Hot Off The Press: The Latest TV News and Information - Page 2588

Nielsen Overnights (18-49)
So-so debut for new ABC drama 'Missing'
The rating wasn't great, a 2.0 in 18-49s
By Toni Fitzgerald, Media Life Magazine - Mar. 16, 2012

ABC's new drama "Missing" had a so-so premiere last night against college basketball, which undoubtedly drew many viewers to cable.

"Missing" averaged a 2.0 adults 18-49 rating, according to Nielsen overnights, third in the 8 p.m. timeslot behind Fox's "American Idol" and NBC's "Community" and "30 Rock."

It also drew a respectable 10.6 million total viewers, ABC's best audience in the timeslot in more than a year.

It was up smartly from last week in 18-49s, when ABC averaged a 1.3 in the hour for a repeat of "Wipeout," and it improved on ABC's average in the hour this season by 25 percent.

But it was down slightly from a 2.1 for the highly touted bow of "Charlie's Angels" in the same timeslot last fall. "Angels" faded quickly and was canceled after only a few outings.

Actually, in several ways "Missing's" debut is more impressive than "Angels.'" Viewership at 8 p.m. has been down this week because of the onset of daylight saving time over the weekend, which leads people to stay out later and eschew the TV set.

And "Angels" certainly got more promotion, bowing in September.

Still, the fate of "Missing," a limited-run series starring Ashley Judd as a mom trying to find her missing son, will depend on how the series performs in the coming weeks. If it builds, ABC might be happy with it. If it fades, that will likely mean just one season.

Elsewhere last night, NBC's "Community" made a stronger case for renewal by returning from a two-month hiatus with the network's best non-sports average in its timeslot in 14 months.

"Community" averaged a 2.2, up 38 percent over its season average of 1.6. The show may have been helped by an online campaign urging viewers who usually tape-delay the show or watch it online to watch live, hoping to convince NBC to renew it. "Community's" on the fence for a fourth season.

Fellow bubble show "30 Rock," "Community's" lead-out, also hit a season high with a 2.0.

Both shows were also probably helped by not airing against CBS's higher-rated sitcoms, which got the night off as the network aired first-round NCAA men's basketball coverage, along with TNT, TBS and truTV.

Fox was first for the night among 18-49s with a 3.4 average overnight rating and a 10 share. ABC was second at 2.4/7, NBC third at 1.9/5, CBS fourth at 1.7/5, Univision fifth at 1.5/4, CW sixth at 1.0/3 and Telemundo seventh at 0.5/1.

As a reminder, all ratings are based on live-plus-same-day DVR playback, which includes shows replayed before 3 a.m. the night before. Seven-day DVR data won’t be available for several weeks. Forty-three percent of Nielsen households have DVRs.

Also, ratings for CBS's NCAA coverage are approximate as fast nationals measure timeslot and not actual program data.

At 8 p.m. Fox led with a 4.5 for "American Idol," followed by NBC with a 2.1 for "Community" (2.2) and "Rock" (2.0). ABC was third with a 2.0 for "Missing," Univision fourth with a 1.6 for "Una Familia con Suerte," CBS fifth with a 1.5 for basketball, CW sixth with a 1.2 for "The Vampire Diaries" and Telemundo seventh with a 0.5 for "Una Maid en Manhattan."

ABC took the lead at 9 p.m. with a 3.0 for "Grey's Anatomy," while Fox slipped to second with a 2.2 for a repeat of "Touch." CBS and NBC tied for third at 2.0, CBS for basketball and NBC for "The Office" (2.3) and "Up All Night" (1.7), with Univision fifth with a 1.3 for "Abismo de Pasion," CW sixth with a 0.7 for "The Secret Circle" and Telemundo seventh with a 0.6 for "Corazon Valiente."

At 10 p.m. ABC was first again with a 2.2 for "Private Practice," with NBC second with a 1.6 for "Awake." CBS and Univision tied for third at 1.5, CBS for basketball and Univision for "La Que No Podia Amar," and Telemundo was fifth with a 0.4 for "Relaciones Peligrosas."

