Entries Tagged 'Fox' ↓

Much to my embarrassment, chagrin and ever-increasing shame (which runs inversely to my wife’s cackling glee) I seem to enjoy the dancing. To be specific, So You Think You Can Dance, which airs its finale tonight (August 7, 8/7c).

While I could give a rat’s ass about dancing as a subject in any other form or function, there is an undeniable attraction to this competition. It lacks the tackiness of other reality shows, and has none of the spite, competition or burning resentment that sours other competitions.

Now that the show is in the final episodes and gotten past the American Idol-style embarrassing audition phase, exploiting the poor underclass of American idiots who want to be on television, the actual talent and devotion to the craft emerges. Whether you “like” dance or not, one cannot deny the sheer talent these kids have, dancing their freakin’ pants off, and having a ball. The more you watch, the more compelling it becomes. Also, for the first time, we have two breakers in the finale; in of itself quite the victory.

After thousands of contestants were vetted down to a mere twenty, it all comes down to the last four: Courtney G., Katee, Joshua and Twitch. Last night was the voting show, tonight is the result show, and one of them walks away very happy.


So who will win? In terms of pure dancing talent, Katee could probably mop the floor with her competition, but the smart money is on Twitch in my book. This is nothing but a popularity contest, after all… and the dude be stylin’.

Of course, if Joshua wins, my wife has promised to hurl her bra at the television and scream uncontrollably… so, either way, I win there.

I pretty much loathe reality television, but I admit: I like the dancing. We’ll be back tonight with the results.

As is often the case with the behemoth known as Comic Con, things are constantly changing. As a result, I didn’t get to everything I had planned for the day. But, what I did cover was well worth the time investment.

Started the day by interviewing William Katt on the rebirth of the Greatest American Hero franchise, as unveiled at Thursday’s packed panel discussion with special guests Robert Culp and Connie Sellecca. With the blessing of series creator Stephen J. Cannell, Katt’s publishing company, Catastrophic Comics, will bring the series to comic book form by retelling the original pilot (with a few modern updates) and then proceed to fill in the gaps with many more tales of Ralph, Bill, Pam, and the suit. They’ll also be doing flash animation shorts, with Bob, Connie, and William voicing the characters. I’ll have the full interview for you shortly.

From there, it was over to the Marriott for a sit down with three of the original MST3K creators, Joel Hodgson, Jim Mallon, and Trace Beaulieu. Getting there early, I got to hang out while UGO did their on-camera interview, providing a little more insight into the show’s history. Then it was my turn for a less formal discussion, which ranged from the series origins to the nuts and bolts of what it took to create the show week in and week out. This was without a doubt the highlight of the day. At the moment, the interview is half transcribed, so with any luck I’ll have it for you before the end of Saturday.

Back to the convention center for Entertainment Weekly’s Showrunners panel, featuring producers Bryan Fuller (Pushing Daisies), Carlton Cuse (Lost), Damon Lindelof (Lost), Josh Schwartz (Chuck), and Josh Friedman (Sarah Connor Chronicles). As you might imagine, it ended up being very Lost-centric, but everyone seemed to find the humor in it, and we got some great insights into the other shows as well. The one Lost tidbit I wasn’t aware of is that the demise of Mr Eko was not according to plan. Apparently, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje came down with a severe case of island fever (the stir crazies) and wanted out of his contract, forcing Damon and Carlton to end Eko’s storyline long before they had originally planned. On the Sarah Connor front, Josh explained the casting of Brian Austin Green happened at the very last minute, less than a day before the character was schedule to shoot, and the entire staff thought Josh was insane for hiring him. Luckily for him, the move paid off in spades. And with regards to Pushing Daisies, the new season will pick up 10 months after we last saw our heroes, with all of them still desperately holding onto their respective secrets now tearing them apart. I’ll have the full report for you shortly. In the meantime, check out TV Verdict’s Twitter feed for live highlights of the discussion (typos included).

After taking a break from the festivities to work on transcribing, I sat in on the Robot Chicken panel and man are those guys nuts. Seth Green and Breckin Meyer have the greatest rapport of two friends I have ever seen, and the rest of this cast of characters are a comedy series unto themselves. Highlights from this discussion include teases for what to expect in Season Four — Tentacle porn; A war between the Smurfs and the Snorks; a second Star Wars special with Carrie Fisher; guest appearances by Joss Whedon and Ron Moore; and an unseen behind-the-scenes look at the making of Indiana Jones. You know, they’ve repeatedly asked Harrison Ford to appear on the show, but his agent (who has been repping him since the early ’70s) had no idea what the show was and was floored that there’s an entire network dedicated to cartoons. Again, head over to the Twitter feed for more highlights and stay tuned for a full report. Oh, and just remember, if anyone asks, Breckin wrote the Emperor Palpatine sketch.

