The TV Zone

And here they are.

Most of 'em ... Mid- to late-September:

Thursday, Sept. 17

8:00-9:00 PM SURVIVOR: SAMOA (19th Installment Premiere)

Monday, Sept. 21

8:00-8:30 PM HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER (5th Season Premiere, OAD 9/19/05)

8:30-9:00 PM ACCIDENTALLY ON PURPOSE (Series Debut)

9:00-9:30 PM TWO AND A HALF MEN (7th Season Premiere, OAD 9/22/03)

9:30-10:00 PM THE BIG BANG THEORY (3rd Season Premiere, OAD 9/24/07)

10:00-11:00 PM CSI: MIAMI (8th Season Premiere, OAD 9/23/02)

Rest on the jump...

Continue reading "CBS fall dates " »

(AP)

The "most trusted man in America"...the former anchor of "The Evening News"... who told us about JFK's assassination, and Vietnam, and the moon landing, and earlier generations about the battle over Civil rights, and before that, the Battle of the Bulge...is terribly ill.

When I called his office for confirmation earlier this week, I was told in no uncertain terms - Don't worry! He's OK.

But now, I suspect that his loyal staff was keeping up a brave front. (I see that TVNewser has finally caught up with the news too.)

How bad is it? Very bad.

Cronkite's been ill for a while, but he has definitely taken a turn for the worse. He is 92 years old, and it's worth noting that his father lived nearly to 100 and his mother, famously, well past 100.

Here's the genesis of the recent reports: About three weeks ago, CBS News heard that he was declining, and actually began to call top TV news people, like Tom Brokaw and Morley Safer, to get quotes and reactions. Suddenly, CBS did an about face - hold the quotes! Walter's OK! Apparently there had been some mis-communication: Walter wasn't declining, but his MEMORY was.

In any event, the news died down.

Now it's out again.

Again, I caution: Walter could be with us for a while, but the latest reports are not good. He is in very very bad shape.

(Mitchell Haaseth / NBC)

Do not adjust your set, etc.

This is really the CBS lineup and that's really "Medium" on it.

"Medium" has joined the lineup. 'Twas expected when NBC dropped it yesterday.

Here's the fall on CBS. Other big moves? "The Mentalist" moves to Thursdays, after "CSI.:" (New program descriptions on the jump)

MONDAY

8:00-8:30 PM HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER (NT)

8:30-9:00 PM ACCIDENTALLY ON PURPOSE (N)

9:00-9:30 PM TWO AND A HALF MEN

9:30-10:00 PM THE BIG BANG THEORY (NT)

10:00-11:00 PM CSI: MIAMI

TUESDAY

8:00-9:00 PM NCIS

9:00-10:00 PM NCIS: LOS ANGELES (N)

10:00-11:00 PM THE GOOD WIFE (N)

WEDNESDAY

8:00-8:30 PM THE NEW ADVENTURES OF OLD CHRISTINE

8:30-9:00 PM GARY UNMARRIED

9:00-10:00 PM CRIMINAL MINDS

10:00-11:00 PM CSI: NY

THURSDAY

8:00-9:00 PM SURVIVOR

9:00-10:00 PM CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION

10:00-11:00 PM THE MENTALIST (NT)

FRIDAY

8:00-9:00 PM GHOST WHISPERER

9:00-10:00 PM MEDIUM

10:00-11:00 PM NUMB3RS

SATURDAY

8:00-9:00 PM CRIMETIME SATURDAY

9:00-10:00 PM CRIMETIME SATURDAY

10:00-11:00 PM 48 HOURS MYSTERY

SUNDAY

7:00-8:00 PM 60 MINUTES

8:00-9:00 PM THE AMAZING RACE

9:00-10:00 PM THREE RIVERS (N)

10:00-11:00 PM COLD CASE (NT)

Continue reading "CBS: The Lineup...and "Medium!"" »

Bubble show "Cold Case" features Pearl Jam this Sunday - I've seen and heard, and it's good, though I wonder whether CBS's demo knows what a "Pearl Jam" is? (Probably - the band has been around since the beginning of time...)