Fox also finished first for the night among households with a 7.2 average overnight rating and a 12 share. ABC was second at 6.0/10, CBS third at 3.1/5, NBC fourth at 2.8/5, Univision fifth at 1.8/3, CW sixth at 1.3/2 and Telemundo seventh at 0.7/1.

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/art...a-Missing-.asp

Or like blaming your hangover on this morning's breakfast.

Moderators Note:

Please take all further discussion of the HBO series 'Luck' and horse / animal related comments to the 'Luck' topic, found here: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...1363051&page=8

TV Notes
‘In Plain Sight,’ with Mary McCormack, will fade from view after final eight episodes
By David Hinckley, New York Daily News - Mar. 16, 2012

Watch Mary McCormack and Fred Weller make their way through a room full of writers and actors and it’s clear the way they navigate these chaotic scenes is to get playful and goofy. Hip bump here, wisecrack there.

Sit them down for questions about the show in which they co-star, USA’s “In Plain Sight,” and they turn diplomatic.

That’s probably because USA has announced this eight-episode season will be the show’s last.

And probably because they wish that weren’t the case.

Still, they’re diplomatic.

“It’s nice to go out with finality,” says Weller. “Not limp off.”

“I'm grateful for these last eight episodes,” says McCormack.

They don’t sound angry at USA, which keeps rolling out new shows that eventually bump the “mature” ones.

Like the several million fans of “In Plain Sight,” which has been a solid ratings performer, they just don’t particularly want it to end.

“I would do this show forever,” says McCormack, who plays Mary Shannon, a U.S. marshal who helps relocate people through the Witness Protection Program (WITSEC).

Weller plays Marshall Mann, her partner. Marshall is a smart guy, encyclopedic in his useless knowledge and the anchor that keeps the often impulsive and exasperated Mary from violating too much protocol.

Marshall also has slowly developed a thing for Mary over the previous four seasons of the show, in spite of the fact she’s just had a baby and he’s in a relationship himself.

“His feelings for Mary will be dealt with” in the final eight episodes, says Weller, though he carefully declines to reveal the direction and resolution of either this or any other story line.

“We’ve known [during the filming] where it’s going,” says McCormack. “But with the last scenes, there will still be a lot of crying.”

She does say one of the show’s other long-running plot lines also will be addressed: the whereabouts of Mary’s father, who left when she was 7 and whose absence has contributed to her jaded view of men and life.

He will return late in the season. So between him, Mary’s new baby and whatever happens or doesn’t happen with Marshall, Mary Shannon has a lot to jam into these last few episodes.

In the very first one, her recovering alcoholic mother comes in to help with the baby, then bails when Mary’s unreliable sister demands attention again.

“This show has always guided us as it’s gone along,” says Weller. “The first season, no one knew if we were doing it right.”

So everyone grew up together, in a sense, along with their characters. And now they’re all putting away the marshal uniforms, giving up the 14-hour days and perhaps spending more time with the real-life small children Weller and McCormack both have.

Sounds like a return to normalcy? Well, yes and no.

“It will be strange,” says Weller. “I don’t know when I’ll let it go.”

“We’re friends,” says McCormack. “We’ll see each other. The downside is that we won’t be working together.”

'IN PLAIN SIGHT'
Network / Air Date: USA, Friday at 10 p.m.

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertain...icle-1.1039563

* * * *

TV Review
USA looks to give Sarah Shahi a co-star as ‘Fairly Legal’ season starts with a bang

Looks like “Fairly Legal” is going to give Sarah Shahi some competition this season.

Or maybe we should say some support.

In either case, adding another prominent character to “Fairly Legal” is quickly showing signs of enlivening matters.

As Kate Reed, a recovering lawyer who has become a mediator, Shahi was at times almost a one-woman show in the first season of this good-natured, sometimes almost breezy USA hit.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing, particularly for Shahi fans who consider other actors simply placeholders and props.

