NBC felt they should have had a hit on their hands with Up All Night, starring Will Arnett and Christina Applegate, which caused them to continually attempt to retool the show until they drove off Applegate and were left with nothing. The show debuted in 2011 with Arnett as a stay at home dad and Applegate as a producer on a TV talk show. When the show did not set the ratings world on fire, the show was retooled, putting Arnett’s character back to work and having Applegate lose her job and stay home with the baby. When that didn’t work, the plan was to convert from the show from a single-camera show to a traditional multi-camera sitcom, shot in front of a live audience. This proved to be one retool too many, as Applegate and the show’s creator jumped ship, and the show was quietly put to sleep.
Tag / Will Arnett
Midseason Review – Thursdays
Thursday night is traditionally the busiest night of the week. Here’s our look back at my pre-season thoughts on what’s on the slate for this season.
7:00
The Big Bang Theory – Entering its 6th season, the show is at its ratings high point. They pick up right where last season left off, with Howard married and in space.
Ratings-wise, the show continues to grow, which is somewhat amazing for an older show. It continues to be consistently funny, despite what the haters might say.
30 Rock – Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin return for the 7th and final season. I will certainly look forward to these last 13 episodes.
The end is near for 30 Rock, and they seem to be bringing back most, if not all, of their stable of guest stars for final appearances. Last week saw appearances from Chris Parnell’s Dr. Leo Spaceman, Will Arnett’s Devin Banks, Steve Buscemi’s Lenny Wosniak, and Chloë Grace Moretz as Kaylie Hooper.
Last Resort – Early reports are that this show had the best pilot of the season, but left some doubts as to how it could continue on on a week to week basis. I’m looking forward to seeing for myself.
An intriguing premise that just didn’t find any type of viewership. ABC gave them enough notice to have episode 13 provide some sort of an ending, which we will see next week.
7:30
Up All Night – Christina Applegate and Will Arnett return in the last minute renewal from last spring. The status quo gets shaken up a bit as Ava’s show was cancelled in last week’s season premiere, putting Applegate’s Reagan and Maya Rudolph’s Ava out of work.
NBC pulled the show off the air and is completely retooling the show, moving from a single camera show to a multi-camera show shot in front of a studio audience. Ratings have not been great, so this is a last ditch effort to keep the show on the air in some fashion.
8:00
Person Of Interest – The enigmatic hit returns for its second season. Michael Emerson was not given as much to do last season as one would have hoped following Lost, but his role did pick up somewhat towards the end of the year.
I do find myself more invested in this show as time goes on.
The Office – The producers had previously announced that this season would be the show’s last. With original EP Greg Daniels returning to bring the show to its conclusion. Last week’s season premiere introduced some new, younger employees that might cause Jim and Pam to re-evaluate their lot in life.
One of the behind the scenes deals that allowed the show to return for one final season was extra time off for John Krasinski and Ed Helms to accomodate their movie shooting schedules, which has led to some silly plots, especially for Helms’ Andy.
Grey’s Anatomy – The 9th season opens a few months after the plane crash that closed out last season. There will be some cast shakeups, as Chyler Leigh is gone and Eric Dane is leaving. While not as good as it once was (and what show is after 9 years), it is still an entertaining way to pass an hour.
A new team of interns included Tina Majorino, who I have enjoyed since her time on Veronica Mars.
2012 New Fall Season – Thursdays
Thursday night is traditionally the busiest night of the week. Here’s what’s on the slate for this season.
7:00
The Big Bang Theory – Entering its 6th season, the show is at its ratings high point. They pick up right where last season left off, with Howard married and in space.
30 Rock – Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin return for the 7th and final season. I will certainly look forward to these last 13 episodes.
Last Resort – Early reports are that this show had the best pilot of the season, but left some doubts as to how it could continue on on a week to week basis. I’m looking forward to seeing for myself.
7:30
Up All Night – Christina Applegate and Will Arnett return in the last minute renewal from last spring. The status quo gets shaken up a bit as Ava’s show was cancelled in last week’s season premiere, putting Applegate’s Reagan and Maya Rudolph’s Ava out of work.
8:00
Person Of Interest – The enigmatic hit returns for its second season. Michael Emerson was not given as much to do last season as one would have hoped following Lost, but his role did pick up somewhat towards the end of the year.
The Office – The producers had previously announced that this season would be the show’s last. With original EP Greg Daniels returning to bring the show to its conclusion. Last week’s season premiere introduced some new, younger employees that might cause Jim and Pam to re-evaluate their lot in life.
Grey’s Anatomy – The 9th season opens a few months after the plane crash that closed out last season. There will be some cast shakeups, as Chyler Leigh is gone and Eric Dane is leaving. While not as good as it once was (and what show is after 9 years), it is still an entertaining way to pass an hour.
Midseason Review – Wednesdays
Time to look back on our thoughts regarding Wednesday’s television slate from the fall.
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.
Well, we certainly are back to the status quo. It is still entertaining, but I don’t know how long you can keep beating this horse before he dies.
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.
This has turned into a pretty decent show, and has been rewarded with a move to Thursdays. Christina Applegate has been her usually charming self and I have even come to enjoy Will Arentt’s performance in this. Continue reading →
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.
2010 Review – Movies
A likely part of the reason I only made it through 8 books last year was the 119 movies I saw, making it the 5th most prolific year of my life.
Amy Adams, Mila Kunis, and Nicolas Cage each starred in 4 films I saw, tying for the yearly lead. Bruce Willis starred in 2, giving him the all time lead with 27.
For fun, here’s a quick review of the films and what recollection, if any, I have of them. They are listed in the order I saw them.
District 9 (2009)
Aliens invade South Africa. One of the surpise hits of ’09.
Extract (2009)
Mila Kunis works with Jason Bateman at a spice factory.
Moving McAllister (2007)
Mila Kunis is some muckety-mucks daughter and some dude helps her move to get in good with the dad.
Welcome (2007)
Streak (2008)
Spleenectomy, The (2008)
Three shorts I downloaded from iTunes. Anna Faris pretended to be a doctor in the last one.