On TV: 'Osbournes' Revolt, 'Runway' Returns and More

Reality, Non-Reality and Everything In-Between

Columnist Lisa de Moraes was online Friday, April 3 at 1 p.m. ET to take your questions about the drama, comedy and heartbreak of the world of television -- both onscreen and behind-the-scenes.

This week, Lisa chatted about the dimming of "Guiding Light," Fox's weighty new dating show, Oprah's new "Master Class" and the impending return of "Project: Runway."

This week's poll is about "Osbournes Reloaded." Fox executives ordered six episodes of the Ozzy and family variety hour. The first, involving a pair of foul-mouthed kids and Sharon and Ozzy terrorizing fast-food customers, aired this week.

poll by twiigs.com

TV columns | On TV discussion transcripts | de Moraes on TV blog.

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Lisa de Moraes: Hi. I want to start this chat by thanking the many people who sent me kind comments about the death in my family, to which I had linked the news report at the start of last week's chat. And yes, in response to those of you who asked, I did make the call not to post any of those really lovely comments, not because they did not mean a lot to me, but because I thougth it would be too depressing. So thank you very much... and now, on a happier note, let's talk about TV....

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WAPO TEAM TV STATUS UPDATE: RENEWED

"Friday Night Lights" (NBC), for a fourth and fifth season

"The Real World" (MTV), for a total of 26 cycles

"The Real World/Road Rules Challenge" (MTV), for a total of 21 cycles

"Jon and Kate Plus 8" (TLC), for a fifth season

"Treasure Quest" (Discovery), for a second season

"Time Warp" (Discovery), for a second season

"How Stuff Works" (Discovery), for a second season

"Destroyed in Seconds" (Discovery), for a second season

"American Loggers" (Discovery), for a second season

REDUCED

"In the Motherhood" (ABC): Number of episodes cut from 13 to 6.

CANCELED

"The Guiding Light" (CBS), after 72 (!) years

Lisa de Moraes: Here's our update for the week...

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Castle and The Unusuals : I'm enjoying "Castle." Should I continue to watch or will it be canceled soon? And any comments on "The Unusuals"? I can't believe I'm watching this many cop shows, but they seem to be all that's on that isn't a reality show.

Lisa de Moraes: "Castle" is averaging nearly 11 million viewers in its Monday timeslot while "Boston Legal" averaged nearly 10 million viewers in the same slot. But among the 18-49 year olds who are the hot blonde chicks of television industry, "Castle" is averaging 3.0/8 (rating/share) while "BL" was averaging a 2.5/6 -- a 20 percent improvement. And I'm guessing "Castle" is cheaper than "Boston Legal" which was an older show (costs tend to rise each year on series) and had a large ensemble cast (more big ticket actors to pay)..."Castle" is a much leaner series. That said, "Castle" is still running behind the irrepressible David Caruso, whose "CSI Miami" is averaging nearly 14 million viewers and a 4.0/11 in the demo. Definitely check out the debut of "The Unusuals." And I'm with you in re so many cop shows, except that viewers seem to have no limit to the number of cop shows they're willing to watch, on broadcast and cable. On the bright side, there are also a number of doc-dramas being developed for next season, as the networks look to find the next "ER" -- the "ER" of its glory years, that is...

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washingtonpost.com: The Poll Results are 7 percent "Yes," 92 percent "No."

washingtonpost.com: The Poll Results are 7 percent "Yes," 92 percent "No."

Lisa de Moraes: And, since maybe there is a Fox suit here with us on the chat, here are the results so far on this week's poll question: would you watch the remaining five "Osbournes: Reloaded" special or would you rather get a colonoscopy?"....well, anyway, that's how the poll question SHOULD have been worded....

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Oakton, Va.: Your columns are getting so good I'm going to have to start strapping myself into my breakfast nook.

Lisa de Moraes: I have abstolutely no idea what strapping yourself into your breakfast nook has to do with my column, but it sounds like fun! And thank you....

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a little editing perhaps?: "but we're really there to watch the blind-date performances: Stevie Wonder/the Jonas Brothers,"

uhhh - did you read this line before you submitted the article?