But in USA’s world of smart and quite successful “character” dramas, it almost always takes two to carry a show, and the first season of “Fairly Legal” suggested that second character can’t be a rotating committee.

Kate has a soon-to-be ex-husband, Justin (Michael Trucco). She also has a stepmother, Lauren (Virginia Williams), who now runs the law firm founded by Kate’s late and adored father.

But while both are interesting characters, and Lauren in particular has become a critical part of the story line, neither gives Kate the kind of ongoing partner that we see in “Psych” or “White Collar” or “Suits.”

Enter Ben Grogan (Ryan Johnson), a young attorney who represents all the reasons Kate got out of lawyering. He’s arrogant and opportunistic — a character hardly unknown in TV land.

He won’t be a stranger to Kate, either, because he’s been brought in to save her father’s law firm, which Lauren has ridden to the brink of collapse.

That isn’t all Lauren’s fault, but it’s the situation anyhow, which makes Ben a pivotal player. He also becomes, almost immediately, an object of both fascination and repulsion to Kate.

In case anyone could otherwise miss their impending collision, the season-opening episode sets things up by having a sentimental, reflective and uncharacteristically calm Kate deciding to have a talk with Justin.

And here you guys all thought the chilling phrase “we have to talk” was something you heard before a breakup, not after.

Anyhow, the talk seems to be going harmoniously until Justin offers a few revelations that quickly change its direction.

Soon after that, something else happens with Justin and Kate that not only has a metaphoric link to their relationship, but suggests the second season of “Fairly Legal” may indulge in a little more old-fashioned action drama.

In any case, all this seems to be setting up both a few running story lines and the world into which Ben is arriving.

Nothing that happens with other characters or elsewhere in the plot, though, is likely to diminish Shahi’s presence. With the second season as with the first, she will be the show — and that’s hardly the worst news flash on television.

'FAIRLY LEGAL'
Network / Air Date: USA, Friday at 9 p.m.
Rating: ★★★ (out of five)

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertain...icle-1.1039836

Critic's Notes
The Greatest TV Drama of the Past 25 Years, Round Two: The X-Files Vs. The Wire
By Marc Bernardin, New York Magazine's 'Vulture' Blog - Mar. 16, 2012

Welcome to the second round of Vulture's ultimate Drama Derby to determine the greatest TV drama of the past 25 years. Each day a different notable writer will be charged with determining the winner of a round of the bracket, until New York Magazine TV critic Matt Zoller Seitz judges the finals on March 23. Today's battle: TV and comic book writer Marc Bernardin judges The X-Files versus The Wire. You can place your own vote on Facebook or tweet your opinion with the #dramaderby hashtag.

Chris Carter’s The X-Files was the show we didn’t know we wanted. When it debuted in 1993, science fiction wasn’t completely alien to TV: Star Trek: The Next Generation was in its fourth season, and its spinoff, Deep Space Nine, would premiere the same year. But, for the most part, televised sci-fi had been tucked away in the geek fiefdom, and it would be years before being a geek was cool. With The X- Files, Carter brought science fiction out of the basement, and into the light.

The brilliance of The X-Files’ conceit wasn’t apparent at first. Sure, it was always a show about two FBI agents who investigated cases that defied conventional explanation. One of them was Fox Mulder, the Believer, who wanted — no, needed —to know that the truth really was out there. The other was Dana Scully, the Skeptic, for whom the rule of science was the rule of law. And so they fought, in ever-so-hushed tones:

“Mulder, can you really believe that man is a telekinetic?”
“Scully, give me another explanation and I’ll take it.”

And so it went. But a mass audience that didn’t want to go to outer space for their entertainment found a show they could recognize: It was a detective show, starring people who pointed their guns at things.

It helped having stars so damned pretty. Not 90210 pretty, but the kind of pretty you saw staring back at you over the office copier. The kind of pretty that was cloaked in boxy suits and painfully bobbed hair. You always knew that David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson had something else going on under the hood and you hoped that, maybe, we’d eventually get to see what.

