Quick news roundup

NBC's "Las Vegas" sevens out (that's canceled for those of you not hip to the gamble-speak).

CBS renews "The Ghost Whisperer", but "Moonlight" still waits for news and a new showrunner!

"Friday Night Lights" -- not quite dead yet.

USA renews "Monk".

TBS likes "Frank TV".

NBC has ordered 6 more episodes of "Lipstick Jungle".

ABC has given "Women's Murder Club" 3 more episodes.

Fox overhauls schedule for spring

Wow, some major changes ahead to the Fox schedule. Program your DVRs accordingly. Per The Futon Critic:

Mondays (March 10-April 7)
8:00/7:00c - "Canterbury's Law" (New Series)
9:00/8:00c - "New Amsterdam" (New Series)

Monday, April 14
8:00/7:00c - "Bones" (New Episode)
9:00/8:00c - "New Amsterdam" (Season Finale)

Monday, April 21
8:00/7:00c - "Bones" (New Episode)
9:00/8:00c - "House" (Repeat)

Mondays (April 28-May 19)
8:00/7:00c - "Bones" (New Episodes)
9:00/8:00c - "House" (New Episodes)

Wednesdays (March 12-April 2)
8:00/7:00c - "The Moment of Truth"
9:00/8:00c - "American Idol"

Wednesday, April 9
8:00/7:00c - "Idol Gives Back" (Two-Hour Special)

Wednesdays (April 16-May 14)
8:00/7:00c - "'Til Death" (New Episodes)
8:30/7:30c - "Back to You" (New Episodes)
9:00/8:00c - "American Idol"

Wednesday, May 21
8:00/7:00c - "American Idol" (Two-Hour Season Finale)

Thursday, May 8
8:00/7:00c - "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" (New Episode)
9:00/8:00c - "Don't Forget the Lyrics" (Season Finale)

Thursday, May 15
8:00/7:00c - "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" (Two-Hour Season Finale)

Watch List will be updated with the premiere dates.

NBC unveils year-round slate

Hugely important article in Variety today. NBC will announce a 52-week schedule in April:

For three days in April, Ben Silverman and Marc Graboff, co-chairmen of NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios, will meet in New York with ad-agency executives and media buyers to go over the network's 2008-09 programming strategy.

Following those sessions, NBC U's sales execs will engineer a series of client meetings in N.Y., Los Angeles and Chicago to talk not only about the year-round programming on NBC but ad buys across all of NBC U's networks, including USA, Sci Fi Channel, Bravo, MSNBC, CNBC and Telemundo.

These give-and-takes will build to a May 12 "spotlight event" that "will showcase the full scale of the NBC U offerings in a unique, multi-media, interactive environment."

HUGE. NEWS.

Weekly Geekerati show reminder...this week in particular

Tonight at 7 PM Pacific / 10 PM Eastern our special guest is the Kung Fu Monkey himself, John Rogers. As mentioned in my previous post, John has a show in production for TNT called LEVERAGE, produced be Dean Devlin. We'll be talking to him tonight, one of his first conversations ANYWHERE about this new show.

We'll also talk about his other projects, Blue Beetle, hey, maybe even "Transformers"!

Join us tonight.

TNT, Showtime pick up pilots

TNT announced today that it has picked up "Leverage" from Dean Devlin and John Rogers to air later this year.

Showtime has announced it has greenlit "Possible Side Effects", a pilot Tim Robbins will direct. They have also picked up "The United States of Tara", written by current writer darling Diablo Cody and produced by Steven Spielberg.

Showtime renewed Brotherhood for another season...and this info from Hollywood Reporter:

Showtime has also lined up its spring and summer schedule, setting palace drama "The Tudors" as a lead-in for new variety show "Tracey Ullman's State of the Union" on March 30 and packaging "Weeds' and recent British acquisition "Secret Diary of a Call Girl" for June 16.

But returning David Duchovny romantic dramedy "Californication" likely won't debut until after the Summer Olympics in August, execs said Wednesday, essentially making the show a fall series. The series debuted last year in mid-August.

More news as it happens...which appears to be a lot this week! (Wonder why...)

More post-strike scuttlebutt

2/13 Lots of Updates!

Here are the tidbits being posted around the web on various sites and in notes I've gotten from people 'in the know':

CBS:

* UPDATE: Shark is going back into production for four episodes, return date TBD. "The Unit" is still on hiatus.

* Cane is also a bubble show -- no requests for episodes from them, but pickup is still a possibility.

* The New Adventures of Old Christine and Rules of Engagement - also unknown if they will be picked up for next season -- bubble. UPDATE: Rules of Engagement will produce 6 more episodes for this season, return date is April 14.

* Moonlight might get 4 new episodes this spring,and will return to the schedule on April 11.

* Swingtown will go back into production. Air date is TBD.

* How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men each get 9 new episodes. All will return on March 17.

Other CBS shows, episodes ordered and return to air date:

"CSI: Miami," March 24, 8 episodes

"Cold Case," March 30, 5 episodes

"Criminal Minds," April 2, 7 episodes

"CSI: NY," April 2, 7 episodes

"CSI," April 3, 6 episodes

"Without a Trace," April 3, 6 episodes

"Ghost Whisperer," April 4, 6 episodes

"Numb3rs," April 4, 6 episodes

"NCIS," April 8, 7 episodes


Fox:

* Word is that Prison Break won't shoot more episodes.

* Also rumor that 24 might get pushed to January 2009!! UPDATE: Still hearing this.

* House will push out 5 or 6 more episodes, and Fox isn't afraid to extend their spring season a bit to accommodate past May sweeps.

* Back to You and 'Til Death are expected to go back into production for a few more episodes this season.

NBC:

* Chuck and Heroes will likely not produce any more episodes this season, but will return in the fall. No word on whether additional episodes will be tacked on to next season (this may happen to some shows being cut short this season).

* The Office and 30 Rock are expected to resume production.

ABC:

* Lost will probably only eke out another 6 episodes or so. There were supposed to be 16 for the shortened seasons, so a few episodes may get added to the next two seasons, making them 17 or 18 episode seasons to accommodate the story-telling (still speculative)

* Boston Legal is expected to resume production, and may be quickest back to air with new episodes, as apparently David Kelley works really fast cranking out scripts (hat tip: Hollywood Reporter for several of these items)

* Women's Murder Club is really on the bubble. Three executive producers were let go from the show yesterday. Big Shots looks really dead.

The CW:

* Gossip Girl has already been picked up for next season. No word yet on production schedule (though probably won't have new episodes until fall).

* Girlfriends was aired its last original episode, but no more are expected to be produced since this was the show's final season. There is talk of a final episode -- possibly a clip show -- to give the show a proper send off (will add this cancellation to watch list).

* Aliens in America had already shot 18 episodes, likely won't get more produced for spring. Everybody Hates Chris produced their 22-episode order, and both series still have fresh episodes to be aired. The Game is expected to go back into production for a few episodes.

* Smallville, Supernatural, Reaper and One Tree Hill are expected to go back into production. No word on how many episodes will be produced.

Will update rumors/confirm news as it happens.

ABC starts to pick up some stuff

Woohoo! Real newsy news to talk about! So, ABC came out of the gate letting us all in on which shows they'd be renewing for next season (read: pushing off too much production until fall)

Hollywood Reporter published the following:

The list include juggernauts "Desperate Housewives," "Grey's Anatomy" and "Lost" (which is in the first year of a three-season pickup), sophomore series "Brothers & Sisters" and "Ugly Betty" as well as freshmen "Private Practice" "Pushing Daisies," "Samantha Who?" and "Dirty Sexy Money."

The returning series all have been picked up for a full season.

Meanwhile, the four first-year shows, which all had already been picked up for the back nine, have received 13-episode orders. It is expected that, with the possible exception of "Samantha Who?," they won't air any new episodes this season, with extra produced segments added to their run in the fall.

So, what's missing? "Boston Legal", "Men in Trees", "October Road", "Carpoolers", "Cavemen" and "According to Jim", for starters. "Big Shots" looks to be dead at this point. I think it is still too soon to write off "Women's Murder Club" or "Cashmere Mafia".

I can update the watch list again! What a great day! :-D

Josh Friedman is back

Rather like a sighting of Haley's Comet every 72 years, Josh Friedman has posted again. Some good stuff, too.

Wipeout

It's good to know people are still reading the blog...or at least stopping by to annoy me to post something. Trouble is, I'm completely wiped out.

The strike. My new job. Britney Spears. Super Tuesday. All just drops in the bucket, but all taken collectively with everything else in the world, and I am just overloaded.

Call in 'Online O.D.'

