Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Happy Labor Day! I hope everyone is enjoying the last of the holiday weekend. The news isn’t too voluminous, but there are a few things to share with all of you.

TELEVISION

Actor Ken Jenkins (Scrubs) will be playing the father of Courteney Cox’s character on Cougar Town this fall. There are no details, however, on the story details or an air date. (Michael Ausiello at Entertainment Weekly)

MADE-FOR-TV MOVIES

The made-for-TV movie Red, starring Felicia Day (Buffy, The Guild and Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along-Blog), Kavan Smith (Stargate Atlantis) and Stephen McHattie (The Jesse Stone movies), will air on Syfy on October 30 at 9 PM, as part of the network’s 31 Days of Halloween event. The movie is about a descendant of Little Red Riding Hood who brings her fiancé home to meet her family and tell him about the family business – they are werewolf hunters. (The Futon Critic)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Feature writer John Glenn (Journey to the Center of the Earth) is developing two new drama pilots for CBS and FOX. The CBS pilot is called Treadstone, a drama about spies, working for a secretive corporation featured in the Robert Ludlum novels. While the FOX pilot is yet to be titled, but is about vigilantes in New York City. (The Futon Critic)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

The following list is the top 10 box office movies for the holiday weekend according to Exhibitor Relations via E! Entertainment Online:

1. The American, $16.4 million
2. Machete, $14 million
3. Takers, $13.5 million
4. The Last Exorcism, $8.8 million
5. Going the Distance, $8.6 million
6. The Expendables, $8.5 million
7. The Other Guys, $6.7million
8. Eat Pray Love, $6.3 million
9. Inception, $5.9 million
10. Nanny McPhee Returns, $4.7 million

Q&A SECTION (with Matt Roush at TV Guide):

Question: I’m sure I’m not alone at wondering what will be a hit among all the new shows in the fall schedule. How does one know what to watch? What are your recommendations? There’s nothing worse than starting to watch a show at the beginning of the season, truly enjoying it, and a couple of months, sometimes only weeks later, finding out it’s already off the air due to low ratings. How do we avoid that from happening? — Patricia

Matt Roush: Good timing. TV Guide Magazine’s annual Fall Preview issue will hit stands this week, and you’ll get the lowdown on the shows — and in each case, a pithy mini-review from yours truly on which shows caught my eye. (This year, unlike last fall, not very many, I’m sorry to say.) Your first question asked me what I thought would be a hit, and that’s different in many cases from my recommendations. I think most of CBS’s new shows have a very good chance of succeeding, even if (in the case of something like the very broad The Defenders) it’s not my kind of show. Hawaii Five-0 is likely to be huge, and I enjoyed much about the pilot, but am not sure if it will be on my weekly menu. I’m intrigued by The Event and No Ordinary Family, but have problems with their pilots. My favorite pilots were on Fox — Lone Star for drama, Raising Hope for comedy — and I’m definitely going to keep my eye on Blue Bloods (CBS), Nikita (CW), Undercovers (NBC), Detroit 1-8-7 (ABC), and I’m eager to see the first episode of Law & Order: Los Angeles (NBC). But overall, this is a pretty formulaic lot that to me is especially disappointing after a season when the networks swung the bat with shows like Modern Family, Glee, The Good Wife, Community and The Vampire Diaries and came up with a new generation of quality/fun shows. As for the experience of falling in love with a new show only to have it be canceled: That comes with the territory. The failure rate on TV is very high, but this time of year, hope springs eternal.

That’s it. Enjoy!