Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here is the news for today:

NEWS

Congrats to the Emmy winners from last night’s awards presentation, including the folks from Modern Family and Mad Men, writer/series creator Jason Katims, actors Kyle Chandler, Peter Dinklage, Margo Martindale, Julianna Margulies, Melissa McCarthy, Barry Pepper and Jim Parsons; as well as the folks from the mini-series Mildred Pierce and Downton Abbey.

TELEVISION

Actor Romany Malco (No Ordinary Family and Weeds) will appear in a multi-episode arc on The Good Wife, playing a pro bono lawyer who is renting space at Lockhart Gardner. The Good Wife returns on September 25. (Michael Ausiello at TV Line)

Actor Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family) will guest star on an episode of American Horror Story, playing a patient that sees Dr. Ben Harmon (Dylan McDermott) because of his fear of urban legends. The new FX drama debuts on October 5. (Robyn Ross at TV Guide and Entertainment Weekly)

Actor Dean Norris (Breaking Bad) will guest star on Castle, playing the hostage negotiator who tries to defuse a situation at a bank where Castle and his mother find themselves trapped inside during a heist. Castle is back tonight at 10 PM on ABC. (Matt Mitovich at TV Line)

Actor Jack Coleman (Heroes) will not only be showing up on The Vampire Diaries, but he will also appear in Criminal Minds as Bill, a man who once held a young girl captive for seven years, and in an attempt to recreate a perceived connection with the victim, proceeds to kidnap her mother (played by Brigid Brannagh from Army Wives) in the exact same fashion. (Megan Masters at TV Line)

CONDOLENCES

Actress Frances Bay, who played the grandmother of Adam Sandler’s character in the film Happy Gilmore, passed away late last week at the age of 92. (E! Online)

ME: RIP, Ms. Bay. Deepest condolences to her family, friends and fans.

MOMENT OF SILENCE, PLEASE…

BOX OFFICE NEWS

The following list is the top 10 movies for the box office this past weekend courtesy of Hollywood.com and based on studio estimates. Please note that The Lion King (in 3-D) began its limited, two-week engagement this weekend:

1. The Lion King 3-D – $29.3 million
2. Contagion – $14.5 million
3. Drive – $11 million
4. The Help – $6.4 million
5. Straw Dogs – $5 million
6. I Don’t Know How She Does It – $4.5 million
7. The Debt – $2.9 million
8. Warrior – $2.7 million
9. Rise of the Planet of the Apes – $2.6 million
10. Colombiana – $2.3 million

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

Question: I was pleasantly surprised by the first episode of Ringer. I was a huge Buffy fan because of the writing of the Whedon crew, so I follow the writers and not the cast. But the show seems to be a good fit for Sarah Michelle Gellar, and it was soapy and suspenseful in a very mainstream way. While the “twist” at the end of the pilot was entirely predictable, there are enough questions to keep me coming back for more. What did you think? I am not one of those people who avoids watching a TV show I think will be canceled (thus encouraging networks to cancel it), but I do hope a show like this is produced in sensible 13-episode arcs. More shows seem to be trying to hedge their bets that way. While I’m not asking for spoilers, do you have any sense of whether or not the show has mini-endgames planned in case the show doesn’t go the distance? (Whedon was great at that for most of Buffy’s run). — Rebecca

Matt Roush: I was more fair to Ringer than many critics. I’m not entirely convinced there’s enough material in this set-up to fill an hour every week over the long haul, but I have a soft spot for this kind of glossy mystery melodrama, and I liked her and the cast (especially the two men she’s caught between, Ioan Gruffudd and Kristoffer Polaha). So for now, I’m on board. And while a story like this has to stay open-ended by its very nature of building suspense and twists along the way, I agree it would be wise for the writers to cushion the cliffhangers with some sense of resolution at the end of the first 13 — and the back nine, should Ringer be so lucky (which it probably will be) — so that fans won’t be too perturbed if the show doesn’t make it to a second year. It’s awfully hard to predict the threshold of success and failure on a mini-net like the CW.

Question: Since last week was the final “summer” episode of The Closer, does this mean we will still have a winter series to come? I had believed that this was the end of a wonderful show, but I am not sure. I sincerely hope that I am wrong. I will definitely miss this show. Is there a specific reason that Kyra Sedgwick decided to leave after this year? There are still so many wonderful stories to be explored with her and her team. I have read that there is the possibility that the show may continue with all of the other characters remaining? Is this definite or only a possibility? If so, what will happen to Fritz, Brenda’s husband? — Mary Ann

Matt Roush: There’s still quite a bit of confusion among some fans regarding what’s happening with this franchise. Here’s the deal: After the five-episode run in November and December, The Closer will be back for a final run of episodes next summer, marking the end of Kyra Sedgwick’s participation in the series. This transitions directly into a spin-off, Major Crimes, which will be built around Mary McDonnell’s character of Sharon Raydor but includes many of the Closer ensemble. Can’t really say what part Jon Tenney/Fritz will play in this, because that depends on how they write Brenda out of the show. And I prefer not to know that for now. The main reason Sedgwick has cited for leaving the show at this point is that she prefers to go out on top and not overstay her welcome, plus a desire to get back to her life on the East Coast with her family. Seven seasons is a pretty good run for any character. And who’s to say she won’t pop back into the world of Major Crimes from time to time?

That’s it. Enjoy!

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