Category: Fall TV Preview (Page 15 of 27)

TCA Press Tour, Day 7: Fox, Pt. 2

July 17, 2008 /

We’re returning to Day 7 of the TCA Press Tour…and the second part of Fox’s first day of panels…with a moment or two of unabashed bitching.

The recipient of this bitchfest…? “24.”

See this picture of Kiefer Sutherland?

See all those microphones and tape recorders surrounding him? This was the only access any of us had to him or the other members of the “24” cast and production team who were in attendance at the press tour…and let me assure you that not pictured here are probably at least 47 other microphones and tape recorders that were just outside of the range of the camera. (As it is, I’m forced to wonder if the photographer was either standing on a chair or hanging from a chandelier to get this shot, since he couldn’t possibly have gotten close otherwise.) Instead of doing a proper panel for what’s ostensibly the most talked-about show returning to Fox’s line-up, the network opted to provide a casual affair, where we all mingled about the lobby of the ballroom during lunch together and struggled to get anywhere near Sutherland. They used the same methodology for “Prison Break” during the breakfast period (“Prison Break”-fast, get it?), and though it was a slightly less frantic affair, possibly due to the early hour, it was still less effective than a proper panel would have been, to be certain. I realize that Fox had a bit of a scheduling crunch due to the TCA swiping half of one of their two days for a luncheon with “The Bonnie Hunt Show” and a set visit to “Mad Men,” but I’d much rather have had a “So You Think You Can Lunch” function with Cat Deeley and company and gotten a proper “24” panel instead. Not getting proper time with the “24” folks after such a long time between seasons made for easily the biggest disappointment of the TCA tour to date.

Okay, moving on…

Secret Millionaire: I’m going to fall back on the press release again, lest I fall into snark mode while discussing this well-intentioned series, then I’ll speak more of it afterwards.

Here goes:

“‘Secret Millionaire’ is a dramatic unscripted series that takes America’s wealthiest individuals away from their lavish lifestyles, sprawling mansions and private planes and places them undercover into some of the most impoverished neighborhoods in America. The inspirational series reveals the dramatic personal return that the participating millionaires receive when they leave their fortunes to invest in those less fortunate. Challenged with living on minimum wage, the millionaires will immerse themselves in situations beyond their comprehension. They will work side-by-side with community members and befriend those in need to decide who should ultimately receive their extraordinary gifts of a lifetime. The millionaires will be touched by the people they meet. Some will inspire with their dedication to helping others, while others will relay stories of overcoming tremendous odds. On the final day, the Secret Millionaires meet with the chosen recipients and reveal their true identity and intention: to give them at least $100,000 of their own money and to change their lives forever.”

Okay, so the rich folks learn how the other side lives, right? Fair enough. The millionaires sounded like nice enough guys, aided in no small part by the fact that a couple of them were self-made millionaires, so they know at least a little bit about struggling through an ordinary life (as opposed to be handed everything on a silver platter). The cynic in me, though, can’t help but view this as Fox finally getting around to doing a well-intentioned reality show long after just about everyone else has gone this route. I’m probably wrong. But I also probably won’t watch even if I am.

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24, Actors, Actresses, External Entertainment, External TV, Fall TV Preview, News, Pilots, Reality TV, TCA Blog 2008, TCA Press Tour, TV, TV Action, TV Dramas

TCA Press Tour, Day 7: Fox, Pt. 1

July 16, 2008 /

Okay, now that the Executive Session is out of the way, let’s get into the show-specific panels.

So You Think You Can Dance: Proving yet again that I’m not the target demographic for reality shows, I don’t think I’ve ever watched a full episode of this series…or, if I have, it was almost certainly one of the first episodes of a season, solely so that I could get a laugh out of the auditions by the various not-ready-for-prime-time dancers from around the country. Those of you who are fans, however, will probably be impressed by the fact that we were gifted with performances by Matt and Kourtni as well as Thayne. Heck, I’m not even a fan, and I was impressed by their moves.

