KT Update! Fall 2008 Schedules

Hello All! Upfront week has concluded. Thankfully, this was a pretty tame year. Although I’m not drooling over the new shows (well, except for Dollhouse) I didn’t lose any favorites, like in years past (CBS, stop trying to scare me by holding out the "How I Met Your Mother" renewal for so long! You are just mean!) So check it out below for the shows that didn’t make the cut as well as a taste of the new shows for 2008-2009 & of course my trusty spreadsheet of how the season will look next year.

I also want to offer a late review of Eli Stone. I finally had a chance to sit down and watch all of the episodes & I have to say, I really enjoyed it. It does freak me out a little bit to see Jonny Lee Miller all suited up (he’ll always be Crash Override to me) but I found myself emotionally involved with the cast pretty quickly. I actually think that has a lot to do with the actors & the caliber of the acting rather than the plot lines (which were generally your run of the mill wacky lawyer show storylines). I especially like seeing Spy daddy (Victor Garber) in a fun role.


Cancelled

ABC
"October Road," "Men in Trees" and "Miss Guided," "Carpoolers" and "Cavemen."

Fox
“Back to You”, “New Amsterdam”

CW
“Aliens in America”

New Shows

ABC
The Goode Family (Midseason) An animated ½ hour from Beavis & Butthead creator Mike Judge about a family who tries to do the right thing often to leading to amusing consequences.

Life on Mars –Based on a BBC show. Centers around a cop (the brain tumor guy from Grey’s or Marin’s publisher beau on Men In Tree’s) who gets into a car crash & wakes up in 1973. Uh, ok.

Opportunity Knocks- Trivia game show produced by Ashton Kutcher that travels around the country seeing if unsuspecting families can win prizes.

NBC
Crusoe-From Zap2it.com “Described as a combination of "MacGyver," "Castaway" and "Pirates of the Caribbean," this take on Daniel Defoe's adventure tale follows a man who has been shipwrecked on a tropical island for 28 years, but is still determined to return to the wife -- and life -- he left behind.”

Kath & Kim- Selma Blair gets divorced & moves back in with Mom (Molly Shannon).

Kings (midseason)- From Zap2it.com “A soldier rescues a king's son from enemy territory and is thrust into the limelight, setting off a chain of powerful events in this take on the classic David vs. Goliath struggle.”

Knight Rider-Michael Knight’s son goes around solving mysteries in a kick ass mustang that is voiced by Val Kilmer.

Merlin-(midseason) Whoa! Stop the presses. I was about to make some snide comments about this show that focuses on Merlin & Arthur as young men, but then I saw that Anthony Stewart Head (Giles!!!!) is a part of the cast. Hooray!

My Own Worst Enemy-Christian Slater has a split personality. One is family man and the other is trained killer. When the wall between to two begins to fall, wackiness ensues!

The Philanthropist (midseason)-After his only son dies, a billionaire begins travelling around the world getting his “Oprah” on.

CW
90210-Instead of Minesooota twins Brenda & Brandon, this 90210 will focus on Annie Mills and her brother Dixon from Kansas. Momma Mills is Lori Loughlin, (“Full House”). The family has moved from Kansas to keep an eye on drunken, faded tv star grandma (Jessica Walter, "Arrested Development"). Jennie Garth has signed on as guidance counselor, Kelly Taylor.



Surviving the Filthy Rich-A magazine reporter is fired from her job & falls into the position of live in tutor for two spoiled, rich brats. She is determined to make a difference in the girls lives & to stay a part of the glamorous new world she has found herself in.

Sylista-“The Devil Wears Prada” Reality style. Eleven contestants vie for an editorial job with Elle magazine.


CBS

Worst Week –this is like Meet the Fockers on tv. A guy tries to impress his girlfriend’s overprotective family but always ends up making things worse.

Project Gary Jay Mohr stars as Gary. A guy who is trying to juggle an ex wife, two kids & dating.

The Mentalist stars Simon Baker as eccentric investigator solving mysteries with his team.

Eleventh hour is from Jerry Bruckheimer and follows a brilliant biophysicist and special science advisor to the government, as he investigates scientific crises and oddities.

The Ex List- A girl (Rebecca/Ava from Grey's) explores her past boyfriends after a psychic tells her that one of her ex-boyfriends is her soul mate.
Fox

FRINGE-Yay! This is the Josh Jackson ( I *heart* Pacey) & JJ Abrams show. It is a sci-fi show about the investigation into a flight that landed at Logan Airport but everyone on board was dead (creepy).



DO NOT DISTURB –An upstairs/downstairs look at a posh inn in NYC. Stars Jerry O’Connell as the inn keeper.


