Next Season - NBC

Who the hell knows with NBC in the Jay Leno era!? Not to mention that, outside of Tuesday and Thursday, there's no existing launching pads to remotely safely program new series.

Monday:

- 8pm: Parenthood.

- 9pm: Law & Order: SVU (this is one of the only places CBS doesn't have a crime show)

Tuesday:

- 8pm: Biggest Loser... but a 90 minute version.

- 9:30pm: Get a sitcom tryout slot in here.

Wednesday:

- 8pm: Medical drama (either Mercy or Trauma). I wouldn't have thought a medical drama could work at 8pm, but House has... then again, it was a hit before moving to 8pm. On the other hand... NBC just doesn't have anywhere else to put a medical show.

- 9pm: Law & Order (original flavor). Actually, if it's Trauma (probably too gory for 8pm), L&O at 8pm and Trauma at 9pm.

Thursday:

- 8pm: new sitcom (8:30-10pm stay as they are now with Parks & Recreation, The Office, and 30 Rock)

Friday:

- 8pm: game show hour (where has Deal or No Deal been lately?)

- 9pm: Friday Night Lights in the spring... for fall, a 13-episode order of Medium (or Chuck... I'm going to be pushing for this, but I think Sundays instead of Fridays)?

Sunday (post-football):

- 8pm: Chuck (13-episodes to wrap up... please?) Or possibly Day One, but I didn't love the script and it's so special effects heavy that I need to see the screener before a making judgment.

- 9pm: Heroes (final season for 18-20 episodes, a few two-hour nights)

- 10pm: Southland (of all the NBC cop shows, I just can't see this as a 9pm show...) Unfortunately that means leaving it off the schedule for 8 months... but I don't see an option without a 10pm slot elsewhere.

Next Season - FOX

Ah, FOX. Always having fourth quarter problems. Here's a general suggestion... stop moving the shows that work from where they are in the spring. Take a lesson from CBS and, until Idol and 24 return in the winter, let stability be your friend so that you can market the new shows you're trying out instead of new days and timeslots for your existing shows. I wasn't in love with FOX's drama pilot scripts (outside of Glee, which I didn't read the script of, but saw the pilot and reviewed it ages ago and am in looooooove), so I don't have a ton of specific thoughts on replacement programming to try out.

Monday:

- 8pm: KEEP HOUSE WHERE IT IS FOR THE LOVE OF GOD.

- 9pm: Glee. The show is already picked up for the fall and will presumably be airing after Idol on Tuesdays in the winter. For the fall, give it the best lead-in available. Then 24 returns in the winter to 9pm. Fox may be tempted to put Maggie Hill, its quirky doctor who has schizophrenia drama, after House but I really do like Glee getting the big lead-in.

Tuesday:

- 8pm: Human Target. Probably the least offensive of FOX's fall pilot scripts, it might be a fun, action-adventure block fit with Fringe.

- 9pm: KEEP FRINGE WHERE IT IS FOR THE LOVE OF GOD. Even though, unlike House and Bones, Fringe isn't a proven performer on its own. When Idol comes around again, Fringe should be moved to make way for Glee.

Wednesday:

- I'm not sure what to do with FOX on Wednesday until Idol comes back. Lie To Me is winning its timeslot now... but the competition is nonexistent and LTM slips every week. I don't think FOX will have four live-action sitcoms worthy of the fall schedule (I mean, history dictates it will rarely have even one...), but try out a comedy block, perhaps at 9pm instead of 8pm (where it has failed the last could seasons). For some reason 'Til Death is coming back (though I'd say it's more likely that will be used on Fridays), and I've heard good things about Absolutely Fabulous. At 8pm, Fox might have a reality show up its sleeve that I'm unaware of.

Thursday:

- 8pm: KEEP BONES WHERE IT IS FOR THE LOVE OF GOD.

- 9pm: For some reason FOX is airing another cycle of Hell's Kitchen over the summer right after the winter/spring run... I don't get it. Save it for the fall. It's doing well in this highly competitive timeslot! But you can't air three cycles back to back. Anyway, I don't think FOX should try anything scripted here.

Friday:

- Another comedy block at 8pm, led by 'Til Death? Dollhouse gets at 13-episode reprieve at 9pm? Reality?

Sunday:

- 7pm and 7:30pm: Stick with repeats of the animated comedies. As King of the Hill showed last week, viewers just aren't flocking to Fox at 7pm.

- 8:30pm: American Dad! (it doesn't work as well as it should out of Family Guy, so put it post-Simpsons)

- 9:30pm: Cleveland (like with the Gossip Girl spin-off... popular character gets own show, put it on after the original series and hope it does better than AD! has)

Next Season - CBS

Like I said earlier this morning (Next Season's Network Fall Schedules), I don't predict CBS will be making as many drastic schedule reshaping moves as some have speculated recently. CBS is the most stable network, so I won't get into as many details as I have elsewhere.

Monday:

- 9:30pm: New comedy (seriously, BBT/HIMYM/2.5Men should NOT be broken up... they work!) Once again, Rules of Engagement saved for midseason (or tried out on Wednesdays). Keep in mind I haven't read any of the comedies for the Big Four (and don't pay a ton of attention to reality series in the works), so I can't comment on them as far as which should be picked up or if CBS will add more more comedy (or reality) slots to its schedule (it's possible).

Tuesday:

- 10pm: New drama. As I advised ABC with the Brothers & Sisters move, without NBC in the mix here (with its historically timeslot winning Law & Order: SVU)... this is an opportunity for CBS to fix a timeslot it hasn't had a big hit in for years. Without a Trace is out. It's old, expensive, and loses 25% of its The Mentalist lead-in. The question is... where will CBS put the NCIS spin-off? Tuesday at 10pm is certainly a potential spot... after all, if the NCIS audience sticks around for The Mentalist why wouldn't they for the spin-off? Then again, the NCIS spin-off will have some buzz behind it that CBS may want to utilize on a different night. Unlike my advice for CW with the Gossip Girl spin-off, CBS doesn't need to protect the NCIS spin-off (or franchise extension), but can treat it like the CSI franchises.

