It's Time to Bury 2 Broke Girl$

Image from Wikipedia

I just watched the season finale of CBS' 2 Broke Girl$, which just wrapped up its fifth season, unbelievably. Now, I do realize that as a 50-year-old, I am not this program's target audience. Though I was a wee 45-year-old when it started, have been a fan of Garrett Morris since episode 1 of Saturday Night Live, and adored the show's prototype, Laverne & Shirley. Also, I'm of the gay persuasion--a demographic that the show manages to lampoon, insult, pander to and sometimes embodies the spirit of. So, I'm sort of in the mix after all.

But the show is terrible. Just awful. Oddly, even so, I probably saw the majority of the first four seasons, and a decent amount of season five. I don't even know why. I kept hoping its vortex of bad would stop sucking me in, but no. The awfulness of it, for some reason, compels me. And it's bad in so many ways, and on so many levels. The casting is bad. The acting is bad. The writing is bad. The jokes are bad. The storyline is bad. The continuity is bad. It's thorough, I'll give it that. But why is it so bad? That's a tougher nut. Because though all of what I just said is true, I really don't think the actors are bad, or that the creator (Whitney Cummings) or writers themselves are bad. It's just that somehow, the show is so tremendously less than the sum of its parts.

A horse in Georgetown. Seems legit.

The premise is simple. A Bernie Madoff type goes to jail, and leaves his rich bitch daughter broke and alone in New York. She's taken in by a lower class waitress, and the two embark on a dream to open a cupcake shop, while working in a diner. Nothing particularly bad about the premise. The diner is run by a short Korean man, who is the endless butt of jokes, generally about his height, alleged androgyny and/or boyishness. The jokes never evolve, get better, nor have ever been funny. The character hasn't improved from a one-note caricature either. Oleg, the repellent, horny, ethnic cook is equally undeveloped, non-evolving and unfunny. Kat Dennings is the streetwise Max, authentic broke girl, and Beth Behrs is the newly broke, blonde Caroline. Garrett Morris rounded out the original cast, and came off best, as the grizzled cashier of the diner.

Another wasted actor (Sandra Bernhard) in another
illogical (and ultimately aborted) story arc.

In season one, the immediate impression given by the show was that it was primarily a vehicle for big eyed, big boobed Dennings to crack wise, and deliver double- and single-entendre jokes about sex and body functions. At top volume. Dennings (and to be fair, most of the cast) seems to be unaware that the studio has microphones. Lines are shouted to the rafters, as in a high school play. And with nearly as much subtlety. The show does not do subtlety, and does not do hushed tones. At all. The decibel level is astonishingly grating.

Many episodes center around Max and Caroline trying to pick up extra work, or just extra money via schemes, part-time jobs, second or third jobs, going to pastry school, running a pastry shop, a cupcake window, working in an airport restaurant, in an upscale restaurant, and on and on. These side jobs and adventures can last an episode, a short arc, a season-long arc, aborted arc, you name it, and they seldom make a bit of sense scheduling-wise with their diner jobs. This sort of thing was easier to accept in the simpler 70s, when Laverne & Shirley would somehow keep their brewery jobs while joining the army, or becoming candy stripers. TV was simpler then, for one thing. The brewery was a day job, for another. And I was ten.

Laverne & Shirley wasn't perfect, and was just as loud,
but they were so much better.

L&S never tried to pass off a thoroughbred horse being kept as a pet, in the courtyard of an inner city apartment as normal or possible either. They did have loud and annoying secondary characters in Lenny & Squiggy. Girl$ has one, embodied by the (usually terrific) Jennifer Coolidge Sophie character, a brash, Polish, zaftig neighbor, greeted by whoops from the audience whenever she appears, in seam-bursting, over-stuffed dresses. Sophie has little reason to be in each episode, so they paired her, despite logic and lack of chemistry, with Oleg, and have not only made the couple over-sexed (and public about it), but have decided by season five to have 54-year-old Coolidge (depicted as a cougar in American Pie some 17 years ago) become pregnant.

