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Archive for February, 2011

Trying to figure out what to watch tonight? Be it new episodes of the TV season, reairs of cable series or a movie, here are some suggestions:

7 PM
Home Alone movie on HBO Family

7:45 PM
Benny & Joon movie on IFC

8 PM
Burn Notice on MyNetworkTV
NCIS on USA Network
The Bourne Identity movie on Starz

9 PM
Burn Notice on MyNetworkTV
NCIS on USA Network
A Kiss at Midnight movie on Hallmark
Taken movie on HBO Signature

10 PM
Off the Map on ABC
NCIS on USA Network
Justified on FX

11 PM
Being Erica on SOAPnet

Enjoy!

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Hey All,

There is a bit more news to share with all of you today than yesterday. Here is what I found:

TELEVISION

Syfy has gained the syndication rights to all 31 episodes of the short-lived FOX drama Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and will begin airing episodes on Thursday, April 7 at 9 PM. Its regular time slot will be Thursdays from 7 to 11 PM (Yes, four episodes in a row!) (Entertainment Weekly)

Syfy has also announced the return of new episodes of Sanctuary on April 15 at 10 PM and the final 10 episodes of Stargate Universe will begin on March 7 at 10 PM. (Entertainment Weekly)

The ABC Family Channel has picked up the new drama The Lying Game, based on the novel by author Sara Shepard (Pretty Little Liars), which follows Emma, a kind-hearted foster kid who learns she has an identical twin sister, Sutton. Sutton, unlike Emma, was adopted by wealthy parents and is seemingly living an ideal life. After their initial meeting, Sutton talks Emma into stepping into her life for a few days while she pursues a lead on the mysterious identity of their birth mother. After Sutton inexplicably fails to return to the girls’ designated meeting place, Emma must decide whether to come clean about her identity and risk her own safety in the hope of uncovering her twin sister’s whereabouts, along with the truth about why they were separated in the first place. This new show will star Alexandra Chando (As The World Turns) in the lead role along with Andy Buckley (The Office), Helen Slater (Smallville); Blair Redford (90210); Sharon Pierre-Louis (Lincoln Heights); Kirsten Prout (Kyle XY); Alice Greczyn (Lincoln Heights) and Allie Gonino (10 Things I Hate About You). The network has already picked up the following new shows: The Nine Lives of Chloe King, Switched at Birth and The Great State of Georgia. (The Futon Critic)

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Minnie Driver (The Riches) is returning to TV in the CBS pilot called Hail Mary, which is a buddy P.I. show set in Atlanta that focuses on a suburban single mom (Driver) who teams up with a streetwise hustler to solve crimes. (Deadline)

Alan Tudyk (Firefly) has been cast in the ABC comedy pilot called Suburgatory that centers on Tessa (Jane Levy), a teenage girl who is moved by her dad George from Manhattan, where she grew up, to her version of hell: the suburbs. Tudyk will play George’s old college buddy who has been living in the suburbs for years. (Deadline)

Guillermo Diaz (Mercy) has joined the cast of the ABC drama pilot called In Crisis that is about a professional fixer (Kerry Washington) and her dysfunctional staff. Diaz will play Huck, the firm’s lone paralegal who is also an expert hacker. (The Futon Critic)

Toby Stephens (Vexed) has joined the cast of the NBC drama pilot remake of the British series Prime Suspect that will star Maria Bello in the lead role. Stephens will play Matt Webb, the live-in boyfriend of Bello’s character, Jane Timoney, who is fighting his ex-wife to allow their son to stay with him and Jane. (The Futon Critic)

MADE FOR TV MOVIES NEWS

Here are some made-for-TV movies from Syfy that fans of their D-grade Saturday night movies can look forward to (this list is courtesy of Entertainment Weekly):

