TV Jots » Spring 2007

America’s Got Talent? Maybe, But Britain’s Got More

Chandra — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 05:28:00 +0000

At Least When It Comes to Winner Paul Potts’ Moving Rendition of “Nessun Dorma”

Don’t believe me? Then check out the audition footage below for yourself, which comes from ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent, the United Kingdom’s version of the hit NBC reality series America’s Got Talent.

The first season of the U.K. series debuted on June 9 this year with three judges, the already recognizable sourpusses Simon Cowell and Piers Morgan, as well as British actress Amanda Holden. It followed a different format from the one Americans are familiar with, however, based on nine daily broadcasts instead of several months of largely weekly episodes. Perhaps the quickie nature of the first “series,” as they like to call what we call “seasons” across the pond, is what allowed a few very questionable types to make it through the audition process and all the way to the semifinals.

In scandals worthy of the most base tabloids, first an impressionist and registered sex offender (for the possible “feet tickling” of a minor, whatever that means—more British slang or euphemisms, perhaps?) named Richard Bates withdrew from the program after he was outed for his past trespasses, and then three transvestite singers and alleged prostitutes from the drag queen musical act Kit Kat Dolls were exposed (no pun intended), forcing the dismissal of the entire nine-member pop group.

With all of the hardcore criminals out of the way, South Wales carphone salesman Paul Potts managed to slay the remaining competition—including utterly adorable six-year-old crooner Connie Talbot—with his operatic performances inspired by his idol Luciano Pavarotti, ultimately winning the £100,000 grand prize during the live finale on Sunday, June 17.

In addition to the cash booty, Potts will have the amazing opportunity to perform live before Queen Elizabeth II and other members of the Royal Family during the annual Royal Variety Performance later this year, and he received a coveted recording contract with American Idol judge Cowell’s record company.

Now, listen and enjoy, keeping in mind that 36-year-old Potts claims he sang opera for the first time just eight years ago … in a karaoke contest! What a great excuse to run to the nearest bar, like right now, and get hogwild drunk before belting out a few. Maybe you could get some Potts-sized talent then, too.

Take a look here or jump to the video.

Britain’s Got Talent logo courtesy of ITV

Tags: Britain’s Got Talent, ITV, Paul Potts, television, tv

Brace Yourselves Again: NBC Wins Monday Night to Make It Two in a Row

Chandra — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 03:35:00 +0000

British Princes William and Harry Help the Peacock Score an Unbelievable Two-Peat

Hotdog! Well, bend me over and play me like a drum. The Peacock Network did it again on Monday night, making it two-for-two as it topped the Nielsen ratings during the critical primetime period. Sunday, NBC also triumphed, pulling in the largest audiences of the night with a low-octane hodgepodge of repeats, overly long golf competition, and the newsmagazine Dateline. Monday’s downright surreal double victory was due in part to Dateline again, which took the form of a special 10pm EST edition that featured a much-anticipated, and obviously much-watched, exclusive interview with England’s Princes William and Harry, sons of Prince Charles and the late and beloved Princess Diana, of course. I happened to miss the event, no thanks to TNT’s tepid new Treat Williams vehicle Heartland, but I’m sure I’ll get another chance when the inevitable replay airs.

Just so you know, NBC was trailed by CBS, Fox, ABC, and The CW, in that order.

Tags: NBC, ratings, television, tv

One More Reason to Wanna Be a Superhero: Your Very Own Action Figure

Chandra — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 07:14:00 +0000

Toy Company Expanding Line with Feedback, Fat Momma, and Major Victory Designs

Look out, toy stores across America—Feedback, Fat Momma, and Major Victory are catapulting your way. The Sci Fi Channel announced Monday that it has struck a nice deal indeed with Buffalo, New York-based toy manufacturer Shocker Toys. As a result, the company will add to its line of action figures versions based on the last three contestants standing during the debut season of Sci Fi’s hit reality series Who Wants to Be a Superhero?. Winner Feedback, first runner-up Fat Momma, and second-place finisher Major Victory will each see their likeness in miniaturized format when the special set is released as a part of Shocker Toys’ successful Spotlight Series One line sometime in the future. Even better, season two’s winner will also join the special set after he or she knocks out all of the competition in the weeks following the July 26 second-season premiere.

