeats (and perhaps some originals later in the summer).

Fox will continue with double reruns of "That '70s Show" leading into "The Inside" through much of June and July. Latter skein has 13 original episodes to air throughout the summer and will return midseason if successful.

On July 20, Fox replaces "'70s" reruns with its big reality gun of the summer: "So You Think You Can Dance" (Daily Variety, Jan. 17). Competish, from the producers of "American Idol," will air weekly at 8 p.m.; it pits teams of amateur dancers against each other.

In something of a break from Fox tradition, net is keeping repeats of sudser "The OC" on Thursday nights throughout the summer. Indeed, net will air two episodes of the show each Thursday through June 23. On June 30, reality skein "Renovate My Family" returns for a six-week run Thursdays at 9 p.m.

"We did some research on ("The OC's") audience, and interestingly, because of the nature of its audience, the viewers aren't there every week; people missed a lot of episodes," Beckman said. "We said, 'Why don't we give people a chance to catch up and watch a big chunk of the season.' "

As an added incentive, Fox plans to have "OC" interstitials throughout the summer featuring the show's cast.

Fox will stick with theatricals on Friday nights, while the Saturday combo of "Cops" and "America's Most Wanted" stays in originals through most of the year.

How much 'Trial' is left in NBC's tank?
Fox chases three pilots

By JOSEF ADALIAN, MICHAEL SCHNEIDER Variety.com

Fox has given three shows -- including a pair of pilots from feature producer Barry Josephson -- the greenlight to start staffing up, while NBC may be ready to dismiss the latest incarnation of "Law & Order."

With less than 96 hours remaining before the Peacock kicks off upfront week, more shows continued to move closer to landing series pickups, while some veteran skeins seemed headed for cancellation. Meanwhile, scribe Jon Pollack ("Just Shoot Me") has come aboard as one of three showrunners for "Joey" amid word the flagging comedy may be on the move.

Most surprisingly, Peacock appears poised to end "Law & Order: Trial by Jury," the fourth edition of producer Dick Wolf's "L&O" brand. Skein's lackluster ratings performance on a tough Friday night sked makes NBC's decision understandable, but the Peacock's longtime relationship with Wolf makes a cancellation of the skein after less than half a season stunning.

NBC reps said net would not comment on any speculation about pickups or scheduling, including the fate of "L&O: TBJ." A Wolf spokeswoman also declined comment. "Law & Order: Trial by Jury" opened soft for NBC this spring, failing so far to catch the franchise's fire.

After 10 airings, the show has averaged 11.2 million viewers -- making it the least-viewed of the four "Law & Order" series. Last week's episode averaged just a 2.8 rating/9 share among adults 18-49, placing it second for the Friday 10 p.m. hour (behind CBS' "Numbers").

"Trial by Jury" is a departure from the three other "L&O" series, focusing on the judicial system (with no police work attached). Bebe Neuwirth, Tracey Kibre, Amy Carlson and Fred Dalton Thompson star; the late Jerry Orbach was originally also slated to star but completed only a handful of episodes before passing away.

As for Fox, industry insiders said the net has approved staffing for three pilots: the Josephson-produced "Bones" and "Head Cases" and comedy "The War at Home." Fox declined to confirm anything. Assuming "Bones" and "Head Cases" get formal pickups next week, Josephson ("Hide and Seek") will see his entire pilot slate picked up to series.

"Head Cases," from 20th Century Fox TV, revolves around a lawyer who has a nervous breakdown. Chris O'Donnell and Adam Goldberg star in the drama.

Josephson's other project, "Bones," also from 20th Century Fox TV, stars Emily Deschanel as a female forensic anthropologist. Then there's "The War at Home," from Warner Bros. TV and Acme Prods. Michael Rapaport and Anita Barone play the parents of rebellious teens. Rob Lotterstein.

On the "Joey" front, after a promising start last fall, "Joey" has proved a disappointment for NBC. In recent weeks, it has been a distant second to CBS' "Survivor" on Thursday nights, and it is essentially drawing the same young adult aud as Fox's "The OC." To that end, there were solid indications that NBC is mulling the idea of moving "Joey" off its Thursday night lineup, perhaps to a slot on Tuesday.

Also on the cancellation watch, there were strong indications that ABC is mulling a fall schedule without laffers "8 Simple Rules" and "My Wife and Kids."

From Cynthia Turner's Cynopsis :

And in the time honored tradition of guessing the fall schedules prior to the presentations, the rumors are swirling. Remember - these are just rumors, nothing official from the networks as yet:

NBC: Law & Order: Trial by Jury won't be renewed but The Office will; while E-Ring, Fathom, Inconceivable and Book of Daniel are all new dramas; Thick & Thin and My Name is Earl will be two new sitcoms for the Peacock network. Joey is expected to return with a new showrunner.

WB: Not expected to be renewed is Summerland. New drama series are Just Legal, Supernatural, and on the comedy side Modern Man, Misconception, Twins, Mindy and Brenda.

ABC: Commander in Chief, Invasion, The Catch and Pros and Cons, with sitcoms Sons & Daughters, Emily's Reasons Why Not, Crumbs, Freddie and Hot Properties. Potential cancellations for the network include My Wife & Kids (as it moves into the world of syndication), and 8 Simple Rules.

CBS: Quantico, American Crime, Love Monkey adn Threshold for the drama pickups; Flesh & Blood, Everything I Know About Men, Old Christine and How I Met Your Mother on the comedy side.

UPN: Comedy series Everybody Hates Chris and Wingwoman.

FOX: drama series Bones, Prison Break (this one is confirmed), Head Cases and probably Reunion, along with sitcom The War at Home and Kitchen Confidential.

http://www.emmyonline.tv/emmy/dn/news01.html

I posted this schedule a while ago, but here again are the times the network upfront meetings are scheduled for next week:

Upfront Presentation Schedule

Monday:
3:00 PM ET NBC

Tuesday:
10:30AM ET WB
4:00 PM ABC

Wednesday:
3:00 PM CBS

Thursday:
1030AM UPN
4:00 PM Fox

Thursday’s prime-time program ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

I didn't see this mentioned anywhere, and I am keeping in mind that the source is part rumor column...

From E! Online's Watch With Kristen column (http://www.eonline.com/Gossip/Kristin/Archive2005/050513.html):

Though they're still dotting I's and crossing T's on the final documents, I'm told Fox network and 20th Century Fox studio are "99.9 percent of the way there" to reaching an agreement on the new season. According to these highly placed sources, it looks very likely that Arrested Development will be coming back not only for a full season of 22 episodes but actually two full seasons of 22 episodes. How freaking fantastic is that?

Guess we'll know for sure next week, but this certainly sounds hopeful for AD fans.

The TV rumors this weekend before the upfront can be wild.
It is always important to (if you know it) remember the track record of your source.
And always remember that in past years some TV producers have been told their shows have been renewed (or picked up), flown to New York for the upfront presentations, and then told, minutes before the announcement that their show has been shelved.

NBC May Declare Mis-'Trial'

(zap2it.com)--It's looking like the final gavel may fall on "Law & Order: Trial by Jury" next week.

NBC is poised to deliver a death sentence to the midseason series, the showbiz trade papers report. If so, it would be the first time a "Law & Order"-branded series has failed to earn a second season.

It's tough to understate how strange it is to see the words "Law & Order" and "failed" in the same sentence. Though the original cops-and-lawyers series has taken a ratings hit this season, it's the longest-running drama on TV and remains a top 25 show. Spinoffs "SVU" and "Criminal Intent" are finishing their sixth and fourth seasons, respectively.

"Trial by Jury," though, hasn't caught on with viewers the way the other shows have. After a solid start in early March -- including a special Thursday premiere that drew 17.3 million viewers -- the show has faded some in its 10 p.m. ET Friday spot. It averages 11.2 million viewers per week and has traded timeslot victories with CBS' crime drama "Numb3rs."

The show departs somewhat from its "L&O" predecessors by focusing on courtroom action more than the investigation of crime and by taking an omniscient viewpoint that allows viewers to see what goes on with defense lawyers, judges and juries as well as district attorneys. It stars Bebe Neuwirth and Amy Carlson as prosecutors and Kirk Acevedo and Scott Cohen as D.A.'s investigators. Fred Thompson, also a regular on the "Law & Order" mothership, plays the Manhattan district attorney.

Meanwhile, word in the trades continues to be that NBC is high on its drama pilots "E-Ring" and "Fathom," while "Inconceivable," a show set at a fertility clinic, has usurped "Book of Daniel" on the buzz meter. NBC unveils its 2005-06 schedule on Monday (May 16).

Originally posted by fredfa
NBC May Declare Mis-'Trial'



Do I win a prize for calling this one..? :D :p

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=5213871&highlight=tank#post5213871
Hot Off The Press! The Latest Television News and Info - AVS Forum

Originally posted by fredfa
Fox rewriting summer script
Net puts more reality in mix
By JOSEF ADALIAN Variety.com

Going by that schedule, there's no room over the summer for Arrested Development, which Fox.com claims "returns this summer." If it's coming back for season 3, FOX would show reruns over the summer to try to build a fan base. Maybe during the summer it will air once Life on a Stick finishes its first (and probably last) season.

You certainly do, keenan....I'll have to scour the bin to see what the prize is, though.

f44: It just goes to show what a mess Fox is in.
Aside from "American Idol" and "House" there isn't much in the cupboard.
"24" is adequate, "The Simpsons" is slowly sinking and nothing else seems really very potent.
Personally, I think Gail Berman knew when to jump ship.

Abrams: Garner Pregnancy Will Impact Alias

By Jim Benson Broadcasting & Cable

In an interview set to air today on the syndicated entertainment magazine Access Hollywood, Alias creator J.J. Abrams acknowledges that star Jennifer Garner's pregnancy will impact shooting in the series’ fifth season.

He adds, "But I think we have overcome a lot of other issues and things.I think the show will be a little bit different because of it.” Asked how he plans to address her growing belly, he quips that he’ll make everyone on the show “a pregnant person."

Garner will likely have to take it easy when it comes to physically demanding scenes this season, according to Abrams. He says, "Kickboxing is probably out.”

Fox takes a tumble on a weak Thursday
Down 30 percent from last week in adults 18-49s
medialifemagazine.com

After two very strong nights earlier this week that pushed Fox comfortably ahead of CBS in the May sweeps among 18-49s, the network suffered a big setback Thursday. Fox averaged just a 2.3 rating, down 30.3 percent versus last week’s 3.3, when the network was pumped by back-to-back episodes of “The O.C.”

Even George Lucas’ appearance on last night's “O.C.” to promote next week’s “Star Wars” premiere didn’t provide any boost. “The O.C.” averaged a 2.7 18-49 rating at 8 p.m., down 13 percent from last week.

Fox was also hurt last night by a dismal 2.0 average for “Simple Life” at 9 p.m.

CBS, meanwhile, averaged a 7.3 rating for the night, 2.8 percent ahead of last Thursday.

It was a welcome boost. CBS had fallen well behind Fox on Tuesday and Wednesday, when Fox had “American Idol” to pump its ratings. Through Wednesday, Fox led among 18-49s with a 4.3 average rating and CBS had a 4.0 average. But last night’s performances could put the networks close to even.

ABC was third through Wednesday with a 3.7 average, up 28 percent versus last year. NBC was fourth at 3.3, down 38 percent year-to-year, while UPN and the WB were tied for fifth at 1.4.

If CBS’s performance last night doesn’t pull it even with Fox, it will put it close, and the network still has lots of big sweeps events left. On Sunday the network airs the season finale of “Survivor: Palau,” on Monday the series finale of “Everybody Loves Raymond,” and Thursday the season finale of “CSI,” which was written and directed by Quentin Tarantino.

Fox’s fate hinges on “American Idol,” which doesn’t conclude for another week and a half.

Following up on an earlier post:

Fox News’ Cosby Jumps to MSNBC


Multichannel.com--Rita Cosby will join MSNBC in June with an eye toward hosting her own evening show in the fourth quarter, according to MSNBC president Rick Kaplan.

A three-time Emmy Award winner, Cosby had been serving as host of Fox News Channel’s The Big Story Weekend Edition and Fox News Live with Rita Cosby.

Glenn Close won't return to 'The Shield' next season
By Gail Shister Philadelphia Inquirer Columnist

Glenn Close is turning in her badge on The Shield. (We may weep openly.)

The five-time Oscar nominee, who joined FX's hit cop drama this season as LAPD Capt. Monica Rawling, has decided not to return for season five.

No surprise to Shield creator and executive producer Shawn Ryan.

Close, a New Yorker, had signed on for just one season's 13 episodes of the L.A.-based Shield, her first series. Moreover, her only child, Annie, will be a senior in high school.

"We were hoping, early on, that Glenn might return because she digs the show and is enjoying it so much," says Ryan. "But we knew all along she had only agreed to do one complete season."

Note the word complete. Ryan's convinced Close will do a few guest shots. "She might be in L.A. and want to do two or three days' work. Life works in funny ways. I'm not pounding nails in her coffin just yet."

Shield, starring Emmy- winner Michael Chiklis as renegade detective Vic Mackey, is in production on Episode 12. Ryan is "polishing" the season finale, to run June 14.

Will Rawling's reviled predecessor, David Aceveda (Benito Martinez), now a crooked city councilman, arrange to have her transferred? Will she leave town? Get a horrible illness?

"A lot of people in the final episode will end up differently than they began," Ryan says cryptically. "Situations change. Glenn's character is a huge part of it."

At times, it's been difficult to come up with "appropriate" story lines for a police captain, he adds, "because in real life, they stay in their offices and push papers around."

Despite her stature, Close has displayed not a single diva move all season, according to Ryan.

"She's a real team player. You'd expect someone of her accomplishments to have developed a bit of an entitled atmosphere. She threw herself into the ensemble here from the very beginning. She's melded into the family."

With Close on the marquee, Shield is up almost 25 percent in ratings at 10 p.m. Tuesdays this season. If her departure causes a dip, it's no big whup, says Ryan.

"I never worry about ratings. I'm sadder to lose a wonderful actress. If we so crassly desired, we could have brought on Paris Hilton and tried to get ratings.

"I've always thought there were two kinds of ratings - the kind that keep you on the air and the kind that get you kicked off. Our show will be back for a fifth season."

'Grey's' takes a scalpel to standard procedure
Can a hastily assembled group of complete strangers produce a mid-season medical hit? The answer, of course, is “yes.”
By Mary McNamara Los Angeles Times Staff Writer May 15, 2005

Say you were pitching a television show about a group of writers working on … a television show. Why not? Plenty of tension and dramatic potential — clash of egos, on-set romance, big chance for failure. Not to mention the opportunity for some very snappy dialogue. Think "Sports Night" meets "The Dick Van Dyke Show," think "West Wing" but with groovier clothes and more Hollywood gossip.

At the heart you would want a young show runner, preferably a woman and first-timer to give you your basic "fish out of water" dramatic template. She'd need a stalwart supporter — a TV veteran who can teach her the ropes, give the occasional kindly lecture about how life actually works in this town.

And then there would be the ensemble — a disparate assortment of writers whose inter-personal exchanges would fuel the plotline, which boils down to: Can a hastily assembled group of complete strangers produce a midseason medical drama with numbers good enough to prove that the Hollywood dream machine is still up and running?

The answer, of course, is "yes." And if the creative team behind "Grey's Anatomy" weren't so busy producing a hit show, they could just star in one.

At the center would be Shonda Rhimes, an African American Dartmouth-educated screenwriter and single mother. Her demographics make her remarkable enough — female show runners may not be as rare as they once were, but you can count on one hand those who are women of color. And then there's the attitude.

A sign on her office door reads: "Princesses Welcome. Complainers Banned." Which pretty much says it all.

"I absolutely believe in the 'no [jerks] rule,' " she says. "I did not want to work with someone I did not like as a human being. I used the rule in casting and I used the rule in hiring writers, and you know, it really works for me."

ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" follows a group of doctors through their first-year surgical residency at a Seattle hospital. At its heart is Meredith Grey, a prickly, independent sort whose ambition, and ambivalence, is fueled by the fact that her mother was a gifted surgeon and now suffers from Alzheimer's.

Much more a personal drama than medical drama, with surprisingly complex characters, the show instantly established a large audience. From the enviable slot behind "Desperate Housewives," "Grey's Anatomy" debuted midseason with 21 million viewers, a number that has increased.

"I wanted to create a show that I wanted to watch," says Rhimes. "I wanted it to be about women, about competitive women who were like me and my friends.

"The guys [on the writing staff] will groan sometimes," she adds, "and say, 'Oh, man, that is such a chick moment.' And I say, 'Those moments are why I watch television. So it stays.' "

Rhimes is still in shock over the show's success, for which she credits the writing team and the cast, and the fact that when the pilot got picked up she had no idea how to run a television show. So beyond her one hiring rule, she had few other guidelines.

"I had never written a television show before," she says. "So I wrote a pilot with 97 scenes. I didn't know you couldn't do that. And as it turns out, you can. Why not?"

Likewise, after some people seemed shocked that she would introduce her lead character as a woman emerging grouchily from a one-night stand, Rhimes just shrugged. "I was very surprised," she said. "I mean, how many episodes of 'Sex and the City' do you have to watch?"

When she was hiring writers, it never occurred to her that she shouldn't hire more women than men, so she did — only three of the 10 writers are men, and one of them is part of a married-couple writing team. "People kept saying how strange that was," Rhimes says. "But men hire men because they're more comfortable with them. So maybe I'll help even things out."

And she certainly didn't understand why everyone the casting directors originally sent her was white. Rhimes suggested Ellen Pompeo, whom she had admired in "Moonlight Mile," for Meredith Grey, but she quickly made it clear she wanted to see actors of every color for every role. "They sent me all these white actors and I was like, 'Are you kidding?' " she says. "The only role written with race in mind was [Miranda] Bailey. I saw Bailey as tiny and adorable and blond because I thought it would be funny for the Nazi to be tiny and adorable and blond. But then I got the tape of Chandra Wilson [who is black], and there went that idea."

Sitting on the sofa of her office, Rhimes, like her show, is the embodiment of the dream that keeps apartment buildings in Koreatown and Eagle Rock filled with hopeful screen and television writers. After taking her English degree into advertising, Rhimes applied to USC film school almost on a whim: "I kept reading about how competitive it was and I'm pretty competitive." She graduated, sold her first spec script, and began working steadily as a screenwriter, with credits including "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge," the Britney Spears vehicle "Crossroads" and "Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement."

When she decided to go into television, it went similarly — she sold her first pilot, about a group of female war correspondents, to ABC, but when the war in Iraq broke out, the show was shelved. She had heard ABC was looking for a medical drama so she paired up with James D. Parriott, a 30-year veteran of television, who had been slated to work with Rhimes on the correspondents pilot, and created "Grey's Anatomy."

"People keep telling me it doesn't happen this way," Rhimes says, with a laugh and a shrug. "But this is the way it happened."

Savoring their success

Inside the conference room of a bungalow at Prospect Studios in Los Feliz, a grease board is festooned with an unusual list: Petting Zoo, Play Room, Razors for All, Working Fridge, In-House Masseuse, Ping Pong, Nursery, Swing Set.

"These were our demands," says writer Mimi Schmir. "This is what we decided we needed when we realized we were a hit."

The writer's room is a bit chilly and stale, like a school room during spring break — the show shut down for the season while everyone took a little vacation, waiting to see if it would be picked up for the fall. (It was; 13 new episodes have been ordered.)

"Normally we'd all be going out three or four times a day trying to charm our way into a job," says Krista Vernoff. "Which is very hard because if you get the meeting it means they like your writing. So if you don't get the job it means they don't like you. Personally."

"And writers aren't usually known for their personalities," adds Schmir. "My husband is a writer, all my friends are writers, so spring is usually … difficult."

"We're a husband and wife writing team," says Gabrielle Stanton, gesturing toward the husband half, Harry Werksman. "So we have the whole dog-and-pony show: How did you meet? How does that work?"

"We have all the anecdotes, we know when to pause," says Werksman.

"Wait for the laugh, wait for the laugh," cues Stanton.

"And the great thing about this year," finishes Vernoff, "is we don't have to do it."

This is not quite half of the writing team assembled by Rhimes and Parriott, but they are camera-ready — Werksman with his earring and Lance Armstrong wristband, Schmir in her rectangular glasses, Vernoff's mini-poncho and constantly ringing cellphone. Parriott, who has worked on shows from "The Bionic Woman" to the recent "Threat Matrix," is on a speakerphone, calling in from his home in Hawaii.

The group speaks in a constant circle of conversation that is entertaining and also slightly exhausting. Clearly, these people write dialogue for a living, though it is difficult to imagine what it would be like with more than double the number and a deadline pressure — perhaps this is why writers' rooms are, traditionally, as sacrosanct and press-free as an AA meeting.

To hear them tell it, the writing staff of "Grey's Anatomy" is way too happy and harmonious to sustain its own show.

"Other writers will completely think we are lying, but we're not," says Stanton.

With uncertainty and those 12-hour days a hazy memory, they are giddy with success and lavish with their praise — for Rhimes' talent, Parriott's knowledge, the themes that guide each week's episode, the incredible cast and supporting staff of medical researchers.

They talk about how strange it is to work in a room that is mostly female and if maybe a Carol Gilligan-esque factor — men compete, women commune — is at work here.

"I am so used to being the only woman in the room," says Stanton. "I came in with a foul mouth and bad attitude because that is what I've needed and in one day I realized I didn't have to do that. Strange, but true."

Parriott and Werksman like the change as well, although there are many times, they say, when they are simply overruled. "So we have male characters doing things that we know for a fact no man would ever do," says Parriott with a laugh. "But that's OK. We let them have their Dr. McDreamy," he adds, referring to Patrick Dempsey's practically perfect attending surgeon.

But with many years, and many shows among them, the writers of "Grey's Anatomy" say it all comes down to that "no [jerks] policy." All of the writers of the first season were asked back for the second, says Parriott, adding that this is "very unusual."

"There is no 'identifiable problem' here," says Vernoff. "You know, the person who makes everything tense, who everyone talks about the minute he leaves the room. I mean," she adds, with a nervous laugh, "unless I'm that person and no one has told me."

"And Shonda actually likes television," says Stanton. "I cannot tell you how many shows I've worked on where the people don't even have cable because they don't like television. It's crazy."

There was, of course, a learning curve for everyone, especially Rhimes. "My experience of writing was you sit in a room alone and you write," she says. "You don't talk to anyone. You don't let anyone else touch your stuff."

So the idea of the writing room — in which episodes are discussed and "broken" into scenes that one writer (or in the case of Stanton and Werksman, two) then turns into a script — was a bit daunting.

"It is hard for writers who have a clear voice," says Schmir, "and Shonda has a very distinctive voice. Because it's our job to interpret that voice. And especially in the beginning, we're all learning. So the scripts aren't all going to sound the same, or sound like her."

Rhimes, says the staff, did not panic, as some show runners do.

She gives notes, reads revises, gives more notes and then the final polish. "The scripts all go through my computer at the end," says Rhimes. "To make sure the characters sound like my characters."

"Shonda's a natural," says Parriott. "A lot of writers have a hard time letting go or letting other writers have their shot. But Shonda has just taken to it."

This is the honeymoon period, of course. Bad things will happen because bad things always do. But for just this moment, the folks behind "Grey's Anatomy" are very, very happy. The show's a hit, they already have five episodes in the can, no one got fired. Only Vernoff might not return; she has her own pilot in the works right now.

In a town full of cancellations, cost-cutting and constant squabbles over salaries and credit, it's hard not to feel a little protective of this moment. This is the writer's equivalent of why the bus still stops at Hollywood and Vine — sometimes, it all really does work out. For a while anyway.

At the end of his patients
This week, Noah Wyle wraps up an 11-year run as 'ER's' crisis-prone Dr. Carter.
You might say he's moving in a family-practice direction

By Meghan Daum Special to The Los Angeles Times May 15, 2005

ON a chilly Wednesday night in late April, Noah Wyle stood before a mirror on a Warner Bros. soundstage and spoke what are among his last lines as Dr. John Carter, the "ER" physician he's played since the show began over a decade ago. "It's been 11 years," he said. "And I feel like I pretty much grew up with all of you guys."

It's a sentiment that resonates beyond the script for Wyle's last episode, which airs Thursday on NBC. "Before that script came out I was thinking of using that line myself," Wyle said about the real-life party his cast mates are planning for him. "It's always easier to say the lines that are written for me than to come up with my own."

For all its incarnations, most viewers still associate "ER" with its original cast, which, along with Wyle, included George Clooney, Anthony Edwards, Eriq La Salle, Julianna Margulies and Sherry Stringfield. "I don't think I would have been successful or been able to deal with the success I had if I hadn't had those role models around me consistently," said Wyle, who was just 21 when he began the show. "I feel very fortunate to have started exactly when I did in the company of those actors. They taught me an incredible amount."

The last remaining original cast member to leave the show (Stringfield rejoined the cast in 2001 after a five-year absence), Wyle has admitted to some exhaustion at the hands of Dr. Carter, who even by television standards experienced more in his 20s and early 30s than most of us do in a lifetime. From hapless medical student to seasoned physician, he survived medical residency, the pressures of his enormously wealthy family, a nearly fatal stabbing by a schizophrenic patient followed by drug addiction and rehab and, most notably, a life-changing volunteer stint as a doctor in war-torn Africa where he treated AIDS, polio and whooping cough and was nearly executed by guerrilla soldiers. Along the way, he fell in love with a Parisian clinic worker played by Thandie Newton and suffered the loss of their child.

"The character was originally conceived as a kind of comic relief," said executive producer John Wells, who directed Wyle's final episode. "But Noah brought an innocence and intelligence to the character that went beyond those elements. I remember in the beginning, on the first day of dailies, Rod Holcomb, who directed the pilot, said 'Keep an eye on this guy. He's going to end up being so much more than the buffoon.' "

Last season's Africa story line represented a departure for both Wyle and the series. In a show known for its frenetic pace and almost nonlinear storytelling — Wells says he always thought of it as "pointillist; a lot of small moments that come together if you step back far enough" — the episodes set in the Congo were inspired in part by Wyle's involvement with Doctors of the World, the American arm of Doctors Without Borders. During the war in Kosovo, Wyle, who already had a long-standing relationship with groups such as Human Rights Watch, traveled to Macedonia with his wife and his mother (who, as it happens, spent 20 years as a nurse at Kaiser Hospital) to observe doctors working in refugee camps.

"It was pretty intense," Wyle said. "We saw 80-year-old women who'd been shot, who'd been forced at the end of a gun to pack up every belonging they had and march for two hours out of their country. I remember a busload of refugees pulled up, and we were running and pulling people off the bus and getting them in medical tents. I did some simple stuff like taking blood pressure. But even then I think I screwed it up on a couple people."

Wyle and his wife, Tracy, a makeup artist whom he met on the set of the 1997 film "The Myth of Fingerprints," have a 2-year-old son and are expecting a second child in October. Since beginning "ER," he's appeared in films such as "Donnie Darko," "White Oleander" and "Enough," but unlike Clooney, who left the show to pursue a movie career, and Edwards, who moved to New York to get involved in producing and directing projects, Wyle says his decision to leave the show has less to do with film aspirations than fatherhood.

"The producers were extremely courteous to me about giving me time off when my wife was pregnant, and I did take a little paternity-leave stint at the beginning of the 10th season," he says. "But when my son was born I hated the fact that we brought him home from the hospital on a Sunday and I was back to work on Monday and I worked 12 hours that day and 14 the next. Ultimately, that's not the kind of parent I want to be. But I've always said about our show that there's really no point in leaving unless you're ready to change your life. You can't find better material or work with nicer people or a better crew."

This summer, Wyle plans to shoot a sequel to the last year's TNT movie "The Librarian," and though he says he's open to television projects, his main priority is spending time with his family. They have a farm in the Santa Ynez Valley, and when he's home he spends most of his free time in Griffith Park riding the train with his locomotive-obsessed son.

As Wyle ate a blueberry muffin and sipped black coffee, a tall man with a white beard approached his booth and extended a hand.

"Mr. Wyle, congratulations," he said. "I guest-starred with you guys back in Season 5. I came into the ER. I had a dead brother."

Wyle said this happens a lot. "It helps if they describe their wound," he said. "That usually jogs my memory."

He also still gets squeamish in real-life hospitals. And despite how many patients Dr. Carter has treated, Wyle isn't one to confuse being a real doctor with playing one on TV.

"I can honestly say that anytime I've ever been around a physician or nurse while they're plying their trade, I've always been really gratified how little it means to them that I'm there in the face of what they have to do," he said.

"That's a sensibility we've tried to employ when we play these people. Doctors are beset often by bureaucratic pressures and personal problems. But you check all that baggage at the door and just take care of the person in front of you. It's the last unassailable profession."

With Star Absent, Network Says 'Chappelle' Is Over for Now

By LOLA OGUNNAIKE The New York Times May 14, 2005

Amid press reports that the popular comedian Dave Chappelle is in a mental health center in South Africa, executives at Comedy Central are saying that, for the moment, it is time for the network to move on.

"We're now approaching life and the year as if the Dave Chappelle show doesn't exist, because it doesn't," said Doug Herzog, president of Comedy Central. "We don't know what to plan for, so we're not planning for it. I keep on telling my guys that we're now the San Francisco Giants, and Barry Bonds, our clean-up hitter, is not available."

In a statement last week, Comedy Central announced that it was suspending production of Mr. Chappelle's hit sketch show. "The third season will not premiere on May 31 as originally scheduled," the statement said. "All parties are optimistic that production will resume in the near future."

But Mr. Chappelle has not been in contact with Comedy Central for more than two weeks, fueling talk that the show is unlikely to return for a third season. "We're anxious to hear from Dave," Mr. Herzog said. "We wish he'd phone home."

Representatives of Mr. Chappelle have vehemently denied that drug use played any role in the suspension of his show. When asked if Mr. Chappelle was grappling with mental health issues, his spokesman, Matt Labov, responded with a terse "no comment."

Mr. Herzog and several sources close to the show, speaking on condition of anonymity, also refuted press reports that creative differences were to blame.

"In Seasons 1 and 2 there was a lot of push and pull because it's so funny and so dangerous and so on the edge that when you're spineless network executives like us, you get scared," Mr. Herzog said. "And then you learn to get out of the way because these guys are brilliant and they're going to be enormously successful for this channel."

Mr. Herzog said it was written into Mr. Chappelle's contract that he would have full creative control. "Dave gets to do pretty much what he wants to do as long as it passes network standards," he said.

None can deny that Mr. Chappelle has been a hard worker. He and his writing partner, Neal Brennan, were responsible for writing and producing much of the show, a workload that would prove daunting for even the most seasoned of veterans. "Dave and Neal are essentially the whole writing staff," Mr. Labov said in a previous interview.

Mr. Chappelle added to his already heavy workload by booking engagements this spring at large casino theaters like the Borgata in Atlantic City and Foxwoods in eastern Connecticut.

Last season, "Chappelle's Show" averaged more than three million viewers a week, twice as many as Comedy Central's other big draw, "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart." In August Mr. Chappelle signed a two-year contract with the network for what has been reported as an estimated $35 million to $50 million. Not bad for a comedian who once starred in the cinematic ode to marijuana, "Half Baked."

Mr. Herzog said that when he had dinner with Mr. Chappelle to celebrate the multimillion-dollar deal, the comedian talked about how the deal had changed his life. "He said he missed being wrong," Mr. Herzog said, recalling the conversation. " 'Everyone keeps telling me how right I am.' "

Mr. Herzog and sources close to the situation said that Mr. Chappelle had entertained the idea of scrapping the show entirely. "It appeared odd to me that a guy who had all this going for him would consider pulling out," Mr. Herzog said.

He said that his in their last conversation, the comedian asked to push the start date of the new season back yet again. "I said, 'I can't do that right now,' " Mr. Herzog said. "The marketing had been spent. You see the billboards up all over. The train had left the station."

Comedy Central has yet to find a replacement for "Chappelle's Show."

"How do you replace Dave Chappelle?" he asked. "How do you replace Barry Bonds?"

Still, Mr. Herzog remained optimistic about the state of his network, pointing to new shows with Stephen Colbert and D. L. Hughley, and "South Park" as the foundation for the network's future. "Yeah, you can't help but be stung by that loss," he said, referring to Mr. Chappelle, "but by the same token, we are such a powerful all-star team with so many great pieces, we're going to do better than survive."

Friday’s prime-time program ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

A reminder:
The 2004-2005 prime-time network schedules will be announced next week at the annual "Upfront" presentations in New York.
The presentations are made to advertisers in an effort to get them to commit as many billions of dollars as possible to the networks.
There are always surprises: shows left off a network schedule at the last moment; major cast change announcements; shifts in scheduled times for favorites.
The official news will leak out of the presentations fairly quickly. But producers and stars of shows (either picked up or canceled) will probably be leaking information to the media before then.
I'll try to post the official word as soon as it is announced.
So here again is the schedule for the upfront presentations for next week:
NBC Monday May 16 3 PM ET
Radio City Music Hall
The WB Tuesday May 17 10:30 AM ET
Madison Square Garden
ABC Tuesday May 17 4 PM ET
Lincoln Center
CBS Wednesday May 18 3 PM ET
Carnegie Hall
UPN Thursday May 19 10:30 AM ET
Madison Square Garden
Fox Thursday May 19 4 PM ET
City Center Theatre

TV on DVD Release Schedule

Here are some upcoming DVD releases of possible interest to TV fans, courtesy of dvdexclusive.com

May 17
Cheers: The Complete Fifth Season (Paramount)
The Commish: The Best of Season One (Anchor Bay)
The Golden Girls: Season Two (Disney)
Scrubs: Season One (Disney)
Silk Stalkings: The Best of Season One (Anchor Bay)
The Simpsons: Bart Wars (Fox)

May 24
The Andy Griffith Show: The Complete Second Season (Paramount)
The Bob Newhart Show: The Complete First Season (Fox)
Combat: Season 4, Conflict One (Image)
Law & Order: The Third Year (Universal)
M*A*S*H: Season Eight DVD Collection (Fox)
Remington Steele: Season One (Fox)

June 7
Dragnet '67: Season 1 (Universal)
Home Improvement: Season Two (Disney)
Quincy, M.E.: Seasons 1 & 2 (Universal)
Sanford and Son: The Sixth Season (Sony)
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Jon Lovitz (Lions Gate)
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Tom Hanks (Lions Gate)
Stargate Atlantis: Rising (MGM)
The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years (Warner)
Too Close for Comfort: The Complete Second Season (Rhino/Warner)
Wanted: Dead or Alive: Season 1 (New Line/Warner)
The X-Files Mythology: Abduction (Fox)

June 14
The King of Queens: The Fourth Season (Sony)
Northern Exposure: The Complete Third Season (Universal)
Reno 911!: The Complete Second Season Uncensored (Paramount)
Saved By the Bell: The New Class: Season 3 (Image)
Walker, Texas Ranger: The Final Season (Paramount)

June 21
Bewitched: The First Season (Sony)
The Outer Limits: The New Series (MGM)

June 28
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart: Indecision 2004 (Paramount)
The Doris Day Show (MPI)
Game Over: The Complete Series (Anchor Bay)
Homicide: The Complete Season 7 (New Video)
Twilight Zone: The Definitive Edition: Season 3 (Image)
Twilight Zone: Season 2&3 1986-1989 (Image)

July 12
The Best of the Original Mickey Mouse Club (Disney)
Titus: Seasons One and Two (Anchor Bay)

July 26
Third Rock From the Sun: Season One (Anchor Bay)

Aug. 9
Profit: Season One (Anchor Bay)


Sept. 6
Lost: The Complete First Season (Disney)

Sept. 20
Desperate Housewives: The Complete First Season (Disney)

Sunday Night’s Season Finales

Survivor: Palau CBS 8 PM ET (two-hours)

Malcolm In The Middle Fox 7:30 PM ET

The Simpsons Fox 8:00, 8:30 PM ET (two episodes)

Crossing Jordan NBC 10 PM ET

Saturday’s prime-time program ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

On the Beach With Dave Chappelle

In South Africa, TIME's Simon Robinson talks with the comic about his sudden disappearance from Chappelle's Show

In this week's TIME, Christopher John Farley reveals why Dave Chappelle decided to leave his hit show and what he's been up to since he disappeared to South Africa two weeks ago. Last Friday night, TIME Johannesburg bureau chief Simon Robinson met with the comic at uShaka Marine World on the beach in the South African port of Durban. In a ninety minute conversation, Chappelle was eager to set the record straight on why he suddenly left the U.S. and what he's doing in South Africa.