It took a while, though. The first season was rather hit or miss: For every episode that introduced a memorable character like The Smoking Man or Tooms, there were hours that just steadfastly refused to engage the audience. Not only did it take a while for Carter and his writing staff to find their groove — that seductive mix between monster-of-the-week and alien-conspiracy mythology — it took both Duchovny and Anderson some time to find the nuances within their characters, the dogged yearning of Fox Mulder and the spurned child buried inside Dana Scully. But that mythology was in place by the second season and by the third, Carter was able to take chances, to push the boundaries of the format that he himself put in place. As a result, seasons three through six of The X-Files are as strong a stretch of genre TV as we’re ever likely to see, with harrowing stand-alone episodes that merrily messed with what we thought the show should be (like “Pusher,” which showed the crippling downside of getting everything you want) and wild explorations of that dense mythology (as in “Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man,” which laid bare The X- Files’ most consistently mysterious character) that raised the bar of what the show could be.

And then the wheels came off a bit. Duchovny would eventually leave the show and without him — and his seemingly never-ending quest to find his abducted sister — The X-Files lost some steam. (As fine an actor as Robert Patrick may be, he wasn’t enough to hold the center.)

But when it was good — no, when it was great — The X-Files took the best of shows that came before it, like The Twilight Zone and Kolchak: The Night Stalker, and synthesized something thoroughly modern. It was the first of a new breed of television show that would allow a mass audience to feel what it was like to be a geek. To faithfully set their VCRs (remember those?) to ensure they didn’t miss a single episode. To look for clues in each episode’s margins as if scouring the Dead Sea Scrolls. To download saucy desktop wallpapers of its ginger starlet. And it turns out, we loved being geeks.

Even though The Wire was borne from and took place in the crack-vial-studded underbelly of Baltimore, Maryland — light years away from the FBI Headquarters in Langley, Virginia, despite them being less than a tank of gas from each other — The Wire was equally geeky, in its own darkly humorous way. Like The X-Files, it was stocked with minor characters beloved by ardent fans; it told long, reaching story lines that occasionally — aw, hell, always —wrapped up without the convenience of closure; it had a skeptical view of the government, which protected its own interests above all else; and there were bonds between characters, both platonic and romantic, that made the dreams of 'shippers come true.

But if The X-Files is like a great album, filled with killer singles and excellent deep cuts, then The Wire is a phenomenal novel, with a sprawling cast, swirling themes, and tragedy up the yin-yang. Created by former beat reporter David Simon, The Wire answered a simple question in, perhaps, the most complex manner possible: What effect does the drug trade have on inner-city Baltimore? And, like Carter did before him, Simon took the cop show, a framework that viewers could understand, and used it to tell his epic tragedy, to take his audience from the street corners, where the rock meets the road, through the schools and the docks, inside a mayoral campaign, and finally to the media tasked with trying to cover all of it.

The Wire was so different, so ambitious, so new, that it all but taught you how to watch it as you were watching it. No show before it moved with such a deliberate pace — you could watch the first few episodes and not know, precisely, where it was all heading. You knew that life on the corner was no joke. You could sense that cops like Detective Jimmy McNulty (Dominic West), Lieutenant Cedric Daniels (Lance Reddick), and Detective Kima Greggs (Sonja Sohn) were a bit out of their depths dealing with criminals like Avon Barksdale (Wood Harris), Stringer Bell (Idris Elba), and Marlo Stansfield (Jamie Hector) — much like Scully and Mulder were consistently rocked back on their heels by shape-shifters, backwoods cannibals, and weird-ass pseudo vampires. And you didn't know what the hell to make of the mesmerizing Omar Little (Michael K. Williams), the unflappable stick-up man who loved boys almost as much as he loved money. (William B. Davis’s Smoking Man filled that same mercurial role on The X-Files, but with a bit less swagger.)