I'm seriously spent, mentally. I wasn't sure why until I had to spend about 20 hours fixing the at home DSL after upgrading to high speed (thanks Earthlink!) While I was stressed to the gills trying to fix my onramp to the info super-highway (thanks Al Gore!) I was actually relieved to be out of touch for a whole 24 hours. Sure, there was anxiety...that happens to all addicts in withdrawl, but once the shakes diminished, I felt euphoric. It was like the shackles around my wrists had disappeared, and I was free.

Of course, once I was able to connect to the rest of the world again, my addiction came back full on. But this time, I have the knowledge of my addiction...and I am left empty with each email, web page, or blog post I read or write.

So, just to sate your hunger for 'stuff from me', here's my quick hits:

* THE STRIKE - Please, for the love of God, let this be the beginning of the end.

* LOST - Good buildup. Interesting stuff going on, as usual. At least I feel like the writers have the map in front of them and their road is marked.

* ELI STONE - Not as bad as I thought it would be. Actually enjoyed it near the end. Will watch again this week.

* SUPER BOWL - Meh. Didn't care for either team, but I found myself rooting for the Pats as I found more and more people were rooting for the Giants, and not because they *like* the Giants...more because they didn't want the Patriots to get their perfect season. I am actually ruminating on this phenomenon a lot. Maybe I'll even post about it at some point...

* HOUSE - Loved it. Still such an awesome show. Really doesn't get the kudos it deserves...

* BRITNEY SPEARS - Girl, there are people in this world who really do care what happens to you. Listen to them. Get some help. I really don't want to see you be a trainwreck anymore. The tabloids love it, but screw them. Get better.

* SUPER TUESDAY - Okay! Fine! Everyone (except Hollywood Park) wants me to vote for those Propositions to get more money from the Indian Casinos and grant them more slots. Just go away after tomorrow, please!!

* EARTHLINK - I wish I knew how to quit you.

* MY NEW JOB - Busy. Like, they are making me earn my ridiculous salary busy. Bastards.

I promise to come back and say something else this week. Maybe more than a couple of words.

Back in town, blogging will resume

Sorry for the radio silence...was on business travel last week.

But now I'm back. Back in Black.

Cloverfield is go!

Woot! Time for giant monster stomping things tonight!

Now that the Cloverfield ARG is wrapping up, I'm starting to follow Find815.com. Yay for LOST!

My review for Cloverfield will be cross-posted at Sistercritics tonight.

Uwe Boll - Violation of the Geneva Convention?

I posted my quasi-film review of the latest horror from Uwe Boll (and no, I don't mean horror film, I mean general horror) at the blog I have with my sister Sistercritics. Her reviews are way better than mine, and yet somehow I'm the writer and she's the producer person.

Go figure.

As for you, Uwe Boll...I won't be repeating this little mistake again.

Updating the Watch List: An exercise in futility

Yeah, I know -- it's horribly out of date. Do you know how difficult it is to hit a moving target?

Shows I think have hit hiatus, actually still have episodes in the can.

Shows I think are airing soon are getting pushed back on the schedule.

And don't even talk to me about what the heck happens after March...

I'll do some real work on it this weekend. Seriously. Because I lurves you.

The fuzzy math of theater owners

So, movie theater owners were surveyed as to which actors brought in the most dough in 2007.

Johnny Depp was cited as the #1 box office draw. While, I concede that at first glance this seems fairly obvious, the theater owners are actually morons if they think Depp's films brought in the most money this year.

That honor goes to Shia LaBeouf.

Depp's two films, "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" and "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" (nice long titles, those) have pulled in a collective $340 million.

LaBeouf's films, "Transformers", "Disturbia" and "Surf's Up" pulled in $457 million this year.

Who else made the survey list? Let's look at their box office compared to other names...

Will Smith placed second on the list. His film, "I Am Legend" generated $210 million this year.

George Clooney? $156 million ("Oceans 13" and "Michael Clayton")

Matt Damon - $344 million ("The Bourne Ultimatum" and "Oceans 13")

Denzel Washington - $146 million ("American Gangster" and "The Great Debaters")

Russell Crowe - $182 million ("American Gangster" and "3:10 to Yuma")

Tom Cruise - $15 million ("Lions for Lambs")

Nicolas Cage - $280 million ("Ghost Rider", "Next" and "National Treasure: Book of Secrets")

Will Ferrell - $118 million ("Blades of Glory")

Tom Hanks - $43 million ("Charlie Wilson's War")

Granted, I'm sure that when these theater owners are being surveyed, they don't just think about the previous year, but collective years. Who else in 2007 *really* drove box office? It's hard to say if people show up for the movie or the actor in some cases (I seriously doubt most people thought, "Hmm, I don't know if I want to see that 'Transformers' movie...wait, Shia LeBeouf is in it? Oh, I'm so there!"), but just for the exercise, who else "generated" the most income in 2007?

Eddie Murphy - $418 million ("Shrek 3" and "Norbit")
Seth Rogen - $270 million ("Knocked Up" and "Superbad")
Tobey Maguire - $336 million ("Spiderman 3")
John Travolta - $287 million ("Wild Hogs" and "Hairspray")

And since the theater owners seem to forget women are even in films, I'll just point out a few totals for the leading ladies this year:

Cameron Diaz - $322 million ("Shrek")
Keira Knightley - $312 million ("Pirates" and "Atonement")
Kirsten Dunst - $336 million ("Spiderman 3")

Other notes: Helena Bonham Carter was in 'Harry Potter 5' and 'Sweeney Todd'. Timothy Spall trumps her with appearances in both films AND 'Enchanted'. The costar who wears the box office crown: Jon Voight. If we wanted to be really fair, Jon Voight even beats Shia with his appearances in "Transformers", "National Treasure 2", "September Dawn" AND the BRATZ film for a total of $477 million.

Geekerati Radio tonight

No, it isn't Monday, but Geekerati is on tonight, 7 PM PST/10 PM EST. Here's tonight's show description:

Gareth-Michael Skarka, of Adamant Entertainment, joins the geeks to discuss e-publishing in the modern RPG marketplace. Skarka has made a name for himself as the publisher of the acclaimed THRILLING TALES pulp d20 Modern supplements.

Come listen to us live or subscribe at iTunes to the podcast which goes up after each live show wraps.



If you missed our best show of 2007, our interview with Tim Minear, you can catch that here:

Optioned

So, at long last I got a greenlight from my sister to announce the big secret we've been harboring for months.

As of the end of October, our tv series "The Protector" is optioned by Tig Productions, better known as Kevin Costner's production company.

It is an 18 month option, which we agreed was warranted since the strike was breathing down our collective necks at the time. We are being packaged by a major agency in town...and that's about all I can say.

Of course, the option was signed two days before the strike. This of course means that all of the work from June to October came to a screeching halt.

It started in June when I finished writing the pilot. My sister Julie is credited as co-creator on the series with me. We sent the script out to a couple of people who had shown interest at management companies. As a strange coincidence, she happened to meet up with the producers of our project that night and casually mentioned that we had sent out the script in an effort to get me representation. They expressed interest in us coming in to pitch.

We didn't think they were serious. They were.

So, we pitched. Left them the bible and the script. We had prepared our seven minute pitch, but they wanted a casual meeting and we ended up chatting about the show for an hour. The told us they were very interested in working with us, and on the whole I felt lucky to just have an opportunity to pitch a project as *practice*.

A week later they wanted us to go to Big Agency #1 to pitch our project to the head of the TV Lit Department. The producers had a couple of other projects they were working on with this agency and thought it would be good to have us in to talk specifically about ours.

We freaked out a little bit, yes.

Then in August we met with Kevin and got his notes. Yes, that was weird and I'll supply details at some date in the future.

Finally, we pitched to a packaging agent at BIG AGENCY #2 which Tig was talking to. And by October we were optioned.

And now we wait. But this is what I've been alternately stressing and giddy about for the last half of the year.

Now I hope that 2008 will be THE YEAR for us to really make some headway.

My favorite TV of the year

Trying to decide which hours of TV to love is like picking your favorite child. Still, decisions have to be made. Here are the episodes (and their WRITERS, which I promise to add later once I can look them all up) that really hit it out of the park for me this year. (In no particular order -- I can pick the children, I don't have to rank them)

LOST "Through the Looking Glass" This one is still on the DVR, but now that I've got the 3rd season on DVD I can watch this one over and over again in anticipation of what is to come in one month's time. Truly awesome TV fun.

HOUSE "Airborne" House may have seemed stale by the end of Season 3 (and it has had some juice pumped back in Season 4) but this episode stands out to me for a) taking House out of his element and b) giving every major cast member some meaty stuff to do. Putting House and Cuddy on an airplane to do a differential was just icing on the cake.