Here's Robinson's account:

Dave Chappelle shows up to our interview in a red t-shirt, blue jeans and shiny white sneakers. He lopes around in his usual style, pacing a lot, but does not seem like a man struggling to speak or to order his thoughts at all. He's lucid and thoughtful and a couple of times asks me to give him some time to think about answers. He concedes that he is dealing with a lot of issues and mentions that he had consulted a psychiatrist about a week ago for a forty minute session. He is also quite fastidious about keeping his new sneakers clean and stops at least twice to wipe smudges off their toes.

The first thing Chappelle wants is to dispel rumors—that he's got a drug problem, that he's checked into a mental institution in Durban—that have been flying around the U.S. for the past week. He says he is staying with a friend, Salim Domar, and not in a mental institution, as has been widely reported in America. Chappelle says he is in South Africa to find "a quiet place" for a while. "Let me tell you the things I can do here which I can't at home: think, eat, sleep, laugh. I'm an introspective dude. I enjoy my own thoughts sometimes. And I've been doing a lot of thinking here."

The picture he paints—and it seems a fairly honest and frank assessment— is of someone struggling to come to terms with a new position and power who's still figuring out how to come to grips with how people around him are reacting to the $50 million deal he signed last year with Comedy Central. Without naming specific characters, he seems to blame both some of his inner circle (not his family) and himself for the stresses created by last year's deal.

"There were things that overwhelmed me," he says. "But not in the way that people are saying. I haven't spent any of the money. All that stuff about partying and taking crack is not true. Why do I live on a farm in Ohio? To support my partying lifestyle?"

The problems, he says, started with his inner circle."If you don't have the right people around you and you're moving at a million miles an hour you can lose yourself," he says. "Everyone around me says, 'You're a genius!'; 'You're great!'; 'That's your voice!' But I'm not sure that they're right." And he stresses that Comedy Central was not part of the problem and put no more than normal television restrictions on what he could do.

"You got to be careful of the company you keep," Chappelle says. "It's hard to know how much to say. One of the things that happens when people make the leap from a certain amount of money to tens of millions of dollars is that the people around you dramatically change.

"During my ascent, I've seen other people go through that wall to become really big. They always said that fame didn't change them but that it changes the people around them. You always hear that but you never really understand it. But now that I'm there that makes a lot of sense and I'm learning what that means. You have to have people around you that you can trust and aren't just out for a meal ticket."

The breakdown in trust within his inner circle seems to have led him to question the material they were producing. He seems obsessed with making sure the material is good and honest and something that he will be proud. "I want to make sure I'm dancing and not shuffling," he says. "What ever decisions I make right now I'm going to have live with. Your soul is priceless." The first two seasons of his show "had a real spirit to them," he says. "I want to make sure whatever I do has spirit."

But Chappelle also says that he must share the blame for the stalled third season. "I'm admittedly a human being," he says. "I'm a difficult kind of dude." His earlier walkout during shooting "had a little psychological element to it. I have trust issues, things like that. I saw some stuff in myself that I just didn't dig. It's like when I brought a girl home to my mom and it looked as if my mom really didn't like this girl. And she told me, 'I like her just fine. I just don't like you around her.' That's how I feel in this situation. There were some things about myself that I didn't like. People got to take inventory from time to time. That's what this [coming to South Africa] is for."

This is Chappelle's second trip to South Africa. He first came to Durban, and visited Salim, in 2000. Chappelle won't tell me exactly how he met Salim but describes him as a family friend. A soft-spoken Muslim, Salim seems also to be something of a sounding board to Chappelle, who converted to Islam several years ago.
While Chappelle is not doing a formal religious course in Durban, says Salim, who wore a simple cotton robe and hung back through the interview and photo shoot and only spoke when I asked him a question, "if he wants to talk religion then I'm there as someone to talk to." Says Chappelle: "This is kind of my spot where I can come to fill my spirit back up. Sometimes you neglect these things if you are running on a corporate schedule." The crux of his crisis seems to boil down to his almost obsessive need to "check my intentions." He uses the phrase a few times during the interview and explains that it means really making sure that he's doing what he's doing for the right reasons.

His family, he says, has been a huge support over the past eight months. "They've been phenomenal really, just incredible. What beautiful people. Everyone loves their family but it's good if you can like them too."
His religion is also crucial. "I don't normally talk about my religion publicly because I don't want people to associate me and my flaws with this beautiful thing. And I believe it is a beautiful religion if you learn it the right way. It's a lifelong effort. Your religion is your standard. Coming here I don't have the distractions of fame. It quiets the ego down. I'm interested in the kind of person I've got to become. I want to be well rounded and the industry is a place of extremes. I want to be well balanced. I've got to check my intentions, man."
That includes planning for the future. When I ask him if he would ever buy a place of his own in South Africa, Chappelle replies, "First of all I've got to make sure I've got a job."

He says that he's only been recognized five or six times in the two weeks he's been here. "It happens so sporadically that when it does it freaks me out because I have to remember, 'Oh, yeah, I'm famous.'" At the end of our interview/photo shoot an American woman does recognize him. "Number seven," he cries. "Wow, I'm not that big in Africa. I've got to do an action film here."

During most of the hour and a half that we talk, Chappelle is serious and introspective. But he still has his sense of humor, which comes out as we near the end of our conversation: "Is that enough to prove I'm not smoking crack or hanging out in a mental institution?"

http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1061415,00.html ]

Must-Synergy TV
By KATE AURTHUR The New York Times
In recent years, more and more series have been produced by studios associated with the networks that broadcast them. It's a way of keeping it all in the family: if the show succeeds, the profits from its initial run and its later syndication go to the same corporate parent.

This year, the trend is stronger than ever; Paramount Network Television, for example, is producing shows only for CBS and UPN, which like Paramount are owned by Viacom. Is a show's corporate bloodline the best predictor of whether it makes it onto a network's schedule? Looking at the 10-year trend, Steve Sternberg, an analyst at Magna Global USA, said yes.

And synergistic favors don't end there. "An in-house program has a better chance of getting a good time period, and of being given more time if it's not working right away," he said. On the eve of upfront week, when networks announce which series they're picking up, here's a look at how many of the shows they were considering were produced by sister studios.

A B C
15 of 27 pilots were produced or co-produced by another Disney unit, Touchstone Television. ABC's three big new hits, "Lost," "Desperate Housewives" and "Grey's Anatomy," are Touchstone shows; repeating that success rate will be hard. But three of the pilots, "Pros & Cons," "What About Brian" and "The Catch," are from J. J. Abrams, who also produces "Lost."

C B S
12 of 19 pilots produced or co-produced by Paramount Network Television, from "Quantico" (about F.B.I. profilers, starring Mandy Patinkin) to an untitled sitcom centered on Susie Essman, the foul-mouthed comedian from "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

Fox
16 of 23 pilots produced or co-produced by 20th Century Fox Television or its Regency Television unit. "Prison Break," from 20th Century Fox, has already been picked up.

N B C
15 of 23 pilots produced or co-produced by NBC Universal. The post-"Friends" NBC wants a hit sitcom: 11 of the 15 are half-hour comedies.

UPN
6 of 10 pilots produced or co-produced by Paramount Network Television or Spelling Television, both owned by Viacom.

The WB
9 of 18 pilots produced or co-produced by Warner Brothers Television. Greg Berlanti, the WB favorite son behind "Everwood" and "Jack and Bobby," has "The Prince," a soap opera about a rich family in New York.

Originally posted by fredfa
Sunday Night’s Season Finales

Survivor: Palau CBS 8 PM ET (two-hours)

Malcolm In The Middle Fox 7:30 PM ET

The Simpsons Fox 8:00, 8:30 PM ET (two episodes)

Crossing Jordan NBC 10 PM ET

Also:

King of the Hill Fox 7:00 PM ET

NBC Television's Zucker Aims to Fix Prime

By JACQUES STEINBERG The New York Times Time May 16, 2005


The shades in the small office were drawn tight on a bright afternoon last week, as three men huddled around a small television monitor. They were watching a seven-minute clip assembled from the pilot "My Name Is Earl," a half-hour comedy starring Jason Lee about a ne'er-do-well who wins a lottery and vows to make amends to everyone he's ever offended.

Had the producers of the program been there, they would surely have been elated that the three people gathered around an editing console - Kevin Reilly, president of NBC Entertainment; Jeff Zucker, president of NBC Universal Television Group, and John D. Miller, chief marketing officer of the television group - were laughing, heartily and continuously.

The more crucial question, at least as it pertains to the fortunes of Mr. Reilly and Mr. Zucker, is this: will at least 10 million viewers be willing to watch and laugh along with them?

Tens of millions of dollars in advertising, to say nothing of the network's pride, are riding on such bets. "Earl" has been designated a centerpiece of NBC's closely guarded fall schedule, which Mr. Zucker and senior network executives will present to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall in Midtown Manhattan Monday afternoon in the network's "upfront," as it is known in the business. They will do so from an unfamiliar position of weakness: for the first time, NBC is projected to finish the current television season ranked fourth in a four-way race among viewers between the ages of 18 and 49, the ones advertisers cherish most.

The one-season tumble by NBC to last place from first - in a category it had dominated for nearly a decade - is also the first significant loss on Mr. Zucker's professional scorecard. One of his chief priorities as the executive in charge of NBC Universal programming was to find successors for two hit shows that retired at the end of last season, "Friends" and "Frasier."

"Do I wish we had repopulated the schedule with more, newer hits? Sure," Mr. Zucker said on Thursday, reclining briefly in a suede easy chair in his office, 25 floors above Rockefeller Plaza. "It was a difficult year, and it didn't happen. So now we have to do a better job."

Mr. Zucker, who turned 40 last month, has no shortage of people telling him that he and his team need to do better, including Donald Trump, who has buttonholed him to complain about the lead-ins to Mr. Trump's show, "The Apprentice."

And Mr. Zucker has certainly heard from Bob Wright, the chairman and chief executive of NBC Universal, whose office is a 27-story elevator ride above Mr. Zucker's. In an interview last week, Mr. Wright expressed confidence in Mr. Zucker and Mr. Reilly. But when asked about the network's No. 4 ranking in prime time, Mr. Wright said: "I'm not thrilled about that. You do the best you can and you hope you will find programs that will avoid that."

Mr. Zucker could also find himself at the mercy of advertisers, who may be less willing this year to pay the network the premium it has long commanded. The early betting on Madison Avenue last week was that CBS could sell as much as $300 million more in advertising in advance of next season than NBC would.

"People recognize there are cycles in this business and rebuilding periods," said Tom Wolzien, a producer and executive at NBC in the 1970's and 1980's who is now an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Company. "The real problem is if none of the shows work next fall, or the following fall. Then life gets personally very difficult for people."

A wunderkind who first took the helm of the "Today" show in 1992, at age 26, Mr. Zucker led the program to the top spot in the morning ratings for eight years, before graduating to the presidency of NBC Entertainment, which he then shepherded through a four-year ratings winning streak. Since last May, when NBC, a unit of General Electric, acquired Vivendi Universal's entertainment operations, Mr. Zucker has presided over programming for all the company's television holdings except sports.

From a financial perspective, Mr. Zucker's group, which includes USA, Bravo and other properties, had a good year, with profit up 15 percent. That profit represents two-thirds of the bottom line of all of NBC Universal, which includes a movie studio and theme parks. (By contrast, the network's prime-time programming, considered a barometer of the company's success, actually accounts for less than 15 percent of the company's profits.)

Mr. Zucker has also shown in the last year that he can move decisively. Last month, he helped engineer the firing of the executive producer of the "Today" show, Tom Touchet, as the program's lead over its main competitor, "Good Morning America," dwindled from a margin of two million viewers several years ago to an average of just a few hundred thousand this season.

During the first week on the job for Mr. Touchet's successor - Jim Bell, a 37-year-old sports producer - Mr. Zucker jarred some on the "Today" staff by reporting to the control room each day and helping produce the show as if he had never left five years ago. He was back again, though only for a half hour, last Wednesday.

Asked if he risked coming off as a micromanager, Mr. Zucker said: "You wouldn't be taking advantage of my expertise if I shied away for fear of casting any shadow." Thus far, his efforts have yet to widen the tight lead "Today" has held over "Good Morning America" in recent months.

Though its standing in prime time is of similar concern to NBC, Mr. Zucker notes that the gap between first and fourth place is narrow: about half a ratings point, in the category of viewers 18 to 49 (each point represents a little over a million viewers). "We're talking true network parity, the likes of which we've never seen," Mr. Zucker said, reading from the speech he was preparing for the upfront meeting.

Still, as NBC's prime-time schedule has lagged, hit shows like "The Apprentice" have lost ground as well. "The Apprentice" has lost nearly 7 million viewers compared with last season, when it drew an average of 20.7 million people and had the enormous help of "Friends." Now it outpolls the two shows that immediately precede it, including the disappointing spinoff "Joey."

Mr. Trump said he had told Mr. Zucker face-to-face in recent months, "I'd love to see a little bit of a lead-in."
And how did Mr. Zucker respond? "He's very receptive to people he respects," Mr. Trump said. "He's a highly competitive guy. He wants to get back to No. 1."

During the interview last week, Mr. Zucker did not hesitate to provide a post-mortem on the shows that were big disappointments this season. The list included:

¶"Joey." "I think its storytelling was very disappointing. There was and continues to be a lot of residual good will toward that character." It appeared likely, at least late last week, that "Joey" would be given another chance next season.

¶"The Contender." "I think it bears out what I think our biggest fear was: whether boxing would appeal to a broad enough female audience, which is what a reality show has to do to work."

¶"The Office." "We all feel 'The Office' is a very funny show. It deserves another shot."

Mr. Zucker also has high hopes for "Earl," which he says he believes will find a following because it turns on "the universal themes of karma and redemption."

In last week's screening - in which, true to form, Mr. Zucker let loose his inner producer to fine-tune the clips of "Earl" that will be shown to advertisers today - he expressed confidence in a high-profile new drama. It is called "E-Ring" - for the outer ring of the Pentagon - and combines the talents of the producer Jerry Bruckheimer (responsible for the "CSI" franchise on CBS), the director Taylor Hackford and the actors Benjamin Bratt and Dennis Hopper.

Mr. Zucker's own TV tastes were formed in the 1970's and 1980's. Growing up in Miami, he watched endless reruns of syndicated comedies like "Hogan's Heroes," "I Love Lucy" and "The Honeymooners."

Today, as a father of three children under the age of 8, he finds himself watching endless reruns of 80's and 90's kiddy fodder, including "Full House" on Nick at Nite, a channel owned by Viacom, which owns CBS.

"As I'm sitting there now and watching 'Full House' with my kids, I'm thinking two things," Mr. Zucker said. "First, that I can't believe this was a humongous hit. Second, that I know we have shows that are as funny as this.

"And," he added, "how come they're not working?"

NBC lineup taking shape
Los Angeles Times

NBC Prime-time preview

The network was still tinkering with its 2005-06 schedule at press time Sunday, but sources say it has picked up four new comedies and three dramas that it would announce to advertisers in New York today:

WHAT'S NEW
Title Description
"Earl" or "My Name Is Earl" A crook who wins the lottery decides to make amends for past misdeeds. With Jason Lee and Jaime Pressly. Likely for midseason.
"Four Kings" From the team that created "Will & Grace," a comedy about a quartet of young men living in New York. With Seth Green ("Austin Powers") and Josh Cooke. Likely for midseason.
"Thick and Thin" "Saturday Night Live" creator Lorne Michaels produces this comedy about an obese woman (Jessica Capshaw) whose life changes when she becomes thin. Martin Mull and "SNL's" Chris Parnell costar.
"Filmore Middle" Sarah Alexandra and Phil Hendrie in a comedy about teachers at a struggling junior high. From writers of "Scrubs." Likely for midseason.
"The E-Ring" Benjamin Bratt and Dennis Hopper star in a Pentagon thriller, from producer Jerry Bruckheimer.
"Fathom" Science fiction meets the sea in this drama about a new form of marine life, starring Lake Bell and Rade Serbedzija.
"Inconceivable" Medical drama set in a fertility clinic, starring Alfre Woodard and "ER's" Ming-na.

WHAT'S GONE (since last fall)

"Father of the Pride,"
"Hawaii,"
"Last Comic Standing,"
"LAX,"
"Third Watch"

WHAT ELSE

Awaiting official word on:
”American Dreams," the low-rated 1960s drama now in its third season, as well as the first-season drama "Medical Investigation."

Two midseason shows,
"Revelations" and
"The Office," also have unclear status on the new schedule.

Proud peacock is drooping a bit
As usual, NBC will be first to unveil its new season,
but it will do so as the No. 4 network
By Scott CollinsLos Angeles Times Staff Writer May 16, 2005

For years, all eyes were on NBC at the TV industry soiree and presentations to advertisers held every May in New York.

By custom, NBC was the first to unveil its fall schedule, and because its programming held such a firm grip on affluent young adult viewers, executives at other networks would spend the rest of the week poring over the "must-see TV" schedule, trying to blunt the effect of huge hits such as "Friends" and "Law & Order."

But as NBC unveils its 2005-06 lineup today, it's clear the TV business has undergone a huge shake-up this season. With "Friends" off the air and new programs struggling, the network has slipped from first to fourth place among the young adult viewers sought by advertisers. And NBC executives admit that, this time around, showing their hand first makes the job a bit harder.

"It mattered less when we were a clear No. 1," said Mitch Metcalf, executive vice president for program planning and scheduling at NBC Universal. "We do find ourselves in a different position now, obviously. It would be better to have perfect information and to know all our competitors' schedules" before deciding the NBC lineup.

The network can always tinker with the prime-time schedule once it has a better idea of the competition, Metcalf added. (ABC and the WB meet with media buyers on Tuesday, CBS on Wednesday and Fox and UPN on Thursday.) NBC started going first in the advertising "upfront" derby back in the early 1990s.

"We were out in front of everyone," former top programmer Warren Littlefield recalled. "We thought it gave us an edge."

In those days, the network made a number of gutsy scheduling moves designed to throw off competitors.

Littlefield, for instance, recalled moving "Frasier" from a plum post-"Seinfeld" Thursday spot to a new Tuesday perch opposite ABC's "Roseanne."

"No one expected that move," Littlefield said. ABC responded by rushing its higher-rated "Home Improvement" into "Roseanne's" slot.

But that kind of gamesmanship is largely over; broadcasters are struggling to compete not just with each other but also with a multitude of cable networks.

John Rash, an executive at the Minneapolis-based ad firm Campbell Mithun, points out that even though NBC's ratings have suffered a double-digit drop, the race among the four top broadcasters has never been tighter, at least for young adult viewers. From that perspective, NBC's decline is emblematic of a much broader change.

"NBC used to be this centripetal force, which all [other] schedules would revolve around," Rash said.

But now, viewers roam all over the dial hunting favorite programs — "at the expense of individual network loyalty," Rash added. In fact, cable networks now draw more cumulative viewers than the six broadcast networks, although broadcasters still have an advantage in drawing tens of millions of viewers for top shows.

In the new television world facing executives now, programs that connect with viewers count more than ever, while prime-time schedules — as well as who goes first during "upfront" week in New York — matter less and less.

NBC's ordering up some comfort food
Peacock stressing stability over sizzle

By JOSEF ADALIAN, MICHAEL SCHNEIDER Variety.com

NBC seems likely to stress stability over sizzle when it outlines its fall sked to advertisers today. Peacock kept a tight lid on details over the weekend, but based on the shows the net has greenlit to series, NBC brass appear ready to emphasize mainstream offerings from major producers, with a few gambles sprinkled in the mix.

While NBC Entertainment prexy Kevin Reilly developed a number of unconventional projects, in the end, net is sticking mostly with comfort food -- at least in the fall -- as it looks to rebuild and recover from its fourth-place finish this season. Potentially buzzworthy dramas such as "NY-70," set 35 years in the past, were passed over in favor of easily marketed dramas from Jerry Bruckheimer and Tollin/Robbins Prods.

On the comedy side, Peacock's development was dominated by single-camera or hybrid projects, but two of the three laffers likely to air in the fall are traditional multicamera skeins from industry vets such as Lorne Michaels and "Will & Grace" creators Max Mutchnick and David Kohan, and Tollin/Robbins Prods.

Still, there's some evidence that NBC is trying to take some measured chances in the fall, balancing safer fare with some big swings. It's possible the net will, like it did last season, save some of its chancier prospects for later in the season.

Fans of unconventional comedies can be encouraged by the Peacock's decision to greenlight another season of "The Office," though it's unclear how many episodes have been ordered. Net has also scheduled the cable-esque single-camera half-hour "My Name Is Earl."

Overall, NBC has ordered six new skeins, with an even division between comedies and dramas.

Dramas picked up by NBC include "E-Ring," the Bruckheimer/Warner Bros. TV actioner set in the Pentagon and starring Benjamin Bratt and Dennis Hopper. Sea creature-themed drama "Fathom," meanwhile, comes from NBC Universal TV Studio and stars Lake Bell, while net also picked up the Tollin-Robbins fertility clinic drama "Inconceivable," from Touchstone TV.

Winning hand

On the comedy side, "Earl," from 20th Century Fox TV, stars Jason Lee as a small-time crook who wins the lotto and goes legit. Warner Bros. TV's "Four Kings" revolves around four best friends in New York. And "Thick and Thin," from NUTS and Broadway Video, stars Jessica Capshaw as a 300-pound woman who suddenly slims down.

Peacock is departing from recent tradition with its orders: Most of its new series come from outside the NBC U TV empire, with the NBC U Television Studio producing just two of the net's six skeins (barring any last-minute co-production deals and potential midseason orders).

Meanwhile, getting a fix on NBC's fall sked remained tough Sunday.

It's expected NBC will keep most of its 10 p.m. skeins intact, instead focusing its attention where it's most needed: the 8 p.m. hour. Possible exceptions to that could come on Sunday and Tuesday nights, with 10 p.m. Friday certain to change should "Law & Order: Trial by Jury" officially die.

One scenario has NBC shifting Tuesday's "L&O: SVU" to 9 p.m. to make room for a new drama at 10 p.m. But that's risky, given Peacock could have the only incumbent show at 10 p.m. Tuesday next fall.

NBC might also consider moving "The West Wing" to 9 p.m. Sundays for what many believe will be its final season. That would allow an aging series to do battle against "Desperate Housewives" and protect "L&O: Criminal Intent," which could shift to 10 p.m. Friday.

It seems likely both "The Apprentice" and "The Apprentice: Martha Stewart" will air this fall -- with the second edition possibly on Sunday -- and that either "Joey" or "Will & Grace" will lose their Thursday timeslots. It's unclear if NBC might consider abandoning decades of tradition and simply forgo Thursday laffers completely.

NBC has already skedded "The Biggest Loser" for 8 p.m. Tuesdays in August, and the show could continue there for a while since the net has two different incarnations of the reality skein in production. Peacock had success with 90-minute editions of "Loser" this season, and might settle for airing just one comedy at 9:30 for a few weeks.

Also on Tuesday, it's possible "The Office" will share a timeslot with fellow returnee "Scrubs," with "The Office" perhaps airing four or six episodes at the start of the season. Both could also be held for later in the season.

The only almost-certainty: NBC is expected to keep its Monday night intact -- barring a surprise shift of "Fear Factor" -- and stick with repeats on Saturdays.

Originally posted by fredfa
NBC lineup taking shape
Los Angeles Times

NBC Prime-time preview


"The E-Ring" Benjamin Bratt and Dennis Hopper star in a Pentagon thriller, from producer Jerry Bruckheimer.


This looks like an interesting group of players here...

What are the Upfronts?
May 16, 2005

Los Angeles Times Television critic Paul Brownfield gives us the low-down on the Upfronts as he prepares for his first visit to the event.

QUESTION: What exactly are the Upfronts?

Paul Brownfield: The idea, basically, is that the networks -- ABC, CBS, NBC, WB, UPN and Fox -- spend several weeks meeting to discuss what pilots they are picking up for the fall season, what shows are going to come back, and they unveil all of that in a huge presentation directed at advertising buyers to get them excited about what shows are coming. It's a big song and dance, not so much for the critics and the press but for the advertisers, because they are the ones who are going to commit to buying ad time on the line-up, they hope.

QUESTION: What are you interested in seeing, this being your first year attending?

Paul Brownfield: I'm interested in how out-there the spectacle will get. CBS at their presentation last year had The Who onstage. For what exact reason, I don't know. The Who are not in a television show. But it's a big cavalcade of stars, and the emcee of the show is the network president. It really is a chance to see each of these networks put on as spectacular a show as they can.

QUESTION: Has getting good buzz at the Upfronts traditionally been at all a reliable predictor of how a show will do?

Paul Brownfield: Yes and no. I think what gets people theatrically is like anywhere else – star power. That is one of the reasons shows don't get picked up or made unless you have recognizable names attached, because it's so much easier to get everybody excited if they've heard of the lead actor.

QUESTION: What are you most excited about?

Paul Brownfield: I guess I'm interested in seeing whether they address the problems they are all having. The competition with cable and the competition with technology, with TiVo and DVDs, where the networks don't have the playing field all to themselves anymore. I'm interested in seeing if the networks acknowledge that on any level. Or if it's really just a chance for them to say, we still do this the best. We're still broadcasters and no one else can broadcast the way we do.

QUESTION: Does the competition push the networks to make their Upfronts presentations even more extravagant and lavish?

Paul Brownfield: Probably. That's another thing I'll be interested in seeing. From the first one to the last one, how do you top what the other guy has done.

QUESTION: What about this period makes it an interesting or uninteresting time to be a TV critic?

Paul Brownfield: It's an interesting time because people are not consuming television the way that they used to. They're consuming it on their own time. If their favorite drama is on Wednesday nights at nine, a lot of people aren't beholden to that. They can TiVo it and watch it whenever they want. In a way, the content is less interesting to me than the different ways people are consuming TV.

That's what I'm writing about, that people are not sitting in front of their televisions the way they used to. They're making room for it when they can. So the networks, the way they used to think – okay, we have a strong show at eight and a strong show at ten, and we can put a not as strong show in at nine because people are settled in and will watch it, that just doesn't work anymore.

QUESTION: Do you think that will create better programming?

Paul Brownfield: That's the theory, I guess. I think to a certain extent it will but I think it's a very evolving sort of time.

The Peacock Net Struts Its Stuff
The TV Column
By Lisa De Moraes The Washington Post Monday, May 16, 2005; C01

NEW YORK—Welcome to Upfront Week, when the broadcast networks put on lavish dog-and-pony shows to unveil their fall prime-time lineups for Madison Avenue, in hopes the ad execs will commit to billions of dollars in commercial time on those series upfront -- long before they debut.

NBC, which slipped this season from first place to fourth in prime time among the 18-to-49-year-olds those ad execs are chasing hardest, announces its new lineup this afternoon, and you can expect some substantial changes in the network's slate.

About three different NBC new prime-time schedules were being phoned and e-mailed around by TV industry suits over the weekend. Bogus-schedule floating is a time-honored tradition of Upfront Week. And the number of bogus schedules a network floats is usually in direct proportion to the ego of the executive -- almost always male -- who is scheduled to get up onstage at Radio City Music Hall, Carnegie Hall or Madison Square Garden to spin his network's fall plans.

When NBC was the 800-pound gorilla of the industry, it announced its schedule first as a sort of "here's what we're going to do in the fall and what are you going to do about it?" Then the other networks scrambled to react. Now that NBC is a shadow of its former self, reaction among execs at other networks to the multitude of NBC schedules was one of amusement. "They're irrelevant," scoffed one such executive.

Cutting through the clutter, it appears that "Joey," starring "Friends" cast member Matt LeBlanc, moving out of Thursday night and over to Tuesday -- where NBC Thursday sitcoms are sent, never to be heard of again.

Like "Scrubs" this season.

"The West Wing" doesn't own its Wednesday time slot either, as NBC execs look to jump-start their troubled prime time. There's word it will be bumped to another night, possibly Tuesday, in favor of a new Jerry Bruckheimer series -- Bruckheimer is behind CBS's ratings magnet "CSI" and its two spinoffs, so he's the golden boy of TV these days.

His new drama for NBC is about the inner workings of the Pentagon, with Dennis Hopper in the cast. Did you ever think you'd read about Dennis Hopper starring in a TV drama series glorifying the Pentagon? Me neither.

On Wednesday at 8 p.m., where NBC has had so much trouble attracting viewers with entertainment programming, the network may concede defeat and plug the hour with an edition of the newsmagazine "Dateline," according to at least one version of NBC's new lineup.

If "Joey" departs from Thursday, what becomes the second sitcom on NBC's former Must See TV night? Leading contender at press time was a Lorne Michaels offering called "Thick and Thin," about a formerly fat chick who now looks like Jessica Capshaw, because she is.

After which "The Apprentice" returns, perhaps with Martha Stewart doing the firing. Unless the Martha edition of "The Apprentice" airs on another night. Perhaps Sunday. Unless, of course, "Inconceivable," a drama about the doctors, shrinks and lawyers at a fertility clinic gets the vacant Sunday time slot.

NBC is not expected to touch its Monday lineup, which has been one of its stronger nights this season. Conversely, its lowest-rated night, Saturday, is also not expected to change; it's now a haven for reruns and flicks.

Fallen NBC tries to get back up
By Gary LevinUSA TODAY

NBC went from first to worst among the Big 4 networks this season with its target audience of young adults. Today it unveils a recovery strategy at a presentation to advertisers that marks the beginning of the hectic TV schedule-setting week.

The network will announce plans to add three dramas and three comedies to its lineup next season, and the choices reflect an appetite for slightly riskier fare. Along with safer bets — a Pentagon drama starring Benjamin Bratt from hitmaker Jerry Bruckheimer — newcomers include a series about mysterious deep-sea creatures and a comedy about a redneck small-time crook who wins the lottery.

Among current shows, low-rated quirky midseason comedy The Office, based on the British import, will be back. But Revelations, The Contender and Committed are toast, along with American Dreams and Medical Investigation. And in a surprise reversal, Law & Order: Trial By Jury —the fourth series in the hit franchise — is gone after just 12 episodes. A third Dateline also is being considered.

NBC Universal Television Group president Jeff Zucker has acknowledged the network's tough year and blames its loss of Friends and failure to groom replacements.

Joey has been a creative and ratings disappointment, and the network's comedies Will & Grace and Scrubs had their worst ratings yet in recent weeks. Midseason drama Medium has been the lone new hit, and it is expected to remain part of an intact Monday with Fear Factor and Las Vegas.

The new shows (some due later next season):

•E-Ring, the Pentagon drama, starring Bratt (Law & Order), Dennis Hopper and Sarah Clarke (24 villainess Nina Myers). The show could inherit The West Wing's Wednesday 9 ET/PT time slot if Wing wings it to a new night.

•Fathom, a cross between Lost and The Abyss, centering on a deep-sea team and mysterious creatures.

•Inconceivable, another entry in the reviving medical genre with its own twist: the staff at a fertility clinic, including ER's Ming-Na.

•Thick and Thin, a comedy starring Jessica Capshaw as a newly svelte woman adjusting to her still-fat family and friends. It's a potential companion for Will & Grace.

•Four Kings, a comedy about four lifelong pals who inherit the New York apartment of one pal's grandmother. It's from the creators of Will & Grace.

•My Name Is Earl, starring Jason Lee as a crook who wins the lottery and decides to right his past wrongs.

•The Apprentice: Martha Stewart will air in place of Donald Trump on Thursdays.

Arresting Developments for Fall TV

By Kimberly Potts E!Online

What a difference a year makes. Last spring, ratings-beleaguered ABC was, well, desperate.

Flash forward: the network got Desperate--as in the runaway hit dramedy Desperate Housewives, along with drama hits Lost and Grey's Anatomy and reality breakout Extreme Makeover: Home Edition--and got ratings.

And as the major broadcast networks prepare to announce their new and returning series for the fall 2005 TV season at the annual upfront presentations next week in New York, it's ABC that boasts the seasons biggest new hits and has the least number of glaring holes to plug in its stellar lineup.

As for the other networks, CBS is saying goodbye to TV's number one sitcom, Everybody Loves Raymond, with Monday's series finale, but has the number two sitcom, Charlie Sheen's Two and a Half Men, ready to take over Raymond's cushy time slot. The Eye network is also well-stocked with hit dramas, including the CSI franchise and Without a Trace, and reality hits, including a rejuvenated Survivor and The Amazing Race.

At erstwhile comedy factory NBC, however, it's a different story. Friends spinoff Joey has been mediocre, at best, the network has failed to find an audience for clever comedies like Scrubs and The Office, and aging comedy Will & Grace relies so heavily on guest stars that it's like watching a slightly less C-list version of The Love Boat.

NBC honcho Jeff Zucker told BusinessWeek the network is just one "breakout hit" away from landing back atop the ratings heap. "Of course," he noted, "breakout hits are harder to come by these days."

With the exception of Fox's medical drama House and UPN's teen sleuth drama Veronica Mars, Fox, UPN and the WB also failed to click with any breakout shows this season, which means most of the networks are still banking heavily on the new slew of pilots--and a roster of recognizable names--for the next big TV thing.

More than ten dozen pilots are vying for a spot on the networks' schedules, and celebs like Geena Davis, Sally Field, Chris O'Donnell, Dennis Hopper, Rebecca Romijn, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Brooke Shields, Alicia Silverstone and Don Rickles (yes, that Don Rickles) are among the stars of those series.

The trends among the pilots: Desperate Housewives knockoffs; lots of military, crime investigation and legal dramas; action dramas, comedies and dramas about male bonding; and, oddly, multiple shows about lottery winners and fertility clinics.

It's also a time when shows on the bubble--those series whose ratings haven't lived up to their buzz--find out if they'll get another shot at prime-time success. E! Online's Kristin Veitch reports that Fox is "99.9 percent of the way there" in renewing the Emmy-winning sitcom Arrested Development, which many industry insiders felt was doomed to the TV graveyard.

NBC's sweet family drama American Dreams, sources say, is not likely to be renewed for a fourth season, but other iffy, fan favorite shows that still have a shot include NBC's remake of the British comedy The Office, the WB's future president drama Jack & Bobby and ABC's midseason drama Eyes.

