So… over my last R&R, I found out a close friend has been secretly reading my blog. I never knew until we went out one night and he said, “Hey, I really appeared your story about trying to get your internet hooked up in Pakistan.”
Me: “Oh yeah? Thanks… wait a minute. Where… have you?...”
Him: “Yeah… I read the blog… I skip all the stuff about movies, but I like to keep tabs on you.”
Well… you know who you are, I’ll see you in a couple months and you can go ahead and skip this post.
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In case you don’t know, the “Upfronts” are when a television networks present their line-up of shows for the next season to advertisers and the media. Most importantly, this is their first opportunity to get advertisers excited about their NEW shows and sell LOTS of advertizing time up-front… hence the name… “Upfronts.”
Anyway, NBC, the network poster-child for poor decision…
(That’s right I still haven’t forgiven you for firing Conan… and the fact that you’ve canceled BOTH shows my good friend Jennifer Ferrin starred in, ‘Life on Mars’ and ‘The Cape’, isn’t really helping my forgiving nature!)
… is the first to step up to the plate and announce their Upfronts… and honestly, I have mixed feelings about it… but they do have some new shows that excite me.
MONDAYS (Not Thrilled… except for ‘Smash’)
8 – 10pm: I am not excited about this at all. NBC will be rolling out, not one, but TWO two-hour singing competitions in this time slot. Starting this fall, the will be airing ‘The Sing-Off’ and in the January, they will launch ‘The Voice’. What, with FOX’s addition of ‘The X-Factor’ this season, there will now be FOUR, that’s right, FOUR bloated singing competitions on the air in one season.
10 – 11pm (Fall): ‘The Playboy Club’… Umm… so… with the success of ‘Mad Men’ every network and their mother want a show like ‘Mad Men’… and ‘The Playboy Club’ is NBC’s attempt to reinvent the wheel. I bet this show gets canceled with a vengeance! This is a tough time-slot for NBC shows and I just don’t see ‘The Playboy Club’ appealing to the folks who just finished watching a singing competition.
10 – 11pm (January): ‘Smash’, a musical-drama, produced by Steven Spielberg and staring ‘American Idol’ runner-up Katherine McPhee, described as ‘Glee’ for grown-ups. I think this is a PERFECT pairing with ‘The Voice’ and could be a hit… IF, and only if ‘The Voice’ is able to maintain viewers.
TUESDAYS (Mixed Emotions)
8 – 10pm: So… Serena and I actually like ‘The Biggest Loser’, however we’ve grown tired of the epically long seasons of two-hour episodes. It’s just too much.
10 – 11pm: ‘Parenthood’, great cast, great show. I’m glad it’s back for a third season!
WEDNESDAY
I am not excited about NBC Mondays AT ALL. They are rolling out, not one, but from 8 – 10pm: In the fall it will be
WEDNESDAYS (Showing Promise)
8 – 9pm Comedy Block: Serena and I LOVE Christina Applegate and were thurally disappointed when ABC cancelled ‘Samantha Who’ a few years ago. So I am excited to see her back with ‘Up All Night’ and equally excited about Hank Azaria’s ‘Free Agents’.
9 – 10pm: ‘Harry’s Law’, I haven’t seen this show yet, but I hear good things.
10 – 11pm: ‘Law & Order: Special Victims Unit’... … Well, seriously… I think this franchise has run its course.
THURSDAYS (Thumbs Up)
8 – 10pm Comedy Block: Only one new show in this block and it’s my other prediction for early cancelation. It’s called ‘Whitney’ and the early reviews are not strong. The only hope for this show is its 9:30pm timeslot, right after ‘The Office’. As it stands now, ‘Whitney’ is uncontested in its time slot, so unless CBS announces a 9:30pm sitcom on Thursdays, there will be nothing to watch until 10pm.
10 – 11pm: ‘Prime Suspect’. This is the new NBC show that I’m MOST excited about. If it’s anything like the British version starring Helen Mirren, it should be REALLY good!
FRIDAYS (AWESOME)
8 – 9pm: The final season of ‘Chuck’!!!! Every year I am always concerned about ‘Chuck’, one of my favorite shows currently on the air. I am really excited that NBC has given this show a chance to go out in style.
9 – 10pm: ‘Grimm’, I’m not sure if I’m 100% behind this show. The premise is kind of strange… however this is the perfect time slot for it… if it’s going to appeal to anyone; it will be the folks who watch ‘Chuck’.
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