Battle of Los Angeles – Premieres Saturday, March 12, at 9 p.m. – Hundreds of extra-terrestrial ships swarm Los Angeles, causing death and chaos ahead of an impending alien invasion. A small group of United States military personnel are able to get underground, where they learn the only way to stop the invasion is by destroying the mothership from within. It falls to two determined soldiers to finish the job before the human race is demolished. The film stars Nia Peeples (Pretty Little Liars) and Kel Mitchell (Kenan & Kel)

Scream of the Banshee– Premieres Saturday, March 26, at 9 p.m. – When a college professor opens a strange, ornate box discovered in the basement of her University, she and her students hear the horrifying scream of a bloodthirsty Banshee. Everyone who hears the scream dies a strange and terrible death. Now the professor and a few stragglers must try to stop the Banshee. The film stars Lauren Holly (NCIS) and Lance Henriksen (Alien).

Ferocious Planet – Premieres Saturday, April 9, at 9 p.m. – An experimental device enabling viewing of alternate dimensions goes haywire on its first test, dragging the entire test lab (and its occupants) into a dangerous alternate universe. Led by a resourceful Colonel and a tough female scientist, they have to figure out how to get home. The film stars Joe Flanigan (Stargate Atlantis) and John Rhys-Davies (Lord of the Rings).

Roadkill – Premieres Saturday, April 23, at 9 p.m. – Six young friends on a road trip in Ireland run afoul of gypsies who curse them for accidentally running down an old woman. The curse takes the form of a terrifying flying beast that tries killing them all. The film stars Stephen Rea (The Crying Game).

The ABC Family Channel movie called My Future Boyfriend will premiere on Sunday, April 10 at 8 PM and stars Barry Watson as P-A-X-497/341, aka “Pax”, a curious young man from the well-ordered but loveless future, travels to present day New Orleans in search of romance novelist Elizabeth Barrett (Sara Rue) – whose book he has come upon during an archeological dig in the year 3127. Hoping Elizabeth can explain the concept of love to him, which is now non-existent in his time, Pax embarks on an adventure filled with new discoveries. Elizabeth introduces Pax to life in the year 2011, filled with love, music and of course, destiny. When Pax doesn’t return to the future by the given deadline, Bob (Fred Willard), his fellow scientist, travels back in time to find him. Meanwhile, as Elizabeth helps Pax learn about love, she ends up confiding in her colleague, played by Valerie Harper, about her own upcoming “surprise” engagement. Fred Willard also stars. (The Futon Critic)

That’s it. Enjoy!

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It was a full night of programming for the Monday night dramas. Here is how each of them fared in the overall ratings:

8 PM Shows:
House (FOX) – 10.4 million
Chuck (NBC) – 5.5 million
90210 (The CW) – 1.5 million

9 PM Shows:
The Chicago Code (FOX) – 8 million
The Cape (NBC) – 4.1 million
Gossip Girl (The CW) – 1.6 million

10 PM Shows:
Hawaii Five-0 (CBS) – 10.3 million
Castle (ABC) – 9 million (Part 1 of 2)
Harry’s Law (NBC) – 8.7 million

What did you watch last night? Please share.

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Pilot Watch 101: CBS

Every year the major networks pick up orders for nothing short of a hundred or more pilots for proposed new shows for each TV season. This year is not unlike any other year with a plethora of projects by big name show-runners all the way down to first-timers trying to get their ideas made into a pilot and eventually getting a series order from one of the major networks.

In this upcoming series of articles, I will focus on each of the five major networks, spotlighting the more notable pilots that are being considered for the 2011-2012 TV season.

Please keep in mind, however, that while there are countless pilots being discussed by each of the major networks right now, very few of those will actually make it to the air.

The following are some of the more-talked-about pilots from CBS:

Rina Mimoun, the creator of the short-lived CW series Privileged, has created the pilot called The Doctor that will center on Emily Campbell, a mother who reconnects with her grown-up children when she joins her family’s medical practice. Emily will be played by Emmy winning actress Christine Lahti.