Here's a network-by-network preview of upfront happenings:

ABC (presents Tuesday)
Returning shows confirmed: According to Jim, Alias, America's Funniest Home Videos, Boston Legal, Desperate Housewives, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Grey's Anatomy, Lost, Monday Night Football
Pilots with good buzz: Commander in Chief, a drama starring Geena Davis as the first female U.S. President; Invasion, a Shaun Cassidy-produced drama about alien happenings in a small Florida town post-hurricane; Lost and Alias creator J.J. Abrams' The Catch, a bounty hunter drama that costars comedy legend Don Rickles; and Pros and Consa Billy Baldwin-led drama about ex cons who work for the government.
Other pilots in contention: Soccer Moms, starring Sex and the City's Kristin Davis in a drama about suburban moms who work as private investigators; Crumbs, starring Fred Savage in a comedy about two brothers, one gay and one straight, who run the family business; Sons & Daughters, an improvised family comedy; Freddie, a star vehicle comedy for Freddie Prinze Jr.; Emily's Reasons Why Not, a comedy starring Heather Graham as a self-help author who can't take her own advice; and Hot Properties, a comedy about four friends who run a New York City real estate office.

CBS (presents Wednesday)
Returning shows confirmed: The Amazing Race, Survivor, CSI, CSI: Miami, Without a Trace
Pilots with good buzz: Everything I Know About Men, a comedy starring Jenna Elfman; Quantico, starring Mandy Patinkin in a drama about the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit; Flesh & Blood, starring Stockard Channing and Henry Winkler in a comedy about a family of doctors; and Old Christine, a comedy with Seinfeld's Julia Louis-Dreyfus as a single mom.
Other pilots in contention: American Crime, a Jerry Bruckheimer-produced drama about a prosecutor who juggles work and a new baby; Conviction, a legal drama with Sally Field and ER vet Eriq La Salle; Love Monkey, a male buddy drama starring Ed's Tom Cavanagh and Jason Priestley; The Unit, a special forces military drama starring 24's Dennis Haysbert, Felicity's Scott Foley and Ray's Regina King; Threshold, a sci-fi drama starring Charles S. Dutton (Roc) and William "Tom Cruise's cousin" Mapother; and How I Met Your Mother, a flashback comedy starring Neil Patrick Harris (Doogie Howser) and Alyson Hannigan (Buffy the Vampire Slayer).

Fox (presents Thursday)
Returning shows confirmed: American Idol, Cops, Family Guy, House, Malcolm in the Middle, Nanny 911, The O.C., The Simpsons, That '70s Show
Pilots with good buzz: Prison Break, directed by Brett Ratner (Rush Hour), a drama about a man who gets himself thrown in jail so he can help his death row inmate brother escape; Kitchen Confidential, a comedy based on chef Anthony Bourdain's best-selling autobiography and starring Alias' Bradley Cooper; Deviant Behavior, a Law & Order: Special Victims Unit knock-off; Dirtbags, a comedy starring Melissa Joan Hart; Fertile Ground, a drama about a fertility clinic; Don't Ask, a comedy about a dad (Spin City's Alan Ruck) who tells his family he's gay; and Hitched, starring NYPD Blue and Saved By the Bell alum Mark-Paul Gosselaar in a drama about a brother and sister who run a 24-hour wedding chapel in Las Vegas
Other pilots in contention: New Car Smell, starring Brooke Shields in a comedy about a used car dealership; Queen B, a comedy starring Alicia Silverstone; Bones, a crime investigations drama starring Angel's David Boreanaz; Windfall, starring Luke Perry in a drama about a group of friends who win the lottery; Briar & Graves, a drama about religious phenomena; Head Cases, a drama about a hotshot attorney (Chris O'Donnell) who gets fired after he has a nervous breakdown; Reunion, a drama that follows the lives of a group of friends throughout a 20 year period; the comedy The War at Home, starring Michael Rapaport; Murder Book, a crime drama starring Josh Brolin; and the drama Amy Coyne, starring Tom Berenger.

NBC (presents Monday)
Returning shows confirmed: The Apprentice, Crossing Jordan, ER, Joey, Las Vegas, Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Medium, Scrubs, The West Wing, Will & Grace
Pilots with good buzz: Jerry Bruckheimer's military drama, set at the Pentagon, E-Ring, starring Benjamin Bratt and Dennis Hopper; the religious drama Book of Daniel, starring Aidan Quinn; My Name Is Earl, a comedy starring Jason Lee as a petty crook who decides to make amends when he wins the lottery; and Thick and Thin, a comedy starring Jessica Capshaw (The Practice) as an overweight woman who becomes thin and has to deal with the new way people react to her.
Other pilots in contention: the disaster drama Fathom; Inconceivable, another drama set at a fertility clinic; Early Bird, a comedy, based on Rodney Rothman's high-buzz autobiography Early Bird: A Memoir of Premature Retirement, about moving to a Florida retirement home after he was fired from his dream job as a TV writer; Dante, a comedy about an arrogant pro football player; Deal, a comedy starring Janeane Garofalo and based on the life of pro poker player Annie Duke; the buddy comedy Four Kings, starring Seth Green; couples comedy Lies and the Wives We Tell Them To; Notorious, starring Tori Spelling in an autobiographical comedy; NY-70, a retro cop drama starring Donnie Wahlberg; and World of Trouble, an international FBI drama.

UPN (presents Thursday)
Returning shows confirmed: America's Next Top Model, Veronica Mars
Pilots with good buzz: Everybody Hates Chris, an autobiographical coming-of-age comedy created by Chris Rock; and Wingwoman, a comedy starring Shannen Doherty as a professional matchmaker
Other pilots in contention: Wildlife, a Melrose Place-ish drama set in the trendy L.A. Silver Lake neighborhood and starring Denise Richards; Triangle, a drama about a doctor whose wife disappears during their honeymoon; Crazy, a drama starring Lara Flynn Boyle as a therapist; and The Studio, a drama about wannabe actors and actresses.

WB (presents Tuesday)
Returning shows confirmed: 7th Heaven
Pilots with good buzz: Supernatural, a McG-produced drama about brothers (Smallville's Jensen Ackles and Gilmore Girls' Jared Padelecki) who travel the country investigating unexplained, sci-fi-type occurrences; Pepper Dennis, a drama starring Rebecca Romijn as a Chicago TV reporter; and Modern Men, starring Dean Cain in a comedy about a group of fraternity brothers who reunite more than a decade after graduation.
Other pilots in contention: Just Legal, a Jerry Bruckheimer-produced legal drama starring Don Johnson; Twins, a comedy about two sisters, one played by Roseanne's Sara Gilbert, who inherit their family's lingerie business; Mindy and Brenda, a sitcom about two best friends who share a cheap apa rtment in Brooklyn; True, a comedy, starring Anne Heche, about a woman who moves back home with her parents after her boyfriend dumps her when she's in labor with their child; Halley's Comet, a drama about a first-year med student who survives her own battle with cancer; and The Bedford Diaries, a drama about New York college students.

I didnt see 24 listed in Fox - I am sure it will be back.. right?

I certainly expect it would be, jim -- but you never know.

Nets Set to Display Their Fall Contenders

By John Consoli Mediaweek.com May 16, 2005

With a potential $500 million expected to be redistributed among the six major broadcast networks—based on NBC’s prime-time ratings nosedive and ABC’s bump upward—during this year’s upfront buying season, the networks were scrambling late last week to finalize their 2005-06 programming schedules, under the tightest security in recent memory.

“Last year, ABC and Fox had already sent us tapes of some of the shows that would be on their schedules,” said one media agency executive who spoke on condition of anonymity. “This year, we’ve gotten no indication of what any of the networks are going to do.”

“CBS has been [keeping its new schedule under wraps until the official upfront presentation] for years, and now you are seeing the other networks do it too,” said Preston Beckman, executive vp/ strategic program planning at Fox. “We are not even going to say what we like or don’t like among our pilots. You’ll find out on Thursday [May 19] when we make our presentation.”

Part of the added level of secrecy this year also is that entertainment presidents Kevin Reilly at NBC, Steve McPherson at ABC, and David Janollari at the WB all will be putting their respective networks’ prime-time schedules together from their own development pools for the first time—adding pressure for them to produce.

At Fox, Peter Liguori, who only last month replaced Gail Berman as entertainment president, will be selecting a schedule from her development slate, not his own. And with only four-tenths of a rating point separating the Big Four networks in the adults 18-49 demo as this season comes to a close, one or two successful shows next season could propel a network from fourth to first, meaning a huge swing in ad dollars down the road.

Adding to the tension, media agencies last week held back from cutting upfront deals with the major cable networks, choosing instead to see what broadcast will display this week before deciding where to place their clients’ billions. Agencies said some cable networks tried to spark a market with appeals to do business, but at prices the agencies weren’t willing to pay.

Despite all the advance secrecy, some networks say they will not be reticent to shift next season’s prime-time schedules around once they see what their competitors offer. “We’ll pick the shows and the schedule we want, but if we need to change it, we’ll change it,” said Jeff Zucker, president of NBC Universal Television Group. “You can’t be afraid to do that.” NBC on May 16 will be the first broadcast network to announce its 2005-’06 schedule.

NBC, which took in $2.9 billion in last year’s upfront, is expected to lose the largest share of money this year. Zucker, who has overseen NBC prime time long enough for the buck to stop with him, said he’ll take the blame for the network’s ratings shortfalls in ’04-’05. “Let’s be honest, we have to do better this fall than we are doing now,” Zucker acknowledged. “We are not going to run and hide. I will acknowledge that I am the person most responsible and let Kevin look forward.”

While NBC officials would not comment on their new schedule, dramas E-Ring, a Jerry Bruckheimer vehicle about the inner workings of the Pentagon; Fathom, about mysterious ocean creatures; and Inconceivable, about a fertility clinic, were considered to be the favorites to make the schedule. Comedies likely to be added include Thick & Thin, about a once heavy woman who loses a lot of weight; and Four Kings, about New York friends from childhood.

Being discussed is moving disappointing-but-renewed sitcom Joey from Thursdays at 8 to Tuesdays, pairing it with Scrubs. Veteran sitcom Will & Grace is expected to take Joey’s Thursday slot, leading into Thick & Thin, which will be followed by the new Martha Stewart incarnation of The Apprentice.

ABC is strongly considering new drama Invasion, about an alien takeover of a Florida town, for 8 p.m. Thursday. Other new dramas expected to make the ABC schedule are Commander-in-Chief, with Geena Davis as the first female president; a remake of Night Stalker; and legal drama In Justice. New sitcoms under strong consideration at ABC include Emily’s Reasons Why Not, starring Heather Graham as a female author in search of love; and Play Dates, about three couples who meet in a baby class.

Fox dramas expected to make it include Reunion, which follows six high-schoolers from graduation to their 20th reunion; The Break, about a brother who gets locked up to help his brother escape; and Bones, about a crime-solving female forensic anthropologist. New sitcoms likely to make the Fox schedule include Kitchen Confidential, centering around upscale New York restaurants; and The War at Home, about the struggle of parents raising teens.

Fox also plans to include an upfront segment on its post-season Major League Baseball playoff telecasts, which pre-empts the prime-time lineup through October. The presentation, to be given by Fox Sports president Ed Goren, points out that Fox baseball telecasts deliver higher ratings than all October prime-time shows on competing networks cumulatively among adults 18-34 and 18-49, and that the past four World Series on Fox were among the Top 10 programs among adults 18-49 with incomes over $75,000. “Postseason baseball is the only thing that kept Fox afloat last fall,” said one Fox insider.

Best bets for making the WB schedule include new dramas Pepper Dennis, starring Rebecca Romijn as a Chicago TV reporter; and Supernatural, about two brothers seeking the forces responsible for their mother’s murder. Other dramas in the mix include Just Legal from Jerry Bruckheimer; Hailey’s Comet from David E. Kelley, and The Bedford Diaries from Tom Fontana. Likely new sitcoms include Twins, starring Sara Gilbert; and an untitled comedy starring Camryn Manheim as a single mom with three kids.

“We have more good shows available to us this year, than we have had in a while,” said one WB insider. “From these dramas, we need to pop a couple of hits that wind up on the network for a long time.”

I thought there was a battle going on between NBC and FOX, since 24's contract was up for renewal.

Xesdeeni

Peacock Picks Dramas
By John Eggerton Broadcasting & Cable
NBC is adding three new dramas one comedy and two reality shows ("unscripted series"), NBC told advertisers in New York Monday, while workhorse Fear Factor will not be in the fall lineup
.
The new dramas are E-Ring, from Jerry Bruckheimer (CSI), a suspense drama set in the Pentagon and co-starring Dennis Hopper; Fathom, billed as an action-adventure about "a mysterious new form of sea life that begins to appear in oceans all over the earth"; and Inconceivable,an ensemble drama set in a fertility clinic.

The two new reality shows are the Martha Stewart version of Apprentice and Three Wishes, a sort of "extreme makeover" writ larger, in wich singer Amy Grant grants the wishes of deserving people in a small town.

The single new comedy for fall is My Name is Earl, starring Jason Lee (Almost Famous), as "a young man who has taken one too many wrong turns on the highway of life but is now determined to make amends."

Two other comedies will be in the wings for later launches: Four Kings, from David Kohan and Max Mutchnick (Will & Grace), and Thick and Thin, from SNL's Lorne Michaels and starring Jessica Capshaw as a "once overweight woman who embarks on a new journey as a fit and newly single woman. although two other comedies."

Scrubs and Fear Factor aren't in the starting lineup, but will return to the schedule sometime next season, NBC said.

West Wing has moved to Sunday night at 8-9, where the low-rated and now absent American Dreams has aired in the past, while Dateline moves up an hour on Friday to 9 p.m. and the Wednesday edition of Dateline goes away.
The Following is the new fall schedule, straight from NBC:
NBC PRIMETIME SCHEDULE FOR 2005-06
*New programs in CAPS (with the exception of "ER")
MONDAY
8-9 p.m. "FATHOM" (formerly "Fear Factor")
9-10 p.m. "Las Vegas"
10-11 p.m. "Medium"
TUESDAY
8-9 p.m. "The Biggest Loser"
9-9:30 p.m. "MY NAME IS EARL" (formerly "Scrubs")
9:30-10 p.m. "The Office"
10-11 p.m. "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit"
WEDNESDAY
8-9 p.m. "THE APPRENTICE: MARTHA STEWART" (formerly "Dateline")
9-10 p.m. "E-RING" (most recently limited series "Revelations")
10-11 p.m. "Law & Order"
THURSDAY
8-8:30 p.m. "Joey"
8:30-9 p.m. "Will & Grace"
9-10 p.m. "The Apprentice"
10-11 p.m. "ER"
FRIDAY
8-9 p.m. "THREE WISHES"
9-10 p.m. "Dateline NBC" (new time period)
10-11 p.m. "INCONCEIVABLE"

SATURDAY
8-11 p.m. "NBC SATURDAY NIGHT MOVIE"
SUNDAY
7-8 p.m. "Dateline NBC"
8-9 p.m. "The West Wing" (new day and time)
9-10 p.m. "Law & Order: Criminal Intent"
10-11 p.m. "Crossing Jordan"

N B C Prime-Time Schedule for 2005-2006 Season

Monday
8 PM ET/PT: "FATHOM" (formerly "Fear Factor")
9 PM ET/PT: "Las Vegas"
10 PM ET/PT: "Medium"

Tuesday
8 PM ET/PT: "The Biggest Loser"
9 PM ET/PT: "MY NAME IS EARL" (formerly "Scrubs")
9:30 PM ET/PT: "The Office"
10 PM ET/PT: "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit"

Wednesday
8 PM ET/PT: "THE APPRENTICE: MARTHA STEWART" (formerly "Dateline")
9 PM ET/PT: "E-RING" (most recently limited series "Revelations")
10 PM ET/PT: "Law & Order”

Thursday
8 PM ET/PT: "Joey"
8:30 PM ET/PT: "Will & Grace"
9 PM ET/PT: . "The Apprentice"
10 PM ET/PT: "ER"

Friday
8 PM ET/PT: "THREE WISHES"
9 PM ET/PT: "Dateline NBC" (new time period)
10 PM ET/PT: "INCONCEIVABLE"

Saturday
8 PM ET/PT: "NBC SATURDAY NIGHT MOVIE"

Sunday
7 PM ET/PT: "Dateline NBC"
8 PM ET/PT: "The West Wing" (new day and time)
9 PM ET/PT: "Law & Order: Criminal Intent"
10 PM ET/PT: "Crossing Jordan"
*New programs in CAPS (with the exception of "ER")
Source: broadcastingcable.com

NBC Press Release via thefutoncritic.com
NIGHT-BY-NIGHT PRIMETIME STRATEGY
MONDAY
"Fathom," one of the season's most ambitious new series, will launch a night of great dramas on NBC, occupying a time period that has been established as an optimal place for family viewing on NBC. "Las Vegas" one year ago was television's number one freshman drama in adults 18-49 and is this season's number one sophomore drama - continuing to deliver a young, upscale audience, despite facing intense competition. "Medium" -- one of the most successful new dramas this season -- improved NBC's 10:00 p.m. performance by nearly 100 percent and delivered the network's highest rating for a Monday drama in 15 seasons.

TUESDAY
"The Biggest Loser," which quietly became one of the biggest winners of this past season (improving ratings in that hour versus other regular programming by 116 percent), has potential to open the night strongly. At 9:00 p.m., "My Name Is Earl" is an innovative, irreverent, single-camera comedy that should work well as a lead-in to the critically hailed "The Office" (television's most upscale comedy). The night concludes with the winning "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," which this season delivered its biggest 18-49 audience ever and NBC's most dominant time period win in the history of People Meters.

WEDNESDAY
NBC alters its usual Wednesday-night landscape of three consecutive dramas by opening with the unscripted drama "Martha Stewart: The Apprentice," a buzz-worthy extension of a great franchise that's aimed at jump-starting the night. Executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer's new drama "E-Ring" features high-stakes, theatrical-style action and an appealing cast. NBC's venerable "Law & Order" assumes its usual spot on Wednesdays for a 16th year. The drama took on the challenge of intense competition this season and held its own, continuing to dominate the hour in upscale viewers.

THURSDAY
This season, NBC's Thursday lineup was the most upscale night on network television in adults 18-49 living in homes with incomes of $75,000 or more. "Joey" returns as the season's number one new fall comedy and Emmy winner "Will & Grace" enters its final season, having delivered its best season ever in upscale demographics. "The Apprentice" with Donald Trump remains solidly upscale while "ER" - entering its 12th season still on target creatively -- continues to provide choice demographic delivery at night's end. The medical drama has been NBC's number one drama for every one of its 11 seasons.

FRIDAY
A reconstituted Friday night includes the emotionally powerful unscripted series "Three Wishes" leading into "Dateline NBC," which makes its return to the 9:00 p.m. hour it long inhabited. "Inconceivable" is a new serialized drama set in a fertility clinic that has contemporary appeal for young married adults as it sifts through thorny ethical and emotional issues.

SATURDAY
Box office hits such as "Chicago," "The Italian Job" and "Scary Movie" make their premiere on NBC as the network shifts back to the long tradition of broadcasting movies on Saturdays. Additionally, NBC will occasionally schedule repeat episodes of current series to expose viewers to programs they otherwise might not have the chance to see.

SUNDAY
"Dateline NBC" once again opens NBC's Sunday, while the addition of a newly re-energized "The West Wing" should also reinvigorate NBC's fortunes at that hour. The balance of Sundays remains the same with "Law & Order: Criminal Intent"- showcasing Chris Noth as he returns to join series star Vincent D'Onofrio in the brand that made him a star. "Crossing Jordan" caps off the week for NBC having retained 98% of its 18-49 lead-in to keep NBC a competitive number two in the hour.

2005-06 NEW SERIES DESCRIPTIONS
New Comedies
"MY NAME IS EARL" --Earl (Jason Lee, "Almost Famous," "Chasing Amy") has taken one too many wrong turns on the highway of life. A bully and a low-rent crook, Earl wins a lottery and after an epiphany, he is determined to turn his good fortune into a life-changing event as he sets out to right all the wrongs from his past. Despite his seemingly limited intelligence, he is oddly effective -- and ultimately, the comedy series, like Earl himself, has a voice and style all its own. Written and executive-produced by Greg Garcia ("Yes, Dear"), "Earl" also stars Jamie Pressly ("Not Another Teen Movie") as Earl's wife Joy, Ethan Suplee ("Cold Mountain") as his hapless brother, and Nadine Velazquez ("The Bold and the Beautiful") as a hotel maid whom the brothers befriend.

Additional Comedies
"FOUR KINGS" -- Emmy Award winners David Kohan and Max Mutchnick, creators of the award-winning comedy "Will & Grace," present "Four Kings," an exploration of four lifelong friends on the cusp of adulthood: Barry (Seth Green, the "Austin Powers" franchise, "The Italian Job"), Bobby (Shane McRae, "One Life to Live"), Ben (Josh Cooke, "Committed") and Jason (Todd Grinnell, "The Dangling Conversation") couldn't imagine life without one another. Since childhood, these bosom buddies haven't spent so much as a birthday apart, but when Ben's grandmother, who dubbed them the "Four Kings of New York," passes away, Ben inherits her apartment and decides to share it with his lifelong friends. But despite the comfort of their posh new surroundings and efforts to cling to their youth, adulthood begins drawing these Four Kings knee-deep into situations that aren't always easy to escape in this honest exploration of life-term friendship

"THICK AND THIN" -- From multi Emmy-Award winning producer Lorne Michaels' Broadway Video Television comes this half-hour comedy about Mary (Jessica Capshaw, "The Practice"), a formerly fat woman who embarks on a new journey as a fit and newly single woman. That's easier said than done, however, when Mary's family and friends still see her as her former self. They include her overweight mother (multiple Emmy winner Sharon Gless, "Cagney and Lacey"), her overweight younger sister (newcomer Amy Halloran), her father (Martin Mull, "Roseanne"), and her weight-loss program buddy (Mel Rodriguez, "Panic Room"). But it is at the pool-and-spa company franchise she owns in suburban Florida that she finds her most unlikely confidant, her brother-in-law (Chris Parnell, NBC's "Saturday Night Live"), the company's "leotard-ed" spokesperson named "Captain Chlorine." When a cringe-worthy misstep lands her in bed with her ex, she realizes that getting thin was less about pleasing others -- and more about being comfortable in her own skin. Emmy Award winner Paula Pell ("Saturday Night Live") is the series' creator and writer of the pilot.

New Dramas
"E-RING" -- Executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer ("CSI" franchise), Oscar-nominated director/producer Taylor Hackford ("Ray") and stars Benjamin Bratt ("Traffic," "Law & Order") and Dennis Hopper ("Easy Rider," "Speed") join forces in this pulsating drama set inside the nation's ultimate fortress: the Pentagon. It's a hub of highly explosive conflicts between American military heroes and the civilians to whom they report -- a world where crises can escalate into life-and-death climaxes, for individuals or entire nations. Viewers witness critical decisions by intelligence officers in the war room and the execution of these decisions by covert special ops on the battlefield. The number-one mission is survival of the state - an often-delicate balance between protecting the homeland and protecting either all of mankind or the life of a lone soldier. Jerry Bruckheimer Television in association with Warner Bros. Television produces "E-Ring." Thirty-time Emmy nominee Bruckheimer serves as executive producer along with Jonathan Littman ("The Amazing Race," "CSI: NY") and David McKenna ("S.W.A.T.," "Blow"). McKenna also wrote the pilot, which was directed by Hackford.

"FATHOM" -- Ever wonder what life would be like if a new form of sea life began to appear in locales all over the earth? In this expansive drama, those who are about to find out include some naval officers in the South Antarctic Sea, a family in San Diego, scientists from the Oceanographic Institute in Monterey, and fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico. The seemingly innocent creatures they find are beautiful and kids may even want to play with them -- but is there something more to them? One thing's for sure - they're full of surprises as viewers can embark on this unfathomable journey to discover what might be lurking in the sea. Lake Bell ("Boston Legal") stars as Daughtery Carstarphen, along with Jay R. Ferguson ("Judging Amy") as Richard Owen, Rade Serbedzija ("Snatch") as Dr. Aleksander Cirko, and Carter Jenkins ("CSI: NY") as Miles.

"INCONCEIVABLE" -- Come inside the world of the doctors of the Family Options Fertility Clinic in this ensemble drama, where one of the most complicated questions is to conceive -- or not to conceive. Assuredly, theirs is a noble quest as they help desperate couples give birth; however, clinic co-founders Dr. Malcolm Bower (Jonathan Cake, "Fallen") and Rachael Lew (Ming-Na, NBC's Emmy-winning "ER") and their staff, including psychologist Lydia Crawford (guest-starring Alfre Woodard, "Beauty Shop"), Nurse Patrice (Joelle Carter, "American Pie 2"), office manager Marrissa (Mary Catherine Garrison, "How to Deal") and attorney Scott (David Norona, "Mr. Sterling") are not above their own occasional adventures involving sex, deception and secrets. As viewers navigate through the ultrasound and super-egos, the missing frozen embryos and impending malpractice suits, it's positively clear that life inside this clinic is anything but sterile.

New Unscripted Series
"THE APPRENTICE: MARTHA STEWART" -- "The Apprentice: Martha Stewart" will retain the general format of the original alternative series, including weekly eliminations; however, the style and feel of this new show will be tailored to Martha Stewart's personality and brand identity. The tasks will be centered around Stewart's areas of expertise: media, home renovation, entertaining, design, merchandising, technology and style. Stewart will bring her own sensibilities and creativity to the elimination process which will feature two of her most trusted colleagues who help her make the decision each week. Mark Burnett is creator and executive producer of "The Apprentice: Martha Stewart."

"THREE WISHES" -- Five-time Grammy-winning recording artist Amy Grant ("Rock of Ages...Hymns & Faith") stars in this hour-long, unscripted series in which she leads a team of experts to a small town to "grant" wishes to help make the hopes and unbelievable dreams of deserving people come true. Viewers will follow some of the town folks' deeply personal and heartwarming stories as Grant and her team transform these hopes into a life-changing reality. The full spectrum of wishes ranges from paying tribute to an unsung hero to helping a despairing family in the grip of a loved one's life-threatening medical crisis. Additional "wish" examples include: tearful reunions with long-lost relatives; living out a mind-blowing sports fantasy, and helping to save a dedicated teacher's job. Carpenter Carter Oosterhouse ("Trading Spaces"), contractor Eric Stromer ("Clean Sweep") and architect Amanda Miller ("Knock First") comprise Grant's team of experts.

Sunday’s prime-time program ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

"Raymond's" real legacy is its imitators

A quiet exit tonight but lots of baggage left behind
medialifemagazine.com

“Everybody Loves Raymond,” which ends its nine-year run on CBS tonight at 9 p.m., will leave with a greater legacy than either the highly hyped "Seinfeld" or "Friends" before it. While those two shows were very good to NBC, no one else could ever figure out quite how to duplicate their successful structure.

Those looking to imitate "Raymond" have. The show has taken the family sitcom genre and refined it to the winning bumbling dad + beautiful wife formula that defines family sitcoms today.

Forget the Bunkers or the Cosbys. These days, we have shows like ABC’s “According to Jim” and “My Wife and Kids” and CBS’s own “King of Queens” leading the way, following in “Raymond’s” footsteps.

The Barones were the every-family, acerbic and emotionally stunted on the one hand, kind and sympathetic on the other, but always believable, or nearly so.

Ray Romano took the formula tinkered with by another comic-turned-actor, Tim Allen on ABC’s “Home Improvement,” and perfected it. But the show's actual roots go back so much further, to the '50s and "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet," among others. Early on, networks learned an important lesson about sitcoms: Bumbling husbands are a sure sell to viewers--read women here--and to the advertisers who chase down supermarket aisles after their purses.

So far this season, "Raymond" is averaging 16.7 million viewers, and many more are expected to tune in for the finale. “Raymond” peaked during the 2001-2002 season with 17.7 million average viewers.

Expect the last episode to be not unlike any others, staying at its regular half-hour instead of the super-sized episodes typical of recent series-enders. The only added feature is a one-hour retrospective called “Everybody Loves Raymond: The Last Laugh” airing tonight at 8 p.m.

Good Morning America to Inaugurate HD

By Ken Kerschbaumer Broadcasting & Cable

Good Morning America will begin broadcasting in high-definition this fall, becoming the first national network morning-news program to go HD.

ABC's seven-day-a-week commitment follows a GMA HD test Jan. 20 for the Presidential Inauguration.

Copps Continues Consolidation Criticism

(May 16, 2005) While most of our attention is on the upfronts, FCC Commissioner Michael Copps was down in St. Louis over the weekend, speaking to the Free Press Media Reform Conference.

His remarks were published today here (in .pdf format) (http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-258685A1.pdf) on the FCC website, and they leave no doubt where he stands on efforts to rewrite U.S. media laws -- efforts he fears could lead to even more relaxed rules on media ownership.

"Those awful rules that an FCC majority passed two years ago to loosen our media protections have been sent back to us by the courts," Copps said. "The bad news is they were sent back to whom? To the very same folks who dreamed them up in the first place! They screwed it up once. Believe me, they're 100 percent capable of screwing it up again."

Copps praised the "three million Americans" whom he says contacted the FCC with their concerns about media consolidation, but he says he remains "worried about the effects of further consolidation on the entertainment and news and information we get," as well as the jobs lost and issues which aren't covered.

He also warned that "a lot of pressure is going to be brought on the FCC to write new rules, write them quickly, and write them inside the Commission, far away from the sunlight of public participation and public input."
___

dline posts this for information only and does not necessarily endorse any point of view contained in this post.

For NBC, some risky rolls of the dice

Returning 'Office' and double-teaming 'Apprentice'
By Toni Fitzgerald medialifemagazine.com

NBC, convinced that its drop from first to fourth among 18-49s was accelerated by a weak start to the night, will have almost an entirely new lineup at 8 p.m. this fall. The network has six new shows on the schedule, NBC entertainment president Kevin Reilly said today, and three of them will be at 8. Another show, “The West Wing,” will get a new 8 p.m. timeslot.

The biggest surprise: Monday night 8 p.m. stalwart “Fear Factor” has been bumped to midseason for new drama “Fathom.” Media people hadn’t expected any changes to the network’s successful Monday slate.

Another more minor surprise is “Wing’s” switch from 9 p.m. Wednesday to 8 p.m. Sunday to make room for “E-Ring,” the lead-out for “The Apprentice: Martha Stewart.”

NBC’s thinking seems to be that by making one big change on every night except Thursday, it will be able to erase its year-long backslide.

“Our No. 1 priority was getting our base going at 8 again,” Reilly said.

But some of its strategies are risky. “Wing,” which slumped on Wednesday, now faces ABC’s very successful “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.” And Tuesday, where “Scrubs” and “The Office” struggled this season, is getting only one new show, with “Office” returning.

The new schedule also does not address doubts media buyers and planners have about “Joey,” which lost more than a third of its audience since the start of the season, and the original “Apprentice,” which fell way behind “CSI” in its timeslot.

“Fathom,” a supernatural drama about new sea life forms that pop up unexpectedly, leads off Monday at 8 p.m., followed by the returning “Las Vegas” and “Medium.”

On Tuesday “Biggest Loser” returns at least through the November sweeps. The new sitcom “My Name is Earl,” NBC’s only new comedy on the fall schedule, takes the 9 p.m. slot. It stars Jason Lee as a guy who turns his life around after winning the lottery.

“The Office,” which averaged a 2.5 18-49 rating in five Tuesday outings this year, returns at 9:30. Gone is “Scrubs,” which NBC renewed but will push back to midseason. “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” remains at 10.

On Wednesday Stewart’s “Apprentice” spinoff leads off the night. NBC ran some five shows in this timeslot this year with no success. Jerry Bruckheimer’s Pentagon drama “E-Ring” starring Benjamin Bratt and Dennis Hopper follows at 9, with “Law & Order” remaining at 10.

Thursday returns unchanged despite speculation that the weakening “Joey” or “Will & Grace,” entering its final season, would switch to Tuesday. “The Apprentice” and “ER” stay at 9 and 10.

Friday sees the biggest changes after this season’s “Medical Investigation” and “Law & Order: Trial by Jury” got canned. Reality show “Three Wishes,” hosted by Amy Grant, airs at 8. It sounds like an “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” knockoff, with the same heartstring tugging that reunites families and grants wishes.

“Dateline” moves to 9, followed by “Inconceivable,” a fertility clinic drama. Saturday remains movie and repeats night.

On Sunday, “Wing” takes over the 8 p.m. slot where “American Dreams” had been, but the rest of the night went untouched.

“Scrubs” and “Fear Factor” will return but Reilly did not say when. New shows that will get midseason slots are the comedies “Thick and Thin” and “Four Kings.” Reilly said another drama, “Book of Daniel,” may also get a midseason pickup.

“American Dreams,” “The Contender” and “Law & Order: Trial by Jury” will not return. “Revelations,” originally conceived as a limited-run miniseries, probably won’t either, though Reilly left that open.

TVGuide.com is reporting that not only has FOX picked up "Arrested Development" for a third season (YAY!!), but will renew "The Bernie Mac Show" and "Stacked", along with cancelling "Life On A Stick".

They're also reporting that ABC has renewed "Less Than Perfect", "Jake In Progress", "Rodney", "George Lopez", "Hope & Faith" and "The Bachelor", and cancelled "8 Simple Rules" and "My Wife And Kids".

~Alan

Lisa De Moreas was way off.

Less Than Perfect is underrated; it can be pretty funny at times depending on which of their writers wrote the episode.

I hope Eyes comes back!

Saveeyes.com have been told by Eyes' exec. producer that ABC will not be picking up the show. :( :( :( :( :(

If true, too bad about "Eyes".
It sure seems better than about half of the new NBC schedule.

Originally posted by f44
Saveeyes.com have been told by Eyes' exec. producer that ABC will not be picking up the show. :( :( :( :( :(

Shame, as it was a truly "fun" show to watch. Maybe, hopefully, Warner Bros. will at least release the show to DVD for us fans to enjoy... although that seems more like something Fox would do instead of Warner Bros.

~Alan

That's exactly what it was...a fun show. Just fun to watch and see the plot unravel and Harland's wisecracks.

ABC didn't promote it enough, used promos that made it seem like a Karen Sisco-type show for women, put it in an incredibly tough time slot against two other dramas, and launched it at an awkward time.

Here's hoping they change their mind within 24 hours.

I think NBC is making a big mistake by keeping Joey and Will & Grace on Thursday. Since its W&G's final season probably, one of the two current Tuesday shows should have its Thursday slot.

Originally posted by fredfa
If true, too bad about "Eyes".
It sure seems better than about half of the new NBC schedule. ... or The Bachelor, for that matter.

Guess we'll find out soon ...

I thought that NBC was going to not show the Donald Trump version of the Apprentice for a year to give it a break b/c people are tiring of it.

Originally posted by f44
I think NBC is making a big mistake by keeping Joey and Will & Grace on Thursday. Since its W&G's final season probably, one of the two current Tuesday shows should have its Thursday slot.

While I currently like the idea of keeping "Joey" on Thursday night... at least until I get an HD-DVR), "Joey" might do better on another night since it wouldn't have to be on at the same time as "The O.C.".