Features sixteen songs in the the two-part finale, including some cuts from "Ten," which was just re-issued. And no - repeat no - Eddie Vedder does not - repeat not - make a cameo. That would be just too weird. With that wind-up, here is the clip...and song list on the jump...

Continue reading ""Cold Case" and Pearl Jam" »

"Oh God, not SATURDAY...Just KILL ME NOW...."

One of the nuttiest - but "nutty" in a fun, good way - shows of mid-season has been dispatched to the Saturday dead zone: "Harper's Island."

CBS just announced, and put a very happy face on the decision, sayings "HI" does really really really well in play-back, etc. But...

It's to be replaced by a repeat of "Criminal Minds" this Thursday. Probably goes without saying that this is an ominous move for the show - and it hasn't even killed off half of its characters yet. But no reason why CBS can't let it spool out, and allow the few fans who are following to find out whodunit. And if CBS does let it play out through (I think) July, then no reason why Saturday would be any worse a night than Thursday or Tuesday or Sunday at 7...

Here's what CBS says, and it doesn't sound like total balderdash...really...

"The preliminary DVR and online streaming data suggest a passionate audience for HARPER'S outside its current Thursday time period borders," said Kelly Kahl, Senior Executive Vice President Prime Time, CBS Television. "This move gives us an opportunity to improve the time period on Thursday while experimenting with more original programming on Saturday, and continuing to serve an audience that is clearly engaged in the ongoing HARPER'S ISLAND story."

According to Nielsen live plus 7-day playback results versus live, the HARPER'S ISLAND premiere audience increased by +29% in adults 18-49 (3.1 from 2.4), +33% in adults 18-34 (2.0 from 1.5), +25% in adults 25-54 (4.0 from 3.2) and gained +1.64 million viewers (11.29m from 9.65m).

More changes...on the jump...

Continue reading ""Harper's Island" Becomes A Victim" »

(CBS Photo)

Here's news, friends, that breaks but once a generation - but once a lifetime...

"Guiding Light" is ending.

CBS just posted the release. Below, in full, on the jump...

But as this is a blog, allow me first to just add this comment: "GL" has not merely been blessed with extraordinary longevity but has been a bulwark of the New York soap production community from the time Frank Sinatra avoided bobby-soxers on the way to the Paramount. It has been through EVERYTHING - wars, recessions, cut-backs, swings in taste, hundreds, thousands of actors and actresses and producers, a fickle - yet remarkably patient - sponsor in Procter & Gamble. Indeed, P&G;'s loyalty kept it going all these years more than CBS's.

A deep and destructive recession it could NOT survive, even though it was born during the Great Depression.

Here is another possible issue. The NYC TV production community is in an uproar over Gov. Paterson's threat to abandon the state's 30 percent tax credit for TV and movie production. Believe me - "GL" won't be the only New York show to go down, or go west, if this stands. My hunch, though, is that the tax credit may be only part of the issue with "Light," if that. Ratings have been low for years now (about 2.2 million viewers in late March, down about 500,000 from a year ago) while both P&G; and CBS are under intense shareholder pressure. Killing a near-century old franchise was probably one of the easiest moves they thought they could make.

This is a very sad day for New York TV - but you should also know, it's been rumored for years.

And now, it's gone. I always feel lousy (who doesn't) when another of New York's venerable cultural institutions goes...but there's something especially bleak about this departure... TV Week, by the way, is reporting that P&G; will shop this elsewhere. But the prospects are beyond bleak at this point.

Vote: What is your favorite soap opera?

>> Photos: See "Guiding Light" through the years.

Continue reading ""Guiding Light" Ends in September" »

Yesterday, as Drudge Report readers are aware, the Drudgster made made note of the fact (actually screamed bloody murder of the fact) that NBC had barred Ann Coulter from the hallowed halls of "Today" because it refused to promote her new book "Guilty." So, Ann gets all in a huff and heads over to..."The Early Show" this morning, where she sits down with Harry for an encounter that's so peculiar that it honestly merits inclusion on "Superstars of Dance." (See: below)

Don't ask me what any of this means. I'm not sure. (And to watch, you must first sit through a 15-second ad for the execrable "Gary Unmarried." Sorry.)

Watch CBS Videos Online

Suddenly the Laurence Fishburne-to-"CSI" rumors - which they remain - have heated up again, and so I guess it's time to acknowledge them.

