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...and all the best for 2007.
Have fun. Play safe. Be good.
See y'all after the jump.
The other is 'Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle'...
Now by discovered I mean I had no interest in seeing them when they were released, and even upon hearing decent things still didn't rent them, but now find it difficult to not change the channel when they come on.
What is it that makes a great comedy? Or more specifically, a comedy that holds up under repeated viewings. One that you WANT to watch over and over again (this is probably more of a question for the kids...it's kind of a youth thing - 'Napoleon Dynamite' was a recent example).
In my younger days, it was the big three - 'Caddyshack', Animal House', and 'The Blues Brothers'. Except back then, pre-VHS video, it was about hoping for them to show up on the bill at the local drive-in (mommy, what's a drive-in? or vhs for that matter?). My buddies and I would sit through 'Staying Alive' with Travolta (ugh) if any of the above were the second flick. The piece de resistance was all three on a Labour Day weekend triple bill. Classic.
Other 'must see's' included Woody Allen's 'Play It Again Sam', 'Bananas', and 'Take The Money And Run' ("I have a gub.")...they'd show up occasionally on late night TV. But we'd stay up for them. No. Matter. What.
In fact, I had to wrangle sleepovers to watch them until I was almost 16 years old because we didn't have a television in our home. "Gape". I know, my parents were funny that way. Theatre folk. Old school. And I guess we did have a tv, but it was a 12 inch black&white with a coat hanger for an aerial and you turned to the other channel with pliers (yes, two channels), so it didn't really count. And it only came out (yes, it lived in the back of a closet) on special occasions like the first walk on the moon, the Oscars, and the Canada/Russia hockey series (or my dad and I would sneak it out and watch Rockford Files when my mom was out).
So, I slept over at friends houses a lot. That was my only way to stay somewhat connected to the other kids and what they were all talking about...TV-wise. I know...cry me a river.
Back to more recent comedies...I enjoyed 'Wedding Crashers' and '40 Year Old Virgin', but don't find myself getting drawn into watching them again when they show up on the Movie Channel. At least not in the same way I do with 'Dodgeball' and 'White Castle' (same thing happened with 'Old School')
Why is that? I already know the jokes. I know what happens. Know why it happens. So how come?
'White Castle' is basically a road movie with a stoner element - a simple quest (they must get to White Castle) constantly interrupted by a series of bad luck and wrong turns and unfortunate incidents. Sort of a Blues Brothers without the songs. In some ways, it's just a bunch of funny sketches strung together, but it still holds up remarkably well.
And all the characters they encounter along the way are memorable, especially Neil Patrick Harris (Doogie Hauser) playing himself hitchhiking:
Neil Patrick Harris: It's a fucking sausage fest in here, bros. Let's get some poontang, then we'll go to White Castle.
Kumar: No, Neil, you don't understand. We've been craving these burgers all night.
Neil Patrick Harris: Yeah, I've been craving burgers, too. Furburgers.
'Dodgeball' is basically an underdog flick, 'Animal House' with some 'Rocky' thrown in, where the little guys at the loser gym take on the Globo-Gym Goliath and emerge victorious.
And all the characters are memorable as well, especially Ben Stiller as White Goodman (what a name) and Gary Cole as sportscaster Cotton McKnight:
McKnight: "Ladies and gentlemen, I have been to the Great Wall of China, I have seen the Pyramids of Egypt, I've even witnessed a grown man satisfy a camel. But never in all my years as a sportscaster have I witnessed something as improbable, as impossible, as what we've witnessed here today!"
But what gives both films that repeat viewability factor? Why these movies and not others? Both are about average Joe's tired of being stepped on and pushed around and deciding to push back. The writing is tight, sharp, and very funny...everyone's motivations are clear and simple with constant reversals and logical obstacles...and the direction is impeccable (there's a real art to letting funny just be funny and not trying to 'make it or direct it' funny). Finally, at their core, both movies have a lot of heart.
And...so what.
Maybe it's wanting to feel that good feeling again felt when I first watched it. Maybe it's the neverending quest to want to laugh or to be made to laugh...because laughing makes us feel better. Maybe it's just a guy thing (though women do show a tendancy to repeat view certain romantic comedies). Or maybe it's a purely personal thing that can't be analyzed or figured out. My 'Old School' is your 'American Pie', or 'Duck Soup'. I don't know.
But 'Dodgeball' and 'Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle'? Who'd a thunk it.
Not me.
SONG&ARTIST? - "Some day somebody's gonna make you
Want to turn around and say goodbye
Until then baby are you going to let them
Hold you down and make you cry
Don't you know?