Just as long as it wasn't up against "American Idol", it could grow a bigger audience on Tuesday night.

~Alan

NBC Execs Offer Postmortems for 'Dreams,' 'Jury'
By Daniel Fienberg

(zap2it.com)--When you've fallen from first place to fourth as quickly as NBC has, there will inevitably be casualties. Discussing the new fall schedule with reporters on Monday (May 16), NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly and NBC Universal President Jeff Zucker took some time to mourn the passing of several beloved and high profile failures.

Perhaps no show departing the airwaves will be as mourned by its fans as "American Dreams." Unfortunately, after three seasons of good faith from NBC, "Dreams" was only averaging 7.3 million viewers, an audience that didn't improve when the network temporarily moved it from Sunday to Wednesday. Even though Zucker was one of the period drama's most outspoken supporters, there just wasn't room for "Dreams" on a network trying to change directions.

"It just becomes, unfortunately, the contradiction of America, I guess," Reilly says. "People say they want quality, family-friendly shows at 8:00 and yet you put them on and what they really want to watch is 'Desperate Housewives.' Ultimately, we are in a business here. We love the show... It just was not pulling the ratings to really justify the cost of the show or to justify another year on the schedule."

As badly as "American Dreams" performed on Sundays, the heavily hyped "The Contender" drew an even smaller audience (which explains why NBC has transplanted Emmy-winning institution "The West Wing" to Sundays next fall). The boxing series, from industry heavyweights Mark Burnett and Jeffrey Katzenberg, weathered numerous delays and the tragic death of one of its contestants, but it was probably just knocked out by its subject matter.

"I think that at the end of the day, it was about boxing and that was a pretty high bar to get over," Zucker says.
Although its weekly audience has been sub-"Dreams," "The Contender" delivered stronger demographic numbers than its time slot predecessor and also produced a fervent base of young, male viewers.

"I think it was a damn good show," Reilly says. "I think they delivered on the show they pitched and the fans that watched it were very passionate about it and thought it was fantastic. I make no apologies for the quality of the show."

Another NBC show that wilted under the weight of high expectations was "Law & Order: Trial by Jury," the fourth permutation in the reliable Dick Wolf franchise. Averaging 11.2 million viewers in a slow Friday time period, "Trial by Jury" was one of the network's most surprisingly cancellations, but its departure reflects on the network's diminished status.

"'Law & Order: Trial By Jury' was ordered last year while we were still the No. 1 network," Reilly explains. "In that kind of environment, it felt like we could sustain four 'Law & Orders.' This spring, we find ourselves in a different situation and it really looked like we needed to open up some more time periods for some new shows."

Readers will have to check back next May to see if those new shows -- including "Inconceivable" and "Fathom" -- have fared any better.

Apocalypse Now, the Peacock Years

Commentary By Shawn Hubler The Los Angeles Times

"American Dreams" and "Law & Order: Trial by Jury," are out! "The West Wing" is moved! "Revelations" appears to be ending (preferably not along with the world as we know it)! But NBC is still planning to dish up plenty of Armageddon in its attempt to restore the world order in which the mighty peacock will once again reign.

The pitching — or "storytelling," as the corporate marketing guys keep calling it — has officially begun in full force here at the "upfront" presentations, where broadcast networks will be barking at advertisers like gap-toothed carnies for most of the week.

NBC is going first, and what once felt like a fun, kicky, sort of shock-and-awe thing now feels to the poor, beleaguered peacock like showing the first hand in a game of high-stakes celebrity poker.

Worse, for a moment, it appeared NBC's presentation this morning would be upstaged by a brazen act of PR chutzpah, an ABC press conference -- subsequently canceled -- that conveniently conflicted, ever so slightly, with NBC's dog-and-pony show.

TiVo alert! Looks like NBC will, indeed, be messing with your Wednesday. It's moving "The West Wing" to 8 p.m. Sunday. (Whew! Not Tuesdays as was rumored, opposite "House.")

The reason? "E-Ring", a new series with a name that, frankly, sounds like a medical device of some sort, but it's actually got guys in uniform and it's from Jerry Bruckheimer, the action series juggernaut who looked as if he was going to put a CSI in every municipality, village green and water district last year.

Bruckheimers now are like Eames chairs -- everybody who's anybody has to have at least one -- and NBC's is said to be a drama about the Pentagon starring Benjamin Bratt and Dennis Hopper. (Yes, Dennis Hopper in a Pentagon drama. Disturbing. Why didn't they just call it "Freak Out the Geezers"? But NBC hasn't been getting as much love from that 18 to 49 demographic, and to them, he's not just the Sixties guy from "Easy Rider." He's the lovable psycho-killer from "Speed." On a show about the military industrial complex! Kewl. )

Also on Wednesdays: "The Apprentice: Martha Stewart" will lead off the night at 8. But don't get any ideas about Martha being the new Donald. The original will still be out there on Thursdays at 9 p.m.

Other new "concepts" for your viewing pleasure this fall include:

"Inconceivable," another hospital drama, this one set for Fridays at 10 p.m. in a fertility clinic.

"Four Kings" from the people who made "Will & Grace"; "Thick and Thin" starring Jessica Capshaw as a plus-size gal gone skinny.

"Three Wishes," a reality series hosted by Christian pop star and red state goddess Amy Grant.

"Fathom," an action adventure for all you surfers out there, about "a mysterious new form of sea life that begins to appear in oceans all over the Earth."

"My Name Is Earl," a comedy involving "a young man who has taken one too many wrong turns on the highway of life but is now determined to make amends," and doesn't that just about say it all? (It's Tuesdays at 9 p.m.)

Notable re-ups: "Medium," "The Biggest Loser," "The Office," "Law & Order," "Las Vegas," "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," which was rumored earlier to be headed for an early demise.

Plus, "Joey" lives. But the "Friends" spinoff is moving too -- hey! it's the old "Friends" time slot, at 8 on Thursday nights.

Meanwhile in the miniseries category: NBC is dishing up "The 9/11 Project," a remake of "The Poseidon Adventure," and "10.5: The Apocalypse," a sequel to last year's big earthquake drama, along with a "Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Diff'rent Strokes."

You want disaster, people? NBC knows from disaster. Step right up! Get your terrorists, your tsunamis, your retrospectives of Gary Coleman's career . . .

“Arrested Development Is Renewed
Via thefutoncritic.com
Released by FOX
FOX DOES MORE TIME WITH "ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT," ORDERING A FULL THIRD SEASON

FOX gets ARRESTED again. The network has ordered a third full season of the Emmy Award-winning comedy series ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT, it was announced today by Peter Liguori, President, Entertainment for Fox Broadcasting Company.

"ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT is one of the best comedies on television. The decision to order another season becomes easy when you consider its amazing cast, creative brilliance, critical acclaim and advertiser appeal," said Liguori. "It's my first official pick-up since taking the job, and I think it's a great way to start."

The critically acclaimed series revolves around Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman), the good son who must run the family business and continue to pick up the pieces as he keeps his offbeat family from falling apart. The comedy has featured guest appearances by numerous stars including Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Liza Minnelli, Heather Graham and Ben Stiller. Last year, the show received five Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series, Writing, Directing, Casting and Editing. Additionally, Jason Bateman won a Golden Globe for Outstanding Actor in a Leading Role - Musical or Comedy Series and the show was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards for Outstanding Musical or Comedy Series.

This past season, the cast was nominated for a SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. The show was also named an AFI Program of the Year and received the Critics' Choice Award for Best Comedy, among other accolades.

NBC Cancels 'Trial by Jury'
By BROOKS BARNES Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL May 16, 2005

NEW YORK -- For years, "Law & Order" creator Dick Wolf has rejected concerns about the brand's increasing ubiquity on television, saying viewers will decide how much is too much.

They apparently have decided. Marking a turning point in the seemingly endless spinning off of hit dramas that has marked the TV business in recent years, General Electric Co.'s NBC confirmed Monday the cancellation of the low-rated "Law & Order: Trial by Jury" after just a handful of episodes. The series, the fourth in the "Law & Order" flotilla, focused on criminal trials from the perspective of defense lawyers and judges.

It is the first major failure for the "Law & Order" franchise, which annually generates over $1 billion in advertising and syndication sales and is viewed by about 100 million people a month on NBC and various cable outlets. The various "Law & Order" shows have long been the ratings workhorses of NBC's schedule, but some media buyers said the lackluster ratings for "Trial by Jury" raise questions about how much gas the brand has left in its tank.

In April, "Trial by Jury" averaged four million viewers aged 18 to 49, the group advertisers pay a premium to reach, and 11 million total viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Kevin Reilly, NBC's president of entertainment, dismissed any broad weakness in the brand. "We just felt that we needed to open up time periods to some new concepts and try out some new product," he said, adding that the decision "was not made in a knee-jerk sort of way." In the place of "Trial by Jury," NBC will launch "Inconceivable," a soapy new drama about a fertility clinic.

Mr. Wolf was unavailable for comment. People close to the producer said he was surprised at the quick cancellation, as none of the "Law & Order" shows have premiered as ratings juggernauts.

NBC's fall schedule, which it promoted to advertisers today as the networks' "upfront" ad-sales season got under way, also is notable because the network has chosen to launch just one new sitcom, a series about a lower-class criminal who wins the lottery titled "My Name Is Earl." That's an unexpectedly small number, especially since the network ordered 17 sitcom pilots in a bid to finally find a hit sitcom to replace "Friends."

Mr. Reilly said the decision to premiere only one new comedy is not an indication that the network failed to develop any good sitcoms. Rather, he said, it's a reflection of the network's lack of hit shows it can use to launch new programs. "We need to build some time periods to give these comedy assets their best shot at success," he said.

Walt Disney Co.'s ABC unveils its fall schedule to advertisers Tuesday.

From E!:

Dick Wolf told Daily Variety that he was "extremely upset and disappointed" about the diss. "I find the decision inexplicable and frankly, inconceivable," he said.

Originally posted by f44
From E!:


Dick Wolf told Daily Variety that he was "extremely upset and disappointed" about the diss. "I find the decision inexplicable and frankly, inconceivable," he said.

You left out the best part, he also said it was built similar to all the other L&Os and he couldn't understand why it was being cancelled. Or something along those lines, I don't have the exact quote....

Maybe because we're tired of it!!!

Evidently, NBC feels the same way...:)

lol. E! didn't have the excerpt though and I don't subscribe to Variety.com.

I saw it at TVGuide.com,

http://tvguide.com/news/entertainment/
Entertainment News - [TV Guide Online]

"CRAZY LIKE A...: Speaking of Trial by Jury, producer Dick Wolf tells Variety that he's "extremely upset and disappointed" about NBC's decision to drop his latest L&O spin-off. "I find the decision inexplicable, and frankly, inconceivable," he said. "It was a good show. It was the exact formula that made the brand so valuable." I told you this was going to put him in a foul mood."

Hey Dick, maybe you should try something new next time...:p

Just a note about Tuesday.
Both ABC and The WB present their schedules.
I'll do my best to have information about The WB as soon as it is available, but will concentrate most of my efforts on posting ABC information and analysis.

Originally posted by fredfa
“Arrested Development Is Renewed
Via thefutoncritic.com
Released by FOX
FOX DOES MORE TIME WITH "ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT," ORDERING A FULL THIRD SEASON

I don't watch it, but I am glad FOX decided to stick with it. The network needs more than AI as a recognizable name in my opinion. If ithe ratings don't pick up next season, then it is more than likely toast, no matter how many awards it wins.

Originally posted by fredfa
Just a note about Tuesday.
Both ABC and The WB present their schedules.
I'll do my best to have information about The WB as soon as it is available, but will concentrate most of my efforts on posting ABC information and analysis.

As far as the WB is concerned, what ever comes out of the WB's meeting tommorow concerning The Gilmore Girls, Summerland and One Tree Hills is of interest to me.

I'll get the info posted as fast as I can, AFH. And I'll get some analysis posted, too.

I will just spend a lot more time on ABC, CBS and Fox the rest of the week than with The WB and UPN.

HBO Will Not Renew Unscripted

By Anthony Crupi Mediaweek.com May 16, 2005

HBO will not be bringing back Unscripted for a second season.

The half-hour improvised drama, produced by Steven Soderbergh and George Clooney's Section Eight production company, had its final episode on the premium cable network February 27.

“It was a fun, experimental show that ran its course,” an HBO spokesperson said Monday.

Unscripted was the second HBO project from Section Eight; the Beltway drama K Street ran for 10 episodes in 2003.

4th Means Always Having to Say You're Sorry
By Shawn Hubler The Los Angeles Times
(with dispatches from Maria Elena Fernandez, Matea Gold and Meg James in New York. Scott Collins in Los Angeles also contributed.)

Perhaps never in the history of television has one network been so thoroughly sorry. First, NBC President Jeff Zucker stood before the press and announced that his network "stunk up the joint" with its fall from first to fourth place this year.

Then he went onstage, under a big screen, at Radio City Music Hall for another mea culpa, this one to so many ad buyers, advertisers and reporters that the line to get in stretched for three sides of a city block.

"We totally get it," Zucker told the assemblage, a small, well-dressed shadow of the bullish PowerPoint maestro who stood on the same stage last year, promising a runaway hit in the disappointing "Friends" spinoff, "Joey." (The show, NBC execs acknowledged, had them "in full spin mode all year long.")

"In prime time this year, we did not have the season we wanted to have, or that we said we would," Zucker mourned.

But wait! There was more!

"Sorry" wasn't good enough. There had to be jeering, too.

"Fourth place? #$#@#! Do I have to give back the Porsche?" joked "Will & Grace" star Debra Messing, addressing the audience with a cable word.

The "Weekend Update" team from "Saturday Night Live" spoof-reported that NBC was going high-def, and the image quality is so good that "last week you could actually see the panic on Matt LeBlanc's face."

Then a video lampoon of the year had NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly screaming, "The horror! The horror!" as characters from last year's tanked "Father of the Pride," "Aloha" and "LAX" floated around him.

Still later, Steve Carell, star of "The Office," ran into the theater and clambered through the audience to plant a kiss on GE Chairman Bob Wright at the news that his show had been renewed.

But with sin comes redemption

In a big finale, Jamie Foxx, in celebration of the fact that NBC will have this year's Winter Olympics, took the stage to belt out "America the Beautiful." Foxx will have an NBC special this year and won an Oscar for "Ray," which was produced by the film arm of NBC Universal. That said, would someone give the poor man someone other than Ray Charles to play?

Down but not out

The fightin' peacock has unveiled a cunning strategy of "bold, original concepts." Translation: Brazenly copy anything that worked for us last year, then rip off what worked for the other guys.

So: more "Apprentice," more hospital drama, more miniseries about disasters, plus some of that Bruckheimer stuff CBS has been ladling, a little edgy comedy for the hipster demographic, and some three-hanky do-gooding for the red states and the "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" demographic by Christian radio babe Amy Grant, who'll dispense "Three Wishes" to deserving working-class types.

" 'Three Wishes' literally grabs you by the throat and grabs you by the heart," Reilly promised. Which should have been reassuring, but frankly made us a little nervous about what might get grabbed next.

Frozen banana news flash!

Fox's Emmy Award-winning "Arrested Development," the one Orange County show that truly gets Orange County, will stay on the air for another season after all.

Fox Entertainment President Peter Liguori, in a written statement, cited its "amazing cast, creative brilliance, critical acclaim and advertiser appeal" in the decision to pick it up for another full season.

Left unmentioned was the fact that, um, not that many people watch it. The show's following is devoted but small, and one theory was that it was getting a reprieve so that enough episodes could be accumulated to justify future DVD collections and syndication.

Meanwhile, the rest of you had better not squander this last chance, people. Otherwise, no one will be left to save the Bluth family. Except maybe Amy Grant.

Among the other networks:

ABC's "Commander-in-Chief," with the dimpled Geena Davis as the first female POTUS, is getting picked up, among other interesting new shows. So has "Emily's Reasons Why Not," a sort of "Sex & the City" comedy with the dimpled Heather Graham.

Picked up on the WB network are the new drama "Supernatural" and the comedy "Good Eggs." The comedy "Reba," starring Reba McEntire, also is back in a two-year deal.

Law & Order TBJ Update
The Wall Street Journal

"...Mr. Wolf said he was pressing NBC to reconsider. "I'm not giving up hope that NBC will see the light," he said. Jeff Zucker, president of the NBC Universal Television Group, told reporters yesterday that there was a slight possibility the show could return in some form, but not in September...."

ABC seeks to build on momentum
By Gary Levin USA TODAY

ABC has this season's top three new shows —Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy and Lost— so it's no surprise the network is plotting an aggressive 2005-06 season. It's adding six dramas and shifting emphasis from family to adult comedies with five newcomers.

With ratings up 12%, which is more than any other network, ABC ranks second in total viewers and has the most momentum going into fall.

Programmers, who will present their fall lineup to advertisers Tuesday in New York, are particularly keen on Invasion, a family drama with mysterious overtones, and Commander in Chief, starring Geena Davis as the first female president.

Among current series, ABC has resurrected two low-rated comedies near death: John Stamos' Jake in Progress and Rodney. They join returning sitcoms According to Jim, Hope & Faith, Less than Perfect and George Lopez. Canceled are 8 Simple Rules and Damon Wayans' My Wife and Kids, plus dramas Eyes and Blind Justice.

Alias remains on the fall schedule, despite possible delays because of Jennifer Garner's reported pregnancy. The Bachelor returns in January.

New comedies (some are due later next season):

•Crumbs, with Fred Savage (The Wonder Years), is about two estranged brothers forced to run the family business after their parents are divorced.

•Hot Properties revolves around four female co-workers at a real estate firm.

•Freddie stars Freddie Prinze Jr. as a single guy suddenly surrounded by a houseful of women.

•Sons & Daughters is a partly improvised comedy about adult siblings.

•Emily's Reasons Why Not, starring Heather Graham, is based on the book about a professional woman who is unlucky in love. Midseason.

The new dramas:

•Commander in Chief stars Davis as president.

•Invasion , a family drama set in Florida, is about bizarre events that are ushered in by a hurricane.

•The Night Stalker is a remake of the 1970s supernatural series from X-Files producer Frank Spotnitz.

•The Evidence , starring Orlando Jones and Kyle MacLachlan, is a midseason police series that starts with evidence and deconstructs crimes.

•In Justice is a midseason drama about lawyers who fight for those wrongly accused.

•What About Brian is a midseason dramedy about a "perpetual bachelor" (7th Heaven's Barry Watson) and friends who worry about him.

ABC's last-minute reprieve for Jake, which will return for 13 episodes in midseason, has thrown a wrench into plans at rival networks NBC and WB.

Star John Stamos was expected to join the cast of NBC's ER. And co-star Wendie Malick was set for a pivotal role as a life coach in WB's Modern Men, the first comedy from producer Jerry Bruckheimer. Malick's role will be recast.

'Good Morning America' Gains on 'Today'

The New York Times---The "Today" show's lead over "Good Morning America" dwindled to perhaps 70,000 viewers last week, according to early estimates provided yesterday to NBC and ABC by Nielsen Media Research.

If those figures hold - the final numbers will be released by Nielsen on Thursday - then "Good Morning America" will have been its closest to "Today" at least in a given week, since December 1995. That is the last time that "Good Morning America," on ABC, beat "Today," on NBC, in the weekly ratings.

In recent years, the lead by "Today" over "Good Morning America" has been as much as two million viewers. Thus far, for the season that began in September, "Today" (average audience about 6 million viewers) has led "Good Morning America" (about 5.4 million) by more than 600,000 viewers.

But in recent weeks, the lead has become so narrow (about 300,000, during the week of May 2) that NBC replaced the program's executive producer last month.

ABC's Schedule Emits That 'Housewives' Vibe
By JACQUES STEINBERG The New York Times May 17, 2005
(This article was reported by Jacques Steinberg, Bill Carter and Stuart Elliott and written by Mr. Steinberg.)

In a bid to capitalize on the ratings boost it received this year from the hit freshman programs "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost," ABC is expected to tell advertisers today that it intends to add six dramas and five comedies to its prime-time lineup during the new television season, according to several people briefed on its plans.

The new programs include one-hour dramas about a female president ("Commander in Chief," with Geena Davis) and an alien takeover of a South Florida town ("Invasion") as well a comedy built around the actor Freddie Prinze Jr. ("Freddie") and a "Housewives"-esque sendup of female real estate agents in Manhattan ("Hot Properties").

ABC was also planning to introduce a remake of the cult classic "The Night Stalker," as well as one comedy created by Lorne Michaels of "Saturday Night Live" ("Sons and Daughters") and another featuring the actress Heather Graham ("Emily's Reasons Why Not").

It was not immediately clear yesterday how many of the 11 new shows would be introduced at the outset of the fall season, but the network intends to start all of them at some point in the next year, said those who were told about at least a part of the schedule but who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to release it. They included a network official, studio executive and talent agent.

Meanwhile, the network, which is owned by the Walt Disney Company, is expected to tell advertisers today, at what is known as the upfront market, that it will leave intact a Sunday night lineup that features the reality program "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" at 8 p.m., "Desperate Housewives" at 9 p.m. and the hit medical drama "Grey's Anatomy" at 10 p.m.

Sales in the upfront market are estimated to total about $9.4 billion.

Other shows expected to return next season include the comedies "According to Jim," "Jake in Progress," "George Lopez," "Hope and Faith" and "Less Than Perfect." Two comedies - "My Wife and Kids" and "Eight Simple Rules" - are expected to be canceled.

ABC's prime-time fortunes improved noticeably this past season, drawing an average of 4.9 million viewers between the ages of 18 and 49 each night, an increase of more than a half a million compared with the same point last season, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Nonetheless, the network has continued to lag behind CBS and Fox, prompting ABC executives to order a relatively large number of new shows for a lineup that is not generally regarded as broken.

In contrast, NBC - which is expected to finish the current season ranked fourth, or last, among viewers 18 to 49 - formally announced yesterday that it planned to add only six new shows to its lineup, which was considered, at least from a ratings perspective, to be in more dire need of repair than that of ABC.

Among those new shows are two reality programs, "The Apprentice: Martha Stewart," which will be broadcast at 8 p.m. on Wednesdays, and "Three Wishes," to be shown Fridays at 8 p.m., in which the country singer Amy Grant will visit a different small town each week and try to make the dreams of three individuals come true.

In a news conference yesterday afternoon, Kevin Reilly, president of NBC Entertainment, said that the network had stumbled badly on nearly every weeknight at 8 this past season, and that its only hope of improving its ratings was to give its programming at 9 and 10 better lead-ins.

Nonetheless, Mr. Reilly and Jeff Zucker, president of the NBC Universal Television Group, said yesterday that they were taking what they characterized as two big gambles on weeknights at 8 next season. One is their decision to remove "Fear Factor," a relatively high-rated reality show, from the Monday schedule, and replace it with "Fathom," a science-fiction series about a mysterious life form below the sea.

Mr. Reilly said he thought that "Fathom" would deliver a broader audience than "Fear Factor," but that "Fear Factor" could well return at some point in the new season, particularly as a foil to the Fox juggernaut "American Idol."

The network's other risky bet at 8 p.m. is on Thursday, when it will leave in place "Joey," the spinoff of "Friends," which has lost much of the "Friends" audience, followed by "Will & Grace," which is also down, by several million viewers, compared with last season. While Mr. Reilly acknowledged that there were "sexier" moves he could have announced, he said that he and Mr. Zucker had decided instead to seek to rehabilitate both shows.

The NBC executives said that they reserved the right - after hearing later this week the plans of the five other main broadcast networks - to revise their intended schedule in a few weeks in response. For a network that was used to presenting first from a position of strength - it has been top rated in prime time for nearly a decade - that admission was an indication of its relative newfound weakness.

Among other existing series that NBC has thus far put on the schedule for next season are "Las Vegas" and "Medium" (Mondays); "The Biggest Loser" and "The Office" (Tuesdays); "The Apprentice" and "ER" (Thursdays) and "The West Wing" and "Crossing Jordan" (Sundays).

Meanwhile, all of the programs in the "Law & Order" franchise will be back, with the exception of the newest entry, "Trial by Jury." The cancellation of "Trial by Jury" is the first failure of a "Law & Order" spinoff series.

Fans of "Scrubs" will not see the show on the fall schedule, but could see it as a midseason replacement.

ABC will make its presentation this afternoon at Lincoln Center. Earlier in the day, the WB Network will have its meeting with advertisers at Madison Square Garden.

At that time, WB - which is owned by Warner Brothers and the Tribune Company, and has a prime-time audience less than half that of NBC - will introduce five new dramas that it hopes to put on at some point next season, and three new comedies.

Among the most promising dramas are believed to be "Supernatural," about two brothers hunting alien life forms. That program was created by McG, who directed the "Charlie's Angels" movies. Another is "Related," a family drama about four sisters in New York. Its executive producer is Marta Kauffman, a creator of "Friends."

WB is expected to announce it is ordering two programs from Jerry Bruckheimer, the executive producer of the "CSI" franchise on CBS, as well as "E-Ring," new to NBC next year. One is a legal drama ("Just Legal") featuring Don Johnson. The other is a comedy, "Modern Men," about three men and their "life coach."

CBS gets creative with new season
Eye crime spree slows

By JOSEF ADALIAN Variety.com May 17, 2005

The CBS crime wave will slow down just a bit, with the Eye ordering a slate of eight new series designed to open up TV's most-watched web to a broader range of dramas and comedies.

While the net's frosh crop still has its share of cops, lawyers and other law enforcement types -- as well as the legally required new hour from Jerry Bruckheimer -- the five dramas and three comedies ordered to series Monday rep one of CBS' most ambitious development slates in years.

Eye is being particularly bold on the comedy front, at least compared with its recent laffer efforts. Not a single one of the net's new comedies features an overweight male lead with an attractive young wife, though all feature at least one cast member who's starred in a previous sitcom hit.

CBS is also taking chances with its dramas, including a rare foray into sci-fi, as well as another hour with a supernatural theme. Big-name producers are still well represented, however: In addition to Bruckheimer's latest project, pilots from Mark Gordon, David Mamet, David Goyer and David Heyman all have been greenlit to series.

It's widely expected that a few of the eight shows picked up will be saved for later in the season. Which are headed for fall and which will bow midseason wasn't known Monday. Net also is keeping a tight lid on the sked it will unveil to advertisers Wednesday.

On the drama side, Bruckheimer skein is "American Crime," a Warner Bros. TV hour from scribe Jim Leonard that looks at suburban criminal activity via the eyes of a newbie prosecutor. Gordon, meanwhile, is behind "Quantico," a Touchstone-produced drama focusing on FBI profilers and starring Mandy Patinkin.

Mamet is teamed up with Shawn Ryan ("The Shield") for 20th Century Fox TV's "The Unit," a star-packed hour about a group of Delta Force agents that also explores their home lives. Pushing the envelope is "Threshold," a spooky hour from Paramount depicting how the government responds to an alien threat. Goyer and Heyman are among the producers on the project.

Also out there is Touchstone's "The Ghost Whisperer," an hour inspired by James Van Praagh in which Jennifer Love Hewitt plays a young newlywed who talks to the dead.

Another buzzworthy CBS drama pilot, "Love Monkey," hasn't snagged a series order, but industry insiders still believe it may be a midseason contender once Eye execs return to Los Angeles next week.

On the comedy front, well-known stars are being balanced by nontraditional concepts (at least by usual CBS comedy standards).

One of the year's more innovative hours (on any net) may be "How I Met Your Mother," in which a single man looks for the love of his life, telling his story to his kids 25 years in the future via flashbacks. Neil Patrick Harris and Alyson Hannigan star in the 20th-produced skein.

Jenna Elfman returns to TV with "Everything I Know About Men," a Touchstone/Par co-production about a single woman's dating adventures. Veteran thesps Henry Winkler and Stockard Channing are part of the ensemble of "Flesh and Blood," Par's half-hour about a family of doctors, from "Frasier" scribes Christopher Lloyd and Joe Keenan.

Guessing the Eye sked before its announcement is risky, but advance industry buzz had some wondering if the net may try a younger-skewing drama like "Threshold" after "The Amazing Race" on Tuesdays.

Another CBS laffer with strong internal support, the Julia Louis-Dreyfus laffer "Old Christine," didn't snag an order Monday but may yet land an order post-upfront.

Eye sibling net UPN was the only net not to have phoned producers with series pickups as of late Monday. However, there's strong advance buzz for Chris Rock-produced laffer "Everybody Hates Chris" and Denise Richards drama "Wild Life." Some insiders also were speculating that the net may bring back rookie drama "Kevin Hill" in some form.

NBC sked tackles hard 8
Peacock ruffling, shedding feathers

By MICHAEL SCHNEIDER, MICHAEL LEARMONTH Variety.com
Entering full rebuild mode, NBC announced Monday a fall schedule that attempts to breathe some new life into its stagnant 8 p.m. hour. Arguing that it's hopeless to try to attract viewers later in the evening if they don't first fix primetime's first hour, Peacock execs have shuffled the time period on five of its seven nights.

That includes scheduling three reality entries in the slot: the return of "The Biggest Loser" to Tuesdays; the new Martha Stewart edition of "The Apprentice" to Wednesdays; and the Amy Grant-hosted feel-good entry "Three Wishes" on Friday.

"The key driver to putting this together was to attack that 8 p.m. hour," said NBC Universal TV Group topper Jeff Zucker. "It's really where we fell down this year. The ability to launch things at 9, having them self-start, was impossible."

Losing laffers

Meanwhile, as revealed to advertisers Monday afternoon at Radio City Music Hall, net is playing it safe with laffers, scheduling just four comedies in fall (with three more on the bench for midseason) and keeping its Thursday night lineup intact. All told, net has ordered three new comedies and three new dramas for the 2005-06 season.

The Thursday night stability surprised some given that next year reps the last chance for the Peacock to launch a show behind the retiring "Will & Grace" -- and even NBC Entertainment prexy Kevin Reilly admitted that returnee "Joey" was a "mixed bag" this year creatively.

"There were sexier things we could have announced," Reilly said. "But we're in a rebuilding mode, and one of the things in the playbook is to try to hold steady on certain blocks that are working."

As for the decision to hold back on comedy -- saving "Scrubs" and newcomers "Thick and Thin" and "Four Kings" for later -- Reilly said he'd still like eventually to expand the net's presence (including a two-hour block on Tuesday) and that he doesn't expect the other nets to load up on many laffers either.

"And if they do have more on the air, I won't be envious," he added, "because frankly, it's not going to work. It didn't work last year and it didn't work five years ago."

'Fathom' for 'Fear'

NBC will take one of its biggest gambles on Mondays, pushing the still-strong "Fear Factor" to midseason in order to launch the sea creature-themed actioner "Fathom." "Taking 'Fear Factor' off the schedule was one of our more unconventional moves," admitted NBC Entertainment president Kevin Reilly. "We think we can upgrade the audience with 'Fathom' and create some excitement."

Reilly said "Fear Factor" could also return as " 'American Idol' insurance." Indeed, the Fox megahit played a big role in NBC's decision to pay greater attention to the 8 p.m. hour, as it looked for shows that may be impacted less come the return of "Idol" in January.

"We were sitting there without an 'Idol' strategy and got clocked in January," Reilly said.

Meanwhile, net's other big gamble comes on Tuesday, where new laffer "My Name Is Earl" has been handed the tentpole 9 p.m. slot (following "The Biggest Loser") and paired with critically acclaimed but low-rated "The Office."

"There are no bolder bets on anyone's schedule than these two comedies," said Reilly, who added that "Earl" was the Peacock's "highest-testing comedy in 15 years."

"Scrubs," meanwhile, already has a 24-episode order for next season; hiatus will also allow series star Zach Braff to star in the Weinstein Co. feature "Fast Track."

'Apprentice' doubles up

NBC also took some by surprise in opting to schedule both editions of "The Apprentice" at the same time. But Reilly said the Wednesday Martha edition was significantly different from the original Donald version. "There's a lot of curiosity about Martha in the wind right now," he said. "We wanted to strike while the iron is hot."

Other new shows include Jerry Bruckheimer's Pentagon-themed entry "E-Ring," which will air Wednesdays at 9 p.m., and the fertility clinic drama "Inconceivable," which ends up Fridays at 10.

Just two of NBC's six new scripted skeins are from sibling NBC Universal TV Studio -- a sign that the nets have truly moved away from favoring inhouse productions, Zucker said. "One of the things you'll see this week, the whole idea of vertical integration and complete reliance on inhouse studios is not a driving force for a lot of pickup decisions," he said.

In addition to shows left for dead last fall (such as "Hawaii"), canceled skeins include "American Dreams," "Committed," "Medical Investigation," "The Contender" and "Law & Order: Trial by Jury."

"Last year we felt we could sustain four 'Law & Orders,' " Reilly said, adding that this year the network needed that slot to try something different. The execs still left a small door open for "Trial by Jury" and "Revelations" to return, such as in short-order episodes.

Zucker and Reilly said they were less than thrilled at the prospect of announcing their schedule before the other networks -- a position the net used to relish while in first place. Now, the Peacock said it reserved the right to reshuffle its lineup depending on what its rivals announce.

"It's a lot easier to go first as we have for the past decade when you are coming from a position of strength," Zucker said. "We don't have that red-hot show."

Zucker opened the net's upfront with a humorous jab at Reilly, who was shown starting his year sipping from his "No. 1 network executive" mug. After a season of flubs including "Hawaii," "LAX" and "Father of the Pride," mug changes to "network executive" and the beverage appears to be Wild Turkey.

Advertiser reaction was mixed to the NBC sked. Deutsch chief media director Peter Gardner said he doesn't expect NBC to score a big turnaround like ABC did this past year. " 'Martha' has to do really well early, they have to find a hit from the new shows, and 'The Office' has to do something," he said. "They are operating from a position they're not used to."

Carat Americas national broadcast director Andy Donchin said he didn't think the net was in "such a bad position." "I think what ABC showed is all you need is for one or two shows to click and you're back in the swing of things," he said.

Separately, NBC announced a slate of specials for next season that includes a Jamie Foxx musical spec, as well as concert events headlined by Elton John and Jennifer Lopez.

Also out there is Touchstone's "The Ghost Whisperer," an hour inspired by James Van Praagh in which Jennifer Love Hewitt plays a young newlywed who talks to the dead.

Another buzzworthy CBS drama pilot, "Love Monkey," hasn't snagged a series order, but industry insiders still believe it may be a midseason contender once Eye execs return to Los Angeles next week.

On the comedy front, well-known stars are being balanced by nontraditional concepts (at least by usual CBS comedy standards).

One of the year's more innovative hours (on any net) may be "How I Met Your Mother," in which a single man looks for the love of his life, telling his story to his kids 25 years in the future via flashbacks. Neil Patrick Harris and Alyson Hannigan star in the 20th-produced skein.

Jenna Elfman returns to TV with "Everything I Know About Men," a Touchstone/Par co-production about a single woman's dating adventures. Veteran thesps Henry Winkler and Stockard Channing are part of the ensemble of "Flesh and Blood," Par's half-hour about a family of doctors, from "Frasier" scribes Christopher Lloyd and Joe Keenan.

Guessing the Eye sked before its announcement is risky, but advance industry buzz had some wondering if the net may try a younger-skewing drama like "Threshold" after "The Amazing Race" on Tuesdays.

Another CBS laffer with strong internal support, the Julia Louis-Dreyfus laffer "Old Christine," didn't snag an order Monday but may yet land an order post-upfront.