Where was I? Anyway, for now, let's just say something new needs to go here. I'm going to suggest not the spin-off and, rather, The Good Wife. As a legal show, it's somewhat outside the normal CBS crime drama oeuvre, but it's script surprised me. It's definitely a character piece, much like The Mentalist.

Wednesday:

- 8pm: New comedy block. I don't think Old Christine or Gary Unmarried performed well enough to warrant renewals... one of them might get renewed, but I don't think both. If either are renewed, I'd say Old Christine because ABC is baiting CBS with the old "we'll take it if you don't" trick. An alternative: RoE (plus new comedy). A second alternative: The Amazing Race (which doesn't belong on Sundays behind 60 Minutes), and Wednesday at 8pm is a very, very weak time period. TAR would win the hour with its current ratings and the current competition. Still, I see TAR staying on Sundays where it will continue to be incompatible with its lead-in.

Thursday:

- 10pm: Washington Field. Could also be NCIS spin-off or The Good Wife, but I like WF here.

Friday:

- 9pm: Final(?) season of Cold Case.

Sunday (the only day I really see CBS making sweeping changes, well not at 7pm obviously):

- 8pm: If TAR moves to Wednesdays at 8pm, House Rules (a very non-CBS show... soapy 30-somethings, DC, politics... as it's not a crime drama, I think it can go in the 8pm hour). Not likely, though.

- 9pm: NCIS spin-off / franchise extension. Capitalize on TAR's demo, um, strength, and the NCIS franchise has proven itself against Idol, I think that the situation could be the same against football on NBC in the fall.

- 10pm: New drama. CBS may be tempted to try one of its medical dramas, none of which I liked from the script (Miami Trauma, The Eastmans, and Three Rivers). As I didn't like them, I would say try out the US Attorneys show, which would definitely be male skewing (to play against ABC's female skewing Sunday). Or, perhaps, see how The Unit does after a more male-skewing lead-in than Cold Case.

Next Season - CW

Oh, CW. You conundrum.

Monday:

- 8pm: Gossip Girl. Sticking with it.

- 9pm: Lily (possibly titled Valley Girl, which works MUCH better IMHO). Don't make the mistake ABC did when spinning off Private Practice from Grey's Anatomy. Be more like Buffy and Angel. Program the spin-off after the original series from the get-go (even if, in this case, a popular character from the original isn't leaving to star in the spin-off). I haven't read the script, I haven't seen the backdoor pilot, but everyone expects this spin-off to be a go series.

Tuesday:

- 8pm: 90210. Deal with it being at 8pm. It hasn't performed much better at 9pm, away from Idol, unlike how Gossip Girl improved when moved to Mondays at 8pm. Use it as a lead-in.

- 9pm: Melrose Place. The obvious choice, I know. Again, script unread, sight unseen, but people expect it to be a go series. Putting the two remakes of old Fox series together isn't necessarily a stroke of genius, but it is a stroke of likeliness and obviousness.

Wednesday:

- 8pm: America's Next Top Model for two cycles, ANTM spin-off Operation Fabulous between cycles. I don't see OF as being strong enough to carry its own hour, and if it was tried at 9pm and failed, CW would be left with another season of using the post-ANTM timeslot for nothing but repeats of one of its drama series, diluting the ratings of the series' first run (seriously, 90210's actual numbers are so blurry for me because it has almost always had a next day rerun).

- 9pm: Vampire Diaries. I haven't done my review of this pilot, but despite my feelings that its oh-so been-there-done-that... one, the CW doesn't seem to really be against retreading old material, and two, I can see it working (despite it not being much more than a talkative version of Twilight). Without a connection to either Gossip Girl or 90210... I say put this in the post-ANTM marquis spot.

Thursday:

- 8pm: Final(?) season of Smallville.

- 9pm: Final(?) season of Supernatural (at least fans tell me that the showrunner has said he mapped out a five season story). Thursdays have worked this season for CW. As long as both components are coming back... don't mess with it.

Friday:

- 8pm: Final(?) season of One Tree Hill. I put this here because I do think the Gossip Girl spin-off will nab the post-GG timeslot, and because of what I'm going to suggest for Sundays.

- 9pm: The Body Politic. Another show I haven't reviewed, and it has the odds stacked against it, being a twenty-something-in-politics show. Hence... put it on after the twenty-something soap opera. The other option if The Beautiful Life (or, actually, a second season of Privileged, which has been rumored for Fridays), but I prefer twenty-somethings in politics over the modeling scripted series in part because I far prefer Minka Kelly to Mischa Barton.

Sunday - give it back to the affiliates. CW doesn't have the money to program more original dramas, and its not developing any comedies (and OF is the original reality show it's developing if I recall correctly... and it's quite possible I don't). If it keeps 7-10pm on Sundays, maybe move my Friday block to 8-10pm on Sundays preceded by a 7pm repeat (i.e. ANTM like in CW's premiere season)... but there are going to be regularly scheduled repeats somewhere on the CWs schedule if it needs to program Sundays... and I abhor regularly scheduled repeats. The movie block has done slightly better than the Jericho repeats, but well enough to warrant another season? I'm not sure.

Next Season - ABC

ABC's big problem: too many holes to fill. Even if its pilots are all amazing, they have to learn from the last two years and not spread their marketing so thin than none of them succeed. Which means that ABC, as I see it, is going to have some rough patches next season, but will hopefully not be entirely bleak.

Monday:

- 8-10pm/8-9:30pm: ABC will be fine with DWTS here and The Bachelor worked this season between cycles.

- 9:30pm: New comedy (though I'd wonder if the network will burn off the remaining Samantha Who? episodes here... the odd thing about the post-DWTS comedy slot is that, since DWTS's duration is so erratic, you really only get 6-7 episodes with the lead-in per cycle)

- 10pm: New drama (though if ABC is going to stick with any of its midseason replacements, it's going to be Castle and ABC may be curious to see how it will do when it doesn't have NBC to compete with... still, my advice is PROGRAM AGGRESSIVELY)

Tuesday:

- 8-9pm: New comedy block (if the network is sticking with Samantha Who? for another season, it may put it at 8:30pm here behind a new comedy and just pray that, unlike the In The Motherhood experiment, the lead-in succeeds). OR Ugly Betty. This timeslot, no matter what is put here, will be massacred when Idol returns. No stopping that. Ugly Betty's final season as sacrificial lamb?

