Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

Actors Jack Coleman (Heroes) and Stephen Martines (The Closer) have been cast in recurring roles on Burn Notice when the show returns later this year for its seventh (and potentially final season. Coleman will play Andrew Strong, a ranking CIA officer who has seen it all. Noble, but also obsessive at times, Strong is a relentless taskmaster who pushes Michael to do whatever it takes to complete the mission. Martines will play Carlos Cruz, a swashbuckling bounty hunter and Fiona’s charming new boyfriend (SAY WHAT?!) (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Dallas Roberts (The Walking Dead) has joined the cast of the returning CBS drama Unforgettable where he will play Eliot, who is in charge of the Major Cases Section of the NYPD. Unforgettable returns on July 28. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Gregg Henry (Scandal) is joining the cast of The Killing, playing Carl Reddick, Holder’s seasoned new partner, a career cop who’s managed to neither excel to the top ranks nor ruffle anyone’s feathers. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Season three of the MTV comedy Awkward. will be back with its third season on April 16, airing two back-to-back episodes at 10 and 10:30 PM. (TV By the Numbers)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Here are the top 10 box office movies for this past weekend courtesy of Exhibitor Relations:

1. Oz the Great and Powerful, $42.2 million
2. The Call, $17.1 million
3. The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, $10.3 million
4. Jack the Giant Slayer, $6.2 million
5. Identity Thief, $4.8 million
6. Snitch, $3.5 million
7. 21 and Over, $2.6 million
8. Silver Linings Playbook, $2.59 million
9. Safe Haven, $2.5 million
10. Escape From Planet Earth, $2.3 million

Actress Elisabeth Rohm (Law & Order) has joined the cast of the as-yet titled film from David O. Russell that stars Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Renner and Amy Adams. The story revolves around a real-life FBI sting operation in the 1970s that led to the conviction of U.S. political figures for corruption. Rohm will play the wife of Renner’s character. (Variety and Dark Horizons)

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

Question: I’m thrilled that Veronica Mars fans will be getting a long-awaited movie. I have a few questions related to the Kickstarter campaign that made it possible: 1) Were you surprised that the goal of $2 million was reached in only 24 hours given the ratings challenges the show always faced as a TV series? 2) There was some controversy about whether asking fans to fund the project instead of having the studio fund it was setting a bad precedent and whether such a “mainstream” project should have been conducted through Kickstarter. What are your thoughts? Lastly, what other cancelled TV shows do you think would be worthy of fan-funded movie resurrections? — Brian

Matt Roush: 1) I’m pretty sure everyone in the industry and beyond was astonished — gobsmacked is another favorite word that comes to mind — at how quickly this all happened, in part because as you noted Veronica Mars was the cult-iest of cult shows and has been off the air (though apparently not out of mind) for six years. But as we all know, fan passion runs deep, and in this case, they put their money where it mattered, in a unique (for now) circumstance that gives them pride of participation, if not ownership. Which brings up 2) the question of whether the Kickstarter method is appropriate for projects like this. I don’t see a problem, in part because Veronica Mars feels less “mainstream” than underdog, as close to indie-film status as anything from a major studio can be. This wasn’t going to happen any other way, and it’s unlikely anyone’s going to make a fortune from this once it heads to its ultimate destination: online, On Demand, video. It’s a win for fans and for the creative team that has stayed remarkably committed to seeing this become a reality.

Which brings up 3) the fact that an awful lot needs to go right in terms of assembling cast, writers and production team for a project of the right scale to get this sort of go-ahead. (Even another watershed event like Joss Whedon’s Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog only happened because of “favors and waivers,” as he put it to me back in 2008. And we’re still waiting for the sequel.) Among the titles I’ve seen discussed in the wake of this Veronica Mars news are even cult-ier shows like Party Down and Terriers — which probably could produce a movie version on this scale — as well as fan faves like Chuck (which got five seasons, but Zachary Levi still dreams of doing a movie, and why not). Many shows are “worthy” (as Brian puts it) of resurrection, but like Arrested Development’s comeback on Netflix, they’re still likely to be the exception to the rule that once a show’s canceled, it’s over. Which won’t stop the clamoring for more, so it will be interesting to see what happens next.

Question: Should we Once Upon a Time fans be worried with the low ratings the show has oddly been getting lately? I don’t understand why the show is getting such low ratings as all of my family and friends still watch the series and the online fanbase is so large. I know the ratings really aren’t the full picture anymore, and a Season 3 renewal is pretty much a given, but should we be worried that Season 3 could be the last? A lot of my friends now watch the show with their DVRs or online which I know the overnight ratings don’t include. Once they add those factors in, plus how popular the show is on social networking sites like Tumblr, Twitter and Facebook, it has to change the story. I’m sure ABC knows how large the fandom actually is and I’m sure if we have to, there will be online campaigns to keep the show on the air like there have been with Chuck and Fringe. I’m starting to wonder if next season ABC will pair OUAT with S.H.I.E.L.D. by either keeping it on Sundays or moving it to another day, or if it will go the route of Lost and schedule an end date with a multiple-season renewal? I just hope this show is able to end the way the writers want it to. I think they, the cast and we as fans deserve to have a proper ending. — Amanda

Matt Roush: It’s a little early to start worrying about renewal beyond this season, don’t you think? Once was not helped by ABC scheduling first-run episodes against big events in January and February, but any show on Sundays faces that problem. Daylight savings is also no friend to shows that air at 8/7c. But in the bigger picture, as you suggested, the networks are taking into account many more factors than the immediate overnight ratings to calculate what makes a show a success in this increasingly fragmented marketplace. I like your idea of pairing Once with a similarly fantastic show, but I’d be surprised if ABC moves this show off of Sundays, where it still performs an important function as a family-friendly show in a critical hour. Either way, it seems too early for the Once producers to start thinking about an endgame or for fans to be worrying about an unhappily-ever-after scenario.

Question: I’ve recently become a fan of Bryan Fuller (always loved Pushing Daisies, but just got into Wonderfalls and Dead Like Me). Was bummed that Mockingbird Lane didn’t go further, but Hannibal has my hopes up. Why don’t Fuller’s shows seem to last more than two seasons (see all the above-mentioned shows), and do you think Hannibal will have a better chance of lasting? — Mottel

Matt Roush: Bryan Fuller doesn’t make ordinary TV, and taking extraordinary risks often presents challenges in such a mainstream medium. I’ve seen five episodes of Hannibal (which premieres April 4), and it’s as freaky, visually stimulating and fascinating as any of Fuller’s best work, but this one also has a brand name (Hannibal Lecter from Thomas Harris’ best-sellers) attached, so I’m hoping this will be the long-awaited new hit NBC so desperately needs and Fuller deserves. The Thursday time period (10/9c) will be challenging, since it’s been such a dead zone for NBC in recent years.

UPDATE: Regarding last week’s NCIS question about Ziva and the aftermath of her father’s assassination, the show’s executive producer Gary Glasberg sent in this quote to reconfirm my answer: “Revenge is often better served slowly and deliberately. And the ramifications of what’s to come at the end of the season will be significant and, to say the least, surprising.” To that end, the April 9 episode includes a storyline in which “Tony suspects that Ziva is planning a risky move to avenge her father’s death.” In other NCIS news, because I get so many questions about McGee and when we’ll ever meet his father, that will be addressed in the March 26 episode, introducing Jamey Sheridan (the ill-fated vice president on Homeland) as Navy Admiral John McGee, who in classic NCIS tradition is implicated in a murder at sea.

That’s it. Enjoy!