Eye sibling net UPN was the only net not to have phoned producers with series pickups as of late Monday. However, there's strong advance buzz for Chris Rock-produced laffer "Everybody Hates Chris" and Denise Richards drama "Wild Life." Some insiders also were speculating that the net may bring back rookie drama "Kevin Hill" in some form.

Stalled WB revs up for fall

By Gary Levin USA TODAY

NEW YORK — WB, under new leadership, is turning to big-name producers and a big slate of new shows for a jump-start.

Ratings are down 9%, and the network is in a dead heat with rival UPN — a network it once dominated — for this season's fifth-place crown.

Current series Jack & Bobby, Summerland and Steve Harvey's Big Time have been canceled, joining long-gone soap The Mountain. (Summerland returns June 7 for a five-week run of remaining episodes.)

Bright spots: One Tree Hill, a resurgent Gilmore Girls and comedy Living with Fran, which premiered only last month and will return next fall.

New shows on the fall schedule being presented to advertisers Tuesday in New York:

•Twins is a comedy about fraternal twin sisters who have nothing in common. Sara Gilbert (Roseanne) stars.

•Supernatural is a drama about brothers who roam the country hunting unexplained phenomena. Jared Padalecki (Gilmore Girls) and Jensen Ackles (Smallville) star.

•Related, a drama about four adult sisters, their careers and romances, in New York City. Laura San Giacomo and Jennifer Esposito star.

•Just Legal, a drama from producer Jerry Bruckheimer, is about a young defense lawyer (Jay Baruchel, Million Dollar Baby) and his jaded mentor (Don Johnson).

For midseason:

•Misconceptions stars Jane Leeves (Frasier) as a woman unhinged when her daughter meets her father, an anonymous sperm donor.

•Modern Men, another Bruckheimer project (and his first comedy), is about a group of male pals who turn to a female life coach.

•Pepper Dennis is a drama starring Rebecca Romijn as an ambitious Chicago TV reporter.

•Bedford Diaries, a drama from producer Tom Fontana (Oz), is set at a small New York college. Matthew Modine stars as a human-sexuality professor.

Zucker Vows Better Bird

By Jim Benson & John Eggerton Broadcasting & Cable

In unveiling a fall lineup consisting of six new series--three new dramas, a comedy and two unscripted programs--NBC Universal Television Group President Jeff Zucker Monday acknowledged to advertisers packing Radio City that the network over-promised on what it could deliver during an admittedly disappointing season.

"Let's be entirely candid," Zucker said, at the outset of a lengthy presentation in which he and NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly vowed to turn things around, "We were not what we wanted to be and not what we expected to be."

Zucker introduced a three-pronged prime time strategy that had the sound of a Jesse Jackson speech: "Get out of the gate at 8, add shows that rate, and stay strong late (in the 10 p.m. hour)."

NBC has put its heavy guns on Tuesday, trying to improve a night that has struggled, while keeping its Thursday night intact.

It has high hopes for the new 9 p.m. Tuesday single-camera comedy My Name is Earl starring Jason Lee (Almost Famous, Chasing Amy), and advertisers gave it the loudest round of applause.

Although there had been speculation the network could move either Joey or Will & Grace to start a comedy block on a new night like Tuesday, in the end the network decided that it was too risky to move them.

Zucker and Reilly both vowed they would fix Joey, its Thursday night lead-off comedy, which has not worked as well creatively as they would have liked and has failed to live up to early expectations.

The schedule, however, could change within the next few weeks after NBC has a chance to analyze and react to what the other networks do.

At an earlier press conference. Reilly held out the possibility that Scrubs could return with a full-season order as early as fall, as well as the comedies Four Kings and Thick and Thin.

But the conventional wisdom is that the network will probably wait until the Winter Olympics in February to promote most of the series for spring, unless it needs to be rolled out sooner to fill failed time periods in November.

Reilly also said the religious-themed drama Book of Daniel, a pilot that failed to get a fall pick up, is still "very much" in contention for a spot later in the season.

Fear Factor, he said, will return at 8 p.m. Tuesday following the first 12-week run of The Biggest Loser.

Martha Stewart made an appearance to plug her new version of The Apprentice, which will air at 8 p.m. Wednesday. Due to her prison stay and subsequent house arrest restrictions, NBC had no tape to show of the pilot.

And the executives said this will likely be the last season for two of the network's longest-running series, The West Wing and Will & Grace, but did not entirely rule out their return. West Wing has moved to Sunday night at 8-9, while Dateline moves up an hour on Friday to 9 p.m. and the Wednesday edition of Dateline goes away. Dateline also has a new co-anchor for Stone Phillips, effective immediately: Ann Curry, who will continue her anchoring duties on Today.

As expected, Zucker and Reilly continually emphasized the network's strength with upper-income viewers as NBC tries to stave off losses on advertisers' upfront commitments and the tight 0.5 rating points separating the first (Fox) and last-place (NBC) networks in the key adults 18-49 demo.

Yet they also poked fun at themselves with a funny presentation tape reciting this season's prominent failures and showing Reilly slowly cracking up under the pressure.

It also showed Stewart's new Apprentice contract sewn on a quilt.

As they previewed their new 2005-06 shows, two could prove to be potentially controversial from an advertiser standpoint: Inconceivable, an ensemble doctor drama set at a fertility clinic (which had a dancing sperm graphic as part of the pilot trailer); and Thick and Thin, a Jim Burrows-directed comedy from the Will & Grace team that will appear later in the season about an overweight woman (Jessica Capshaw from The Practice) who sheds pounds and becomes fit, but is still seen by friends and family as her former fat self.

In a scene shown to advertisers, when an attractive woman complains about not fitting into her bikini, a heavy woman responds, "I can't even see my cooch."

UPFRONTS JOURNAL

Virginia Heffernan The New York Times Television Critic at the Television Upfronts

NBC FROM RADIO CITY | 05.16 6:00 PM

All of the New Product
So Jeff Zucker compared himself to the Yankees and Tiger Woods. He's still all-powerful, see; he's just on a losing streak. He did look genuinely worried, though, as he stood on the enormous deco stage and an elaborate lightshow turned him from red to green. Maybe he should have compared himself to a sports figure who has actually sealed a comeback, not those whose fates are still uncertain.
In the big, comic presentations, "Hawaii," "LAX," and "Father of the Pride" were satirized as bad ideas. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler said that the people who created them are now in rehab. (In fact, they were probably in the audience, smarting at the slaps; just last year, of course, Mr. Zucker was hyping those same shows, doting on them, and hearing him tear them down like this year was like watching a parent smack a child.)

Mr. Zucker insisted that the core of NBC's prime-time line-up was still in good shape. A maudlin montage of NBC's shows' dramatic moments, which started with an epigraph about art by John Lennon, made the case that even "Joey" and "The Apprentice" — and especially Brian Williams — touch America's heart like nothing else. In the tearjerking, heartrending category, Mr. Zucker boasted especially about "Medium," the drama about a psychic starring Patricia Arquette.

Mr. Reilly introduced "all of the new product," which is to say television shows. Of "E-Ring," which looks promising, he said, "It's classy and moves like a bat out of hell." Classy. Bat out of hell. These people really talk like that.

"Inconceivable," the drama that contains the tragedy of the woman who gets the wrong eggs in her, really did look grim. But, with its high-tech interventions into reproductive politics, it's a decidedly blue-state show, which might make it upscale. Early in the day, Tina Fey had showed her pregnant abdomen to the audience (as part of a gag about who the father is), and Ming-Na who stars on "Inconceivable," also appears to be pregnant. So maybe fertility is just what the crowd at Radio City had on its mind. The audience seemed silent and incredulous during the presentation of the show, however.

For the "Lost" crowd, NBC has "Fathom," a show about sea creatures who look like humans. I couldn't make heads or tails of it. The network appeared diffident about it, and rushed its presentation.

Moving down from upscale, "Three Wishes," a reality show in which country-music gal Amy Grant makes wishes come true for poor or unhappy people, was supposed to be moving, like "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" on ABC. To me looked depressing, and the stories were too elaborate. In one scene, Ms. Grant kissed the helmet of a little girl who had a frightening skull injury. It was a lot to take in.

The other new reality series, "The Apprentice: Martha Stewart," didn't have a sound and light show. But Ms. Stewart herself, looking slender and anxious, did address the crowd about whatever. Her commitment to excellence or something. She also said she "adored" Donald Trump and really planned to show the contestants on the new program how hard it is to succeed in media, merchandising, retail, television and gracious living. She said she wasn't a dealmaker, just a lady who started a business in her kitchen. OK.

Later in the season, NBC plans to introduce "Thick and Thin," which is about a woman who becomes thin and doesn't know how to handle it, very like the people featured in last week's "New York" magazine cover story. (NBC was happy to exploit the coincidence and play up this theme as part of the zeitgeist; they flashed the "New York" cover on the overhead projector.) The show, which was created by "Saturday Night Live" writer Paula Pell, offered few laughs as presented here: lots of sass by a fat African-American woman in a support group, and lots of ba-dum-dum reaction shots.

"Four Kings," another show that will have its premiere after the first crop of shows, is about four dudes who have no qualities, as far as I could tell; they're just supposed to be intrinsically groovy and hilarious. There were fat jokes here, too. I was left baffled by its blandness, but the ad guys in the room seemed to laugh heartily. Maybe it's a guy thing.

"My Name Is Earl," which was said to be a big favorite with the NBC brass, was — in the excerpt at least — the biggest disappointment. It has that camp, scapegrace aesthetic that recalls "Raising Arizona," and the hero, Earl, says early on in voice-over, "You shouldn't feel bad stereotyping me the way you do." I guess that's supposed to come as a relief. But Kevin Reilly had already tried to demonstrate how a "redneck" wasn't "out of place on NBC," which had generally spent the day positioning itself as the new Tiffany network. "My Name Is Earl," Mr. Reilly went on, is fully and certifiably "upscale" because it's — ready? — "clever and smart."

Clever and smart. And upscale and redneck. And we'll see.

NBC FROM RADIO CITY | 05.16 5:00 PM

They're Also Proud of "The Biggest Loser"
I'm not sure that Kevin Reilly should have identified himself so closely with the loser boss in NBC's "The Office." In his jokey montage about his first year at the network, he tried his hand at the routine originated by Ricky Gervais, and now faithfully reproduced by Steve Carell on NBC's simulacrum of the great British sitcom.
He even toasted the camera with a mug that said "Number One Studio Boss." Um, bad idea.

Surprisingly, these guys — both Jeff Zucker and Mr. Reilly — love their "Office." They keep acting like it's a daring art project instead of a dark, low-rated reminder of how much it is not the real "Office." They want us to give it a chance. And they even want to be able to joke self-deprecatingly about how they themselves are like the "Office" dud, just fatuous, small-time branch managers.
That joke is a luxury. It's for winners. I think it's spooking people here.

NBC FROM RADIO CITY | 05.16 4:52 PM

In Short
In short: "My Name Is Earl" does not look good. Kevin Reilly, the president of NBC Entertainment, who told the audience both that he likes to win and that he's angry to be losing at NBC, calls "Earl" a "redneck" show. He also insists it's "upscale" — NBC's overworked watchword. (It has something to do with appealing to households that bring in $75,000 or $100,000 a year.) Nothing about it — not the boozy humor, not the visual gag of a white man discovering his baby is black and thus not his — is funny.
"Inconceivable," the fertility-clinic drama, looks extremely creepy. ("Whose eggs did you put inside of me?!" is real dialogue.) "E-Ring," in which the old easy rider Dennis Hopper plays a buzz-cut colonel in the Pentagon, could be serviceable: the excerpt at the upfront was all explosions, solemn technical dialogue, and himbo shots of Benjamin Bratt. Jerry Bruckheimer, who created "The E-Ring" ("the outermost ring wields the innermost power" is the show's overthought tagline), is being hailed by Mr. Zucker and Kevin Reilly as the network's savior. Maybe he will be.

NBC FROM RADIO CITY | 05.16 4:30 PM


Eight-Rate-Late
In the "Weekend Update"-style sketch that kicked off the proceedings today, "Saturday Night Live's" Tina Fey and Amy Poehler said that Jeff Zucker is having a midlife crisis. He wants to change his name to JZ.
To this end, maybe, the Father of the Pride just rapped NBC's overarching strategy:
Open the night at eight
Add shows that rate
Stay strong late
It didn't flow, exactly, but it did rhyme. It seemed to play at Radio City.

NBC FROM RADIO CITY | 05.16 4:08 PM

Parity/Parody
Before NBC spoofs its recent failures, showing what good sports the execs at the fourth-ranked network are, a small tan man asks a boy, "You ready?" The small man is Jeff Zucker. Father of the Pride at NBC. He's about to take the stage at Radio City Music Hall, where he tells the house, packed with adfolk in spring suits, that, to be honest, NBC's past season was a nightmare.

But now they're only one hit, "one big jolt" — just one big Willy Loman score — away from climbing the, if you think about it, miniscule notch that currently separates the fourth-place network, his, from number one. Because, ladies and gentleman, what were seeing from the networks is parity. It's all neck-and-neck, this ratings race. Fourth and first place is an academic distinction, a matter of tenths of a percentage point.

Though. To be honest. Last season, with "Hawaii" and "LAX" and, yes, "Father of the Pride," was a nightmare. "We get it," Mr. Zucker says. "We totally get it." And, to be clear, "We are not in denial" at NBC. So which is it — a nightmare or parity/no big deal? I guess this is upfront doublespeak, and there's more to come. You ready?

Originally posted by fredfa
If true, too bad about "Eyes".
It sure seems better than about half of the new NBC schedule. Originally posted by Alan Gordon
Shame, as it was a truly "fun" show to watch.Originally posted by f44
That's exactly what it was...a fun show. Just fun to watch and see the plot unravel and Harland's wisecracks.

ABC didn't promote it enough, used promos that made it seem like a Karen Sisco-type show for women, put it in an incredibly tough time slot against two other dramas, and launched it at an awkward time.As proof that it was not really given a chance, I have all the episodes recorded (in HD) and unwatched. I can't vouch for whether the show is good or not. We don't watch anything live, and we choose our already favorites when we watch recordings. We only took time to check out a couple of mid-season replacements, mostly the ones we figured we wouldn't like (like Life on a Stick, although we were surprised by Gray's Anatomy). So in the next week or so (now that the season is ending), we'll catch up on our known favorites and move to the other shows we thought we'd give a chance, along with Numb3rs, Revelations, etcetera.

The networks really need to get out of this immediate gratification mode. Sure, they can point to Desperate Housewives or LOST as proof that shows can have immediate appeal. But those are exceptions, rather than the rule. Some of the greatest shows of all time (M*A*S*H, All in the Family, Cheers, etc.) didn't do too well to start with (M*A*S*H and Cheers were almost cancelled). Today those shows would definitely have been pulled from the air. But if the networks can't give every show at least 13 episodes, plus repeats, to gain an audience, then they doom most of their shows and themselves.

Xesdeeni

Agreed wholeheartedly, Xesdeeni!
You can add "Hill Street Blues" and "Law and Order" to the many, many shows that took a while to finds an audience.

ABC in Fall 2005

By John Consoli and Marc Berman Mediaweek.com

Unlike last year at this time when the sudden departures of network execs Lloyd Braun and Susan Lyne was a dark cloud over an already troubled network, the success of Lost, Desperate Housewives and Grey’s Anatomy has rejuvenated ABC. On that note, ABC Entertainment president Stephen McPherson has announced an aggressive and strategically planned new prime-time schedule that will likely keep the momentum flowing in 2005-06 and beyond.

ABC will introduce five new series this fall (two comedies and three dramas), plus seven additional series (three comedies, three dramas and one unscripted hour) in midseason. Hoping to capitalize on the strength of Lost (which moves to Wednesday at 9 p.m.), two of the new fall dramas (Invasion and The Night Stalker, a remake of the classic 1970s thriller) are of a supernatural nature.

Also moving to new time periods are Wife Swap, According to Jim, Rodney, Boston Legal, George Lopez, Alias and Supernanny. Only two nights of the week -- Saturday and Sunday -- will remain unchanged. Canceled series include My Wife and Kids, 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter, Extreme Makeover and Complete Savages. Sitcoms Less Than Perfect and Jake in Progress, and reality hour The Bachelor will return in midseason.

“We have some great shots for the fall, but we also have some good stuff to roll out throughout the year,” McPherson said.
McPherson said one of his goals was to get more female skewing comedies on the schedule, and he did that with Hot Properties, which will lead out of Hope & Faith on Friday night, and with Emily’s Reasons Why Not, which will come on in mid-season on Monday night at 9 p.m., leading out of The Bachelor. Jake in Progress will follow Emily on Monday nights beginning in January, and McPherson said he returned Jake to the schedule because he felt it will do better this season with a more compatible lead-in. “We felt the show did not get a fair shot last year, moving it from Thursday to Sunday and just dropping it in without the proper lead-in.”

McPherson said he believes new sitcom Freddie, starring Freddie Prinze Jr. will be a solid lead-out to George Lopez on Tuesday night.

The decision to move veteran drama Alias to Thursday night at 8 was made because it was felt the show has a solid enough of a core audience that will follow the show from its current Wednesday night at 9 time period to keep it competitive in the hot Thursday night slot. Alias performed decently this season in the 18-49 demo vs. Fox powerhouse American Idol.

McPherson said he believes the new Friday night schedule will flow better with reallity show Supernanny leading off the night, followed by the lone Friday night returning comedy Hope & Faith, which will lead into new comedy Hot Properties.

As expected, ABC will return its powerhouse Sunday night lineup of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Desperate Housewives and Grey’s Anatomy in tact.

What follows is ABC's fall 2005 schedule, with new shows highlighted in boldface type:

A B C Prime-Time Schedule for 2005-2006 Season
Monday (though January)
8 PM ET/PT: Wife Swap (new day and time)
9 PM ET/PT: Monday Night Football

Monday (effective in January)
8 PM ET/PT: The Bachelor (new time)
9 PM ET/PT: Emily's Reasons Why Not
9:30 PM ET/PT: Jake in Progress (new night and time)
10 PM ET/PT: What About Brian

Tuesday
8 PM ET/PT: According To Jim (new time)
8:30 PM ET/PT: Rodney (new time)
9 PM ET/PT: Commander-in-Chief
10 PM ET/PT: Boston Legal (new night)

Wednesday
8 PM ET/PT: George Lopez (new night and time)
8:30 PM ET/PT: Freddie
9 PM ET/PT: Lost (new time)
10 PM ET/PT: Invasion

Thursday
8 PM ET/PT: Alias (new night and time)
9 PM ET/PT: The Night Stalker
10 PM ET/PT: Primetime Live

Friday
8 PM ET/PT: Supernanny (new day and time)
9 PM ET/PT: Hope & Faith
9:30 PM ET/PT: Hot Properties
10 PM ET/PT: 20/20

Saturday
8 PM ET/PT: Movies

Sunday
7 PM ET/PT: America’s Funniest Home Video
8 PM ET/PT: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
9 PM ET/PT: Desperate Housewives
10 PM ET/PT: Grey’s Anatomy

(boldface indicates new program)

Comedies

Freddie
Freddie Prinze, Jr. is Freddie, a young, successful chef with his own bachelor pad who asks his sister, sister-in-law, niece and grandmother to move in with him after his brother passes away. Brian Austin Green (Beverly Hills, 90210) co-stars.

Hot Properties
Four women in various stages of their lives (Gail O’Grady, Nicole Sullivan, Sofia Vergara and Audra Blaser) work in a Manhattan real estate office.

Crumbs (midseason)
Two estranged brothers (Fred Savage and Eddie McClintock) reunite to deal with their mother (Jane Curtin), who is being released from a psychiatric country club and has yet to discover that her ex-husband is about to have a baby with his new girlfriend.

Emily's Reasons Why Not (midseason)
Based on the bestselling novel, Emily Sanders (Heather Graham) is a successful young woman who works in publishing and gets romantically involved with the two-timing author of their new bestseller.

Sons & Daughters (midseason)
From SNL producer Lorne Michaels, three adult siblings (Cameron Walker, Alison Quinn, Corri English) who have survived multiple marriages co-exist in a small town.

Dramas

Commander-in-Chief
Academy Award winner Geena Davis returns to the small screen as the first female president of the United States. Donald Sutherland co-stars.

Invasion
After a devastating hurricane in Florida, a U.S. Park Ranger (Eddie Cibrian) suspects something may be wrong after is ex-wife is found naked with no memory of what happened during the storm.

The Night Stalker
Cult hit Kolchak: The Night Stalker, which aired on ABC in 1974-75, is back in this update of a crime reporter (Stuart Townsend) who is determined to find the truth behind his wife’s mysterious murder.

The Evidence (midseason)
In this new procedural crime drama from ER creator John Wells, all the clues are revealed in a videotaped evidence log at the top of each episode. The show then flashes to the day the crime was committed and invites viewers to play along to help solve the crime.

In Justice (midseason)
In this legal drama reminiscent of Reversal of Fortune, clients who are presumed guilty must ultimately be proven innocent. Kyle MacLachlan (Twin Peaks, Sex and the City) stars.

What About Brian (midseason)
A 34-year old single man (7th Heaven’s Barry Watson) contemplates his life after all his friends get married.

Unscripted

The Miracle Workers (midseason)
A single patient with a serious medical condition is the focus an elite team of physicians in each episode.

Monday’s prime-time program ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

Alphabet follows hot year with big tweaks

By JOSEF ADALIAN, MICHAEL SCHNEIDER Variety.com

After its stunning Lazarus act this season, ABC will look to build on its success with a 2005-06 lineup that introduces just five new series in the fall while still making significant changes on most nights of the week.

Biggest shift is the decision to move rookie hit "Lost" to 9 p.m. Wednesday from its current 8 p.m. slot in the hope that the later hour (when more viewers are available) will help the show grow in its second season. ABC plans to shift Jennifer Garner starrer "Alias" to 8 p.m. Thursday in the hope of finally making inroads on what's long been a difficult night.

Unchanged: ABC's successful Sunday sked, which will return intact. The Alphabet is up a whopping 77% on Sundays in adults 18-49 vs. last season and didn't want to mess with what's working so well.

ABC scored bigtime last fall by focusing its promotional energies on just a couple of projects, yielding handsome dividends with strong bows for "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost." By bringing on three frosh dramas and two new comedies in the fall -- compared with eight skeins last year -- ABC is likely planning to hype most of its new shows as big-ticket events.

Of the 11 series ordered for next season (Daily Variety, May 16), the five landing slots in the fall include dramas "Commander in Chief," "Invasion" and "Night Stalker," as well as laffers "Freddy" and "Hot Properties," according to industry insiders familiar with the Alphabet's new lineup.

'Football' Mondays

ABC will kick off the week on Mondays by pairing the final season of "Monday Night Football" with returning reality skein "Wife Swap" (8 p.m. on the East Coast; 10 on the West).
Once the NFL season wraps, ABC is expected to shift to a femme-focused Monday, led off at 8 with "The Bachelor." It'll be followed at 9 by buzzworthy frosh comedy "Emily's Reasons Why Not" and the second season of "Jake in Progress." New J.J. Abrams hour "What About Brian" rounds out the night at 10.

On Tuesdays in the fall, Alphabet shifts the pairing of "According to Jim" and "Rodney" down to 8 p.m. (from the skeins' current 9-10 slot). Net then hopes to create an upscale block of adult dramas with Rod Lurie's "Commander in Chief," starring Geena Davis as the first female president, at 9 p.m., and David E. Kelley's "Boston Legal" Tuesdays at 10.

With "Lost" anchoring ABC's Wednesday lineup at 9 p.m., net hopes to flow audience into the sci-fi themed thriller "Invasion" at 10. Night begins with an hourlong block of laffers from ABC fave Bruce Helford: "George Lopez" at 8 and Freddie Prinze Jr.'s "Freddie" and 8:30. Both skeins feature Latino leads, marking one of -- if not the -- first times a Big Four broadcaster has paired two such laffers together.

"Alias" will bow in its new 8 p.m. Thursday slot in September or early October, despite speculation the show might be pushed back to midseason due to star Jennifer Garner's reported (but as-yet-unannounced) pregnancy.

It's expected ABC will have enough episodes of the series in the can to get through the fall with original episodes of "Alias"; it's possible the skein could then take a two-month break in the winter to make room for one of the network's many backup dramas.

Alphabet brass probably figure the show's loyal fan base will follow it anywhere, allowing the net to improve its weak Thursday perf even if "Alias" scores a modest number.

At 9 p.m. Thursday, ABC takes on "CSI" and "The Apprentice" with "Night Stalker," a spooky hour from "X-Files" alum Frank Spotnitz. Newmag "Primetime Live" stays put at 10.
'Supernanny' kickoff

As for Friday, ABC appears to be retiring its "TGIF" franchise for a second time, moving away from a four-comedy lineup by kicking off the night with the return of reality skein "Supernanny."

Femme-centric night continues with "Hope and Faith," which remains put at 9 p.m. for a third season, leading into the new Warner Bros. TV laffer "Hot Properties." As usual, "20/20" follows at 10.

Like its counterparts, Alphabet net will continue to lie low on Saturday nights, scheduling a mix of movies, many under the "Wonderful World of Disney" banner, and drama repeats.

Sunday's lineup of "America's Funniest Home Videos," "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," "Desperate Housewives" and "Grey's Anatomy" will all be back.

Remaining ABC frosh orders ("Evidence," "In Justice," "Sons and Daughters," "Crumbs") along with vet comedy "Less than Perfect," will apparently be sprinkled throughout the season. Alphabet brass declined comment late Tuesday in advance of a Wednesday morning McPherson news conference, and there's always the chance of a last-minute tweak.

Gone from ABC is the retired "NYPD Blue," as well as sitcoms "8 Simple Rules" and "My Wife and Kids" (Daily Variety, May 16). Also out are midseason dramas "Blind Justice" and "Eyes," as well as fall failures "The Benefactor" and "Life As We Know It."

Overall, ABC will graduate an amazing seven frosh skeins to sophomore status.

Not on the fall schedule are "Extreme Makeover" and "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition -- How'd They Do That?" but both shows could be revived at a later date. Plans are already in the works to produce several "Extreme Makeover" specials.

WB not talking

As for the WB, netlet was supremely tight-lipped over its schedule, although most pundits expect the Frog to keep its Monday ("7th Heaven," "Everwood") and Tuesday ("Gilmore Girls," "One Tree Hill") lineups intact.

On Wednesdays, the new spooky road trip drama "Supernatural" would appear to be a good fit with "Smallville."

Beyond that, the WB's scheduling moves were anyone's guess.

Meanwhile, in other network news, Fox has hammered out a new license fee deal for 20th Century Fox TV and Imagine's "24." Pact guarantees two more seasons of the drama hit.

Fox has also officially greenlit year two of its reality skein "Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy." Show performed strong for the net out of the box last summer. "Trading Spouses," which averaged 7.3 million viewers this season, joins the previously announced "Nanny 911" in returning for a sophomore session.

For ABC, a fall of new primetime dramas
Building on a platform of hits from this season
By Toni Fitzgerald medialifemagazine.com

ABC started its comeback with dramas. Now it hopes to use a few more to complete it.

ABC will use those hit shows to launch several more this fall. The strategy is to use “Lost” and “Boston Legal” to build audience for new dramas like “Invasion” and “Commander-in-Chief,” the two it seems to consider most promising.

Then, at midseason, it will concentrate on launching three new comedies, hoping to use the open Monday night schedule post-"Monday Night Football" to establish a new comedy block.

ABC said at this morning's upfront presentation that it is moving one of its biggest hits, “Lost,” to a different time slot on the same night and will also switch its highest-rated comedy, “According to Jim,” to a new timeslot.

The new schedule includes major changes on every night except Sunday, the network’s highest-rated night. It includes 12 series, with five new comedies, many of which will launch at midseason.

The first half of the season will launch three new dramas, allowing ABC to concentrate on building its comedy lineup in the second half of the season.

Low-rated “George Lopez,” “Jake In Progress,” “Less Than Perfect” and “The Bachelor” will return, though the latter three won’t return until midseason.

“Wife Swap” moves from Wednesday to Monday, ahead of “Monday Night Football” this fall. After the football season, the night gets a new look with “The Bachelor” leading off followed by new sitcom “Emily’s Reasons Why Not” with Heather Graham, “Jake” and the J.J. Abrams drama “What About Brian.”

Tuesdays get a big change, with “Jim” and surprise returner “Rodney” shifting to 8 p.m., followed by the new “Commander” with Geena Davis as a female president and “Legal” at 10.

Wednesday brings one of the most surprising changes. “Lost” shifts from 8 to 9, where it will face “American Idol’s” results show come winter, to make room for “George” and new comedy “Freddie” with Freddie Prinze Jr. At 10 is the new supernatural drama “Invasion,” which seems like a good fit for “Lost.”

“Alias” shifts to the brutal Thursday 8 p.m. slot after slumping on Wednesday the last two months. Though star Jennifer Garner is reportedly pregnant, ABC entertainment president Stephen McPherson said that the show will be ready to return in the fall.

“Night Stalker,” a remake of the 1970s show, takes “Extreme Makeover’s” 9 p.m. slot, followed by the returning “Primetime Live” at 10 p.m.

“We want to be in business Thursday. Are we looking to win? Absolutely not, but this year it was a little bit of a default for us,” McPherson said.

Friday “Supernanny” takes over the former 8 p.m. comedy block. “Hope & Faith” returns at 9, followed by the new babes and real estate sitcom “Hot Properties.” “20/20” stays at 10.

“Wonderful World of Disney” will continue Saturdays at 9.

Sunday is the only other night without a change. “America’s Funniest Home Videos” leads off at 7, followed by “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” “Desperate Housewives” and midseason hit “Grey’s Anatomy,” whose order was upped to 22 episodes.

Cancellations include “My Wife & Kids,” “8 Simple Rules” and the original “Extreme Makeover.”

Should any of the shows flop, ABC has lots of shows ready to take their place.

In addition to “Emily’s,” the sitcoms “Crumbs” and “Sons & Daughters” received midseason orders. Dramas “Evidence” and “In Justice” also got midseason orders, as did already-announced reality series “The Miracle Workers,” which chronicles real-life doctors.

Note:
TVGuide.com is continually updating its 2005-2006 Network Prime Time Season Grid here:

http://tvguide.com/tv/showguide/grid.asp

Originally posted by fredfa
ABC in Fall 2005
Unlike last year at this time when the sudden departures of network execs Lloyd Braun ...

Isn't Lloyd Braun a Seinfeld character?! Sorry, just saw that name and it surprised me.


Freddie
Freddie Prinze, Jr. is Freddie, a young, successful chef with his own bachelor pad who asks his sister, sister-in-law, niece and grandmother to move in with him after his brother passes away. Brian Austin Green (Beverly Hills, 90210) co-stars.

Emily's Reasons Why Not (midseason)
Based on the bestselling novel, Emily Sanders (Heather Graham) is a successful young woman who works in publishing and gets romantically involved with the two-timing author of their new bestseller.

Invasion
After a devastating hurricane in Florida, a U.S. Park Ranger (Eddie Cibrian) suspects something may be wrong after is ex-wife is found naked with no memory of what happened during the storm.

What About Brian (midseason)
A 34-year old single man (7th Heaven’s Barry Watson) contemplates his life after all his friends get married.[/B]

Well, these are the only new shows that seem slightly interesting to me, and two of them ("Emily's Reasons Why Not" and "What About Brian") only seem interesting because of who is in them (Heather Graham and Barry Watson). "Freddie" seems interesting to me not only because of Freddie Prinze Jr., but also because I grew up mostly around women, and I work with mostly women. Out of all the new shows, only "Invasion" truly sounds interesting, and sounds like it might be a good match for being after "Lost".

While I used to enjoy "My Wife And Kids", I stopped watching it last season (I believe), but I will miss "8 Simple Rules" even though it was never the same after John Ritter passed. Still, not surprising. "Eyes" however is the most disappointing for me though. I will miss it.

Wednesday night seems like it will continue to be a solid ABC night for me, but depending on whether or not "Alias" will be on hiatus until mid-season will determine whether or not I continue to watch "Alias" instead of "Joey" or "The O.C." Especially considering the rumors regarding some castmembers leaving...

~Alan

For CBS, big changes may be in order
Expect a slew of new shows in a push for 18-49s
By Toni Fitzgerald medialifemagazine.com

Buyers praise the stability of CBS’s schedule, which boasts top-rated drama, comedy and reality shows with minimal problem spots. So you might expect the network to have the fewest new shows on the fall schedule.

In fact, CBS may have the most. There are six hours of programming that could be replaced if the network decides it wants to aggressively pursue the season title among 18-49s, and it looks like it will. Rumors have CBS with eight new series orders.

CBS can afford to tinker with its schedule more than the other networks because the bulk of it remains strong, and “CSI,” “Survivor” and “Two and a Half Men” can make up for any early missteps.

What follows is a look at CBS’s likely schedule for the coming season, based on a variety of sources, from analyses by the big media agencies to what the network has said to snippets of speculation by media buyers. The network formally announces it schedule on Wednesday at 3 p.m.

“JAG” and “Everybody Loves Raymond” are definitely gone. “Joan of Arcadia,” which had a disappointing second season, and “Judging Amy,” never a hit among 18-49s, are also rumored to be out.

Of “Still Standing” and “Listen Up,” one, probably the latter, will be yanked, and “60 Minutes II” seems more endangered than ever after last year’s botched report on President Bush.

New dramas will include Jerry Bruckheimer’s “American Crime,” about a prosecutor, and “Quantico,” about FBI profilers starring Mandy Patinkin. The requisite supernatural show that all the networks seem to be ordering is “Threshold.”

David Mamet’s Delta Force drama “The Unit” and Jennifer Love Hewitt’s “Sixth Sense”-like “Ghost Whisperer” are also rumored to get slots.

“How I Met Your Mother,” a comedy with TV veterans Neil Patrick Harris and Alyson Hannigan, and “Flesh and Blood,” from two “Frasier” writers starring Henry Winkler and Stockard Channing, will also be picked up.

Monday could get several new sitcoms. The network may move Wednesday’s “Yes, Dear” or “King of Queens” back to Monday to help “Two and a Half Men,” which will take over “Raymond’s” 9 p.m. slot.

In contrast to its long tradition of schlubby men-with-beautiful-women sitcoms, CBS also has a few comedy contenders with a different focus: Jenna Elfman’s “Everything I Know About Men” will get a spot, while “Old Christine,” with “Seinfeld” veteran Julia Louis-Dreyfus, is bidding for midseason.

On Tuesday, “NCIS” will return at 8 followed by “Amazing Race.” If “Amy” gets the boot, "Threshold" or “American Crime” may land here.

Wednesdays are a problem. “CSI: NY” will stay at 10, but “60 Minutes” and the 9 p.m. comedy block seem questionable. CBS may switch to drama at 9, booting “Queens” back to Monday.

“Survivor,” “CSI” and “Without a Trace” will return Thursday.

Friday’s “Joan” lost buzz as the season went on, and a return seems unlikely with all of CBS's pickups. "Quantico," "The Unit" or "Ghost Whisperer" may take two of the open spots. The edgier drama “Commuters” or Tom Cavanagh’s quirky “Love Monkey,” which haven't received a commitment yet, would be good Friday fits.

Mild midseason hit “Numb3rs” should return at 10.

