Oh, TV! How You Disappoint Me So!

I wanted to initially start this entry by saying, "I'm sorry I haven't been blogging often," but apologizing should mean I won't be making the same mistake again. And that's something I cannot promise.

So, instead I'll just start off by saying --- I've had a helluva week! Not complaining, just stating a fact.

Which is why I couldn't keep with the summary of news updates I started doing last month. I know some of you come to this site for that (like, 3 of you haha --- so I apologize to the 3 of you!). But I still do up-to-the-minute updates on my Twitter, so you can still get your fix there.

Anyway...

Trying to relax by watching TV isn't helping right now because, as much as I try to stay glued to all the shows I'm following...this Winter TV Season run? Sucks balls! I don't know if someone out there gets what I'm trying to say (Oh, there was at least one on Twitter! Hi, Monica!) but as this article --- "Why new shows are a turn-off?" --- puts it, there are 6 reasons why this is so.

I'm on board Theory #2.

It's the show, stupid. Or put another way, most people don't want to watch boring, derivative TV anymore. [snipped] "At the end of the day if you make something people want to see, they will come, and I think this has been a year where there has not been a lot of compelling new shows on broadcast TV."

Derivative is the right word to use for it. The similarities in concepts? It's making American network television,  well......bland. (American cable TV, not so much. Saving grace, I know!)

Which is probably why, I tend to look for other shows to watch outside US more and more these days. Among the ones I can recommend: The Spa, Mr. Selfridge, Ripper Street and Broadchurch, which just started this week.

The women of Mr. Selfridge and their lace-y gowns
are two reasons why I'm loving this show!

I can remember a time when Winter TV season used to have shows that ended up surprising a lot of viewers because, not only were they entertaining, they had quality. They were potential gems. Grey's Anatomy premiered during Winter season (aka mid-season). So did The Office. In their *earlier* years (stress on earlier), these shows were really in their own league.

No show is quite like these two this season.  No gems this time, it seems. Haven't been so for...probably two-three years now, in fact. For someone who breathes TV, realizing that bums me out big time.

I tend to have high expectations during pilot development season. When development was happening last year, I was hopeful TV 2012-2013 was going to be fantastic. Look where it is now. I'm close to abandoning a lot of shows this year, especially from the freshies. And I still question why Emily Owens, M.D. was cancelled!!!

Anyway...this is a list of shows in development for TV 2013-2014, which we shall begin watching by September. And because I'm not getting along with American TV so well these days, I'm trying not to be excited about this list.

I'm not getting my hopes up. Coz, just maybe, that will help me appreciate TV next season, huh?

What about you? Disapponted by TV lately?

Production Shut Downs

Here's where your favorite TV shows stand amidst the strike. It's hair-raising...as a matter of fact, I'm getting goosebumps as I read through this list (Thanks to Televisionary).

• 30 Rock: Shooting episode #210 through November 9th. No additional scripts have been written.
• 24: Eight episodes completed. FOX has shelved Season Seven indefinitely.
• Big Bang Theory: Production shut down.
• The Captain: Shooting episode #102 November 8th - 14th. Scripts in for episodes #103 and #104 (production will conclude 11/30).
• Carpoolers: Production shut down 11/16.
• Cavemen: Shooting episode #113 between November 7th - 13th. No additional scripts had been ordered.
• Cold Case: Production shut down 11/16
• Desperate Housewives: Production shut down.
• Dirt: Prepping episode #206 for a November 20th - 30th shoot. Script written for episode #207.
• Dirty Sexy Money: Shooting episode #111 between November 8th - 19th. Prepping episode #112 next week. Shoots 11/21. There are other scripts written but it's unclear if production will continue.
• Eli Stone: Prepping #111 now which shoots between November 15-26th. Not clear if there are additional scripts.
• Ghost Whisperer: Shooting episode #312 between November 12th - 21st. No additional scripts written.
• Greek: Shooting episode #1018 starting November 15th. No additional scripts out of the 20 episode order written.
• Heroes: Production shut down 11/9.
• K-Ville: Shot #110 October 28th - November 8th.
• Journeyman: Status of production unclear. 13 scripts written.
• Medium: Prepping episode 069-09 for a shoot between November 15th - 28th. No additional scripts have been written.
• Numb3rs: Prepping episode #412 for a shoot between November 19th - 30th. No additional scripts have been written.
• October Road: Shooting episode #210 between November 9th - 21st. Scripts through #213 completed.
• The Office: Production shut down. One additional script written.
• Old Christine: Production shut down.
• Rules of Engagement: Canceled production on episode #210 (meant to shoot 11/7-11/13). No additional scripts written. Production shut down.
• Samantha Who: Production shut down 11/12
• Swingtown: Shooting episode #103 11/9-11/21. No additional scripts written.
• 'Til Death: Episode #212 completes production on November 9th.
• Two and a Half Men: Production shut down.
• Ugly Betty: Shooting "Odor in the Court" between November 9th and 20th. Prepping "A Thousand Words Before Friday" next week. No additional scripts available after that.
• Without A Trace: Production shut down 11/22.