Consider them officially acknowledged.

They've been out there almost since the day Billy Petersen said he was going to leave midway next season; Fishburne as a possible replacement was instantly invoked, no doubt by CBS, which was probably concerned that critics and hence fans would assume there was no Plan B, and that as other leads depart (Gary Dourdan) the show was headed toward an inevitable decline and fall - an average 16 million viewers last season versus 19.8 million in '06-'07. By suggesting Fishburne as a possible replacement - along with the likes of John Malkovich, Kevin Bacon and other A-listers - CBS seemed to be suggesting that not only did it have a Plan B, but that "B" actually stood for "Better." (I always thought Liev Schreiber would be a great replacement, except - of course - his Mike Keppler character was killed at the end of his '07 arc.)

Fishburne has now been pushed front and center by network sources, and where there's smoke there's fire. Check out the reliable TVGuide.com which goes so far as to report that Fishburne is close to signing. Wow.

(He'd play a newcomer to the lab and would know that he has the DNA of a serial killer - yeah, kinda like Dexter - but that he's doing what he can to control his urges and hide the fact from his colleagues. Plus, like Dex, it makes him all the more capable of reading the MO of real serial killers.)

Advantages for "CSI?"

Count them: Prestigious actor. Iconic screen (and stage) roles. Oscar nominee. Tony Award winner. Direct ties to one of the most culturally important movies of the past 10 years (1999's "The Matrix.") Plus, with Dourdan gone, "CSI" no longer has an African-American actor in the core cast. THAT gets taken care of with this hire as well.

The larger question is, what's the advantage to Fishburne, besides a huge and reliable paycheck? (I may have just answered my own question.) He's an extremely busy actor, currently producing his own movie, and can pretty much pick whatever he does. Or at least that's the impression one gets with him. This isn't - with all due respect - Gary Sinese or David Caruso going to a "CSI" spin-off, or Harvey Keitel to "Life on Mars"... Plus, "CSI's" numbers aren't what they used to be...This is a still-powerful-but-fading franchise, and it does happen to the best of 'em.

So we'll see. If this happens, score a big one for "CSI."

(Photo of LF given out by Paramount, and the 2006 Rome Premiere of "Mission Impossible 3.")

For of you sitting by your calender with a pencil in hand waiting for me to post the CBS fall season premiere dates, so you can plan your vacation and work schedules accordingly, wait no more! I have it all here. The dates. Most of 'em are in late September - same as always:

Thursday, Sept. 18

8:00-9:00 PM SURVIVOR (17th Installment Premiere)

Monday, Sept. 22

8:00-8:30 PM THE BIG BANG THEORY (2nd Season Premiere)
8:30-9:00 PM HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER (4th Season Premiere)
9:00-9:30 PM TWO AND A HALF MEN (6th Season Premiere)
9:30-10:00 PM WORST WEEK (Series Debut)
10:00-11:00 PM CSI: MIAMI (7th Season Premiere)

Tuesday, Sept. 23

8:00-9:00 PM NCIS (6th Season Premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM THE MENTALIST (Series Debut)
10:00-11:00 PM WITHOUT A TRACE (7th Season Premiere)

Wednesday, Sept. 24

8:00-8:30 PM THE NEW ADVENTURES OF OLD CHRISTINE
(4th Season Premiere)
8:30-9:00 PM PROJECT GARY (Series Debut)
9:00-10:00 PM CRIMINAL MINDS (4th Season Premiere)
10:00-11:00 PM CSI: NY (5th Season Premiere)

Saturday, Sept. 27

8:00-9:00 PM CRIMETIME SATURDAY
9:00-10:00 PM CRIMETIME SATURDAY
10:00-11:00 PM 48 HOURS MYSTERY (Season Premiere)

Sunday, Sept. 28

7:00-8:00 PM 60 MINUTES (41st Season Premiere)
8:00-9:00 PM THE AMAZING RACE (13th Edition)
9:00-10:00 PM COLD CASE (6th Season Premiere)
10:00-11:00 PM THE UNIT (4th Season Premiere)

Friday, Oct. 3

8:00-9:00 PM GHOST WHISPERER (4th Season Premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM THE EX LIST (Series Premiere)
10:00-11:00 PM NUMB3RS (5th Season Premiere)

(Above: JLH, star of "GW," returning Oct. 3)

CBS is going to officially announce its new fall sked in just about five minutes, so we may as well get straight to this. Here's what to expect this fall. Nothing earth-shattering, best I can tell (other than aforementioned cancellations.)

