Reality, Non-Reality and Everything In-Between
Lisa de Moraes
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, May 16, 2008
1:00 PM
Post TV columnist Lisa de Moraes was online Friday, May 16 at 1 p.m. ET to dissect and take questions and comments on the networks' announced fall lineups. So, which dead shows had it coming most? What strike reboots are you most looking forward to? Do you really need more Ashton Kutcher in your life?
Fall schedules (Post, May 13-15): CBS (sked) | ABC (sked) | NBC (sked) | The CW (sked) | Fox (sked)
The transcript follows.
De Moraes has written "The TV Column" for The Post since 1998. She served as the TV editor for the entertainment industry trade publication the "Hollywood Reporter" for almost a decade.
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Re: "Back to You": So has "Back to You" been canceled? I didn't see it in next fall's lineup. I kind of liked the chemistry between the Kelsey Grammar and Patricia Heaton. I hope they give it another chance.
Lisa de Moraes: Fox network has passed on the show for next season, but it's being shopped around. Given how CBS-ish it is, that would seem a natural second home, but it's not looking likely. ABC's pickup of NBC's "Scrubs" happened in large part because that sitcom is produced by ABC-parent Disney. (The guy who actually developed it years ago at what's now called Disney TV is the guy who now runs the entertainment division at ABC, Steve McPherson.) But "Back to You" is produced at the Fox studio, so CBS does not have the same financial motivation to keep the show going in order to amass enough episodes to make it viable for syndication. Now, if CBS Productions were given a financial stake in the show, or fully took over production of the show, that might make the difference. I can't picture Fox studio agreeing to do that, but you never know...
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Ashburn, Va.: What is ABC's rationale for reordering "According To Jim"?
Lisa de Moraes: You can fool some of the people all the time and you can fool all the people some of the time? I give up -- what? (I'm guessing it has to do with the fact that ABC's programming chief Steve McPherson is, unlike his counterpart at NBC, reluctant to order new shows straight to series without looking at pilots. He said as much at his upfront presentation this week. ABC's pilot shooting got behind schedule, as did all the other networks' owing to the three-month writers strike, so ABC is shooting pilots through the summer. Which is a long-winded way of saying I'm guessing McPherson is simply buying insurance by renewing "Jim" -- making sure he has something on the bench in case his new sitcom pilots don't turn out well..
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Silver Spring, Md.: Hi Lisa. What on earth is meant by "Saturday Night Live Thursday Night Live (The Office spin-off)" on the NBC Thursday schedule?
Lisa de Moraes: NBC plans to air an "Office" spin-off in the Thursday time slot -- though at the time NBC programming chief Ben Silverman announced their new schedule in April, he would not discuss details of the spin-off and the press was hearing they actually didn't know the details. Anyway, leading up to the election, NBC plans to air several "SNL" primetime election-spoofing specials in that time slot. Hence the "Thursday Night Live"/"Office" spin-off time slot share on the chart...
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U.K. Lover: Hi Lisa. I was happy to see that three hot British chicks were given leads last season in shows on a number of networks, but was sad to learn that only one, "Pushing Daisies's" Anna Friel (the best and hottest one, at least) was coming back next season. Even though "Moonlight" was a rip-off of "Forever Knight," I began to like it because of Sophia Myles (alas, unfortunately, blonde). There don't seem to be a lot of new shows slated to premiere next season I am wondering if the British invasion is done, or if there are other hot British chicks on the horizon?
Lisa de Moraes: Well, "Sarah Connor Chronicles" is coming back, and that lead is a U.K. actress...
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Ames, Iowa: There's no way "American Idol" is ever going away, right? I mean, there was no way "That's Incredible" was ever going away either, at the height of its mass hypnosis ... er, I mean, "popularity."