Finally, we closed the day with the MST3K 20th Anniversary Celebration, featuring all 11 creative contributors to the series’ 11-year run. The well documented split between the gang still seems somewhat palpable, with Joel, Jim, and Trace seated to one side of the podium, while Mike, Kevin, Frank, Mary Jo, Josh, Bill, Brigid, and Paul were on the other. Not to make more out of this than there is, it’s just interesting to see the interactions between them all. Hosted by Patton Oswalt, the evening opened with a musical montage and clips, followed by a moderated discussion. No questions were taken from the audience though, which was a bit disappointing. Kevin and Frank ended up talking the most, with Mike and Josh saying the least. It may be strong of me to say the evening was a letdown, but given my talk with the guys earlier in the day, perhaps my expectations were too high. In any case, the 20th Anniversary DVD set will be released October 28 by Shout! Factory and include four never before released episodes — First Spaceship On Venus, Laserblast, Werewolf, and Future War — four lobby cards, a Crow figurine, and the bonus materials I mentioned earlier, much of which is being recorded this weekend. I’ll have a more robust summary for you, alongside the interview later this weekend.

Preview for Day Three:
* Jamie Bamber interview
* Interviews with cast and crew for DC’s next animated feature — Wonder Woman
* Lost, BSG, Pushing Daisies, and Fringe presentations (time and crowds permitting)
* TV Guide Fall preview

Jack Bauer is going to Africa! In a recent interview with IGN.com, Kiefer Sutherland expounded on the upcoming 24 TV-movie, which has been subtitled “Exiled.” Since the series has yet to return since Season Six, FOX is putting together a special two-hour prequel which will air on November 23rd. The movie will feed directly into Season Seven, and pit Jack against some African militiamen.

It seems to me that FOX has a lot riding on this upcoming movie/season. With Season Six getting trounced by fans and critics, show creator Joel Surnow moving on, and the show’s extended silence, Jack and the crew over at CTU have a pretty big challenge.

Comparing a show that hasn’t even aired yet to sci-fi heavyweights like The X-Files and The Twilight Zone is a gutsy maneuver (and one that usually reeks of desperation and quick cancellation) but in the case of Fox’s upcoming show Fringe, it might be justified.

Co-created by J.J. Abrams (Lost, Cloverfield) and two guys who apparently had something to do with the Transformers movie (not sure why that’s a selling point), here’s a summation care of Variety:

Net has made a series commitment to the Warner Bros.-Bad Robot production, which will start off with a two-hour pilot budgeted at more than $10 million. Abrams, Kurtzman and Orci — the brain trust behind Par’s new “Star Trek” feature — wrote the project on spec and shopped it to nets this week.

Trio will exec produce “Fringe” along with Bryan Burk (”Lost”). A search has begun for a pilot helmer as well as a series showrunner.

Deal also marks Fox’s acceptance of a new digital template hammered out by Warners and ABC last month (Daily Variety, Sept. 6). Pact gives Fox broad streaming rights to Warners shows in their first season and lets Warners start monetizing skeins via digital platforms by season two.
More than one option

“Fringe” mixes elements of “The X-Files” and Paddy Chayefsky’s “Altered States” with what Abrams calls “a slight ‘Twilight Zone’ vibe.” It will focus on brilliant but possibly crazy research scientist Walter Bishop, his estranged son and a female FBI agent who brings them together.

Episodes will explore self-contained mysteries of the paranormal, as well as the relationships between the three leads.

You remain unconvinced, you say? Well, check out the trailer below.

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Okay. As a Canadian, I am alarmed by the following news.

TORONTO (Hollywood Reporter) - The Fox network will help to develop “The Animated Adventures of Bob & Doug McKenzie,” a Canadian primetime cartoon that reunites Second City TV alumni Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas.

Thomas said Monday that Fox became involved in the pilot episode of a cartoon based on the SCTV characters Bob & Doug McKenzie, to be voiced by himself and Moranis.

The animated sitcom is based on the beer-addled Bob & Doug characters, who began as a two-minute SCTV skit in 1980 on the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.

The “hoser” characters, played by Thomas and Moranis, grew a cult following as they went on to star in TV commercials and the 1983 dumb-buddy feature film “Strange Brew.”