Lisa de Moraes: Yes, I know -- he's blind. I thought it passed the PC-test anyway. Sounds like you do not...

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Great news!: Hi Lisa -- What do you know about the long-awaited return of "Project: Runway"? Is Lifetime going to stick to the same format, or are they planning any changes to make it look, well, more Lifetime-like?

Lisa de Moraes: Changes are coming, including moving the show to Los Angeles, sigh. Because what we really need is another reality series set in southern California. Yes, I think it's a big mistake....

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Comic Book Store Guy Says: "ER" was one of the worst. finales. ever.. By the way, what kind of care facility is the "Carter Center"?! How are sick people going to climb up and down all of those steps? It seemed a little more like he was opening an art museum than a outpatient facility!

Lisa de Moraes: Maybe the elevator was broken. Or not installed yet? And yes, I too thought it looked more like MOMA than an outpatient facility. I'm not sure it was the very worst finale ever -- and it appears many on this chat today think it was, for instance, very much eclipsed by the "Life on Mars" finale...But since I always thought Noah Wyle was one of the least compelling actors on "ER" -- back when the show was important and I used to watch it regularly -- I too was left feeling a little flat by this mop-up, though I do think we should give a major shout-out to Ernest Borgnine's performance. Bringing back all those other cast members seemed pretty tired and just showed how much they need lines like "Get me 22 cc's of hydromarzipan -- STAT!" to keep me interested in their characters. Reminiscing at a bar -- not so much...

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Falls Church, Va.: In TV commercials with celebrity moms (Virginia Masden, Marcia Cross, etc.), are the kids in the commercials their kids or just look-alikes? And do you suppose it would be weird for a child that they didn't fit the casting notice for their own mother's TV commercial?

Lisa de Moraes: Great question and I wish I had an answer but since I am possibly the Reporter Who Covers Television Least Interested in Marcia Cross I can't tell you the answer to her ad in particular. If I were her, I would, of course, insist it be my children because I would be in a position to make that demand and then I would get all that extra money. I'd also insist they be listed as executive producers of the ad, so they could double-dip, salary-wise.. I think there may be a dog in that ad and I'd insist my actual dog be used as well...

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Washington, DC: Y'know, the last couple of episodes of "Dollhouse" have been pretty darn good. Whedon's an avowed atheist but the show has a strong theological element. Americans basically think we are plastic: we can make ourselves into something else tomorrow -- hence all the self-help books. Anyway, the dolls have their identity wiped away so they can be something else, only it turns out, that does not happen perfectly. There are always residual elements left. Sort of a sci-fi original sin. And the casting of a plus size woman as the next door neighbor was an admirable non-traditional move. So I hope the show finds an audience. Cheers

Lisa de Moraes: Okay, how sad is is that we have come to think of "the casting of a plus size woman as the next door neighbor was an admirable non-traditional move"...and I get what you are saying, but I still think it's the tank tops...hot.

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Idol This Week: Was it just me, or was Danny not as good as the judges said? I thought he did a good job, but he was flat in some of the notes. However, to listen to the judges, it was the greatest performance they've ever witnessed. Or are they building him up to make sure he's in the final two, at least? By the way, what kind of category is "Download Week"? In the history of music downloads, has anyone ever downloaded Billy Joel's "Just The Way You Are"?! I like Billy Joel music, I just don't think of him as being current or relevant.

Lisa de Moraes: "Idol" always has its least interesting weeks, musically, when the category is something totally vague like that. Yes, turns out people with iPods also download irrelevant, non-current music. I don't think the producers's priority was "current or relevant" -- rather "product placement." Because of the show's cozy deal with AT&T.... And Danny IS the new Taylor Hicks.

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hydromarzipan: Mmmmmmmmm....

Lisa de Moraes: 22cc's -- yum!

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Mad Men return date set?: You may have covered this in a previous week/chat, but do you know when Mad Men is coming back? Love that show. Love Betty.

Lisa de Moraes: Summer '09 is all they're saying... I miss the clothes. I really look forward to watching the clothes. It's my new "Sex and the City."