Lisa de Moraes: It's not going away for a while. Though its ratings are down, it's still far and away the most popular show on TV. that said, Fox needs to pay attention to what's happening to the show. Fox keeps slapping itself on the back -- did it again yesterday at their upfront presentation -- for not killing this show and "nurturing" it by only running it once a season, but there are other ways to kill a hit reality series, like stuffing it with nearly as many instances of product placement in the first three months of its run this season as it had nearly the entire run last season. The product placement and advertiser "segments" -- Phone Company Brings Us Actual Phone Calls, See Idolettes Shilling For Ford, etc. -- are show stoppers, and not in a good way...
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Leesburg, Va.: Lisa, did you watch the "Two-and-a-Half Men" and "CSI" writer-swap episodes? What did you think of them? It was the first time in a couple years that I was interested enough to watch CSI. And who among the writers is from the "Roseanne" show? The digs (and even the font of the "Annabelle!" logo) were unmistakable.
Lisa de Moraes: Chuck Lorre, the guy behind "Two and a Half Men" (and "Big Bang Theory"), is among the writer/producers who came out of the "Roseanne" experience sadder but wiser men....
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Washington: Re: ABC's fall schedule. Hi Lisa! I was psyched to see from your column that ABC picked up "Eli Stone" and is giving "Boston Legal" one more season. But then I got to the news that they're also bringing back "According to Jim." God help us! Are there any food items or other crap we can send to the network to get them to reconsider that decision? Aargh!
Lisa de Moraes: Let's send ABC suits bags and bags of chest hair! We can enclose ominous notes saying "Cancel 'Jim' or there's more where this came from." It's perfect because it's a sustainable resource -- we don't have to buy some product from someone who's going to make a killing on the campaign, like that online nut guy on the "Jericho" campaign....
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Actors Negotiation: How likely do you think it is that the negotiations the Screen Actors Guild are doing with the studios will impact next fall's schedule? Because if it does interfere, I may switch entirely to cable.
Lisa de Moraes: That's silly. These strikes don't just affect broadcast, they affect cable series too. Several cable series had their orders cut short, or debut plans changed, because of the long writers' strike. You just don't notice it because cable doesn't have as set a timeframe as the broadcast TV schedule. The possibility of an actors strike has already impacted TV in that some series aren't taking their early summer break but are going straight into production of next season's episodes and will break later this summer. SAG contact deadline is in mid-ish June. Meanwhile, I'm told some studios delayed production on feature films they did not think they could wrap shooting on before an actors' strike might start...
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Washington: Lisa, love the Upfront coverage! Do you actually get to see any of the new shows? Can you say whether the new J.J. Abrams show on Fox is any good? Or am I going to have to watch my Joshua Jackson the same way I watched Jason Dohring on Moonlight (that is, with the sound off)?
Lisa de Moraes: I do get to see the shows, but not yet. Networks usually start sending pilots in a week or two. I can't tell you if the J.J. series is any good. I can tell you, based on the clips shown at Fox's upfront presentation yesterday, that an awful lot of money has been spent on the pilot episode.
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"Dollhouse": So why is Joss Whedon doing another series for Fox? He swore up one side and down the other that he'd never work with Fox again after what the network did to "Firefly." (Fox didn't show the pilot episode, moved the series around in the schedule, showed the episodes out of order, and then had the temerity to claim that "Firefly" never found an audience and canceled it after 12 brilliant episodes.)
Lisa de Moraes: Now you know with how many grains of salt to take comments like that from people who work in the entertainment industry. It's all sound and fury, signifying nothing.
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Washington: Pookie, thanks to the TV g-ds that "Big Bang Theory" has been renewed -- it is the only laugh-out-loud show on the air. Any word on plans for it for next season? Same cast? Anyone new?
Lisa de Moraes: If there really is a TV god, they girl next door will take acting lessons during her shooting break, or they'll ship her over to "Rules of Engagement" and re-cast with a more talented actress. Love the show but it's a shame they have to write around her.
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"Idol": So who do you think will win, insanely talented, remarkably humble and extremely personable David Cook, or whiny-voiced, asthmatic sounding, empty-eyed David Archuleta? Yes, I have a favorite, why do you ask? Seriously -- how does 19 expect to make a star out of a kid who can't even answer the question "how has this experience been difficult?" I mean, come on.
