Monday Morning Musings

• Let’s face, Monday mornings are a drag. The only good thing about Monday mornings is that they can only possibly occur once a week. Well, that and they lead to Monday nights, when we can watch How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory. Those are two of the the very few television programs we regularly watch; a list that has grown shorter with ABC’s cancellation of Pushing Daisies. I know it’s an expensive show to produce, but it’s just much much more interesting than any cheap, reality show that they can replace it with. I’m sorely disappointed with the execs at ABC for this.
• I know that I’m in the minority here, but I’m going to miss George W. as our President, and this isn’t just my Republicanism speaking. He think that history will probably be a better judge of his administration than today’s media-motivated populace. Have I agreed with all of his decisions? Hardly, but I believe that executed his position in the manner he felt best.
• I had a nice day Friday antiquing with my mom, believe it or not. She’s been far less Mom-ish lately. I don’t know if she realized exactly how critical she was of everything last time she was at my house or what, but I really enjoyed her visit this time. I hope (futilely, I’m sure) that this lasts. I also picked up a couple more cameras.
• I did not watch The Golden Globe Awards last night. I highly doubt I watch the Oscars either. I definitely didn’t watch the People’s Choice Awards, nor will I watch the SAG Awards, nor any other awards show. I’m rather sick of Hollywood forcing us to watch them pat themselves on the back for making mostly sub-par, if not quite mediocre entertainment.   The older I get, the more I’m convinced that the near-worship of celebrities is yet another reason our society and culture is ultimately doomed to fail.  Our heroes are no longer people of real worth and / or heroism, but fake people with fake smiles and fake body parts who are largely, greatly uneducated yet they still think they should tell us how to live, think, feel, worship, and vote.
• It’s almost noon, and I’m still having difficulty waking up.  That’s probably because I felt the need to take some Benadryl before leaving the house this morning though.  I don’t want to say that I’m allergic to work, because that sounds stupid, but I believe that I’m allergic to my place of work, just as many others here are.

A Plea to ABC for Pushing Daisies

To Whom It May Concern at the American Broadcasting Company:

Please do not cancel Pushing Daisies.  Please order the back nine episodes of the second season of this wonderful, original, different, and highly entertaining television show.  Please give it a chance.  You haven’t done that.  You’re not doing it now, and now the future of such a great show hangs in the balance.

If Pushing Daisies is faltering in the ratings, it’s your own fault.  What can you expect will happen when you debut a new show and then stop airing it completely for ten months due to a writers’ strike?  Of course it lost viewers, you haven’t done anything to invite viewers to really watch it.  Why didn’t you rerun the original nine episodes during the summer so viewers would be caught up when Season 2 started?

I somewhat understand why so many shows just chose to not return after the strike until the new season, but (and this goes for all shows this happened to and all the networks)  it seems that you’re wanting these shows to fail so you can place crappy, cheap reality shows instead.

Aren’t most shows that didn’t return after the strike faltering in ratings?  Then that’s your fault, and you should give each of these a chance.  There is some quality programming out there for the first time in years, and there’s a huge chance it will all be taken off the air because you, network executives, haven’t the intelligence nor the cojones to just let these shows grow and build their audiences back.

Of course, you’re not really giving your Wednesday night shows a chance at all to gain ratings.  For two weeks in the crucial Sweeps month of November you’ve pre-empted normal programming for Dancing With the Stars and tonight’s hillbilly fest Country Music Awards.

Again, how is a show supposed to gain an audience when you don’t air it?  Seriously.  I may have to stop watching all ABC shows and buying them on iTunes if you’re really that stupid.

Grow a pair, save Pushing Daisies.

Obersvations and other Random Things.

• Friday morning I left work around 11 AM with what had to have been one of the most debilitating migraines I have ever suffered. I awoke feeling odd, but still quite able to go to work. Then, around 9, it hit me honestly like a freight train. There were none of the floaters that I’m accustomed to that warn me of a migraine, just nausea and sudden, rapid eye twitching. So, I finished the work that I had to complete some how and left. That sort of put a damper on my weekend. Though the pain subsided by that evening, I honestly felt off most of the weekend. Nonetheless, I completed a substantial amount of housework, played with the poochie-girl, and enjoyed time with Bart. Still yet, I hate migraines.
• I have started going back and reading some of my stuff in order to get to know my characters again. I trying, in all honesty, to “get back in the saddle” one step at a time.
• I had a particularly “huggy” puppy-dog this morning. She always is on Mondays though. She gets to spend so much time with us on the weekend, that when we start our weekly routine, it’s like she’s begging us to just stay home with her.
• I also think that if Lucy was a human, she would be one of those people who secretly poisons her loved ones so that they will have to stay near her, and she would have to take care of them. The joy she derived from spending Friday in bed with me while I slept off my migraine was unmistakable.
• My Sooners are ranked Number 1 in the AP Poll for the 69′th time, breaking a tie with Notre Dame. Of that I am very proud.
• How thrilled am I that the new TV season is here? More so than I should be, probably. Last night we happily enjoyed Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters. Tonight there will be new episodes of How I Met Your Mother, Big Bang Theory, and Two and a Half Men, and Wednesday night is the return of Pushing Daisies! I love that show and have bought all but two episodes from iTunes. I’m sure I’ll have to get the last two soon.