And away we go:

Monday: "Big Bang Theory" (8).
"How I Met Your Mother" (8:30)
"Two and a Half Men" (9)
"Worst Week" (9:30; new sitcom.)
"CSI: Miami" (10).

Tuesday: "NCIS" (8)
"The Mentalist" (9; with Simon Baker)
"Without a Trace" (10).

Wednesday: "The New Adventures of Old Christine" (8)
"Project Gary" (8:30; new sitcom)
"Criminal Minds" (9)
"CSI: NY" (10).

Thursday: "Survivor" (8)
"CSI" (9)
"Eleventh Hour" (10; Bruckheimer!)

Friday: "Ghost Whisperer" (8);
"The Ex-List" (9; new drama)
"Numbers" (10).

Saturday:
The song, such as it is, remains the same.

Sunday: "60 Minutes" (7)
"Amazing Race" (8)
"Cold Case" (9)
"The Unit" (10).

I'm always fascinated in "Big Brother" -- if only by trying to imagine the pillow talk between Julie Chen and Les Moonves ("...do you REALLY think Jame's hair color is nice...What about the tattoos?"

But the ninth season of a reality skein that makes "The Apprentice" look like Shakespeare got just the slightest jolt of controversy when one of the contestants called people with autism "retards." And wouldn't you just know? The anti-autism guy won last night.

Adam Jasinski didn't just win big -- he won BIG, with (I think) only one jury vote going to Ryan, who said nothing mean about people with autism (but will check the clips just to make sure.) Adam's "'Till Death Do You Part" housemate Sheila told him to shut his trap after he said (in a mid-February episode) that he'd spend his winnings on a hair salon "so retards can get it together and get their hair done." He had worked briefly in Florida for an autism charity, and so a prominent national charity (Autism United) promptly demanded that he be canned posthaste.

Instead, Adam goes on to win half a million clams! He said last night he'll donate $100,000 of that to an autism charity; no word on the hair salon.

I love this: CBS is boasting about an "unprecedented" crossover stunt for May, and I do believe this is "unprecedented" because it's so ridiculous. Here it is: Writers for "Two and a Half Men" will write an episode of "CSI" while writers for "CSI" will write an episode of "Two and a Half Men."

Will the result be a "dramedy" or a "coma?"

I'm not certain.

More details from the CBS presser: "A CSI investigating a murder at Charlie Harper's house? Grissom and the team investigating the mysterious death of a diva sitcom star? It's all part of a first-ever 'writers' crossover...

"The May 5 episode of [Men] is written by CSI writers Sarah Goldfinger and Evan Dunsky from a story by CSI executive producers Carol Mendelsohn and Naren Shankar. The May 8 episode of CSI was written by Chuck Lorre and Lee Aronsohn, executive producers/writers of [Men].

I'm getting confused here. Who...wha...why???

OH, TV, I just love it. What WILL they think of next?

(Above: Who murders whom in this May's "Two and a Half Men?")

I've received a lot of reader comments - which in my humble realm means about three - concerning the cancellation of CBS's "Kid Nation." Now, I was initially cheered by news of this cancellation, considering how bad the show is.

But I'm in the minority. Turns out, there's a whole nation of "Kid Nation" fans, who are angry at CBS for canceling their favorite show. Some of them are distraught, and the reason I'm writing this blog entry is because last night, I got this comment from Kim: "MY LIVE IS NO LONGER WORTH LIVING!!!!!!!!!!NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOO..."

Well, take heart, Kim. It IS worth living, and there is a possible solution here. CBS may have canceled this show, but there are options. Consider how fans of "Jericho" extended that worthy's life for an extra seven episodes? They sent bags of nuts to CBS executives. Sick of the nut tsunami, they relented.

So here's an idea for "KN:" Send your kids.