CBS may plug a reality show into Saturdays at 8, but since the networks seemed to have basically abandoned original Saturday programming, repeats seem more likely.

Sundays will also remain the same, with “60 Minutes” followed by “Cold Case” and the “Sunday Night Movie.”

I'm guessing Less Than Perfect only got renewed for syndication purposes.

It is hard to believe there was any other reason, f44.

Fredfa, I know you said that you were going to focus mainly on the big four... for now, but do you know what time the WB is going to make it's announcement?!

~Alan

Here it is, Alan:

THE WB ANNOUNCES 2005-06 PRIMETIME SCHEDULE
Released by The WB through thefutoncritic.com
The WB's Entertainment President David Janollari and network Chairman Garth Ancier unveiled the network's 2005-2006 primetime schedule today at Madison Square Garden before more than 4,000 advertisers, affiliates and national media.
The new schedule includes three new dramas and a new comedy from a battery of heralded stars, writer/producers and directors, with programs directly targeted at young adults. Janollari also announced two comedies and two dramas for midseason with equally impressive creative auspices.
The WB will use established hit shows on all six nights of the week to lead off the 8:00 hour and provide strong lead-ins for the new series. “7th Heaven, ” “Gilmore Girls, ” “One Tree Hill, ” “Smallville, ” “What I Like About You” and “Charmed” will serve as 8:00 anchors across the schedule.
“Our goal was to develop distinct and original series from the top producers working in the medium today, ” said Mr. Janollari. “Finding the next group of hot buzz-worthy WB shows has been the guiding mission of our development season. The blend of A-list executive producers that have come to the network for the first time, along with our homegrown superstars, form the creative backbone of our new schedule. More importantly, these top producers are bringing us shows that work perfectly in The WB's wheelhouse and will capture our coveted young adult demo to which we remain committed. ”
MONDAY
“7th Heaven” will become the longest-running family drama in television history when the Camdens return for a tenth season this fall. The series, from Spelling Television, continues to rank as the network's top-rated show in total viewers (5.4 million) and actually grew year-to-year in The WB's crucial women 18-34 demographic, an astounding accomplishment for a ninth-year program in an extremely competitive timeslot. “Just Legal, ” starring Don Johnson and Jay Baruchel, fresh off his unforgettable performance in the Oscar-winning “Million Dollar Baby, ” centers on the relationship between a young prodigy lawyer and his mentor, a jaded defense attorney who has fallen from the big leagues.
“To call ‘7th Heaven’ an amazing success story would be an understatement, ” said Mr. Janollari. “Aaron Spelling, Duke Vincent and Brenda Hampton have done a truly remarkable job continuing to bring this unique family drama to adoring viewers, while Stephen Collins and the cast have been equally wonderful.
“As a companion piece, we are bringing our first procedural drama to the network in ‘Just Legal. ’ Jerry Bruckheimer is the master of the genre, and the pairing of Don Johnson, who is renowned for playing tough guys in buddy comedy roles, with Jay Baruchel, one of the most accomplished young actors of his generation, is the foundation for a great series. ”
TUESDAY
“Gilmore Girls” has been a standout for The WB this season, showing tremendous ratings growth across all key ratings measurements, fueled by a creative renaissance helmed by executive producers Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino. It will begin its sixth season paired with “Supernatural, ” a series revolving around two brothers, played by Jared Padalecki (“Gilmore Girls”) and Jensen Ackles (“Smallville”) searching for the evil unknown creatures lurking in spooky small towns along the back roads of America. Tuesdays at 9:00 has been the launch pad for many signature WB dramas, including “Smallville, ” “Felicity, ” “Angel, ” “One Tree Hill” and “Dawson¿s Creek. ”
“ ‘Gilmore’ not only endured the onslaught of the ‘American Idol’ juggernaut in the same time period, it thrived, regularly finishing second in all our key demographics, ” said Mr. Janollari. “As for ‘Supernatural, ’ this is one wild ride of a pilot, and this show is going to scare the living daylights out of people every week. McG and Eric Kripke have crafted a genuinely frightening hour of television with two hot young leads familiar to our audience. It flat out delivers the goods. ”
WEDNESDAY
“One Tree Hill” is the fastest-growing show on all of television and The WB's number one series with women 18-34 and persons 12-34. With this kind of momentum, a rising star like Chad Michael Murray and a successful soundtrack, viewers are sure to follow the series to a new night. Following “One Tree Hill” on Wednesdays is the new drama “Related” from “Friends” producer Marta Kauffman and “Sex and the City” writer Liz Tuccillo. “Related” stars Jennifer Esposito, currently burning up the screen in the hit film “Crash, ” as well as Laura Breckenridge and Lizzy Caplan.
“As we watched the amazing surge in the popularity of ‘One Tree Hill, ’ we realized that viewers can't get enough of this show, ” said Mr. Janollari. “We've ordered 26 episodes for next season, and we know that the producing team of Mike Tollin, Brian Robbins, Joe Davola and Mark Schwahn will continue to deliver a first-rate drama each week.
“After the unprecedented success of ‘Friends, ’ we're thrilled to have Emmy Award-winning Marta Kauffman producing a one-hour family drama for us, based on the lives of four adult sisters. ‘Related’ is an insightful, funny, touching drama full of complicated relationships and heartwarming family moments, with a great young cast to which our core female audience will instantly relate. ”
THURSDAY
About to begin its fifth season on The WB, “Smallville” is coming off a great year that continued to explore the mythology of the early days of the Clark Kent character. More exciting pieces of the puzzle will be revealed next season when Clark finds himself transported to the Fortress of Solitude. Starring Tom Welling as the Kansas farm boy who grows up to be Superman, the series is The WB's number one show with men 18-34 and third highest-rated series in adults 18-34.
“This season, we're making a bold statement on Thursday nights by moving one of our signature hits, ‘Smallville" to 8:00,” said Mr. Janollari. “The show faced some of the toughest competition of any series on television this season, going up against ‘Lost’ every week, yet it continued to deliver great ratings, ” said Mr. Janollari. “With the critically acclaimed drama ‘Everwood’ moving into the 9:00 timeslot, we think Thursday will be one of the most compelling nights of the upcoming season. Led by Treat Williams, “Everwood” features one of the strongest ensemble casts and some of the best writing on television. ”
FRIDAY
Amanda Bynes returns to kick off The WB's Friday night lineup with the hit comedy “What I Like About You, ” followed by the new comedy “Twins, ” from two of television's most talented and successful writer/producers, David Kohan and Max Mutchnick. With a star-studded cast including Melanie Griffith in her sitcom premiere, Sara Gilbert in her first regular series role since “Roseanne, ” Mark Linn-Baker of “Perfect Strangers” fame and newcomer Molly Stanton, the series focuses on twin sisters who could not be less alike. Comedy star Reba McEntire returns for the fifth season of “Reba, ” and the night's newest hit, “Living With Fran, ” starring Fran Drescher, moves to 9:30.
“We're delighted with the entire Friday night lineup, starting with the wonderful comedy team of Amanda Bynes and Jennie Garth starring as sisters in ‘What I Like About You, ’ said Mr. Janollari. “Our newest comedy, ‘Twins, ’ from Kohan and Mutchnick, is a perfect companion for ‘What I Like About You," with its theme of sisters who don't have much in common. Melanie Griffith and Sara Gilbert lead an incredible cast. Rounding out the night, we have two of the best comediennes working today with Reba McEntire and Fran Drescher. ” SUNDAY
Returning for its eighth season, “Charmed, ” starring Alyssa Milano, Rose McGowan and Holly Marie Combs, has been a success story for The WB from day one. Sure to shake things up for the Charmed Ones, actor and “Extra” host Mark McGrath will join the cast next season. Taking a comedic turn at 9:00, Sundays will feature back-to-back episodes of the increasingly popular sketch comedy show, “Blue Collar TV, ” starring Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall and Larry the Cable Guy.
“ ‘Charmed’ is appointment television for millions of fans who love the show's combination of danger and humor and have become attached to these three young women, ” said Mr. Janollari. “’Blue Collar TV, ’ has gained amazing traction this year, and we think this show is just beginning to build on its loyal fan base. Moving the show to Sundays is a perfect counter-programming move in this competitive time period. ”
MIDSEASON
Just as the fall schedule boasts powerhouse names, the midseason lineup continues the trend with two comedies and two dramas with top stars and producers. Rebecca Romijn stars as “Pepper Dennis, ” with Josh Hopkins (“The Perfect Storm, ” “Ally McBeal”) and Brooke Burns (“North Shore, ” “Baywatch”) in a lighthearted drama about an ambitious television news reporter looking for love. Tom Fontana's “The Bedford Diaries” focuses on college students in a human sexuality class and features a diverse ensemble cast including Emmy Award-nominated Matthew Modine (“And the Band Played On, ” “Any Given Sunday”), Milo Ventimiglia (“Gilmore Girls, ” “American Dreams”) and Audra McDonald (“Wit, ” “Law & Order”). The midseason comedies are equally impressive, starting with “Misconceptions, ” which stars Jane Leeves (“Frasier”) as a single mother who finds that the sperm donor who fathered her child was not the sophisticated, educated man she had been led to believe he was. “Modern Men, ” from producer Jerry Bruckheimer and Marsh McCall is about friends in their twenties, Tim (Josh Braaten, “Less Than Perfect”), Kyle (Max Greenfield, “Veronica Mars”) and Doug (Eric Lively, “The L Word”), who are just desperate enough to seek the help of a renowned life coach to solve their relationship issues.
The WB Prime-Time Schedule for 2005-2006 Season

Monday
8 PM ET/PT: 7th Heaven
9 PM ET/PT: Just Legal

Tuesday
8 PM ET/PT: Gilmore Girls
9 PM ET/PT: Supernatural

Wednesday
8 PM ET/PT: One Tree Hill
9 PM ET/PT: Related

Thursday
8 PM ET/PT: Smallville
9 PM ET/PT: Everwood

Friday
8 PM ET/PT: What I Like About You
8:30 PM ET/PT: Twins
9 PM ET/PT: Reba
9:30 PM ET/PT: Living With Fran

Sunday
7 PM ET/PT: Reba (Repeat)
7:30 PM ET/PT: Reba (Repeat)
8 PM ET/PT: Charmed
9 PM ET/PT: Blue Collar TV

(boldface indicates new program)

Monday
8:00-9:00 p.m. “7TH HEAVEN"
Returning for its record-breaking tenth season on The WB, the series stars Stephen Collins, Catherine Hicks, David Gallagher, Beverley Mitchell, Nikolas & Lorenzo Brino, George Stults and Tyler Hoechlin. Brenda Hampton, Aaron Spelling and E. Duke Vincent serve as executive producers on the series produced by Spelling Television, Inc.
9:00-10:00 p.m. “JUST LEGAL"
“Just Legal” is a fast-paced procedural drama with humor starring Jay Baruchel (‘Undeclared," ‘Million Dollar Baby”) and Don Johnson (“Miami Vice, ” “Nash Bridges”) as lawyers who save their clients, and in the process, save themselves. David “Skip” Ross (Baruchel), 19, a brilliant legal prodigy, dreams of becoming a great trial lawyer. When he can't land a job at a prestigious L.A. firm because he's too young, Skip ends up working for Grant Cooper (Johnson). Once a great lawyer, now burnt-out by the realities of life, Cooper is barely scraping by in his beachfront law office. Together, Skip and Cooper become defenders of the accused and crusaders for the unjustly wronged. Their cases vary from stories ripped from today's headlines to clever mysteries with procedural twists. Skip's middle-class parents, Deborah (Veanne Cox, “Erin Brockovich”) and Lenny Ross (Raphael Sbarge, “The Guardian”), and his under-achieving younger brother Tom (newcomer Michael Mitchell), are all extremely proud of Skip's accomplishments, but are also concerned for his well-being, especially when his first case involves proving the innocence of a young woman named Paradise (Peyton List, “The Greatest Game Ever Played”) who has been falsely accused of a gang-related murder. Always the underdogs, forced to do the gritty work of finding clues and tracking down witnesses in the beautiful, but often dangerous world of Southern California, Cooper teaches Skip to be a lawyer and a man, while Skip renews Cooper's faith in the law and himself. Jerry Bruckheimer (“CSI, ” “Cold Case, ” “Without a Trace”), Jonathan Littman (“CSI, ” “Cold Case, ” “Without a Trace”) and Jonathan Shapiro (“The Practice, ” “Boston Legal”) are executive producers for Jerry Bruckheimer Television in association with Warner Bros. Television Production Inc.
Tuesday
8:00-9:00 p.m. “GILMORE GIRLS”
Returning for its sixth season on The WB, the series stars Lauren Graham, Alexis Bledel, Melissa McCarthy, Scott Patterson, Keiko Agena, Yanic Truesdale, Liza Weil, Sean Gunn, Kelly Bishop and Edward Herrmann. Amy Sherman-Palladino, Daniel Palladino and Gavin Polone serve as executive producers on the series produced by Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions and Hofflund/Polone in association with Warner Bros. Television Production Inc.
9:00-10:00 p.m. “SUPERNATURAL”
The WB has a long tradition of interweaving character dramas and the world of the supernatural. It began with “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and continues with hits like “Smallville” and “Charmed. ” This fall, The WB will take viewers on a completely new kind of thrill ride; a journey into the dark world of the unexplained that will deliver the terror of films like “The Ring” and “The Grudge. ” Sam Winchester (Jared Padalecki, “Gilmore Girls”) has done his best to escape his family's eerie history, but, along with his older brother Dean (Jensen Ackles, “Smallville”), Sam is bound by tragedy and blood to a dangerous, other-worldly mission. Criss-crossing the mysterious back roads of the country in their `67 Chevy Impala, the Winchester brothers search for their missing father – and hunt down every evil supernatural force they encounter along the way. From Warner Bros. Television Production Inc. in association with Wonderland Sound and Vision, with executive producers McG (“Charlie's Angels” “The O.C. ”), writer/executive producer Eric Kripke (‘Boogeyman") and director/executive producer David Nutter (“Without a Trace, ” “Smallville, ” “Roswell, ” “Band of Brothers, ” “The West Wing, ” “ER, ” “The X Files”).
Wednesday
8:00-9:00 p.m. “ONE TREE HILL”
Returning for its third season on The WB, the series stars Chad Michael Murray, James Lafferty, Hilarie Burton, Bethany Joy Lenz, Paul Johansson, Sophia Bush, Barbara Alyn Woods, Barry Corbin, Craig Sheffer and Moira Kelly. Mike Tollin, Brian Robbins, Joe Davola and Mark Schwahn serve as executive producers on the series produced by Tollin/Robbins Productions and Warner Bros. Television Production Inc.
8:00-9:00 p.m. “RELATED”
The four Sorelli sisters are a bundle of contradictions. These quirky young women are best friends one minute and bitter enemies the next. They confide in one another, yet manage to keep a lot of secrets. They worry about each other, give advice and push each other's buttons. First-born sister Ann (casting TBD) is a 33-year-old legal aid lawyer and the nurturing mother hen of the group. Ann works out of a run-down office, helping people who have no voice, while her closest sibling, Ginnie (Jennifer Esposito, “Crash” “Spin City”), also an attorney, spends her days in a high-powered law firm working for huge corporations. While Ann worries about her long-time relationship with chef and restaurant-owner Danny (Jon Hamm, “The Division” “Kissing Jessica Stein”), Ginnie is trying to figure out how to tell her husband Bob (Callum Blue, “Dead Like Me” “The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement”), her bosses and her family that she is pregnant. Next in line is 23-year-old Marjee (Lizzy Caplan, “Mean Girls”), a special events coordinator who stresses out over her demanding celebrity clients while secretly yearning for respect and approval from her older sisters. The youngest sister, Rose (Laura Breckenridge, “Boston Public”), is a 19-year-old college student who just switched her major from pre-med to experimental theater and is afraid to deliver this news to her over-achieving family. A comedic ensemble drama, “Related” is a poignant reminder that family is what life is all about. From Warner Bros. Television Production Inc. and Class IV Productions with executive producers Marta Kauffman (“Friends”), Steve Pearlman, Andrew Plotkin, director/executive producer Mimi Leder (“ER, ” “Pay It Forward”) and writer/co-executive producer Liz Tuccillo (“Sex and the City” and the best-selling book, “He's Just Not That Into You”).
Thursday
8:00-9:00 p.m. “SMALLVILLE”
Returning for its fifth season on The WB, the series stars Tom Welling, Kristin Kreuk, Michael Rosenbaum, Allison Mack, John Glover, Annette O'Toole and John Schneider. Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, Greg Beeman, Mike Tollin, Brian Robbins, Joe Davola and Ken Horton serve as executive producers on the series produced by Tollin/Robbins Productions and Warner Bros. Television Production Inc.
9:00-10:00 p.m. “EVERWOOD”
Returning for its fourth season on The WB, the series stars Treat Williams, Gregory Smith, Emily VanCamp, Debra Mooney, John Beasley, Vivien Cardone, Chris Pratt, Stephanie Niznik, Merrilyn Gann, Scott Wolf, Sarah Drew and Tom Amandes. Greg Berlanti, Mickey Liddell and Rina Mimoun serve as executive producers on the series produced by Berlanti/Liddell Productions, Everwood Utah, Inc. in association with and distributed by Warner Bros. Television Production Inc.
Friday
8:00-8:30 p.m. “WHAT I LIKE ABOUT YOU”
Returning for its fourth season on The WB, the series stars Amanda Bynes, Jennie Garth, Wesley Jonathan, Nick Zano, Leslie Grossman and Allison Munn for Tollin/Robbins Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television Production Inc.
8:30-9:00 p.m. “TWINS”
Having explored the hilarious complexities of sexuality with the wildly successful “Will & Grace, ” Emmy Award-winning producers David Kohan and Max Mutchnick bring their unique take on contemporary relationships to The WB. This time, they're targeting societal stereotypes and perceptions of brains vs. beauty with a bitingly funny comedy about twin sisters. Mitchee (Sara Gilbert, “Roseanne”) has the intelligence and the determination of a successful businesswoman. Her twin sister Farrah (Molly Stanton, “Passions”) is a stunningly perfect lingerie model. Mitchee and Farrah are about to inherit their parents' undergarment business, which gained world-renown for form-fitting inventions that make every woman look and feel like a goddess. These anything-but-identical twins are true reflections of their parents. Mitchee takes after their father, Alan (Mark Linn-Baker, “Perfect Strangers”), a brilliant designer who built the company up from nothing, while Farrah is the image of their mother, Lee (Melanie Griffith, “Working Girl”), a beautiful former lingerie model who is not a deep thinker. There are loyal staff members, especially the flamboyant Neil (Chris Fitzgerald, “Personal Velocity”) and hot new marketing exec, Jordan (Steve Braun, “True Calling, ” “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle”), but with Mitchee and Farrah in charge, this business – and this family – are going to need a lot of, um, support. From KoMut Entertainment in association with Warner Bros. Television Production Inc. with executive producers David Kohan and Max Mutchnick (“Will & Grace, ” “Boston Common”).
9:00-9:30 p.m. “REBA”
Returning for its fifth season on The WB, the series stars Reba McEntire, Christopher Rich, Melissa Peterman, JoAnna Garcia, Steve Howey, Scarlett Pomers and Mitch Holleman. Kevin Abbott, Mindy Schultheis, Michael Hanel and Matt Berry serve as executive producers. Chris Case, Pat Bullard, Reba McEntire, Patti Carr & Lara Runnells and Don Beck are co-executive producers on the series produced by 20th Century Fox Television and Acme Productions.
9:30-10:00 p.m. “LIVING WITH FRAN”
Returning for its second season on The WB, the series stars Fran Drescher, Ben Feldman, Ryan McPartlin and Misti Traya. Robert Myer, Jamie Kennedy, David Garrett & Jason Ward and Fran Drescher serve as executive producers on the series produced by Regency Television.
Sunday
8:00-9:00 p.m. “CHARMED”
Returning for its eighth season on The WB, the series stars Alyssa Milano, Rose McGowan and Holly Marie Combs, along with Brian Krause and Dorian Gregory. Aaron Spelling, E. Duke Vincent and Brad Kern serve as executive producers on the series produced by Spelling Television, Inc.
9:00-10:00 p.m. “BLUE COLLAR TV”
Returning for its second season on The WB, the series stars Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall, Larry the Cable Guy, Brooke Dillman, Ashley Drane, Ayda Field, Heath Hyche, Peter Oldring and Gary Anthony Williams. Fax Bahr, Adam Small, Jeff Foxworthy, J.P. Williams, Garry Campbell and Brian Hartt serve as executive producers on the series from Bahr/Small Productions and Parallel Entertainment in association with Riverside Productions, Inc., distributed by Warner Bros. Television.
MIDSEASON SERIES
“PEPPER DENNIS”
Feature film star and supermodel Rebecca Romijn (“X-Men, ” ‘Just Shoot Me”) stars as Pepper Dennis, a beautiful and ambitious reporter with her sights set on anchoring Chicago's top-rated evening news broadcast. Pepper's career is her top priority, but she does have close friends, especially the station's makeup artist Kimmy (Lindsay Price, “Beverly Hills, 90210”) and cameraman Chick (Rider Strong, “Boy Meets World”), who has a secret crush on Pepper. Complicating Pepper's daily life is the fact that her spoiled, needy and recently separated sister Kathy (Brooke Burns, “North Shore," ”‘Baywatch”) has moved in with her. Worst of all, the hot guy Pepper woke up with this morning, Charlie Bishop (Josh Hopkins, “The Perfect Storm, ” “Ally McBeal”), just showed up in the newsroom, grabbed her dream job and is now practically her boss. She's trying to despise him, but Charlie is smart, handsome, funny, available and interested. Office romances can be so complicated. From 20th Century Fox Television and writers/executive producers Gretchen J. Berg & Aaron Harberts (“Wonderfalls, ” “Roswell, ” “Beverly Hills, 90210”) and director/executive producer Shawn Levy (“The Pink Panther, ” “Cheaper by the Dozen, ” “Big Fat Liar”).
“THE BEDFORD DIARIES”
“The Bedford Diaries” explores contemporary New York City-based college life through the unique prism of a provocative Human Behavior and Sexuality class. Controversial and charismatic Professor Macklin (Emmy Award-nominated Matthew Modine, “And the Band Played On, “ “Any Given Sunday”) will challenge and inspire the show's youthful ensemble of students as they explore their identities, relationships and sexuality in the most exciting city in the world. Among the students is the smart and attractive Sarah (Tiffany Dupont, “Cheaper by the Dozen”). Sarah has everything going for her until her brother Owen (Penn Badgely, “The Mountain”) walks into class. It's one thing to share in class, but Sarah hadn't planned on discussing her sexuality in front of a sibling. Owen's new class partner is Natalie, “The Jumper” (Corri English, “The Dale Earnhardt Story”). Two years ago, Natalie had a change of heart mid-dive off the roof of the Student Union. Now physically recovered, she has to face the gossip mill and her ex, Richard (Milo Ventimiglia, ‘Gilmore Girls, ” ‘American Dreams”). The quintessential Park Avenue bad boy up until the moment his girlfriend jumped, Richard is now a semi-changed man – sober, attending class and editor-in-chief of The Bedford Bugle. In stark contrast is the working-class Lee (Ernest Waddell, ‘As the World Turns”), who has a noble heart, an artistic soul, a serious girlfriend and a fascination with Zoe (Victoria Cartagena, ‘Baby Fat”). Zoe talks a fast, flirty and kinky game, but despite her brash veneer, she's still a virgin. Also starring Audra McDonald (‘Wit, ” ‘Law & Order”) and Peter Gerety (“The Legend of Bagger Vance”). From HBO Independent Productions, Warner Bros. Television Production Inc. and The Levinson/Fontana Co. with executive producers Tom Fontana (“Oz, ” “Homicide: Life on The Street”), Jim Finnerty (‘The Jury," “Oz") and Julie Martin (‘Homicide: Life on the Street”), along with executive producer Barry Levinson (“Rain Man, ” ‘Diner”).
"MISCONCEPTIONS"
Amanda Watson (Jane Leeves, ‘Frasier") was more than a little shocked to find out that all her teenage daughter Hopper (Taylor Momsen, ‘Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams") wanted for her birthday was to meet her biological father. After all, Hopper has always heard that her dad is well-bred, handsome, athletic, well-educated and a successful doctor. The only problem is Amanda never actually met him, she only knows him from the profile she was given at the Ivy League sperm bank. After discussing the situation with Horace (French Stewart, "3rd Rock From the Sun"), her best friend and co-worker at an art museum in Chicago, Amanda decides it's time to track down the father of her child and is mortified to discover that her supposedly ideal donor was not the Olympic medalist, Yale-educated surgeon that she has imagined all these years. Meet Eddie Caprio (Adam Rothenberg, ‘Coyote Beach"), a man who needed a little cash after junior college and lied about his identity. Eddie has a certain undeniable charm, yet he's too scattered and immature for Amanda's taste. He can't hold a job, he prefers beer to fine wine, and his idea of dressing up is wearing a clean baseball cap. In Amanda's eyes, Eddie is barely capable of taking care of himself, let alone Hopper. However, when Eddie tracks her down, Hopper falls head-over-heels for her fun-loving dad, and Amanda is forced to allow him to be part of their lives. Could Eddie's appeal be getting through to Amanda, too? Apparently, they're going to have plenty of time to find out. From Imagine Television in association with 20th Century Fox Television with executive producers Brian Grazer (‘Arrested Development," ‘24, ‘A Beautiful Mind"), David Nevins (‘Arrested Development," ‘24," ‘Miss Match"), Jeff Kleeman (‘Titanic," ‘Golden Eye," ‘Sleepy Hollow") and Michael Saltzman (‘The Pink Panther," ‘The Naked Truth," ‘Murphy Brown," ‘Wings").
‘MODERN MEN”
Tim (Josh Braaten, ‘Less Than Perfect"), Kyle (Max Greenfield, ‘Veronica Mars") and Doug (Eric Lively, ‘The L Word") are childhood friends who are at different stages in their lives when it comes to women. Doug can't move on from his ex-wife, Kyle is a womanizing bachelor, and Tim's relationships keep falling apart due to...well, he doesn't actually know. Tim's sister Tina (Marla Sokoloff, ‘Desperate Housewives," ‘The Practice"), a confident young law student, tries to make him understand that today's career-minded, self-sufficient women don't need a man for support, they're looking for a deeper and more meaningful connection. Though their situations are different, each of these guys has come to the same realization -- it takes a lot more than they expected to keep a woman happy and satisfied. After getting no help from Tim's dad Tug (George Wendt, ‘Cheers"), who's stuck in the Stone Age when it comes to the opposite sex, Tim, Kyle and Doug are just desperate enough to seek the help of Dr. Stangl (guest star Wendie Malick, ‘Frasier," ‘Just Shoot Me"), a renowned life coach. Now the question is whether these guys are capable of taking Dr. Stangl's advice and applying it to their every day situations. This fresh, male perspective on modern relationships is from Emmy Award-winning executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer ‘CSI," ‘Cold Case," ‘Without a Trace"). Joining Bruckheimer are executive producers Jonathan Littman (‘Without A Trace," the ‘CSI" and ‘The Amazing Race" franchises) and Marsh McCall (‘Just Shoot Me," ‘The Naked Truth"), along with co-executive producers Ross McCall and Aaron Peters (‘Just Shoot Me," ‘The Simple Life"). From Jerry Bruckheimer Television in association with Warner Bros. Television Production Inc.

Originally posted by fredfa
Here it is, Alan:

Thanks! I'm glad to see some of the few shows that I have seen before will still be around for when I have my FTA system this Fall. :)

~Alan

FOX Wants '24' Times Two

(zap2it.com)--Stealing some of the thunder from networks with early upfront presentations, FOX reportedly has a deal in place to bring back "24" for two seasons, a move that would come fast on the heels of the third season renewal for "Arrested Development."

According to The Hollywood Reporter, negotiations between FOX and the studio over "24" were complicated by the producers' attempt to secure a higher license fee in order to handle the lofty production costs on the fourth year drama.

There had been rumors that the lengthy discussions might allow another network -- possibly NBC -- to sneak in and steal the show.

FOX held "24" off its fall schedule this past year in order to launch a repeat-free season beginning in January. The move has paid off in spades, as the Kiefer Sutherland series has averaged just under 12 million viewers per week, as particularly impressive achievement given the show's generally so-so lead-ins. The show is approaching a two-hour finale on Monday, May 23.

A three-time nominee for outstanding drama series, "24" won the Golden Globe for best television series, drama, in 2004.

FOX will announce its complete 2005-06 schedule on Thursday.

More show, less tell
NBC's "upfront" presentation at Radio City Music Hall was a rather mundane corporate affair, despite the occasional unshaven actor.
CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK By Paul Brownfield Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

Maybe it was the setting — Radio City Music Hall — and my neophyte standing as an "upfront" attendee (what do you mean, no press entrance? You mean I have to stand with all these advertising people and make conversation?), but I was expecting a little more show from the NBC presentation Monday.

Not "Spamalot," the hottest musical on Broadway, or even the Rockettes. But the 2 1/2-hour presentation unspooled as a rather mundane corporate affair, the spin intermittently broken by yet another unshaven actor or low-cut-dress-wearing actress walking out onstage to say what an honor it is to be at the network (OK, Benjamin Bratt had shaved), and what an honor it would be for you, the advertiser in the audience, to buy time on their show.

An upfront presentation is, to be sure, a uniquely strange thing — the only time, on the same bill, you'll see Dennis Hopper say nothing and Jamie Foxx sing "America the Beautiful" while men in suits extol the performance of their network among viewers who make more than $75,000 a year.

Your emcees for the afternoon are the guys in suits — in this case, Jeff Zucker, president of the newly merged NBC Universal Television Group, and Kevin Reilly, the network's programming chief.

They are natural exaggerators but not, it should be said, natural performers. For most of the show, Zucker was standing at a lectern, stage left, with Reilly at a similar lectern, stage right. Between the men and hovering over them like a satellite hookup to God was a movie-theater-sized screen, alternately previewing new series and taking us back to the hits that continue to make NBC great, including "Will & Grace" and "Law & Order."

Occasionally, the two acknowledged an NBC dignitary in the crowd — "NBC Nightly News" anchor Brian Williams, for instance; Donald Trump, star of "The Apprentice"; and Bob Wright, vice chairman of General Electric and chief executive of NBC Universal. Applause came from somewhere, you couldn't be sure.

But before all of that, before Zucker and Reilly appeared, the show kicked off with some comedy relief, NBC making fun of its own flagging fortunes — Tina Fey and Amy Poehler of "Saturday Night Live" sitting at the "Weekend Update" anchor desk. Their bit was shorter than a full "Weekend Update," but the three or four "Desperate Housewives" jokes made the segment feel as long.

"There is a rumor that NBC passed on 'Desperate Housewives,' " Poehler said. "That's not true. They passed on 'Lost.' "

See, if the advertisers feel you can make fun of your failures, they'll be more inclined to buy time on your new shows. At least that's the theory. Having established the conflict and the motivation for change (the backbone of any good narrative), NBC's top brass then introduced a rhyme.

"Get out of the gate at 8,

"Add shows that rate,

"Stay strong late."

I guess nothing rhymes as well with "Joey." After the rhyme came the announcement of the new fall schedule, which, by the end of the presentation, looked like the old fall schedule, except for the fact that "The West Wing" is moving to Sunday nights at 8. In all, NBC is drizzling six new series across its fall prime-time lineup, including "The Apprentice: Martha Stewart," Wednesday nights at 8. You could feel the air go out of the hall when Stewart came onstage to say a few words. She was dressed in a crème-colored pantsuit that nicely accentuated her coloring while coolly obscuring her court-mandated ankle bracelet. "America is in for a surprise," she said in that Martha Stewart monotone, in which you can't tell if she feels.

Reilly introduced "Fathom," a new thriller, by saying that it was "one part 'E.T.,' one part 'Independence Day,' but start it all in the ocean." I was still trying to sort that out in my head when the cast came onstage, including Lake Bell, who promised edge-of-your-seat action. She was wearing a low-cut dress. It is the best part of upfronts, the presentation of the casts; they're like new makes of cars in a glittering showroom. Benjamin Bratt spoke for "E-Ring," a new drama from mega-producer Jerry Bruckheimer, set at the Pentagon and starring Bratt as an idealistic young charge to Dennis Hopper's old-dog colonel.

There is also "Inconceivable," set at a fertility clinic. Though NBC is kind of burying this one Friday nights at 10, it has the suggestion of FX's "Nip/Tuck," a dramedy that wants to do for sperm donation and egg harvesting what "Nip/Tuck" has done for plastic surgery. "Inconceivable" stars Ming-Na, who was wearing a dress that obscured her belly. Hmm.

Mostly, Zucker and Reilly sought to reassure advertisers that people who earn $75,000 a year and up still like their shows. In fact, Zucker said, NBC still boasts eight of the top 10 shows among what he likes to call "upscale viewers."

There followed a chart on the big screen. One of those shows on the list, I noticed, was the sitcom "Committed," which NBC canceled before you could say, well, committed. By the time Foxx was crooning "America the Beautiful," accompanied by a lone drummer and a video package from the last Winter Olympic Games, we had moved well past comedy and were deep in the heart of bathos.

During the show, I got up to use the bathroom and was dismayed to discover not a single refreshment stand — not a $6 bottle of Poland Spring to be had in the entire lobby. Just agent and executive types pacing about speaking in TV code into their cellphones.

Originally posted by fredfa
FOX Wants '24' Times Two



According to The Hollywood Reporter, negotiations between FOX and the studio over "24" were complicated by the producers' attempt to secure a higher license fee in order to handle the lofty production costs on the fourth year drama.

There had been rumors that the lengthy discussions might allow another network -- possibly NBC -- to sneak in and steal the show.



How could FOX even let the negotiations for this show even reach this point considering they only have one other drama that anybody watches..?

Great news on 24 I wonder who will be out Jack or Tony???

Originally posted by fredfa
Reilly introduced "Fathom," a new thriller, by saying that it was "one part 'E.T.,' one part 'Independence Day,' but start it all in the ocean." I was still trying to sort that out in my head when the cast came onstage, including Lake Bell, who promised edge-of-your-seat action. She was wearing a low-cut dress. It is the best part of upfronts, the presentation of the casts;

Was the writer of the article trying to make a joke here, or was I the only person who thought this was funny?!

~Alan

The WB's Schedule Mixes New and Old

(zap2it.com)--After last season's drama hopefuls suffered noble -- underwatched critical favorite "Jack & Bobby" -- and ignoble -- despised dud "The Mountain" -- demises, The WB has gone back to the drawing board for a new schedule that's heavy on new dramas and light on the network's never-ending quest to find comedy hits.

The WB's ratings for the season are roughly flat, as the netlet continues its seemingly endless battle with UPN for fifth place. Although several of its signature dramas are showing a bit of age, each of The WB's three fresh hour-longs -- "Just Legal," "Supernatural" and "Related" -- will be cushioned by a proven winner.

Despite the network's much maligned track record with humorous projects, The WB's only returning shows from the past year are "Living with Fran" and "Blue Collar TV," hence a slate that includes only one new comedy, "Twins."

"Our goal was to develop distinct and original series from the top producers working in the medium today," says WB Entertainment President David Janollari. "Finding the next group of hot buzz-worthy WB shows has been the guiding mission of our development season. The blend of A-list executive producers that have come to the network for the first time, along with our homegrown superstars, form the creative backbone of our new schedule."