The Network Upfronts: My Take on It All

Sometimes
you can read the summary of a new television series and tell right away if it
will bomb.  Sometimes we're all mistaken (i.e. I thought Heroes would
bomb last year and that Studio 60 would be a hit).  Last week the
five network s unveiled their fall lineups, and I've decided to give my opinion
of the new series that are premiering on all of the networks sans the CW. 
My cable provider doesn't offer The CW, and since the cancellation of Gilmore
Girls, my all-time favorite television series, I could care less what the
fledgling net has to offer.  Shows in green
font are the ones that I think will do well.  Shows in red font I think will bomb.  The Shows in blue font are up in the air.  My commentary
will be in black.

ABC

Dramas
Big
Shots (Thursdays at
10) – A story about four male friends who are kings of their lives… until the
women get involved.  Starring Dylan McDermott, Christopher Titus, Michael
Vartan, and Joshua Malina.  Personally,
I think that this will be the network tv version of Entourage, and I’m not all
that interested.  However, it may find a
core audience and soar.

Cashmere Mafia (will replace either The Bachelor or Dancing)
- Four female friends try to balance their busy corporate careers with their
social lives. They've created their own little "girls club" to help
each other out in their efforts to crash through the glass ceiling. Starring
Lucy Liu, Frances O'Connor, Bonnie Sommerville, and Miranda Otto. Darren Star (Sex
and the City) and Kevin Wade are among the executive producers.  This is the first
mention of two series created by someone who worked on Sex and the City.  They both seem very similar, but I think that
with ABC’s more female-centric built-in audience, this show has the upper hand.

Dirty Sexy Money (Wednesdays at 10) – An idealistic lawyer gets drawn in
by the temptations and dangers of wealth when he takes over as the personal
lawyer to an old-moneyed wealthy family. Stars Peter Krause, Donald Sutherland,
and William Baldwin.  I believe this show will do well just because it seems a
little seedy.  I do have my reservations
about it though.  It doesn’t seem on
formula with the shows that ABC has done well with in recent years.

Eli Stone (midseason) – From Greg Berlanti (the guy ABC brought in
to save Brothers & Sisters) and Mark Guggenheim (also of B&S).
A procedural about a lawyer who starts seeing visions because of an inoperable
brain tumor. He tries to deal with the visions and find deeper meaning in his
life while trying to stay in the real world. Starring Johnny Lee Miller, Victor
Garber, Natasha Henstridge.  This one screams of Ghost Whisperer and I, but is
from a solid team.

Private Practice (Wednesdays at 9) – Kate Walsh as Addison Montgomery.
Taye Diggs. Tim Daly. Amy Brenneman. Lots of sex. Shonda Rhimes and her Grey's
team (Betsy Beers, Marti Noxon, et al) are involved.  Not everyone
was wowed by the pilot episode of this show, but I feel that it has a great
deal of promise and potential.  It also
has a built-in audience of McFans.

Pushing Daisies (Wednesdays at – A show about a guy who brings things
briefly back to life with one touch?'  All of the critical reviews that I’ve read
say that this will be one of the best shows of the new season.  Though it too seems like Medium and other
shows, I think it sounds interesting, and I plan to give it a look.

Women's Murder Club (Fridays at 9) -
A detective, a DA, a medical examiner, and a reporter — band together to solve
crimes. Stars Angie Harmon and Laura Harris.   Is this a middle-aged version of Nancy Drew
and friends?  I give it two
episodes.  It already has a horrible
time-slot.

Comedies
Carpoolers (Tuesday at 8:30) – Four people in a carpool.
Hilarity ensues. From writer/EP Bruce McCulloch (SNL, Kids in the Hall) to the stars,
which include our old buddy Fred Goss (Sons & Daughters), Faith
Ford, and Jerry O'Connell.  It
could do well, but I see this going the way of Big Day.