- 9pm: DWTS Results show. Some reality show fodder between cycles (if it works this summer... Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?)

- 10pm: Brothers & Sisters. Again, ABC needs to program aggressively. That means taking B&S away from the post-Desperate Housewives so that can be put to good use leading into a new series. B&S has its own audience (the 2-hour "movie event" proved that). NBC won't be here next season and the timeslot is traditionally weak for CBS.

Wednesday:

- 8pm: Flash Forward. This is the timeslot that ABC launched Lost in. It is the weakest timeslot, competition-wise, on the Sun-Thurs schedule. Lie To Me won last night with a 2.3. A 2.3. Granted, CBS's comedies were in repeat, but even in originals they haven't averaged a 2.3 since the fall. Programming FF on Wednesdays at 8pm would also, for the most part, get it out of the way of American Idol in the winter/spring.

- 9pm: Lost come late January / early February. Until then, I suggest a comedy block. Better Off Ted hasn't been killing in the ratings, but it has been pretty decent (for ABC and comedy) and holds its Scrubs lead-in. If ABC has another male-skewing comedy in its development, group that with BOT and see what happens.

- 10pm: Good luck, ABC! Hah, no, seriously... I haven't done my reviews of either Empire State (Romeo and Juliet between 30-somethings from a real estate magnate family and from a construction union family) or Inside the Box (hardnosed female news reporter in DC), but if either of those pilots are good, try them out here. It's an exciting opportunity at 10pm across the board with NBC out of the mix, but one thing ABC can't do is try crime dramas anywhere CBS has a crime drama.

Thursday:

- 8pm: ABC really ought to move Ugly Betty out of this timeslot next season. Really not sure what to put here in its place, though, since the comedy block idea failed (might just have been those comedies).

- 9pm-11pm: Grey's Anatomy/Private Practice. If it's, um, working... ish?

Friday/Saturday - I have no opinions.

Sunday:

- 7pm: America's Funniest Home Videos ain't going anywhere.

- 8pm: Neither is Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

- 9pm: ... or Desperate Housewives.

- 10pm: Eastwick.

Major marketing pushes: Brothers & Sisters move, Flash Forward, Eastwick because I really do believe that all of those should be where I put them. Not knowing about comedy blocks or Ugly Betty's timeslot, I can't recommend anything... but three major pushes is really the limit for ABC. Unfortunately that leaves Wednesday at 10pm out in the cold... but, y'know what... ABC just has to deal with the fact that it's going to take time to fully rebuild its schedule and it has to do it by really pushing certain things hard, not doing mediocre jobs promoting too many new series.

Next Season's Network Fall Schedules

... are not things I have access to.

There's been a LOT of noise in the last week or so about CBS getting ready for some MAJOR changes in its schedule, and I wanted to say that you should count me as skeptical.

This is the network that just this season reaped the benefits of patience with NCIS, The Big Bang Theory, and How I Met Your Mother. By not shaking their schedule up all the time, these series exploded in the ratings this season.

On the other hand... the CSI franchise is flagging on Mondays and Wednesdays at 10pm and Thursday at 9pm and many of the CSI-like series are aging (Without a Trace, Cold Case, Numb3rs, and Criminal Minds... the first two or which are "on the bubble" with WaT an expected cancellation and Cold Case getting its last run next season).

So, this week and last, CBS has made some interesting scheduling moves that have signaled changes ahead. Or has it? Last Tuesday it aired an original episode of WaT after repeats of NCIS and The Mentalist. This Tuesday is bumped NCIS and The Mentalist up an hour and aired repeats of BBT and Two and a Half Men. Wanna know what it didn't do? Air originals out of their regular time period. This, for me, was more about season averages than testing the waters for a move. I mean, really, CBS has made amazing strides on Tuesdays this season... all it needs to do is find a new hit at 10pm (a spot that has been "cursed" in the past... but y'know what? Law & Order: SVU is vacating next season thanks to Jay Leno, so there won't be the major competition any longer). Last night's 10pm airing of Criminal Minds also is a no-brainer for me to justify... why air an original surrounded by repeats and against American Idol when you can air it after a repeat of itself, in a different timeslot, and not deal with season average loss? At the same time, Criminal Minds is one show I actually can see CBS moving to a different night. It's a proven hit and its current lead-out (CSI: NY) is not dependent on its ratings.

Anyway, I'm going to be taking a look at each of the networks and weighing in on what I think they need and what needs to change...

Pilot Script Review - Eastwick

EASTWICK

Written By: Maggie Friedman

Draft Date: January 9, 2009

Pages: 65

Network: ABC

Category: Thumbs Up

This is an easy thumbs up for me. The show is based on the classic film The Witches of Eastwick, though the cast won't exactly be Cher, Sarandon, and Pfeiffer. The script stays very true to the story and tone of the movie, though it obviously doesn't end the story of the girls and Darryl Van Horne. Unlike the failed Eastwick project at Fox a few years ago, the series does not pick up later in the story of Alexandra (Cher), Jane (Sarandon), and Sukie (Pfeiffer) and their children. Rather, it follows three new women discovering magical powers and the temptation and threats of the mysterious Mr. Van Horne. This time around, the women are...

- Roxie (Rebecca Romjin), an artist / owner of an art shop (much like Alexandra), dating a much younger man (Matt Dallas) and has a smart-aleck 15-year old daughter.

- Kat (Jamie Ray Newman), who has five children (shades of Lynette Scavo) and a straining relationship with her husband, Raymond.

- Joanna (Lindsay Price), a shy reporter at the local paper (much like Sukie)

Unlike in the movie, the girls do not start out as the best of friends (nor are all of them single). In fact, Roxie is something of an outcast in Eastwick. Roxie also has prophetic dreams in this pilot, not all about the man she and the other two girls unwittingly summon to the town... a man, apparently, is going to try and kill her (oh and she meets him at the end of the pilot... rut ruh!) The families of the witches have a much larger presence in the pilot (and, presumably, the series) than they did in the film.