As to the comments made during the panel, the only one that really caught my ear occurred when Nigel Lythgoe was asked if he thought that America ever got it wrong when voting off contestants.

“From my point of view, the public often gets it wrong…on this program and ‘American Idol,'” he said. “At the end of the day, they sort of put things right; it’s along the way they get things wrong. It’s like losing Tamyra Gray or something. But at the end of the day, Kelly Clarkson justly deserved to win. With dancers, it’s the same. I think we’ve lost some really good dancers along the way, but at the end of the day, when you look at Benji and you look at Travis and you think one’s a brilliant dancer and one’s a brilliant performer, the brilliant performer won. Last year, brilliant performer in Sabra and her whole story. Brilliant dancer in Danny. Sabra won. I have never seen the best dancers necessarily win ‘So You Think You Can Dance.’ Personalities have got so much to do with it, as in any form of competition on television. It’s about your charisma. What’s the difference between a brilliant actor and a star? Charisma.”

True enough.

Well, I’ll just close with the comment I made in a Facebook update I posted during the panel: I don’t really care anything about “So You Think You Can Dance,” but I could watch and listen to Cat Deeley all day…and while I can’t readily provide you with a soundbite, I can at least provide a picture:

Fringe: J.J. Abrams, creator of “Lost,” comes to Fox with his mysterious new show which – you may or may not be pleased to know – is nowhere near as impenetrable as the series for which he’s most recognized. Bill Harris and I were discussing it, and I was considering approaching Abrams and saying, “Hi, I watched ‘Fringe,’ and…I was able to follow it. Are things okay at home?” Bill’s plan, meanwhile, was to indicate to Abrams that he wasn’t at all confused while watching the pilot, then ask, “Is this a problem with me or with you?” In the end, neither of us asked our questions, mostly because Abrams tackled head-on the issue of his shows being problematic for casual viewers.

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Actors, Actresses, External Entertainment, External TV, Fall TV Preview, News, Reality TV, TCA Blog 2008, TCA Press Tour, TV, TV Action, TV Comedies, TV Dramas, TV Sci-Fi

TCA Press Tour, Day 7: Fox’s Executive Session

July 16, 2008 /

You know how these executive sessions work, so I’ll just do a quick run-through of the tidbits offered up by FOX’s President of Entertainment, Kevin Reilly:

* On the origins of “Fringe” coming to Fox: “We knew J.J. (Abrams) had made his new deal at Warner Bros. last year. We knew he was coming out with a show. Before he even started, Peter Liguori and I talked about who’s at the top of our list. We made the call, like, day one. We offered him a series day one. We knew the logline, that it was sort of an ‘X-Files’/’Indiana Jones’ kind of thing. Sounded good to us. And, you know, he was going to write it with Alex Kurtzman and Bob Orci. We brought Jeff Pinkner in now to run the show. And I’m happy to say that this show just feels right. You know, sometimes with these big showrunners, it’s all hype and no delivery. I actually am very happy to say that I think this one is going to deliver the goods.”

* Coming to Fox sooner than later: “Lie To Me,” created by Sam Baum and starring Tim Roth, “Courtroom K,” created by Paul Attanasio (executive producer of “House”), and “Boldly Going Nowhere,” a sitcom from Rob McElhenney (creator of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”).

* On Joss Whedon coming back to Fox, even though he’s been burned before: “Joss was a gift. The only reason Joss wasn’t on my list is because I thought there was no way he was coming back. And every time I’ve called about him, they said, ‘He’s busy. He doesn’t want to do it.’ Joss will tell you himself that he got hit in the head with a lightning bolt of an idea. He’s respected Eliza Dushku as an actress. He’s wanted to work with her. They got together. He left that lunch and said, ‘Dammit, I’ve got an idea. Now I’ve got to do it.’ And he just showed up, and the answer was yes. And I have not seen any skittishness. In fact, I’m really enjoying working with the guy. His reputation is well-earned. We’re having a good time.”

