Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Between the record heat wave that hit Southern California, the sore throat and head cold I seem to be coming down with (YEAH!! – not) all the shows to watch and the articles to write, I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed; but the news doesn’t rest so here is what I found for today:

TELEVISION

Sonya Braga (Alias and American Family) will appear on Brothers & Sisters as the mother of Gilles Marini’s character on the Thanksgiving episode that is to air on November 14. (William Keck at TV Guide)

The USA Network has picked up White Collar, Royal Pains and Psych for another season each. Royal Pains has received a 16 to 18 episode order with Psych and White Collar both getting 16 episode orders. (LA Times)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Treat Williams (Everwood) will star opposite Rachael Carpani in the Lifetime drama pilot Against the Wall, which is a family drama set in Chicago following policewoman Abby Kowalski (Carpani), who causes a rift with her three cop brothers when she decides to join the department’s Internal Affairs division. Williams will play Abby’s dad, an old-school career Chicago cop who is rough around the edges but has a real soft spot for his only daughter until she tells him of her new gig, news that makes him feel hurt and angry. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

ABC Family Channel has greenlit three pilots, including the following:

The drama Nine Lives which follows Chloe King who is looking forward to celebrating her 16th birthday with her friends and single mother, just like every other year until she starts developing heightened abilities (super speed, agility, hearing…claws), and discovers she’s being pursued by a mysterious figure. She soon learns she’s part of an ancient race who have been hunted by human assassins for millennia – and that she may be their only hope for ultimate survival. Casting on the project is yet to be announced. The drama is based on the book series The Nine Lives of Chloe King by Celia Thomson.

The drama Switched at Birth, which tells the story of two teen girls who discover they were accidentally switched at birth. Bay Kennish grew up in a wealthy family with two parents and two brothers, while Daphne Vasquez, who lost her hearing as a child due to a case of meningitis, grew up with a single mother in a poor neighborhood. Things come to a dramatic head when both families meet and struggle to learn how to live together for the sake of the girls. Casting for the project is yet to be announced.

The drama Strut, which revolves around a showgirl named Roxy who marries a stranger after a wild evening, and overnight finds herself living in a small town in Texas and reinventing the high school’s struggling drill team. Roxy uses her background as a dancer to connect with the group of high school outsiders, specifically awkward teen Meg. When Roxy takes it upon herself to shape them into a bona fide strutting team of performers, she turns the town upside down in the process. (The Futon Critic)

Actress Rachel Bilson and Josh Schwartz (the man behind The O.C. and Chuck) are teaming up for a new project at NBC. The project is to be called Ghost Angeles with Bilson starring as a young woman in Los Angeles who talks to the dead and helps out ghosts as they help her. (Deadline and TV Guide)

ME: So let me get this straight? NBC cancels Medium while CBS picks up Medium but at the same time CBS let’s Ghost Whisperer go and now NBC picks up this new ghost-inspired show. Does that just sound ridiculous or what? Oh wait, that’s how the networks work…. Why bother trying to figure it out, right?

RATINGS RESULTS

The following list is from E! Entertainment Online and shows how the new fall series (the dramas that is) are stacking up so far this season:

Hawaii Five-0 (14.2 million, 11th place)
Blue Bloods (13 million, 17th place)
The Defenders (12.2 million, 23rd place)
The Event (10.9 million, 27th place)
Detroit 1-8-7 (9.3 million, 35th place)
Undercovers (8.7 million, 40th place)
Chase (7.3 million, 48th place)
My Generation (5.2 million, 73rd place)
Outlaw (4.9 million, 78th place)
The Whole Truth (4.8 million, 79th place)
Lone Star (4.1 million, 88th place)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Casting News for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn

Josh Holloway (Lost) is in final negotiations to act as a member of the Impossible Mission Force for the box office sequel Mission: Impossible 4. The cast already includes Tom Cruise, of course, as well as Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton,Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg. (Live Feed at The Hollywood Reporter)

BOX OFFICE TRAILER

Must Watch: First Teaser Trailer for the Coen Bros’ True Grit!

Q&A SECTION (with Matt Mitovich at Fancast)

Question: Do you have any hints as to why Robert Wagner is coming back to ‘NCIS‘? – Carlee

Mitovich: I turn this first question over to the Hintmaster himself, Shane Brennan. “R.J. Wagner’s return as the charming Anthony DiNozzo Sr. recaptures all the fun and chaos that resulted from his last visit,” the ‘NCIS’ boss tells the Big Tease. What’s more, he says the encore “reveals an emotionally charged moment between father and son that’s not to be missed.”