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA "Crossroads, pt 2" Since "Exodus" technically aired in 2006, I'll pick the 3rd season finale for my fave of 2007. While I found "Razor" fascinating it was the completely unexpected revelations about Tigh, Anders, Tyrol and Tory and the end of Baltar's trial that really packed the punch for the series. We await the Season 4 open with baited breath...

CHUCK "Chuck vs. the Truth" Not just for really moving the story forward be revealing what had been up to that point character 'secrets' but also for the fast paced and breezy interplay of the characters, the show really hit its stride, showing what awesome TV it could be. Best line goes to Zac Levi: "Casey, your jaw was chiseled by Michelangelo himself." I know, not as great taken out of context, but man it floored me. Especially Adam Baldwin's reaction. Classic. Oh, and did I mention that our dear Marshall J. Flinkman (aka Kevin Weisman) is in it?

THE SOPRANOS "Kennedy and Heidi" Okay, I hate that the Sopranos wins like every award there is for this season, but dang, this was a pretty bitchin' episode. I mean, Christifuh dies at the hands of Tony! And Pauly is out of control funny.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS (tie) "Pilot" and "State" - the bookends to an example of a perfect season of TV. Even if it hadn't had a second season granted, this would go down in my book as one of the most overall satisfying shows of the year.

VERONICA MARS "The Unaired Season 4 Preview" This look at what a 4th season of VM would have been like is something that pains me. It was sooo good, so fresh and so what I wanted. I curse the CW for their poor decision making.

LIFE "Dig a Hole" and "Fill it Up" Sure, continue to ignore this show, but you do so at your peril. This two-parter was great TV, the revelation of who committed the murder that Charlie Cruse had been wrongfully convicted and sent to prison for. Even better, there's still the mystery as to who orchestrated the whole thing (and why). I hope I get to find out...

FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS "Bowie" For making me laugh for almost 30 minutes straight. Actually, I could say that about almost all of the 'Conchords' episodes...

STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP "K&R" pts 1-3 and "What Kind of Day Has it Been" I know, crazy to have this on the list, but when I watched the last four episodes in one sitting, I was floored at how good they were. It was as if knowing that their doom was imminent Sorkin, Schlamme and company pulled out all the stops and put on a good show. Really reminded me of the first couple of years of 'The West Wing' that just pushed me closer to becoming a writer. I was humbled.

Okay, I will place one hour of TV above all the others (and yes, I know I've left off a lot of awesomely wonderful TV from the list...sue me).

DOCTOR WHO "Blink" A singular achievement. Steven Moffat has my undying love and devotion after I watched this. Terrifying and creepy (rare to honestly ascribe those terms to much TV today) I could not help but sit back on my couch and say "wow" once it was over. Also the ONLY TV episode this year I was compelled to watch again immediately upon viewing it the first time. If you haven't seen this, you haven't really watched TV as it should be.

Next post I'll detail some of the WORST Hours of TV of 2007 and some of my honorable mentions (I.E. stuff I forgot while I was writing this post)

Waking up to the future

So, while I remain somewhat secretive about some of my projects, I've decided that for my latest foray into entertaining the masses I will blog extensively on my efforts.

My latest project is a web series. I'm co-writing the series with my good friend Bernie Su. He and I believe that we can make a quality entertaining product specific to the web (at least to start).

While I won't be spilling the story details as yet, here's our basic construct for the series.

We've written a "pilot" episode which introduces our main characters and concept, but is (at least for now) not directly related to the main plot of the 8-episode series.

Each episode will be 5-6 minutes in length, and we hope to clock the total project in at 44 minutes.

We are still working on distribution and I am bringing aboard a producer I think will get us on the right track as we move toward ramping up the writing on the other episodes.

I fully intend for this to see the light of day by the end of April 2008.

Oh, and yes, it will have its own website and viral marketing elements. It should be fun.

Not your traditional Christmas films...

Cloverfield Awesomeness

Helpful Holiday Tip

DO NOT BUY A NINTENDO WII ON EBAY!!!

Ahem.

There is this option now as well.

So, down with the Ebay scalpers!

The D Rocks it out at the Reality Rally

I feel a great disturbance in the Force...

According to Jane, Disney has already been interviewing people for the Fellowship next year. I had been under the impression that the interviews were on hold, but apparently no. This is three strikes and out for my "Medium" spec.

On to the next one...

New features coming to this blog

Starting in January I'll be starting a weekly feature called "Meet the Scribosphere". I plan to highlight a screen-blogger each week, asking questions, some of which may come from the readership, and highlighting what they emphasize in their blogging -- do they provide writing tips? review films and tv? talk about their lunch? Whatever it is, you'll learn about it and perhaps meet a blogger or two you haven't visited before.

Also, I'm going to start doing reviews of new shows. I'm working on increasing the number of screeners I am sent, and hopefully that will allow me to post reviews in a timely manner. To kick off this feature I'll be reviewing two shows next week -- the Dec. 10 episode of "Saving Grace" and the 2nd season premiere of "10 Items or Less". We'll see how it goes from there.

Opinions? Suggestions? Lay 'em on me.

Attention WGA -- come negotiate with...me!

Brett brought a really interesting article to my attention via his blog.

I had heard some mutterings about this before, but this is the first time I've really seen this spelled out so clearly.

I was a business administration major in college. Reading an article about collusion gave me flashbacks to my business law class. And now, I have had an epiphany.

I would like to become a "new" WGA signatory. Here's my deal. I'll give writers, directors, actors and the unionized crews a fair profit sharing deal in exchange for their services on films. Oh, I need some venture capital for this, any takers?

Screw the AMPTP, long live the SBPRC (Shawna Benson Producers Replacement Corporation)! **

** now taking on producing partners with money.

I blame Liz.

It's all her fault. She's been laying out her total A game on her blog...being all smart and revealing and funny and interesting and just...sublime.

I got jealous.

First, go visit her and show her love. That means leave a comment. She's putting out lots of words for you to read, the least you can do is toss a few back her way.

Second, I'm seriously asking her to take me on as a Padawan. She has much juju which I desire to know.

2007 has been a decent year for me...okay, actually it kinda kicked ass until November. 2008 needs to step up and really represent. I need the WGA contract issues to be resolved. I need to sell my flippin show. I need to shoot my web series. I need to finish 3 pilot specs. I need a new episode spec too.

I need a new computer. I need to lose 15-20 pounds.

By the way, current creative writing endeavors taking place with my sister over at a new blog we started -- Sistercritics.

CBS renews Moonlight, Big Bang Theory

12/6 UPDATE I spoke to an "insider" at MOONLIGHT last night -- they have not had official word from CBS on the renewal. My source was aware of the Mediaweek article and was encouraged by it, but was just as perplexed as everyone else as to what it means. For all the Moonlight fans checking in on this blog for news, I will bring you updates as quickly as I can get them.

CBS announced that it has picked up "Moonlight" and "The Big Bang Theory" for another season. These are the first new network shows to be ordered for an additional season (yes, the story says "renewed" not just a back nine pickup). CBS has also stated that if the writers strike isn't over by the new year, they may start airing shows from sister cable outlet Showtime, most notably "Dexter."

It looks like the sitcom writers definitely have a new spec opportunity. I think Moonlight as a spec is a little iffy, but we'll see...

Link: CBS to Air Showtime's Dexter; Will Renew Big Bang, Moonlight

NBC gives full season order to "Chuck" and "Life"

No word yet on the fates of "The Bionic Woman" and "Journeyman".

Link: Hollywood Reporter

I'm pleased that both of these shows are being picked up, since I'm still watching and enjoying them.

Watch List will be updated...

Get yer writer's strike news here

There's a good Facebook group for people who want to keep up with strike news.

Check out Facebook's Writers' Strike News Central group and join it if you are on facebook.

Also, a shout out to Jumptheshark.com for being awesome.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The original Adam Sandler Thanksgiving Song.



"As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly."





For the adult viewers (very R rated):



...and for everyone else. :)

Ronald D. Moore has a blog

That is all.

Link: Ronald D. Moore's blog

Tim Minear on Geekerati Special Episode Friday!

The Geekerati crew (of which I am a part) will be doing a special show to discuss the fan support for the WGA strike. Tim Minear will be with us to talk about the strike, Fans4Writers.Com, his shows and whatever else we can pry out of him.

Friday at 7 PM Pacific / 10 PM Eastern. Call in with your questions!!

Link: Geekerati Radio Show.

Rob Long has a blog

Rob Long, who has commentary on NPR's "Martini Shot", is a contributor to National Review, and has been a successful (and sometimes unsuccessful) sitcom writer has a blog about the strike.

If you want even more information about the strike, you can play or download the Geekerati interview with writer/producer Rob Long below.




