Can I go ahead and set my TIVO?
The WB will sign off the air forever on Sunday, Sept. 17, by rebroadcasting the pilot episodes of several of its signature series, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Felicity and Dawson's Creek.
In addition to the pilots, The WB plans to fill its final night with a bevy of classic promos and image campaigns from The WB's 11-year history, says Variety. There will also be a final tribute reel featuring the hundreds of actors who have appeared on the channel's series over the years.
Because the The WB's final bow will take place on a Sunday -- a night on which The WB airs programming from 5-10 p.m. -- the blowout bye-bye will be a full five hours.
Night will kick off at 5 p.m. with the J.J. Abrams- and Matt Reeves-created Felicity, followed at 6 by Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt's Angel. The two-hour pilot to Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer will run in primetime from 7-9 p.m.
Appropriately, Dawson's Creek -- the Kevin Williamson teen drama that put The WB on the map -- will be the final show to air, running from 9-10 p.m.
Some shows that would seem a natural for the last night -- such as Smallville and 7th Heaven -- won't appear because they'll live on at the merged WB-UPN, which is called The CW.
All the studios involved will get a free on-air promo of the DVD collections of their respective series.
More Emmy stuff
Following up on the discussion yesterday, here’s who’s rumored to have made the cut for the top 15 in the lead acting categories:
DRAMA ACTOR: Hank Azaria, "Huff"; Michael Chiklis, "The Shield"; Patrick Dempsey, "Grey's Anatomy"; Matthew Fox, "Lost"; James Gandolfini, "The Sopranos"; Michael C. Hall, "Six Feet Under"; Peter Krause, "Six Feet Under"; Anthony LaPaglia, "Without a Trace"; Hugh Laurie, "House"; Denis Leary, "Rescue Me"; Bill Paxton, "Big Love"; Martin Sheen, "The West Wing"; James Spader, "Boston Legal"; Kiefer Sutherland, "24"; Treat Williams, "Everwood"
DRAMA ACTRESS: Patricia Arquette, "Medium"; Kristen Bell, "Veronica Mars"; Frances Conroy, "Six Feet Under"; Geena Davis, "Commander-in-Chief"; Edie Falco, "The Sopranos"; Jennifer Garner, "Alias"; Gennifer Goodwin, "Big Love"; Mariska Hargitay, "Law & Order: SVU"; Allison Janney, "The West Wing"; Evangeline Lilly, "Lost"; Ellen Pompeo, "Grey's Anatomy"; Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer"; Chloe Sevigny, "Big Love"; Jeanne Tripplehorn, "Big Love"; Polly Walker, "Rome"
COMEDY ACTOR: Jason Bateman,"Arrested Development"; Zach Braff,"Scrubs"; Steve Carell,"The Office"; Kevin Connelly,"Entourage"Larry David,"Curb Your Enthusiasm"Ricky Gervais,"Extras"Omar Gooding,"Barbershop"Fred Goss,"Sons & Daughters"Adrian Grenier,"Entourage"Kevin James,"King of Queens"Jason Lee,"My Name is Earl"Bernie Mac,"Bernie Mac Show"Eric McCormack,"Will & Grace"Tony Shalhoub,"Monk"Charlie Sheen,"Two and a Half Men"
COMEDY ACTRESS: Tichina Arnold,"Everybody Hates Chris"; Stockard Channing,"Out of Practice"; Marcia Cross,"Desperate Housewives"; Jenna Elfman,"Courting Alex"; Lauren Graham,"Gilmore Girls"; Teri Hatcher,"Desperate Housewives"; Felicity Huffman,"Desperare Housewives"; Jane Kaczmarek; "Malcolm in the Middle"; Lisa Kudrow,"The Comeback"; Eva Longoria,"Desperate Housewives"; Julia Louis-Dreyfus,"New Adventures of Old Christine"; Reba McEntire,"Reba"; Debra Messing,"Will & Grace"; Mary-Louise Parker,"Weeds"; Leah Remini,"King of Queens"
This is a good list, though not completely solid, if for no other reason than the astounding Mary McDonnell was left off for "Battlestar Galactica." (And Edward James Olmos for that matter.)
And apparently, "24" and "Six Feet Under" (yawn) are the other two dramas rumored to be in the top 10.