My argument for why this series is a no-brainer for a pick-up, besides the fact that it's similar to stuff that's been on TV in the past (it's like a cross of Charmed and Desperate Housewives) but also difference enough that it will play fresh and is just plain fun... is the pilot's director: David Nutter. As soon as he signed onto the project, it went from "hm, I'll have to see it" to "where is it going on the fall schedule." The man is 14 for 14 in the last 14 pilot seasons. He directs something, it gets picked up. It may not get picked up and become a massive, long-lasting hit, but it gets picked up (most recent pilots: The Mentalist, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Traveller, Supernatural).

If Eastwick does not get picked up it will, literally, be the biggest surprise of pilot season. As such, I'm eager to see what Nutter does with this material that has been mined before to varying degrees of success.

Top 7 Redux

Briefly... this pre-double-elimination performance show was, for me, essentially a repeat of the first time around. Adam, Kris, Danny, and Allison (in that order) performed very well (in fact, I think that Adam's version of "If I Can't Have You" will become a prom night slow dance staple this year?) while Matt, Anoop, and Lil floundered. Unlike last week, though, I think based on the performances, Matt should be the one of those three who stays. We shall see.

The Facts Are These

Going to the Paley Festival Pushing Daisies event to see the final three episodes of Pushing Daisies. Looking forward to it! May report back, but I don't like to spoil things (I'm sure there will be spoilers elsewhere).

Pilot Script Review - Light Years

LIGHT YEARS

Written By: Liz Tigelaar

Draft Date: May 21, 2008 (another draft date from long ago meaning that, hopefully, the project has undergone significant revisions)

Pages: 59

Network: CW

Category: Thumbs Down

Cate Campbell is a Seattle radio talk show / disc jockey in a burgeoning relationship with her co-host, Ryan. Nick "Baze" Basile, a slacker who runs a bar, is Cate's high school ex, hasn't spoke to her in years. They had a daughter together fifteen years ago, but gave her up. Lux happens to be that daughter, hates the foster system, and because she's trying to emancipate herself, meets her biological parents (because she needs one / both or them to sign some paper, or something). Inanity ensues and though the judge ultimately won't emancipate the 15-year old Lux (because, um, she's incredibly young and has no source of income...), that's okay because just by being in Baze and Cate's lives for a couple days, she manages to bring them together and form some sort of proto-family, despite Cate and Baze both having romantic interests.

The show basically plays like Knocked Up, 15-years later, if Katherine Heigl never agreed to let Seth Rogen into her life. Hell, Cate and Baze seem to have pretty much the same characters surrounding them (Baze's slacker buds, Cate her professional cohorts at the radio station). But... it's not funny or endearing and Lux can be such an "I can take care of myself, screw you all" ice queen that, even with all the odds stacked against her, I found it hard to root for her.

Thumbs way down. I'm going to need coaxing to even watch the screener, should I get my hands on it.

Pilot Script Review - Happy Town

HAPPY TOWN

Written By: Josh Appelbaum, & André Nemec & Scott Rosenberg

Draft Date: January 22, 2009

Pages: 94 (two-hour pilot)

Network: ABC

Category: Jury's Out

Here's a script that I *do* wish I'd reviewed closer to the time of reading. As a "Jury's Out" review, I feel like there's an added need to justify the categorization beyond "I loved it" and "I hated it." The reason I put Happy Town in the "Jury's Out" category is because, frankly, it's a jumbled mess. There are too many characters, too ill-defined on the page, too quickly (I don't think many new characters are introduced in the second half of the script). However, a lot of that confusion can easily be cleared up on the screen (or, conversely, made more confusing by bad execution). The script being a two-hour pilot also put me in "Jury's Out" mode. Two-hour pilots (hell, even extended pilots) need to be something special... after all, you're asking studios and networks to drop more cash into a project that may not see its way to the fall (or midseason) schedule. Lost was special (and even it aired as two separate episodes). Happy Town is, well, jumbled and I wonder if streamlining the story to an hour, getting rid of some of the characters, and really setting up the "oooh, mysterious happenings in a small town" conceit more smoothly would have made me love it.

After all, this is a series that desperately wants to be the next Twin Peaks. I would love it if this series were the next Twin Peaks. But let's be honest... there is never going to be a next Twin Peaks. Also, do you trust the people who ran the American version of Life on Mars (and wrote its much-derided ending) to write the next Twin Peaks? No? Me neither (and I didn't even watch Life on Mars...)

God knows it tries, what with the ominous "Blue Door" (cough Black Lodge, Red Room, cough) and the central mystery of the "Magic Man" (who kidnapped kids years ago from the town, was never caught, and has now apparently returned and kidnapped a kid). The pilot is more concerned with a murder that takes place in the opening moments. We see the victim, but not the killer. The murder is solved in the pilot — someone murdered Jerry Friddle because that someone erroneously believed poor hapless Jerry was the Magic Man.

Happy Town takes place in Haplin, Minnesota, a small town with a bread-making factory. It is centered... sort of (there are, like 50 characters)... on the Conroy family (the grandfather is the county sheriff). But we also meet the mayor (a woman!), her family, some criminal elements, plenty of other residents, and even members of the old folks home / boarding house (where the Mysterious New Girl In Town winds up staying). Haplin is called Happy Town because it has been for the last seven years (since the kidnappings stopped when Sheriff Conroy chased the Magic Man out of town... or something... since the Magic Man was never identified...)

The first half, though filled with too many characters, plays fine. The second half is where things get very, very, very, very weird (kickstarted with Sheriff Conroy going nuts and chopping his own hand off). In addition we get some very "see, we're just like Twin Peaks!" stuff with the introduction of the "Blue Door" as well as the introduction of "Handsome Sam" who drugs a teenage girl's drink and then she's, like, maybe raped or something? I dunno, it was all very... weird. Oh, and we find out that The Mysterious New Girl In Town has a tattoo of some mark found around Haplin and with literature about the kids kidnapped / vanished / whatever you want to call it by the Magic Man (a question mark with a halo).