P.S. You can always click on the post title to link to referenced sites.

Wading into the Red Sea

Look, I don't talk about it much, because to do so puts me at risk of vilification, but I'm not a liberal. I'm even right of center, though on many issues, you'd know I was not part of the evangelical right wing. But here's the thing. We, as writers, need to engage this vast population of conservatives to help get the message out. Republicans tend to be anti-union, pro-big business, but they are also about questioning and repudiating patent unfairness (hey, if you disagree with this, don't bother to tell me why, I don't want this to degenerate into a political discussion, necessarily). So, it occurred to me, that no one is making this case to the red staters and really getting the Average Joe Republican on our side. I found that a very widely read conservative blog had a lot of misinformation about the strike, so I responded in the comments in a very civil tone to try to correct some of the misinformation. If I got anything wrong, please correct me and I'll go amend my post on that blog, because the last thing I want to do is spread more misinformation.

Anyway, if any of you think you could possibly engage the right-wingers in a civil tone without hatred or spittle, you can use my approach as a guide. It's important to get these people on our side, as they are the ones who will be fervent supporters. Also remember, the union is not made up of 100% Democrats. There are conservatives in your midst who adamantly support the strike. I think there's a way to bring both sides together on this issue.

Here's my comment on the Captain's Quarters blog:

I'm dismayed that so many people lack understanding of the issues involved. I am a conservative living in Hollywood, an aspiring TV writer, and believe me, I'm no union lover. But, consider the following:

* Not every writer sells work every year. Yes, there is the MBA (Minimum Basic Agreement) for works sold to studios, and many writers make more than the MBA on a screenplay sale, but often that screenplay is the result of a year or more in writing. The contracted minimum for a screenplay today is between $53,000 and $99,000. TV writers, who often only write one or two scripts in a season, can make up to $30,000 for an hour long episode (story and teleplay). Because staff writers are on salary, this is often counted against their salary. Meaning, that in order to make more than $50,000 a year, you'd have to write at least 2 TV scripts in full. Usually the only people making more than the minimums are the head writer (showrunner) who is also a producer and a handful of the exec-producer or co-producers.

* If a songwriter sells a song or a novelist publishes a book, should they not be compensated based on the sales of those works? TV and Film residuals are no different than the royalties other writers receive for their published works.

* Many TV shows today do not get re-run. 'LOST' episodes don't re-run well, and so the network has decided to run the episodes consecutively with no repeats. Without a repeated episode TV writers are not compensated as they used to be.

* Recording a program on a VCR is NOT like downloading or streaming on the internet. The networks sell the broadcast programs for advertising. Those advertising dollars are then used to pay the writers, actors, directors. The studios are selling advertising on streaming video and are selling shows directly to consumers on platforms such as iTunes. The writers receive NO COMPENSATION from these methods of sale. In short, the studios are keeping all of the profits from these distribution methods and are not paying writers at all. Nick Counter, the lead negotiator for the studios stated at the end of the contract talks that shows streamed online or available through paid download services were considered "promotional" and therefore not subject to the residual formulas for DVD, and they do not know how profitable the internet will be for them. By the studios own talking points to their shareholders, however, they sing a different tune.

* The $200,000 average is a misleading indicator of most writers. There are 12,000 Writers Guild members (and I'm not one of them), The MEAN income of a guild member is $4,000 a year. Yes, that means there is a very large distribution. There are the A-list writers who make a lot of money, there are writers making the minimum, and there are writers who aren't getting paid at all because they sold nothing in that calendar year.

* You may not watch a lot of scripted television today, but consider that the DVD formula applies to older shows you may watch and enjoy. 4 cents for every DVD sold. And that's for films. TV is an even more convoluted formula. Ken Levine, a writer on MASH and other shows, stated the following on his blog: "The producers say we already receive royalties from DVD sales. There are no less than fifteen box sets of TV series with my scripts in them. I haven’t received a dime. I have gotten $0.19 from American Airlines for showing eight of my episodes on maybe 10,000 flights."

Sorry for the long post, but this isn't a Dem vs. Republican issue. And it isn't a 'big evil corporations' issue, as some would frame it. The business model is changing, and what you are seeing is an industry that is grasping desperately at the remains of the old way of business. As far as the new way go, they fear making a deal with talent to share the wealth, because of uncertainty as to how much wealth they will have. The writers are looking at this form a standpoint of "Won't Be Fooled Again." In 1985 the studios pleaded with the unions that they didn't know how much money was to be made from home VIDEO. They promised that if the guilds agreed to a lower residual rate on video, they would 'make good' on it at some point in the future. 20 years later, the writers, actors and directors are still waiting.

I hope I did right by us. Again, I think it's important to get people on both sides of the political discussion engaged in this debate.

UPDATE: My comment got moved into its own post on the site and there were about 45 comments on it. I'm feeling like I actually made a dent and got some conservatives to think. I did see some solid support and those on the fence. There's still work to do.

Part of convincing people is to acknowledge that the world is changing, and that we are well aware of it. As writers, we want to take advantage of the new opportunities available to us in the online space, but we also don't want the studios to become a barrier to that by not paying us fairly for work needed to be performed.

A World Without Writers Video

MY SLED!!!

Late Show Writers start a Strike Blog

Or an "interwebblognetwebblog".

Link: Late Show Writers On Strike.

Joss Whedon in a video about the WGA strike

The first salvo in the new internet TV revolution?

A story that was reported over the weekend, but doesn't seem to have picked up much traction in the TV blogosphere. Here's the thing. If Google is partnering with Simon Fuller to create programming, it means Google is changing it's business model. It's not content to be in the distribution business only. They want to get into the content creation business.

A quote from the article: "News of the collaboration will prompt speculation that Google's plans for the TV market include generating original content and competing with major broadcasters."

And another very significant quote: "Earlier this month, it emerged that Google's advertising revenues had overtaken those of ITV1, Britain's biggest commercial TV channel."

Think about that -- it probably isn't at American network advertising revenues, but one could reasonably speculate that it's only a matter of time.

Goodbye, studio system. Your demise is imminent.


Link: Google turns to X Factor's Fuller for push into TV -- The Observer

A better list of the production status of tv shows

As always, The Futon Critic to the rescue!

(Thanks to commenters for additional information -- you guys rule!)

Status of shows

I got this list from the current thread at The Artful Writer.

30 ROCK * Shooting #210 through November 9th. * No additional scripts have been written.

BIG BANG THEORY * Production shut down.

CAPTAIN, THE * Shooting #102 November 8th ­ 14th. * Have scripts for #103 and #104 (production will conclude 11/30).

CARPOOLERS * Production shut down 11/16

CAVEMEN * Shooting #113 November 7th ­ 13th. * No additional scripts had been ordered.

COLD CASE * Production shut down 11/16

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES * Production shut down.

DIRT * Prepping #206 for a November 20th ­ 30th shoot. * Script written for #207 (only).

DIRTY SEXY MONEY * Shooting #111 November 8th ­ 19th. * Prepping #112 next week. Shoots o/a 11/21. * There are other scripts written but it¹s unclear if production will continue.

ELI STONE * Prepping #111 now which shoots ~ 11/15­11/26. * Not clear if there¹s another script that¹s been written.

GHOST WHISPERER * Shooting #312 November 12th ­ 21st. * No additional scripts written.

GREEK * Shooting #1018 starting November 15th. * No additional scripts (20 episode order) written.

HEROES * Production shut down 11/9.

K-VILLE * Shot #110 October 28th ­ November 8th. * No update.

MEDIUM * Prepping 069-09 for a shoot November 15th ­ 28th. * No additional scripts have been written.

NUMBERS * Prepping #412 for a shoot November 19th ­ 30th. * No additional scripts have been written

OCTOBER ROAD * Shooting #210 November 9th ­ 21st. * Have scripts through #213

OFFICE, THE * Production shut down.

OLD CHRISTINE * Production shut down.

RULES OF ENGAGEMENT * Canceled production on #210 (was 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 11/9­11/21. * No additional scripts written.

ŒTIL DEATH * Episode #212 completes production on November 9th. * No answer at casting office

TWO AND A HALF MEN * Production shut down.

UGLY BETTY * Shooting ³Odor in the Court² 11/9 ­ 11/20 * Prepping ³A Thousand Words Before Friday² next week, starts o/a 11/21. * No additional scripts available after that.

WITHOUT A TRACE * Production shut down 11/22.

New WGA Strike Videos

Click the blog title to add the "wgaamerica" channel to your Youtube subscriptions. Then you too can keep track of all the new videos posted by the WGA!

24 premiere postponed.