* The upcoming “24” movie – not the theatrical one that’s been rumored for awhile, but a TV movie – will be a self-contained entity which encompasses a separate day’s events…specifically, the day of the swearing in of America’s first female President. It will, however, help to set the scene for the upcoming season.

* On the controversy about there originally being no black voice actors on “The Cleveland Show” (and the subsequent addition of three black voice actors): That was the intention going in. I mean, the Cleveland character pre-existed, you know. They’ve been doing that…Mike (Henry’s) been doing that character for a long time, so we knew going in that was a fix: we’re going to have a white guy. But clearly, the idea was just to make an ethnically diverse show in front of and behind the camera, which we are. We’ve got a diverse writing staff. We’ve got an African-American guy playing a redneck character in the show. So the whole intention here was just to cast it, you know, with the best people we have, but clearly to create a largely African-American cast for the family.”

* On the negotiations with the writing staff of the new animated series, “Sit Down, Shut Up”: “I don’t mean to be evasive because I can’t really comment on it because I was hoping to have 100 percent finality on the thing by this meeting today. There are still T’s being crossed. It’s been a very, very tricky situation trying to resolve a deal on this. My presumption, what I believe is going to happen…? I know that Mitch Hurwitz is going to stay with the show. A couple of writers will probably exit the show. A couple of new writers will join or remain with the show. I’m very hopeful that, even by today, we will be moving forward with a writing staff and resolve this.”

That was the 14th, and today’s the 16th. Since there’s been no formal announcement as of yet, it seems that hope alone was not enough to score a resolution…and, frankly, I’m getting more and more depressed about it. Hurwitz’s name is, thanks to “Arrested Development,” an instant mark of quality; as far as I’m concerned, Fox should do everything in its power to get this thing wrapped up quickly, so we can see this show!

UPDATE: Nikki Finke just broke the story at Deadline Hollywood Daily that some – but not all – of the writers on “Sit Down, Shut Up” have indeed signed off on the Animation Guild’s offer, with the others “holding out for the ability to have their pension contributions applied to the WGA plan.” Hey, it’s a start, anyway…

24, Actors, Actresses, External Entertainment, External TV, Fall TV Preview, News, Reality TV, TCA Blog 2008, TCA Press Tour, TV, TV Comedies, TV Dramas, TV Sci-Fi

A Brief Q&A with Zach Braff and Bill Lawrence (“Scrubs”)

October 25, 2007 /

In celebration of “Scrubs” returning to NBC for its seventh and final season, here’s a look at the brief but entertaining few moments I was able to spend on a teleconference with star Zach Braff and Bill Lawrence. The guys spent an hour and a half on the line, answering one question after another from reporters from hither and yon, and I was lucky enough to be the second person to get on the phone with them, but to give you an idea of how many people were on the call, by the time I got my second shot at the mike, we were at the hour and a half mark. In fact, I was the very last question of the event…but we’ll get to that in a moment.

FIRST TIME AROUND –

Bullz-Eye: Bill, what’s the status of Aloma Wright (Nurse Laverne Roberts) on the show? I know the rumor had gone around for awhile that she would be coming back and playing Laverne’s alcoholic sister, but now I’ve heard…

Bill Lawrence: Well here’s the scoop, man, and you can totally help me out with that because, you know, I have a feeling that I’m going to get a lot crap from our fan base. But, uh…so I wanted to get this story out, which is basically when I killed Aloma last year, I would never take work away from a, you know, an actress that we consider part of the family. We thought last year would be the last season. So when I killed Laverne, it was because we basically said, “Hey, what’s a good dramatic arc for the end of the year, since we’re kind’ve ending up the show?” And once we got there, we had already written the stuff, but we had been told by our studios that the show would continue for another year. So I promised her that she would come back. I don’t want people to get mad at me. She returns as a nurse named Shirley; she looks slightly different, but she still looks like the same actress. But the only thing we’re doing is that only Zach’s character thinks the two of them look alike.

Zach Braff: I wanted them…there was talk – and we haven’t done this yet – that she would be a Coquettish atheist.