Despite the show's many faults, I have, as I said, for some reason watched a majority of the show while it's been on. Occasionally, they've done something right. As when they've brought on love interests for the girls, notably Nick Zano's Johnny, Ryan Hansen's Candy Andy, Eric Andre's Deke and Ed Quinn's Randy (the best of the bunch, despite his nineteen-year age difference with Dennings). But as with the aborted storylines with all of the mini-careers the girls have started, each of these relationships seems to abruptly end, not because the storyline demands it, but because it seems the show is just like that.

Ed Quinn wasn't enough to make this a good show. But
it sure got my attention. Looking good for almost 50,
Ed! Well played, show.

2 Broke Girls loves the reset button. They love to have the girls in the diner, in those awful outfits, screaming their lines, ignoring no sexual pun, even stretched ones, still making fun of how short Han is, and how old Earl is. So, out with the boyfriend. Out with the gay waiter, or the Irish waiter, or any other staff at the diner. Out with the separate cupcake shop they somehow ran at night simultaneously with their night time diner jobs. Windfalls of money must be spent down to nearly (or past) zero. And no character development can take the characters out of their originally established one-note personality.

So, what spurred me to write about this terrible show, now renewed for its 6th year? Again, I don't know. I think checking in on it after missing several episodes, wondering why the impossibly good looking, talented, and much-too-old-for-the-part Ed Quinn was hanging around, and incredulous that the show manages to stay on the schedule, despite never improving. The show should be put down, as should poor, neglected Chestnut, the pet horse.

Stephen Colbert's Hilarious Response to Sarah Palin's Trump Endorsement

If you thought moving to CBS would neuter Stephen Colbert, maybe you should revisit him at The Late Show. Here is Stephen, showing he's just as funny as himself as he was as a caricature of himself. Sarah Palin, of course, provides a wealth of comedy gold nuggets for him to mine.

David Letterman's Last "Top Ten" List Best One Ever

The Late Show with David Letterman aired its final episode last night, and was--I thought--pretty much a perfect ending. CBS has already run a tribute special on Dave's career, so last night mostly veered away from mawkish sentimentality, and instead hewed to its usual self-deprecating style. This was clear in the star-studded, host-skewering, final Top Ten List.
 

Personally, I ceased being a regular Letterman watcher not because of anything against Dave or the show, but because of the Jon Stewart/Stephen Colbert one-two punch, but I very often clicked over afterward to catch the last bit or so. . .until Comedy Central started @Midnight. That said, whenever Jon and Stephen were in reruns, Dave was my backup plan. And I often sought him out via DVR or the internet when he had on great guests, like Rachel Maddow (who did manage a montage shout-out last night, along with Keith Olbermann). Whenever I did catch the show, it was still as good as I remembered. Amazing, really, that they managed to hold the same offbeat vibe from the original Late Night all the way through to the last show. It was a great run.

Supergirl Set to Debut on CBS (Fall TV Preview)

Image from Entertainment Weekly

Well folks, it looks like DC Comics and Warner Brothers have finally gotten their crap together. Sort of. After years of promising fans TV and movie adaptations, we're finally getting a flood of product, most of it on TV, and most of it quite good. They're not doing it as cleanly as Marvel Comics, having already created multiple continuities rather than one shared live-action universe. But thanks largely to Greg Berlanti (the guy behind Brothers and Sisters, of all things), we have The Flash, (Green) Arrow, The Atom, Firestorm, Black Canary and now Supergirl. Given that Berlanti was behind Green Lantern, a movie I liked, but which was nearly universally panned by fandom (what did you guys want it to be anyway?), I think we're lucky someone at WB had faith in him!