A major casualty of the strike. Several sources are reporting that Fox has decided not to premiere 24 on January 13, as originally planned.

No new premiere date is forthcoming, due to the strike.

From my visit to the line today

A few photos from the main Disney gate. There was a show of force of major showrunners in the TV biz with press. At least 100 to 140 people (second number including press) at the main gate today.

Joss Whedon.

EVENING UPDATE: Looked through my photos again, and found one that caught Joss's sign in the corner!





Showrunners wore hats (United Showrunners) and carried signs with the name of their show. I'm sure that was to help the poor press.




One of the best signs today -- Carlton Cuse, showrunner for LOST. "Do you want to know what the island is??" (Damon Lindelof is on the left, Cuse is on the right)


Hey, Sonny this one's for you! (Clarification: Josh Schwartz, creator of THE O.C., CHUCK and GOSSIP GIRL)


Writers at the gate.

ETA: Hi Whedonesque and Fuselage visitors! Sorry I didn't have more pictures of our fave genre heroes. I'll try to get more in the future.

Some additional comments: I would have loved to talk to Joss or Cuse/Lindelof or Josh Schwartz, but press was swarming all over these guys. I'd say the event was a success to put faces to shows. The signs were a great idea to not only identify a showrunner and their show, but also to really drive home how many shows were impacted. You can see a few in this picture, but believe me when I tell you there were at least 40 shows represented (I didn't do a full count) at this gate today.

4:30 PM UPDATE -- This video hit Youtube. It's Damon Lindelof and Marc Cherry at the Disney lot today talking about why they are striking.

Rob Long on Geekerati tonight

Sitcom writer, author, and columnist (and host of NPR's "Martini Shot") Rob Long will be on the radio show I co-host with Christian Johnson and Bill Cunningham called Geekerati (yes, that's a lot of hyperlinks).

The show airs live at 7 PM Pacific / 10 PM Eastern. Podcast is available after the live call-in show. Rob will be discussing the WGA strike and the future of content distribution with the Geekerati crew. Should be interesting.

The WGA Writer's Strike Explained

Having trouble explaining the issues the WGA is striking over? Maybe don't understand them yourself? Well, here come some explanations...

In videos! Watch these:

"Why We Fight"



And this one, interviewing WGA "strike captains" on why they are involved with the strike.

Some weird music inspires writing meme

So somehow I got tagged with this meme by Rhys at Great Boobs and Tubes (best name for a blog EVAH). Being the kind of person who does not walk away from a glove smacked in my face, I pick up my revolver to fire out the following volley.

UPDATE: Joel reminded me that I forgot to quote the original meme. So here it is:

Find a song that inspires you to write something, whether it gives you an idea for a script or just puts you into a better frame of mind. AND/OR (don't you love choices) peek into the lyrics and find a stanza that sums up the theme of whatever script you're working on. It's quite uncanny how the two circumstances go together.

If possible, post a video of the song to really get people into the mood. (Yep, I'm aware of the irony of using Internet clips during the pissing contest. I like irony as much as bitchiness.)

I am currently inspired by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, a rockin' bluesy band from Vermont (?) who will in fact be playing the Henry Fonda Music Box theater on November 8 (but I'm a bit miffed that they are "supporting" Gov't Mule, when I got to see them headline and rule the Troubadour a few months back).

Anyway, their second album, "Nothing But the Water" was a breakthrough for them as a band, and now they are gaining momentum with their new album "This is Somewhere".

The title song from "Nothing but the Water" is of specific inspiration to me right now for the pilot I'm working on. In fact, the opening lyrics of that song hold particular special meaning (due to the structure of the song there is NBTW part one and NBTW part two -- i'm speaking of part one, though both parts are in the video below)

Here's the resonant verse:

I have seen
What Man can do
When the evil lives inside of you
Many are the weak
And the strong are few
But with the water
We'll start anew.

So won't you take me down to the levee
Take me down to the stream
Take me down to the water
We're gonna wash our souls clean

Take me down to the river
Take me down to the lake
Yes, we'll all go together
We're gonna do it for the good Lord's sake




As for who I'm tagging...let's see... I call out Fun Joel, Josh, Brett, Julie and Michael.

Looking for Radio Show guests

I'm considering the idea of a special edition of "TV Junkie" to discuss the strike. While I know a bit, I think it would be beneficial to get someone on who really knows what's up, perhaps even some WGA members.

Blogtalkradio is a great medium for getting out the message -- and if I get any "name" guests, I can get featured placement on the main page for the show, helping to generate a larger audience. A lot of the audience is made up of bloggers, who can help influence public opinion about the strike.

If you or anyone you know would be interested in participating in this show, please email me ASAP at the address to the right or comment here.

Please feel free to advertise this around other blogs -- I really want to get something together for later tonight or tomorrow afternoon. Once the live show ends, it becomes a podcast, available to all. We can also have a live chat room going during the show and as it is a live show, we can have people call in to ask questions.

UPDATE: The show will be at my regularly scheduled day (but one hour later) on Sunday at 5 PM. If you can call in, even for 10 or 15 minutes, I'd appreciate it. And hey, if there are non-WGA people who feel they have a grasp on what is up with the strike, enough to discuss it on air, drop me a line. I'm also looking for guests for upcoming shows, not just this one...(free publicity, people -- hint, hint)

Writing while the WGA pickets...

So, I'm contemplating my own future during the strike. Mystery project which had just gotten some MAJOR MOJO is now in limbo as we wait it out. There will be no joy in Mudville, and certainly no selling.

So, off I go to contemplate other projects. There is of course the new spec pilot I'm writing, which I will continue to crank on. Then there's the graphic novel I'm seriously considering. Oh, and I'm thinking of trying out another pilot as a longish narrative story first, just to help figure out the beats. And then there's the web series.

I'm very much looking forward to getting the web series off the ground as I think it's a cool idea and unlike most series which seem to be talking heads, this one might actually be interesting to some people. But here's my question of the day...

...if you were to watch a web series, what is the longest an episode could be before you'd get distracted/bored/stop and need to watch the rest of it later? My thought is 5 minutes is about the most someone will take in a sitting. But maybe it's less, maybe it's more. I know pacing and the goodness of the material accounts for a lot and can help the time fly by. But I'm interested in any other opinions.

On the Outside Looking In on the WGA Strike

No article links. The contract expired almost 12 hours ago. In another 7, there will be the big meeting at the convention center to give the membership of the WGA the skinny on the negotiations and the strike. The strike is all but certain. The only detail seems to be when it will be called.

My money is on Monday. Give everyone tomorrow to clean out their desks and get their affairs in order. Then call the strike tomorrow night to start Monday. I could be wrong, but it feels logical to me (and who starts a strike on a Friday??)

What does it mean for us, the aspiring? We can't sell to WGA signatory companies if we want to have a chance in hell of joining the Guild. In '88 I hear there was some kind of amnesty, but I'm doubting that happens this time. The stakes are too high, and to forgive a bunch of scabs doesn't appear to be in the cards.

So what do we do? We keep writing our scripts, honing our craft, meeting in our writing groups, and we keep aspiring. We find other ways to get noticed that doesn't violate the strike -- work for non-sigs, go online, write a graphic novel, a book -- whatever it takes. When the strike ends, the flood will burst through and we will need to be ready to fight harder to get seen. I don't know if agents/managers will be looking for people, since we can't make them money from the sigs, which is their bread and butter. Still, I suppose it doesn't hurt to get some relationships started and nurtured for the time when we need them to blossom.

What do we do? We keep writing. And watching. And waiting. I'll be in support of our brethern. I've never been a huge advocate of unions, but there's something egregiously wrong with how writers are painted as greedy SOB's when they get treated worse than anyone and paid (in 99.5% of cases) worse than anyone involved with a film. TV is worse for residuals than film and looks to get worse if the studios don't pony up some dough for downloads above the approximately 4 to 5 cents per DVD rate writers receive today (or don't receive at all, depending on who's paying).

I'll do my best to post links to stories about the strike, but still -- the best place to read the news is Craig Mazin's site and Nikki Finke's blog. For the union viewpoint check out United Hollywood.

And of course you can always read the official press releases from the AMPTP and the WGA. Avoid the trades as they seem to be skewing to a pro-producer bias (gee, I wonder why -- they only depend on studio DEALS to report for their livelihoods).

The Master Returns to TV - UPDATE

I saw the story late last night while looking for any news about the pending writer's strike. But, I couldn't believe it well enough to post a link. Now, here it is, daylight and the story is still there.

Joss Whedon is coming home.

Some will complain that he's working on a show for Fox (a show killer if ever there was one). Some might even complain about the subject matter or Dushku. To me, none of this matters. What matters is we're getting our Joss back.