So I remain confused. But... there is potential here. And things could turn out well on the screen. This could fit in on ABC. I can definitely see that... if the execution of the pilot is excellent and it winds up far more coherent and compelling than the script.

We shall see...

Pilot Script Review - Flash Forward

FLASH FORWARD

Written By: David S. Goyer & Brannon Braga

Draft Date: November 12, 2008

Pages: 58

Network: ABC

Category: Thumbs Up

You're going to be hearing a lot about Flash Forward in the coming weeks / months. This one is an all-but-guaranteed pick-up for ABC, and while being heralded (already) as the inheritor of the post-Lost slot, a better thought comes to mind... premiere FF in the fall on Wednesdays at 8pm (that's where Lost started). THERE ARE NO MAJOR HITS ON WEDNESDAYS AT 8PM RIGHT NOW... PROGRAM AGGRESSIVELY, NETWORKS! Then let Lost air its final season at 9pm leading out of FF once FF is a massive hit. Which ABC needs it to be. There's an article I won't link to because of sheer indifference making its way around los interwebz today about how Steve McPherson needs a hit next season. This is true. And, in my holy opinion with the screeners not seen (I have the feeling I'm going to be clarifing with that caveat a lot in these reviews), ABC has two really good shots at major fall hits. Interesting the two potential hits are kind of similar to ABC's network revitalizing hits from Fall 2004 — Lost and Desperate Housewives. PS, the other show is Eastwick. I'll get to that script... later... probably not today (as I'm not just running through my Thumbs Up category first... gotta sprinkle some bad reviews in here!) but maybe this weekend?

Also, in case you didn't know, Flash Forward is based on a novel of the same name by Robert J. Sawyer. I haven't read the novel, so there will be no comparisons here.

When I first read the pilot, months ago, I was like "and...?" Which, of course, is part of the genius of the script. Much like Lost's pilot, FF demands that you ask "and then what happens?" My reaction to the script definitely included that question, but another part of me desperately wanted some form of open-and-shut story to happen in the pilot, simply because I knew that heavily serialized shows were on the way out and I liked the script enough to want it to see the light of day. It's a lot of set-up for what's to come. But what's to come seems so very cool that I'll forgive the show — and if you buy into the hype, ABC will as well — for being so heavily serialized (something I will not be as forgiving of to other pilots). Why am I so forgiving? Because, again like Lost (okay, I'm stopping the comparisons now), FF is very character based. There are real emotions, real drama that is going on... it just happens to take place against the backdrop of "HOLY EFF EVERYONE ON THE PLANET BLACKED OUT FOR 157 SECONDS" and later we find out that almost everyone also had a vision of an event six about months after the "present" of the pilot (April 19, 2010 for those playing at home... it happens to be a Monday...) and that our main character, FBI Special Agent Mark Benford, is going to be running a special project trying to piece it all together (because while debriefing at the Los Angeles field office, he brings up that "blacking out" isn't exactly the right word, they all start talking about it being a dream that felt real, like a hallucination, yadda yadda yadda).

To talk about the show's plot would be to give things away. Many of the great moments are simple human moments, like someone who didn't have a vision of the future realizing it might just mean he's going to die in the next six months, or some massively logical thing that you'd never think of, like... um, if everyone driving on the freeway blacked out there would be one MAJOR pile up (or, on the less huge but no less catastrophic level... a balloon floating in the air because the people holding it blacked out... nice touch). There are conspiracy theories, of course, and mysteries the audience will be trying to figure out.

The things that I really liked about the script of Flash Forward are (a) how grounded it is (see above), (b) how the major event happens at the end of the first act / teaser break and everything thereafter is human drama as opposed to special-effects driven craziness, and (c) how it starts from a very specific character's point of view and then expands out, instead of shoving a handful of different characters at us and eventually bringing them together.

We start with Mark Benford, meet his wife (Olivia) and daughter (Charlie...), meet the kid's babysitter (Nicole), Mark's AA sponsor (Aaron), and Mark's FBI partner (Dominic) all through Mark's POV and all in the first 6 pages. It's organic, natural, feels less choppy, and yet we've still met a number of the characters we're going to be following in the pilot. The only character seemingly disconnected from Mark that we follow is Bryce, a man who has going to commit suicide, but because of the black out incident, doesn't (and, y'know, sees it as a sign). Turns out that he's a young doctor is the hospital where Olivia works, so, there is a connection after all.

I've heard from sources at the studio that (a) the pilot is costing a pretty penny, and (b) that while sometimes the studio dumps a lot of money into pilots and it doesn't show up on the screen, the dailies of FF look amazing. I could not be more eager to see a screener, because that's where the magic really is.

ABC is going to be betting on FF. Big time.

Pilot Script Review - Washington Field

Hey! Guess what I finally remembered to do?

Actually, it's really a combination of being truly exhausted from writing my own stuff. Not that any of it is completely done, but, well, my brains are tired. So... apologies for the delay (but, yes, I'm getting to it before screeners start pouring out).

Part of me wishes I'd posted reviews as I was reading the scripts (or, rather, that night after I got home from reading on the elliptical... yes, I'm *that* guy). I'm fairly certain you wish I had, too.

But as a side effect, the amount of time between reading the scripts has actually made certain projects stand out more (for either their awesome or their suck). It's now about three weeks since I read the last of the network drama pilots, and I'm going to start out with those that, for me, still really stand out, and work my way back to those than I was just like "meh" to.

Without further delay...

WASHINGTON FIELD

Written By: Ed Bernero

Draft Date: unknown (but before January 29th, which is when I got it... yes, I know, I really should've been doing my reviews as I read them instead of reading everything and letting things stack up)

Pages: 64

Network: CBS

Category: Thumbs Up

Let's get one thing out of the way. I do not like Criminal Minds. I have to say that because Ed Bernero has run CM since the post-pilot episode (the pilot and the first five minutes of the Super Bowl episode are all I've really watched of that series). The fact that I do not like CM will in no way, shape, or form color my opinion of WF.