Cavemen (Tuesdays at – Meet Joel, his younger brother Jamie,
and his best friend Nick, three cavemen living in modern-day . These cavemen
continually find themselves at odds with contemporary society as they struggle
to overcome their physical appearance and the accompanying stereotypes. It
is based on the Geico caveman ads.  The
commercials are moderately funny, but to try and base a half-hour sitcom on
them is stupid.  I think we’re beyond the
days of the outlandish sitcom such as Third Rock from the Sun, Alf,
Honey, I’m Home, and Dinosaurs.

Miss/Guided
(midseason) – Created by Ashton Kutcher.
Judy Greer (Love Monkey) plays a formerly awkward teenager who returns
to her high school as a guidance counselor, thinking her gawky years were
behind her. But she finds out every day is high school, no matter where you
are.  I
think this has a chance to be pretty edgy and fun with Ashton Kutcher behind
it.  It could be the How I Met Your
Mother of the Alphabet Network.

Sam I Am (Mondays at )
- Christina Applegate is a woman who wakes up from a coma with amnesia, and
finds that the person she was before her accident wasn't a very good one. Also
stars Jennifer Esposito, Melissa McCarthy, Jean Smart, Tim Russ, and Barry
Watson.  I want
this show to do well because I like Christina Applegate, and I love Melissa
McCarthy (always Sookie in my heart), Jean Smart (Charlene), and Time Russ
(Tuvok).  Also, the premise sounds
appealing.

Other
Oprah's Big Give (midseason) – The big
O's first prime time series, it involves a bunch of people who compete to get a
whole bunch of money in order to make a difference in people's lives.  This show will do well because people love
feel-good shows like Extreme
Makeover:  Home Edition, and there
are many members of the Church of Oprah.

CBS

Dramas
Swingtown:
An ensemble period drama set during the sexual liberation of the 1970s. Look to
see open marriages, key parties, and a
time slot. Grant Show (Melrose Place),
Jack Davenport (Coupling, the
good one from the ),
Josh Hopkins (Brothers & Sisters),
Lana Parrilla (Windfall),
Miriam Shor (Big Day), and
Molly Parker (Deadwood) star.   This just screams early cancellation, possibly
because it can be controversial.

Viva
Laughlin: Lloyd Owen (Monarch
of the Glen) stars as Ripley Holden. The show is a musical drama
about Ripley and his family as they attempt to run a casino in .  . Among the cast you will find Madchen Amick
(Freddie), Patrick Fabian (Veronica Mars), Melanie Griffith (Twins), and Hugh Jackman, who also
produces the show.   Three words:  Remember Cop
Rock.

Moonlight: Formerly known
as Twilight, this one centers
on a private investigator/vampire.  Alex
O'Loughlin stars as the vampire investigator and the story will revolve around
his struggles with immortality, feuds with adversaries in the vampire world, and
a romance with a mortal. Along for the ride are Amber Valetta (Transporter 2), Rade Serbedzija (24),
Lucio (The O.C.), and James
Black (All Of Us).  I think this show’s already on Lifetime, and
it’s not cool to copy a Lifetime Original Series.

Cane:
Jimmy Smits (West Wing) stars
in this drama about a Cuban-American family that "explores the American
dream, past, present, and future." The story follows two rival families
that have built an empire in the sugar and rum industries. Smits will be joined
by Hector Elizondo (Chicago Hope)
and Rita Moreno.  It kind of makes me think
of a Cuban-American Brothers and Sisters.
Whether or not it will do well, I don’t know.

Comedies
Big Bang Theory:
From Two and a Half Men creator
Chuck Lorre, this one follows two theoretical physicists who meet a sexy new
neighbor that teaches them about life from a new perspective. Johnny Galecki (Roseanne), Jim Parsons (Judging Amy), and Kelly Cuoco (Eight Simple Rules) star.  Sounds raunchy and already boxed into a hole.

Other
Kid
Nation: A reality show from the producers of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. 40 kids,
ages 8 to 15 were put in the abandoned town of . Over the course
of 40 days the children build a society, electing leaders, passing laws,
establishing an economy, etc.  Oh boy!  A live-action Lord of the Flies! 
Seriously, this sounds like it’s coming from the CBS I remember from
High School.  You know, the one that my
grandmothers fell asleep to.

Power
of 10: CBS isn't immune to the new game show craze,
and this is their entry. Hosted by Drew Carey, the show will have contestants
guessing the results of public surveys for a chance to win up to $10 million.
The show is set for a summer release.  Welcome to CBS’s Deal or No Deal.

NBC

Dramas

Heroes: Origins
will be six special episodes of the series, which will air during the show's
hiatus. This means the total episode count for the season will be 30.  The Heroes fans seem to be really anticipating
this one.  I just have memories of the
short-lived Ally McBeal spin-off, Ally, though.