Question: I’m obsessed with what ‘Fringe’s Anna Torv said about Olivia finding a new ally in the alternate universe. Did she give any other clues? – Deb

Mitovich: Did Anna? No. John Noble? Maybe. When I questioned alt-Broyles’ allegiance to the Secretary of Defense, Noble responded, “Broyles is a strong character. Now, how much he’ll go along with things is to be revealed.”

Question: Are we going to see more of the hybrid baby when ‘V‘ returns? – Susan

Mitovich: “Ohhh yeah,” exec producer Steve Pearlman told me during my visit to the ABC series’ Vancouver set last week. “You’ll see the hybrid in Episode 1″ (premiere date TBD). As for the little one’s appearance, “It won’t necessarily look very human,” he teased.

Question: Did your visit to the ‘V‘ set turn up any scoop on what “red sky” is or does? – Greg

Mitovich: Though Elizabeth Mitchell wouldn’t spill any specifics, she said the answer “definitely satisfied me” and it “happens in the first five minutes…. all kinds of really horrifying things.” And yet, somehow, Anna will spin it as a good thing for humanity. Somewhere in outer space lays a very savvy publicist.

Question: Please give me some scoop on ‘The Good Wife‘! – Karen

Mitovich: Oh, tonight’s season premiere is a fine hour. That “intimate” scene that made headlines a few weeks back? Well-played. Also, the way Kalinda meets her new rival (’FNL’s Scott Porter) is pretty awesome, as is their ongoing prickly banter (he knows a secret of hers that she very much doesn’t like him knowing); Eli acquires a new cohort; Michael Ealy (’Sleeper Cell’) fits in smoothly as a new partner with big ideas; and Will has been named one of the area’s most eligible bachelors (ouch, Alicia!).

Question: Do the folks at ‘Human Target‘ feel like they’re shooting a James Bond film with every episode? Because it sure feels like one! – Joel

Mitovich: Exec producer Matt Miller must agree. “Between our incredible stunt coordinator (Emmy nominee Dean Cho) and our producer-director Steve Boyum, who spent the majority of his career as a stunt man, we have the best stunts on television,” he boasts. And what sort of explodey goodness is on tap for Season 2, premiering this Friday at 8/7c? “For our eighth episode, our kind of ‘holiday ‘episode, we really wanted to destroy a mall,” Miller says. “We wanted a cool set piece where Chance is just wreaking havoc in a mall.” I suggested the episode title “A Very Human Target Christmas” – cross fingers!

Question: Will ‘Smallville’s Clark ever say to Lois the words, “I love you”? – Nicole

Mitovich: First, let’s ask Clark himself. “I would think so,” Tom Welling told me Saturday night at the show’s 200th episode party. “I’m not sure what exactly they have in store for [the final season], but Lois is definitely a part of Clark’s future.” And now, the executive producers. “There will be epic romance, that we can say,” teases Brian Peterson. Adds Kelly Souders: “Definitely watch the 200th episode” (airing Oct. 15).

Question: How about some scoop on ‘Grey’s Anatomy’s Meredith? – Kazzer

Mitovich: This is the week Mer tells Derek that she had a miscarriage. But also on the horizon are some powerhouse scenes on the sisterly front. As the aftermath of the shooting continues to play out and “Meredith begins mothering everybody, Lexie is like, ‘Hey, what about me? I don’t understand where you’ve been for me in this,’” Chyler Leigh previews. That leads to “several really great scenes between the two of us, where we really define what our relationship is.”

Question: Any info on Jensen Ackles‘ ‘Supernatural‘ directorial debut? – DeanGirl1 via Comments

Mitovich: If by info you mean raves, here’s one castmate’s take on Jensen’s turn behind the camera: “The truth of the matter is he’s a natural,” Mark Sheppard (Crowley) tells Fancast. “He was extraordinarily well-prepared, and he’s very good at getting what he wants. It was fun for me and Jim [Beaver] to….” To what? Frak, Mark caught himself and stopped short of spoiling. But he did share this about the Crowley/Bobby teaser shown at Comic-Con this summer: “That is a fabulous, really fun scene – and that’s not all of the scene either. There’s a lot of stuff going on.”

Question: You seem to be the only source of ‘Make It Or Break It‘ news – whatcha got? – Irena

Mitovich: What I’ve got is a correction to my scoop on Sean Maher’s guest-starring role. Turns out the ‘Firefly’ alum is going to be playing a National Gymnastics Organization official who starts poking around Emily’s life. Though I’m sure he would’ve done fine as a gymnast.

Question: Last week’s ‘Terriers‘ – WTF?! – Joe

Mitovich: I’m assuming that’s a request for scoop on the shadowy figure seen slinking into the crawl space of Hank’s house? That out-of-left field mystery “is resolved pretty quickly,” says Donal Logue. “You’ll find out who it is, and to me a really cool aspect of this show is what it means getting to work with that person.”

That’s it. Enjoy!

Lee Ann