And if this series works, I COULD WRITE FOR JOSS WHEDON.

Yes, a pipe dream. But a girl's got to dream big...

UPDATE: News just got stupid ridiculously good. TIM MINEAR'S ON BOARD. Christmas came early this year!! Now I could (potentially) write for Joss AND Tim.

Quick notes on the fall season

ABC has ordered 3 additional scripts for "Women's Murder Club". This now leaves "Cavemen" as the only new show on ABC without an additional script order. Story Link: Hollywood Reporter.

NBC is cancelling the "Heroes" spin-off "Origins". They are blaming the strike. I blame the low ratings and general suckitude of "Heroes" this year.

The X-Files movie sequel is a GO!! July 25 is set for the release date. Clearly the script is done and they are going to start shooting soon to make that date.

Tonight the writers will meet in a general meeting, and we'll know what the story is for when the strike will be declared. Considering there was hardly any news throughout the day today, I'd say the negotiations haven't gone horrible or well. This could mean waiting it out until Monday to call the strike, but who knows...

ABC gives Samantha Who? full season order

Ratings for the sitcom have been surprisingly strong, holding a significant portion of the "Dancing with the Stars" audience. In about a month, when "Dancing" goes down to one hour, it will be paired up with returning series "Notes from the Underbelly".

"Carpoolers" was given an order for 3 more scripts last week. No such order for "Cavemen".

Watch List has been updated today.

Back to You gets full season pickup

Fox grants a 'back nine' plus 2 for a total of 24 episodes. There's inference from Fox that 'Back to You' may either lead in to or out of American Idol come January.

Link: Variety.com

Pushing Daisies gets a full season order

Rumblings on some TV discussion boards I frequent, have been lamenting that in the age of DVR/TiVO, it appears that 10 million viewers is the new benchmark for a "hit" show (it used to be 15 million a few years ago...20 million about 6 or 7 years ago).

As a result, "Pushing Daisies" gets a full season order from ABC.

On a related weird note, ABC has ordered three more scripts of "Carpoolers". Are they serious??

CBS cancels Viva Laughlin

Mercifully CBS has done the right thing by putting this abomination to rest. In celebration, I give you one of my favorite scenes from "Blackpool".



Well... okay, one more.



The Amazing Race will return in the 8 PM Sunday slot in a couple of weeks.

Private Practice, Big Bang Theory, The Unit get picked up

Reported in the trades, ABC gives "Private Practice" a back nine order.

CBS picks up "The Big Bang Theory" for a full season, as well as recommits to a full season for "The Unit". CBS had only renewed "The Unit" for 13 episodes this season, but the ratings have been good for the show, proving it deserved its renewal.

WGA Strike News 10/17

Yesterday, there was a small breakthrough in the negotiations. The AMPTP took one of their demands around residual rollbacks off the table. Some feel that the studios reacted to an article in the L.A. Times specifically detailing the debate about residuals.

Now we wait to see what action the WGA does (or doesn't) take next...

Visiting Valhalla, or "I went to Austin and all I got was this kickass t-shirt"

Let the gushing begin! I doubt you'll find a negative review of the Austin Film Festival anywhere on the 'net. What you will find are a lot of bloggers who make the annual pilgrimage seeking wisdom, friendship, free alcohol and a few Hollywood contacts.

This year, things felt a little strange. And I wasn't the only one feeling it.

Gone was the desperate need to talk to everyone "important" in the room. Vanished was my anxiety over cramming as much as possible into my trip.

This year, I relaxed. And I had very dry skin. But, you don't care about the dry skin, I know what you're wondering.

"Why, oh great aspiring TV scribe, were you so relaxed?"

For starters, this was my second trip to Austin. It really does feel like coming home when you walk into the Driskill Hotel bar and plop down on one of the supple leather sofas. More than once I did said plopping and sighed audibly. There's something incredibly relaxing about sighing and plopping.

While in the Driskill bar post-sigh/plop I experienced the following (not in order, one thing about Austin, events of the few days get jumbled around).

• I sat on the arm of one of those awesome couches, reading my Blackberry. In a sort of weird half plop onto the sofa, sliding down the leather to a mostly horizontal position, Kyle Chandler walked past and said "I saw that." I giggled like a giggling thing who has just seen an incredibly HOT man walk past her in a smokin motorcycle jacket. Really, I have a whole new appreciation of leather after this trip.
  
• While lounging on a couch, again, mostly horizontal, tap tapping away on my lappytop, Oliver Stone cruised by. No one else noticed him. He was wearing this white suit that seriously looked like he'd raided the costume trailer on the MIAMI VICE TV show.
  
• I was hanging in the lounge when Scott Richter, incredible writer, fabulous guy, came breezing through after the awards banquet. I jumped up off the couch (which, I think we've established by now, is no small feat considering how awesome these couches are) and asked him the BIG QUESTION: Well??? (Okay, that may not seem big to you, but it's all about context. Had I given you the rest of the conversation it would have been something like 'Dude, you totally are a finalist for the teleplay competition! You rock beyond all belief! You'd better tell me the minute you find out that you won this thing with your pinky finger and your Grey's Anatomy spec." Well, it was far less surfer dude when I said it, but you get the idea) So, I asked, "Well???" He smiled wide, and that's all I needed. It was epic, man.
  
• I watched Terry Rossio twirl his girlfriend around as they danced. That was beautiful.
  
• I ran into Will Bingham, winner of the FOX show ON THE LOT over the summer and a friend of my sister's boyfriend (side note: said boyfriend was also in the top 50 for ON THE LOT, but got cut in the top 32. He and Will went to FSU together and Will was in his short/trailer which BF submitted to OTL to get on the show. Yes, there were a lot of acronyms in there. Deal.) It was a bit weird as I was rushing through the lounge, and I turn to look at a guy standing there, and my verbal diahrea took hold and I shouted "Will!" He looked up, and I realized how stupid I was -- he's never met me. He's met my sister though, so I introduced myself and he relaxed, possibly realizing that I was not some weird reality show stalker.
  
• I ate a lot of Clif Bars. I highly recommend the new Nectar Cherry Pomegranate.

I'm sure there was more, but like I said, total jumbled blur. I did revel in Brett's success with that Nicholl thingy, basked in the glow of the super successful Julie O'Hora there as a panalist and professional screenwriter, and celebrated the new release of
Deborah Chesher's book Everybody I Shot is Dead. It's a fantastic book. Buy it at the link above.

There's more to say, but not right now. It was a fabulous trip made more fabulous by my friends, these great people (and I'm not forgetting you, Ryan, Thomas, Tina, Theresa, Ann, and those I met for the first time).

Let's do this again next year. When, hopefully, I'll be a panalist.

Lost in Translation

It's not a new phenomenon. For many years, American producers have taken brilliant British television shows and attempted to translate them for American audiences.

Sometimes, they succeed. "The Office" is probably one of the better success stories. Sometimes they fail ("The Kumars", "Coupling"). But there are two very high profile projects out there waiting in the wings. One we won't see for awhile. BBC America showed "Life on Mars" last year, and now David E. Kelley is creating the American version of that show.

But right now, there's a new experiment. And I want it to succeed very much. But it probably won't, because what American television producers and executives are afraid. I'm sure they wanted to fully embrace the look and feel of "Viva, Blackpool" with their new show "Viva, Laughlin". Right now, based on what I've seen, they are chickening out.

Why don't you decide for yourself?

First, watch this promo from CBS for "Viva Laughlin", which previews this Thursday at 10 PM.



Now, the original. Granted, the CBS clip is short, but you tell me which one is more interesting to watch.



They definitely changed the story for the usage of the song too. Makes it tough to compare, I know...but try.

CW gives Gossip Girl full season order

Surprise! The CW, despite weak ratings for its new shows, moves first to order the back nine of "Gossip Girl". Article in Variety.

Stay tuned for updated Watch List.

WGA Strike Talk

If you're like me (and you probably are), you're following the strike news pretty closely. The town has gone bonkers in the last week trying to deal with the looming possibility (more like probability).

So, I thought I'd collect a few links to articles which will really help break down what the dealio is with the negotiations and the strike.

First off, if you aren't reading Craig Mazin's blog The Artful Writer, you need to start. Right now. He probably has the single most useful site for newbies to understand WGA politics, the MBA and what is up with this whole strike thing.

An article today I spotted at Mediaweek today. It's more about the TV perspective, which obviously, I care about.

Variety article published yesterday. Details a lot of the recent finger pointing.

A fascinating interview with
Terry George (Hotel Rwanda) where he discusses the strike and his advice to new writers. (George will be at AFF, where I am headed tomorrow!)

The WGA has a page devoted to strike news.

Hey, guess what? The Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers (AMPTP) has a site too. Fun, fun.