Emmy A Go-Go
Emmy A-Go-Go
The Emmy nominations are announced next week (Thursday morning to be exact), so much of the discussion here in the next few days will surround that.
This year’s Emmys have the potential to actually really have some different contenders.
One of the most common complaints about the Emmys is that new series are rarely recognized. Sure, there are exceptions for juggernaut series (Lost and Desperate Housewives), but people that should have won Emmys long ago (yes Lauren Graham, I’m talking about you) have never even been nominated. It’s the way they go.
This year however, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has done something different. In an effort to get a more diverse array of nominees, the Academy has institute a blue ribbon panel system of voting. What does that mean? Funny, I think I’ll tell you.
Emmy ballots were due last week. The accountants went to town, tallied up the votes and in the Best Drama and Best Comedy categories, came up with a list of the top 10 vote-getters. In the best Lead in a Comedy and Drama categories, they came up with a list of the top 15. From there, the Academy contact the respective shows, asking them to submit a single episode for consideration. Those individual performers were also asked to submit one episode that’s representative of their work. Then, a blue ribbon panel looks at the nominees and rates them. The five highest scored submissions are then the ones that actually get the nominations next week.
Now comes the fun part—rumors!
Tom O’Neil at Gold Derby is hot on all this. Here is what he’s come up with regarding what the ten potential comedy nominees are:
Arrested Development
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Desperate Housewives
Entourage
My Name is Earl
The Office
Scrubs
Two and a Half Men
Will & Grace
Weeds
So far, the spies have only come up with 8 of the potential drama nominees. They are:
Big Love
Boston Legal
Grey’s Anatomy
House
Lost
Rescue Me
The Sopranos
The West Wing
Now whether any of this is true or not is yet to be confirmed. I guess we’ll know for sure next week.
As the potential acting nominees become more clear, I’ll pass info along.
The Ego Has Landed
I’ve known a lot of people with egos.
I’ve gone to school with them. I’ve worked with them. Sometimes, I’ve even idolized them.
But never before have I met someone who has too big of an ego to acknowledge my existence—until now. One of the “very important people” (who we’ll call Chris—a good gender neutral name) at my job won’t even speak to me. I’m not talking about the fact that Chris doesn’t ask my opinion, consult with me, etc. Chris won’t even speak, even in general passing. I will be walking down the hall, pass by Chris, say “Good morning” and get nothing in reply other than the goofy half-cocked grin that could mean either, “I’m completely stoned” or “I’m so superior to you that I won’t even let you know I’m hearing what you say.” I honestly don’t know which it is, and I’m so intrigued/amused that I feel like I want to know.
And speaking of close friends
So today was an incredibly lousy day that just kept getting worse and worse. It took a mild detour when I got to sit in a production office for 45 minutes, listening to stories of premieres, being astounded by the grandeur of the place. It was impressive in scope. Nevertheless, I just happened to get the right phone call, giving me my umpteenth life/career option and it sounded like a great Plan Q. (I'm already past Plan D ors something.) This was the kind of person that I can confide in and that I've so been able to count on. It's great to have friends. (I remind my self of this all the time when nobody calls on the weekends and I sit in my apartment, staring at the wall because I have nothing to do.)
Well, duh!
Pulled from Reuters:
Americans' circle of close friends shrinking
Americans are more socially isolated than they were 20 years ago, separated by work, commuting and the single life, researchers reported on Friday.
Nearly a quarter of people surveyed said they had "zero" close friends with whom to discuss personal matters. More than 50 percent named two or fewer confidants, most often immediate family members, the researchers said.
"This is a big social change, and it indicates something that's not good for our society," said Duke University Professor Lynn Smith-Lovin, lead author on the study to be published in the American Sociological Review.
Smith-Lovin's group used data from a national survey of 1,500 American adults that has been ongoing since 1972.
She said it indicated people had a surprising drop in the number of close friends since 1985. At that time, Americans most commonly said they had three close friends whom they had known for a long time, saw often, and with whom they shared a number of interests.
They were almost as likely to name four or five friends, and the relationships often sprang from their neighborhoods or communities.
Ties to a close network of friends create a social safety net that is good for society, and for the individual. Research has linked social support and civic participation to a longer life, Smith-Lovin said.
People were not asked why they had fewer intimate ties, but Smith-Lovin said that part of the cause could be that Americans are working more, marrying later, having fewer children, and commuting longer distances.