Lisa de Moraes: But empty-eyed David A needs to be saved from Scary Stage Dad. An American Idol contract is his only hope. David Cook will do just fine as runner up. Look at Chris Daughtry and he came in fourth his year. Or was it third. Anyway, he did not win and is very successful now.
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Hyattsville, Md.:"The Dresden Files": Was it not renewed because of low ratings? Also, I just saw "The Amazing Race" Season 1 on DVD. It was incredible! Why did I not hear about this show? Why doesn't anyone I know watch it?
Lisa de Moraes: Are you kidding? Amazing Race has been on like a bazillion years. It's won the Emmy for best reality series year after year. What faraway land have you been living in that you have not heard of this show? I don't think I've ever met anyone who did not know about "Amazing Race."
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Finales: Clicked on the TV to watch the late news last night, and CBS had Anthony LaPaglia gingerly but tenderly holding a newborn. Switch to NBC, and Maura Tierney walks by a ambulance that promptly blows up. End of the season, not end of the world, right?
Lisa de Moraes: Exploding ambulances! Just when you think "ER" has run out of disasters to mine, they come up with a winner. You gotta hand it to those writers. Yes, end of season, not end of world.
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NBC: Is there any hope for this network? I think the only show that I'm sorta looking forward to is "Heroes." The network just feels like a wasteland of bad programming and recycled ideas. I mean, "The Office" is okay, but the concept and the jokes are getting old, "Earl" has entered into some odd fantasy that has ceased to be funny and/or charming. "ER" is a billion years old. There is nothing that is going to want to make me change the channel to NBC anymore.
Lisa de Moraes: You mean you aren't eagerly awaiting a series about Merlin as a hot rebel teen? And Christian Slater as a mild-mannered suburban soccer dad who discovers he's also a super-spy trained to kill with his teeth? The return of "Knight Rider"? Geesh.
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Washington: ABC has only one half-hour sitcom on its fall schedule, and it's a single-camera comedy. Why are the networks (except CBS) afraid of traditional, multicamera comedies? Don't those writers need work?
Lisa de Moraes: Fox has a couple: 'Back to You' and new one about a hip New York hotel that is very traditional comedy. But I take your point. Personally I think ad clutter is killing the multi-cam -- see my comment earlier about only having time between commercials breaks for setup,setup punch line, 2nd setup, setup punch line.
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"Password": When is Regis's new version of "Password" coming on? Is it just for the summer?
Lisa de Moraes: it's premiering Sunday, June 1 at 8. In success, you'll surely see more than the summer run. Summer is when networks try out reality series. "Survivor," and "American Idol," for instance -- both summer starts.
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Seattle: Pookie, your line about Priscilla Presley in today's column was so funny I snorted coffee out of my nose. You are the only writer who makes me laugh out loud almost every time -- thank you for the public service, and for doing something no primetime comedy writer has been able to do for many years.
washingtonpost.com: Fox Populi: They're Cutting Ad Time Just for You, Little Guy (Post, May 16)
Lisa de Moraes: It had to be written.. and thanks.
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New York: When Jimmy Fallon said that his kindergarten yearbook stated that he was "most likely to replace David Letterman," I assumed that was a joke, but apparently he insisted it was true. Even if his kindergarten did have a yearbook, he "graduated" before "Late Night" went on the air! Clearly, this is a scandal on par with the "Twenty-One" kerfuffle and Memogate. Why has the mainstream media ignored this very, very important story? Also, what would you put the odds on Horatio Sanz being his sidekick?
Lisa de Moraes: Ha! I think you'll find I was extremely dubious of the story, when attending NBC's Monday announcement, making it official that Fallon is taking over for Conan when Conan replaces Jay Leno on "Tonight Show."