While Shocker Toys isn’t exactly a Mattel- or Hasbros-sized force in the toy industry, this news is a welcome development that should give average Janes and Joes even more incentive to try out for what is essentially a really fun and relatively wholesome reality show. The series’ success last summer was a surprise for many, especially the naysayers who underestimated how much fans would appreciate the uncomplicated humor and sometimes almost touching warmth in certain competitors’ hokey and hammy behavior. The show was a true cure for the summertime blahs.

For the uninitiated, Who Wants To Be a Superhero? is a Sci Fi original series that spotlights comic-book giant Stan Lee as he selects an ultimate victor among a field of superhero wannabes after putting them through assorted challenges, many with multiple dimensions that test such qualities as bravery and selflessness. The very first task last season required the competitors to change into their superhero costume in public without anyone else noticing and then reach a predetermined finish line as fast as possible, apparently a test of adaptability and speed. Along the route, however, there was a very obvious distressed little girl yelling “Help me” and “I’m lost.” She was basically a decoy placed to see how many participants would alter their priorities and stop to help her. Only four did (three of them notably—and unsurprisingly, I might add—women), including the two eventual runner-ups, Fat Momma and Major Victory.

Who Wants to Be a Superhero? returns to the tube at 9pm EST on Thursday, July 26, with a new gaggle of contestants brave enough to bare their all and reveal their extraordinary “powers” on national TV. Before that date, interested parties can surf over to the series Web site, where lots of videos—mostly audition and interview footage, hosted by a typically jazzed-up Major Victory—are available to whet the appetite of fans and keep them satiated until the premiere.

Tags: Fat Momma, Feedback, Major Victory, Stan Lee, television, tv, Who Wants to Be a Superhero?

Brace Yourselves: NBC Was the Top-Rated Network on Sunday Night

Chandra — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 02:38:00 +0000

Yes, You Read That Correctly—N-B-C

This is an actual blog post, not a joke or a half-hearted attempt at trickery. According to Nielsen Media Research (a company that is really, really good at measuring this type of stuff, you know; so much so that they have a stranglehold on the market and indirectly determine everything we get to see on the small screen), NBC did something it rarely does anymore when it attracted audiences larger than every other network during primetime on Sunday night. That’s right—on Father’s Day, June 17, the Peacock Network was Number One in the ratings for the critical 18–49 group that advertisers adore.

I won’t emphasize, of course, that viewership was relatively low overall at that time, given that this is the summer, and Sunday nights aren’t exactly a cornucopia of blockbuster television events during the season of long-awaited vacations, inevitable heat waves, and general malaise.

According to Broadcasting & Cable, “NBC led or tied every half-hour time period except for 8–8:30, when it was beaten by Fox’s The Simpsons.” And to think that such a rare achievement was accomplished with repeats and aging Dateline, peppered with a little golf that ran overtime from the afternoon.

What a feat for the fourth-rated network, which is regularly called out for its swift and painful decline from the apex of the TV-network hierarchy back in its 1990s heyday to its current, seemingly permanent perch in the cellar. Baseless prediction: Just wait until the Peacock’s fabulous new sci-fi-heavy roster takes over the tube come next fall, and this type of news will become common and not so newsworthy anymore. Here’s to dreaming…

Tags: NBC, ratings, television, tv

Rescue Me: My TV Apparently Got A Different 4th-Season Premiere

Chandra — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 00:16:00 +0000

While Everyone Else Oohed and Aahed, I Wondered What the Big Deal Was

I have to admit that I’m not the least bit surprised about the ratings decline that greeted “Babyface,” the fourth-season premiere of FX’s normally sizzling anti-heroic firefighter drama Rescue Me, which drew an audience 18 percent smaller than that for the third-season premiere. Judging from what I saw last Wednesday night, the series isn’t what it used to be, at least not at this early stage of the new season. Maybe it’s because I’ve been watching too long. Maybe it’s because last season ended with not just one, but several truly smokin’ episodes. Whatever it is, last week’s premiere did almost nothing for me, despite all the glowing reviews and lofty claims that the show is the best thing to happen to TV this summer. I don’t agree after experiencing the mediocre, even boring premiere, and I sincerely hope things improve soon.