Meanwhile the man behind Alias and Lost – J.J. Abrams – is at the helm of the pilot called Person of Interest, starring Lost alum Michael Emerson, who will play a mysterious billionaire helping an ex-CIA agent, presumed dead, to fight crime in New York City.

Sarah Michelle Gellar just might be back on network TV in the pilot called Ringer about a troubled young woman on the run who hides out by living the life of her wealthy twin sister, until she learns her sibling’s life has a bounty on it as well. The pilot will include actors Ioan Gruffudd (Fantastic Four) and Nestor Carbonell (Lost).

Robert DeNiro has stepped into the TV arena with the pilot called Rookies that will star Leelee Sobieski. The pilot will focus on NYPD cops as they balance their personal lives with learning the mean streets of Manhattan.

An update to the 1960’s series The Wild Wild West is being brought to the network by Ron Moore, the man behind the reimagining of Battlestar Galactica. While casting has yet to be announced for this new version, the revamped version will follow the adventures of two Secret Service agents who traveled the country in a “tricked-out” train.

Screenwriter Susannah Grant, who wrote the films Erin Brockovich, is hoping her pilot that has yet to be named about an ultra-competitive surgeon whose life is changed forever when his ex-wife dies and begins teaching him about life from the hereafter will be picked up as a series. The pilot is set to star Patrick Wilson (Phantom of the Opera and Morning Glory).

There are at least 8 other dramatic pilots being considered by CBS; and again, there is no guarantee that any of these will be picked up for series by the network. The final decisions will be made by the powers that be at the network in late spring and announced in May at the New York upfront presentations.

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Trying to figure out what to watch tonight? Be it new episodes of the TV season, reairs of cable series, a movie or a special, here are some suggestions:

NOTE: There appears to be a marathon of episode of The Event on Syfy. Check your local listings for airtime.

7 PM
Monsters vs. Aliens (animated) movie on HBO Family

7:20 PM
Up (animated) movie on Starz

7:28 PM
Raiders of the Lost Ark movie on USA Network

7:30 PM
Wanted movie on FX

8 PM
No Ordinary Family on ABC
NCIS on CBS
Glee on FOX
Ice Age (animated) movie on Disney
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (animated) movie on Encore

8:45 PM
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince movie on HBO Family

9 PM
V on ABC
NCIS: Los Angeles on CBS
The Losers movie on HBO
Avatar movie on More Max
The Proposal movie on Starz

10 PM
White Collar on USA Network

Enjoy!

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Hey All,

Happy Presidents’ Day to all those in the States! Hope your 3-day weekend was terrific. Here are the news items for today:

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

ABC Family is reportedly close to ordering to series the drama pilot The Lying Game about Emma (Alexandra Chando), a kind-hearted foster kid who finds out she has an identical twin sister, Sutton, who was adopted by wealthy parents, only to go missing under mysterious circumstances. (The Futon Critic)

Actor Patrick Wilson (Phantom of the Opera) will play the lead in the as-yet-untitled CBS drama pilot by Susannah Grant about Michael Halstead, an ultra-competitive surgeon whose life is changed forever when his ex-wife, Anna Lindberg, dies and begins teaching him what life is all about from the hereafter. (The Futon Critic)

Box office star Ashley Judd is nearing a deal to play the lead role in the ABC drama pilot called Missing that will follow a suburban mother who heads to Europe to find her son who has disappeared while studying abroad in Italy. It turns out that she is a former CIA agent who will stop at nothing to bring him back alive. The 10-episode order will begin filming this Summer for either a fall or mid-season launch. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