Don't you know things can change
Things'll go your way
If you hold on for one more day..."
8. Latch on to some random industry I know little about and launch a website to promote it.She should cross this one off the list, because she already did it. For that, she should be appreciated and aknowledged.
The stars and shows that shaped one what many are calling the best year of television ever.
Most improved actress: Kate Walsh, Grey’s Anatomy
Reminiscent of a young Rita Hayworth, Walsh finally got in the zone and made Addison a complex, vulnerable and shockingly cathartic human, who struggles each day with her sexual urges.
(I never really watched Grey's, but my eldest daughter is a big fan)
Best TV Show: The Wire
The Peabody Award-winning series has reached God-like status with critics and the viewers who are actually smart enough to be watching. Season 4 is a spectacular
unveiling of superior writing, gritty directing and bone-chilling acting.
(have seen enough of them to appreciate it, but need to go dvd and start from the beginning)
Worst TV show: Justice
As much as we adore Victor Garber, there is no justification for what a thespian of his calibre is doing on a horribly written, woodenly acted, over-produced and self-indulgently directed mess.
(watched one...moved on)
Best finale: Will & Grace
As Jack and Karen sang “Unforgettable” to each other, Sean Hayes and Megan Mullally broke our hearts by breaking character and addressing the poetic lyrics to each other — and to us.
(didn't see it)
Most improved show: ER
Just when you thought NBC’s former No. 1 show was ready to check into the morgue, Dr. Delicious (John Stamos) comes along and saves the series from extinction.
(stopped watching years ago)
Best new show: Heroes
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a superhit! These spellbinding superheroes have us all believing they were blessed with superpowers in real life. Their mission? To save NBC.
(fair enough...but Dexter would win my vote)
Best newcomer: Ugly Betty’s America Ferrera Ferrera has captured North America’s imagination with her charm and beauty — and will certainly win a slew of awards in 2007.
(watched one...moved on)
Biggest miracle: Julia Louis Dreyfus breaks the Seinfeld curse, proving the Seinfeld curse may have been more propaganda than reality. Dreyfus not only hit one out of the ballpark, but she also took an Emmy home for The New Adventures of Old Christine.
(watched a few...cute)
Worst plot device: The hatch, Lost
Thank goodness they blew it up!
(Hear...hear)
Best love story: Lyla and Jason, Friday Night Lights
Only this show could make the beautiful cheerleader and her quarterback boyfriend into tragic figures. Will Jason ever forgive Lyla for cheating on him with his best friend? Will Lyla ever accept the reality of Jason’s paralysis? Here’s hoping these two Texas teens can work it out in 2007.
(again, watched one...moved on)
Biggest coup d’état: Star Jones
Another fantastic coup d’état was Barbra Walters “firing” Star Jones from The View by making it look like she actually quit. Brilliant!
(no opinion)
Sexiest TV star: Wentworth Miller, Prison Break
At the end of the day, we only watch the series for one reason and one reason only — to feast our eyes on the arresting hunk.
(I suppose..but what about Moon Bloodgood?)
Best couple: Dr. Will & Janelle, Big Brother
There’s a reason why there are hundreds video tributes on youtube.com in honour of this hot love story that never was.
(no opinion)
Biggest controversy: Survivor: Cook Islands
Splitting up this season’s Survivor contestants into four distinct tribes separated by race ignited a firestorm of controversy, but after Episode 2 it became a non-issue. What’s more, once the series unraveled it turned out to be one of the best seasons in Survivor’s history.
(no opinion)
Best chemistry: Pam and Jim, The Office
Soap operas would kill for the chemistry that John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer have.
(agreed)
Best season-ender: Grey’s Anatomy
It was the finale that would not stop giving — four hours to be exact!
(no opinion)
Entertainer of 2006: Kiefer Sutherland, 24
Our favourite insomniac finally earned two Emmys and announced plans for a 24 movie. He also tackled a Christmas tree.
(fair enough)
Best actor: Hugh Laurie, House
Laurie has taken TV acting a new level by creating a character so vivid he actually feels real to us.
(no argument here)
Performance of the year: Jean Smart, 24
As the beleaguered First Lady, Smart proved a former designing woman could still look fierce and act her designer duds out.
(not sure the diff between actor/actress and performance)
Best comedian: Steve Carrell, The Office
With critics bemoaning the death of the sitcom, the industry should take notes and at least try to mimic what this show does so well.