Have any other good blogs or articles to add? Please do so in the comments.

Irrational Anxiety

So far, I've had no luck with any of the contests I've entered specs in this year. Austin -- didn't even make it to the second round. Expo -- no dice. Scriptapalooza -- QF one script. PAGE -- nada.

It makes me incredibly nervous about ABC and WB, the two I really want to do well with (obviously). It's starting to make me wonder where I've gone wrong with these specs.

Yeah, yeah, I know. It's subjective. My scripts could be so brilliant they are blinding the readers to their brilliance. Or, maybe I'm just missing something...

Keeping my fingers crossed for the big 2 "contests" left...

How the new series fare so far...

(For Nielsen coverage in full, check out Mark Berman's Programming Insider column daily.)

New Show Debut Ratings from last week:

Private Practice (ABC) – Wed. 9 p.m.
Viewers: 14.41 million (#13), A18-49: 5.2/13 (#10)

Bionic Woman (NBC) – Wed. 9 p.m.
Viewers: 13.91 million (#16), A18-49: 5.7/14 (#8)

Big Shots (ABC) – Thurs. 10 p.m.
Viewers: 11.10 million (#29), A18-49: 4.5/12 (#20t)

Dirty Sexy Money (ABC) – Wed. 10 p.m.
Viewers: 10.44 million (#31), A18-49: 3.6/10 (#32t)

Life (NBC) – Wed. 10 p.m.
Viewers: 9.95 million (#34), A18-49: 4.0/11 (#27)

The Big Bang Theory (CBS) – Mon. 8:30 p.m.
Viewers: 9.52 million (#37), A18-49: 3.7. 9 (#30t)

Chuck (NBC) – Mon. 8 p.m.
Viewers: 9.21 million (#42), A18-49: 3.6/ 9 (#32t)

Journeyman (NBC) – Mon. 10 p.m.
Viewers: 9.16 million (#43), A18-49: 3.5/ 9 (#35t)

Moonlight (CBS) – Fri. 9 p.m.
Viewers: 8.54 million (#47), A18-49: 2.5/ 8 (#55t)

Reaper (CW) – Tues. 9 p.m.
Viewers: 3.28 million (#85), A18-49: 1.5/ 4 (#76t)

So far this week, "The Big Bang Theory" held most of its audience from last week, and "Chuck", "Journeyman" and "Reaper" have on par numbers. "Cane" last night had better ratinigs than "Smith" in the time period a year ago. I say it will hold on for a few weeks. So far this bunch of shows look relatively stable.

"Cavemen" and "Carpoolers" last night bowed to unspectacular numbers. Both shows managed a 6.5/10 and a 6.3/10 in the fast nationals. This will probably put them in the top 50 shows of the week, but I don't expect those ratings to hold next week. Both shows were painful to watch.

There are articles all over the web detailing how increased DVR usage impacts the ratings this year. Nielsen has not yet published the live +3 and live +7 day ratings which include the DVR usage. Last year, DVR penetration was at about 8.5%. This year it is estimated to be more than double that, to 19%. 19% of households is roughly equal to 22 million households. That is a significant amount for the ratings picture and could catapult some shows from decent numbers to hit status once the DVR viewership is factored in.

Of course, the advertisers aren't so sure that people using DVRs are seeing their ads (probably not) so they are probably going to take the live +3, live +7 ratings with a grain of salt...

ABC in love with "Cupid" again?

In what may be the strangest resurrection story of the week, ABC has given the greenlight to Rob Thomas ("Veronica Mars") to recreate his show from eight years ago. "Cupid" ran 13 episodes in 1998-99 and put Thomas on the map. It starred Jeremy Piven and developed a cult following over the years.

It's not uncommon for networks to revisit shows which worked and try to revamp them ("Bionic Woman"?) but to take a show that was cancelled so early in its run and try to recreate that? With the same showrunner? This is practically unheard of.

I certainly hope Thomas can find a way to make the show work the second time around. I enjoyed "Cupid" during its original run. Piven won't be back since he's moved on to playing Ari Gold.

Weird. Interesting. Exciting.

Link: Variety.com.

TV Junkie on the air at 4 PM PDT today

I'll be talking about Nielsen ratings -- what they are, how to decipher them, and the impact that a 19% DVR penetration this season (vs. 8% last year) will have on the ratings for primetime.

Podcast will be available here after the live broadcast.

** CANCELLED DUE TO TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES ** We'll try again next week.

Was it just me, or...

...did "Heroes" last night seem a narrative mess?

The story threads were practically incoherent. The only one that made any sense at all was Claire's and that was pushing it.

I'm disappointed.

Oh, and we were told to check out this site to learn more about Hiro's personal hero (who is apparently Julian Sark) Takezo Kensei.

Fall Season Starts in Earnest Tonight

It's time, people. Time to celebrate TV and the glorious return of our favorite shows!

It's also time to start sizing up the new ones.

If you are on the East coast, you can kibbitz about what you watch tonight with me and my mates on Geekerati Radio. West Coast, our show is at 7 so we'll be previewing the new shows and trying desperately to stay spoiler free.

Call in and join the fun! And listen to my scratch throated voice. Yes, I'm still sick.

Writing while fatigued

I'm trying to finish the first draft of my new pilot spec in the next 8 days. Of course, today I'm feeling under the weather. I can barely hold a thought in my head for more than a few seconds (I find even typing passwords to be taxing). This does not bode well for cranking out pages.

Suggestions? I'm already loading up on Vitamin C and chicken noodle soup...

Decent premiere numbers from 'Kid Nation' & 'Kitchen Nightmares'

If you want the latest and greatest on the overnight ratings, visit The Programming Insider Forum daily, about noon Eastern, 9 AM Pacific for the numbers.

Kid Nation underperformed somewhat, considering all the hype. Gossip Girl was nearly a bomb, losing a significant amount of America's Top Model lead-in audience.

Back to You and Kitchen Nightmares were well sampled on Fox.

'Mad Men' gets a second season

Looks like I can invest the time in the series from this summer, now that it is being renewed.

Link: Variety.com - AMC set to renew 'Mad Men'

K-Ville has a promising premiere

The premiere numbers were a bit better than the numbers "Vanished" got last year. Whether it holds up in week 2, will really depend on how much it loses from going up against 'Heroes' premiere next week.

And really Jill's breakdown of K-Ville's pilot is a must read for aspiring TV writers.

In fact, her blog is now one of the top ones I read every day. Just too much good insight and analysis to NOT read it.

Aaargh, there be squalls n' scribbles ahead...

It's National Talk Like a Pirate Day, me hearties. But I imagine you landlubbers ken that already.

Let yer Jolly Roger fly free today! I may be persuaded to write me latest opus in pirate-speak should the mood strike.

In the immortal words of the greatest pirate of all, Jack Sparrow, "Why is the rum always gone?"

TV Junkie on the air at 3 PM PDT today

Yep, I'm doing it again -- blathering on about TV for an hour. Call in if you want to chat or argue or make funny noises. 3 PM Pacific / 6 PM Eastern. It'll feed here as a podcast when the broadcast is completed.

Of course, you people all have lives and will be out doing things at 3 o'clock, right??

For me, it's procrastinating once more on writing or cleaning or something important...

BlogRush

Thanks to UNK I've added a new widget. I'm starting to think I'm a widget addict.

Let me know if you like / hate any of the widgets I have (the search, twitter, blogrush, etc)

And the ground keeps shifting beneath our feet

So, this new media game is ON, people. Two big names in TV Zwick and Herskovitz (ever hear of a little show called "My So-Called Life"? "Once and Again?") are taking a pilot they developed at ABC and shot two years ago revamped, updated, rewrote, and it's going to be distributed through Myspace. AND it will have its very own social networking site Quarterlife.com (The pilot is called "Quarterlife"). Read the article at Variety today.

Worst new night of the fall season

Wednesday. Particularly, 9 PM.

I was just working on my DVR grid, carefully calculating what will be taped on the various DVRs in my house (I have 3). Wednesday at 9 is a complete logjam -- "Gossip Girl" (CW), "Bionic Woman" (NBC), "Kitchen Nightmares" (Fox), and "Private Practice" (ABC).

Hopefully one of these will get cancelled quickly or I'll hate it so much I can drop it immediately. My money is on "Private Practice" for the show I'll hate, just considering my general disdain for "Grey's Anatomy".

If you find my brain, please call 818-...

I'm not sure I can write a proper blog post at the moment. This weekend I participated in yet another event of pure masochim, the 2nd round of the VISA Invitational via the 48 Hour Film Project. This second round is a Visa sponsored thing -- the top 10 films from Los Angeles, New York City and San Francisco (as figured out through some voodoo beyond the #1 and #2 finishers in each city) were invited to participate in another 48 hour marathon to vie for a prize of $10,000. So, being the greedy little b*stards that we are, we eagerly signed right up.