BL: And then there’s a lot of talk, too, that because she’s a new character, some of the writers think that we should kill her yet again…but, this time, nobody cares.

ZB: Yeah. “Did you hear Shirley got run over by a car?”

BL: It was, “She got hit by a bus. Oh, hey, do they have any donuts?”

BE: (Laughs)

BL: So she will be back, and I apologize to people. And, hopefully, they will let it go, and she will be back as a…you know, I figured “Bewitched” had two different guys play her husband, so I can have someone as a joke come back as a different character.

BE: Zach, is there any side of J.D. that hasn’t been explored in the show yet that you’d like to see explored in the final season?

ZB: I…that’s a good question. I feel like there’s…I mean, seven years worth of sides of J.D.. I don’t know. I think we…I like it when we explore his love of Donald Faison (Turk). I think we can always have more of that.

BL: Also, the…Zach’s already doing it, even though he’s not saying it, which is that I think that this show…the ending of this show will be unsatisfying for people if they don’t feel like his character has finally grown up, you know? And, you know, one of the things that’s tough about being lucky enough to go on this long is that you can only do the young kind of man child who hasn’t matured yet for so long before Zach’s coming to me and being, like, “Bill, I’m…you know, my character is 30 years old now. I think he might not wear cartoon t-shirts or jammies to bed.” And, so, we’re trying to make him a little more mature.

BE: Thanks.

After Braff and Lawrence had been answering questions for an hour straight…including several from Jewish publications, which amused Braff to no end… the conference moderator – that would be the lovely Carol Janson – came on the line and asked the operator how many questions were left in queue. When it was confirmed that a mere seven questions remained, Ms. Janson asked the guys if they were willing to answer the final seven questions…and, God bless ‘em, they were game.

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Actors, Actresses, External Entertainment, External TV, Fall TV Preview, TV, TV Comedies

Q&A: Joe Lawson, producer of “Cavemen”

October 1, 2007 /

If there’s one thing Bullz-Eye and Premium Hollywood readers alike know about me by now, it’s that I’m way too polite for my own good…but even *I* couldn’t find anything more polite to say about “Cavemen” in my Fall TV preview than lines like this…

“Given how people reacted to the mere idea of transforming a series of Geico commercials into a 30-minute sitcom, you’d think that the producers would’ve set their sights on being the best damned comedy of the new season. Instead, they’ve got a heavy-handed and horribly-failed attempt at poking fun at the foolishness of racism, one which will almost certainly have the NCAAP foaming at the mouth.”

…and this:

“Any series which falls back on a parody of ‘Baby Got Back’ in 2007 deserves whatever horrific fate may befall it. If ‘Cavemen’ lasts more than a few episodes, it’ll either be because the writers have figured out what went so horribly, horribly wrong, or, more likely, because people are perversely fascinated by how incredibly bad it is.”

Do I feel bad about making these statements? No, because, hand on heart, the pilot really was that bad. But after having the opportunity to speak to Joe Lawson, who wrote and created the original GEICO commercials that inspired “Cavemen,” I was surprised to find that I was actually kind of looking forward to seeing more of the series…and, honestly, I didn’t necessarily expect that. I’ve got a pretty open mind, and I was planning to keep it open while watching the premiere episode (which, you may have heard, will not be the pilot episode that most of us critics ripped to shreds), but was I actually looking forward to watching it? Not so much. But as you’ll see from this conversation between Lawson and myself, he manages to explain away the pilot without actually defending it, which is a pretty impressive accomplishment in and of itself, while also coming across as a guy who really does think he’s got a good sitcom on his hands.

We’ve only got one thing left to mention in the preface, and that’s that a few quotes from this piece have already appeared in an article for The Virginian-Pilot, since the only reason Lawson and I came to chat in the first place was because of his connection to the Hampton Roads area of Virginia…but The Pilot only wanted 300 words, and since I had just much good stuff left over, it seemed like a shame to waste it!

Okay, read on…!

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Actors, Actresses, External TV, Fall TV Preview, Interviews, News, Pilots, TCA Press Tour, TV, TV Comedies

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