As with The Flash, Supergirl has costume choices that are head-scratchers (Why the blue in the S? Why a different S from the movie Superman?). As with the 1984 movie and the original comic, Supergirl has heavy doses of borderline sexism in the story elements, at least as presented in the trailer. But it looks like it has potential. It looks like it's being given an honest attempt at putting Kara Zor-El on the screen and making it believable. And if Berlanti's previous efforts are any indication, we can probably expect further elements from the comics to show up in ways that reflect the real world and the heritage of the character. I expect for a cat named Streaky and a horse named Comet to figure in eventually, but without the eye-rolling corniness of the 50s and 60s.

I still have no idea why WB/DC have decided upon multiple media universes for these characters, and only hope that Supergirl ties in either with the other TV shows, or with the universe established in Man of Steel. With Gotham already complicating things by being its own thing, it would be silly to make Supergirl come up it's own stand-alone world (CBS and the CW are owned by the same folks, after all). Unless they're setting up a multiverse event? Then, count me in!

 

Blast from the Past: Saturday Morning in the 70s, Pt. 2: The Cartoons

Saturday morning cartoons--an absolute weekly event during most of my childhood--are a thing of the past. There are entire channels dedicated to cartoons and children's programming, but it's just not the same as the big three TV networks having a slate of kids shows from 6 to noon every Saturday. They competed against each other, and ran promotional ads in comic books to get our eyeballs on their channel. And we all watched. I don't

remember any kid my age who didn't.

My first edition covered the live-action shows, and this time I'm going for the cartoons. These are my favorites, in no particular order.

1. Josie and the Pussycats (1972-73) - A weird amalgam of Archie Comics style and Hanna-Barbara Scooby-Doo-like storytelling. But I loved the music, and Sebastian the cat.

2. Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! (1969-1970) - Scooby-Doo ran for many, many years, in many, many formats. But long before the insufferable Scrappy-Doo came along, was the original. And dig that music!



3. SuperFriends (1973-1986) - The first season was a kid-friendly version of The Justice League of America, complete with ordinary kids Wendy and Marvin (with WonderDog). The show picked up steam and popularity with the introduction of the Wonder Twins, Zan & Jayna. But the closer they got to the feel of the JLA, the more I liked it.

4. The Pink Panther Show (1969-1980) - This is another one that ran under a great many titles, but I always liked it, with its mix of segments, from the Ant and the Aardvark, Tijuana Toads and The Inspector.



INTERLUDE A: In the News (1971-1986) - CBS ran these mini news programs between cartoons. They brought our mornings to a screeching halt. But as I got older, I started to enjoy them.

INTERLUDE B: Schoolhouse Rock (1973-2009) - Unlike the previous, I loved these shorts. Almost all of them. We looked forward to Schoolhouse Rock just as much as the regular cartoons.



5. The Brady Kids (1972-73) - The Brady Bunch cartoon version included Marlon the talking mynah bird, and Ping and Pong, the pandas, for no particular reason. I was only 6, and I was rolling my eyes at the wacky animal sidekick trope. Speaking of which. . .

6. The Partridge Family 2200 A.D. (1974-75) - For some reason, the Partridges have a different mom, and instead of touring on a bus in the 70s, they're flying through space in the 23rd century. With a robot dog called Orbit.



7. The Tom & Jerry/Grape Ape/Mumbly Show (1976) - Though Tom & Jerry went through many, many titles (and their theatrical shorts are their main draw), this mouthful of a title still sticks in my head, and thus deserves a spot on the list. Unfortunately, the only video I can find is of the version without Mumbly.

8. Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (1972-1981) - I loved this show, and Bill Cosby (here's hoping he's not guilty of the current allegations), but it always heralded the end of cartoons for the day, which was also sad.
 

And now, the weekend is over, and it's time to go to school work! Happy Monday!

Craig Ferguson Leaving CBS and The Late, Late Show

Image from source, Salon

On those nights when I'm having trouble sleeping, it's not unusual for me to turn over to The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson. It's an odd show. A very odd show. There's a gay, robot skeleton. A dancing horse. Sometimes, it's nothing but goofing around for the first half of the show, before a guest is brought out. And it's got a great theme song.