Actor Jason Isaacs (from the Harry Potter franchise) will star in the lead role in the NBC drama pilot called REM from Lone Star creator Kyle Killen. The show has been described as an Inception-style thriller centering on a cop (Isaacs) who wakes up after an accident to find he is living in two different realities. (TV Line)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Offers have been given to actors Bradley Cooper and Alex Pettyfer and actress Sofia Vergara to star in the thriller The Paperboy that is based on the novel by Peter Dexter, which follows the story of the slacker son of backwater Florida newspaper editor and publisher who gets pulled into his older, big-city reporter brother’s investigation of a rural sheriff’s murder. (Vulture and Dark Horizons)

The box office results for this past holiday weekend are as follows courtesy of Box Office Mojo:

1. Unknown – 21.7 million
2. I Am Number Four – 19.5 million
3. Gnomeo and Juliet – 19.4 million
4. Just Go With It – 18.2 million
5. Big Momma’s: Life Father Like Son – 17 million
6. Never Say Never – 13.6 million
7. The King’s Speech – 6.6 million
8. The Roommate – 4.1 million
9. The Eagle – 3.6 million
10. No Strings Attached – 3.1 million

That’s it. Enjoy!

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Another month of TV has gone by and it is time to review how the cable shows performed in the ratings over that period of time.

Pretty Little Liars – The following ratings are for the past 6 episodes of this series from January 10 through February 14: 3.2 million, 3 million, 3.2 million, 3.2 million, 3.1 million and 2.4 million. These numbers average out to 3 million viewers. A new episode will air tonight (February 21).

NOTE: A marathon of episodes of Pretty Little Liars is airing today from 1 PM to 8 PM.

Greek – Just like Pretty Little Liars, there were 6 episodes of this series from January 10 through February 14. The ratings for each of those episodes are as follows: 1.1 million, 915,000 viewers, 899,000 viewers, 909,000 viewers, 1.1 million and 745,000. This averages out to approximately 950,000 viewers. A new episode will air tonight (February 21).

Southland – The ratings for this TNT police drama from January 4 to February 15 were 2.1 million, 1.6 million, 2.1 million, 2.2 million, 1.8 million, 1.8 million and 2 million. The average for these episodes is 1.9 million. The next new episode will air tomorrow (February 22).

Merlin – The ratings for the Syfy series from January 14 through February 11 (with the exception of January 28 when an episode was not aired) were 1.5 million, 1.6 million, 1.4 million and 1.4 million. This averages out to 1.5 million viewers. A new episode will air on Friday, February 25.

Spartacus: Gods of the Arena – The prequel series to Spartacus: Blood & Sand from Starz debuted on January 21, airing four other episodes from January 28 to February 18. The ratings for all of these episodes except February 18, which are not available yet, are 1.1 million, 1.1 million, 1.3 million and 1.1 million. These ratings average out to 1.2 million viewers. The next new episode will air on Friday, February 25.

Big Love – The HBO series returned for its final season on January 16 and has aired 4 other episodes through February 13. The ratings for those episodes are as follows: 1.2 million, 1.1 million, 1 million, 770,000 viewers and 992,000 viewers. The approximate average for these episodes is 950,000 viewers. The latest episode aired last night (February 20).

Being Human – The US version of this series, airing on Syfy, debuted on January 17 and has aired 4 other episodes through February 14. The ratings for those episodes are as follows: 2 million, 2.1 million, 1.5 million, 1.4 million and 1.1 million. This averages out to 1.6 million viewers. The next new episode will air tonight (February 21).

Lights Out – This new boxing-based series on FX debuted on January 11 and has aired 5 other episodes through February 15, garnering the following ratings: 1.5 million, 921,000 viewers, 819,000 viewers, 864,000 viewers, 803,000 viewers and 700,000 viewers. The average for these episodes is approximately 1.2 million viewers. The next new episode will air tomorrow (February 22).

White Collar – The USA Network series returned with new episodes on January 18 and has aired 3 new episodes through February 8 (there was no episode on February 15 because of the Westminster Kennel Dog Show). The ratings for those episodes are as follows: 3.8 million, 3.9 million, 3.5 million and 3.5 million. The average of these episodes is 3.7 million viewers. The next new episode will air tomorrow (February 22).