Showing stability at the top, The WB's week will begin with "7th Heaven," entering its 10th season, at 8 p.m. ET. "Just Legal" takes over the "Everwood" 9 p.m. slot. That series, executive produced by hitmaker Jerry Bruckheimer, stars Jay Baruchel ("Undeclared") as a legal prodigy learning the ropes from a legendary burnout (Don Johnson).

"Jerry Bruckheimer is the master of the genre, and the pairing of Don Johnson, who is renowned for playing tough guys in buddy comedy roles, with Jay Baruchel, one of the most accomplished young actors of his generation, is the foundation for a great series," says Janollari in a chatty statement that raves about all of the netlet's new offerings.

"Gilmore Girls" holds onto its Tuesday lead position, as it comes off a critically acclaimed and ratings rejuvenated fifth season that ends Tuesday (May 17) with a whopper of a cliffhanger. Former "Gilmore" love interest Jared Padalecki and one-time "Smallville" co-star Jensen Ackles are familiar faces at the network and will take over the 9 p.m. slot with "Supernatural." The McG-produced drama focuses on two brothers traveling the country in the '67 Chevy Impala hunting down evil supernatural forces.

"This is one wild ride of a pilot, and this show is going to scare the living daylights out of people every week," raves Janollari of "Supernatural. "McG and Eric Kripke have crafted a genuinely frightening hour of television with two hot young leads familiar to our audience. It flat out delivers the goods."

The WB is moving "One Tree Hill" to Wednesday nights for its third season. The teen soap, which once had something to do with basketball, will lead into "Related," from "Friends" vet Marta Kauffman, focusing on a group of sisters living in New York City.

After years of avoiding a Thursday commitment, The WB is attacking the night, recruiting "Smallville" from Wednesdays and "Everwood" from Mondays.

Comedy will still reign on Friday nights, led by the venerably low rated Amanda Bynes sitcom "What I Like About You." Sara Gilbert ("Roseanne") and Molly Stanton play mismatched twins in the appropriately named "Twins," which co-stars Melanie Griffith and will have an 8:30 p.m. home. The night closes strongly with "Reba," back for its fifth season, and midseason minor success "Living with Fran."

Sundays will remain pretty much the same for The WB, beginning with an hour of "Reba" encores" at 7 p.m. and continuing into the unkillable "Charmed" at 8. "Blue Collar TV" steps in for "Steve Harvey's Big Time Challenge" in the impossible 9 p.m. slot.

In addition, The WB has ordered a pair of midseason comedies and dramas.

Alan: Brownfield was trying to be funny.
His is a critic's videw of the upfronts, which are tremendously bizarre on their own.

Originally posted by fredfa
Alan: Brownfield was trying to be funny.
His is a critic's videw of the upfronts, which are tremendously bizarre on their own.

I thought so. As a newspaper man, that just didn't seem like something we'd let slip by.

~Alan

Two more years of "24" would be great news. Maybe the crisis will last for two days and they can call it "48"!

Paul

Too bad for "Eyes", I liked that one, funny and serious at the same time.

Although "Blind Justice" was doomed from the beginning, silly premise, it had some of the best picture quality to be seen on TV, I looked forward to that show just to look at it.

So a new series finale tonight:

My Wife and Kids

Another Sweeps Win Goes to CBS

(zap2it.com)--CBS' margin of victory for the week ending Sunday, May 16 was so wide that it's unclear if the other networks even noticed that this was supposed to be part of the crucial May sweeps period.

Overall, CBS averaged a 9.3 rating/16 share, pulling in 14.81 million viewers per night in primetime. The other networks were just stumbling along far behind. NBC had the second best ratings, with a 6.2/10, but NBC's average audience of 9.08 million was behind the 9.31 million for FOX (5.8/10) and the 9.11 million for ABC (6.0/10). On the netlet side, UPN did a 2.4/4 and 3.75 million viewers, better than the 2.2/4 and 3.34 million for The WB.

CBS also won in the coveted demographic of adults 18-49, doing a 4.8 rating in that important age range. FOX was second with a 4.0 rating, followed by ABC's 3.4 rating and the 3.2 rating for NBC. UPN held onto fifth with a 1.6 rating, besting the 1.4 for The WB.

With "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (16.2/25), CBS had the week's top rated show, posting 10 of the Top 20. The popular procedural helped pace the network's strong Thursday, which also included good returns for "Without a Trace" (12.1/20, 7th) and "Survivor: Palau" (11.7/19, 8th). The Sunday finale of "Palau" was No. 11 with an 11.4/17 and the subsequent reunion show came in at No. 20 with a 9.1/15.

Monday was another great night for CBS, led by "CSI: Miami" at No. 5 with a 13.1/21 and followed closely by "Everybody Loves Raymond" (12.7/19, 6th) and "Two and a Half Men" (11.5/17, 10th). Wednesday's "CSI: NY" (9.7/16) and Tuesday's "Amazing Race" finale (9.6/15, 17th) also proved listworthy for CBS.

NBC's week was driven by Thursday's "ER" (11.4/19, 10th) and "Apprentice 3" (9.7/15, 17th), as well as Tuesday's episode of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (10.1/16, 15th).

ABC's freshman dramas were strong as ever. "Desperate Housewives" did a 15.8/23, to rank as television's second rated show, boosting "Grey's Anatomy" to No. 9 with an 11.6/16. The "Housewives" halo effect was strong enough to get "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" to No. 15 with a 10.1/16, just behind Wednesday's "Lost," which was No. 14 with a 10.6/17.

While several other programs had higher ratings, television's most watched show for the week was Wednesday's "American Idol" (15.5/23, 3rd) with 26.63 million viewers. The Tuesday show was No. 4 with a 14.6/24. FOX's other Top 20 entry was "House" at No. 13 with an 11.3/17.

UPN got a 3.7/6 for "America's Next Top Model," good for No. 71 and just ahead of The WB's best, which was a "Gilmore Girls" episode at No. 77 with a 3.5/6.

Upfront and center

Network executives and celebrities gather in Manhattan this week, making their best pitch to advertisers about the new 2005-06 season in an annual ritual known as the “upfront.” Los Angeles Times reporters are filing the latest updates about prime-time shows, flashy presentations and parties here.

By Shawn Hubler, The Los Angeles Times with dispatches from Matea Gold and Maria Elena Fernandez in New York
Day 2

Bruckheimer Alert! Incoming! The WB gets his new legal drama at 9 p.m. Mondays.

Starring Don Johnson (who else?) and young Jay Baruchel, who was in "Million Dollar Baby." Plus: More Bruckheimer to come! "Modern Men", his first comedy, is slated for midseason. Wendie Malick is in the pilot but apparently, due to ABC's renewal of "Jake in Progress", in which she plays Jake's boss, Malick won't stay. WB Entertainment President David Janollari said he thought he was safe casting her because of "Jake's" low ratings.

Bruckheimer (or "God" as the networks like to call him) was at Madison Square Garden for the WB's presentation this morning.

Many we-are-not-worthy ministrations.

Much worshipful applause.

More WBulletins: "Jack and Bobby" cancelled. But its executive vice president of sales is pretty sure that "05-06 is going to be the year of WB."

We're pretty sure it is, too, if by "05-06" you mean your kid's school year. Execs at the "Be Young" network said their strategy this year would be to approach their key 12-to-34-year-old demographic from a slightly more adult direction. If by adult you mean Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson.

Here was the opening pitch:
Video of nubile young stars kissing.

Video of nubile young stars flirting.

Video of nubile young stars draping themselves over each other in sultry poses.

Ashton Kutcher.
"Blah blah blah," said Kutcher. This was while he was ambling onto the stage with "Punk'd" co-creator Josh Goldberg to interrupt Janollari's speech.

Kutcher and Goldberg are producing a new WB reality show airing next month, "Beauty and the Geek."

"People are falling asleep and you're still on hello," Kutcher told the network exec. Then he took the lectern to tell the advertisers the key points of his new show.

"There's hot chicks...and it's funny, too."

We turned around, and they were gone: The highly acclaimed, critically loved but (see "Arrested Development") unfortunately under-watched "Jack and Bobby" is outta there.

"It was a really, really hard decision," said Janollari. "We agonized over it 'til the last possible minute. Personally I love the show. At the end of the day, we could not find enough spark of audience traction for it being on one of our important time slots."

Other WB highlights

"Twins", a new comedy from the creators of "Will & Grace" will star Sara Gillbert and Molly Stanton as twins, except one's a dumb blonde and one is a brainiac who looks like she came from "Roseanne" (because that's where she came from). With jokes about butt-puckering. Plus Melanie Griffith is their bombshell airhead mom, Fridays at 8:30 p.m.

"One Tree Hill" was the fastest growing show this season and they're using it this year at 8 p.m. on Wednesdays to launch "Related," a promising new dramedy/chick show about four sisters who are "a bundle of contradictions."

The show was created by Marta Kaufman of "Friends" and the writer from "Sex & the City" who co-wrote the bestselling "He's Just Not That Into You."

"Blue Collar TV," with Jeff Foxworthy will continue to brazenly bid for the half-dozen or so Americans who won't be riveted to "Desperate Housewives" on Sundays at 9 p.m. Janollari's best argument for changing channels: "These are three guys you will never find on Wisteria Lane."

And now that you mention it: Did we say ABC would be hawking like a late-night TV car dealer? God love Stephen McPherson, ABC's head of primetime entertainment, but Cal Worthington he ain't.

"'Invasion' is spectacular," McPherson quietly droned this morning to the press at a steak house in Manhattan. Yes, it was early. Yes, he'd been up late tweaking the schedule. Yes, he's a matter-of-fact type.

But what the hey! This guy has "Desperate Housewives"! And "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition"! And we can't be around TV people for more than five minutes before we start talking like this! What kind of zenmaster Yoda fiend can have that job and still keep sounding like a monotonal waiter rattling off the daily specials?!

"'Crumbs' really will be a great piece of business for us midseason," he sort of sighed.

The WB in Fall 2005

By Marc Berman and A.J. Frutkin mediaweek.com

In his opening remarks to advertisers at the WB upfront Tuesday morning, chairman Garth Ancier said the network's goal next season is to "build on our strong bond with 12-24 viewers, and extend that bond to 12-34 viewers."

Ancier also noted that the network has extended its creative reach, by tapping not only emerging writers, but A-list creators and show runners, including Jerry Bruckheimer, Tom Fontana, Marta Kauffman, and David Kohan and Max Mutchnick.

In pursuit of its goals, the WB will introduce four new series this fall (one comedy and three dramas). The network also is hoping to build momentum, particularly on Wednesday and Thursday, by moving four established series -- One Tree Hill, Smallville, Everwood and Blue Collar TV -- into new time periods. Unlike ABC and NBC, which already announced their fall 2005 prime-time line-ups, the WB will make changes on every night of the week. Wednesday and Thursday will be completely revamped.

Additionally, the WB will introduce two new sitcoms (Misconception and Modern Men), and two new dramas (The Bedford Diaries and Pepper Dennis) at midseason. In the movie department are theatricals 8 Mile and The Lord of the Rings The Two Towers, and made-for Felicity: An American Girl Adventures. Fans of Keri Russell, take note -- this Felicity is not based on the cult 1998-2002 WB drama.

In returning series news, season eight of Charmed will feature Extra anchor Mark McGrath, while a double dose of the network’s one bona fide hit sitcom, Reba, will air in the Sunday 7 p.m. hour. Not returning next season on the WB are Jack & Bobby, Summerland (which will burn off its five remaining episodes this summer), and Steve Harvey’s Big Time Challenge.

Is ABC Trying to Kill Off “Alias”?

(From Michael Ausiello’s Entertainment News at TVGuide.com

If Jennifer Garner's rumored pregnancy doesn't derail the fifth season of Alias, this certainly will: ABC is shifting the spy thriller to Thursdays at 8 pm. The resurgent network is also moving Lost back an hour, to Wednesdays at 9 pm. It's all part of an aggressive new fall schedule that features six new dramas and five new comedies. The new shows include alien-conspiracy thriller Invasion, comedies starring Freddie Prinze Jr., Fred Savage and Heather Graham, and Commander in Chief, featuring Geena Davis as the first female president. Gone are My Wife & Kids, 8 Simple Rules, Complete Savages, Blind Justice and Eyes. And in a head-scratcher of a decision, the net has opted not to euthanize The Bachelor; the ailing franchise will return at midseason after Monday Night Football wraps. So, let me get this straight: Eyes is dead, but The Bachelor is alive and kicking? OK, just checking.

Lloyd Braun the character was named for the real-life Lloyd Braun.

Alec Berg, Joe Davola, et al. were also named for real-life people.

Now please return to the upfronts.

Let me say that Thursday 8pm with Survivor, Alias, Smallville and perhaps The O.C. is a notable brutal timeslot.

NBC: 8 O'clock Rocks

(From Stephen Battaglio’s “The Biz” Column at TVGuide.com)

NBC schedule aims for "big tent" shows to lead off each night

It's simply not a scenario we would have imagined a year ago: NBC executives unveiling a schedule aimed at getting the network out of fourth place.
But there they were at Radio City Music Hall on Monday. Life without Friends on Thursday night has been very cruel to the Peacock.
NBC will try to launch a comeback by leading off each night with broad appeal shows in the hope of feeding viewers into its 9 and 10 pm entries. Here's what the network will look like each night:

MONDAY

NBC leads off with Fathom, a new hour drama about strange sea creatures that appear in various locations around the world and the people who are terrified by them. It's the first sign of what's likely to be a disease that will spread through the new schedules presented this week — Lost-itis. You can bet that a things-are-not-what-they-appear-to-be creepiness will abound in many of this season's new shows. NBC entertainment president Kevin Reilly called Fathom a "big tent show" that adults and kids will watch together, the way they gathered around the electronic hearth each week for Fear Factor (which NBC will schedule against American Idol in midseason). Las Vegas returns at 9 pm, while Medium is back at 10.

TUESDAY

We'll avoid the cheap big-tent gag here, where NBC will kicks off the night with the return of its weight-loss show The Biggest Loser. Apparently it was the highest-rated new reality show of the past season. That's kind of like being the best performing stock of 1929. NBC president Jeff Zucker predicted bigger ratings for Loser next time around and believes it can provide a decent lead-in for a new offbeat comedy at 9, My Name Is Earl. It stars Jason Lee as a dimwitted petty thief who wins the lottery and decides to try to correct the wrongs from his past. Reilly said it was the highest testing pilot on the network in 15 years. Might that be because viewers usually respond well to shows with a feel-good premise? We'll see. It received the most positive response from the audience of ad execs at Radio City.
NBC is showing some rare patience by returning The Office at 9:30. The quirky comedy was well-received by most critics and opened well in its Thursday premiere, but was later crushed when it moved to Tuesday. With such a decline in ratings this season, NBC will be emphasizing the affluence of its audience to advertisers. And that's about all it can really say to tout The Office at this point. (Where is Scrubs? It's slated to return in midseason, since production will be delayed by Zack Braff's work on a feature film.) Law & Order: SVU, is back at 10 pm.

WEDNESDAY

The Apprentice: Martha Stewart, starring you-know-who, will launch at 8 on this night. Why put on another Apprentice when ratings for Donald Trump's version is slipping on Thursday? "There is a tremendous curiosity with Martha right now," says Reilly. "We thought it was our best chance to create some buzz."
With that in mind, it was odd how low-key Stewart was when she came out onto the Radio City stage during NBC's upfront presentation. Was her probation officer in the audience to make sure she wasn't having too much fun? We waiting for a funny tape to come on the screen behind her or at least a gag about her electronic ankle bracelet. Nothing. Her appearance was as exciting as one of her company's shareholder meetings after a really bad quarter.
NBC hopes that Martha will feed viewers into 9 pm, when the network tries to get on the Jerry Bruckheimer gravy train with E-Ring. You know that America has changed when Dennis Hopper has gone from Easy Rider to the Pentagon. Law & Order: Original Flavor returns at 10.

THURSDAY

We could have sworn Joey was moving to Tuesday so NBC would no longer have to put up with the ugly ratings comparisons to Friends. But the whole night is returning intact, with Joey at 8, the final season of Will & Grace at 8:30, The Apprentice at 9 and ER at 10. Our guess is that even though ratings on the night were down substantially from the previous season, NBC's ad-sales department didn't want to take any chances with changes (movie studios, retailers and automotive companies pay big bucks for Thursday night ad time to get viewer eyeballs before the weekend). They may have gotten wind of ABC's plans to get more aggressive on the night. Alias is moving to Thursday at 8.
As for Joey, Zucker and Reilly finally acknowledged that its first season was something less wonderful than sliced bread. "A mixed bag," they said. "Needs a few more cast members." But they still believe in the appeal of Matt LeBlanc's character. Looks like he'll have one more season to make it work.
NBC does have one new comedy that looked like it had a whiff of Must-See-TV-ness to it: Four Kings, which stars Seth Green. It's about four longtime New York buddies who move into the apartment that one of them inherits from his grandmother. But NBC's play-it-safe strategy will keep it on the bench until later this season.

FRIDAY

NBC gets deeper into the feel-good reality genre with Three Wishes. Country music singer Amy Grant and a team of experts could soon be rolling into your town to cure your sick kid, fast-track your adoption papers or save a popular teacher's job after the school board cuts the budget. There were lots of tears and hugs in the clips. NBC successfully hit the heart strings on 8 pm on this night in the past with Providence, so this has a shot.
Dateline NBC is back at 9. At 10, NBC will try Inconceivable, a new drama set in a fertility clinic. Let's just say we wouldn't want to be in charge of the props on this show.

SATURDAY

NBC will air movies and probably episodes of Law & Order: Oh, I Haven't Seen This One.

SUNDAY

Dateline returns at 7, while The West Wing moves to 8. The White House drama is pretty long in the tooth for a move to a new night. With a story line that will lead to a new president, the show is getting one more chance away from Fox's Idol juggernaut. Law & Order: Criminal Intent is back at 9 and Crossing Jordan returns at 10 as NBC runs out the clock on this night until it gets NFL football next year.

When does Amazing Race return?

Does anyone know if it will go into syndication anytime soon or even DVD? I missed seasons 1 through 5.

UPFRONTS JOURNAL
By Virginia Heffernan Television Critic of The New York Times at the Television Upfronts

ABC AT AVERY FISHER HALL| 05.17 4:50 PM

Goodbye Gray Sky, Hello Blue

So ABC didn't start with a tribute to "Desperate Housewives." That came later when they ran a clip of Laura Bush at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner declaring she was a fan. But first the high-flying network showed a montage of its golden age: "Love Boat" and "Happy Days" and "Laverne and Shirley" and "Welcome Back Kotter" and "Fantasy Island." It does feel like those days are back. ABC is the happy network. Like when we were kids.

ABC AT AVERY FISHER HALL| 05.17 4:32 PM

'There's Techno Music'

It's going to be hard to stay aloof and undazzled during the ABC presentation about to start at Lincoln Center. For one, we're required to wear big laminated ABC prime-time schedules around our necks. ABC is our daddy. And Avery Fisher Hall just looks pretty, too: the monitors on stage are sparkling with stars and happy popping bubbles. There's techno music. So this is what gloating looks like.
I'm going to have to take this stupid schedule necklace off.

slocko:
CBS will announce its schedule tomorrow, and Amazing Race info should be forthcoming there.
As far as I know none of the previous Amazing Race seasons have yet been released on DVD.
Perhaps Fox's soon-to-start reality channel will run them?

fredfa, Wasn't Summerland getting decent ratings in season one? What happened?

slocko, from TVshowsondvd.com:

"[The Season 1 DVD] has been pushed back until late September, probably around the time that The Amazing Race season 8 will premiere."

and tvgameshows.net reported that Fox Reality Channel and I think GSN were trying to get the rights to previous season reruns.

Originally posted by keenan
How could FOX even let the negotiations for this show even reach this point considering they only have one other drama that anybody watches..?

It wasn't as close as the article makes it out to be.

Originally posted by fredfa
Is ABC Trying to Kill Off “Alias”?





If next season is anything like this season then it's fine by me, rest in peace.

Originally posted by foxeng
It wasn't as close as the article makes it out to be.

Yeah, probably a lot of huffing and puffing on both sides of the table...:p

Originally posted by fredfa
Is ABC Trying to Kill Off “Alias”?
(From Michael Ausiello’s Entertainment News at TVGuide.com

... And in a head-scratcher of a decision, the net has opted not to euthanize The Bachelor; the ailing franchise will return at midseason after Monday Night Football wraps. So, let me get this straight: Eyes is dead, but The Bachelor is alive and kicking? OK, just checking.
Well, it did stay in second place all three hours Monday night (see fredfa's ratings update, first post in this thread. BTW, the heading has it as Tuesday's ratings.)

Of course, most of those seeking scripted shows went to that Raymond finale.

Originally posted by keenan
Yeah, probably a lot of huffing and puffing on both sides of the table...:p

24 is a product of Twentieth Television.

thanks for the heads up, dline. I've changed the heading.

Studios are under a lot of pressure from other profit participants (producers, stars, creators) and can't automatically just cede rights to their "own" network as easily as they once did.

There was a real chance, if Fox TV hadn't raised the fees it was willing to pay, that "24" could have gone to NBC.

It took a lot more money than Fox TV wanted to pay to keep the show.

(Frankly, I think it is getting a bit tired, and I would have let NBC overpay for a guaranteed two seasons.)

Last week’s prime-time program ratings have been posted at the top of Latest News the first item in this thread.

UPFRONTS JOURNAL
By Virginia Heffernan Television Critic of The New York Times at the Television Upfronts

ABC AT AVERY FISHER HALL | 05.17 6:03 PM

Alien Aftermath

I don't know whether the conceit is linked to 9-11, but the idea of a post-traumatic world, in which the catastrophe is nominally over but odd quasi-supernatural aftereffects linger, seems to enthrall the folks at ABC.
"Lost" works like this, and now "Invasion" — the new show of which ABC appears proudest — follows suit. Here there's been an alien invasion, and though the trouble seems to have passed, things just seem weird. As a little girl soothsayer says in the pilot, "Mommy, you smell different."
This one deserves a chance.

ABC AT AVERY FISHER HALL | 05.17 5:33 PM

Humor Me

"Hot Properties," a sitcom about realtors in the "Housewives" vein, looks like a grave error. Just downer pathetic lady humor and no reason for being.
On the bright side, the excerpt of "Crumbs," a warped family comedy starring Jane Curtin as a pillfreak mom she seems born to play, made me laugh.
And "Emily's Reasons Why Not," with the glowy Heather Graham as a daffy single girl, looks like fun too.
Good sitcoms? Nah. It must be a trick of the light in here.

ABC AT AVERY FISHER HALL | 05.17 5:12 PM

It's a New York Stage, Isnt' It?

Marc Cherry is wearing black tie and tails, full maestro gear. The creator of "Desperate Housewives" is lapping it up. Mr. Cherry, who has Broadway skills, bursts into "Beautiful Girls," as the housewives come out in sequins and boas. It's a hit. The audience is on its feet. What an asset this guy is — a show creator who can sing.
"Next up," he says, "J.J. Abrams does HIS medley from ‘Annie Get Your Gun.’"

ABC AT AVERY FISHER HALL | 05.17 5:09 PM

And Now a Word From Our Motivational Speakers...

"Are we pleased? Absolutely. Are we content? No."
That's the line of Stephen McPherson, president of ABC Entertainment. He swears that the network is enjoying a "comeback-in-progress."
Where NBC pushed "upscale" as its best quality, ABC — in Mr. McPherson's spiel — gave itself credit for creating "the shared experience, the guilty pleasure, the thrill ride." He cited "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," with its missionary project of uplift, as paradigmatic. We then saw big clips of Ty Pennington, the show's host, sounding — there's no other word for it — evangelical.

Just a reminder. Here is the remaining upfronts schedule:

CBS Wednesday May 18 3 PM ET
Carnegie Hall

UPN Thursday May 19 11 AM ET
Madison Square Garden

Fox Thursday May 19 4 PM ET
City Center Theatre

Low ratings? Not a problem
Networks spare low-rated sitcoms "Arrested Development" and "The Office."
By Scott Collins and Matea Gold Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
(Times staff writer Maria Elena Fernandez contributed to this report.)
May 18, 2005

To regular viewers of Fox's "Arrested Development," blue paint has special meaning. It furnishes one of the many running jokes that have helped make the comedy about a loopy Orange County clan a long-standing favorite among critics and select fans.

Make that very select fans. Showing a tenacity uncommon among network executives — famous for squelching TV shows that don't deliver high ratings in their first nanoseconds — Fox this week renewed "Arrested Development" for a full third season, even though shows with its ratings history typically receive nothing but a speedy trip to the trash heap. The news came just two days before the network will lay out its complete fall prime-time lineup for advertisers.

"It's one of the best comedies on television in recent years," Preston Beckman, executive vice president of strategic programming for Fox, said Tuesday. "We're hoping to see the kind of growth 'Seinfeld,' ['Everybody Loves] Raymond' and 'Murphy Brown' saw by being patient and keeping it on.... We just have to figure out ways to broaden out the audience."

As it happens, patience seems to be the hot new accessory for network executives at this week's "upfront" ad market in New York. NBC picked up more episodes of its critically acclaimed but low-rated "The Office" (5.4 million average viewers), a transplant of the BBC hit, while ABC, in a surprising move, spared the life of the little-seen "Jake in Progress" (5.4 million). By comparison, CBS' hit "Raymond," which had its series finale Monday, averaged 16.9 million viewers this season.

When it comes to devotion, though, few networks can match Fox's for "Arrested Development." According to data from Nielsen Media Research, average ratings this season for "Arrested" fell 5%, to 5.9 million viewers, compared to last season's numbers, which were themselves disappointing. And yet the series has key backing from Fox's former top programmer, Gail Berman, as well as her successor, Peter Liguori, who took over as entertainment president last month. Media buyers asked Tuesday during the upfront presentations about the show's return couldn't resist taking a good-natured jab at its ratings.

"Six people will be very happy," joked Jason Kanefsky, vice president and account director at MPG, of "Arrested's" renewal. But he and other media buyers agreed it was a smart move.

"Any time that you've got a show that's different and quirky on the air, it's a good thing," Kanefsky said.

"It's got upscale numbers, it's got high 'stickiness.' People are engaged with it. It's better than 'Nanny 911,' " a Fox reality offering.

Added Stacey Lynn Koerner of Initiative: "It's one of the few comedies that has a voice that's completely different from the rest of the comedies that are out there." Fox's perseverance says a great deal about lowered network expectations, not to mention the dismal state of TV comedy.

Thanks in large part to "American Idol," Fox is leading this season among the young-adult viewers advertisers crave. That gives executives more room to give an extra boost to a critically acclaimed ratings laggard like "Arrested." Last fall, the series won the Emmy for best comedy.

Beckman said "Arrested" has struggled in part because it doesn't fit naturally with the rest of Fox's schedule. When Fox announces its fall schedule Thursday, he added, it will likely include a better "companion" series culled from the new comedy pilots.

"There's no natural time period for 'Arrested' on our schedule," Beckman said. "It's spent two years surrounded by animated shows" such as "The Simpsons" and "King of the Hill."

Fox also hopes that more viewers will be exposed to "Arrested" outside of its regular airing. The first-season DVD was ranked No. 102 on Amazon.com's chart Tuesday. Beckman says the wider exposure is crucial because the comedy depends heavily on in-jokes, such as the blue paint motif that creeps into episodes.

"A lot of its humor comes from knowing the characters and seeing prior episodes," Beckman said. "That's where the value of the DVD comes in."

As it happens, the competitive environment for any comedy is much easier than it was just a year or so ago, because several major hits have ended their runs in the past year, including NBC's "Friends" and "Frasier" and now CBS' "Raymond." Furthermore, the current season's new comedies, such as NBC's "Father of the Pride" and CBS' "Center of the Universe," failed to stir excitement with viewers. The lack of heavy hitters makes executives more willing to work with series that are ratings-challenged but show promise.

ABC President Stephen McPherson told reporters Tuesday, for instance, that the network was giving "Jake" a second chance because it had been moved around the schedule and was not promoted properly.

"It didn't deliver great ratings but ... that was our issue," McPherson said. "We can do a lot better job of giving it a companion and finding the appropriate market launch." Of course, patience does have its limits.

ABC on Tuesday officially axed "My Wife & Kids," the Damon Wayans sitcom that has roughly matched the 6 million or so average weekly viewers "Arrested Development" gets. Also gone is "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter," a onetime hit that has struggled since the death of star John Ritter in September 2003.

" 'Wife and Kids' had a great run," McPherson said. But "I think they told a lot of what they wanted to tell."

How Raymond’s Farewell Stacks Up

The Wall Street Journal---Parting is such sweet sorrow -- especially if you're a broadcast network with a top-ranked show -- but in the past few years, a gaggle of long-running sitcoms have bid adieu.
Helped by an hourlong retrospective to warm up viewers on Monday night, CBS's "Everybody Loves Raymond" pulled in 32.9 million viewers, about twice as many as usual, but still a long way from the huge audiences who tuned in for the farewells of comedies "M*A*S*H" and "Cheers. Finale champ "M*A*S*H" also holds the distinction of being the most-watched show in history, a record few expect to be challenged.
In recent years, with the exception of "Seinfeld" and "Friends," saying goodbye has meant less and less to viewers. In Monday's episode, the Barone family faces the possibility of life without Raymond when he has trouble waking from surgery. For audiences who have already long enjoyed the option of watching the series (and other favorites) on DVD or in syndication, the prospect of a prolonged slumber is equally remote. --5/17/05

Series Finales
Program-(Network)-Date-Viewers (in millions)
M*A*S*H (CBS) 2/28/83 105.5
Cheers (NBC) 5/20/93 80.4
Seinfeld (NBC) 5/14/98 76.3
Friends (NBC) 5/07/04 52.5
Magnum P.I. (CBS) 5/01/88 50.7
The Cosby Show (CBS) 4/30/92 44.4
All in the Family (CBS) 4/08/79 40.2
Dallas (CBS) 5/03/91 33.3
Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS) 5/16/05 32.9
Gunsmoke (CBS) 3/31/75 30.9
Newhart (CBS) 5/21/90 29.5
St. Elsewhere (NBC) 5/25/88 22.5
Hill Street Blues (NBC) 5/12/87 16.3

Upfront and center

Network executives and celebrities gather in Manhattan this week, making their best pitch to advertisers about the new 2005-06 season in an annual ritual known as the “upfront.” Los Angeles Times reporters are filing the latest updates about prime-time shows, flashy presentations and parties here.

By Shawn Hubler, The Los Angeles Times with dispatches from Matea Gold and Maria Elena Fernandez in New York
Day 2 (Continued)
May 17, 5:55 p.m. EDT

ABC Dances The Merry Jig of Self-Congratulation. But Only a little. Just, like, a little shuffling of the feet. For to nakedly rub in the mind-blowing greatness of the year they've had would not be the way of ABC's president of primetime entertainment.

It would be the way of pretty much every other television executive on the planet. But not this guy. When Jimmy Kimmel pans the audience at the ABC presentation with his Kimmel Cam and announces, "Please take your seats and prepare for the comedy of Steve McPherson," it's a joke.

And indeed, McPherson refuses to call it a comeback. "Comeback in progress," is about as far as he'll go.

Still. When the "Desperate Housewives" glide out in white, silver and gold gowns and furs, escorted by guys in tuxes, the advertisers leap to their feet. Not even Jerry Bruckheimer, who rose on the third day to appear at the WB presentation, got this kind of a reception. What else can this be but contagious emotion? The 30-second spots most of them failed to lock in last year for $125,000 now sell for $350,000 apiece.

Orale! A miniseries based on that long, long song about the guy who gets shot by a hooker! Telemundo is up today, too, with some interesting developments on the drama-but-not-a-telenovela front.

Telemundo and Univision have been dabbling for the past couple of seasons in original dramatic programming that goes beyond your Tía Carmen's soap opera. Now Telemundo has something called "The Drama Series," a new 13-episode format to deliver "gripping stories of love, conflict and resolution."

On deck will be "Envíos" ("Dispatches") about immigrants in the U.S. supporting families back in the old country, and "Lotería," which, according to their press release "takes a look at what happens to people who become millionaires overnight by simply winning the lotto." (We know what happens -- they yell "My Name Is Earl" and go get their own new comedy series on Telemundo's sister network NBC, where they can be watched by rich folks.)

Also interesting, if you speak Spanish, is a new miniseries, "Pedro Navaja," based on the 1970s salsa masterpiece by singer/actor Ruben Blades. Telemundo is calling it "a story of love, betrayal, murder and a very special family loyalty." We remember it being a more danceable version of "Mack The Knife."

The Curse of "Just Shoot Me:" Both female stars of the old David Spade sitcom were trumpeted as headliners in new shows this season, and both have had to be recast. After the press release!

Wendie Malick was supposed to have been the worldly-wise life coach trying to teach three knucklehead guys how to score in The WB's new "Modern Men", the midseason Jerry Bruckheimer comedy (hard to see those words side by side, isn't it? Bruckheimer? Comedy?). Laura San Giacomo was supposed to have been the nurturing-mother-hen-legal-aid-lawyer-oldest-sister in WB's new ensemble comedy, "Related."

But then ABC decided not to cancel "Jake in Progress", where Malick is already playing the worldly-wise boss of knucklehead guy John Stamos. And then WB Entertainment President David Janollari says San Giacomo's character is being recast, too, because -- well he doesn' quite say why.

"There were a number of creative reasons we've opted to go another way," he deadpanned when asked about it by reporters. After which he waited a beat and added, "How's that for vague?"

One advertiser on WB's presentation: "I loved Ashton Kutcher's show, "Beauty and the Geek", confides Debbie Sherry, an executive with Reckitt Benckiser, the maker, among other products, of Lysol and Woolite.

Sherry said the show reminded her a little of ABC's hit "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" in the way it tugged on her heartstrings. Her prediction: People will want "to put it on and cry."

Originally posted by rogo
Lloyd Braun the character was named for the real-life Lloyd Braun.

Alec Berg, Joe Davola, et al. were also named for real-life people.

Now please return to the upfronts.

I apologize for making a joke, and didn't think it was too far off-topic to be a problem. Once again, I apologize! :)

Originally posted by rogo
Let me say that Thursday 8pm with Survivor, Alias, Smallville and perhaps The O.C. is a notable brutal timeslot.

I agree. I'm going to have to choose what I'm going to watch on Thursday nights myself. Until I get SD-LIL and can TiVo Smallville, I'll probably skip recording it off of FTA and wait for the DVDs, and maybe do the same thing with "The O.C." and watch "Joey" live and "Alias" on the West coast ABC-HD feed.

As much as I would hate having to watch "Joey" on a videotape in SD, I really think they should have moved him to Tuesday to give the writers a chance to find their groove with the show.

~Alan

(If it is about prime-time TV, we allow a lot of latitude here.)

Which Goes? Amy? Joan? (Or Both?)

The Hollywood Reporter in a preview of the CBS upfront says :

“…the midseason drama "Numbers" was poised to return for a second season, with the comedies "Still Standing" and "Yes, Dear" also looking good to come back.

The outlook was much grimmer for sophomore drama "Joan of Arcadia" and veteran "Judging Amy," with at least one of them said to be looking at cancellation….”