I wasn't surprised that CraigyFerg didn't get the plum Late Show slot being vacated by David Letterman, simply because Ferguson's show is so strange. I just can't see it playing at 11:30. So, whether Ferguson is upset by the lack of promotion, or if he simply feels it's time to leave, CBS will be tasked with finding a new host, or scrapping the show altogether. A shame, but hey, ten years is a pretty good run.

[Excerpt]
 
Craig Ferguson to leave CBS, and “Late Late Show”

Another seat in late night is now open, as “Late Late Show” host Craig Ferguson has announced he plans to leave CBS. Ferguson is the longtime host (since 2005) of the show airing immediately after David Letterman’s “Late Show,” and had been perceived as one among the potential successors to Letterman, who will be retiring next year. CBS opted to hire Comedy Central personality Stephen Colbert over their own employee, and Ferguson’s future seemed at once foreclosed. . .

Read more at: Salon

Stephen Colbert to Take Over for David Letterman on The Late Show

 

I'm of mixed feelings about this one. As a Daily Show with Jon Stewart fan since it was . . .with Craig Kilborn, I of course have watched The Colbert Report since the beginning. At first, I wasn't sure he could sustain his pompus, "educated Archie Bunker" news reporter character through a regular series. But sure enough, he could and did. Colbert's show was the perfect follow-up to Stewart's, and the interplay was terrific. And it has to be said, Colbert's in-character roasting of George W. Bush at the White House Correspondent's' Dinner was masterful.

I've also watched The Late Show with David Letterman since it was Late Night. I watched from episode for all of the above. And though, more often than not, I watch the Comedy Central line up instead of CBS's, I'd come back to Dave whenever Jon and Stephen were in reruns. And it's only due to those guys that I ever left. I still find Dave preferable to the Jimmys. But Dave is leaving. And Stephen is moving in!

But not Stephen Cole-bear. This will be Stephen Cole-BURT. The real guy, not the character. Having seen the real Stephen in other things--not to mention being able to see through the character to the brilliance of the real dude--I'm cool with that. While he'll surely need to tone down the politics a bit, and will have to spoon-feed a little more to the larger general audience, I believe he's deft enough to pull it off. Still, I'm hoping he retains the old guy in some capacity. Whether it's a Colbert Report show-within-a-show segment, or just one of a roster of characters, I'd hate to see that persona retired forever.

As for Comedy Central, I think they may have as tough a choice as CBS had. They fortunately have a lengthy list of performers to choose from, many from The Daily Show, past and present, or from other Comedy Central shows. They'd be wise to create  something in the mold of either Stewart's or Colbert's current shows, to be a companion to The Daily Show, rather than trying to plug in a Tosh.O or Workaholics, and hoping it keeps the audience.

My choice--though I'd miss his current new-ish show--is Chris Hardwick. His @Midnight is a hoot, and I never miss The Talking Dead. He's smart, funny, irreverent, cute and nerdish. The perfect combination. But I'll bet you John Oliver is sorry he deserted for a weekly HBO show.

[Excerpt]

Why Stephen Colbert is the perfect choice for CBS

CBS nailed this. Stephen Colbert, just named to replace David Letterman, might seem in some ways an odd choice for a late-night broadcast host: He's an intensely satirical comedian who at least until now has hosted his show in the guise of a self-righteous buffoon. But he may also be the smartest person in late night. And the most likable. . .

Read more at: MSN

David Letterman Set to Retire

Dave with Betty White, coincidentally, also a Mary
Tyler Moore costar. Image from source, Huffington Post.

Back in the 1970s, America's Sweetheart, Mary Tyler Moore had a critically-acclaimed and massively popular sitcom, called (oddly enough) The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Then she quit, and the show ended while on top. But Mary wasn't tired of TV, she just wanted to do a variety show, and so she did, called (oddly enough) Mary. This show was neither critically-acclaimed, nor massively popular. But it had one very important ingredient: repertory player David Letterman.