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Washington: Pooks, can you explain something that's been bugging me for a while? Why does the insipid "House of Payne" get to tout itself as the "most successful TV sitcom ever," or whatever it is they say?
Lisa de Moraes: I'm not sure what it is they are touting that you are speaking of, but I'm guessing it has a lot of qualifiers.
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Chattanooga, Tenn.: You stopped making fun of David Cook's hair. Why?
Lisa de Moraes: Sadly, he stopped wearing it in the style of the Coroner Munchkin. I hate it when that happens. His has been one of the most remarkable transformations on "Idol." From pear- shaped Munchkin to pre-teen heart-throb in mere weeks!
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Arlington, Va.: Hi, Pookie. I have no questions this week, but my question last week was published in Express on Monday. I was very proud!
Lisa de Moraes: That's lovely. Congratulations.
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Chicago: How can you be so down on "Knight Rider"? You do realize that it features a talking car, right? A talking car!
Lisa de Moraes: Oh, you mean a TALKING car! I take back everything I've said..
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Washington:"Ugly Betty" seems to be in a decline. Vanessa Williams is the one bright light on the show. Betty, the character, has become a bore.
Lisa de Moraes: Then you won't like next season because I hear they're going to "refocus" on Betty after deciding the show had strayed too far away from her.
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NBC: Seriously, why not put Leno on at 10 p.m. every night? It has to be cheaper to produce, wouldn't do much worse than what's on there now ("Law & Order: Des Moines"?), and would be more cost-effective than having him trounce Conan from ABC.
Lisa de Moraes: Works for me.
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Washington: Is the Conan-for-Leno switch now absolutely official? No way they could still wiggle out of it? Considering the way Leno helped shove Carson out the door, I really don't have any sympathy -- I'm just looking forward to "The Late Shift II."
Lisa de Moraes: Of course NBC could wiggle out of it, if network suits wanted to. They've just have to pay Conan that $40 million kill-fee, or whatever the price tag was. But NBC execs still seem sold on the idea...
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Washington: I don't laugh at your writings. I assume you are totally serious.
Lisa de Moraes: And you keep on assuming I'm totally serious, Pookie. I admire you for it.
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Re: David Cook's transformation: Doesn't Clay Aiken win the "Most Transformed" award on "American Idol"? Even if he is blond now...
Lisa de Moraes: He was, until he got untransformed the past couple years. Then we had to strip him of his title. It was sad.
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Baltimore: Lisa, I've seen many comedies, but nothing was funnier than Simon's face during Fantasia's performance. That should go into the TV Hall of Fame!
Lisa de Moraes: It was hilarious when the camera caught him looking like he'd just been hit over the head with a large blunt object. Anyone who missed it, YouTube it. You won't be disappointed...
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Bethesda, Md.: Is it just me or does Kristi Yamaguchi's partner on "Dancing With the Stars" just constantly hold and rub her after every dance and during the interviews? It seems like she always is trying to divert his hands or push them away. Maybe I am just imagining that. Her husband is a huge NHL hockey player.
Lisa de Moraes: I just re-watched a mess of their numbers together and post-performance blather and honestly, I don't see it. He doesn't seem any handsier than any of the other dancers.
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Last night's finale of "The Office": I hope all their fans saw the episode. A lot of startling things happened, and naturally they had a cliffhanger with Pam and Jim, so we will have to tune in next season.
Lisa de Moraes: NBC's certainly hoping you do, since it appears to be the only show working on its Thursday lineup.
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Remote-Free TV: It's a really good idea. There are shows we no longer watch -- even with DVR -- because the breaks are so long and so frequent that you lose the narrative flow, and some of the scenes even have to be truncated to the detriment of the plot. If ABC does this, even "Boston Legal" might make it back into our rotation.