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DC: Why do you think Dennis Rodman signed up for "Apprentice" anyway? He didn't seem too interested in the exposure, he certainly didn't seem to want to be there, and the pay can't be that great (as is evidenced by the level of "talent" they recruit.)

Lisa de Moraes: ...maybe it was a community-service thing?..

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90210: The advertisements said Tori would return but alas, no Tori. Do you know when she will appear because I do not miss this trainwreck?

Lisa de Moraes: Classic television tease tactic. She is coming back -- but not until April 14th....

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Boston: Point/counterpoint. NBC goes away from expensive dramas in the 10 p.m. slot and puts Leno there and our local Boston affiliate says no thanks, they are going to do an earlier 10 p.m. newscast. Who controls the power in this relationship at this point (network vs. affiliates)? Where are we headed?

Lisa de Moraes: Wouldn't it be great if the NBC affiliates staged their own Tea Party kinda thing? It's true affiliates (those stations not actually owned by the network's parent company) can sometimes go rogue. Stations that are O&O's -- owned and operated by the network -- hardly get to call any shots any more. The station business, which used to be like printing money, is hurting these days and nobody sane thinks Leno is going to do the kind of numbers at 10 that NBC used to do at 10 when its development execs knew what they were doing and they had shows people actually watched. These days, NBC is so weak at 10 and dramas are so expensive to produce, you can see where NBC suits -- who are programming to margins -- thought this Leno-stripped-at-10 thing was a great idea. But you can also see how owners of affiliate stations, whose local news has already been getting whacked owing to the seriously weaker 10 p.m. leadin shows NBC has been serving up for years now, might think the Leno deal is the last straw...For those of you who missed the story, the Boston NBC affiliate says it is not going to air Leno's show, it's going to air a local newscast, to compete with the Fox station's local newscast in that market. (Fox network, you'll recall, only programs 8-10 so their stations' newscasts start at 10). NBC says it might strip the station of its NBC affiliation and start its own station there. That's a very tall order these days.

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Indianapolis: Speaking of 22cc's of marzipan, have you tried Ben & Jerry's Mission to Marzipan ice cream? More than 22 cc's of sugar, I promise you.

On another matter, will you be Tweeting from press tour this summer? (Blogs are so last summer.)

Lisa de Moraes: ...and, the new miracle drug!... Meanwhile, I would love to tweet press tour and pretty much everything else TV related. I will have to see whether the press-tour-non-twitter rule under which I have had to operate here has been lifted...

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Washington, D.C.: Where in the world are the "L&O" shows? "Criminal Intent"? Is that canceled?

Lisa de Moraes: "Criminal Intent" back April 19, on USA.....

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Arlington, Va.: The cancellation of "Guiding Light" was announced on April Fools Day. Any chance this was a joke? If not, what are the odds that CBS will change its mind before Sept?

Lisa de Moraes: No and none....Procter & Gamble is trying to find a new life for this aged series, which started as a radio show back in the 30s, on cable or online -- though I'm not sure I'd advise holding your breath...

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Washington, DC: How low has TV sunk?? I don't mean The Osbournes Reloaded, I'm talking about the proliferation of "low rent" commercials during prime time. Cash for gold, Cashpoint, law offices, Shamwow, are all running ads during highly rated shows. I even saw a cash for gold ad (not the Super Bowl ad mind you) during "American Idol." How much longer will broadcast television be able to survive seeing as that their traditional advertisers are walking completely away?

Lisa de Moraes: My colleague Paul Farhi wrote a great piece about this a while ago. But, don't forget, some of those ads aren't network ads. TV stations get to sell some of the ads in network programming. So some of the ads you see might have been sold by your local TV station...

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Clarendon, Va.: Lisa,

What's your take on the finale of "Life on Mars"? It seems to be the most logical way to end to tie things together, but it also feels somewhat like a let down to learn it was all a dream.

Lisa de Moraes: All-a-dream is getting pretty tired as a series finale stunt. It was a hilarious ending to that Bob Newhart sitcom. And a shocking ending to "St. Elsewhere" -- which was really a sort of variation on the theme: the entire series turned out to have been the product of an autistic child's imagination...That said, the writers of this show had so many loose ends to wrap up -- time travel being the least of them -- and I appreciate that they tried to give some closure...