(sure, not a lot to choose from though)
Everything about 'To Be A Somebody' is classic Cracker - McGovern's powerful writing, the interview scenes between Fitz and Albie which are some of the best of the series, along with the general interaction between Fitz and the police (most notably the still lingering tension between Fitz and Bilborough). At the time of its screening, 'To Be A Somebody' may have received a lot of attention due to McGovern's tackling of the sensitive issue of the Hillsborough disaster, but it without doubt left its mark and will long be remembered as three hours of the finest British television ever made.
Hear hear...if you don't have a lot of time, follow that movie up with the sixth installment 'Men Don't Weep' and you can experience an abridged best of this series in all its brilliance.
It struck me while watching Cracker how much 'Fitz' and Dr. Greg House are alike.
Unlikeable in so many ways, yet they manage to engage and intrigue and fascinate us. We 'like' them against reason and better judgement. Much like Jim Rockford (going waaaay back here to the Rockford Files), the surly snarky Malibu based private investigator.
I loved Rockford Files when I was a kid. Or at least I knew my dad loved it, and it was something we watched together, so I loved it too. A mystery series with requisite action (and those car chases), it was something of a revisionist take on the genre, grounded more in character than crime, and neatly infused with humor and realistic relationships. And they still hold up today - I try to catch it on Superstation WGN each morning whenever I can - with the winning supporting cast (Becker, Beth, Rocky...Angel!), and those wacky answering machine messages that led off each episode...
"Hi, sonny, it's Rocky. I got the bill and I've been trying to figure what everybody owes on L.J.'s birthday party. Tell me, did you have the Pink Lady?"
And that theme song....mmm...so good,
Rockford, Fitz, House...they all give us so many reasons to change the channel, yet we don't. What is it about these kinds of characters that turn our notion of the hero upside down yet still manage to entertain us?
The leads all have unpleasant traits and vices, are generally sarcastic and bitter, seem unable to keep any sort of lasting relationship...yet we still want to watch them. Reluctant heroes or Anti-heroes?
I read somewhere that the Rockford series was pitched as 'a private eye who would rather be doing something else'. Fitz and House appear to be cut from the same cloth. A psychologist who'd rather be doing something else...a doctor who'd rather be doing something else. I suppose all of us would rather be doing something else, even if most excellent at one thing...maybe that's part of the attraction.
I'd love to see Fitz and House and Rockford in their prime go toe to toe. Three brilliant bastards at the top of their game, trying to outsmart and outshine each other.
That'd be sweet.
"American Idol," meanwhile, had the most product placements on broadcast TV this year with -- you want to be sitting down -- 4,086 occurrences in calendar 2006, which in the case of "Idol," really means between January and May. "Idol" is the Mount Everest of product placement. Nothing else touches it. The No. 2 show on the 2006 Product Placement Top 10 is "The Amazing Race" with a mere 2,790 occurrences, followed closely by "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" with 2,701.
We're guessing about 3,346 "Idol" product placement occurrences come in the form of those three insidious red Coca-Cola cups prominently placed in front of judges Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson. Every time the camera cuts to Paula sitting at the judges' desk drinking "whatever" out of that Coke cup, it counts as one "occurrence," a nice Nielsen spokeswoman explained to The TV Column.
A WEALTH OF OPTIONS
By Anne Becker -- Broadcasting & Cable, 12/11/2006
In 2006, cable continued to solidify its reputation as a place for “edgier fare” and a nurturing environment for originals, an antidote to broadcast TV, where expensive laggards are quickly shuffled off to hiatus.
As the cable networks move into 2007 and look to build on breakout successes, star talent and interesting options abound, along with some hard decisions about what to greenlight.
“A couple of years ago, we had to convince people cable was a viable place to bring a series,” says Michael Wright, senior VP, original programming, for TNT/TBS. “In some ways, cable is a better place. We make an earnest effort to really support a show and give talent an environment where they want to work and play.”
Top female leads appear to be the most courted set for strong roles in the coming year. TNT is working on Grace, a pilot with Holly Hunter as an Oklahoma City detective whose sister was killed in the 1995 bombing; and Lifetime has ensemble drama Army Wives slated for March, starring Kim Delaney and Catherine Bell.
Next summer, USA will run limited series The Starter Wife, with Debra Messing, and could greenlight To Love and Die in L.A., a pilot with Shiri Appleby as a woman who discovers her father is a contract killer. And FX in January offers the new Courtney Cox gossip-mag drama Dirt; also in development is a pilot with Glenn Close as a New York litigator who mentors a younger lawyer.