So let's get right out and say it... this pilot script rocked when I read it months ago, and the impression in my head remains the same. I have every reason to believe, screener unseen and purely based on the page (like all of these reviews will be), that this is going to be on CBS's schedule next season. Potentially after CSI on Thursdays. Why? Because...

Washington Field is a high-adrenaline, explosive crime-drama about a unit of FBI agents in Washington, DC featuring (at least what the script indicates... still up to casting) a very multi-ethnic cast. The elite team of agents has a very hi-tech, flashy command center featuring "The Board", of which the script tells the reader to think of Minority Report. It's "a repository for clues and information as the investigation progresses" and, besides being really flashy in and of itself, will allow for what will hopefully be some pretty neat, smooth transitions from the command center to the field agents. All of which screams, to me, easily marketable and potentially very successful.

The pilot case involves a serial bomber / maybe-terrorist in the DC area. 'Nuff said. I mean, you know how this plays out. Things blow up. People die. They get him or her or them in the end.

The opening act, of course, starts off with an explosion. This is a crime show, after all. Immediately after, we get a typically staggered, intended to be iconic introduction to each of our main characters as they get the news that they've got work to do. I'll note where names have been changed, either to go with casting choices or because of legal clearances (at least per the IMDb page, which doesn't have all of the characters nor all of the roles cast).

- Special Agent Jackie Palmer (played by Gina Torres), a pilot, is driving a motorcycle around an FBI practice course (conveniently right next to a highway, so once she gets the message she can just kick her bike outta there and into action)

- SA Tommy O'Donnell (renamed Eddie Lopez, played by Eddie Cibrian), an investigator, and SA Amanda O'Donnell (now Amanda Lopez, played by Teri Polo), a medical forensics doctor, are on some form of vacation / leave, celebrating their 10th anniversay. It's cut short.

- SA Pham Nyugen (renamed Mark Chen, played by Matthew Yang Kim) is teaching some marines how to not get themselves blown up

- SA Richard Stone (renamed Raymond Stone, played Cole Hauser) is the squad leader

- Dean Jameson (played by Adam Jamal Craig) is the IT guy in control of The Board

- Rasha Hamali, a linguistics expert and analyst for the FBI

- SA Terri Toner, the media liaison

I still don't know if I'm going to watch the series. I have to wait for the screener. You know me and CBS... I just don't watch any of their crime dramas. They solve a murder or a missing person's case every week and... with few exceptions there's nothing else there to engage me. I love me some serialized content, even if it's just a continuing UST relationship (see FOXs Bones). I remember loving The Mentalist pilot then being massively let down by the extremely formulaic, open-and-shut second episode (I've heard Red John has reared his head in a couple episodes, so I may eventually find my way back to TM over the summer... but in-season Tuesdays at 9pm are very crowded for me!)

What was my point? Oh, yes. It remains to be seen whether this show will give attention to the characters, or whether every episode is just a terrorism case or murder or what have you to be solved and little more, with characters simple cogs in the narrative machine. I'm hopeful, with the inclusion of the death of a member of the team in the pilot, that there will some continuing threads. In addition, two members of the team are married, so there's definitely potential for relationship stuff, rather. But this being CBS, I'm sure it won't be much. And, frankly, for the success and longevity of the show... it shouldn't be. CBS obviously knows how to do these shows and do them right.

Still. Can't wait to see the pilot.

Top 7

Movie tune night! I don't like how much time they spent talking about last week's overrun and that Simon won't be critiquing all of the contestants (because only two judges will be critiquing each singer). Ridiculous (if true).

I question Allison's choice of a song that David Cook nailed last season. Her take on "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" is very faithful to Aerosmith, but it doesn't have the fireworks Cookie had. Is it me or is she starting to sound hoarse (on both belting notes and on non-belting notes)? Glad Simon gives her a big endorsement, it's totally true with how bad Lil has flailed at the performance stage. Allison is the female frontrunner.

Anoop is singing Bryan Adams ("Everything I Do"). What is this, Scott MacIntyre? Oh, god. I'm concerned, though I dunno if I'd go for the, um, gruff that Quentin was recommending? Why is Anoop wearing a letterman jacket? His preppy look usually works, but not tonight (it went form preppy collegiate to high school). I think that I can tell Anoop that it's not worth dying for. Randy and Kara love it. Maybe I was prejudiced from the song choice?

Adam is singing "Born To Be Wild." YAYZ, go Princess! OMG, Emo!Shag is back! Is it just me or is Adam just kind of having a little rock concert during his performance instead of, y'know, playing the role of contestant on Idol? Which I'm all for. Really. Because WE ALL KNOW HOW THIS SEASON ENDS. Not my favorite performance, but he had to go uptempo after last week's "Mad World" (or, maybe, he should have just sung "Mad World" again...? Donnie Darko, what?) Definitely a performance the haters of the Adam Lamber Shriek will not like. Notice that Simon is commenting on Allison and Adam, but not Anoop? I wonder if Simon has chosen who he's going to critique? PS, Paula: "Fortune favors the brave"?

Ugh, Matt Giraud is also singing Bryan Adams ("Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman")? Okay, um, hi... Anoop is not Scott MacIntyre tonight. Matt is. Me go sleeps now? Ooof, there's a LOT of pitch problems. And melody changing. And sheer suck.

Danny singing "Endless Love" ... okay, not the song I'd have picked (um, far from?) but I'll bite. Also... no glasses? Danny needs teeth whitener. OMG, Quentin's "stick your hands in your pockets and stop gesturing you crazy person, let it come out in your voice and eyes" advice is right on. Once again, though... Danny fails to heed some great advice (perviously: not singing some words her was advised to during "Get Ready"). Unlike Matt and Anoop, even though it was a slow ballad, it's really expertly sung. But, like Simon says (ugh... really wish I hadn't typed that...) it's very traditional. Also, check the dead wife story! Remember that?