A couple years later, somebody realized that Dave was a talented and funny guy. There was a big media campaign to get us to watch the daytime series, The David Letterman Show (where do they get these names?). It tanked, fast. But somehow, the schmucks behind the scenes at NBC realized they had something on their hands, and they created Late Night with David Letterman, to follow The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson. It was a cult hit right off the bat, and became a late night institution.

I am old enough to remember all of the above. Though I don't think I caught much of Mary or Dave's original daytime show, I was enough of a pop culture sponge to have seen both, and was up on the stories behind them. And I watched Late Night from episode one.  I followed Dave to CBS when NBC snubbed him for Jay Leno. And though I long ago became a Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, I still often catch Dave on Fridays, on Daily Show/Colbert Report rerun weeks, and whenever he has Rachel Maddow on! So, congratulations to Dave Letterman on three-plus very successful decades on late night TV. I'll miss him when he goes, even if I don't always watch.

[Excerpt]

David Letterman Retiring After 33 Years As Late Night Host
 
David Letterman is retiring in 2015 after 33 years as a late night host. Letterman announced the news during a taping of Thursday's episode of "Late Show." He called CBS president Leslie Moonves before the program, "And I said ‘Leslie, it’s been great, you’ve been great, and the network has been great, but I’m retiring.'" The late night host explained that "Moonves, he and I have had a relationship for years and years and years, and we have had this conversation in the past, and we agreed that we would work together on this circumstance and the timing of this circumstance. . ."

Read more at: Huffington Post


And here is a video from Mary with the star singing "With a Little Luck" with her cast, including David Letterman, Swoozie Kurtz and David Letterman. It's pretty bad.

 

CBS Revisiting 60 Minutes Benghazi Story Over Contradictions

Image from source Raw Story

60 Minutes aired a piece on Benghazi recently that irked some on the left for the way it played into right-wing talking points. Almost immediately, the story started to unravel a bit, but it's come apart enough now that CBS is acknowledging the problems with it. This, I'm sure, is making Right Wing World a bit unhappy.

[Excerpt]

’60 Minutes’ will review Benghazi story after more questions surface about ‘witness’

In a short statement released Thursday night, CBS news magazine 60 Minutes promised to revisit its story on an alleged witness to attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi following another report calling his account into question. The report has also been removed from CBS News’ website. “60 Minutes has learned of new information that undercuts the account told to us by Morgan Jones of his actions on the night of the attack on the Benghazi compound,” the statement read. “We are currently looking into this serious matter to determine if he misled us, and if so, we will make a correction. . .”

Read more at: Raw Story

Ermahgerd! Stephen King's Under the Dome Set for CBS

Squee! I will admit with no shame that I'm an unabashed, unrepentant Stephen King fan. I like Dean Koontz too, though I prefer King's subtle liberal politics over Koontz's slightly more obvious conservative allusions. And I don't give a flying fig that "serious readers" consider this type of author to be substandard, or somehow lacking. I have ravenously gobbled up almost every King and Koontz book released in the last 25 years or so (except The Dark Tower series, which I seriously don't get).

So, when I really enjoy a particular book, it's always a thrill to see it optioned as a movie or miniseries. The actual results are more scattershot. For every good adaptation, there are several bad ones (sometimes even with the authors' input). When it comes to King, the best live action adaptations (in my opinion) are Misery, the miniseries The Stand, Pet Sematary and Carrie. There have been other good ones too (Creepshow, Stand By Me), but more often than not (Maximum Overdrive, Creepshow 2, the miniseries The Shining) they kind of stink on ice. So, I have high hopes for Under the Dome, a ridiculously thick page-turner I read in a frenzy. But my optimism is guarded with experience.