Solid CBS has its eye on the offbeat
“Judging Amy” and “Joan of Arcadia” canceled
By Gary Levin USA TODAY

NEW YORK — Dharma and Greg are back on TV, but Joan and Amy are history.

CBS' fall schedule — which will be unveiled at a presentation for advertisers today — includes separate new series featuring Jenna Elfman and Thomas Gibson, who co-starred in ABC's hit comedy Dharma & Greg, which lasted from 1997 to 2002.

But two-year drama Joan of Arcadia and six-year drama Judging Amy have been canceled.

Wednesday's edition of 60 Minutes —the subject of controversy over its segment on President Bush's National Guard service — has an uncertain future, while Jason Alexander sitcom Listen Up is not expected back. But warhorse sitcom Yes, Dear will return after a strong performance paired with The King of Queens this spring.

CBS this month ends its third consecutive season in first place among all viewers and has made surprisingly strong gains among young adults, where it is just behind Fox in an extremely close race.

Although Joan had a loyal core audience, ratings plummeted this season as the show's focus shifted. Both Joan and Amy were among CBS' lowest-rated series among the younger viewers so sought after by advertisers.

The network also loses TV's top comedy, Everybody Loves Raymond, but has a solid hit in Two and a Half Men to inherit Raymond's Monday at 9 ET/PT time slot. It's the kind of succession NBC lacked when Friends exited last May.

Unable to score with softer dramas such as Joan and this season's failed Clubhouse, CBS has drafted new shows that are heavy on crime, despite three CSIs, Without a Trace and Cold Case on its returning lineup. But the network is taking a gamble with two paranormal or sci-fi series, continuing a trend evident at other networks.

CBS' off-beat experiments:

•Ghost Whisperer, with Jennifer Love Hewitt as a newlywed who communicates with the dead (but, in a twist, solves no crimes). It's based on psychic James van Praagh's work.

•Threshold, a sci-fi drama about a mysterious alien life form, with a cast that includes Charles Dutton, Brent Spiner (Star Trek) and Carla Gugino.

The network has three new sitcoms. Among them is Elfman's Everything I Know About Men, which marks CBS' first female-driven comedy in a few years; the network is known for being home to sitcoms led by tubby men with hot wives. (Old Christine, a comedy pilot starring Seinfeld's Julia Louis-Dreyfus as a divorced mom, was passed over but has a shot at a future midseason order.)

Other new shows (some for midseason):

•How I Met Your Mother, a flashback comedy about a single man looking for his future wife.

•Flesh & Blood, a sitcom from the producers of Frasier about a family of single doctors, starring Stockard Channing and Henry Winkler.

•American Crime, yet another series from producer Jerry Bruckheimer, about a new-mom prosecutor battling suburban crime.

•Criminal Minds, a suspense thriller about the FBI behavioral-analysis unit. Features Dharma's Gibson, Shemar Moore and Mandy Patinkin (Chicago Hope).

•The Unit, a drama about members of a military commando unit and their families. Stars Dennis Haysbert (24); from David Mamet and producer Shawn Ryan (The Shield). Likely for midseason.

I know they want better demographics and yada yada, but if I were CBS, i'd keep Judging Amy. That slot's show will be up against Law & Order: SVU and Boston Legal; they'll need an established hit there that won't get crushed like a new show (see Eyes :().

I agree.
But CBS is desperate to lower the average age of its viewers.
I suspect they'd be happy if the ratings were less...but the viewers younger.

CBS Expected to Broaden Programming Next Season

By JACQUES STEINBERG The New York Times May 18, 2005
(This article was reported by Jacques Steinberg, Bill Carter and Stuart Elliott and written by Mr. Steinberg.)

CBS, which drew more viewers to its prime-time lineup this last year than any other television network, is expected to tell a meeting of advertisers today that it hopes to broaden its appeal in the coming season by adding at least five new dramas and three comedies to its schedule, according to several people briefed about its plans.

A rough draft of that new lineup - assembled from conversations with an agent, two studio executives and others in the industry, none of whom would consent to be identified - provided some clues as to how the network plans to cope with the loss of "Everybody Loves Raymond," which broadcast its last original episode Monday night while still rated the most popular half-hour comedy on television.

But what could not be determined, at least as of early last night, was the fate of the Wednesday edition of "60 Minutes." Already ranked among the lower-rated programs on television, that magazine program was further imperiled after it broadcast a report in September that purported to raise new questions about President Bush's Vietnam-era National Guard service. After initially defending the report, the network announced that it could no longer vouch for the documents on which it was based.

In the wake of that broadcast, the producer of the report, Mary Mapes, was fired, and the correspondent on it, Dan Rather, departed as anchor of the "CBS Evening News." He now works full-time as a reporter on the Wednesday edition of "60 Minutes." If that program is canceled, Mr. Rather would probably be given a slot on the Sunday edition of "60 Minutes" through 2006, according to two people familiar with his contract.

Other CBS programs whose fate could not be discerned, at least as of late yesterday, were the dramas "Joan of Arcadia" and "Judging Amy."

CBS, which is owned by Viacom, has long advocated a something-for-everyone approach to its programming, a strategy evident in the new shows it is picking up. Apparently mindful of sustaining its appeal to relatively older viewers - including those between the ages of 25 and 54, a category CBS will win this year - the network is adding "Criminal Minds," a drama starring Mandy Patinkin, about a corps of F.B.I. criminal profilers, and "Out of Practice," a comedy about a family of physicians, including two played by Henry Winkler and Stockard Channing.

Perhaps to broaden its appeal to younger viewers - among those aged 18 to 49, CBS is currently running a close second to Fox - the network is expected to add two programs starring young actresses who each gained a following on other networks. One of those new programs is a drama, "Ghost Whisperer," about a medium (Jennifer Love Hewitt, late of Fox's "Party of Five") and another is a comedy, "Everything I Know About Men," featuring Jenna Elfman, best known as Dharma in ABC's "Dharma and Greg."

Those comedies - as well as a third, "How I Met Your Mother," with Neal Patrick Harris of ABC's "Doogie Howser M.D." - will be of critical importance in trying to fill the hole left by "Raymond," which drew an audience of more than 32 million viewers (the largest in its history) in its season finale Monday night.

All told, CBS is expected to announce today that it is adding at least eight new shows, though how many will start in the fall was not clear yesterday. Its presentation, at Carnegie Hall, follows those by NBC on Monday, as well as by ABC and WB yesterday, in what is known to advertisers and media buyers as the upfront market. The last presentations will be on Thursday, by Fox and UPN.

In its formal presentation yesterday to advertisers, ABC said it would introduce three dramas and two comedies in the fall, followed by others at midseason. In presenting its schedule, ABC, a unit of the Walt Disney Company, tinkered with every night but Sunday, which will continue to be anchored by three highly rated programs: "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," "Desperate Housewives" and "Grey's Anatomy."

By contrast, on Monday nights, after "Monday Night Football" has concluded its run in January (it will move to ESPN for the 2006-7 television season), ABC will begin broadcasting a returning show at a new time ("The Bachelor" at 8 p.m.), to be followed at 9 p.m. by a new comedy ("Emily's Reasons Why Not," with Heather Graham), and an existing program, also at a new time ("Jake in Progress" at 9:30). At 10 p.m. it will introduce a new comedy, "What About Brian," a one-hour show about an unmarried man and his married friends.

Also returning to ABC at new times are "Lost," at 9 p.m. on Wednesdays; "Alias," at 8 p.m. on Thursdays; and "Hope and Faith," at 9 p.m. on Fridays.

Among the most innovative new programs on ABC is "Freddie," a comedy created around the movie actor Freddie Prinze Jr., in which the actress playing the part of the main character's grandmother will speak only Spanish, with English subtitles.

WB, seeking to regain the ratings momentum it has lost the last two seasons, is aggressively remaking its prime-time schedule to reinforce its appeal among its more dedicated viewers, ages 12 to 24, while reaching out further to viewers ages 25 to 34 and even older.

Executives at the network, owned by Warner Brothers and the Tribune Company, are changing the schedule for all six nights the network broadcasts. (It is dark on Saturday.)

Programming winners is as easy as ABC

An amazing year at the network means every show now looks as if it could be the next "Desperate Housewives" or "Lost," even though, odds say, they probably won't be
CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK By Paul Brownfield Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
May 18, 2005

It was a Broadway dance number — Marc Cherry, creator of "Desperate Housewives," attired in top hat and tails and singing "Beautiful Girls" from the musical "Follies," as the "Housewives" came out one by one, dressed in elaborate gowns and appearing to get along.

It was a moment. It was like Sally Field at the Oscars, only without the exposition. The advertisers packed into Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center gave Cherry a standing ovation. They liked him, they really, really liked him. Cherry, in one last glimpse over his shoulder before exiting the stage, looked like the cat that ate the canary.

ABC is the network that ate the competition this year. When it comes to "Desperate Housewives," even rival networks have been paying it homage in prepared statements, and "Lost" has reinvigorated the notion that a mass TV audience will follow a layered, heavily serialized mystery. While Cherry sang to his heart's content, J.J. Abrams, "Lost's" executive producer, came out onstage with co-creator Damon Lindelof and most of the cast to give the advertisers a taste of the final episode airing next week, in which a handful of the castaways board a ship and head out to sea. I was up on the 22nd floor across the street from Lincoln Center, watching the presentation via simulcast. I looked around to see how many reporters were getting misty.

"Can you buy into the momentum that the network has right now?" ABC entertainment chief Stephen McPherson had asked, looking and sounding like a self-help guru who was about to give out a toll-free number.

Under McPherson's watch, the network's fortunes have turned. Now every show looks as if it could be the next "Desperate Housewives" or "Lost," even though, odds say, they probably won't be. "Invasion," which ABC will air post-"Lost" Wednesday nights at 10, is about an alien run amok in a small town in Florida, not to mention "The Night Stalker," an even creepier-looking series about a reporter investigating supernatural crimes.

Both are slick-looking attempts by ABC to ride the weirdness wave. In contrast comes "Commander in Chief" from Rod Lurie ("The Contender"), in which Geena Davis plays the vice president of the United States thrust into the leader-of-the-free-world role after the president suffers a massive stroke.

Geena Davis as the president? Well, why not? She's tall and she's got Donald Sutherland as a kind of sage/ghost of Ben Franklin muse. And in the clip that ABC showed, Davis is seen on one of her first days telling her mutinous administration that anyone who wants to resign is free to do so — today. Wasn't that how Rumsfeld handled his first day at the Pentagon?

The network's comedy development is like everybody else's: bad until further notice. The funniest guy on ABC, you kept realizing in the clip packages ABC showed, is William Shatner, and he's on a drama, "Boston Legal."

For the fall, ABC has scheduled "Freddie," starring Freddie Prinze Jr. as a lothario living with his sister, sister-in-law, niece and grandmother. You will see Prinze without a shirt. He will hear a joke, followed by a laugh track. You will be expected to behave accordingly.

"Desperate Realtors," officially known as "Hot Properties," is about three career women (Gail O'Grady, Nicole Sullivan, Sofia Vergara) who work in a New York City real estate office and who approach sex in that scary-funny way that the women of Wisteria Lane do. Or the way Heather Graham will in "Emily's Reasons Why Not," playing a publishing executive. These shows seem to present a world in which women are oversexed because men are invariably strange, aping the situations if not the humor of the still-reverberating "Sex and the City."

ABC's dangerous late-night guy, Jimmy Kimmel, came onstage for a few minutes of levity and asked why the network didn't just put Regis Philbin on the "Lost" island and have the series air five nights a week. It was a jab at the ABC hit of a few years ago, "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," which the network promptly rode into the ground.

But ABC doesn't do game shows anymore — they do "life-improvement shows." And so to the successful tear-jerker "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," add "The Miracle Workers" (crack medical experts bring treatment to a hard-luck case) and this summer's "Welcome to the Neighborhood," in which a cross-section of families competes to win a house on a cul-de-sac. No, not that cul-de-sac.

Upfront and center

Network executives and celebrities gather in Manhattan this week, making their best pitch to advertisers about the new 2005-06 season in an annual ritual known as the “upfront.” Los Angeles Times reporters are filing the latest updates about prime-time shows, flashy presentations and parties here.

By Shawn Hubler, The Los Angeles Times with dispatches from Matea Gold and Maria Elena Fernandez in New York
Day 2 May 17, 9:55 p.m. EDT .

Partywatch: The Sequel. ABC had big screens at its party Tuesday night pointing advertisers to their obligatory celebrity photo ops. Yet tragically, in the din of the crowd, under the big tent against the band shell at Lincoln Center, amid the lavish sushi and shrimp banquet, Chris Harrison, the host of "The Bachelor," lingered in solitude.

The "Desperate Housewives" weren’t lonely though. The crowd around them was 10-deep, advertisers viciously body-checking each other to get near them. (Possibly because this was as close as it gets to getting a piece of this action for free.)

Speaking of hardworkin’ wimmen, the advertisers also seemed to like the great, dimpled Geena Davis, who plays the U.S. president/harried-working-mom-just-like-you-and-me in ABC’s new "Commander-in-Chief."

Her character starts out as the U.S. vice president, but then has to assume the presidency after the current officeholder has a stroke.

"I think it has the buzz," observed Jordan Breslaw, who does research for Mediacom, waiting patiently in line to get his picture taken with the stately redhead.

"It’s probably one of the better dramas, and it’s something that you haven’t seen before. It’s good to see a different perspective in the Oval Office."

Geena Davis wholeheartedly agreed.

"Obviously, when it happens, it’s going to be a big deal," she said in an interview at the party, adding that the idea of portraying a female president immediately appealed to her. Davis said that even after filming the pilot, she was moved when she watched the scene when her character walks into the Oval Office for the first time.

"It struck me again how historic it is," she said. "Some woman, some day, will walk into that room for the first time."

Davis allowed that her show could have something to do with making that happen: "I think when you see a female president in your living room every week, it’s going to make people think, ‘Oh, I can picture that.’ "

So who does she predict will be the beneficiary of this attitudinal change? Davis wouldn’t say whether she is pulling for New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. (Although she did add that director Rod Lurie said he plans to take credit if Clinton wins in 2008.)

Davis had another suggestion:

"I think it’s going to be me," she joked. "I’m planning to segue straight from the show to the Oval Office."

Meanwhile, back in the young, single demographic, a couple of twentysomething media buyers were freely gloating. They’d snagged Polaroids of themselves with the casts of "Grey’s Anatomy" and "Desperate Housewives."

That was a coup, by the way.

Unlike the "Lost" cast — which not only posed tirelessly but kept tapping their feet to the relentless replaying of the Jackson Five’s "ABC" in the background — the gals of Wisteria Lane fled after 90 minutes, leaving a velvet rope dangling around six empty white stools.

"Teri [Hatcher] was so nice and excited, but the redhead wasn’t that friendly," 22-year-old Amanda Safer groused about Marcia Cross.

Safer’s biggest score, though, was — duh! — "Jake In Progress’" John Stamos, who also mustered a pearly white grin for fan after fan, though he was sweating and one hand kept wearily running itself through his thick mane of hair.

"I told him I liked Jake, but I said Uncle Jesse rules," she said, referring to the actor’s character on "Full House," the ’80s comedy that apparently spoke to a generation. (Though whether the rest of us approve of what it said, we may never be certain.)

"He looked a little sad," Safer said guiltily.

No, Amanda, that’s what the rest of us refer to as "a little old."

Hit alert: A lot of unsolicited buzz also was gathering around "Beauty and the Geek."

That’s the WB reality game show about really smart, lame-o guys paired up with women who look like Barbie, from Ashton Kutcher and his "Punk’d" cronies. The idea is, boy-girl teams compete for a big cash prize. They prepare each other, then take tests. Girls get asked such brain-busting questions as "IA is the abbreviation for what state?" The guys have to, um, pick up women and dance.

Yes, it sounds like a Silicon Valley bar in the dot-com years to us, too. But, anyway

"When we went back to the office, everybody was talking about it," said 21-year-old media buyer Marissa Paulson. "It was really heartfelt. In a dorky way."

At the WB party, it was, well, early. The thing didn’t get started until 9 p.m., but that’s, like, suppertime if you’re a denizen of the WB.

It was at the W Hotel, where, despite a flood of "glow-tinis" — some sort of green drink made with vodka, tequila, ginger ale and ginseng — things were just beginning to get shakin’. Melanie Griffith of the new sitcom "Twins" and her husband (no, not Don Johnson! Antonio Banderas!) were there, early, holding hands, dressed in black and sneaking a cigarette.

Also an early bird was Stephen Collins, the reverend dad from "7th Heaven," which has now been on TV for 10 years, longer than "The Waltons." (Touché, John Boy).

Also Ashton Kutcher, sans Demi Moore, in a corner with his ball cap pulled low. And one of the "geeks" from the "Beauty and the Geek," surrounded by four women.

Other stars at the ABC party: James Spader and William Shatner, side by side in a shoulder clasp, checking out the ladies . . . Donald Sutherland, who has a key role in "Commander-in-Chief . . . Walt Disney Co.'s Bob Iger, who ascends to the CEO job this fall, looking tired but happy . . . The cast of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" being mobbed . . . Tabloid-hounded actor Andy Dick of "Less Than Perfect" . . . Television work-horse Courtney Thorne-Smith, once of "Melrose Place," now of "According to Jim" . . . Jim Belushi, of the aforementioned star vehicle . . . A cardboard cutout of George Lopez, with which ad buyers were actually posing — a publicist said the real star of "The George Lopez Show" was indisposed after a kidney transplant.

And maybe a star-to-be: One of the actresses on the new real estate comedy, "Hot Properties," Audra Blaser, 24, beamed on a bar bench. This despite the fact that she could have been a caterer, that’s how unknown she is.

The recent Carnegie Mellon grad said she found out Friday night that the network picked up her pilot.

"This is my dream, being on a sitcom," said the blond, clad in a white sundress and flanked by her equally jubilant agent and manager.

Then, lest she be typecast (and because she’s obviously a fast learner): "But I love all mediums."

With Ratings Tight, TV Networks Vie For Richest Viewers
By BROOKS BARNES Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL May 18, 2005

The TV sitcom "The Office," a documentary-style parody of corporate life, will return to General Electric Co.'s NBC in September despite a weak ratings performance. NBC's "Committed" -- a higher-rated sitcom about two neurotic twentysomethings -- won't be back.

The primary reason: Rich people like "The Office." The sitcom ranks high in "concentration" of wealthy viewers, a measurement NBC prefers to use and which makes it look good in a year when its overall ratings have lagged. The show "was the most upscale comedy on any network this season," says Kevin Reilly, NBC's president of entertainment. "That's the type of product we want on our network."

What viewers with higher incomes watch on TV is becoming more important to the broadcast networks as they try to set themselves apart from the pack and sell their fall schedules to advertisers. The four primary broadcast networks -- ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC -- are finishing the season in one of the tightest ratings races ever. Last year, the networks finished with 1.4 ratings points separating them; this year they're running only 0.3 of a ratings point apart. To distinguish themselves to advertisers, broadcasters increasingly are touting how popular their shows are with moneyed viewers.

Networks can charge advertisers a premium for delivering wealthy viewers, since they are the hardest group to reach. High-income people tend to be light television watchers, and are also more likely to own ad-skipping devices such as TiVo. NBC, for example, has long played up the youth and wealth of its viewers, and charges advertisers a premium of 5% to 20% to reach them.

But with some of those affluent viewers defecting to shows on rival networks -- NBC has fallen from first place to fourth in the ratings race -- Walt Disney Co.'s ABC, Viacom Inc.'s CBS, and News Corp.'s Fox see an opportunity to reap a similar premium. Baiting wealthy types is also a strategy, some network ad executives say, to lure more luxury marketers to broadcast TV -- a popular medium for pitching shampoo and crackers, but not five-star hotels and private jets.

Adding to the upscale buzz: a new ability to measure high-income households. Nielsen Media Research historically has only offered statistics on viewers with household incomes of $75,000 or more. Since last year's main ad-selling process, Nielsen has started providing data on viewers who make more than $100,000 and viewers with incomes of more than $125,000. Nielsen says it started offering the service in response to demand from networks and because of the boom in luxury marketing in general.

Sorting out which shows are the most upscale is tricky, and a subject of some debate. That's because the networks cull ratings data that benefits them the most. NBC, for example, says its audience is the most upscale because its shows, including "The West Wing" and "The Apprentice," draw the highest percentage of high-income households. "Concentration is how most advertisers buy television," says Jeff Zucker, president of the NBC Universal Television Group.

Try telling that to ABC, which is promoting "Desperate Housewives" as the most upscale show on TV because it attracts the largest total number of affluent viewers ages 18 to 49, the group advertisers covet most. Fox notes that "American Idol" has a largely upscale audience using this same measurement.

CBS, meanwhile, says both ways are inaccurate. David Poltrack, executive vice president of research and planning at CBS, says the "key upscale audience" is adults ages 25 to 54 who live in households with income of $100,000 or above. He argues that including younger viewers in the mix, as rival networks do, skews the results because it includes a lot of college students who don't spend as much. By this measurement, CBS is tied with NBC for first place, and four CBS shows, including "Survivor" and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," are ranked in the top 10.

Media buyers listen politely to the pitches. "The networks in general, and NBC in particular, have overused the word 'quality' to describe their audiences to such a degree that it doesn't mean much anymore," says Laura Caraccioli-Davis, a senior vice president at Starcom Entertainment, a Chicago ad-buying firm owned by Publicis Group SA.

"There is money going after this area, but overall television is not a very upscale marketplace," she adds. "The pool of TV advertisers seeking narrow, wealthy audiences is comparatively small." Ms. Caraccioli-Davis and other media buyers say that both concentration and total viewers are usually factored into spending plans, depending on the clients.

Despite all the fuss over affluent viewers, TV programmers, who are in the process of unveiling their fall schedules to advertisers, say they don't necessarily select new fare based on how well they expect it to play in richer homes. "The goal is to develop the best shows you can that become broad hits," says Steve McPherson, ABC's president of entertainment.

What do rich people like to watch? "Nobody really knows," says Alan Wurtzel, NBC's president of research and media development, "but in general these viewers respond to high production values, sophisticated dialogue and story lines and a unique point of view."

NBC is hoping that's the case with its newly announced sitcom "My Name is Earl," about an uneducated crook who wins the lottery and sets about righting the wrongs he committed in the past. At first glance, the sitcom seemed to some media buyers an odd choice for a network that is focused so intently on delivering upscale viewers. But Mr. Wurtzel says wealthy viewers responded positively in tests to the "sophisticated humor" in the show. "These people get the joke," he says.

Mr. McPherson says there are ways to tweak a program to make it more appealing to wealthy viewers -- change the costumes, move the action to a ritzier setting, add a character with a pedigreed background -- but says "upscale is usually either in a show's DNA or it isn't." Tinkering with a show to make it skew more upscale is "a recipe for disaster," he says, because it can "ruin the overall creative product."

One example of a successful tweak that improved a show's upscale standing: After the first few seasons of NBC's drama "Law & Order," producers and writers slightly changed the focus from street criminals to more upper-class perpetrators. The thinking, according to a former producer on the show, was that upscale viewers could get more involved in the story lines if the defendants were more like them. "Law & Order," entering its sixteenth season, ranks No. 15 on NBC's ranking of most upscale shows.

Most-Watched Shows Among Viewers From Households With Income of $75,000
• From Dec 27, 2004 - May 1, 2005

Rank Program Network Viewers (in millions)
1 Desperate Housewives ABC 10.4
2 American Idol-Tuesday FOX 10.1
4 CSI CBS 8.8
3 American Idol-Wednesday FOX 9
6 Grey's Anatomy ABC 7.5
5 Survivor: Palau CBS 7.8
7 Apprentice 3 NBC 6.6
8 E.R. NBC 6.1
9 CSI: Miami CBS 6
10 Without A Trace CBS 5.8

Network Rankings Among Viewers Age 25-54 From Households With Income of $100,000
Network Rating* 03-04 Rating 04-05 % Change
CBS 4.8 5.2 8%
NBC 5.6 5.2 -7%
ABC 3.7 4.7 27%
FOX 3.3 3.3 No Change

Viewers Age 25-54 From Households With Income of $100,000
Program Rating* 03-04 Rating 04-05 % Change
Desperate Housewives NA 16 NA
American Idol NA 12.4 NA
CSI 11.7 12.3 5%
Apprentice 2 & 3 14.8 11.6 -22%
Grey's Anatomy NA 11 NA
E.R. 10.6 10 -6%
Survivor Palau & Vanuatu 9.3 9.8 5%
CSI: Miami 8.6 9 5%
Boston Legal NA 8.2 NA
Without A Trace 6.7 7.9 18%
Medium NA 7.9 NA
Two And A Half Men 7.5 7.7 3%
Lost NA 7.7 NA
NFL Monday Night Football 7.8 7.6 -3%
Law & Order 7.9 7.5 -5%
Everybody Loves Raymond 8.2 7.4 -10%
West Wing 7.8 7.4 -5%
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 4.4 7.3 66%
24 6 7.3 22%
Will & Grace 9.7 7.2 -26%

*A rating is the pecentage of all television households watching a specific station.
There are 110 million TV households in the U.S.
Source: Nielsen Media Research

Upfront and center

Network executives and celebrities gather in Manhattan this week, making their best pitch to advertisers about the new 2005-06 season in an annual ritual known as the “upfront.” Los Angeles Times reporters are filing the latest updates about prime-time shows, flashy presentations and parties here.

By Shawn Hubler, The Los Angeles Times with dispatches from Matea Gold and Maria Elena Fernandez in New York
The Upfronts Day 3: Attack of the Recovering Geezers

May 18, 2 a.m. EDT

It's CBS' turn today. Their mission: to show the advertisers they're good for more than erectile dysfunction commercials. Also, that there's more going on there than "CSI." And shows for guys.

To that end, CBS Chairman and Viacom Co-President Leslie Moonves meets bright and early today for breakfast with reporters. Then, in the afternoon, comes the network's official presentation.

Early word is eight new series are on deck, some to replace old-folk shows such as "JAG" and the dear, departed "Everybody Loves Raymond," some to make them look younger than ABC.

Early buzz: "Joan of Arcadia" and/or "Judging Amy" are said to be in potential trouble. Lots of people still watch them, and kids' parents keep telling them they should tune in to that nice Joan girl who's so religious, but it appears that some constituencies think CBS could do better. (Meaning "young adults," the ones advertisers like so much.) So they're up against new blood. Female blood. There's "Ghost Whisperer," a new Jennifer Love-Hewitt vehicle about a young newlywed who talks to dead people, and "Everything I Know About Men," with Jenna Elfman in a knockoff of a BBC comedy about a young, female singleton.

Trendwatch: Also, because this is shaping up to be the Year of the Monster, there's "Threshold," a show with aliens (which equals ABC's new "Invasion," which equals NBC's "Fathom," which equals ABC's current runaway hit "Lost.").

Which isn't to say CBS is neglecting its franchise. The various "CSIs" (brief moment of silence in honor of, yes, again, Jerry Bruckheimer) will still be there this year.

And what's this? Another Bruckheimer! (Brief genuflection.) Actually "American Crime," a police procedural, is only co-produced by the guy who, so far, has announced new shows this week on just about every network but Telemundo.

Also presenting today: Univision, this morning at Lincoln Center.

Which reminds us of Sí TV: The little Los Angeles-based bilingual cable channel that is pretty much the hottest thing in Latin TV right now had its upfront Tuesday.

Polls show that two out of three young viewers would make life miserable for their cable companies if their Sí TV were taken away.

And you gotta admit -- some of these new shows would be enough to make you want to brush up on your Spanish if Sí TV didn't broadcast mostly in English. Here's an excerpt from their press release Tuesday detailing their new-show roster:"L:-)L, Laugh Out Loud," a 30-minute sketch comedy show featuring "The Big Fat Giant Gigante Show," a spoof on Univision's "Sabado Gigante."

"SLAM," the first television competition to expose a new world of talented performers who will compete in freestyle rapping, dancing, spoken word, street art, and head-to-head comedy.

"Urban Jungle 2: Straight Into Compton," which in its second season raises the stakes by transplanting 12 privileged suburbanites, cramming them into a house to experience life as an immigrant in Compton.

Wednesday’s Season Finales

That 70s Show Fox - 8 PM ET (one hour)

Smallville WB 8 PM ET (90-minutes; featuring eight minutes of footage from upcoming movie "Batman Begins"

Revelations NBC - 9 PM ET

Kevin Hill UPN - 9 PM ET (Series finale)

The King of Queens CBS - 9 PM ET

Yes, Dear CBS – 9:30 PM ET

CSI: NY CBS - 10 PM ET

Law & Order NBC - 10 PM ET

Delaying the Inevitable?

From the “Tuning In” column at Variety.com

By BRIAN LOWRY

COMEDY CORNERED, PART II: As a critic, it's difficult not to harbor mixed feelings about the renewals of Fox's Emmy-winning "Arrested Development," ABC's "Jake in Progress" and NBC's "The Office," which garnered considerable praise but by virtually any measure failed to deliver in the ratings.

Given the sorry state in which comedy finds itself on the major nets, there's perhaps a greater rationale for extending well-made programs with cable-sized audiences, hoping the positive response will somehow translate into higher tune-in, as opposed to simply rolling the dice all over again.

Nevertheless, part of the process feels particularly futile, taking a flier on prestige series in a peculiar kind of welfare toward the fashionably talented rich. It remains to be seen, moreover, what concessions might be extracted in the push to render these shows more "commercial," as sadly happened to NBC's ill-fated drama "Boomtown."

Nice as it would be to see this trio succeed, history indicates the Grim Reaper's scythe can be delayed but seldom diverted. Even HBO has discovered that not all its children can be rendered hits despite its proclamations to that effect, as the moribund second-season episodes of its showbiz romp "Entourage," returning next month, would suggest.

Until the fall, then, critics and quality advocates can bask in a rare victory. Any celebration, however, should be tempered by the knowledge that unlike pay cable, the networks are TV, and must inevitably adhere to their own unyielding set of rules.

Originally posted by fredfa
The funniest guy on ABC, you kept realizing in the clip packages ABC showed, is William Shatner, and he's on a drama, "Boston Legal."


OOH! That is cold!! :D (I LIKE IT!!) :D

CBS Cancels Its Wednesday Edition of '60 Minutes'
Also officially out: "Joan of Arcadia" and "Judging Amy”

By JACQUES STEINBERG The New York Times May 18, 2005
(This article was reported by Jacques Steinberg, Bill Carter and Stuart Elliott and written by Mr. Steinberg.)

Eight months after broadcasting a report critical of President Bush that was later disavowed, CBS said today that it had canceled the Wednesday edition of "60 Minutes."

The announcement was made this morning by Leslie Moonves, the chairman of CBS, at a breakfast meeting with journalists in advance of a presentation later today to advertisers.

Already ranked among the lower-rated programs on television, the magazine program was further imperiled after it broadcast a report in September that purported to raise new questions about President Bush's Vietnam-era National Guard service. After initially defending the report, the network announced that it could no longer vouch for the documents on which it was based.

In the wake of that broadcast, the producer of the report, Mary Mapes, was fired, and the correspondent on it, Dan Rather, departed several months later as anchor of the "CBS Evening News." He now works full-time as a reporter on the Wednesday edition of "60 Minutes."

Now that the program has been canceled, Mr. Rather will probably be given a slot on the Sunday edition of "60 Minutes" through 2006, according to two people familiar with his contract. But the cancellation is expected to have reverberations throughout the news division as correspondents, producers, editors and others are perhaps moved around. If the show does return, Mr. Moonves said, it would only be in occasional one-hour specials.

In his remarks, Mr. Moonves stressed the fact that the Wednesday edition of "60 Minutes" had some of the oldest viewers of any program on the network.

"This was a ratings call and not a content call," Mr. Moonves said. "I know that's a question."

Other CBS programs that have been canceled are the dramas "Joan of Arcadia" and "Judging Amy."

CBS, which drew more viewers to its prime-time lineup this last year than any other television network, is also expected to tell a meeting of advertisers today that it hopes to broaden its appeal in the coming season by adding at least five new dramas and three comedies to its schedule, according to several people briefed about its plans.

A rough draft of that new lineup -- assembled from conversations with an agent, two studio executives and others in the industry, none of whom would consent to be identified -- provided some clues as to how the network plans to cope with the loss of "Everybody Loves Raymond," which broadcast its last original episode Monday night while still rated the most popular half-hour comedy on television.

CBS, which is owned by Viacom, has long advocated a something-for-everyone approach to its programming, a strategy evident in the new shows it is picking up. Apparently mindful of sustaining its appeal to relatively older viewers -- including those between the ages of 25 and 54, a category CBS will win this year -- the network is adding "Criminal Minds," a drama starring Mandy Patinkin, about a corps of F.B.I. criminal profilers, and "Out of Practice," a comedy about a family of physicians, including two played by Henry Winkler and Stockard Channing.

Perhaps to broaden its appeal to younger viewers -- among those aged 18 to 49, CBS is currently running a close second to Fox -- the network is expected to add two programs starring young actresses who each gained a following on other networks. One of those new programs is a drama, "Ghost Whisperer," about a medium (Jennifer Love Hewitt, late of Fox's "Party of Five") and another is a comedy, "Everything I Know About Men," featuring Jenna Elfman, best known as Dharma in ABC's "Dharma and Greg."

Those comedies -- as well as a third, "How I Met Your Mother," with Neal Patrick Harris of ABC's "Doogie Howser M.D." -- will be of critical importance in trying to fill the hole left by "Raymond," which drew an audience of more than 32 million viewers (the largest in its history) in its season finale Monday night.

All told, CBS is expected to announce today that it is adding at least eight new shows, though how many will start in the fall was not clear yesterday. Its presentation, at Carnegie Hall, follows those by NBC on Monday, as well as by ABC and WB yesterday, in what is known to advertisers and media buyers as the upfront market. The last presentations will be on Thursday, by Fox and UPN.

C B S Prime-Time Schedule for 2005-2006 Season
bold indicates new show; NT indicates new time slot)

Monday

8 PM ET/PT: The King Of Queens NT
8:30 PM ET/PT: How I Met Your Mother
9 PM ET/PT: Two And A Half Men NT
9:30 PM ET/PT: Out Of Practice
10 PM ET/PT: CSI: Miami

Tuesday

8 PM ET/PT: NCIS
9 PM ET/PT: The Amazing Race
10 PM ET/PT: Close To Home

Wednesday

8 PM ET/PT: Still Standing NT
8:30 PM ET/PT: Yes, Dear NT
9 PM ET/PT: Criminal Minds
10 PM ET/PT: CSI: NY

Thursday

8 PM ET/PT: Survivor: Guatemala
9 PM ET/PT: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
10 PM ET/PT: Without A Trace

Friday

8 PM ET/PT: Ghost Whisperer
9 PM ET/PT: Threshold
10 PM ET/PT: Numb3rs

Saturday

8 PM ET/PT: Crimetime Saturday
9 PM ET/PT: Crimetime Saturday
10 PM ET/PT: 48 Hours Mystery

Sunday

7 PM ET/PT: 60 Minutes
8 PM ET/PT: Cold Case
9 PM ET/PT: Sunday Movie

(source: CBS via thefutoncritic)

fredfa,

Just another huge thanks for continuing this "must read" thread day in and day out. Just amazing work.

Paul