The story threw people and places and crimes at you, not giving a damn if you were on the same page, or if you were keeping up. Morality was as elusive as quicksilver, constantly shifting on a playing field that refused to remain level, and justice wasn’t delivered in a courtroom nearly as often as it was dispensed on the streets. Then, around four episodes in, The Wire just clicked, the same way Shakespeare starts to make sense about twenty minutes in. What felt like disparate story threads began to weave into a tapestry of despair. And by the end of that first season, The Wire emerged as a singular achievement in television; a testament to truth that only fiction could deliver.

And then, Simon and Co. did it again. And did it better. And better. And better.

Where The X-Files had a pair of characters that started as ciphers, only to gain depth and texture as time passed, The Wire had a gallery of rogues on both sides of the law that were fully realized out of the gate and only got more complex as the show went on. Where The X-Files sucked viewers in with horrific monster-of-the-week stories and hooked 'em with dense alien conspiracies, The Wire unspooled its tale of the tarnished American Dream with measured patience, tightening like an invisible vise until you couldn’t breathe and weren’t sure why. Where The X-Files had peaks of incandescence, surrounded by stretches of pendulous quality, The Wire was a sustained siege of brilliance from soup to nuts.

Over five seasons, The Wire made its case as the most rewarding drama on TV. It wasn’t an easy show to watch. It required work and fidelity. It demanded that you keep a running tally of crooks and cops, politicians and players, and assorted secrets, lies, and whispers so that when they all got pulled out of the continuity toy box — as they all inevitably would be — you knew who was who and why they mattered. And if you put in the time, The Wire would deliver unto to you what I consider the best show in the history of television. Period.

WINNER: THE WIRE

Marc Bernardin (@marcbernardin) writes for TV (most recently for Syfy's Alphas) and comic books (DC's Static Shock).

http://www.vulture.com/2012/03/drama...-the-wire.html

Uh...perhaps Friday?

A point made in this thread about once a week...

But hey, that's why consultants charge big bucks. When the truth is free, nobody believes it......

Oops, didn't notice that one, it's fixed! Bye everybody, off to Brooklyn to watch Polish movies about lovers fracking the hell out of each other before killing and eating their brain matter. You know, fun for the whole family.

TV Notes
NBC's Grimm' Renewed For Second Season
By Nellie Andreeva, Deadline.com - Mar. 16, 2012

I've learned that NBC has renewed freshman drama Grimm for a second season with a 22-episode order. That may be be the first of several early pickups of existing series at the network, though despite rumors nothing else is expected to come down today.

A low-key addition to the schedule on Friday, Grimm has held its own, even growing when given a chance to run uninterrupted for several weeks. Created by David Greenwalt, Jim Kouf and Stephen Carpenter, Grimm stars David Giuntoli as a homicide detective who is also a Grimm, hunting supernatural baddies. It is produced by Universal TV and Sean Hayes and Todd Milliner's Hazy Mills Prods. This is the first NBC series to get a renewal for next season.

The move comes on the heels of CBS picking up 15 shows earlier this week.

http://www.deadline.com/2012/03/grim...ping-renewals/

TV Review
'Fairly Legal': What's Not To Love? Quite A Bit, It Turns Out
By Maureen Ryan, HuffingtonPost.com - Mar. 16, 2012

I've given USA Network a little bit of grief for sticking so closely to its formulas the past. But when it comes to "Fairly Legal" (Friday, 9 p.m. ET), I have to admit, I wish the show followed the network's mandates a little more closely.

I watch "Psych" not because the show is reinventing the procedural detective genre, but because I enjoy Gus and Shawn's co-dependent silliness. I watch "Burn Notice" because I want to see Fiona, Michael and Sam defeat bad guys as a team, and because I enjoy seeing how those core relationships evolve. The best thing about "White Collar" is not just its style and intelligence, but the way that the show keeps adding nuances and tension to the complicated bond between its law-enforcement guy and its slick con man. All those shows have entertaining supporting characters, but the main draws with USA programs are not just the sparky pace and tone, but the relationships at the very center of the show.