“It's amazing to me, given where we were a few years ago: We can now field a group of talent that could rival any [broadcast] network in television,” says FX Network President John Landgraf. The network has also set a first-quarter premiere for The Riches, a drama starring Minnie Driver and Eddie Izzard as a married pair of con artists.
The pay-cable networks will, as usual, lead the 2007 charge into boundary-pushing fare. HBO is working on David Milch's dark surf series John From Cincinnati and Gavin Polone's adult-themed relationship drama Tell Me You Love Me.
Meanwhile, Showtime is developing Darren Starr's Manchild, addiction-focused Insatiable, and David Duchovny's producer/star effort Californication, about a women-obsessed, self-destructive writer.
With the bigger entertainment networks having tested the waters for several seasons, 2007 will bring original scripted shows from new players. In the summer, AMC will debut its first original drama series, 1960s-set advertising drama Mad Men. The channel is also set to play way against type with Breaking Bad, a pilot about a terminally ill teacher who deals meth to support his family.
As A&E debuts its pricey acquired version of The Sopranos in January, it's seeking both a limited series and an original drama for 2008. Executives are looking at several self-contained choices as companions for both Sopranos and CSI: Miami.
Says A&E Executive VP/General Manager Bob DeBitetto, “A light musical dramedy romp is not a format we're going to be doing.”
Other networks are content to keep things lighter. Bonnie Hammer, president of USA and Sci Fi Channel, says USA will be doing just that, possibly greenlighting Burn Notice, which focuses on a blacklisted Special Ops agent. Sci Fi Channel, meanwhile, will develop shows in a more “earth-based” vein. "Nothing is dark or dysfunctional,” Hammer says. “The whole [USA] brand is looking to do interesting character-driven drama with a little twist of escapism.”
TNT, the “We Know Drama” network, is developing pilots on a heart-transplant surgeon (Heartland) and a police drama that moves in reverse time (The Line-Up). Meanwhile, corporate sibling TBS heads a list of networks targeting the funny bone. It will pump its money into developing both scripted and unscripted comedies for prime and late night.
And Comedy Central plans a slate of at least five new primetime series: January's The Naked Trucker & T-Bones Show, February's Sarah Silverman-scripted series, and improv shows Halfway Home, American Body Shop and Lil' Bush. The network's success with The Colbert Report allows the aggressive plans. “Colbert has been nothing short of a gift to us in so many terms,” says Executive VP, Original Programming and Development, Lauren Corrao. “It's allowed us to focus our development on what we consider to be our prime, from 10 to 11 p.m.”
So there you have it, a wee bit of intel. And let's be honest, this is just the stuff they're super keen on or have already committed to. Simmering under the surface at all these networks and the companies/studios that provide to these nets are dozens and dozens and dozens more series in various stages of development.
And what does this have to do with you?
Well, I know I'm not the shit but every single time I've pitched a network an idea I have for a series that's even remotely inspired by a current trend in television, I've always heard back: "Oh, we've already got something like that in development." I've grown to count on it.
And it's quite common to sit down with friends and writers and creatives and have them test a pitch they're working on that's trying to capatalize on a current trend. And it may be a great concept, but the reality is they'll be working it up for, let's say... 3-6 months - to come up with a bible and a pilot script. And let's say all goes well and get the interest of a studio/company and network and it gets put into development.'Medium' (10 p.m. Wednesdays, NBC)
Emmy winning actress Patricia Arquette is back as Allison the psychic on this often-overlooked drama. Ignore this no longer or you will have a future devoid of suspense.
"Doing a movie or a play is like running a marathon. Doing a television show is like running until you die." -- David MametI get what Mamet is saying here, but don’t agree with him a hundred percent. Doing a TV series can also be like running a marathon...if you adopt the 80% Solution.
SONG&ARTIST? - "Jackboots, hi-jacks
Ray guns and spray guns
We got them all for free
Look to the stars for consolation
It could be there lookin' at me
It could be there lookin' at me
Send me down a simple solution
Send me down a simple solution now."
Sorry. We at Showtime Online express our apologies; however, these pages are intended for access only from within the United States.What's up with that? What don't they want me to see? Don't the internet tubes flow both directions? I must have answers...now!
CanWest, CTV and CBC are boo-hooing that the good old days of English Canadian TV are over and the gravy train has jumped the rails. Costs are up and audiences and ad revenue are down. Broadcasters want more money and they think they know how to get it: They want in on the subscriber fee bonanza.
Then he points out a problem:
English broadcasters say they need extra revenue to produce more great Canadian programming. They should be laughed out of Gatineau. If you look at their track record, they will take every cent and spend it in the United States. CTV, the Yankees of TV, spend their way to a title every spring. They have more shelf space than IKEA.