Copious Spoilers Follow—Proceed with Caution

What’s my beef? For one, the prolonged opening scene featuring Tommy (Denis Leary) awake at night with the new baby and then his daughter Colleen (Natalie Distler), recently turned eighteen, returning home three hours past curfew verged on mundane. So, Colleen dates a twenty-six year old dude in a rock band, smokes weed, drinks, and has sex. Please, tell me something we don’t already know about the typical fictional 18-year-old. So, the Gavin clan are loud-mouthed degenerates who are born to become drunks and idiots. I got that loud and clear from the first three seasons—is there nothing else there, or could we possibly advance the plots a bit to make the characters and their lives a little less predictable?

Moving on to the other main players: none of the storylines demonstrated that trademark Rescue Me knack for being simultaneously funny, lewd, and shameful—not the attempted sex in the church between Kenny (John Scurti) and his former-nun girlfriend Theresa (Susan Misner, who, incidentally, also played a morally challenged nun on an episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent right before she popped up on Rescue Me); not somewhat slow Sean (Steven Pasquale), married to Tommy’s irredeemably whacky sister Maggie (Tatum O’Neal), coming to terms with his wife’s open appreciation of porn; not the schtick about interim Chief Pecher’s (played by series co-creator, executive producer, co-writer, and director Peter Tolan) inability to communicate with other humans; not Franco’s (Daniel Sunjata) girlfriend Natalie’s (Sherri Saum) mentally challenged brother Rich (Cornell Womack), who has never had an urge to use the n- word that he could resist, and his desire to get laid; and certainly not all the nonsense about basketball and hockey courts in the basement of the firehouse. Not even the cryptic appearance of Jennifer Esposito, an actress whose work I normally enjoy, registered enough for me to care.

There were only two events in the premiere that got a rise out of me: the team going into a building to save some cats and instead getting in a bind with a collapsed floor engulfed in flames (Whew—That was a close one!); and the wry phone conversation between Jerry (Jack McGee), recovering quite nicely from his heart attack at the end of last season, and his gay son Peter (Neal Jones), a Boston-based firefighter happy about his recent engagement.

Sure, I have every intention of sticking with Leary and company for the entire summer. At their most boring, they’re still a trillion times better than the majority of stuff on other networks, not to mention that the possibility of Tommy heading to the slammer for causing the brilliant third-season-ending house fire (or so everyone seems to think) would be fine retribution for his many crimes against others—what viewer would want to miss that? My continuing support doesn’t mean I think the show is infallible or always terrific, however, especially after the disappointing premiere that FX aired last Wednesday. If this is the best that Rescue Me can deliver right now, the cast and crew should pray that other television fans and reporters continue to spread their hype. Unfortunately, I can’t at the moment.

Rescue Me currently airs Wednesdays on FX at 10pm EST

Rescue Me photo courtesy of FX

Tags: Denis Leary, Rescue Me, television, tv

Lady or a Tramp: Television’s Next Dumb Reality Series

Chandra — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 12:15:00 +0000

Donald Trump Continues His Quest to Make the Tube Even More Vapid

Wasn’t/Isn’t The Apprentice bad enough? The Don is back—or should I say “still won’t go away”—with a brand new inane reality show to decimate the brain cells of even the staunchest TV watchers. The title of the Fox vehicle in development under the executive-producing auspices of real-estate tycoon Donald Trump is Lady or a Tramp, and the premise revolves around so-called party girls (that is, the titular tramps, of course) who are transformed into so-called debutantes (translation: uptight females who think they’re better and more important than they actually are) after being sent to charm school. Charm school? Are there really such things around anymore?

What’s worse, this ridiculously ridiculous concept is a rip-off, er, adaptation of some British reality series called Ladette to Lady, which features the travails of yet more girls who learn “how to go from throwing a kegger to throwing a tea party,” as a Fox bigwig named Greg Goldman puts it (and you just know that there’s a bunch of men behind this incredibly bad idea, including Bruce Toms of Nanny 911 and Trump laborer Andy Litinsky, simply because women realize how insulting it is … I hope). According to Variety, if this monstrosity gets approved by network executives, it could be unleashed upon the unsuspecting and unprotected populace as early as next midseason. Noooooo!!!