And this is where, despite having changed showrunners between seasons, "Fairly Legal" goes terribly wrong. Its lead character, mediator Kate Reed (Sarah Shahi), isn't all that interesting on her own, but the people around her are either annoying or boring, and it's hard to care what happens in her personal or professional relationships.

There's also the small problem of the show's story engine, which just doesn't have much gas. Kate's job is to mediate between parties in legal disputes, and the goal is to avoid a courtroom spat (Kate most definitely does not like lawyers, despite having married a prominent one). Episodes generally follow a pretty predictable path: Kate finds out what clients need emotionally and figures out how they can resolve their baggage, then engineers a solution. So it's hard to get invested when you know the result will always be "everyone ends up more or less happy-ish."

But again, Gus and Shawn solve almost every case and the "Burn Notice" crew typically takes out their enemies. USA shows are successful because they have a generally positive dynamic and they create engaging tension without being heavy or dour (TNT and USA are proof there is a lot of money to be made in the cable realm when your shows don't make the audience experience existential doubt).

So it's not as if I have the world's highest expectations for "Fairly Legal," but it just doesn't deliver on a character level, and allegedly that is something that matters to the "Characters Welcome" network. Shahi does her level best with a blandly written role, but there's just not much to Kate, nor are her work and personal dilemmas compelling. The reliably good Michael Trucco, who plays her almost ex-husband, is stranded in an almost completely separate and uninteresting story, and Kate's tense relationship with her mother-in-law, Lauren Reed (Virginia Williams), is similarly spark-free and predictable.

I'd like to give the show some credit for switching things up in its second season by adding another love interest for Kate, lawyer Ben Grogan (Ryan Johnson); but the character is obnoxious, annoying and actively detracts from every scene he's in. If the show is trying to go for some kind of rom-com love-hate relationship between Kate and Ben, it fizzles because the writing is way over the top and there's no chemistry between the actors.

I fully realize that not every USA show is going to be in my wheelhouse -- "Royal Pains" has never clicked with me, for example -- but this is a case of a show just not working on both a structural and emotional level. It's just one of quite a few "Fairly Legal" problems, but the most memorable thing about Kate Reed should not be the sky-high heels she wears in every scene.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mauree...f=maureen-ryan

TV Notes
Rosie O'Donnell's Show Canceled by OWN
By Tim Kenneally, TheWrap.com - Mar. 16, 2012

Rosie O'Donnell's talk show is nearing the end.

"The Rosie Show" has been canceled by OWN, with the final show to tape on March 20 and air on March 30 at 7 p.m., the network said late Friday.

The show, a production of Winfrey's Harpo Studios, O'Donnell's KidRo Productions, Inc., and SantaBu Productions, premiered Oct. 10, 2011.

Also read: Rosie O'Donnell to tracy Morgan: "I Forgive You, Honey" (Video)

Calling O'Donnell "an incredible partner," Winfrey said, "As I have learned in the last 15 months, a new network launch is always a challenge and ratings grow over time as you continue to gather an audience. I’m grateful to Rosie and the dedicated Rosie Show team for giving it their all.”

O'Donnell -- who taped the show in Chicago -- added, " It was a great year for me -- I wish the show was able to attract more viewers -- but it did not. So I am headed back to my home in New York - with gratitude. On we go!”

"The Rosie Show," struggled from the beginning, earning a mere 497,000 total viewers for its premiere, with a .44 rating in the target women 25 to 54 demographic.

Jonathan Wald, executive producer of CNN's "Piers Morgan Tonight" -- which O'Donnell guest-hosted Thursday night -- tweeted his sympathy for O'Donnell, writing, "Sorry to hear the news @rosie. We loved having you fill in for @piersmorgan last night."

http://www.thewrap.com/tv/article/ro...eled-own-36334

Business Notes
TiVo Co-Founder Jim Barton Resigns
By David Lieberman, TDeadline.com - Mar. 17, 2012

TiVo had a strange way of saying good-bye to its co-founder and Chief Technology Officer. Instead of issuing a press release with warm comments about the guy who helped to pioneer the DVR and, perhaps, an explanation for why he's leaving and who might replace him the company dropped the news today in a cold SEC filing. It says that Barton resigned on Wednesday, effective today. It also outlined his new $25,000 a month consulting deal with TiVo. He will help with patent matters, litigation, and certain technical matters for three years unless earlier terminated by either Mr. Barton or the company.