Under the Dome is a story about a small town that suddenly finds itself cut off from society, with a mysterious--seemingly impenetrable--barrier put around it. The aftermath of the event, and the efforts to thwart it take up hundreds and hundreds of pages. But I didn't care. It was an enthralling book. Can a broadcast television adaptation do it justice? I'll be watching to find out.

[Excerpt]

'Under The Dome': CBS Announces Premiere Date For Stephen King Drama, 'Unforgettable,' 'Big Brother'

Stephen King and Steven Spielberg's adaptation of "Under the Dome" will premiere on CBS at 10 p.m. on Monday, June 24, the network announced Saturday.   At the network's presentation for reporters at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour, CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler expressed enthusiasm for the concept, hoping that it will become a "big summer event" for the number one broadcast network. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post

Amusing Stupid Monkey Headlines Appearing on 12/30/11

Today's amusing headlines come from around the web. Some are the funny "ha-ha" type whilst others are of the funny peculiar type. Enjoy.

"What the fuck?"

HEADLINES: 12/30/2011

• Perry slams surging Santorum as a 'prolific earmarker' - MSNBC

• A Santorum surge in Iowa? - MSNBC

• Investigations of the Year: What's In Your Egg McMuffin? - ABC

• Friends: Texas Gunman Was Mad Wife Doing Well - Fox News

• 385 Pounds of Caviar Found in Russian Morgue - Fox News

• Gingrich wants it both ways? - CNN (see below)

• Poll: Gingrich down, Santorum up - CNN

• 10 ways not to kill your book club - CNN

• Justin Bieber tops Kim Kardashian as most-searched - LA Times

• Man killed by train can be sued over bystander's injuries - LA Times

And believe it or not....
• Van Halen announces 2012 tour with David Lee Roth - CBS News

Blast from the Past: The Days When ABC, NBC and CBS Ruled

I grew up a media savvy kid in an era when there wasn't much of it. We had three major television channels, with the dubious addition of PBS (which kids hated unless they were pre-schoolers), and the odd local channel. In the mid-to-late 70s we got cable, but even that was public affairs programming, and a couple more independent channels. This meant mostly reruns of The Lucy Show and The Andy Griffith Show.

These days, broadcast television networks are still prominent, but they have to struggle for dominance with original programming from AMC, HBO, Showtime, USA and FX. As you can see, most of them are still very fond of alphabet soup.

But back in the day, the big three were king. They'd jockey for position, and once and a while one would serioiusly tank for a few years. But they were all we had. For a pop culture kid, a lot of the "network stars" stuff really hit home. The slogans, the logos. I ate it up.

CBS TV is 60 Years Old

Image from AOLTV

I have to say, this surprises me. It shouldn't, since I know that broadcast television started in the late 1940s, so 1951 sounds about right. But damn, I'm 45 years old. CBS was only 15 when I was born? I Love Lucy debuted on CBS in 1951, and was a hit right out of the gate, meaning that CBS was too.

When I was a kid--when there were still basically three networks and a couple of independent channels--it was ABC that was the network to watch. Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, Charlie's Angels. . .CBS didn't make as big of a dent. They were big with shows like Barnaby Jones, The Waltons, Gunsmoke and Cannon. But they started to get a little "hip" factor with The Incredible Hulk, The Dukes of Hazzard, Wonder Woman, Magnum PI, Simon & Simon and Dallas. And who didn't like The Carol Burnett Show? So, happy birthday, CBS, even if you did make too many years of Murder, She Wrote and The King of Queens.

[Excerpt]


CBS Celebrates Eye Logo Anniversary

For 60 years the CBS logo has been watching you watch TV. The iconic eye logo debuted 60 years ago on Oct. 20, 1951 and has been an ever-present fixture on the network. . .

Read more at: AOLTV

CBS Wants Charlie Sheen Back. Who's Winning Now?