Other than sounding like a perfect project for former wild-child Miss USA Tara Conner, there’s absolutely nothing worthwhile about this proposed series. I respectfully suggest that Trump start focusing his TV aspirations on something more productive, like, say, a reality series in which we get to watch him give away large chunks of his abundant money to people who really need it, such as underprivileged children who want to attend better schools, perhaps, or disabled war veterans unable to find decent employment now that they’re back in the United States. But party girls and debutantes? I only pray that, if greenlit, this program is met with a resounding diss from viewers who stay away in droves.

Donald Trump photo courtesy of John Shearer/WireImage.com

Tags: Donald Trump, Fox, Lady or a Tramp, television, tv

Summer Reality Series ‘Ghost Hunters’ and ‘Miami Ink’ Underway

Chandra — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 03:07:00 +0000

Reality-TV Buffs Have Two More Returning Shows to Tune In To

How do we know it’s summertime right now? Because the time slots usually inhabited by scripted shows have been taken over by a slew of reality series, that’s how. Two such programs, Ghost Hunters and Miami Ink, have returned to basic cable in recent weeks, and the Sci Fi Channel and TLC want viewers to know all about them.

Ghost Hunters, which airs Wednesdays at 9pm EST on the Sci Fi Channel, had its third-midseason premiere last week. According to the network, “[i]n October 2004, SCI FI introduced Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson–plumbers by day, Ghost Hunters by night! These self-proclaimed skeptics have managed to expose some of the most frighteningly compelling evidence of paranormal phenomenon ever seen on television.” Judging by the record-breaking ratings that the show earned last Wednesday, the best numbers ever for a season premiere in its three-year history, some 1.6 million viewers agree with the assessment that on Ghost Hunters, “scared has never been so much fun.”

Over on TLC, Miami Ink also premiered for its third season in its regular Tuesday at 10pm EST time slot. The series follows tattoo artists who ply their trade at a tattoo parlor called 305 Ink in Miami Beach, as well as the customers who come in to get body art for various reasons. The network claims that “[w]ith tattoos now considered mainstream, more and more people are flocking to the shop to get ink from one of these world famous artists. This season will include some very interesting characters including a blind actor, Satanist, Vampire, a man attempting to grow the world’s longest beard, [and] an 80- year-old woman getting her first tattoo.”

The interactive Web sites for both series are filled with lots of goodies for fans. If you consider yourself one, make sure to take advantage of the extras and specials available online—you’ll be glad you did.

Ghost Hunters photo courtesy of the Sci Fi Channel
Miami Ink photo courtesy of TLC

Tags: Ghost Hunters, Miami Ink, television, tv

‘Veronica Mars’ Is Totally, Completely, Irrevocably Kaput

Chandra — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 20:01:00 +0000

Save Your Mars Bars, Fans—The Final Word of Ostroff Has Come Down from On High

Although it pains me to pass along the news, it seems that even a last-ditch Mars bars campaign based on Jericho followers’ recent NUTS to CBS success has proven unable to save The CW’s critically acclaimed but low-rated sleuth drama Veronica Mars. According to numerous media outlets, including TV Guide, CW Entertainment boss lady Dawn Ostroff has spoken, and there are no more reprieves available for the three-year-old cult favorite, despite continual CW claims that network executives will take until June 15 to make a final decision.

Yesterday, series creator Rob Thomas delivered the news, candidly stating, “I’m afraid I have to report that Veronica Mars is officially dead. At least in TV show form. There’s really no way that it can happen now. I’m not sure the CW should’ve given the glimmer of hope. I think Dawn Ostroff genuinely would have liked to have continued on with a version of the show, but there was too much resistance around her. At the end of the day, it would’ve been kinder had the band aid simply been ripped off rather peeled away in than this agonizingly slow manner.”

Series star Kristin Bell later added that the official, indisputable end of the series “feels sort of like graduating high school. You really only recognize how special it was once it’s gone away. I don’t know I’ll ever find as special a show ever again. I think I’m only truly realizing that now.”