DOLLHOUSE---EEEEEEE! The Whedon comes back to TV!!! Praise Jesus! Oh wow, you think I’m a tad overexcited? Maybe I need to calm myself down so I don’t have massive expectations for this show. Too bad, I can’t! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! Ok, since I can’t calm down, I’ll just give you Fox’s description of the show.
Echo (Eliza Dushku) is an "Active," a member of a highly illegal and underground group who have had their personalities wiped clean so they can be imprinted with any number of new personas. The engagements cater to the wealthy, powerful and connected, and require the Actives to immerse themselves in all manner of scenarios romantic, criminal, uplifting, dangerous, comical and the occasional "pro bono" good deed. After each scenario, Echo, always under the watchful eye of her handler returns to the mysterious Dollhouse where her thoughts, feelings and experiences are erased. Echo enters the next scenario with no memory of before. Or does she? As the series progresses, an FBI agent pieces together clues that lead him closer to the Dollhouse, while Echo stops forgetting, her memories begin to return and she slowly pieces together her mysterious past. DOLLHOUSE revolves around Echo's blossoming self-awareness and her desire to discover her true identity. But with each new engagement, comes a new memory and increased danger inside and outside the Dollhouse.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




THE CLEVELAND SHOW is a new Seth MacFarlane animated show about a guy who gets a second chance at love with his high school crush

SIT DOWN, SHUT UP an animated comedy that focuses on the lives of eight staff members at a high school in a small northeastern fishing town (Go Baiters!) who never lose sight of the fact that the children must ALWAYS come second. Check out the voices: Will Arnett (Gob), Jason Bateman, Will Forte, Cheri Oteri, Kenan Thompson, Henry Winkler

Jack Bauer back in November! On Sunday Nov. 23, Jack Bauer returns for a 2 hr movie that will take place right before season 7 and was shot on location in South Africa.




Midseason
ABC
"According to Jim," "The Bachelor," "Lost" and "Scrubs”.

CW
Reaper

CBS
Harpers Island, “Rules of Engagement”

That’s all for now. I’ll be back at the end of the month with finale report cards & my thoughts on NKOTB’s appearance on the Today show…tomorrow!

KT Update-Just When I Thought I was Out....

Well, it is May, and for couch potatoes like me, this is the time of year that is both exciting & heartbreaking. Seasons are ending, shows are being cancelled & the upfronts are dangerously close (for those of you newbies, upfronts are the networks presentations of their schedule for next year).

Here’s some tv scoopage for you:

The Whedon will include another familiar face from the buffyverse in his new Eliza Dushku show. Amy Acker (Fred from Angel) has joined the cast (yay!)

Lindsay Lohan will be making an appearance on Ugly Betty while Britney will do another episode of How I Met Your Mother. All we need is Paris Hilton to get a guest spot & we will have all of our favorite hot messes on the tv screen during sweeps!

Lex & Lana will both leave Smallville after this season. Although Lana will most likely make a few appearances next year, it is doubtful that Luthor will be seen again. Is this show really on still? Grrrr. This is when I get grouchy. Really, Smallville & One Tree Hill are still on the air while Everwood, Arrested Development & Veronica Mars all got cancelled? Yes, I realize it has been a few years but I’m still a bitter betty!

There are rumors circulating that there will be a few deaths on Wisteria lane this May, one of which is rumored to be ***SPOILER ALERT******************* Edie. Apparently Nicolette Sheridian wants out. I also heard that next season will be 5 years later.

Although I’m a wee bit upset, I knew it was a matter of time. ABC has announced that it is cancelling Men In Trees. The producers did make an alternate ending for the season finale in case it became the series finale. I really liked this show a lot last year, but something was a little off for me this year. I do hope that Anne Heche finds herself another show because she grew on me like a fungus. The final episodes of Men In Trees will air this summer.

I’m still waiting for word on the fate of How I Met Your Mother and oh yeah, I will be royally pissed if they cancel that show. It is my second favorite sitcom on (behind 30 Rock) and my Mondays would be a lot sadder without the show.

In other tv news, American Idol has TOTALLY sucked me back in this year. In the past I have watched occasionally, finding favorites (Jennifer Hudson, Chris Daughtry) and then stopping once they were voted out. I feel like I haven’t been this committed to Idol the show, or more specifically, a contestant since Kelly Clarkson. But wow. I am on the David Cooke train. Oh and I’m voting. And, I can’t stand Archuletta. Are there any fans out there? Can you tell me why you like him? Because I think the kid has zero personality and that all of his performances have been BORING. He's like an Idol-bot. Which is why I can’t understand how the show will come down to a David vs. David showdown. I guess it is because Jason Castro should be in a starbucks singing and everyone is ignoring Syesha’s talent. Either way, I’m an Idol fanatic this year & I’ll be banging on my phone keys for the next few weeks. EEEEEE!

Finally, I'm concerned about Project Runway. As you may have heard this season (5) is the last on Bravo. Not only that, but the show's producers will not be making the trek to Lifetime with the show. What does this mean? Will the show look completely different on Lifetime? Will there be a challenge to dress your favorite tv has been for her upcoming Lifetime movie? What about Tim Gunn & Heidi, are they going to Lifetime! This is so NOT FIERCE!!!!

I guess that’s all for today. I’ll be back next week with some scoop on the upfronts & at the end of May I’ll issue my season finale report card. Byet!!