Duh. Winning. Image from TV Squad

I'm still a bit vexed by the big news stories of the day. I'll likely still talk about Libya, Japan and the protests against GOP governors, but I just don't feel like it right now. And hey, this isn't a newspaper. I'm not pretending to have some sort of journalistic code. If there's news about Charlie Sheen, it doesn't matter if I talk about it. This is a blog, not the New York Times, right? So, when the buzz is that CBS wants to woo Sheen back to their network, I don't feel out of my depth to say something about it!


Charlie Sheen gave a whole new meaning to "scorched earth" in his trashing of just about everything to do with Two and a Half Men but himself. He napalmed Chuck Lorre, the creator of the show. He insulted Jon Cryer, his costar. He lambasted the show's wardrobe person by dissing his character's bowling shirts. He even trashed his own audience, pretty much saying that viewers would lap up anything he put in a bowl on the floor for them.

Charlie Sheen is also either a) crazy, b) drugged or c) both. And don't forget that his charming rogue act was great on a late 30s-early 40s "aging well" handsome man. But Charlie has--frankly--hit a wall. He's moved from sexy older guy to old guy. He looks gaunt and drawn. He's getting that ropey neck thing. He's got crazy eyes to rival Michele Bachmann. So even if all concerned managed to iron over the rough spots, I don't think they'll be ironing over Charlie's face. 

So with him, they've got a year or two left at best before it's all just looking sad. And without him, they've likely got. . .a year or two left at best before it's all just looking sad. They could pull a That '70s Show, and squeeze out a lackluster final season. They could do a Spin City (ironically, also with Sheen), and manage two more years. But is there any precedent for an eight-year-old sitcom to transform itself, and stay on the air years after a big cast change? How long can Alan Harper live on a fold-out sofa, regardless of who the costar is?

[Excerpt]

CBS Wants Charlie Sheen Back on 'Two and a Half Men' ... If He Makes Nice




If the prospect of 'Two and a Half Men' without Charlie Sheen seemed like a weird idea to you, then be assured that the folks at CBS were likely tying their stomachs in knots thinking about the same thing. . .

Read more at: TV Squad

CBS Officially Cancels 'Medium'

Image from source, TV Squad

Further proof that I should never, never advocate for a show here on the blog. Better Off Ted, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Dollhouse, FlashForward. . .all were promoted here, all are now gone. Add Medium to the list. Sorry, Hot in Cleveland and The Event.  The Greenlee Curse is alive and well, and you're probably next!

[Excerpt]

CBS Officially Cancels 'Medium'


According to The Hollywood Reporter, the show will come to an end after a seven-season run on both NBC and CBS.


"It's true, Allison DuBois will dream her last dream on Fri 1/21," series creator Glenn Gordon Caron announced Thursday. "In what we believe will be a series defining episode, Allison and her family will stare destiny in the eye. And destiny will not blink. . ."

Read more at: TVSquad

Ghost Whisperer Cancelled, Medium Renewed

Image from source, TV Squad

In non-political news, the Greenlee Curse is broken!  Ordinarily, when I tout a TV show that I like here on the blog, it is doomed to failure. Usually early failure. But in addition to V being renewed on ABC, my perennial favorite, Medium (starring Patricia Arquette) has been renewed! Hazzah!

Medium is based on the real life psychic, Allison Dubois, with significant Hollywood tweakage.  It's an interesting hybrid of a police procedural (another of those, Cold Case was cancelled) and a supernatural thriller like The X-Files or Fringe.  Okay, that may be overstating it. Actually, the closest show to Medium would have to be Ghost Whisperer which was just handed its walking papers.  That's actually a big surprise, and goes against conventional entertainment reporter wisdom.  I think it is fitting though.  The acting on Medium (particularly Jake Weber and at least two of the three children) is outstanding, far outclassing anything on GW. 

[Excerpt]

CBS Cancels 'Cold Case,' 'Ghost Whisperer' and More; 'Medium' Renewed

CBS officially canceled seven series today, the Live Feed is reporting.