The data also show the social isolation trend mirrors other class divides: Non-whites and people with less education tend to have smaller social networks than white Americans and the highly educated.
That means that in daily life, personal emergencies and national disasters like Hurricane Katrina, those with the fewest resources also have the fewest personal friends to call for advice and assistance.
"It's one thing to know someone and exchange e-mails with them. It's another thing to say, 'Will you give me a ride out of town with all of my possessions and pets? And can I stay with you for a couple or three months?" Smith-Lovin said.
"Worrying about social isolation is not a matter of nostalgia for a warm and cuddly past. Real things are strongly connected with that," added Harvard University Public Policy Professor Robert Putnam, author of "Bowling Alone," a book on the decline of American community.
He suggested flexible work schedules would allow Americans to tend both personal and professional lives.
Don't Mess It Up---PLEASE
YEAH!Here's news about one of the best books ever, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, that's actually looking to be turned into a movie. What follows is from author Michael Chabon's official blog:"The fate of this project--whether it will move at last from the nebulousness of pre-pre-production into really-truly pre-production, with a budget and cast and everything, will be decided on or around 12 July 2006. Miss Natalie Portman is a strong likelihood for the part of Rosa; other casting is ongoing, as are work on the script (a lot of cutting) and tests conducted by a number of top-drawer animation studios (for the comic book elements). Quick answers (as of this date): Golem: yes. Antarctica: yes. [Spoiler] love story: yes. Ruins of World's Fair: no. Long Island: no. Orson Welles: no. Salvador Dali: yes. Loving reference to Betty and Veronica: no. Stan Lee: no."
Thanks, but...
This week is like finals week. Don’t expect any blogging.
Sorry.
Quotation of the Day
“
What's an Emmy worth if someone like Lauren Graham from 'Gilmore Girls' can't be nominated?"—Hollywood ReporterAMEN!
TV Watch
Tonight, PBS is broadcasting the musical,
The Light in the Piazza. I haven't seen it, but I've heard the score and it's sumptuous. Definitely check it out if you get the opportunity. Record
Windfall and check it out later. This is one of the summer's must-sees.
Old School
Seriously, the finale of
Commander-in-Chief revolved around the ERA? What a ludicrous storyline! Why are you doing a story about an issue that hasn’t been an issue in 30 years? I’d have cancelled this too if that were the finale you gave me to air.
Sheesh!
Supposedly there might be the possibility of some TV movies that come out of the show, but I just don’t think this show ever clicked. There was a great idea here, but its execution just failed. Oh well!
And in the discussion of things that stalled, apparently ABC has brought in a completely new showrunner for
What About Brian? and they’re looking to cast some new roles. They’ve also let go of Raoul Bova (!) as Brian’s brother-in-law. Whatever they’re doing over there, the network definitely wants to be in the JJ Abrams business, and they definitely have faith in this show. Let’s hope it turns out to be as promising in the fall!
Egads and a half
I find this information so disturbing I don’t even know what to think. I mean, I don’t know which role CZJ is looking to play, but she’s waaaay too young for Mama Rose and she’s too old for Gypsy Rose Lee. Somebody explain this to me. Granted, this is from Liz Smith, but still...
Now the rumor is out and hot that the Weinstein Company is close on the heels of director Rob Marshall for a movie version of the show about the evolution of that famous stripper - Gypsy Rose Lee - and her infamous stage mother, Rose. This incredible "best damn show I've seen in years!" (courtesy of New York Times critic Walter Kerr) opened to acclaim in 1959 with Broadway's hit-making powerhouse, Ethel Merman, in the role of Mama Rose. The Arthur Laurents "book" with Jule Styne music and Sondheim's lyrics has been revived over and over, usually successfully, with such as Angela Lansbury and Tyne Daly playing the part. Hollywood made a botch of it back in 1962 when they put the sleek Rosalind Russell in the role. (The only saving grace of this version was the delicious Natalie Wood as Gypsy.)
Um........
So even though I'd read enough spoilers not to be completely flabbergasted, I sat, shaking my head last night at the final 30 seconds of
Rescue Me. Are we really supposed to believe that? (I won't spoil it for those who haven't seen it yet.) Just because something sounds like an interesting idea doesn't mean it's one worth exploring with your characters--particularly when you've established something quite contrary.