The Bionic Woman:  An updating of the classic ABC show from the
70s. It stars British actress Michelle Ryan.  I think that sci-fi fans will love this.

Chuck
is about a computer geek who becomes a spy (somehow). It's produced by Josh
Schwartz.  What I’ve seen of this show, it could draw
in even more Sci-Fi viewers in the Heroes crowd.  Even though I’m not a fan of action-series, I
may have to take a look at this one.

Journeyman
sounds a lot like a 21st century version of Quantum Leap. It stars Kevin McKidd
from
and is produced by some of the people behind The West Wing.  Since I work at an NBC affiliate, I have to say
that everyone who has seen this pilot seemed taken with it.  I think it will work well with the Heroes crowd too.

Life: A drama about a
detective who spends years in jail for a crime he didn't commit and is given a
second chance. It stars Damian Lewis from Band
of Brothers.  I think we’ve had too
many detective series on air in recent years, but I love Damian Lewis.  I hope this one does well.

Lipstick Jungle:  from Candace Bushnell, who did Sex and the City, and sounds similar. It
stars Brooke Shields and Kim Raver, from The
Nine.  Another series from
someone behind the scenes at Sex and the
City.  This and Cashmere Mafia will compete for viewers.  ABC has a bit of an upper-hand with
female-friendly series such as Desperate
Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy, Ugly Betty, and etc.

Comedies

The IT Crowd :  A new comedy that focuses on the lives of
tech people.  If fans of The Office and 30 Rock like it, it’ll soar. 
However, it seems like a knock-off.

Other
The Singing Bee: The
Singing Bee challenges contestants to accurately sing the lyrics to popular
songs — when the band stops playing! Scored like a spelling bee, there is no
middle ground for partially correct answers. Contestants must be perfect, or
they’re out.  As much as I don’t want to watch this, it will
probably do well because it reeks of American
Idol and America’s Got Talent.

World Moves :  A hip-hop competition, and is produced by American Idol's Randy Jackson. I just don’t see this
show working out.  It makes me think more
of You’re the One That I Want, and we
know what a ratings grabber that wasn’t.

Fox

Dramas

K-Ville:
A drama about cops working in post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans. I can see people tuning
into this show for the first few episodes because it’s based in .  However, I still think that we’re suffering
from cop-show-fatigue.  It does have a
better chance on Fox than the other networks though.


New Amsterdam: A sci fi/drama about a homicide
cop who is secretly hundreds of years old is tired of being alive.  This has an interesting premise, but will still
be a cop show.

The Sarah Connor Chronicles: Lena Headey stars as
'Sarah Connor', as in the character from the Terminator
movies. The action/drama is about Connor's attempts to prevent the Terminator
robots from killing her son. More often than not, television shows based on
movies bomb.  The success of this show
depends entirely on the cult factor.  Can
it sustain fans of the movie franchise?

Canterbury's Law:
Stars Julianna Margulies as an aggressive defense attorney who "is willing
to bend the law in order to protect the wrongfully accused."  I can see this being aired with Bones.  I think it stands a better shot of lasting
than Justice did, but it will still
be tricky to get around the plethora of lawyer-shows on the air.

Comedies

Back
to You: A sitcom starring Kelsey Grammer, Patricia
Heaton, and Fred Willard. Grammer and Heaton are reunited as anchors on a news desk.  Put this show up next to Till Death and watch the former Everybody
Loves Raymond stars and Kelsey Grammer shine.

Return
of Jezebel James: A comedy about a woman who asks her estranged
sister to carry her child. Stars Parker Posey and Lauren Ambrose.  This show comes from the creator of my
favorite television series of all time, Gilmore
Girls.  This is a half-hour comedy
with a laugh track, but it still has the snappy, witty writing that only
Amy-Sherman Palladino can drum up.

Rules
for Starting Over: The Farrelly Brothers' comedy about a man
who returns to the dating scene after a number of years in a relationship.
Co-stars Rashida Jones, who plays 'Karen' on The
Office. Fox promises a spring premiere, but currently does not have
it on the schedule.  I think this one will be
picked up because it has a solid premise.

Other
Kitchen
Nightmares: Gordon Ramsey returns, this time he's not
harassing wanna-be chefs, but he is trying to help failing restaurants survive.  I think the day of the Reality Show is slowly
reaching it’s sunset.

:
Unscripted show about young people pursuing musical dreams in . From the
producers of .  Yawn. 
Didn’t ABC and MTV try this ten years ago with Making the Band?

The Search for the
Next Great American Band: Same as American Idol, but with
bands.  As much as I loathe reality television,
this will do well because people who like for music to be a little edgier than Idol ‘s  pop will get into this one.