The other contestants should be afraid because Kris is singing the perfect song in "Falling Slowly" from Once. What a great, subdued song. What a great, subdued movie. What a great, subdued performance (although, to be fair... it's not like he reinvented the song, he sang it pretty much entirely the same way it was in the movie just like Gokey... it's just that this was the perfect choice... wish he'd done falsetto towards the end instead of taking a beat and belting the key change). This week is everything last week wasn't. It'd be really interested to see him do the song with nothing but him and the piano (and him playing the song). Barring a surprising turn from Lil... night goes to Kris (oh, who are we kidding, night goes to Princess Lambert)? HOW THE HELL IS THIS AN OBSCURE SONG, IT WON THE GODDAMN OSCAR LAST YEAR. Sorry. I know, it's obscure. But WHY? IT'S SO PRETTY. Whatever. Randy is wrong. This particular judgment makes me really pissed the show didn't figure out how to fit it all into an hour (ONCE AGAIN... this week over by 3 minutes because Idol was already set to go to 9:01pm rather than end at 9pm) and let everyone, particularly Simon, speak out on all of the contestants. Seriously.

Lil sings "The Rose" and I think she's done. Stick a fork in her. Only thing saving her this week is, um... Matt, actually. There has to be a gospel song out there Lil could have sung, because that quarter-ish of the song was actually good. I get what she's saying to Simon, I do, but jeez, you wouldn't have to defend yourself if you PICKED THE RIGHT SONG, or even something in the right ballpark.

Bottom 3: Lil (staying if she's lucky...), Anoop, Matt (going home?)

Will the judges bust out the Judges Save if Lil is up for elimination? I don't think so at this point. That "tool" should really only be used if, say, for some awful reason Adam or Allison or Danny are voted off.

Oy

The last week has been so incredibly busy / packed / stressful (the combination of apartment hunting, birthday, Passover and Easter... well it's a lot to fit in!) Promise to start posting some pilot script reviews soon. Perhaps even tomorrow.

Cupid, Round 2: The Knock-Out Punch

Well, ain't no spinning the results form last night. Sorry, friends on the show. I anticipated some pretty steep drop-off because of commercial placement (last week the first commercial was at 10:22pm, last night the first commercial was at 10:07pm), but this drop-off is pretty rough, especially with Dancing with the Stars rebounding from its terrible numbers last week.

So, I guess the question becomes... does ABC air any more episodes of (let alone the rest of) Cupid? Or cut its losses and air, I dunno... do they have anything to repeat? Maybe try out Brothers & Sisters (repeats?) in the post-DWTS timeslot in advance of moving the show and trying to use the lead-in of Desperate Housewives to boost Eastwick next season?

Tie In!

Lol, the visitor from Fringe is in the Idol audience. Nice one, Fox.

Wow, the show must mean business tonight. No weird rock star judges introduction.

The oldest remaining contestant this season on Idol is only 4 years older than me :'(

I kinda just want to watch the show and not comment on each performance unless it demands it. I mean, come on. This contest is already decided. And everyone else is so boring.

Alas.

Gokey - "Stand By Me" - I've already kind of forgotten that his wife died. Need a reminder. He's pitchy at the beginning, but once it goes away from gospel it works.

Um, did Ryan just remind the audience that Idol is the number one show in America? Why? This interview with Kris = Kris doesn't know English good.

Kris - "All She Wants To Do Is Dance" - A bubble burst in Kris' ascendance in this competition. This is the least "Kris" performance thus far. Why does he even have that guitar with him? Too funky for this white guy (Lambert previous performance reference zing!) He's won enough fans to push him through.

Lil - "What's Love Got To Do With It" - Lil needs an amazing performance tonight. She's been floundering around the whole finals thus far. This song choice seems a step in the right direction and right category (I mean, versus Celine...) but it doesn't work. Poor Lil. Did she really used to be the frontrunner?

I don't recall this thing post-performance last week Ryan says "we have to talk about." Whatevs.

Anoop - "True Colors" - Zzz? The judges go gaga over it. If that's Anoop's version of "True Colors," it's not something I'd choose to hear again. Except in, like, a "put me to sleep" mix along with every one of Scott's performances?

Scott - "The Search Is Over" - Speaking of... wow, one of the oddest video packages this season. He's got a guitar instead of the piano. But when the song starts, he's not playing it. Weird. I was going to make some sort of "tit-for-tat" comment about how Kris played piano last week. Scott eventually strums out some chords. Having him standing and performance instead of at the piano is awkward, actually, because he's visually impaired and thus doesn't know where the camera is at any time to mug it.

Allison - "I Can't Make You Love Me" - WHAT? NO NIRVANA? I would've died if she sang "Come As You Are." Dunno if it would've been the right song choice, but I'd have died? Unlike Anoop, Allison's slow song didn't bore me to sleep. It was a change of pace because she's usually all rock-edge-crazy.

Matt - "Part Time Lovers" - Well, he's definitely dressed like Justin Timberlake circa 2002 / "Justified"... solid. Judges rush through any critique because...

SONOFABITCH LAMBERT IS CUT OFF. Grrr argh. DAMN YOU, LIVE SHOW TIME MANAGEMENT.

Oh. Wait. I recorded Fringe. Forgot I had season passed it after the show's post-Idol return in January was much better, quality-wise.

Princess Lambert - "Mad World" - Another stripped down Lambert performance. And his hair's totally under control. ZOMG! Amazing how he out-sings everyone in the competition (by a country mile) while sitting on a chair. He almost gets through the performance without a scream (and, by the Lambert standard, it's really not a scream). Haunting. And almost entirely in falsetto... good lord. Well, we know one of the songs he'll be performing in the finals.

Bottom Three - Lil, Scott (going home??? pweeze?), either Allison (because America doesn't vote for her for some reason...) or Kris (who was sub-awesome tonight)

Diagnosis: Murder

About halfway through tonight's Very Special Episode of House. House thinks it was murder and I just totally flashed to Diagnosis Murder. This episode is totally going to turn into doctors trying to solve a murder, isn't it?