So last time out (in July) we drew Horror as our genre and found a way not to make a slasher/creepy monster film. At least we could make it 6 minutes.

This time, we got three. And we had to use a VISA card as a prop. I think you see where this is going.

So we get the draw at 7 PM Friday night...oh great, we can choose any genre we want! That's oh so helpful, Visa people. Now we have to contemplate what genre to write for an hour. We finally settle on our genre and set to staring at the walls for another hour or so to come up with a story idea. We finished our first draft by 1:30 AM.

This wasn't like our 12 person production last time out. We had 20 people -- 5 actors, twice as many grips, a dolly, a Director and a Cinematographer, a Make up artist...oh and a kick ass location. Of course, with a larger production comes more challenges, and, oh did we have challenges...

But right now, I don't have a brain, so once it's recovered, I'll spew forth the details of the weekend.

Californication renewed

According to Variety, the show gets another season.

Too Much Reading

Taking a UCLA Extension class:

Pros: Deadlines, bonding with fellow writers, great notes and feedback, make progress on a script.

Cons: After 11 weeks and people are writing drafts, there's too much to read!

I'm in a class with 11 other masochists writers, and we are all producing script pages (well, I'm still on my outline...I've been busy!) Each writer is submitting anywhere between 15 to 60 pages. And I have 2 days to read it all. And give coherent notes.

Good thing I don't have a JOB or my own projects or anything to do...

I do have a job. That was sarcasm.

TBS Renews The Bill Engvall Show

The 06-07 Watch List is winding down. I'll keep updating it, so long as there is news relevant to it, but I expect you'll only care about the new list in another week or two...

The 2006-07 Watch List

Updated 09/07.

Cancelled (new) shows:

• Blade: The Series (Spike)
  
• Smith (CBS)
  
• Runaway (CW)
  
• 20 Good Years (NBC)
  
• Waterfront (CBS) (midseason, never aired)
  
• Kidnapped (NBC)
  
• Happy Hour (Fox)
  
• Vanished (Fox)
  
• 3 Lbs (CBS)
  
• Help Me Help You (ABC)
  
• Justice (Fox)
  
• Daybreak (ABC)
  
• The Wedding Bells (Fox)
  
• The Black Donnellys (NBC)
  
• 6 Degrees (ABC)
  
• In Case of Emergency (ABC)
  
• Andy Barker, P.I. (NBC)
  
• The Nine (ABC)
  
• Big Day (ABC)
  
• Raines (NBC)
  
• Drive (Fox)
  
• Standoff (Fox)
  
• Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (NBC)
  
• The Knights of Prosperity (ABC)
  
• The Class (CBS)
  
• The Winner (FOX)
  
• Creature Comforts (CBS)
  
• Traveler (ABC)
  
• Hidden Palms (CW)
  
• John From Cincinatti (HBO)
  
• Painkiller Jane (SciFi)
  
• Heartland (TNT)
  

Shows likely to be axed:

None at this time.

Ordered full season:

None at this time.

Likely pickups:

None at this time.

New shows on the air, no decision:

NETWORK:

• The Singles Table (NBC) (will it ever air??)
  
  

CABLE:

• Monarch Cove (Lifetime)
  
• The Dresden Files (SciFi)
  
• Tyler Perry's House of Payne (TBS)
  
• Meadowlands (Showtime)
  
• Damages (FX)
  
• Greek (ABC Family)
  
• Side Order of Life (Lifetime) (resumes airing in Sept)
  
• State of Mind (Lifetime) (resumes airing in Sept)
  
• Mad Men (AMC)
  
• Flash Gordon (SciFi)
  
  

Renewed for another season:

• Eureka (SciFi)
  
• Psych (USA)
  
• 10 Items or Less (TBS) (summer 07)
  
• My Boys (TBS) (gets 3rd season for summer 08)
  
• Lincoln Heights (ABC Family) (summer 07)
  
• Doctor Who (SciFi)
  
• Dexter (Showtime)
  
• The Wire (HBO) (last season)
  
• The Office (NBC)
  
• My Name is Earl (NBC)
  
• Heroes (NBC)
  
• Law & Order: SVU (NBC)
  
• Everybody Hates Chris (CW)
  
• Battlestar Galactica (SciFi)
  
• House (Fox)
  
• Bones (Fox)
  
• Prison Break (Fox)
  
• The Simpsons (Fox)
  
• American Dad (Fox)
  
• Family Guy (Fox)
  
• Las Vegas (NBC)
  
• Nip/Tuck (FX)
  
• Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
  
• Boston Legal (ABC)
  
• Men in Trees (ABC)
  
• Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
  
• Ugly Betty (ABC)
  
• Desperate Housewives (ABC)
  
• Lost (ABC)
  
• 30 Rock (NBC)
  
• The Tudors (Showtime)
  
• The Riches (FX)
  
• Dirt (FX)
  
• Medium (NBC)
  
• Blood Ties (Lifetime)
  
• Friday Night Lights (NBC)
  
• Til Death (Fox)
  
• October Road (ABC) (13 episode order)
  
• Notes from the Underbelly (ABC) (13 episode order)
  
• Law and Order (NBC)
  
• Law and Order: Criminal Intent (NBC) (Will go to USA next season)
  
• Shark (CBS)
  
• The Unit (CBS)
  
• How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
  
• The New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS)
  
• Ghost Whisperer (CBS)
  
• Criminal Minds (CBS)
  
• CSI (CBS)
  
• CSI: NY (CBS)
  
• CSI: Miami (CBS)
  
• Cold Case (CBS)
  
• NCIS (CBS)
  
• Without a Trace (CBS)
  
• Numb3rs (CBS)
  
• Two and a Half Men (CBS)
  
• One Tree Hill (CW)
  
• Supernatural (CW)
  
• Smallville (CW)
  
• The Game (CW)
  
• Girlfriends (CW)
  
• Rules of Engagement (CBS)
  
• Jericho (CBS)
  
• According to Jim (ABC)
  
• Robin Hood (BBC America)
  
• Burn Notice (USA)
  
• Saving Grace (TNT)
  
• Flight of the Conchords (HBO)
  
• Army Wives (Lifetime)
  
• The Bill Engvall Show (TBS)
  
• Californication (Showtime)
  
  

Veteran shows death watch:

• The O.C. (Fox) (cancelled)
  
• Stargate: SG-1 (SciFi) (cancelled)
  
• King of Queens (CBS) (cancelled)
  
• Reba (CW) (cancelled)
  
• 7th Heaven (CW) (cancelled)
  
• Gilmore Girls (CW) (cancelled)
  
• The George Lopez Show (ABC) (cancelled)
  
• What About Brian (ABC) (cancelled)
  
• Crossing Jordan (NBC) (cancelled)
  
• The War at Home (Fox) (cancelled)
  
• Veronica Mars (CW) (cancelled)
  
• All of Us (CW) (cancelled)
  
• Close to Home (CBS) (cancelled)
  
• The Loop (Fox) (cancelled)
  
  

A brief explanation of the watch list:

Cancelled (new) shows - these are CONFIRMED freshman cancelled shows (or as close as we can get to confirmation).

Shows likely to be axed - their numbers aren't good, news stories point to it being yanked, it may soon end up in the cancelled category.

Ordered full season - this doesn't mean it is renewed for next year, just that the series has gotten a full season order. (e.g., 'back nine' pickup).

Likely pickups - the numbers are good, all we need is the confirmation from the network (again, this is for full season orders, not renewals).

New shows on the air, no decision - consider this the neutral zone, detailing the premiere dates for new shows and tidbits of info which could forecast a move to another category.

Renewed - Will be back next season.

Veteran show death watch - they've been on the air and their time may be coming. We watch and wait...

TV Tonight 9/4

The ABC Family show returns tonight for its 2nd Season. It's not bad, I recommend it since there's nought else on TV tonight...

What's the Frequency, Shawna?

Special "treat" today -- at 3 PM PST / 6 PM EST. I've decided to do my own Blogtalk Radio Show exclusively about TV. I still plan to appear on Geekerati but I felt like I wanted more time to talk TV, writing and the industry.

So, give me a listen today. Call in and let me know what you think. If you can't listen live, the 'podcast' of the show will be available in the sidebar here or on my Host Page at BTR. I would like your feedback on format, etc...want to know if this is something I should do again!

More unnerving -- I created the show profile yesterday, and Blogtalkradio already pointed me out in their blog as a 'diamond in the rough' people should listen to! Yikes! The pressure is on!