It’s refreshing to see industry professionals expressing the kind of genuine reaction that normal everyday people feel when their favorite TV shows are canceled, especially the really good ones. Best of luck to the cast and crew of Veronica Mars. And who knows? If fans are lucky—and very, very good—maybe that oft-mentioned feature film will get made. If only…

Veronica Mars photo courtesy of The CW

Tags: Dawn Ostroff, Kristin Bell, Rob Thomas, television, The CW, tv, Veronica Mars

Clark Kent Joined by Cousin Supergirl on ‘Smallville’ Next Season

Chandra — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 20:20:00 +0000

Our Hero Gets a Real, Live Kryptonian Relative in Season Seven

Well, casting changes are clearly still underway in the Smallville universe following the season-finale departure of Martha Kent (Annette O’Toole) to pursue her senatorial career in earnest in Washington, not to mention the apparent “deaths” of two major characters, Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk) and Chloe Sullivan (Allison Mack). Of course, we all know that both ladies will most likely be back when the story resumes, but that nearly certain fact hasn’t stopped the show’s producers from planning more cast changes. The latest, revealed in a recent TV Guide exclusive report, is the imminent arrival of the classic DC Comics character Supergirl.

In this case, her name’s Kara, not to be confused with the same Kara from Season Three’s two-part finale “Covenant,” who turned out to be merely a human named Lindsey Harrison (Adrianne Palicki of Friday Night Lights) whom Clark’s (Tom Welling) Kryptonian father Jor-El had kidnapped and groomed for deceitful purposes. She’s Clark’s older cousin, the daughter of Jor-El’s brother Zor-El, who, like her younger relative, survived Krypton’s destruction when her father sent her to protect Clark. Unfortunately, as it were, nature or mechanics or something got in the way, and she wound up in suspended animation instead of on Earth living the life of a super-powered teenager.

According to Smallville executive producer Al Gough, Kara “was sent to Earth in a ship that arrived at the same time as baby Kal-El’s. But there was a problem and she’s been in suspended animation for the last 16 years. We’ll find out in the season premiere that the big dam break in last season’s finale is the reason she’s finally awoken.”

Moreover, Kara possesses even more abilities than Clark, such as that elusive flying trick, and eventually she “will help Clark get in touch with his Kryptonian roots.” I bet.

Watch out for the San Diego Comic-Con International event in July for news on who’s lucky enough to win this plum role, which will debut in the seventh-season premiere this fall and appear in roughly half of the season’s episodes.

Smallville photo courtesy of The CW

Tags: Smallville, Supergirl, television, tv

Sam Waterston Promoted to Head Honcho on ‘Law and Order’

Chandra — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 11:29:00 +0000

Veteran Series Actor Slated to Become D.A. Next Season

It was all laid out so carefully before alert viewers in Law & Order‘s season-finale last month when Executive A.D.A. Jack McCoy, played by the masterful Sam Waterston for a whopping thirteen seasons, sparred with his boss, D.A. Arthur Branch (Fred D. Thompson), over whether or not to come clean to the defense about an error medical examiner Elizabeth Rodgers (Leslie Hendrix) made under pressure during her testimony for the prosecution. McCoy was typically set to be forthright, although Branch favored remaining slick. In response, McCoy tendered his resignation, which Branch refused with the notable comment, “one day, you’ll be sitting in this chair.”

Well, it looks like truer words have never been spoken on television. Following Thompson’s expected departure amid rampant rumors that he may soon run for president of the United States, NBC has announced that the vacancy for New York District Attorney on Law & Order will be filled by Waterston come next season, the long-running Dick Wolf series’ eighteenth.

Given that Waterston has served as A.D.A. for longer than any other actor, it’s no surprise that he should get the boss’ job. What is most intriguing is who’s going to fill his shoes as head A.D.A. at the prosecutor’s table. It’s unimaginable that his current sidekick and colleague, A.D.A. Connie Rubirosa (Alana De La Garza), will get the powerful position since she’s only been around for one season. That means someone new is going to have to step in and step up. Stay tuned for more L&O casting news…

Sam Waterston photo courtesy of NBC

Tags: Fred Dalton Thompson, Law & Order, Sam Waterston, television, tv