Justified – The FX series returned with new episodes on February 9 and aired another new episode on February 16. The ratings for those two episodes were: 3.5 million and 2.4 million. That averages out to 3 million viewers. The next new episode will air on Wednesday, February 23.

REVISED:

Royal Pains – This USA Network medical series returned with new episodes on January 20 and has aired 4 other new episodes through February 17. The ratings for this time period were: 4.4 million, 4.3 million, 3.9 million, 3.9 million and 3.9 million. This averages out to 4.1 million viewers. The final episode will air on Thursday, February 24.

REVISED:

Fairly Legal – This new USA Network series debuted on January 20, airing 4 more new episodes through February 17. The ratings for those episodes are as follows: 3.9 million, 4.1 million, 3.7 million, 3.5 million and 3.2 million. This averages out to 3.7 million viewers. The next new episode will air on Thursday, February 24.

Being Erica – The popular Canadian series debuted on January 26 and has aired 3 new episodes through February 16; unfortunately, it has been impossible to find ratings for SOAPnet; but I hope to track them down at some point. The next new episode will air on Wednesday, February 23.

Primeval – Since the show had its season premiere on BBC America on January 1, airing new episodes through to its finale on February 12, the ratings for the premiere have been the only numbers for which could be found online. Hopefully those numbers will be made available at some point.

Being Human – The UK original returned with a new season of episodes on BBC America on February 19. Another new episode will air next Saturday, February 26. It could take some time for the ratings to be released; but since getting numbers for certain cable stations is difficult, the ratings for this series may not be forthcoming for a while.

Stay tuned next month for more ratings details on the cable series.

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As usual, Sunday nights are full of animation, sports and reality; but there are always a few dramas that aired and last night’s programming were all new episodes. Here is how they fared in the overall ratings:

9 PM Show:
Desperate Housewives (ABC) – 10.5 million

10 PM Shows:
CSI: Miami (CBS) – 10.5 million
Brothers & Sisters (ABC) – 6.9 million

What did you watch last night? Please share.

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Trying to figure out what to watch tonight? Be it new episodes of the TV season, reairs of cable series or a movie, here are some suggestions:

NOTE: There will be a marathon of episodes of Pretty Little Liars on ABC Family from 1 PM to 8 PM today.

6:30 PM
Independence Day movie on More Max

8 PM
Chuck on NBC
Pretty Little Liars on ABC Family
Being Human on Syfy (reair)
Pearl Harbor movie on AMC
NCIS on USA Network

9 PM
The Cape on NBC (conclusion from last week)
The Chicago Code on FOX
Greek on ABC Family
Being Human on Syfy
Ice Age 3 (animated) movie on HBO Family
Ghostbusters movie on TV Land

10 PM
Harry’s Law on NBC
Pretty Little Liars on ABC Family (reair)
Rizzoli & Isles on TNT (reair)
Avatar movie on Cinemax

10:01 PM
Castle on ABC

Enjoy!

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Trying to figure out what to watch tonight? Be it new episodes of the fall season, reairs of cable series or a movie, here are some suggestions:

5:30 PM
Wanted movie on FX
X-Men Origins: Wolverine movie on HBO

6:30 PM
Titanic movie on ABC Family
George of the Jungle movie on Cartoon Network
The Princess Diaries movie on E!
Cast Away movie on HBO Signature

7 PM
The Good Witch’s Garden movie on Hallmark
Coyote Ugly movie on Lifetime
My Fair Lady (classic) movie on TCM

7:15 PM
The Losers movie on HBO

8 PM
Iron Man movie on FX

9 PM
True Lies movie on CMT
The Good Witch’s Gift movie on Hallmark
Crazy Heart movie on HBO Signature
James Patterson’s Sundays at Tiffany’s movie on Lifetime

10:01 PM
Brothers & Sisters on ABC

Enjoy!

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