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Local affiliates: When Letterman moved to CBS, the local Atlanta affiliate put him on at, like, 2 a.m. because they made more money showing syndicated Love Connection reruns at 11:30. But the rules for prime time may be different.

Lisa de Moraes: Another good example of affiliate revolting. I love the NBC/Leno story -- it's going to be fun to see how this plays out...

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Falls Church, Va.: Lisa, why did everyone quit "Reno 911"? It used to be good for a couple of laughs, but this week's premiere was terrible, so bad that maybe I should have tried out the new Osbourne show instead.

Lisa de Moraes: If you missed the Osbourne's show you missed a piece of television history. Fox attempting to time travel (speaking of time travel) back to its infancy, when it was the network of slapped-together trainwrecks. Actually, now that I think of it, I kind of enjoyed that trip down memory lane...

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Arlington Gay: Pookie, "Idol" really has me disappointed this year. I like Adam and a couple others, but every week I see someone I don't remember. And I can't tell the two Justin Timberlakes apart. Is there any hope?

Lisa de Moraes: I too have trouble telling The Justin Timberlakes apart. I had been optimistic one of them was going to leave this week, making things easier, blogwise -- but no.

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DC: NOT GUIDING LIGHT!! My grandmother used to watch that series faithfully - in fact, she told us that it first began on the radio when she was in her late teens! My mother grew up with Guiding Light on TV and so did her children! No more Reva. No more Shane. I am just too devastated by this. Is the soap opera world in that much of a ratings freefall to cancel a dynastic show like this one! Pookie, say it ain't so!!!

Lisa de Moraes: Soap operas are the Dodo's of network TV. NBC has already dumped most of its soaps. They cost too much to produce relative to the numbers they're getting. Oh, except "Young & Restless," which appears to have a shelf life of a million years. And, while they used to be popular among young women -- dorm room phenom -- those viewers have migrated over to the reality-series soaps -- you know, "The Hills," "Real Housewives of Fill in the Blank." Game shows and talk shows are a lot cheaper to produce. CBS will replace "GL" with one or the other...

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Washington, DC: I never watched one minute of an ER episode, but endured probably 1000 hours of ER commercials over the years, each one breathlessly and/or sappily promising tragedy, calamity, heartbreak, and something or other that would "warm my heart." I couldn't be happier that this plague is gone.

Lisa de Moraes: You and me both. I wish it had gone out a few years ago. When it got to the point where, in order to get viewers, the network was running promos promising "a bomb goes off in the ER! Tonight at 10!" -- which turned out to be some character having a temper tantrum in the ER -- the show lost me...

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Parks and Wreck: Is the bad focus-group rating reflective of a really bad show in "Parks and Rec" or does it just need some fine tuning?

Lisa de Moraes: Focus groups. Where to start. Some of the most popular shows on TV tested poorly. Some of the best-testing shows tanked immediately. If I had a buck for every time a network suit stood up at an upfront presentation and said of a new series the network was going to put on the air "this is our highest testing series in [10 years, 20 years, ever, whatevs]!" and the show then died a quick death, I could buy you all 22ccs of hydromarzipan.....

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Life on Mars . . .: horrible finale or worst series finale ever? 'It was all a dream'? I was so angry, I wished that I was like most Americans and had never seen a single episode. Its like the writers were so mad at being canceled that they decided to punish us loyal viewers.

Lisa de Moraes: No, really, I'd give the writers the benefit of the doubt -- though the ending does suggest the writers did not really know what was the explanation for the time travel. On the other hand, the "no idea" school of writing served the staff of "Lost" just fine for the first couple seasons, so why should they be any different?

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washingtonpost.com: Results as of 1:55 ET -- 5 percent "Yes"; 94 percent "No."

washingtonpost.com: Results as of 1:55 ET -- 5 percent "Yes"; 94 percent "No."

Lisa de Moraes: Poll update here! Get out the vote. yes we can, blah, blah, blah...