I've read somewhere the strike could extend to summer, or worse, 2009. It could be baseless, but not at all impossible. Directors contracts and actors contracts are up for renewal by next year. They could also demand the same thing as the writers are demanding.

And the studios aren't budging still. They hold the money, they might win this.

Rant

TV Addict's rant coming up...

Last night at around 9PM, I was switching channels between

• Crime/Suspense [which had Battlestar Galactica on]
• Star World [which had King of Queens and Frasier on], and
• JackTV [which had a show, whose title I don't know, on]

Ordinarily, a person would have gone crazy watching TV this way...but as TV is my addiction, you could probably say I was so high, as a junkie would be high on drugs, last night.

Anyhow, what I was watching on JackTV looked interesting. It's about four guys talking about women and sex (now, this is what Guy Talk is all about, this is essentially THE male version of Sex and the City).

I checked on the schedule online to find more info about the show and I'm pretty sure it wasn't a show called Jack's Booth, as seen on schedule of Monday 9 PM.

People behind this station have got to get it all together. They've been running cable TV channels for what, 4-5 years now? And to me, it still feels they're new at this and everything is on test broadcast.

The schedule is all wrong and it's not just on print, but even with what's being shown on TV. On ETC last year (since they already shifted schedules this year and I'm still getting used to it) they kept running promos of Conan O' Brien, whose schedule was supposedly Tuesdays thru Saturdays at 12MN. How many times did I try to tune to a Friday night and got no Conan?

Speaking of which, I tuned to ETC yesterday afternoon, between 2-3PM to check what's on and Conan was on TV, when I just watched him at around noontime that same day. Checked on ETC's fresh TV show line-up and guess what? It doesn't surprise me that the schedule doesn't jive.

And there's one more thing, again on ETC: Please stop running that 2 minute profile of Paris Hilton (Starstruck is what it's called, I think). I know that Starstruck isn't your production, the same thing runs on Star World and some other cable channel. But it's never always about Paris Hilton on these other channels. :P I can stand to watch it once in a while, but on ETC, it runs for like 5x a day...and it's always her!

If you run a Paris Hilton feature 5x a day (and there's a reason why it's a short feature, Solar Entertainment get a clue!!!), subconsciously, your sending signals to teens and twenty-somethings (the channel's target audience) that she is an ideal role model, the way the feature highlights her "accomplishments" like she has successfully transcended all that bad press about her and that she's a survivor, when the truth is she's ... HOLLOW! ---> Paris Hilton: I'm writing a book, it has plenty of pictures! [insert image of me rolling my eyes].

And I have not even started talking about the way they script and dub their promos. I know of some people (I'm guessing, a lot more addicted to TV than I am...) who actually came up with a list of things they find odd with the way these channels do teasers. Hilarious.

Haay, Solar Entertainment.... >:(

Ranting on an early Tuesday morning --- about TV.

Yes, I seriously need to get a social life...actually, I needed it 10 years ago.

LOL!