According to one published report, Canadian broadcasters spent $401 million on U.S. shows and $86 million on Canadian, a 5-to-1 ratio. Any wonder, then, that 19 of the Top-20-rated shows in English Canada are American? That's the real crisis, not the broadcasters' bottom line.Then he offers up a way to solve the problem:
There is a solution. It is bold, obvious and ridiculously simple. Listen up:
- Restrict Canadian broadcasters to just 10 prime-time hours of imported programming a week.
CTV, say, could keep all three CSIs, American Idol, Desperate Housewives, Criminal Minds, Amazing Race, Grey's Anatomy, ER and, okay, Ghost Whisperer. Global hangs on to House, Survivor, Deal Or No Deal, 24, Prison Break, Heroes, Simpsons/Family Guy, Shark, Numb3rs and Gilmore Girls.
CHUM keeps everything, including Ugly Betty, and picks up the Law & Order franchise and a few other goodies that new corporate daddy CTV can no longer schedule. Ditto Global Jr., CH, and its Two And A Half Men, NCIS keepers.
That leaves 12 hours for indigenous, made-in-Canada programming. I'd even settle for 11 hours of imported, 11 hours of Canadian per network in prime time -- 50/50.
You wouldn't need a drama quota, as the creative community is demanding -- English-language broadcasters would be forced to boost their Can-con to complete their schedules. You wouldn't need to pay more for your cable bill, or buy a grey-market satellite dish, or switch back to an antenna.
Call it the Cap, the import rule, the CFL solution.Interesting. Does this make sense to people? Any merit to this solution?
BBC One is the mainstream channel offered by the BBC. It's publicly funded and has to draw a fine balance between content that wouldn't get on a commercial channel, and popular content. So it seems to me that we can and should compare BBC One to CBC.Thanks for that, Piers. I can try to answer your question shortly (I think the numbers are comparable) but if someone else wants to take a whack at it please do.
Anyway, let's do some math. BBC One budgets for popular mainstream drama come in at around the £630-700k/hour mark (source). As the BBC doesn't carry adverts (so an hour show is actually an hour of programming), that translates to £525k an hour at the top end. Plug that into an exchange calculater and you get somewhere between 1 to 1.2 million Canadian dollars per hour to put the same sort of money on-screen.
The top ten dramas in the UK on the week ending 5th November 2006 averaged 6.5 million viewers in a country of 61 million people (Source: Broadcast, 10 Nov 2006, and The CIA). Ignoring demographics for ease of calculation, that means a top ten drama across all UK channels has about one in ten of the population watching.
Now, we don't have the US Simulcast problem or two official languages to deal with, so I don't think we can compare the viewing figures directly, but one question does spring to mind: Is CBC spending the same sort of money as the BBC's mainstream publicly funded channel per hour of mainstream drama?
Here is a direct link to a recent podcast by Paul Gross who talks about this exact thing for an hour - he's very forthright, and also offers some
solutions: http://radio.nac-cna.ca/podcast/Hinterviews/CelebritySpeakers_20061115
And then Mef closes with:
I worry sometimes that every series produced in Canada has become a referendum on whether or not Canadian tv or the cbc should exist.Sometimes good shows don't catch on and you can't always point a finger and say, oh if there were more promotion, or if it were jazzier, or if the act outs were stronger, or the stakes were higher, or more heart, or more dynamic energy, or a talking horse lived next door...I hear ya...really I do. This 'what is good Canadian TV' and 'how do we get more people to watch Canadian TV' and 'what should the CBC be' and 'why don't more people watch the CBC' debate has raged on for freakin' years, trust me. Just trying to be helpful and constructive.
Intelligence is the story of Jimmy Reardon (Ian Tracey), third generation crime boss, and Mary Spalding (Klea Scott) Director of Vancouver's Organized Crime Unit, who made deals with the devil - that is, each other. Jimmy agreed to work with Mary as a star informant, and Mary made a deal to protect Reardon from prosecution. It is a cat and mouse game of exploitation and cover-up as each camp uses intelligence agents to build their enterprises.It's a very good series (I do enjoy it), well acted, well shot, plot keeps you guessing...so why aren't we posting sexy pix of its stars and discussing the virtues or shortcomings of the show? Is it because we are still aiming (even subconsciously) to please our neighbours to the south (or over in the U.K. for that matter) and even as bloggers not wanting to turn off those readers (all twenty of them) by gabbing about a series we know nobody there has seen or even heard of? Or is it because we like it and admire it but aren't really jazzed about it?