Maybe in the upcoming weeks they'll work it out, explain it, and everything will make sense. Though I just can't imagine how.
Congrats
Congratulations to the La Jolla Playhouse and everyone associated with the production of Jersey Boys on their four Tony Awards, including Best Musical. From my very limited experience, they're a great group of people, well-deserving of their continued successes.
Breaking Free
So I'm a few months late to this party, but I finally got the chance to watch High School Musical this weekend. All I could think was--this is a huge phenomenon? Why? I mean, sure it's tween-friendly, but I've seen better story-telling and better acting in regional theater productions. I know the Disney Channel might not be the outlet known for its honesty and realism, but I think of the original Freaky Friday and other Disney movies that had some sincereity, originality, and charm. This just feels synthetic and absurd, particularly the little guy that played the lead. I've seen twigs that had more presence than he does. Of course, I'm not the target audience. Skip it and rent Newsies instead if you want a Disney musical.
Oscars--Already?
Keep your eyes on the Tony Awards Sunday night for what might be a preview of next March’s Oscars.
The History Boys, the play that’s expected to rule the roost at the Tonys has already been a huge success in London and director Nicholas Hytner (
The Crucible,
The Object of My Affection) has already taken almost the entire cast and translated the play to film.
Buzz is already starting to build about this Fox Searchlight fall release, so Hytner and the play win, and if Richard Griffiths bests Ralph Fiennes for Best Actor, along with Frances de la Tour (Madam Maxime from
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) winning for Best Supporting Actress, the Oscar race will be off and running with its first serious contender displaying its wares.
Wow. And it’s just the beginning of June.
What'ca gonna do?
I’ve always thought
Cops was the epitome of white-trash. It’s the show that is incredibly cheap to produce, which has made it a staple of FOX’s Saturday night lineup, along with
America’s Most Wanted. Frankly, I don’t even know if the show is still on the air, but it’s now in syndication, and for some reason, people still want to watch it. It’s like a bad sitcom—it’s the same set-up over and over, but people will continually watch it, even though they know how it’s going to turn out. There’s no character development. There are no big set pieces. There’s not much of anything other than perps running and cops chasing after them.
I never saw the point.
Until last week. That’s when I was in my own real-life version of
Cops. I was out running an errand in the Echo Park section of LA. (It’s sort of the area where
The Shield is based, so it’s not ever going to be confused with the nice part of town.) I see this police cruiser speeding up behind me. Its lights weren’t flashing, its siren wasn’t on, nothing. The cops just seemed to be breaking the speed limit because they were the cops and could. The driver proceeded to swing all the way into the far right lane as the rest of us slowed to stop at a red light. The cop decided to swing wide and do a semi-sized right turn, as he crossed in front of three lanes of traffic. I sat there in disbelief, thinking somebody seriously had an ego problem they liked to compensate for with their job and the feeling of importance it gave them.
Suddenly, out of my right-side peripheral vision, I see this young guy go charging across the street. Right behind him were two cops chasing after him on foot. The chasee, started down the sidewalk and then proceeded to switch directions and run across the street to the far side of the road. The cops ran after him.
Then, in my rear-view mirror, I see three or four more cop cars speeding onto the scene. By this time, traffic has just stopped into a standstill since the chasee and the cops are all over the road. The cars slow down, and all the passenger cops jump out and join in the pursuit. (I almost felt sorry for a couple of the cops that leapt out of the cars since their partners didn’t really slow enough, so when they jumped out, they ended up rolling on the ground for a few seconds.)
Despite the number of cops on the scene, the chasee wouldn’t be deterred and he continued to run as if his life depended on it. (His freedom at least, did.)
Finally, he ran down an alley in front of a bike shop where the cops overtook him and forced him to the ground. I didn’t bother to try and find out what he’d done that was so bad, but it was fascinating to watch all these officers bring the guy down. I hope he at least did something worthy of all the attention. I’d hate to think that it takes 10 cops just to bring down a purse snatcher.
But as I sat there, watching through the window of my car, I finally understood why people see
Cops as interesting television. It’s fascinating. At least the live version was. I don’t know how it would play on a smaller screen with editing and sound effects and music, but this version was a great show. Probably better than most chases on TV and definitely more believable than a good number of television series, but part of me thinks that’s because it was live.
Maybe I should turn
Cops into a musical and take it on Broadway.