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Columbia, Md.: If NBC affiliates don't want to run Leno at 10, they could probably do just as good, if not better rating running repeats of "Battlestar Galactica." I didn't see you mention the show's finale two weeks ago that, aside from the final 5 minutes, was stunning and like the cherry on top of an amazing sundae. Will sci-fi fans get another show in the next few years that can even come close to what Ron Moore produced for four amazing seasons?

washingtonpost.com: Obama Depressed, Distant Since 'Battlestar Galactica' Series Finale (The Onion)

Lisa de Moraes: No. Never. But what did you not like about the final five minutes?

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Re: Trust Me: Will "Trust Me" be back for another season?

Lisa de Moraes: The network is being coy, but Eric McCormack is in a pilot for an ABC sitcom which is not a good sign. Now, that ABC comedy may be a so-called second position which,no, does not mean what you think -- it means that he has to go back to "Trust Me" if TNT picks it up and can only do the new series if "Trust Me" is cancelled. But if a producer is casting McCormack in an ABC pilot, even as a backup position for the actor, that does suggest his reps have been given an indication it's not looking good for "Trust Me."

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McLean, VA: Hi Lisa, will "So You Think You Can Dance" be coming back this summer? If so, when? I really have no interest in watching washed up celebrities without talent dance.

Lisa de Moraes: Yes, Thursday, May 21. And, congratulations -- you are Team TV's very first ever chatter who asked whether and when a show was coming back that they had absolutely no intention of watching!

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Larry: Is Curb Your Enthusiasm coming back?

Lisa de Moraes: They're shooting now...

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Re: ER Finale: Hi Pookie, I am one of the few who watched every "ER" episode religiously over the past 15 years (although as the finale approached, more of us came out of the woodwork than I thought existed.) Anyway, I thought the finale was OK, and I enjoyed seeing the old characters they brought back without fanfare (Nurse Lydia! Rachel Greene! Reese Benton!) Any word on why Clooney didn't appear in the retrospective? It was a glaring omission. Couldn't he have sat down for an interview when he was on set a few weeks ago? What gives?

Lisa de Moraes: I get the impression Clooney really likes looking forward, not back. And, given his box-office pull,I think it was pretty mensch-y of him to come back a second time -- he also came back to the show for Julianna Margulies' last episode. His second re-appearance happened in March, not for the finale, which was to be expected since the finale did not happen in a sweep month and, this year, March was the new February -- sweep month...

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Alexandria, Va.: I would watch only if they showed the Osbournes getting colonoscopies!

Lisa de Moraes: I too am so there....

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Idol: Shouldn't Adam really be on Andrew Lloyd Weber's new reality show on BBC America? His charade as some sort of emo alt-rocker really can't continue.

Lisa de Moraes: sorry, I'm not biting. This guy is going to have a great career in Vegas, whether he wins this competition or not.

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Annapolis Md.: "Better off Ted" has become my new favorite series so I assume I'm the only one watching it and there will only be 5 more episodes, three of which I will have to watch online.

Lisa de Moraes: You win! Yes, the show opened a couple weeks ago with just 5.5 million tuned in (off a "Scrubs" episode that logged 5.6 mil) and its second episode fell to 4.6 million (off a "Scrubs" episode that clocked 5.3 mil). Not looking too good for "Ted."

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Baltimore: Re "The Osbournes Reloaded:" Lisa, you are a journalist. The people at Rolling Stone are supposed to be journalists. So could you please, please explain to them that a FOX affiliate refusing to air the new Osbournes travesty is not in violation of the Constitution. The first amendment only prohibits the government from telling us what we can or can't watch, read, etc. If a FOX station, as a private enterprise, doesn't want to run something, they are entirely within their rights.

It's bad enough when some Web site commenter makes this claim, but Rolling Stone?!

On a positive note, thank your for your imagined Regency-era response by the Weinsteins to the settlement with NBCU over Project Runway. "You have bested me, sir. Huzzah!" More of that in the future, please.

washingtonpost.com: It's Possible That 'Osbournes: Reloaded' Has Gone Too Far -- Even for Fox

Lisa de Moraes: Regency era -- good times. And you are so sweet to think covering this industry is about 'journalism' any more... Don't ever change...I'm out of time. Bye.

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