Emergency Love Letter

I have very little to say about the ER finale except to say that it was touching, fulfilling, and pretty much hit all the right notes. Some people will be bummed that it simply ended without really ending, but for a series that has been on for so long and has had such a revolving door of cast members and no main narrative to it other than to tell gripping stories about a Chicago hospital, patients, and doctors... it didn't need to "end" anything. In fact, it shouldn't have. These characters' lives go on and we pretty much have an idea of where their lives are headed next (this was the same feeling I got a few weeks ago from "Old Times," the episode with Clooney and Margulies...) It was great to check in with Drs. Lewis, Weaver, Corday, and Benton and... in the biggest surprise for me, Rachel Greene. Who is becoming a med student and interviewing at County.

Warm fuzzies, people. This is the way to end a series.

Also, the retrospective at 8pm was fantastic (thanks, whoever put it together, for focusing a lot on the original characters and actors). I got very choked up at times, remembering episodes from long ago.

A Game of Thrones

So... I couldn't decide where / how to start off my pilot script reviews. Seriously, I was just kind of catatonic / paralyzed for about 15 minutes. Do I start with my favorite from the list (Pilot Script Reviews... Forthcoming!)? Go to a "jury's out"? Just get all the terrible ones out of the way? SHRUG. I've kind of figured it out, but decided to start with a review of something that wasn't actually included in those categories because this is the project that excites me the most.

A GAME OF THRONES

Written by David Benioff

Draft Date: July 12, 2008 (60 pages)

A GAME OF THRONES is an adaptation of George R R Martin's not-yet-finished epic fantasy cycle "A Song of Ice and Fire" ("A Game of Thrones" is the title of the first novel in the cycle). I feel obligated to start this review by saying that "A Game of Thrones" is, without a doubt and by a considerable margin, the best fantasy book I have ever read.

So the script had a big hurdle to jump, in my head. At the same time, it would take a lot for me to not love the fact that this project is going to shoot a pilot. I won't get into issues with delays in publication of new books in the series, as the only relevance that has to this pilot script is the question of "if it goes to series, and each season is roughly one book, what will happen if the books haven't been published yet?" Which, as they say, is a high-class problem to have.

A GAME OF THRONES, the script, is one of the most literal adaptations I've ever read. A lot of dialogue is word-for-word from the book. And the script takes its time. It was a slow read because, my god, the paragraphs upon paragraphs of detail (which is very appreciated, because it means the writer actually cares about painting the vivid world GRRM created in as many detailed strokes as possible). You constantly hear about the trouble with adapting books to film and to TV. You can never do it perfectly, or satisfy all of the fans of the source material while making the project accessible enough for a mainstream audience that isn't familiar with the source. So, while this script is, truly, as faithful as possible to the source material, I still wonder if it will translate to the screen. The script didn't add anything to the source material, as far as what to expect visually (other than a credit sequence), and didn't cut out much. The only thing lost, as far as I can remember (it has been years and years since I read "A Game of Thrones"), is the POV storytelling device employed by GRRM (each chapter is told from the limited POV of a certain character), something that obviously had to go.

Really want to know what the plot is? Read the novel. You won't be sorry.

In broad strokes, as with the novel, the pilot follows three separate (and differently weighted) stories.

The main story revolves around the events after the death of "The Hand of the King" (basically, the guy who runs the kingdom). King Robert Baratheon decides to make his old friend Eddard "Ned" Stark the new Hand, and brings his wife, Queen Cersei, their children (Tommen, Myrcella, and Crown Prince Joffrey) and much of Cersei's family (the Lannisters, we specifically get to Cersei's brothers Jamie, a warrior, and Tyrion, an intelligent-and-vulgar dwarf) to Ned's domain in the North of the Seven Kingdoms, called Winterfell. We meet Ned, his wife Catelyn, his sons Robb and Bran (and toddler Rickon, but not really), his bastard son Jon Snow, and his two daughters Sansa and Arya (both of whom are underserved in the pilot script... Sansa is a lady, Arya is a tomboy who wants to play with swords instead of knit, and that's pretty much what we get). A lot of politics, a lot of personal history between characters is discussed, and some of the historical events that happened before the pilot are mentioned. The pilot ends with Bran's discovery of a certain illicit relationship (and the fallout from his discovery). Again, read the books. I don't want to spoil the surprise. The story really focused more on the Starks than I've laid out above, but it was the easiest way to summarize the plot events. The hook in the story is that the dead Hand (Jon Arryn) was married to Ned's wife's sister (Lysa). Lysa sent a message to Catelyn that foul play was at work in Jon's death.

The secondary story takes place far away from Winterfell (on another continent), and involves Daenerys ("Dany") and Viserys Targaryen, whose father used to be King of the Seven Kingdoms, but was deposed / had his throne usurped (depends on who you ask). Viserys believes he is the rightful king, but needs to build an army to take back his throne from Robert Baratheon. So he forces his young sister to marry the leader of a nation of "savages" (his word), Khal Drogo, the leader of the Dothraki (a nation of 40K+ horse-warriors). She eventually accepts this and marries Drogo.

The final, extremely tertiary, story takes place north of Winterfell, beyond The Wall (a barrier between the Seven Kingdoms and a cold, mysterious forest). Basically the only thing that happens in this story is that it's our creepy entrance to this world. We begin on three members of the Night's Watch (the people who patrol The Wall), two of whom are killed by disturbing non-human creatures called Others. The one man who escapes is beheaded by none other than Ned Stark (we first meet him performing this action) for being a deserter.

So... the pilot is very, very much set-up for what is to come. We get the hook that Ned will agree to go be the Hand of the King. We get the first step in the Targaryen journey. We get a hint of the supernatural danger looming beyond The Wall. And we get the cliffhanger ending of what Bran discovers and what happens after his discovery.

There is not a ton made of the religion of Westeros (the name of the continent of the Seven Kingdoms) in the pilot, though we do meet both Maesters (think priests) and Septas (think nuns).

Major characters from the novel not present in this pilot (due to the plot, not any oversight or removed material) include Varys, Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish, and Tywin Lannister (father of Queen Cersei, Jamie, and Tyrion).

Production is supposed to begin in October 2009... and I can't wait.