SCTV is all right in my book, and Strange Brew had its charms (and was filmed primarily down the street from my house) but… exactly who at Fox said to themselves, “Hey, you know what would make a great cartoon for kids? An adaptation of characters from 20 years before they were born centering around substance abuse!”

This is a very important question to be answered. Whoever this was at Fox, please send us an email. We need to talk to you about possibly freelancing some articles.

A year or two ago, I heard on NPR’s Fresh Air about a Canadian show called Little Mosque on the Prairie, about Muslims in the small-town Canadian Midwest, that was building an audience on the CBC. Intriguing, especially with Carlo Rota (Morris O’Brien from 24) as one of the stars. Now I read that Fox plans to produce a remake. A remake of a Canadian show? Ridiculous, especially when Fox would go up to Canada in a flash to save a few fins and the show already boasts a familiar Fox face.

Fox wrapped its fourth season of House (one of my favorite shows) on Monday. There was a lot of crying and introspection and sputum and a musical montage. But even if you didn’t see the episode you probably already knew that.

Click the jump for my spoiler-laden reaction to the show and to the season.

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While I was window-shopping at Amazon.com’s “Spring TV Event,” I noticed their poll: “Fifty years from now, which of these shows is most likely to still be getting big laughs?” The poll leader, naturally, is The Simpsons, with 38 percent. After all, an animated show has a slight chance of still being on in first run in 2058. Next on the list, as of Tuesday evening, were Frasier, The Office, and Family Guy.

While pondering the question, I thought about all the popular dramas with serial elements–Lost and 24 come to mind. I doubt they’ll be around 50 years hence, no matter how many platforms spring up. Face it: While lots of people have heard of The Fugitive and Dr. Richard Kimble, there aren’t many people who’d actually sit down to watch Kimble on the run again, knowing how the show ends.

Still trying to be the hipster network, Fox unveiled its fall television schedule yesterday. In a ploy to one-up the The CW, whose new lineup premieres Sep. 1, Fox is kicking off their heavy hitters a week earlier on Aug. 25. Terminator fans will rejoice that the Sarah Connor Chronicles has earned its stripes for a second season. Meanwhile, only two new shows join mix for the first half of the season. The Fringe is a J.J. Abrams/Bad Robot series focusing on an unstable research scientist who is as much Victor Frankenstein as he is Albert Einstein. The mythology of the relationship-based show will be a blend of Twilight Zone, X-Files, Altered States, and Scanners. Members of the Lost team will be writing/producing, which treads dangerous waters, as spreading one’s self too thin is what killed Chris Carter when Millenium and then Harsh Realm were launched while X-Files was still in production. A similar fate was suffered by Abrams’ own Alias, whose quality level dropped considerably when the team moved over to begin work on Lost. Only time will tell. The two-hour pilot for The Fringe starring Kirk Acevedo and Tomas Arana is budgeted at $10 Million. The other new show is Do Not Disturb, a sitcom brought in to replace the now canceled Back to You. Joss Whedon’s highly anticipated Dollhouse, starring Eliza Dushku, won’t debut until early 2009, serving as a lead-in to the new season of 24.

For full details visit ( Variety )

Some Monday morning math for you television fans:

Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz + two producers from The Simpsons = a new Fox animated series.

Comedy gold, right? Fox seems to think so, and seems to be getting close to green lighting production of Sit Down, Shut Up, attaching Simpsons vets Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein on board.

Oakley and Weinstein will add plenty of animated comedy experience to “Sit Down, Shut Up,” which was initially set up by “Arrested Development” creator Mitch Hurwitz (who also wrote the first script) and his producing partners, Eric Tannenbaum and Kim Tannenbaum.

[…]

“Sit Down, Shut Up” is based on a live-action sitcom from Australia. The animated U.S. version revolves around the lives of seven staff members at a dysfunctional high school in a small northeastern fishing town. Action centers on faculty members, as their egos and personal agendas trump the students’ needs.

“It’s extremely character based, like ‘Arrested Development,’ and has different rhythms than other animated shows like ‘The Simpsons’ or ‘King of the Hill,’” Oakley said. Voice talent includes several thesps from Hurwitz’s “Arrested Development”: Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Henry Winkler. Show also features Cheri Oteri, Will Forte, Regina King, Tom Kenny, Nick Kroll and Maria Bamford.

Animator and children’s book author Mo Willems, who was behind Cartoon Network’s critically acclaimed “Sheep in the Big City,” is handling animation on the show.

Could be something good? Admittedly, Fox has a tendency to cancel shows before they even get a chance for the ink to dry. Still, they have a better track record with animated shows than any other prime time network, so if anyone can pull it off, it’s the big “F”.

(via Variety)