Responding to a call about the matter, Tivo sent along this comment from CEO Tom Rogers: We are extremely grateful to Jim for his years of dedication and his commitment to innovation that he has provided to TiVo since its founding. We are pleased that he will remain on in an advisory capacity and look forward to working with him in this new capacity in the future. The company says that Barton is headed off to pursue his next big idea'.

Barton was a top executive with Silicon Graphics when he teamed up in 1997 with a fellow exec there, Michael Ramsay, to create TiVo. They introduced their DVR at the 1999 Consumer Electronics Show.

http://www.deadline.com/2012/03/tivo...arton-resigns/

My three cents on the broadcast shows I have watched faithfully this season.
2 Broke girls (CBS)
Thumbs up to the renewal. The relationship is not too unlike Laverne and Shirley in the 70s (and I liked that show too) One thing I think they should look into is have an episode where the DO come into the $$ to start the cupcake business but sort of stay just as broke as ever. They still work at the diner but the cup-cakes is the 2nd job. It works but just keeps them afloat.
New Girl (Fox)
Three's Company redone this time with ONE girl and THREE guys. I like the Schmidt and CiCi relationship. Fox do NOT put this up against the girls on CBS.
Are You There, Chelsea? (NBC)
I LIKE this show. I do not care for Nikki. I DO like Laura's interactions with the "real" Chelsea and almost gives the show the sense of based on true stories. Pity this show will probobly not last but I did enjoy the ride.
Up All Night (NBC)
An intelligent Kelly Bundy. I also dig Maya's character. I see a renewal for this one.
90210 (CW)
Not as good as the original. Disappointing that they cut off the closure scene with Debbie and Ryan. When I checked out the season 3 DVD expecting it to be a deleted scene what do I get an unnecessary clip with Ivy and Raj. The HS graduation only took 5 minutes or so and no sign of any parents. I think it should end this May but will probobly get one more year. I'll watch though.
GCB (ABC)
I DO NOT find this offensive as many so called Christians have this holier then thou attitude.

TV Notes
Saturday’s Highlights: “¡Q’Viva! The Chosen” on Fox
By Los Angeles Times' 'Show Tracker' Blog - Mar. 16, 2012

[ALL TIMES LISTED ARE PACIFIC TIME]

AN EYE FOR TALENT is key in “¡Q’Viva! The Chosen,” which searches for Latino singers, dancers and performers. Mark Anthony, Jennifer Lopez and Jamie King star, at 8 p.m. on Fox.

SERIES
Dateline: Real Life Mysteries: The two-part report revisits the case of a Canadian military officer who allegedly had a secret criminal life that included home break-ins, lingerie theft and murder (9 and 10 p.m. TLC).

Live From Daryl’s House: Allen Stone performs in this new episode (Midnight KTLA).

MOVIES

Leprechaun’s Revenge: Billy Zane and William Devane star in the latest installment of the “Leprechaun” franchise (9 p.m. Syfy).

Chasing Leprechauns: Adrian Pasdar and Amy Huberman star in this new comedy-drama about a mineral company executive sent to a small town in Ireland to oversee the construction of a new copper plant (8 and 10 p.m. Hallmark).

Home Invasion: In this 2011 chiller, a woman kills a burglar in self-defense and joins a crime-victims support group, where she’s befriended by the dead crook’s girlfriend, who’s determined to destroy her lover’s killer. Haylie Duff, Lisa Sheridan and Jason Brooks star (8 p.m. Lifetime).