Among the shows axed is the Sunday-night procedural 'Cold Case,' which slipped in the ratings in recent seasons but still drew relatively decent numbers in its 10PM timeslot. 'Cold Case' ends after seven seasons on the network. . .

Read more at: TV Squad

Fall TV Season: Medium Picked Up by CBS

Image from source, TV Squad

Before Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles was cancelled, there was a lot of Internet buzz about it being picked up by another network or a cable channel. Warner Brothers seems to have shot that down. And many a blogger pooh-poohed it, saying that it basically never happens. Well, T:TSCC may not be getting a new life elsewhere, but the same can't be said for NBC's Medium.

NBC cancelled the psychic procedural, which stars Patricia Arquette and Jake Weber, but CBS is picking it up. And to that I say, "woohoo!" Medium is a surprisingly addictive show for a procedural, thanks mostly to the cast. Arquette and Weber are an unusually believable couple, and the actors playing their kids (at least the older two) are a notch above the usual child actors. Add to that the twist of psychic phenomena, and you have an exciting show that manages to reset to "status quo" every week without getting boring.

I've loved Patricia Arquette since A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors. She's an amazing actress in the most unbelievable situations. And her on-screen hubby does a great job too, particularly at disguising his English accent. I'm glad to see that the show will be back. And this means that the only "favorite" show of mine that won't be back is T:TSCC. I'll take it.

[Excerpt]

CBS picks up Medium, insults NBC

Well, this is a rather interesting development, and a good one for fans of NBC's Medium: CBS has picked up the show after NBC canceled it. . .

Read more at: TV Squad

The Best Show You've Never Seen: Swingtown

Image from source, Edge New York

This past summer, a show on CBS (of all channels) was aired that pushed the envolope on what was acceptable on broadcast TV. The show, set in 1976 America, told the tale of the sexually adventurous and boundary-blurring adults of the sexual revolution. But that was just the setup.

Though the storylines were set upon the taboo areas of "free love," the story went much deeper. The show did justice to the social upheavals of the day, while simultaneously being very relateable, and period-perfect. The acting was exemplory, if the writing wasn't always perfect. But if you were alive during the 70s, you can attest to the authenticity of the series. A few nitpicky anachronisms did occur, but Swingtown was one of the most authentic period pieces ever shown on network television.

The season one DVD collection would make a very good gift for the more socially liberated of your friends. Or yourself, if you're curious. Here's hoping that CBS (or Showtime, or other suitable venue) finds room in their schedule for season two.

[Excerpt]

Swingtown - The First Season

Swingtown is one of the best shows you’ve never seen. A sexy 1970s nostalgia show explores the decadent world of swingers in a Chicago suburb. Where can you catch this provocative show? CBS! That may be why people might have missed it, but not the reason you shouldn’t run out and buy it on DVD. . .

Read more at: Edge New York

Big Bang Theory Takes Sneaky Swipe at FOX "News"

Image from source, Raw Story

Not much time to blog with guests coming over, but this story was right up my alley. Good going, Chuck Lorre!

[Excerpt]

CBS sitcom takes stealthy swipe at Fox News

Sitcom producer Chuck Lorre has developed a cult following for the lengthy diatribes he includes at the end of his shows. The "vanity cards," which are too long to read during the two seconds they air following CBS sitcoms "Two and a Half Men" and "Big Bang Theory" serve as mini-journal entries for Lorre, who has taken pot-shots at other media outlets and even his own network executives. . .

Read more at: Raw Story

David Letterman Rips into John McCain for No Show

CBS's Late Show with David Letterman hasn't even aired here yet, but it's making big news for tonight's episode. John McCain was scheduled to appear, but due to his bizarre decision to suspend his campaign, he told Letterman personally that he was off to DC to save the country.
Or something.

But Letterman caught McCain in (yet another) lie. He wasn't on his way to DC, he was at the same network, giving an interview to Katie Couric. In fact he doesn't go back to DC until tomorrow.

Letterman--bless him--lets McCain have it. Take a look. . .