It's simple. Put them in a large box, and tape it up well, but be sure to put some holes in it so they can breath. For food, add a couple of Domino's pizzas (cheese only, no toppings - they can get messy.) Don't forget the iPod.

This could work. Seriously. Les Moonves - and I suppose Julie Chen - will be driven crazy by the crowd of noisy needy little buggers - all those fights over which favorite show to watch, and constant demands to buy Guitar Hero or Miley Cyrus tickets. CBS'll throw in the towel by the upfronts, and "KN" will be on the fall schedule - and maybe they'll stick your kids in it!

This isn't an original idea. Someone at New York Magazine recently suggested sending hair to ABC executives as a plan to save "Cavemen." It didn't work.

Kids will work. Don't say I never did anything for you, Kim.

Here's the address:

CBS Studios: 7800 Beverly Boulevard Los Angeles, CA. 90036

Can wait no longer for your Charlie Sheen fix? Good news! Read on - and lest I bury my lede, I do believe this is the FIRST fresh product off the assembly line since the strike ended:

CBS sitcoms are all back this Monday, and the network just released some program notes:

8:00 PM – THE BIG BANG THEORY – When Sheldon and Leonard are invited to present their joint findings at a physics conference, Sheldon refuses, and Penny steps in to mediate … only deepening the rift between the two best friends.

8:30 PM – HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER – On St. Patrick’s Day, Ted takes a page from Barney’s book and lives like there’s no tomorrow.

9:00 PM – TWO AND A HALF MEN – Charlie coaches Alan on the best way to break up with a woman.

9:30 PM – THE NEW ADVENTURES OF OLD CHRISTINE – New episodes continue with Christine trying to prove to Barb that for once in her life she can finally complete something that she sets out to do.

Remember "Kid Nation?"

It was only the cause celebre of the '07-'08 season, with endless stories written about, and over which countless calls were made by reporters to child welfare services in New Mexico, state investigation panels convened, and critics so exercised by the possible legal and moral ramifications of it all that they lost sleep AND weight (often at the same time.)

It was quite a show.

Anyway, it's dead.

Or almost certainly dead - or like that soap that's 99.999 percent pure - it's 99.999 percent dead.

CBS announced its '08-09 returning shows last night, and "Kid" was not amongst the living. Here's the complete list, and no major surprises: "Cold Case," "Criminal Minds," "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "CSI: Miami," "CSI: NY," "Ghost Whisperer," "NCIS," "Numb3rs," "Two and a Half Men," "Without a Trace," "The Big Bang Theory." Of the reality crew, CBS had already announced that '"Survivor" and "The Amazing Race" were back.

I emailed CBS's laudatory primetime press man, Phil Gonzales, about the unfortunate state of affairs with regards "Kid Nation." He wrote back: "Other than the shows that we just announced as renewed, no final decisions have been made on any shows for next year. We just ordered 4 more post-strike originals for 'Moonlight' and 'Jericho' is in 'Cane’s' time period for now."

Phil is just too polite to say it, so I'll say it for him:

"Kid Nation" is dead.

Without "Kid Nation" to kick around, what will give critics exercise this fall? (They'll have to go out and run around the block, I guess.) At least they'll get some sleep.

And - I'm glad you asked - what about "Cane." Again, I think this announcement pretty much says it all. It too is gone. That's a bummer - especially for Jimmy Smits fans. But here's the silver lining: This means that the splendid Nestor Carbonell - who just happens to be one of my favorite actors in the solar system - will get to return to "Lost" where he can complete his great and never-aging portrayal of Richard.

Yes, "Others" dude Richard Alpert with 99.999 percent certainty WILL be back and that's the best news today.

Yes, CBS has announced a whole slew of dates for shows to return. The strike is definitely over.

Without further ado, here they are:

How I Met Your Mother...March 17...9 new episodes.

The Big Bang Theory...March 17...9 new eps.

CSI: Miami...March 24...8 new eps.

Cold Case...March 30...6

Criminal Minds...April 2...7

CSI...April 3...6

Without a Trace...April 3...6

Numb3rs... April 4...6

NCIS...April 8...7

CSI:NY...April 2...7

Moonlight...April 11...4

Rules of Engagement... April 14...6

Shark...TBA...4

(Right: She's baaaaack....)