SPORTS

College basketball: NIT Tournament: Massachusetts at Seton Hall (8 a.m. ESPN). NCAA Tournament (9; 11:30 a.m.; 2 and 4:30 p.m. CBS; 3 and 5:30 p.m. TNT; 4 and 6:30 p.m. TBS).

Women’s college basketball: NCAA Tournament, first round (8 and 10 a.m.; 12:30 and 3 p.m. ESPN2).

Tennis: BNP Paribas Open: Men’s semifinals (11 a.m. ABC).

Pro basketball: The Houston Rockets visit the Clippers (12:30 p.m. FS Prime).

Exhibition baseball: The Milwaukee Brewers visit the Angels (1 p.m. FSN); the San Francisco Giants visit the Dodgers (7 p.m. FS Prime).

College wrestling: NCAA Final (4:30 p.m. ESPN).

Soccer: The Vancouver Whitecaps FC visit Club Deportivo Chivas USA (7:30 p.m. KDOC).

Pro hockey: The Nashville Predators visit the Kings (7:30 p.m. FSN)

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/show...en-on-fox.html

My guess is this is an overall result of the state of affairs at TiVo. They've been reduced to a position where the only way they can make money is by suing other companies for patent infringements before they expire.

I'm guessing the "Chief Technology Officer" has likely been reduced to a "Hardware Cost Savings Drill Sergeant" where the rule of the day is to find a way to cut costs on the guts and rely on the software guys to make just enough tweaks for TiVo to call it new while giving people little reason to care anymore if their provider has any sort of reasonable DVR offering.

TiVo, unfortunately, has been a victim of their own success. They created a demand for a product they let languish (aside from the upgrade to HD) while up and comers found a way to make a product that is "good enough" to satisfy most people at a far cheaper buy in price.

Their downfall has been failing to create and keep widespread partnerships with multi-channel providers to ensure they were the de facto standard instead of having all those companies build their own product.

They should have learned from Microsoft, which had only D* as a partner for their UltimateTV product and the failure that resulted from that.

That has been expected for weeks, ever since O'Donnell put her home in Chicago up for sale and was not looking for a new residence here.

How many homes can even get OWN to begin with? It seems her 497 K is almost as many as Conan has. TBS is in far more homes. I can get OWN but only if I subscribe to "Digital View Plus" which would be an extra $10 a month for me. Well there is reason why I'm not coughing up $10 a month. I already pay more than what I feel I'm getting. I'm not paying a dime more.

That was for her premiere. Within a week, she was down to less than half that. Her average was just 190,000 viewers.

Yeah that & her in a Red Dress ,But even then after about 3 episodes , the show bored me to loud snoring ! Red Dresses & High heels just can't keep this show afloat

Shahi is too good a talent to be wasted in this light drama from USA, I thought she was quite good in NBC's Life, a role she held her own in against Damian Lewis.

That golf course looked suspiciously like the Vancouver area rather than anywhere in the SF bay area.

It's Portland I believe.

I'd really like to see her in a show that had some meat on it's bones ,than the breezy "Fairly Legal"
Shahi is easy on the eyes for sure & she can act very well . Seemed to me that she was just a wasted talent in this show, bad writing ,terrible plots , bad supporting cast,No Drama ! Her breaking a heel is Not drama!

That particular scene may be Portland, but when the show was first coming on the air I read an article in the Chronicle that indicated that while the show was set in SF it was actually filmed in Vancouver, like many other shows are now.

I think NBC's Grimm is shot in Portland, score one for a USA location.

More like score one for tax incentives...

Indeed!

Since they almost never have any "landmark" shots, I wonder why they bother shooting in Portland?

Is Portland offering tax breaks or something?

FRIDAY's fast affiliate overnight prime-time ratings -and what they mean- have been posted on Analyst Marc Berman's Media INsight's Blog

It's amazing how alien worlds visited in Stargate, BSG etc., all seem to look like the outskirts of Vancouver.

Ok out of how many potential viewers which is what I'm asking. A show on a broadcast network which basically has 100% of US households getting 1 million viewers is worse than say a show getting 400K viewers but only available to 20% of US homes.