Lisa de Moraes: The biggest problem with ad clutter, now that we have DVR's enabling us to skip through the breaks, is how scenes in shows have to be truncated to make room for all the ads, promos, whatevs. It's particularly noticeable with sitcoms, which have about enough time for just two rounds of a set-up line, second step-up line, and punch line, before having to cut to commercial. Fox's "Remote-Free TV" plan for J.J. Abrams' new "Fringe" and Joss Whedon's new "Dollhouse" is only adding about 4-6 minutes of programming to each drama series, but it's a step in the right direction. Too bad they didn't promise to cut down the ad load and product placement on "Idol" as well -- I think it's having an impact on the ratings.
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Washington: So what's the consensus on Fantasia's performance? I thought it was fierce. It got me on my feet in my living room. So much better than the generic pabulum most of the "Idol" contestants spew. Simon's eye-roll really irritated me.
Lisa de Moraes: I was mesmerized by the Raggedy Ann hair color. Maybe Simon was too...
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Alexandria, Va.: So I didn't see the original "Law and Order" on NBC's schedule for the fall. Does this mean that after 20 someodd years, the run is over?
Lisa de Moraes: No way. NBC is going to let Dick Wolf break "Gunsmoke's" record. That said, it's a midseason show and I'm not sure that counts, though Wolf seems to think so, based on comments he's made about being on track to beat "Gunsmoke" for most seasons on-air...
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Tassler said :"We do very well with our procedurals but we've added more character to them." Can this be surgically performed on David Caruso? Will he get reassigned permanently to Brazil?
Lisa de Moraes: Maybe flashbacks, and they'll hire a very young actor to play the part? I'm guessing here because, honestly, I don't think the technology yet exists for grafting character on to David Caruso's performance...
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Atlanta:"In my kindergarten yearbook I was chosen most likely to take over for David Letterman," Fallon said, adding, "My principal was Nostradamus." Will someone please kick this man in the face for me?
Lisa de Moraes: Weird -- it played so well in the room. A room filled with NBC execs and press...
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Boston: I heart Eliza Dushku and Joss Whedon. The description of the show though sounds iffy, though -- what are your impressions?
Lisa de Moraes: It sounds just silly enough to be a huge hit for Fox. Remember the description for "Buffy"? A laugh riot...
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Washington: I am on an off-and-on "Grey's Anatomy" watcher, but god help me, I watched last night and couldn't believe how bad it has gotten. The women on the show, especially Meredith, make me embarrassed to be a woman. How can anyone watch this crap, and how can a woman actually be the writer? Is Shonda Rhimes a self-hating woman?
Lisa de Moraes: I'm here to tell you Shonda Rhimes is not self-hating and, in fact, thinks very highly of Shonda Rhimes. I think we should give a pass to all the new episodes since the strike. There was a lot of rushing being done by everyone to get things back on the air and I'm not sure it was anyone's best work. Let's just be generous and hit the re-set button in the fall, shall we?
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New York: Is it just me or has Conan's on-air persona morphed from that of a goofy, charming nerd to an over-caffeinated, unsubtle actor? I find it a little off-putting, and I used to love the show.
Lisa de Moraes: Did you see him when he paid Leno a visit on "Tonight Show." He was so wound up he was nearly shrieking, while Leno looked cool as a cucumber, making off-hand remarks about opening for Sammy Davis Jr. I was surprised at how good Leno looked and how bad Conan looked in the comparison, because I'm a Conan fan.
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"Idol" product placement idea: Maybe next year they could replace the cheesy backdrops during the semifinals with silent commercials for products ... like during all the "oh I'm so lonely ballads," they can show ads for Match.com, and during "Sexual Healing," Viagra perhaps?
Lisa de Moraes: brilliant. Hope they don't think of it...
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"Sex and the City": As a reporter who covers TV -- and as "Sex and the City" was a TV show -- have you been privileged enough to see the movie? If so, do you have anything good to report for us? I really am looking forward to the movie next week. I saw a commercial today for it, and almost, almost started clapping after it ended.
Lisa de Moraes: I have not seen the movie but I'm sure I will love it, based on the shoes alone. Have you seen the clothes in all the teases they've been leaking out? Absolutely on my must-see list... I'm out of time. Bye.
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