Tag / ABC

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Book 1 (of 52) – The War For Late Night

The War For Late Night - Bill Carter

Jay Leno is a sad individual.  That is the one main takeaway from this, the tale of the late night showdown of 2009-2010, and author Bill Carter’s previous work, The Late Shift, which chronicled the first occurance when Leno’s people ousted Carson from The Tonight Show.  Jay is quoted numerous times as saying his only purpose in life is to “tell jokes at 11:30,” no matter who, or what, gets in the way.

In 2004, NBC had a (good) problem: two successful late night hosts who both wanted to host the same show.  In an effort to keep Conan O’Brien from moving to ABC or FOX and competing directly against Jay Leno, they promised him that Jay would retire and he would get The Tonight Show in 5 years.  This book tells the familiar story of what happened after those 5 years, when a hurt Jay Leno wouldn’t (couldn’t?) just walk away, a naive Conan O’Brien thought that his loyalty counted for something, and a happy David Letterman watching it all unfold from the sidelines.  We all know how the story ended, with Jay back on The Tonight Show and Conan off on TBS, but the destination is not as intriguing in this case as the journey.

by jim

2011 New Fall Season – Thursdays

CBS

Big Bang Theory – The nerds return for more fun.

How To Be A Gentleman –  This looks to be horrible.  I doubt it lasts through November sweeps.

Person Of Interst – Michael Emerson’s first post-Lost series.  That alone is enough of a reason to give this a chance.

The Mentalist – Based on the premiere, it will be more of the same from The Mentalist.  It’s a good enough show, but I can see it burning out quickly if they don’t shake things up sometime soon.

NBC

Community – Back for a surprising third season.  John Goodman has joined in a recurring role, and, so far, looks to have brought his A-game. 

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by jim

2011 New Fall Season – Wednesdays

CBS

Criminal Minds – Last season saw A.J. Cook and Paget Brewster written out of the show and replaced by Rachel Nichols.  Someone must have realized it was a mistake, as this season Rachel Nichols has been replaced by A.J. Cook and Paget Brewster.  As it enters its seventh season, it may not be the best move to return back to the old status quo.

NBC

Up All Night – Two espisodes in and it has been decent so far, with the appeal of Christina Applegate cancelling out the annoyances of Will Arnett.  The scenes at home with the baby have far surpassed those at work to this point.

Free Agents – This has not been very good so far, despite featuring the return of Anthony Stewart Head to American television sets.  I give it until January, if that long.

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by jim

2011 New Fall Season – Tuesdays

CBS

Unforgettable – This may end up being utterly forgettable, but I’m going to give it a shot.  The main hook, that Poppy Montgomery’s character has total recall of her memories, was played off in the pilot where she was witness to a crime.  As she re-joins the police force, it may be interesting to see how they use this ability without her being personally involved in every case.

NBC

Parenthood – Nothing really new to say here.  It is what it is.  Never great, but usually good enough.

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by jim

2011 New Fall Season – Mondays

CBS

How I Met Your Mother – Based on the season premier, we are no closer to meeting the titular mother, and the surprise reappearance of VIctoria will likely kill some time.  By adding another tease (who will Barney marry?), the show seems intent on giving its critics more ammunition, but could avoid it if they start paying off on some of these “mysteries”.  Meanwhile, after a season that stretched his dramatic acting skills, the first two episodes of the season gave Jason Segel more comedic moments.

2 Broke Girls – The first episode started off kind of weak, but it got better later in the half hour.  I’ve been a big fan of Kat Dennings dating back to The 40 Year Old Virgin and Beth Behrs seemed to have some chops as well.  I’ll give it a chance.

Hawaii Five-O – After a mostly popcorn-fun first season, the show returns with a new recurring guest star in Terry O’Quinn.  That in and of itself would be a reason to turn in.

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by jim

2011 New Fall Season – Sundays

I never received this year’s Fall TV Preview from our good friends at Entertainment Weekly, so I’m going to wing this based on what I’ve seen so far and what I can remember from the Internets.  Not much to watch on Sunday nights, so let’s get this started.

ABC

Pan Am – ABC’s attempt to hop on the Mad Men brigade premieres tonight, with Christina Ricci making her move to television.  It looks somewhat interesting, so I will give it a shot.

CBS

The Good Wife – Slowly built itself up to a top performer last season and should do even better on Sundays without much competition.  The only problem with the new timeslot will be in the fall due to football overruns.

by jim

Midseason Review – Wednesdays

Continuing our look back at September’s thoughts about humpday’s tv output.

7:00

Undercovers – JJ Abrams revisits the spy drama for the first time since Alias, which was one of my favorite series.  That alone will give this show a reasonable leash.  I haven’t seen the pilot yet, so I can’t really comment on it beyond that.

Imagine a show with all of the problems Alias had integrating the spy world with the family stories, but without any of the good stuff Alias had.  NBC has pulled it off the schedule, never to be heard from again.

7:30

Better With You – I’ve enjoyed Jennifer Finnigan and Joanna Garcia in previous series, and last season’s new ABC comedies on Wednesday night turned out to be great, so I gave this a shot.  The only thing worse than this pilot is Garcia’s taste in men.

As you may have guessed from the comment above, this did not get a second chance.  Also, and I mean this in the nicest possible way, F Nick Swisher.

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Book 2 (of 52) – Heat Wave

 

Heat Wave - Richard Castle

Heat Wave - Richard Castle

Book 2 for 2010 is a tie-in novel from the ABC show Castle.  Unlike most tie-ins though, this one doesn’t tell a new tale with characters from the show; it is a plot point in the show itself.  Richard Castle, played by Nathan Fillion, is a best selling novelist who tags along with a homicide detective, portrayed by Stana Katic, to get information for his newest book.  Heat Wave is the result in the show, and was released in the real world as well as the latest thriller from “Richard Castle”.  The real author is so far unrevealed.

The book mirrors the set up of the show.  Nikki Heat is a NYC homicide detective investigating the links between a dead millionaire and an art heist while putting up with a journalist who has talked his way into a ride along.  The novel is a fun, but quick, read, coming in at just under 200 pages.  It moves quickly, following the same basic structure of the show (you can practically feel the commercial breaks between chapters) along with what is meant to be some wish-fullfillment on the “author’s” part.  Even for non-fans of the show, it provides an entertaining story that can be knocked out in a night or two.

As for the whole 52 in 52 concept, I’ve fallen a little behind as we enter week 3 of 2010.  But, I’m currently working on 3 other books, so hopefully I’ll catch up and maybe even get ahead to build up a little cushion for summer.